I am going to record a vocal track and need advice.

I was going to jump in and start recording just before I thought of a couple of things...

I've been making my own music for almost 6 months now, and that includes guitar, bass, drums, lyrics, and vocals – and my vocal tracks have all been pretty bad. When I first started, I paid most of my attention to the guitar. Lately, I have been trying to give more time to the bass and drums and the I can see my improvement. I have also been spending time with vocals, yet I feel I have made no improvement. It also seems the more I sing the same song, the worse I sound.

I recently purchased a new microphone and today I finally received a new pre-amp/EQ/compressor.

My first thought, What if it doesn't help? I know that's ridiculous, it is far better equipment, but I think back to when I first got an electric guitar. I played it pretty horrible. Then I got an amplifier. It was now horrible times 20! I was comfortable with how bad I played when I was horrible... but amplified placed me back a few steps.

I feel like I'm in a situation where I should ask first before I: (A) sing the song a bunch of times using different settings for compression/EQ/gain to try and find the best setting... If anyone knows how this works, I would appreciate a beginning point to set this up for a basic rock tune. and (B) advice on singing, period. I have never had to sing in any choir, school play, music class... anything! ANY advice would be great. Should I be right in front of the microphone? Should I be standing/sitting/lying down? Does mood matter? Should I eat first? Get drunk first?

I will record tonight, but I will probably be checking this topic every take!

[TonyMiller]

Erik, there is a forum on here called "Vocalists Unite". There may be some info on there which may help. I've not been there for a while, but here's the link:

http://forum.mp3unsigned.com/groups/...sts-unite.html

[Erik Jurado]

I was about to start right now, but I'll take a few minutes to read the posts in there. Thanks for the heads up!

[Amadeus]

Hi Erik,
Check out this article by T-Bone on how to set up your own vocal booth and pop shield on a shoe string budget:

How to Build Your Own Vocal Booth

Hope that helps, good luck with the project.

Admin

[Erik Jurado]

GREAT IDEA for a do-it -yourself project. I just finished a do-it-yourself type project- a cart that includes my new preamp/computer/Line 6 input device/cords/power strip/backup drives... and I can wheel it to my closet for when I do vocals (I got rid of all the junk in my closet) and back to where I edit.

PLUS, I checked out the lyricists unite page and found out that ALL of the stuff they suggested not to do I did! Singing while tired, aheming (clearing out your throat), consuming dairy products before and during, and a couple others. I began recording after being refreshed with a nap, passed on my traditional strawberry shake, didn't clear my throat (okay I did it a few times...but, I did cut back alot!)


I finished my track and I am definitely happy with how it turned out. It was due to both the new equipment and the tips from this site. I'm ready to get started on another!



Thanks again for the reply!

[geminiritual]

This is a little late, but maybe can still help.

as I said in a prvious post in another thread, the mic almost doesn't matter, a nuemann would be nice, but an mxl will work fine, it's all about tone and pre amp after that.

I would not use much compression going in, leave some headroom for whatever else you are going to add, that way you have more freedom with your vox track, and also you don't want to have your vocals buried in your master. If the need rises, add more compression later.

I would not eat anything heavy before you record vocals, drink warm tea with honey, be standing, posture straight, sing from your diaphragm and breath properly.

Hope this helps.