Sound Techniques Forum
How to properly mix vocals into music?
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Posts
KurpKarso
3 posts | 1 Posted on 12/21/2004 at 00:45 I've been singing for the past two years or so but I've always never knew how to properly mix vocals into just music. What I do normally is first record my vocals through mono instead of stereo, then add some reverb or other voice-enhancing effects, then just "mix" it into the music (karaoke/instrumental/etc) using my Sound Forge program. But I feel like I am missing something here... I use a regular crappy USB mic, but it's the best thing I can afford, but I think I may have to do some more type of audio-work before mixing it in, eh? What do you guys think? I don't know how to properly or "Truly" professional-quality mix.... | ||
Axeman
591 posts | 2 Posted on 12/21/2004 at 04:53 Bro- there is only so much you can do with a mic that is not a decent mic. I've never even heard of a USB mic- you need to save some $$ for a basic mic- like a Shure SM-57 or SM-58 or something. I know $$ can be a bummer, but you do need to have some basic quality level,, and no amount of plug-ins or tricks will fix that. The Axeman (##(===> Cuts From My New Blues CD | ||
KurpKarso
3 posts | 3 Posted on 12/21/2004 at 10:29 I am not talking about mic quality. I am talking about if I am mixing it correctly or rather than the techniques (recording in mono, add sfx, then mixing) if they are the proper way or can be improved in one way or another. | ||
manowar
161 posts | 4 Posted on 12/21/2004 at 14:29 That is right way. Try some eq and reverb. Otherwise is your bad mic. Try to get right sound with eq (equlizer) but I don't know if sound forege has the right thing. | ||
KurpKarso
3 posts | 5 Posted on 12/21/2004 at 15:40 Oh yeah.. I've always wondered....why is it better to record in mono then mix rather than record in stereo and mix it? | ||
saiofrelief
3 posts | 6 Posted on 09/20/2005 at 19:20 i'm having the same issue.. so what exactly should i adjust to properly merge the instruments and vocals and avoid the live recording sound..... | ||
agaudio
15 posts | 7 Posted on 09/25/2005 at 04:18 For one thing, have you tried panning all of your instrumentation into given areas of the stereo spectrum so that there is an opening for vocal placement? Your ears can only decipher so much coming out of the center of the stereo spectrum and everything having its place makes it easier to hear everything with greater clarity, especially vocals. Just likea group onstage, no two instruments or performers occupy the exact same place in the sound spectrum, no matter how close they stand to each other. It wouldn't hurt to save some $$ to go toward the purchase of a good condensor microphone if your primary use is for vocals, tremendous difference when compared with a dynamic mic, espeicially if it's used in isolation while multitracking. Here is a good place to start: http://www.tweakheadz.com/microphones_for_the_home_studio.htm http://www.tweakheadz.com/how_to_record_vocals.htm http://www.tweakheadz.com/how_to_process_vocal_tracks.htm http://www.tweakheadz.com/perfect_mix.html | ||
agaudio
15 posts | 8 Posted on 09/25/2005 at 05:05 Axeman, Unfortunately, they do make USB mics...not good for the serious wannabe audiophiles! Read it and weep: http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1810&brandID=2 | ||
agaudio
15 posts | 9 Posted on 09/25/2005 at 05:50 saiofrelief wrote : i'm having the same issue.. so what exactly should i adjust to properly merge the instruments and vocals and avoid the live recording sound..... The best way to avoid the live sound is to make sure that you are doing your best mic arrangement around instruments and vocalists in order to avoid their mics picking up any other sound but the intended source; in other words, achieve good signal-to-noise ratio and source isolation (when possible). Otherwise, if your mics are picking up everything else, including your intended instrument or vocalist to be recorded, you are going to achieve just that-- a very "live" sound. | ||
agaudio
15 posts | 10 Posted on 09/25/2005 at 05:57 KurpKarso, It is better to record two tracks mono instead of stereo say, overhead drum mics, L and R, because when you do so you can pan this recording into any area of the stereo spectrum, unless of course you have an application, ProTools for example, that will allow your stereo tracks a pan for both the left and right sides (in which case it's not an issue). However, if you are using an application that only has one pan for both sides of a stereo track, then you will only be able to place that stereo item in a set width anywhere in your stereo spectrum. Recording in mono helps you to forego the limitations of an application that will only let you pan a stereo track with a single pan, instead of two, one for left and one for right. Your mono recording tracks, L and R, can be varied in width in the audio spectrum. For example, Let's say that the "[ ]" below represent the stereo width of your sound spectrum and "X-Y" indicate your stereo L-R variables. You can spread them however far apart in your mix as you'd like. Say you recorded a very small choir with only about 4-10 people but you want them to sound like you have a powerfully full group in your final recording, you could pan the small choir originally recorded with stereo mics in a narrow spectrum like this: (small choir onstage) [ X - Y ] mixed down to sound like larger, fuller choir in mix, with a little help from processing and panning as: (now your choir sounds much larger in the stereo width...just be careful how thin you spread them. [ X - Y ] ...and you have greater flexibility in panning for L/R because you recorded L/R sides each in mono. With a software program that will only allow your stereo tracks one pan, your originally recorded sound width could only be moved as such, maintaining only the original width or breadth in the sound spectrum: [X - Y ] OR [ X - Y ] OR [ X - Y] or any variations in between extremes with X-Y at fixed width. Mic placement is also something to consider in how wide you want your stereo sound or breadth to be if you don't want to deal with it in the panning scheme. |
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