[Help: need tips in recording voice!]

BTW Zircon...what do you mean by "putting a limiter on everything" in your initial post?

Right now I'm playing around to see the best way to get some good results. The only thing which confuses me is the Dynamic Range Compressor. It gives me three things to play with, threshold, ratio, and limit (are you referring to this, zircon?". I don't know what to do exactly but the Wavepad program gives me two "default" options to use with this functionality:

1) General voice level: -20db threshold, 4:1 ratio, and 0db limit.

2) TV radio advertisement: 0db threshold, 2:1 ratio, and 10 db limit.

I don't know...but I feel that every time that I play around with something it makes it sounds "higher than usual" or "worse". My initial recording didn't seem too low or too high to me.

Wavepad tells me that sometimes, Automatic Gain Control is better than Normalizing. Wonder if I should use both, or one of them is more than enough.

@souliarc

Wavepad doesn't have a DeEsser. Where can I find that?

[Help: need tips in recording voice!]

Um... guys, there's more to it than Mic --> computer.

Well, yeah, it SHOULD be more than that. But I was pointing out that his current signal path appears to BE that, and nothing else

So...is that bad? Is it significantly better if I get a preamp and whatnot? How much does a preamp cost?

Taucer...I plug in the Mic directly into the microphone opening of my PC...I got this nifty adaptor which I plug into my mic so it can fit through my PC's mic opening.

BTW...how do I know the type and specifics of my PC's soundcard? All I get when I look in My Computer's device manager is "SoundMAX intergrated Digital Audio v. 5.12.1.5240" among other things like codes and Legacy Audio and Video devices...all that under "Sound".

I'm going to try recording something (anything) and post it here for quality feedback.

Thanks again, guys. You've been a big help.

[Help: need tips in recording voice!]

Plugging your mic into your PC is your recording chain. The audio goes into your mic, runs through the cable, is converted from analog -> digital through your sound card, and stored. Thus, a recording chain is merely what your sound has to travel through.

As you can imagine, recording chains can vary greatly. Mine personally was (my hard drive gave out) MXL 990/991 -> UB802 mixer -> Echo MiaMIDI sound card.

Oh, ok. Got it. I understood it in a different way.

So how I know my recording chain?

[Help: need tips in recording voice!]

Wow...thanks to everyone who replied. Those are some pretty good tips.

One major thing I wasn't aware about is the importance of the equipment between my PC and the Mic...or recording chain as you guys put it. Yes, I sound like a n00b because I don't have a recording chain. All I do is plug in the Mic into the PC...

So...what is a recording chain exactly? What's the most efficient yet unexpensive one?

Thanks again, guys.

[Help: need tips in recording voice!]

I'm thinking of doing a cappella remix, but I seriously need tips on making my recordings and voice samples sound perfect.

First off, I have a SHURE SM57 Mic. Most remixers recommened this mic for being really good.

Second of all, the program. I'm using a freeware called "WavePad" which specializes on voice recording. You can download it from here:

http://www.download.com/WavePad/3000-2170_4-10526522.html

If there's a better freeware program, please let me know. I find this one to be pretty good.

Now...the things I need to do to make recording perfect. Now when I first record my voice via Wavepad and Mic, it doesn't come out good at all. I need to do a "high-pass filter" to make it sound audible. Is this normal? If so, then what's the recommended high-pass filter I need to do? The program tells me that "Radio/Telephone" quality audio is 4000 Hz. Should I do that one or is it a bit too high?

Regarding Distortion, I'm having a problem eliminating it. What should I do? I know that lowering the recording volume helps, but should I do that from Wavepad directly or use the stuff featured in my XP like the "Volume Control" and "SoundMAX control panel"?

Of course, I'll have multilayering in my cappella remix. Should I make the singing voice the highest in volume....then the back-up humming and voices lower by how much? Is 25% good? Should I make all the backup layers the same volume or different?

I also know that normalizing should be the last thing I do after I finish recording everything, right?

Any other additional tips? Wavepad has some weird effects I know nothing about like "Automatic Gain Control", "Noise Reduction", and "Dynamic Range Compressors". Are those helpful in any way?

Thanks in advance!

[Chrono Trigger: Guardia Forest (Collab w/Doomsday)]

I like the sound of this even though I didn't hear the original before. You kept the arrangement mostly fresh, yet there's one repetitive bit right before the middle of the track. High-quality trance stuff there. I especially like the bit with the Japanese flute playing in the background.

[Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream - History]

Really cool! Finally, a FFVII remix project. Even though FFVII doesn't have the best OST in the series, there are still some nice highlights here and there. I simply can't wait to hear remixes of JENOVA and One-Winged Angel. The people handling these two particular tracks have a lot to live up to since Square-Enix themselves remixed and modified both tracks a few times, and their takes are excellent I might add...especially Advent Children's One-Winged Angel remix.

I'm new in the remixing scene and the only thing I can offer is my singing voice. I don't know if it lives up to OCR standards, but you be the judge (check my debut thread). So if you guys need a vocalist in crunch time and such, I would be more than happy to offer some help.

Good luck!