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In this course, I outline a step-by-step approach to recording vocals at home and how to get great sounding results.
I cover the entire process, from start to finish, so that even if you know little to nothing about recording, after completing this course, you’ll be able to record professional sounding vocals tracks at home (in your bedroom, your basement, wherever).
In this course, I outline a step-by-step approach to recording vocals at home and how to get great sounding results.
I cover the entire process, from start to finish, so that even if you know little to nothing about recording, after completing this course, you’ll be able to record professional sounding vocals tracks at home (in your bedroom, your basement, wherever).
I’ll cover everything from what gear you need (and even list budget recommendations that still yield great results), cover recording techniques, talk about how to deal with too much reverb in your recordings, and show you how to actually record on your computer using Studio One (which is, in my opinion, one of the best and easiest to use recording programs).
On top of that, if there was something I missed, something you wish I went into further detail, or something that you wish I had covered but didn’t, you’ll be able to get in touch with me one-on-one to ask me any questions you have and get help with any trouble you might be having. You’ll even be able to suggest some content for future updates to the course (which you’ll have access to forever after purchasing the course one time).
So with all that said, let’s take a deeper look at everything I’ll be covering…
What Gear You Need
First up, I’ll cover exactly what gear you need in order to record quality vocal tracks at home. And no, it won’t be thousand of dollars in equipment, I suggest budget-minded gear that you can use to get great results.
In this module, I cover:
How To Position Your Microphone & Yourself When Recording
Next up, I cover how to position your microphone to capture a natural representation of your voice and allow you to remain in a comfortable position during recording. I also cover where to position yourself when recording and the ideal distance to stand away from the microphone.
Where To Record & How To Deal With Poor Room Acoustics
From there, I’ll talk about where to record in your room to avoid audio reflections from being captured in your recording and how to deal with poor room acoustics (to get a dry vocal) using cost-effective, DIY methods.
How To Record Your Vocals On Your Computer Using Studio One
Moving on, I’ll show you how to record your vocals to your computer using a DAW, or in other words, a recording program.
Specifically, I’ll show you how to do this in Studio One (which has free and paid versions). I’ll cover:
In addition to showing you how to record your vocals in Studio One, I’ll also show you how to comp your vocals.
Comping is the process of slicing and editing multiple recording takes to create one perfect take. I’ll show you how you can record your vocals multiple times and pick apart the best performance from each section to create a perfect vocal recording.
How To Setup Your Audio Interface
If you need any help setting up your audio interface, I’ll even show you how to set it up on your computer and in Studio One.
How To Control Studio One Remotely
Lastly, I’ll cover how you can use Studio One remotely so you don’t need to worry about running to your microphone when you hit record.
If you need to purchase some gear and are on a budget, I’d take a look at my guide on cheap home recording studio gear for recommendations.
I’ve also listed a few items below for all of the different pieces of gear you may need:
Really anything in Behringer’s UMC line will work out great if you need a relatively inexpensive interface. In contrast to some of the cheap, crappy products Behringer has put out in the past, the UMC line of interfaces are actually pretty great. They sound good, they’re built well, and they’re some of the most affordable interfaces on the market.
I’ve personally used the Behringer UMC404HD (which is a 4-input interface) and I currently used the Behringer UMC1820 interface (which is an 8-input interface). Both have worked out very well for me, and if you need an interface, I’d recommend checking them out.
I wrote up an in-depth review on the Behringer UMC1820 that you can also check out here.
The headphones that I use are the CAD MH310 closed-back headphones.
Closed-back headphones do not allow sound to escape while open-back headphones do. This makes closed-back headphones a better option for recording as they won't allow sound to leak into the microphone.
I’ve had the CAD MH310 headphones for quite some time now (maybe 4 or 5 years) and they still work just as well as they did when I first bought. The leather on the earphones has begun to crack, though. They have a flat but full sound and have the best sound compared to similar models I’ve tested like the CAD MH300 and Presonus HD7 headphones.
I wouldn’t fret too much over cables. You can get a pretty good 20 ft. XLR cable on Amazon for $7 to $8 dollars (like this one) that will suit most home recording needs. If you want a cable that’s built more solid so you can throw it around a bit more, this one on Amazon for $18 is a good choice.
Stay away from cheap stands if you can. They don’t hold up. I’ve gone through many Musician’s Gear microphone stands (or similar cheap stands) where the knob breaks, the stand turns when it shouldn’t, or simply the stand won’t tighten down.
While the lower price may seem attractive, especially when there are deals like 2 for $30, cheap stands don’t tend to stand up to a lot of tear down and set up. It is a much better decision to spend a few bucks extra for a higher quality stand that will last for much longer.
My suggestion would be this K&M boom stand for $44. I use this stand in my home studio and I can say that it is built much better than those cheap Musician’s Gear stands.
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