What's your current Home Studio Setup? Let me know! Check out our FREE "Radio Ready Vocals" Quick Start Guide and Learn our Top Tips to learn Recording Vocals in Pro Tools 👉 bit.ly/3W9QStk
Once in a TV talk-show, Garth Brooks agreed to sing a few lines from one of his hits, and he said, "But first I have to stand up or I can't hit the notes." I'll never forget that.
Another tip for mic placement: If your vocalist has any classical singing, they're gonna fill the room with their sound, classical singing is rarely mic'd, so move the mic further away, unless you can tell them to not project and it works in a test recording (definitely test mic placement with classical vocalists a few times, these singers are typically loud).
I always use the mic placement hanging down as shown in your video, apart from helping minimise pops, it also makes the singer point their head up, which opens the throat for a better performance. Also, if you're really having problems with a vocalist popping on plosives, you can tape a thin pencil over the diaphragm which deflects the air.
Hey man, I just re started singing lessons and music theory and piano, my singing teacher told me that would be a good idea to start recording myself in order to grasp a better idea of my progress and mistakes and also is fun to do your own covers with voice and instruments by yourself, I know nothing at all of recording and I’m about to get my focus rite scarlet interface (thanks to your advise) and the other stuff you mentioned in your other video like the closed back headphones, the stand and the xrl cables, thanks is really helpful I really appreciate your content, and I’m happy I will be able to use my old super 55 shure mic that I got as a gift years ago for the first time ☺️ that mic is so sexy 🤣🤣🤣 I can’t wait to use it live someday
Hey Jordan, had a good laugh as well as learned quite a few things, good video bro I quite like how ya word things 😂 just your tone when you said "diminish your creativity" 😂
Def got a new sub here bro! Im a completely independent recording artist whos mainly hiphop based an on a super tight budget atm.. as of now im rockin a Rode NT1A mic on a sm6 shock mount with a SE vocal shield behind it. A Scarlett Solo interface as I normally just record vocals over premixed beats like you stated in the video.. cheaper memory foam to help with room acoustics an im literally about to upgrade from using freaken bandlab on an android to start using cubasis 3 for ios on an ipad.. its not much to most but it's getten the job done for now.. im completely self taught an never had a lesson on anything besides watching videos like this so I def appreciate the work people like you put in!!!
Random audio question.......I have a scarlet 2i2 (no midi inputs in back) and an old keyboard with midi inputs. How can I run MIDI with my keyboard through the interface? I could buy a MIDI to thunderbolt to connect to my laptop but then I can't hear the keyboard on my ERIS 4.5 monitors.
does the keyboard have USB? some keyboards have usb that can send midi i’ve got a shitty old yamaha keyboard that works like that. or i’d just sell the 2i2 and get a slight upgrade to one with midi inputs
@@J_Stockhausen To get a good, strong signal to work with, having the greatest possible dynamic range for that track. Always best to start with more than what you need.
@@spicet6136 That's where a lot of the work is done, to get an acceptable overall volume to be able to hear all the dynamics, balance everything, and then make decisions on which track gets more prominence in which sections of the piece. Then we move onto the real fun, which is in the mixing :D
PLZ Help, Is it possible to make a room too dead ? i put insulation up against the normal wall, then put soundproofing wood against that then put moving blankets on them, to make the room as dead as possible now, when I talk into the mic or sing, it sounds like it sucked the natural voice out and sounds boring thin and odd, I try to add anything with eq it gets worse sounding, I try to find eq frequency that are off and it seems never-ending take one out it messes something else up lol, should I just take all the stuff down??? what would you do?
very useful video, 1 question, I own a focusrite solo 4th gen...when I record my vocals from the closet (as u suggested) what about the AIR mode or DRIVE mode? do I have to enable them? or it's better to record natural with no effect from audio device?
We tend to recommend staying away from the AIR mode (or until you really understand why you’re using it). This will print an EQ curve that could potentially ruin your recording 😅 If you ever want to add eq to your take, we’d recommend doing it using an EQ plugin in your DAW!
Great stuff man! Just purchased your one hour course and about to get into it. I want to learn how to record my songs and opening pro tools and seeing the interface it's like a maze lol Glad I found your page man! Hope you release a mixing and mastering course too soon as well
Let's go! We're confident that the course is really going to speed up your learning as you're just getting started 🚀 We've got some really cool things we're announcing soon for Mixing & Mastering too!
@@MyAudioAcademy Awesome! That's some really good news, looking forward to it! The course is really breaking things down making it understandable too, I'm liking that. Thanks for putting this together. Can't wait to finish learning from it and get to recording
Step #1 check, already in the closet. Step #2 check, been had that. Step #3 check, though I didn't think it was that important. Step #4 I'm going to have to work on that, thanks. Step #5 not exactly sure what TH you're talking about there. Maybe something like starting with the beat, next record bass, then add guitar and so on?
I’m a new subscriber with a question so my cousin and I are going to record some gospel songs that she wrote, however we are creating the vocals to be sent to a studio for a professional musician to put music to the lyrics for the song. I have some experience in singing but for creating a demo all I know is Garage Band. We have a Mic, Mixer and a sound module We don’t have the Garage Band yet. Your feedback will be greatly appreciated
So I have a beat and then I am recording my sound, and then I need to mix my vocals so it "fits" with the beat. So it doesn't sound like a karaoke... But I dont' know which software program is best for mixing music and how I mix it together :) ...@@T.Y.P.A
Yeah I got the bedroom music studio going on LOL but I built some DIY soundtraps that work really good and I'm loving this video because it gives me more good tips and tricks
oh dang, already ordered the microphone as soon as you said $3000 dollar mic. They said no return policy even if the item hasn't shipped yet.......jk. Thanks for the video.
Why not to record with fast compressor on? As far as I know the biggest artists have always recording chain including compressor to prevent to high dynamic and clipping of course. You need to consider that in mixing stage that vocal have been compressed a bit already but anyway that's the best option. My go to is 1176 for that. Great tips tho 😊
Mentioning your hand size would be awesome, if you use "a fist" as measurement I might add that we all have different hand sizes I got pretty big hands with a glove size of 10 (European, don't know if there is international differences) but you might have smaller or bigger hands than me, soo please tell me 😅
WRONG... The closet is the worst place to record vocals. The low frequencies will still reflect. If you don't believe me then go do a clap test. You are going to get a boxy vocal mix. The Beatles recorded in Abbey Road Studios for a reason. It was a huge space to record in. And that ladies and gentlemen is the secret to recording vocals.
I record in multiple areas. Closet is terrible. I record in a car in a garage. Also on a balcony that is tall and oval shaped. Both are better than a closet imo.
@@bignies that’s not going to work. If you go heavy on the EQ with the lows, then your going to strip your vocals of low tone and warmth. It’s going to sound tinny and unnatural. To make up for the loss of low frequencies your going to raise the gain on the mix. Now it’s going to be annoying at high volume playback. Your going to spend so much time trying to tweak your mix your going to end up frustrated. One of the first things a mixing engineer would probably ask you if you handed him your recording is… dude where is the low frequencies - like, did you just completely butcher the low end frequencies? Shape your low end… kind of like a artist who is sculpting clay. Play with it, raise it, lower it… make sure their is warmth and volume. As far as getting rid of the boxy sound. It’s not going to happen - those mid level transient frequencies are what are causing that boxy sound. Your going to want to EQ all the way to where that boxy sound is coming from; you are going to butcher your mix.
I was told by my electronic composition teacher to avoid normalizing, and also told by a friend that made songs in Sony Vegas Pro to normalize before that, so I think it depends on what you're doing. I know that normalizing makes your high decibel stuff lower, and your low decibel stuff higher. My friend that did do normalizing did it to make quieter takes louder, but there should be a way to raise the level of your media item or take in your DAW. I think you just gotta look up videos on what normalizing is and see who's opinion is the most persuasive, my professor against normalizing I think said it risks raising the noise floor (the background noises not intended to be recorded), but I could be wrong. I think it also risks peaking the audio if i remember correctly.
Is there anything he said that was not said in countless other vids, often done by real pros with track record of actually recording and mixing hit songs ?
So this is what “dead space” is a semiconductor of crystal sound space created. Definitely something you would have to get used to maybe the draping over your head?
Turning down the instrumental does two things. 1. Gives you more head room down the road when you start to mix. 2.keeps you from cranking up your pre amp so that your vocal can compete with an obnoxiously loud instrumentals. Keep your vocal in the green when recording -18 to -12 is always a good bet.
My biggest problem right now when I’m recording vocals for my band is whenever an “S sound” comes, it completely overrides the instrumental track and almost basically mutes the track for the duration of the S sound. Sometimes even does this when there’s a hard “T sound”. I mess with the EQ, nothing, I completely re-record the vocals on a lower gain setting, does nothing. I’ve been producing music for a long time with shit mics, but for some reason, I’m always having with problem with the $400 mic I just bought. I know it picks up a lot more things which is great and it’s what I want, but the “T” and “S” are screwing my entire track that my band spent so much time on. Any tips?
so when you were in your booth, theres still that little echo of the voice traveling atleast some, should i be aiming for literally NO reverberation of just some? i find going in my closet ends up EXTREMELY boomy and muffled sounding
Jeez can this guy not speak five words without having to edit? Just speak naturally, you don't have to edit everything to 100% efficiency, it comes across as robotic and annoying.
What's your current Home Studio Setup? Let me know!
Check out our FREE "Radio Ready Vocals" Quick Start Guide and Learn our Top Tips to learn Recording Vocals in Pro Tools 👉 bit.ly/3W9QStk
😮
I built a 4 x 4 vocal booth and put in foam.
But I have 3 x 3 closet/storage space that I could use up...
What would you recommend?
Extra bonus, Standing up is better for vocal recording than sitting down.
Once in a TV talk-show, Garth Brooks agreed to sing a few lines from one of his hits, and he said, "But first I have to stand up or I can't hit the notes." I'll never forget that.
Another tip for mic placement: If your vocalist has any classical singing, they're gonna fill the room with their sound, classical singing is rarely mic'd, so move the mic further away, unless you can tell them to not project and it works in a test recording (definitely test mic placement with classical vocalists a few times, these singers are typically loud).
I always use the mic placement hanging down as shown in your video, apart from helping minimise pops, it also makes the singer point their head up, which opens the throat for a better performance. Also, if you're really having problems with a vocalist popping on plosives, you can tape a thin pencil over the diaphragm which deflects the air.
Thx Bro 🙌🏽
Hey man, I just re started singing lessons and music theory and piano, my singing teacher told me that would be a good idea to start recording myself in order to grasp a better idea of my progress and mistakes and also is fun to do your own covers with voice and instruments by yourself, I know nothing at all of recording and I’m about to get my focus rite scarlet interface (thanks to your advise) and the other stuff you mentioned in your other video like the closed back headphones, the stand and the xrl cables, thanks is really helpful I really appreciate your content, and I’m happy I will be able to use my old super 55 shure mic that I got as a gift years ago for the first time ☺️ that mic is so sexy 🤣🤣🤣 I can’t wait to use it live someday
The super 55 is a classic and beautiful looking microphone. I hope you got the sound you were looking for!
Hey that Focusrite Saffire 6 did the job, man! I still have mine!
Salute! There’s only a few of us left… 🫡🤣
Hey Jordan, had a good laugh as well as learned quite a few things, good video bro I quite like how ya word things 😂 just your tone when you said "diminish your creativity" 😂
Def got a new sub here bro! Im a completely independent recording artist whos mainly hiphop based an on a super tight budget atm.. as of now im rockin a Rode NT1A mic on a sm6 shock mount with a SE vocal shield behind it. A Scarlett Solo interface as I normally just record vocals over premixed beats like you stated in the video.. cheaper memory foam to help with room acoustics an im literally about to upgrade from using freaken bandlab on an android to start using cubasis 3 for ios on an ipad.. its not much to most but it's getten the job done for now.. im completely self taught an never had a lesson on anything besides watching videos like this so I def appreciate the work people like you put in!!!
Thank you so much Brodie, God bless you
What's that mic stand you're using?
It looks sturdy.
Probably a K&M stand. They are rugged and heavy.
Random audio question.......I have a scarlet 2i2 (no midi inputs in back) and an old keyboard with midi inputs. How can I run MIDI with my keyboard through the interface? I could buy a MIDI to thunderbolt to connect to my laptop but then I can't hear the keyboard on my ERIS 4.5 monitors.
does the keyboard have USB? some keyboards have usb that can send midi i’ve got a shitty old yamaha keyboard that works like that. or i’d just sell the 2i2 and get a slight upgrade to one with midi inputs
I love when there's specific help'lile the fist hack or the -7db indication. Really helps me getting over the frustration of blind trial and error ❤
I have a SSL 2+ and an AKG P220 but when i record vocals to Fl Studio i get a white noise. What can i do to reduce this noise?
i actually paused the video immediately i heard 3000$ microphone🤣 wanted to play that part again..thought my ears werent working
For initial recording of a track, it's helpful to set input gain as high as possible just before the point of distortion/cliping.
Why?
@@J_Stockhausen To get a good, strong signal to work with, having the greatest possible dynamic range for that track. Always best to start with more than what you need.
how about the output levels?@@ImYourOverlord
@@spicet6136 That's where a lot of the work is done, to get an acceptable overall volume to be able to hear all the dynamics, balance everything, and then make decisions on which track gets more prominence in which sections of the piece. Then we move onto the real fun, which is in the mixing :D
Bruh@@ImYourOverlord
THE BEST VIDEO EVER!!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH
PLZ Help, Is it possible to make a room too dead ? i put insulation up against the normal wall, then put soundproofing wood against that then put moving blankets on them, to make the room as dead as possible now, when I talk into the mic or sing, it sounds like it sucked the natural voice out and sounds boring thin and odd, I try to add anything with eq it gets worse sounding, I try to find eq frequency that are off and it seems never-ending take one out it messes something else up lol, should I just take all the stuff down??? what would you do?
This was exactly what I needed💯I already got all the equipment but I was recording in the bathroom! SUBSCRIBED!
lol 😂the closest does sound better
do you use sound treatment behind you or in front of you which one is priority
very useful video, 1 question, I own a focusrite solo 4th gen...when I record my vocals from the closet (as u suggested) what about the AIR mode or DRIVE mode? do I have to enable them? or it's better to record natural with no effect from audio device?
We tend to recommend staying away from the AIR mode (or until you really understand why you’re using it).
This will print an EQ curve that could potentially ruin your recording 😅
If you ever want to add eq to your take, we’d recommend doing it using an EQ plugin in your DAW!
great video bud. thanks.
great stuff! where's the 30pg pdf guide? I've been searching for it even after purchasing your program
Great stuff man! Just purchased your one hour course and about to get into it. I want to learn how to record my songs and opening pro tools and seeing the interface it's like a maze lol Glad I found your page man! Hope you release a mixing and mastering course too soon as well
Let's go! We're confident that the course is really going to speed up your learning as you're just getting started 🚀
We've got some really cool things we're announcing soon for Mixing & Mastering too!
@@MyAudioAcademy Awesome! That's some really good news, looking forward to it!
The course is really breaking things down making it understandable too, I'm liking that. Thanks for putting this together. Can't wait to finish learning from it and get to recording
So when I’m mastering do I cut my beat back up to 0 db
Yea
This video was very helpful did all the steps and I hear a way noticeable difference thank you 🙏
Let's goooo! I love to hear this 🔥😎
Step #1 check, already in the closet.
Step #2 check, been had that.
Step #3 check, though I didn't think it was that important.
Step #4 I'm going to have to work on that, thanks.
Step #5 not exactly sure what TH you're talking about there. Maybe something like starting with the beat, next record bass, then add guitar and so on?
I for sure needed this entire channel!
I’m a new subscriber with a question so my cousin and I are going to record some gospel songs that she wrote, however we are creating the vocals to be sent to a studio for a professional musician to put music to the lyrics for the song. I have some experience in singing but for creating a demo all I know is Garage Band. We have a Mic, Mixer and a sound module We don’t have the Garage Band yet. Your feedback will be greatly appreciated
Nice, thank you!
The PRO TIP made me realize you really know what you’re talmbout
I try... I try 😎😂
@@MyAudioAcademy I appreciate you, helping me learn Pro Tools... any way we can lock in with each other further.
Thanks 👍🔥❤️
Awesome video! Great job!
Bro... Great video!
My only problem is I'm using reaper lol. I'm tryting to learn that one..
Lemmy RIP. Had the best Mic placement ✌️🤘🏴⚖️🇦🇺
thank you
also, what camera are you using? this is so crisp! whew! lol
Can you make a video on how to mix ones vocals with the beat, so it sounds professional? :)
Did you figure it out?
no
@@T.Y.P.A
@@anastasiasommer explain what you mean?
@@anastasiasommer are you trying to fit the vocal in the mix, or tighten the sound quality?
So I have a beat and then I am recording my sound, and then I need to mix my vocals so it "fits" with the beat. So it doesn't sound like a karaoke... But I dont' know which software program is best for mixing music and how I mix it together :) ...@@T.Y.P.A
2:34 thanks for the flash-bank dude!
nice one
thank you!
1:08 what if you have a metal 🔫 safe, will that mess with anything?
WOW thanks so much
Deeee... de foreign man. Tank you veddy much.
Been trying to record a few songs I wrote. I swear I cant sing without playing the guitar at the same time. And if I try on my pc there is that delay.
I'm the complete opposite! Still a pain 😅
Yeah I got the bedroom music studio going on LOL but I built some DIY soundtraps that work really good and I'm loving this video because it gives me more good tips and tricks
Great video bro
Is the pro tools monthly subscription?
oh dang, already ordered the microphone as soon as you said $3000 dollar mic. They said no return policy even if the item hasn't shipped yet.......jk. Thanks for the video.
I really thank you for the help
Imma throw in some tips to my wife ... Best method type shit lmfao... Sup broski, keep showing us the light
Why not to record with fast compressor on? As far as I know the biggest artists have always recording chain including compressor to prevent to high dynamic and clipping of course. You need to consider that in mixing stage that vocal have been compressed a bit already but anyway that's the best option. My go to is 1176 for that. Great tips tho 😊
You covered all the proven methods in one succinct video. Well done!
I need to record with you....I have songs
Mentioning your hand size would be awesome, if you use "a fist" as measurement I might add that we all have different hand sizes I got pretty big hands with a glove size of 10 (European, don't know if there is international differences) but you might have smaller or bigger hands than me, soo please tell me 😅
Decent Accoustic, Cheap Mic & Waves Clarity Plugin.
Thanks for the invaluable info!
“You like how I magically revealed that thing?” 😘
WRONG... The closet is the worst place to record vocals. The low frequencies will still reflect. If you don't believe me then go do a clap test. You are going to get a boxy vocal mix. The Beatles recorded in Abbey Road Studios for a reason. It was a huge space to record in. And that ladies and gentlemen is the secret to recording vocals.
Yea the comb filtering in closest sounds terrible
I record in multiple areas. Closet is terrible. I record in a car in a garage. Also on a balcony that is tall and oval shaped. Both are better than a closet imo.
What if you take these lows out with an eq?
@@bignies that’s not going to work. If you go heavy on the EQ with the lows, then your going to strip your vocals of low tone and warmth. It’s going to sound tinny and unnatural. To make up for the loss of low frequencies your going to raise the gain on the mix. Now it’s going to be annoying at high volume playback. Your going to spend so much time trying to tweak your mix your going to end up frustrated. One of the first things a mixing engineer would probably ask you if you handed him your recording is… dude where is the low frequencies - like, did you just completely butcher the low end frequencies? Shape your low end… kind of like a artist who is sculpting clay. Play with it, raise it, lower it… make sure their is warmth and volume. As far as getting rid of the boxy sound. It’s not going to happen - those mid level transient frequencies are what are causing that boxy sound. Your going to want to EQ all the way to where that boxy sound is coming from; you are going to butcher your mix.
@@nb1223 ok dude thanks, so your recommendation is to record in a big closed space?
Thank You 🙌🙌Very Helpful Video🔥🔥🔥🔥.
Good bless
🔥
Always helpful 🙏
Harvey! We appreciate you always being one of the first checking out the new content.
Hope this helps you get those vocals sounding like 🧈!
Great information , thanks man I was recording my voice at -6 dB, I'll try that 5:52. Do you recommend to always normalize audio?
I was told by my electronic composition teacher to avoid normalizing, and also told by a friend that made songs in Sony Vegas Pro to normalize before that, so I think it depends on what you're doing. I know that normalizing makes your high decibel stuff lower, and your low decibel stuff higher. My friend that did do normalizing did it to make quieter takes louder, but there should be a way to raise the level of your media item or take in your DAW. I think you just gotta look up videos on what normalizing is and see who's opinion is the most persuasive, my professor against normalizing I think said it risks raising the noise floor (the background noises not intended to be recorded), but I could be wrong. I think it also risks peaking the audio if i remember correctly.
no just dont
Is there anything he said that was not said in countless other vids, often done by real pros with track record of actually recording and mixing hit songs ?
a lotta shit washed nowadays
Great info. Thanks
Put a blanket over you and your microphone to create dead space
So this is what “dead space” is a semiconductor of crystal sound space created. Definitely something you would have to get used to maybe the draping over your head?
Comforter 😂 keep them vocals hot n spicey😂
I’m your one hundred and one like 😊
Thanks man this really helped omg. Hey wondering does this trick with lowering the instrumental work with vocal muddiness?
Turning down the instrumental does two things.
1. Gives you more head room down the road when you start to mix.
2.keeps you from cranking up your pre amp so that your vocal can compete with an obnoxiously loud instrumentals.
Keep your vocal in the green when recording -18 to -12 is always a good bet.
@@bobbyblueflame thank you!!!!
What will you say is the best interface gain for a Shure SM7B? Being that it's sound is naturally low?
A sm7b requires alot of power since its a dynamic mic if your interface cant provide enough your gonna need a cloud lifter to boost it even more
My biggest problem right now when I’m recording vocals for my band is whenever an “S sound” comes, it completely overrides the instrumental track and almost basically mutes the track for the duration of the S sound. Sometimes even does this when there’s a hard “T sound”. I mess with the EQ, nothing, I completely re-record the vocals on a lower gain setting, does nothing. I’ve been producing music for a long time with shit mics, but for some reason, I’m always having with problem with the $400 mic I just bought. I know it picks up a lot more things which is great and it’s what I want, but the “T” and “S” are screwing my entire track that my band spent so much time on. Any tips?
Use a deesser maybe
De-esser was made just for that
@@Purp020 dude thank you
@@Purp020 any specific one you recommend??
@@Northernhellhounds waves deesser or fabfilter's one are working very well
so when you were in your booth, theres still that little echo of the voice traveling atleast some, should i be aiming for literally NO reverberation of just some? i find going in my closet ends up EXTREMELY boomy and muffled sounding
What I'm saying is just starting out with just my phone on
I wish I could get a Neuman for $3K
I thought audio university finally grew a fucking beard
I swear he said "gay" knob.
Yes, I know he said gain.
Jeez can this guy not speak five words without having to edit? Just speak naturally, you don't have to edit everything to 100% efficiency, it comes across as robotic and annoying.
my mom told me the same thing.
You should listen to her!@@MyAudioAcademy
Tips are for real beginners like child 😂
DO NOT RECORD IN YOUR CLOSET!!! That's the worst advice ever, it'll kill your vocals.
Bad Tips
Love you too 😘
So let me get this straight…. you’re telling people to get back in the closet?
Another bs video for beginners
my bad.