BLOG 8

Editing Process

Recording the vocals was successful and I believe that I will be able to edit them effectively to fit the track that I have created. I found that the process of recording my vocals went well and each step from setting up the equipment to correctly using the mixing desk was positive.

Microphone

It was important to consider what microphone to use for the recording of my vocals. In this case, I used a condenser rather than a dynamic mic. After learning to use a condenser microphone in the workshop lecture, I wanted to further look into this before recording my vocals in the studio. Condenser microphones are used mainly for vocal and in order for them to operate, they need phantom power (Pensado, 2018, p.7).

After recording the track, I wanted to begin Equalising the instruments using the EQ plugin on Logic Pro X so that I could tell how I’d like the vocals to sound with them. However, after editing each instrument one at a time, I faced some issues with the sound after listening to them together.

As you can hear, the instruments sound muddy now that they have been edited using the equaliser. This is because too many lower end frequencies are clashing which have caused a muddy sound and texture, this can be heard specifically in the piano. Grimshaw-Aagaard and Pedersen (2019, p.201) state that ‘Attenuation of the low end is often used to avoid mudiness’. My main aim after coming across this issue, is to get rid of the Equalisation that I have done and start over.

Instead of starting with editing the instruments first, this time I have edited the vocals by adjusting the volume in the EQ plug in. This is so that I am able to hear the vocals more clear in the mix with instruments. This will also help me to consider which instruments need to be adjusted against the vocal. Below is the version whereby I have brought the vocals out by editing the vocals to be at the level I would like them to be heard in the track.

Currently, the vocals do not fit with the the rest of the instrumentation when listening with headphones. This is because the vocals are being bused to a reverb plugin on their own and different to what the instruments are bused to. To sort this, I will need to send the vocals to the same bus as the instruments so that all instrumentation and vocals sound as if they are recorded in the same space. This will also allow the vocals to come out of the mix more and sound less boxy.

I have also deleted the ‘Erhu’ instrument from the intro of the track. This is because my vocals have replaced this instrument and I feel that my vocals are more well fitted to this part of the song.

What Next?

My next steps are to continue to edit both vocals and instruments in order to create a coherent sounding piece that sound professional in both headphones and speakers. I will also consider tidying up the song by focusing on plugins, the mix (volume of each instrument) as well as MIDI note durations to ensure that they are all tidy and fit well within in the track.

Reference List:

Pensado, D. (2018). Recording Vocals with Dave Pensado: Pensado’s Strive Education Series. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation.

Pederson, H. and Grimshaw-Aagaard, M. (2019). The Recording, Mixing, and Mastering Reference Handbook. New York: Oxford University Press.