Looking for some guidance regarding how to edit/mix a vocal track + playback
INFJ
2.0 PRO Posts: 139
I just don't get this. I sound too much like a lamb/goat throughout the song and the vocals seem so detached from the playback.
Have a listen for yourself (sorry in advance!).
on.soundcloud.com/Mqytd
When I listened to this in good headphones I thought it would be just barely acceptable as a template to work on. Now when I played it in the laptop speakers the result is absolutely horrendous!
If we put all the technical mistakes aside (there are plenty of them) - what is it that professional people usually do with a track to make it sound good?
Would someone even be willing to look at this for me?
I need to do it all over again then, because I already mixed them together and never saved the tracks separately.
I know that I don't have any good vocal qualities, but I feel if I can get through the recording problems it would be easier to work on the voice itself when you know what is caused by bad recording and what is weak technique.
This is getting really frustrating, but I am not ready to quit just yet.
I just threw a preset compression setting in Audacity on it and that did not seem to help or do much except raise the volume on the vocals. Some small delay did not help either.
If you have a small high voice how would you approach the compression setting and EQ in a song like this? I dont understand all the technical terms on youtube. Basically I would need to get rid of some high end or why does the treble become so prevalent? Should I have had the playback on higher volume? Is there some kind of general rule of thumb how loud the playback should be compared to the vocal track?
When I shared this with a few non-vocalist friends they say it does resemble singing, but the voice and the instruments are completely out of sync.
Any sound pro here - what would you have done? I have heard others record with the same mic so I have put that aside as a reason for the crappy sound quality. Also I work 3-5cm (maybe a bit more when it goes up in pure headvoice) from the mic and the pre-amp is set fairly low so I will never distort it. I can hear myself, but just barely. I think the mic and my approach to it are not suspects as of now. It must be something with the settings or I am just the most terrible vocalist who ever walked planet earth.
Any youtube video that is like beginner level would be appreciated. I understand the theory on compression and EQ, but when I look at those graphs and settings I don't really know what they will do.
Have a listen for yourself (sorry in advance!).
on.soundcloud.com/Mqytd
When I listened to this in good headphones I thought it would be just barely acceptable as a template to work on. Now when I played it in the laptop speakers the result is absolutely horrendous!
If we put all the technical mistakes aside (there are plenty of them) - what is it that professional people usually do with a track to make it sound good?
Would someone even be willing to look at this for me?
I need to do it all over again then, because I already mixed them together and never saved the tracks separately.
I know that I don't have any good vocal qualities, but I feel if I can get through the recording problems it would be easier to work on the voice itself when you know what is caused by bad recording and what is weak technique.
This is getting really frustrating, but I am not ready to quit just yet.
I just threw a preset compression setting in Audacity on it and that did not seem to help or do much except raise the volume on the vocals. Some small delay did not help either.
If you have a small high voice how would you approach the compression setting and EQ in a song like this? I dont understand all the technical terms on youtube. Basically I would need to get rid of some high end or why does the treble become so prevalent? Should I have had the playback on higher volume? Is there some kind of general rule of thumb how loud the playback should be compared to the vocal track?
When I shared this with a few non-vocalist friends they say it does resemble singing, but the voice and the instruments are completely out of sync.
Any sound pro here - what would you have done? I have heard others record with the same mic so I have put that aside as a reason for the crappy sound quality. Also I work 3-5cm (maybe a bit more when it goes up in pure headvoice) from the mic and the pre-amp is set fairly low so I will never distort it. I can hear myself, but just barely. I think the mic and my approach to it are not suspects as of now. It must be something with the settings or I am just the most terrible vocalist who ever walked planet earth.
Any youtube video that is like beginner level would be appreciated. I understand the theory on compression and EQ, but when I look at those graphs and settings I don't really know what they will do.
Comments
Just listened to the recording. I would start by posting you singing the LAH AH vowel with a video. That would help us critique how you are singing that. We could discuss the equipment/microphones/ etc. that you are using, but first I'd focus on getting the fundamentals around open throat and vowel modifications down.
Great job posting this audio. You are on the right track and have lots of potential! Looking forward to more of your posts.
on the other hand, i don't think you need to be able to do good recordings to sing well, even a 1980's dictaphone should be enough to monitor your singing progress.
you sound a bit like you are pinching and squeezing, i think i remember you said you upped the key because Ken suggested this in a video. i don't think you are doing yourself a favor in this instance. have you tried the approach of lowering the key and/or work on vowels only? it sounds like you might want to figure out a few modifications to make it more manageable.
also, it sounds like you have one of these "motivation downs", where nothing seems right and you are not where you want to be. remember it is a process, you can't learn any of these things over night. research recording technique, practice your songs and the scales, and be happy about small improvements, and that you are able to do any of this in the first place. the rewards are delayed but they will come.
I looked at your previous posts and you seem to know a lot about the topic and you have uploaded lots of music.
I don't want to appear on video, but I can do audio recordings of some lah scales if that helps at all?
Also, what is it that you though had potential in this recording? I thought it was pretty terrible. I hit some notes, but something is off with both my technique and the recording process. I don't know if I am too negative, but I see so many people that produce good quality sound clips.
I will eventuelly record more stuff, if I first can wrap my head around all this.
Warren Huarts channel is the one called Produce Like A Pro? I will start to watch some stuff. In the intro clip he said that the vocals need to be present in the mix and one can say for sure that my vocals are never present.
Yes, I think that is true. At least I can feel it when it goes from G4-A4 to D5. There is already some tension at the start and then I decide to just blast through in order to hit the D, and then release.
Do you think I overenunciate? Might be hard to tell on one clip maybe.
I sang it in the standard key once but then only worked it +1 since it didn't seem hard to reach the note values. I wasn't aware how it would sound recorded.
Will try to go down to the original key and see how that feels.
Perhaps it would be a good idea to break the song down line by line and analyze of how I treat the vowels and how each passage feels in the throat.
Singing just consonants I have never done, but will look at that. Could it usually improve muscle memory if I sing this song without consonants like every night for a couple of weeks?
and yes it is called "produce like a pro"
I listened to that guy and will try some stuff next time I record. Adding some EQ around 200 like he said might be worth a try to make it sound fuller. Maybe less vocal volume to start with and see what the effects can do. I have kind of understood how to set compression now. Need to fiddle a bit with it. Some people said a ratio of 4:1 is good for rock vocals. Seems pretty high, but I guess I will need to experiment to find out what works.
I tried some new things so hope it will sound a bit better both vocally and in terms of recording quality. I used a 4:1 compression ratio. Added EQ from 200-400 Hz. The voice is much more present.
Dream On (Aerosmith) - I know I blew chunks on the high part. First high note is sharp, 2nd flat and then sharp again. I am usually not that pitchy on it. In fact there is a clip in another thread where I do the high part a full step up and don't miss. Some of my old problems occured on the "sing with me.." part. I have problems with the ee vowel. The sound travels to the front of the face.
on.soundcloud.com/uVx1w
Here I Go Again (Whitesnake) - Maybe not ideal for my voice type, but I gave it a go. For me it was on the heavier side, but for a bari it would not sound that thick of course.
I might have botched some of the lyrics.
on.soundcloud.com/skNhP
Both are +1 key. I think it was ok this time. 18&Life was too high a step up, but these two feel fine.
Do you think any of those two songs would fly on like a karaoke place or so? I am not sure where I am at in terms of abilities.
@Terence
@Klaus_T
@michaelmusic
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