review my singing Looking for advice on how to use falsetto better

[Hunter Button]

Hey, my other thread was instantly unviewable for whatever reason (I got a bunch of lines of code thrown at me when I posted it so I think it's a bug) so hopefully that doesn't happen to this thread as well but I am trying on a new browser :). I'd just like some tips on singing this song in general but especially falsetto. The song is "Somewhere Only We Know", by Keane. I felt as though I fell a bit flat on some parts but a little less than a half step. Hard for me to tell (my ears are pretty damaged unfortunately!)

If anyone is familiar with how to master songs in Audacity I'd love some advice on that too as I attempted to master this and while I think it mostly worked, there seem to be some audio artifacts I can't get rid of at seemingly random points in the song. Thanks!

 

[Hunter Button]

I think your falsetto sounds good so I'll let other people talk about that =).

As for the mastering it sounds like its an easy fix! You have to turn the volume down on the instrumental track; it's too loud and it's being distorted. Keep your tracks all below 0 db; most programs the volume bar will turn red if it's being "clipped" (distorted.) 

I would also recommend getting a real mixing program like Reaper which is only like $60. It's well worth the investment!

Wow, I've watched probably fifteen videos on mastering in Audacity and somehow haven't run into one that gives that exact information (at least in a way that I understood). I'll also look into Reaper for sure. Thanks for the advice!

[ronws]

And I agree with Tristan and I have a thread on Audacity and on Reaper in the home recording section of forum where you find discussions of gear, mics, etc. What how Ryan Strain covers "Distance" by Soilwork.

[ronws]

Also, when you set level for your mic going into the USB interface, what the level on the track in the software, not the indicator in the interface. aim for between -18 to -12 dBs for vocals. Digital is different than tape, there is no need to saturate or try to record at max and take a chance on clipping.

[Hunter Button]

Thanks, I'll check those videos out once I get home! Along with some of those threads. Thanks for the info, I'm currently recording at around -3dBs so I should definitely lower my mic input. I was under the impression that I should sing very close to my mic, at least that has been my experience using stage mics, but I am using a Shure KSM9. It seems much more full sounding when I'm close to it but it's a very fine line between "full" and "clipping".

[ronws]

Yeah, that's definitely too hot. Digital is a pure format. You do not need to record hot to overcome tape hiss, like in the days of recording to tape.

Turn down the mic input until the meter in the DAW, not the interface, is reading between -18 dB and -12 dB. It is way easier to bring up a quiet track than to "fix" a poppy, crackly, bleeding monstrosity. Making a clean recording is 98 percent of any recording result. It really is the single most important thing you do and the whole list of mixing and whatever is frosting on the cake, as it were.

[ronws]

So, Tristan, were you going to re-create my Reaper thread here? 

[Robert Lunte]

If this becomes about Reaper and home recording, move the topic appropriately to the right place Ron.

[ronws]

I also meant to say that maybe Tristan could do it better than I was. And yes, it could move to there and I think the original poster is probably taking the advice I gave earlier to check out my threads there.

So, Tristan, if you want to do a Reaper thread, which I think would be cool, you need to go to the home recording section and start one there. And then, if you like, come back to this one and consolidate down to a link to a thread you would refer for more info.