How to edit vocals and guitar and export for soundcloud with Logic Pro

[GJ Esguerra]

Hi Everyone,

I am just starting out and right now I am recording audio with my DSLR. I have converted the files (Vocals and Guitar Tracks) to wav file format and would like to know how do I edit them in Logic Pro X to sound like professional tracks. Are there any tutorials specifically for this? I know there are background noises but I would like to know where to start. Would be uploading songs to my personal soundcloud.

Would appreciate any help I can get.

 

[pcrecord]

how do I edit them in [="http://www.apple.com/logicstudio/"]Logic[/] Pro X to sound like professional tracks.

There's a lot more to it then having a software with 'Pro' in its name to sound like a pro.
It all start with the room, the instrument, the performance, the mic and placement, the preamp and digital converters. The software has a minor play in that pro sound.
A DSLR is not a studio recording standard. What you could do with it is choosing a room with less reverb in it, it would be a start. The reason is, the DSLR mics pickup a lot of audio in a room not just you. It gets also the reflection of you bouncing to the walls, floor and ceilling. Some hang thick blankets to the walls to help reduce the natural reverb and certain delays the bouncing provoque.

Why don't you post a sample so we can judge where you are now..

 

[GJ Esguerra]

There's a lot more to it then having a software with 'Pro' in its name to sound like a pro.
It all start with the room, the instrument, the performance, the mic and placement, the preamp and digital converters. The software has a minor play in that pro sound.
A DSLR is not a studio recording standard. What you could do with it is choosing a room with less reverb in it, it would be a start. The reason is, the DSLR mics pickup a lot of audio in a room not just you. It gets also the reflection of you bouncing to the walls, floor and ceilling. Some hang thick blankets to the walls to help reduce the natural reverb and certain delays the bouncing provoque.

Why don't you post a sample so we can judge where you are now..

Hi PC Record,

Thank you for your response. Yes will do upload a track this weekend as right now I don't have any english recordings yet.
For starters, can you recommend the equipment needed to do something similar to this?

[="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDjlaN-X8-0"]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDjlaN-X8-0[/]


Cause I think this would be rather similar to my environment. I really want to learn what equipment and editing it takes to have results like this.

Thanks.

 

[DonnyThompson]

define "your environment"...

 

[pcrecord]

Yes will do upload a track this weekend as right now I don't have any english recordings yet.

The language of which a song is recorded doesn't make any difference to me. Audio quality and sonics are language independent
It is easier to make recommendation when you know at what level of knowledge an experience the recordist is.

If I must recommend gear, I would pick either a presonus or a focusrite interface that has a digital input (spdif) and the ISA One with the digital card.
With that, a sm58 or similar mic will give you a good vocal sound without picking up too much room ambiance. the guitar can be plug direct in the ISA one.

View: http://youtu.be/73uGN_kxGVc


But that's just me, it's my minimum. You could be happy with the interface alone with a mic. I chose an external preamp because it gives a bigger sound and noise free sound. It's up to you to decide how much you want to invest. BUT what ever you do, you will still need to learn the basics of mic placement, gain staging and mix technics.

 

[GJ Esguerra]

define "your environment"...

Hi DonnyThompson,

My environment would be a normal room with windows, wooden walls. Not quite sure on how to setup the room to be "recording-friendly". Any help I would really appreciate.

 

[GJ Esguerra]

The language of which a song is recorded doesn't make any difference to me. Audio quality and sonics are language independent
It is easier to make recommendation when you know at what level of knowledge an experience the recordist is.

If I must recommend gear, I would pick either a presonus or a focusrite interface that has a digital input (spdif) and the ISA One with the digital card.
With that, a sm58 or similar mic will give you a good vocal sound without picking up too much room ambiance. the guitar can be plug direct in the ISA one.

View: http://youtu.be/73uGN_kxGVc


But that's just me, it's my minimum. You could be happy with the interface alone with a mic. I chose an external preamp because it gives a bigger sound and noise free sound. It's up to you to decide how much you want to invest. BUT what ever you do, you will still need to learn the basics of mic placement, gain staging and mix technics.

Hi PCRecords,

Thank you for your recommendations. So a condenser mic wouldn't be advisable for me since it gets too much ambient sound from the room?

For the recording, in that case, here is the recording that I tried last weekend. I recorded the vocals, guitar separately, edited the voice preset in logic pro, added compressor, reverb, eq don't really know much about those effects so I just played with the settings. I was in a closed room with a lot of ambient noise coming in. Recorded with a Canon 6D.

https://soundcloud.com/gerald-john-esguerra%2Ftadhana-gj-esguerra [="https://soundcloud.com/gerald-john-esguerra/tadhana-gj-esguerra"]View: https://soundcloud.com/gerald-john-esguerra/tadhana-gj-esguerra[/]

 

[DonnyThompson]

Hi DonnyThompson,

My environment would be a normal room with windows, wooden walls. Not quite sure on how to setup the room to be "recording-friendly". Any help I would really appreciate.

If you're serious about it, this should be your very next step: http://www.amazon.com/dp/143545717X/?tag=r06fa-20

The author, Rod Gervais, is a member of this forum. His book has pretty much become the bible around here... the number one "go to" resource for acoustic treatment and soundproofing of home studios.

Trust me. It will be the best $30 you've ever spent.

 

[GJ Esguerra]

If you're serious about it, this should be your very next step: http://www.amazon.com/dp/143545717X/?tag=r06fa-20

The author, Rod Gervais, is a member of this forum. His book has pretty much become the bible around here... the number one "go to" resource for acoustic treatment and soundproofing of home studios.

Trust me. It will be the best $30 you've ever spent.

Hi DonnyThompson,

Thank you for the recommendation! Will certainly check it out.

I need all the learning I can get.

 

[DonnyThompson]

Rod's book is, as far as I'm concerned, an absolute must-have for all home studios. Clear, concise, easy to understand, accurate, and most importantly - effective.

And, it's not valuable only to those who are new to the craft, either. I have 30 plus years of engineering experience, and I found his book to be a fantastic resource for acoustically treating my mixing environment.
I'm fairly confident that my professional colleagues here on RO would likely tell you the same thing.

Rod has also been very helpful to forum members here in the past who have purchased and read his book. He often answers questions here.

But please, have respect and don't PM him if you haven't taken the time to purchase and read his book.

Trust me when I tell you that everything you need to know is in it. Don't think about it. Just buy it.

 

[pcrecord]

@GJ Esguerra : I listened to your song, it a was very nice performance.
Your recording as indeed too much room ambience. The fix for that is either to treat the room or use a more directionnal mic.
In any case my suggestions are still valid

 

[GJ Esguerra]

@GJ Esguerra : I listened to your song, it a was very nice performance.
Your recording as indeed too much room ambience. The fix for that is either to treat the room or use a more directionnal mic.
In any case my suggestions are still valid

Hi pcrecord,

Thanks. With regards to editing the vocals in the DAW do you have some tips or go-to settings when editing vocals to sound like those youtube singers?

 

[DonnyThompson]

There really are no "go to" settings.

Each performer is different, and accordingly, each requires a different approach... with EQ, gain reduction, dynamics... you have to take each situation in context.

A particular EQ or compressor setting that worked well for one performer might not work at all for another. For that matter, these may not even work on the same performer on a different song. On one performance, you might hear excessive sibilance... on another, too much low end as the result of proximity effect.

You need to approach each track, each take, and each project separately from others - and within the context of the song you are working on at the time.

Now, there are certain pieces of gear that are considered to be "go to's " ... certain preamps, mics, OB processing... but you can't call up a"one EQ fits all" preset and expect it to actually be that. There's no such thing.

 

[GJ Esguerra]

There really are no "go to" settings.

Each performer is different, and accordingly, each requires a different approach... with EQ, gain reduction, dynamics... you have to take each situation in context.

A particular EQ or compressor setting that worked well for one performer might not work at all for another. For that matter, these may not even work on the same performer on a different song. On one performance, you might hear excessive sibilance... on another, too much low end as the result of proximity effect.

You need to approach each track, each take, and each project separately from others - and within the context of the song you are working on at the time.

Now, there are certain pieces of gear that are considered to be "go to's " ... certain preamps, mics, OB processing... but you can't call up a"one EQ fits all" preset and expect it to actually be that. There's no such thing.

Hi DonnyThompson,

I see. So every song is treated differently. So from a beginner's point of view, how do I start learning how to edit vocals? Are there any good tutorials on how to edit as you said the EQ, gain reduction and dynamics? Right now I am coming from 0 background from editing. Or will this be covered too in the book the you were pertaining to? Editing in DAW?

 

[DonnyThompson]

The book I referred you to is for acoustic treatment and soundproofing of your recording and mixing environment. There are no recording or mixing tips.

We need to clarify what you mean when you say "edit". In the world of DAW-based production, editing audio (or midi) is not necessarily the same thing as mixing audio (or midi).

Editing is where you actually change the sound file (or midi file) that you have recorded... trimming the length, getting rid of extraneous mouth noises, sticks clicking a count off, fading in and out, pitch correction, etc.
In terms of Midi editing, this is where you would quantize, set velocity and duration, remove certain notes ( or correct them), etc.

Mixing is where you take all the finished takes, all the parts, and then get them to "sit with each other" in a balance. This includes volumes, panning, and it is also where you add special effects like reverb or delay, as well as certain processing like gain reduction (compression) EQ (tone) and put them all together into a cohesive 2 track finished .wav file (or mp3).

You mentioned using Logic... if this is going to be your platform, maybe you should start with something like this:

[="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMPM0vCZS0w"]View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMPM0vCZS0w[/]