If you are planning to record your vocals at home, using your own equipment then this article is for you!
Why would you want to record your vocals at your own home?
Well, basically it comes down to two possible reasons;
The first reason might be because recording in a music studio can be expensive, especially if you don’t have plan or if you are not well prepared.
The second reason might be because you feel more comfortable recording at you own space.
First things first, what do you need to record your vocals at home?
- Lap top/computer
- Recording Software/ Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)
- Sound Card
- Microphone
- Cables
- Headphones
- Speakers (You don’t need them but it’s a good addition to your equipment if you can afford it)
Here are some of the most common questions I get by people who want to start recording their vocals at home:
Question 1:
"How do I setup my microphone for recording correctly?"
To answer this question we need to clarify that there is a difference between setting up the hardware (physical setup) and setting up the software (digital setup) for recording.
Setting up the hardware (physical setup) involves connecting all of our hardware equipment to the correct input/output ports with all the proper cables.
Setting up software (digital setup) involves setting up the software (DAW – Digital Audio Workstation) correctly so the hardware connected to our computer actually generates a digital signal that will be recorded through the correct setup of our signal path
Since we got that out of the way I need to state the following
Setting up the cabling of your equipment correctly is vital in getting everything to work!Here is a step by step process in getting everything connected for your hardware setup:
Step 1: Connect your computer with a sound card via a USB .
Step 2: Connect your microphone to the sound card with an XLR cable.
**** IMPORTANT NOTE: If your microphone is a condenser microphone then you need to switch on the +48 Volts (also called phantom power) switch).****
Step 3: Connect your headphones to the sound card on the “phones out” port.
Step 4: If you have speakers, connect your speakers to the speaker output ports. Left speakers should be connected to left speaker output and right speaker to the right speaker output.
If you are using a small, compact sound card with a few inputs (like the FOCUSRITE SCARLETT 2i2) then setting up in your recording software (DAW) is going to be fairly simple and straight forward so there is nothing to worry about.
Here is a step by step process in getting everything setup for the software setup:
Step 1: Create your microphone channel.
To create your microphone input channel you need to create a new audio line input channel (Figure 2)
Step 2: Select the correct input for your microphone channel.
To select the correct input for your microphone channel you need to either select the input when you create the channel (as shown in figure 2) or you can select it afterwards by opening you mixer window and selecting the correct input in your microphone channel (as shown in figure 3 & 4)
Step 3: Select the correct input and output device for your DAW software.
You need to select the correct input and output device in the software you are using for recording.
Because you have connected a sound card to your computer and your microphone, headphones and speakers are all connected to your sound card you need to make sure that your sound card is the one that is selected as the input and output device.
By choosing the correct input and output device within the software you will create the correct audio signal path for audio to be reproduced.
*** You will find the settings for choosing Input and output device within Logic pro > Settings > Audio.. ***
Question 2:
"Why can't I get my microphone to work?"
Did you know that some microphones need electricity to pass through them to get them to work?
Some microphones, like the condenser microphones, need an extra +48V to work (also called PHANTOM POWER).
I know by know you must be thinking “How do I know I have a condenser microphone that needs extra +48 V?”
Well its simple really, all you have to think about is “Can I use this microphone live or only in the studio/home studio?”
Microphones that are meant to be used only in the studio are very delicate in their nature and are not meant to be used on live shows as they tend to be very precise and they pick up everything, even the most minute detail!
Yes they can pick up even the sound of your neighbour eating chips!
In figure 7 you can see an example of how a dynamic microphone most often looks like.
In figure 8 you can see an example of how a condenser microphone most often looks like.
Question 3:
"How Do I Activate Phantom Power? or How Do I Provide My Microphone With the Extra +48V To Get It To Work?"
Most of the sound cards available in the market make the button for enabling the PHANTOM POWER clearly visible.
It should be marked with a “48V” or “+48V” (Figure 9).
It should be located close to the gain section.
You can switch it on by pressing the +48V button.
When PHANTOM POWER is switched on, the +48V button should be lit red to indicated that (Figure 10 & 11)
** IMPORTANT NOTE: **
Different sound card or different mixers function in different ways!
Make sure to find out how the PHANTOM POWER on your sound card or mixer works exactly.
In some mixers or sound cards, when activating the PHANTOM POWER it is enabled across all available inputs.
Other mixers or sound cards give you the option of enabling the PHANTOM POWER on each channel separately.
MAKE SURE YOU KNOW HOW THE PHANTOM POWER WORKS ON YOUR SOUND CARD TO AVOID ANY DAMAGE!
Question 4:
"Why Does My Vocal sound distorted (or different from what I recorded)?"
First of all, let’s clarify what I mean by “distorted” or generally “different” vocal sound.
In case your recorded vocals do not sound clear or as clear as they should be then they kind of sound like they are coming out of a megaphone or generally they sound like a guitar with distortion (if you know what i mean)😉
That kind of sound is what distorted vocals sound like.
Another way to say that an audio recoding is getting distorted is to say that audio clipping occurs.
If you are still unsure on how distorted vocals sound like then go to youtube and make a quick search on “Clipping examples” to listen to how clipping sounds.
In figure 12 you can see what you can expect of a clipped audio signal to look like and in Figure 13 you can see what you can expect of a normal audio signal to look like.
In Figure 14, you can see what clipping does to an audio signal.
Essentially, the audio signal is being limited to a certain level so instead of capturing an accurate representation of the audio we are recording, we end up with a poor replica that is limited to a certain level and most probably it even sounds different than the original.
The effects of clipping/distortion are irreversible so you need to be extra careful when recording.
Figure 15 shows in more detail what happens to an original signal when it is clipped and how we end up with the distorted outcome.
In Figure 16, you can see what an example of how to identify if your recording is clipping.
BECAREFULL !
If your audio channel’s dBFS indication has a red colour with a positive number then your recording is clipping.
You definitely DO NOT want to have recordings that are clipping!
You need to make the appropriate adjustments to record on a proper recording level.
Question 5:
"What is a good/ proper recording level? or Why does my vocal sound so quiet? (Especially when compared to the beat I am using)"
By now, you must have already noticed that there is a huge difference between the vocals you are recording and the beat you are using. Don’t worry you are not doing anything wrong (as long as your recordings are not clipping). Your vocal recordings and the beat you are using simply can’t be compared because they are not the same type of thing.
Let me explain.
When you compare your vocals to the beat you are using then you must notice that no matter how loud you turn your recordings they still can not be compared to the beat. This is because they differ not just in terms of loudness but also in terms of fullness.
If you are not using the stems of a beat then most likely you are using the .MP3 or .WAV format of the beat which is a MASTERED version of the beat.
A mastered beat (or song) is a beat (or song) which has been through all the necessary phases and processes required to prepare the beat (or song) to be played through any kind of playback system and sound good.
Also, a mastered beat (or song) is a beat (or song) which has been prepared to be released on any music platform and sound good.
If the mastered version of the beat (or song) doesn’t sound good it should be concerning in regards to the quality of beat, as it could create problems down the road.
Comparing your raw, unprocessed, un-produced vocals to the processed, finished, prepared, mastered beat is like comparing a finished baked cake to one of the raw ingredients required to make the said cake... They can't be compared as they are NOT THE SAME THING!
So, in order to be able to record properly and most importantly, to be able to hear what you are recording you need to do a little process called GAIN STAGING.
Essentially, GAIN STAGING is the process of making sure the audio is set to an optimal level for recording. Optimal level in terms of drowning the noise floor, so the noise in the room will not interfere in the recording. Optimal level in terms of providing enough headroom to allow the vocals to avoid clipping. You should have enough headroom to go from a very low voice (whispering) to shouting in the same recording, without clipping.
Vocal recording tip:
SET THE GAIN SO THE SIGNAL IS BETWEEN -18 and-6 dB FSSetting the preamp gain on you audio interface such that the signal level lies between -18 and -6 DbFS ensures that your recording is neither too quiet nor too loud.
If your recording is too loud you may face the issue of distortion and if it is too quiet, you may face the issue of the room noise being exaggerated when you try to push the levels up later. So keeping your signal between -18 and -6 DbFS is a pretty solid approach to getting a great recording.
It all comes down to this:
BEFORE THINGS GO UP, THEY NEED TO GO DOWN!
Before you begin recording your vocals a common practise should be to reduce the level of the beat.
Bring up a gain plugin and put the gain at -18 dB or -12 dB. This should provide a good enough level to hear the beat but also a good enough level to listen to your vocals while recording with enough headroom to avoid distorting/clipping the audio signal when setting the gain during gain staging.
On a side note:
A mastered .MP3 or .WAV of a beat is not supposed to be used for creating a new song during the mixing and mastering phase especially.
This is because it is already mastered.
When preparing your new song, you will need to master you music but mastering an already mastered song is only going to cause issues to the final outcome.
That is why stems exist! They are the un-mastered instruments that make up the beat (or song) so that proper audio files can be used for the mixing and mastering process when creating your new song.
If you want to learn more about STEMS then click the button below to be redirected to my article which talks about STEMS
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