I need simple tips for recording and editing my voice

[AA63]

Will something like this generate the same "lockdown" effect?

View attachment 504706

Better, yes - but my comment still stands - save your money and do some tests first - don't solve problems before you have problems to solve.

 

[Titurel]

If your recording than your a recording "engineer". Dont know how your gonna get around that.
The hardest and most important things to do properly are proper distance from the mic and compression.
A mic thats too close adds a load of bass and increases level at the same time (a compressor wont change the bass boost). So any movement will change the sound. The real pros know how to "work the mic". When they belt out a line (some singers add 20db to there level) they will pull away from the mic (or move the mic away). You can see this in live performances. This sounds much better than hitting the compressor with that boost or even overloading the mic.
Compression can be tricky. Especially if the vocal is very dynamic. With 4 different parameters (threshold,ratio,attack/release times) there are dozens of combinations. Too little compression and the vocal can go from uninteligible to overwhelming. Too much and the vocal looses impact and character and can even distort. Most novices have trouble hearing it in the mix, which is where it should be dialed in.
With todays digital recorders you dont have to compress till after recording (back in the tape days it was done during recording to decrease tape noise and if not done properly could ruin a take, and a career) so you can adjust compression till the cows come home.
Good luck and have fun!

Put another way. The mic and compressor (and I would include the gob-stopper and its placement) comprise an instrument you must learn to play. Learn how to play that instrument sensibly and you'll almost never have to toss away a vocal track for purely technical reasons.

As for compressors and compressor settings, I would recommend getting either an opto-compressor or a plugin that emulates a traditional opto-compressor. The attack and release performance of this style of compressor has been such an important part of popular music sound (since the 50s) that they are almost de rigueur for pop vocal tracks.

 

[Cbdb2]

Put another way. The mic and compressor (and I would include the gob-stopper and its placement) comprise an instrument you must learn to play. Learn how to play that instrument sensibly and you'll almost never have to toss away a vocal track for purely technical reasons.

As for compressors and compressor settings, I would recommend getting either an opto-compressor or a plugin that emulates a traditional opto-compressor. The attack and release performance of this style of compressor has been such an important part of popular music sound (since the 50s) that they are almost de rigueur for pop vocal tracks.

Optos in the 50s? Not till the 60s, tubes before that. There are many famous classic compressors, I would bet the SSL quad buss has been used on more records than anything else. The optos are great but they have limited attack/decay times which limits there use, if your only using it on vocals sure. If your only going to get one compressor I would get something with more range.

 

[AA63]

Optos in the 50s? Not till the 60s, tubes before that. There are many famous classic compressors, I would bet the SSL quad buss has been used on more records than anything else. The optos are great but they have limited attack/decay times which limits there use, if your only using it on vocals sure. If your only going to get one compressor I would get something with more range.

S'ok guys - there are free compression plug-ins that are world class --> remember the audience --> this thread was started from a newbie doing this as a hobby not someone looking to invest in vintage Fairchilds.

We won't have to have the eternal debates over the virtues of tubes, opto's or my favourite transformer windings for at least a year - LOL.

 

[Titurel]

Optos in the 50s? Not till the 60s, tubes before that. There are many famous classic compressors, I would bet the SSL quad buss has been used on more records than anything else. The optos are great but they have limited attack/decay times which limits there use, if your only using it on vocals sure. If your only going to get one compressor I would get something with more range.

I debated with myself about the date of for opto-compressors (mid-60s would have been better), but I stand by my original statement regarding their use in vocal tracking in the pop era. It is exactly their limited attack and decay times that make them well suited to the task. I'm happy to concede that other sorts of compressor are better suited for some tasks, especially in multichannel applications, but the OP question concerned vocal capture.

 

[ruidito]

Put another way. The mic and compressor (and I would include the gob-stopper and its placement) comprise an instrument you must learn to play. Learn how to play that instrument sensibly and you'll almost never have to toss away a vocal track for purely technical reasons.

As for compressors and compressor settings, I would recommend getting either an opto-compressor or a plugin that emulates a traditional opto-compressor. The attack and release performance of this style of compressor has been such an important part of popular music sound (since the 50s) that they are almost de rigueur for pop vocal tracks.

Thanks.
When we talk about compressor, are we talking about a software or hardware? I'd we are talking about hardware, give me some brand and model or a image so I can see it and understand please.

 

[ruidito]

S'ok guys - there are free compression plug-ins that are world class --> remember the audience --> this thread was started from a newbie doing this as a hobby not someone looking to invest in vintage Fairchilds.

We won't have to have the eternal debates over the virtues of tubes, opto's or my favourite transformer windings for at least a year - LOL.

The hardest and most important things to do properly are proper distance from the mic and compression.

Is the compression you mentioned hardware, software, or a function of the editing software?

 

[AA63]

Thanks.
When we talk about compressor, are we talking about a software or hardware? I'd we are talking about hardware, give me some brand and model or a image so I can see it and understand please.

He's talking about hardware - you will be using software for now. Good hardware compressors (like all recording gear) are quite expensive.

What he is talking about specifically is an optical (Opto) compressor (as opposed to a FET or VCA compressor) - each of these have different approaches to how the electronics compress the signal - the behaviours (how they compress) and ultimately sound are all different.

You have the same choices in software. They do the exact same job - and at this point in time - are very, very good at it. Some of the software plugins are indistinguishable from the hardware that they were modelled on.

The main things you should learn about to operate a compressor are quite straightforward and common in each of the types of compressors -> threshold, attack, ratio, release.

Threshold - the level (volume) at which it grabs the signal to compress
Attack - the "ramp up" time for it to grab the signal
Ratio - the ratio at which it compresses the signal
Release - the "let go of it" or stop compressing time.

The big advantage you have in software is that there are presets to start from that are categorized by instrument, or the effect it will give, or the type of compression you want - that twiddle the knobs for you so you can quickly flip through then to get an idea of how it will sound.

The "learning" part is to know what to listen to (or listen for) so that your brain understands what they are doing, and of course how that will affect the overall recording.

And again like any other type of applications / skills, there are deeper levels of techniques and knowledge - but for you, and what you want to do right now, there is no sense (unless of course you want to) in diving any deeper.

Keep the big picture in mind at this point in time - it is more important to have fun making your music. A good song is a good song and the tech these days make it very easy to get more than satisfactory results quite quickly. The nuances between types of compression do not fall into the category of first things to obsess over - LOL.

 

[ruidito]

Better, yes - but my comment still stands - save your money and do some tests first - don't solve problems before you have problems to solve.

Thank you.

 

[ruidito]

He's talking about hardware - you will be using software for now. Good hardware compressors (like all recording gear) are quite expensive.

What he is talking about specifically is an optical (Opto) compressor (as opposed to a FET or VCA compressor) - each of these have different approaches to how the electronics compress the signal - the behaviours (how they compress) and ultimately sound are all different.

You have the same choices in software. They do the exact same job - and at this point in time - are very, very good at it. Some of the software plugins are indistinguishable from the hardware that they were modelled on.

The main things you should learn about to operate a compressor are quite straightforward and common in each of the types of compressors -> threshold, attack, ratio, release.

Threshold - the level (volume) at which it grabs the signal to compress
Attack - the "ramp up" time for it to grab the signal
Ratio - the ratio at which it compresses the signal
Release - the "let go of it" or stop compressing time.

The "learning" part is to know what to listen to (or listen for) so that your brain understands what they are doing, and of course how that will affect the overall recording.

The big advantage you have in software is that there are presets to start from that are categorized by instrument, or the effect it will give, or the type of compression you want - that twiddle the knobs for you.

And again like any other type of applications / skills, there are deeper levels of techniques and knowledge - but for you and what you want to do right now, there is no sense (unless of course you want to) in diving any deeper.

Keep the big picture in mind at this point in time - it is more important to have fun making your music. A good song is a good song and the tech these days make it very easy to get more than satisfactory results quite easily.

Impeccable, thank you very much.

 

[Titurel]

He's talking about hardware - you will be using software for now. Good hardware compressors (like all recording gear) are quite expensive.

Actually, I mentioned both sorts,, exactly for the reason you mention. Good hardware compressors are expensive, certainly too expensive for most hobbyists.

The opto I used, when I was recording solo voice, is part of a rare channel strip* I bought around 20 years ago. The reason I mentioned optos was because their character and operation, whether implemented in hardware or software, is well suited to vocal tracking and because they are easy to use when recording one's own voice. That's my experience. LMMV.

* from Forssell Technologies, which cost c. $2K back then. It's a sweet piece of gear.

 

[Cbdb2]

I debated with myself about the date of for opto-compressors (mid-60s would have been better), but I stand by my original statement regarding their use in vocal tracking in the pop era. It is exactly their limited attack and decay times that make them well suited to the task. I'm happy to concede that other sorts of compressor are better suited for some tasks, especially in multichannel applications, but the OP question concerned vocal capture.

Well you can adjust a lot of compressors to have the same attack/release times as an opto.

 

[Cbdb2]

Is the compression you mentioned hardware, software, or a function of the editing software?

You can get most classic compressors as plug ins for editing software (cheap) and many editing software programs come with compressors. If you still need to buy a mic ADC many of them come with editing software more comprehensive than the free stuff, but you might not need that. For example the Motu M2 comes with Performer lite.

 

[ruidito]

You can get most classic compressors as plug ins for editing software (cheap) and many editing software programs come with compressors. If you still need to buy a mic ADC many of them come with editing software more comprehensive than the free stuff, but you might not need that. For example the Motu M2 comes with Performer lite.

Thanks a lot.