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Tuesday, 27 August 2013

4 Basic Audio Tweaks To Improve Home Studio Vocal Recordings

By Frank Lubsey


You can buy awesome beats and instrumentals for your next hip hop track but get a miss hit if the vocals are not perfect for the beats. Vocal recordings are just as important as the beats and instrumentals used in hip hop. There's no perfect reason to buy cool beats and instrumentals only to mix them with horrible vocals. Creating great vocals with your simple home studio equipment might be difficult but not impossible. Here are 4 simple changes in home studio vocal recording that can enable you create that perfect track.

Tweak #1. Use Noise Gates. This is actually a no brainer. One fact that you need to accept is that there will always be noise and you can't prevent it no matter what you do. So, you have to learn to deal with it. Luckily, modern recording software has tools that will help you deal with noise. The first tool that you should use is the noise gate. This is available in most programs including Audacity, an open source recording software. With noise gating, the noise during silent intervals, when no voice can be heard, will be eliminated. But when the voice speaks, the noise is still there. This tool is especially useful when you are only dealing with fan noise or a little hiss. But be careful in using this tool because the record might sound unnatural when the gates open or close. If the noise in the ambiance is quite loud, the intervals might seem to be too quiet and too unnatural.

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.

Use compression. This is a tool that makes the track louder or quieter without necessarily having to use the volume switch. Like the noise reduction tool, use the compression feature sparingly as excessive use can ruin the whole track. Simply use this tool to select the maximum loudness of the track. After this, adjust volume using the volume controls for sounds that are over the selected volume. This tool regulates track loudness and simultaneously gives over the vocal recording volume. The visual effect created by this tool can be seen as waves. Your goal should be to ensure that the voice recording takes up most part without touching the edges. If the waves touch the sides, the loudness is too high resulting in distortion.

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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