JPF Home Page Forums Musician Gear and Techniques Recording Studio and Gear Forum Question about recording sound?

I'm not sure how to state or explain what I am about to ask. Some recording are good but are just flat words on music, while others have a depth to them,like they ring. Is this caused by putting reverb to the songs? It sounds better that way to me, why don't all studios use it? Is there a drawback to using it? Maybe it has to do with taste but I like that deep sound. I hope you can understand what I am trying to say, I don't know the technical termsto use.

There are many aspects to a recording that make it pop or not. Reverb and delay (echo) are used to give a recording depth - that is the vocalist sounds like he is in a room or hall and the band is behind him with various instruments closer or farther away.

In the sixties, some recordings used huge amounts of reverb which hid some of the defects. Reverb is out of favor at the moment so the reverb used is subtle and some singers sound like they are 2 feet away from you.

The most common effects used are reverb, delay, compression and equalization. The correct use of all of these can make a song sound fantastic and the poor use of them can make it sound crummy. There is a lot to learn in using all these effects and many more correctly. Home studios vary a lot in their abilities. Pro studios must be able to use all these properly.

Yeah, the processing possibilities are mind-numbing Everett. Since you were referring to a "flat" sound, I imagine a little selective reverb would do the trick. There are all kinds of reverbs from small room to caverns. Use reverb sparingly, unless it's used for effect. "Flat" sound on vocals seems to be popular today.

Best, John

Interesting subject.....ther are loads of possibilities of changing the way a recording sounds.
First off you need good clean dry recordings on separate tracks as a starting point.....then that sound can be processed mixed balanced finalised and mastered every which way.....
I think every musician and songwriter should visit a pro studio at least once just to see this process in action. It is a fascinating learning experience as to what can be done.

Thanks guys.Can Audacity be used to do this after the fact?

Yes. Once you have a track in Audacity, you can apply various effects. You can apply reverb, then undo it if you don't like it and try a different setting. Same with the other effects mentioned above.

Unfortunately, once you have applied an effect in Audacity, saved it and closed the program, you can no longer remove it or adjust it. That is why you should save a copy of the original track so that you can start over if you don't like it later. More sophisticated programs allow you to add effects to a track without modifying the original track so you can go back and edit the effects later.

Yes Audacity is classed as destructive cause it does not save all stages of the edit in a non destructive way where other programs do. One way around the problem is to duplicate a copy of the dry recording tracks and save it....or apply the effects on another duplicated track and mixing down a combination of wet and dry.
Everett there are lots of free tutorials for Audacity just Google...that said some of the tutorials and manuals for plugins like echo etc are not explained properly so are trial and error to use as the settings and parameters are complicated to understand. You just have to play around till you get it to sound good.

Thanks guys. I've been using Audacity mostly to bring up the sound on some track that are too low. I know it shows it can do a lot more, I just don't know how and I'm half afraid to try.LOL

Everett nothing to be afraid about it is very simple to use...you just select the track and highlight the part you want to edit by dragging the cursor over it or going to edit/select/then click on the appropriate option Eg cursor to end etc. You then go to effect and select by clicking the option you want from the pull down. Each pull down has its own controls, parameters and adjustments to be made (very much trial and error) then apply it to see what happens. You can then undo it if it is not right and try a different setting or other pull down option. You can also amplify, add fade ins/outs, mute, Change EQ, change tempo and or key, etc etc etc. Worth having a play about just to see what can be done. More Audacity plugins can be downloaded from the Audacity site. If you want any help just PM....I will do my best to help.

Thanks Big Jim,I'll give it a try.

Everett: if you're feeling adventurous, moving the mic around can produce some interesting results. My favorite trick is to place the mic in a corner, facing out. Then you sing (or speak) facing the corner. The reflections from the walls can really liven up the recorded sound, before you even apply any effects to it.

I think I read that Sting recorded vocals in a tiled bathroom...

For best results you want a dry or dead sound to record....avoid shiny surfaces and try to soundprooof or at least noise dampen the environment. Hang heavy duvets or clothing in a semicircle around the mic. Effects like echo etc should only be added post record......the fx picked up or added to the recording cannot be altered after unless they are as a monitor insert on another channel....any ammount of fx can be added in a non destructive way and adjusted afterwards to a dry vocal.
If Sting did record vocals in a tiled bathroom it was not for any of his records....or anything important....most vocalists like singing in the bathroom for the reflections and echo...but few would consider it a serious option for the real thing....there are tons of freebie plugins like reverbs and echo fx that can be tailored for the voice and application and added after recording.....worth checking out.

Everett,

I believe what you are asking is whether or not you can add reverb and or other effects to your master tracks. The short answer is "yes."

First, no need to be afraid. Simply make sure you have a copy of the original, don't put the effect on your only copy, then you won't have to worry about working in Audacity.

Second, most reverb is added during the mixing phase of the process. That's because, not all reverbs sound good on everything. For example, some reverb sounds good on vocals, but bad on drums. So unless you are working with separate tracks, you'll have to experiment to find a reverb that works with the whole mix.

Train your ear to listen to different parts of the mix. Some folks listen mostly to the singer and don't focus in on the drums or the bass or the guitars. Others listen to the drums first and so on. If you use a reverb or effect that affects the timing of the drums (such as an echo), or makes the singing sound strange (such as a chorus effect), or makes the bass sound dull (such as reverb), you might end up with a track that sounds good for you but bad for others. Reverb effects often include echoes and chorusing with the effect.

Also, don't forget that many tracks you get from studios have been mixed and or mastered on studio quality speakers. They are made to sound as good as possible on all types of speakeres. What you do at home might sound good on your speakers or headphones, but bad on others. If possible, test your mixes on several speakers before releasing them to the public.

Mostly, make sure you keep a copy of the recordings as they are before you add or change anything.

Hope that helps.
Mike