Tuesday, September 17, 2013

4 Simple Changes That Will Enable You Improve Home Studio Vocal Recording

By Frank Lubsey


Sure you can buy beats with superb quality for your hip hop mix but if the vocal recording is bad, your final mix will be a disaster. This is one of the reasons why we need to emphasize the need for great vocal recordings especially in hip hop. Why should you go into a lot of trouble to buy beats that are cool when the quality of the vocals ruins the entire mix? Producing records with flawless quality using cheap equipment in your studio may not be easy but it is possible. To help you out in creating the perfect mix, here are some tips.

Make use of noise gates. When recording tracks in your home studio, you need to keep in mind the fact that background noise will always be present no matter what measures you take to reduce it. You will therefore have to find ways to deal with this noise during recording. Today, you can use software to eliminate background noise from the recording. Noise gates are example programs that help you eliminate this noise. Majority of the recording programs such as the open source software, Audacity come with this tool. Noise gates are used to eliminate background noises during silent periods. However, such noises are still present when the noise gate is switched off and vocal recording continues. This tool is great for elimination of small background noises such as an overhead fan. You should be careful when using noise gates as they can result in the production of unnatural sounding recordings. If the background noise is very loud, intervals might sound too quiet after recording is complete.

Use noise reduction. Noise reduction tools are also included in most music recording software. However, use this tool carefully and only in instances when needed. This tool eliminates all noise and the track actually sounds like it's recorded under water. Before using this tool, ensure to indicate what noise is and what is not. It works best for low volume noise. High volume noise elimination with this tool can result in the distortion of the track.

Tweak #3. Learn the wonders of Compression. This tool can make whispers and yells clearly without the need to constantly adjust the volume. But, it is important to exercise diligence with this tool because with too much compression, you can ruin your mix. This tool will allow you to choose the maximum loudness and adjust the volume of parts that are over the identified volume. This gives over the volume of the voice recording while regulating the loudness of the track. When using this feature in a recording tool, you will see the track as wave forms and your goal is to make sure that the voice occupies the maximum portion of the lane without touching the sides. When the waves touch the sides, it distorts and that can ruin the mix.

Understand normalization. The normalization feature can be used to increase sound to its highest point without any distortion. This feature is useful in instances where the track volume is low and, volume faders or gain can't be effectively used to increase track volume. In such instances, track recovery is the only option to get the right volume. This tool is also useful when you want to set the peak level of your recording.

However, be warned that the need for these tools would depend on your mix.You should use them with care to ensure that your vocal tracks will blend well with your instrumental whether you decided to buy beats from professional producers or create them in your home studio.




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