help 4 audio

[javedatique]

Dear Mr. Craig Im Javed and stay at a small town in

India. I got ur name from website. I recently bought a

firepod, and using condenser mic of CAD, but im not

able 2 make my vocal sound sweet what should i do 2

make it thicker and sweeter. Also there r no courses

available here on sound recording and music creation.

Can i become a good recordist or music dir on my own?

Can music b entirely created in comp? Without any need

4 hardware? I do not have many things in my small

studio. No external vocal processing rigs etc but have

firepod a computer my deck and its speakers. Some mics

its headphone amps. I want that i use plug ins and

create my music on computer. Is it possible doin so?

And give good result. Please help me Ill b thankful 2 u.

[philbo]

I'm not Craig, but I'll try to be helpful.

 

For a CAD condenser mic, you need a preamp with phantom power or the mic won't operate.

 

The preamp signal is then fed into your computer audio interface.

[UstadKhanAli]

I'm not Craig either. But welcome to the forum. BTW, I've traveled to India four times and love your country.

 

You can learn to be good. If you can buy some books, that will really help. Hanging out here on the forum can also help. And yes, you can create great sounding music on a computer, but obviously, certain things help - like knowledge, experience, a good sound source in the first place...things like that are all very helpful. Obviously, good equipment helps, too, but the above helps even more.

[Anderton]

Well I am Craig, and welcome to the forum!

 

 

firepod, and using condenser mic of CAD, but im not

able 2 make my vocal sound sweet what should i do 2

make it thicker and sweeter.>>

 

Usually when people want something "thick," EQ is the solution - possibly a slight boost in the lower midrange, to give more low end. Rolling off a big of the highs might help too, if the mic sounds too "crisp."

 

You didn't mention the application, but narration and singing are two different things. For singing, it is VERY common to record a vocal, then record the vocal (as identically as possible) on a different track. Mix the second vocal behind the first vocal to "reinforce" it. This can really smooth out the sound.

 

Also, experiment with mic placement. Singing or speaking closer to the mic gives a more intimate sound.

 

The key to all this is experimentation. Different voices require different techniques, just like different clothes look better on some people than on others.

[Anderton]

 

Can music b entirely created in comp? >>

 

Well there will always be people debating that but yes, it is entirely possible to record complete compositions within the computer. It certainly cuts down on the cost to be able to use software instead of hardware, and some software synthesizers do things that no hardware synthesizer could do.

 

I don't like mixing without real controls, but a lot of people mix successfully using only computer automation.

 

Is this type of advice helpful?

[UstadKhanAli]

In my opinion, whether you are putting microphones in front of instruments to record things or whether you are using soft-synths, it is quite possible to get a good sound from a computer (hopefully this is what you are asking).

 

Anyone who feels that the former is impossible can come over and hear for themselves.

 

As far as big thick vocals are concerned, there are some methods to doing this. One would be to find a singer with a big voice. Then, capturing this with a big-sounding microphone through a nice mic preamp helps. Then, if you still feel that's not large enough, doubling, EQing, using effects such as harmonizers and tripling the vocals (the original vocal, one panned over to the left that is two cents sharp, the other panned over to the right that is two cents flat), and other techniques can make the vocal sound even fatter.

 

But I guarantee if you get a vocalist with a huge voice, and simply track it through a very nice mic into a very nice mic preamp, you will already be singing its praises and saying how fat sounding and huge the vocalist's sound is.