Does my current microphone sound like professional studio quality?

H

hip-hop-god-1603

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youtube.com/watch?v=OCbol59DoGc

You'll have to copy/paste the link, since I can't post it as an official "link" or "video" on the forums.

Thanks!
 
It's a low-quality Youtube video (with low-quality audio) in a room that sounds like, well, a regular, non-treated room. No, it doesn't sound like "studio quality", but in these circumstances it's not necessarily the mic.
 
I really do need a way to plug my condenser mic in. I also need to add some sound treatment to my room. My budget is literally $0, though. I'll just have to give it time. LOL :sigh:
 
Get Shure sm58 it costs almost $100 . I know you've got right now but this mic is one of the best mics for their price range
and it has also a pop filter, so you won't need to spend more.

Try to save $100 and get this and you ll have better audio , not professional but yet better for this kind of price range :)
 
I already have a mic, believe it or not. Got it from a friend. I just need an audio interface to plug it in.
 
That one looks a little too expensive for me. I did actually find one that looks decent for a good price, I just need money. LOL :shame:

This is one of the best price to value ratio you can find. Don't give less than $100 for a different one cause there's a risk
of getting "scammed". Be patient save money and get it, it's worth it. Cheers
 
This is one of the best price to value ratio you can find. Don't give less than $100 for a different one cause there's a risk
of getting "scammed". Be patient save money and get it, it's worth it. Cheers

I hadn't planned on paying less than $100, but $150 is something that I'll never get, even if I save. I don't get money very often. My birthday's around the corner (sorta, it's in August) and I'll have $100 then. If I DO get around $150 for my birthday, I will be getting that one.

EDIT: Just to be clear, you ARE talking about this one, right?
 
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Hey, its me, I have a potatoe in my hand, yea I paid $20.... so umm...... you think its profesional quality >>??? He he ??? :D ???? Eh?

BRUH......BRUH.....BRUH.....

Really..... really..... it doesn't take a genius to know a WEBCAM is not going to sound like a professional mic......

If that was the case **** it lets use WEBCAMS.... shit will be easier I can record videos well I am laying tracks......

Okay I only find it funny because...well its funny.... :D

I am not sure if you were trollin or not, I am pretty sure you already knew the answer.....

To me it seems your real question is this "Hi guys, I don't really feel like spending money on a mic, so how bout you just pretend its a good mic"

even though its a webcam mic......

Kill me now,, please kill me now....

Now since I got my laughs out the way

Anything under $100 is going to sound like crap for the most part no matter what
Anything at $100-$150 is where you should be at minimum
At $200 you can get a good mic
$250-$300 is the most you really even need to go and it will sound pretty professional

Then everything above that is nitpicking for rich people

I'm pretty sure its not rocket science

$40 Vs $1,000 do you think its going to sound like a PROFESSIONAL MIC??????????

I have a VIDEO CAMERA that cost $100 and it looks like SHIT!!!!!

Being that its a webcam that means half the money went to the video and not even the mic.....

So to answer your question

F U C K No its no where near studio quality (without hearing it)

I don't even have to hear it

If its not MENT to be a mic chances are its gonna blow wang

if you paid less than $100 for it, chances are its gonna blow wang

Also talking on a mic does not prove shit, you have to show us a real recording of the voice over a instrumental, talking is different than recording, so how the F can I know if I am just hearing a voice with no effects, with no mixing, with nothing, with no beat.....

All I know is common sense

Cheap shit = bad
If its not ment to be a mic = bad

Don't take mah words the wrong way, I just like talking like this because its funny

I am not making fun of you, I am making fun of the question
"Is my cheap ass webcam which is not ment to be a mic that cost under $100 professional quality when people spend $800 on a mic"

0_o

Da Faq????

THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

-Buy a mic $100 minimum (can't afford it to bad, go rob someone or something, don't really care not my problem)
-Buy a audio interface $90 at the very least, you don't have to get one above $125 (can't afford it get a job? Blow someone for money)
-Learn to mix and master and record (if you can't learn then your stuff will sound shitty no matter what)

THE OVERALL IDEA

The overall idea is that you get a mic that is "decent or good" because when you mix you can make it sound a little bit better.

However if you have a very cheap ass mic you will just take a "Crap sound" and make it "less crappy or decent" compared to taking a "Good" mic and mixing it to sound "A bit greater"

The point is you can buy a sort of cheap mic $200 and make it sound as good as mic a few hundreds bucks more, but obviously your ass won't be able to make it sound like a $5,000 mic.

*EVERYONE AGREES*

Just because you go buy expensive shit does not mean your shit will sound good.

If you can't mix your music will sound garbage no matter what.

Last note

None of this was ment to offend anyone, I talk like this because its funny and its the best way to teach someone, by using stupid words like bumhole and stfu please???

so no, your WEBCAM will NOT sound like a good mic, hence the ****ing word WEBCAM!!!!! >????

Also, holy ****ing shit!!!! You took 24 seconds in the video just to tell me the question!!!!

I'm already putting my pistol to my head << Bang bang kill me now

JK JK JK :sing:
 
Get the Focusrite that the others told you to get, that is the BEST ****ing audio interface you can get for cheap that is of good quality.

Also, I notice you said "Studio Quality"

What exactly is "Studio Quality" ???

There is no such thing and there is a such thing, the quality of your song for the most part comes AFTER you record your music, you have to mess with volumes, lower/raise sounds, add effects to get "Studio Quality", the only thing you can do is get a bad or good mic, but to achieve "Studio Quality" is something different that you can only achieve when you are MIXING, so basically if you don't know how to mix you CAN'T achieve that quality even if you get a better mic.

Also I would like to point this out, having a better mic is a bad thing at the same time that it is a good thing.

OMFG, you better be laying some freaking blankets on the floors and walls if you buy a good mic because the worst shit is having your mic pick up the sound waves bouncing off of the walls echoing back into the mic causing a bad sound. Yes, if your mic is really good then it can actually screw itself over by picking up all the sounds that bounce back into the mic.

Thus even if you bought a good mic, if your room is echoey as hell your mic will sound "bad", so get laying those blankets!!!

Your thinking "If only I had a new mic my problems would be fixed!!!"

That is until your wish comes true, you have your new mic now your thinking "What must I do to stop these fkn echo's from coming back in my mic"
 
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Get the Focusrite that the others told you to get, that is the BEST ****ing audio interface you can get for cheap that is of good quality.

Also, I notice you said "Studio Quality"

What exactly is "Studio Quality" ???

There is no such thing and there is a such thing, the quality of your song for the most part comes AFTER you record your music, you have to mess with volumes, lower/raise sounds, add effects to get "Studio Quality", the only thing you can do is get a bad or good mic, but to achieve "Studio Quality" is something different that you can only achieve when you are MIXING, so basically if you don't know how to mix you CAN'T achieve that quality even if you get a better mic.

Also I would like to point this out, having a better mic is a bad thing at the same time that it is a good thing.

OMFG, you better be laying some freaking blankets on the floors and walls if you buy a good mic because the worst shit is having your mic pick up the sound waves bouncing off of the walls echoing back into the mic causing a bad sound. Yes, if your mic is really good then it can actually screw itself over by picking up all the sounds that bounce back into the mic.

Thus even if you bought a good mic, if your room is echoey as hell your mic will sound "bad", so get laying those blankets!!!

Your thinking "If only I had a new mic my problems would be fixed!!!"

That is until your wish comes true, you have your new mic now your thinking "What must I do to stop these fkn echo's from coming back in my mic"

I have literally a ****ton of blankets around, so that won't be a problem. I DO have a condenser mic, but as I have no audio interface (and no money to buy one atm) I cannot test how good it is.

But "studio quality" comes from mixing? Can you please elaborate a little bit more on that?
 
I have literally a ****ton of blankets around, so that won't be a problem. I DO have a condenser mic, but as I have no audio interface (and no money to buy one atm) I cannot test how good it is.

But "studio quality" comes from mixing? Can you please elaborate a little bit more on that?
If you are new to recording or someone has not actually taught you how to properly record then there will be alot you will not know. The only way you will ever know these things is to watch tutorials on youtube, figure them out or have someone tell you like I am about to. That is why most people never get the "Studio Quality" they are looking for.

When you record your vocals with a microphone that is the easiest part. What your goal is, is you are trying to record your verse perfectly with no mistakes. For example, if you were to put your microphone in a bathroom with no blankets your recording would have "high pitched" sounds that will be noticeable when you play the recording back. What happens is when you go to edit that recording if someone tries to BOOST that part of your voice then not only would it raise that part of your voice up, but it will also raise that bathroom noise as well. That is why people put blankest up so they get rid of echo sounds, this way when people raise volumes on certain parts of their voice it does not raise unwanted sounds.

The best way I can explain that is like this : Imagine that someone shot a gun really loud while you were recording, when you go to raise the volume of your vocals since someone shot a gun that gun sound will raise as well, where as if the gun sound was never there you would never have the problem in the first place.

So the first step is to get a good microphone and sound proof the area you are recording, use tons of blankets.

After you record your vocals the best you can then you are done with recording and you can turn your mic off.

This is how you get that "Studio Quality"


Most people just think you record your verse than that is it but that is only like 10% of it, the other 90% of getting that sound is what happens after you are done and already recorded everything.

The term is called "Mixing" or if you wanted to search it on youtube or google you would want to look up "Mixing Vocals", this is how you improve your sound after you recorded your vocals.

So I will give examples of things that people do when they "Mix Vocals", I can't list everything but just give you an idea.

- They mute the beat and only listen to the vocal, this is because you only want to hear your voice so you can improve the sound of it.

- Next most people will add a Equalizer or better known as EQ
what this does is it lets you lessen or improve certain parts of your voice, so for example, you can remove the bass from your voice. The best way I can explain that is to hum to yourself. Now while you are humming you can hear bass in your humming. With the EQ they can remove that bass to where if you were humming you would not even hear it anymore because they removed the bass. So basically EQing always them to make your vocals more clear by removing unwanted bass and boosting certain pitches in your voice that make your voice sound better.

This effect alone will make your voice sound like it came from a more expensive microphone.

- Then people will use a compressor, its called a compressor because it can compress or push down your voice. For example : If you talk very low then 4 words later talk very high, what the compressor does is it takes the low volume words and raises the volume and takes the high volume words and lowers the volume. So what it does is make all the words in your song sound like they are more even or the same volume.

So now this effect is making your voice sound more hearable because all your words are even in terms of volume

- Then people will add something called a Reverb, which basically can make it sound like you are talking inside of a room, they lower this effect very low so you can only hear it a little bit, the reason is because it makes your voice sound fuller.

- Then people add the rest of their effects.

- Lastly they adjust the volume of their vocals to go with the instrumental they are using.

MASTERING

Then comes mastering, which in stupid terms, basically means raising the volume of the entire song so that when you play it, it is loud but does not lose any quality.

So people usually raise the volume up to what is called 0 db, and anything that goes past that will make the quality of your music start to go bad.

And thats just a idea of what you have to do to get that "Studio Quality"

You are not getting the quality just from the microphone, the microphone is only part of it, the majority comes from adding a bunch of effects and editing your vocal to sound better than when you recorded it.

So if you do not know how to Mix/Master it will be hard for you to get your music to sound how you want it to, this is why people get PAID to mix/master people's music, because in order to learn this stuff it will take time, probably a few years if you are often learning. If you are not learning anything then it will take you a life time. I know people who been making songs for 3 years and still have the same crap quality.

They did not learn how to mix/master

If you are impatient because it will take a while to learn, then your best bet is to just pay someone to mix/master for you until you learn how to do it yoursself, what you typically do is record your vocals over the beat then just SAVE THE FILES, then you give someone the files and they will mix/master your song and send it back to you, and you pay them.

You are paying them because they know how to mix/master and you don't, also it could take you years to learn how to do it right so paying is just a way to get what you want now instead of going through the trouble of learning it.
 
This was a good post in general, but I'll just comment on some inaccuracies...not to nitpick, but just to weed out those inaccuracies spreading further.

So the first step is to get a good microphone and sound proof the area you are recording, use tons of blankets.

This isn't soundproofing, this is acoustic treatment. Soundproofing is when you isolate sound to a certain area - blankets don't really stop the sound, they just disperse the unwanted reflections.

Most people just think you record your verse than that is it but that is only like 10% of it, the other 90% of getting that sound is what happens after you are done and already recorded everything.

This ratio might be about true especially when dealing with cheapo mics - the thing with better mics tend to be that you need to do less to the recordings afterwards; they just sit better in the mix naturally. Of course, it's not always the case - sometimes that $100 SM58 is exactly what you need, even in a professional scenario.

- They mute the beat and only listen to the vocal, this is because you only want to hear your voice so you can improve the sound of it.

...but keep in mind that what you're really trying when mixing is exactly what that word means - mix two or more sources cohesively together. So don't get too caught into sculpting the vocals on their own - remember to check & mix with the backing track un-muted as well. It's a pretty normal amateur mistake to make something sound amazing on its own, only to realize it's way too prominent in the mix & messes everything up.

- Next most people will add a Equalizer or better known as EQ
what this does is it lets you lessen or improve certain parts of your voice, so for example, you can remove the bass from your voice. The best way I can explain that is to hum to yourself. Now while you are humming you can hear bass in your humming. With the EQ they can remove that bass to where if you were humming you would not even hear it anymore because they removed the bass. So basically EQing always them to make your vocals more clear by removing unwanted bass and boosting certain pitches in your voice that make your voice sound better.

...not that EQing vocals always means removing bass & boosting the highs. You listen & do what you need to do - but agreed that often you want to cut a bit (or a bit more) out of the lows. Even to the point where it might sound a bit thin on its own - as I said before, remember that the important part is the mix as a whole. Often the finalized individual instruments - and vocals - sound pretty funny/tinny/odd in isolation.

- Then people will use a compressor, its called a compressor because it can compress or push down your voice. For example : If you talk very low then 4 words later talk very high, what the compressor does is it takes the low volume words and raises the volume and takes the high volume words and lowers the volume. So what it does is make all the words in your song sound like they are more even or the same volume.

A compressor won't actually raise the quiet parts, even though it's often said it will - this seems to be a pretty basic source of confusion about compressors. In reality, they only bring down the loud parts. But by bringing the loud parts down, you are enabled to bring the whole track up without the loud parts going into the red. Many compressors include a control called "make up gain", which technically isn't part of the compressor circuit, but enables you to do just that - make up for the gain lost in compressing. To the OP: don't worry if you didn't "get" compression just from these few lines. It's one of the tricky parts of music production that a lot of people will struggle with even after a few years.

I also personally think that good old volume automation is a much more precise tool for leveling out vocal tracks. It's more work, but the results are better, in my opinion. Usually I tend to use both - light compression for the "glue" & lots of volume automation for the actual leveling.

- Then people will add something called a Reverb, which basically can make it sound like you are talking inside of a room, they lower this effect very low so you can only hear it a little bit, the reason is because it makes your voice sound fuller.

I'd say a reverb can be a lot more than "talking inside of a room" - but in broader terms, it's the main ingredient of establishing an acoustic space for your performance. Basically what you're doing with the blankets is removing natural reverb (because your bedroom probably doesn't sound like a million-dollar recording studio), allowing you to add artificlal reverb. Using reverb is also a much broader subject that deserves its own article - this might be a good place to start (even though it doesn't really start from the very beginning but rather assumes basic knowledge about the subject).

- Lastly they adjust the volume of their vocals to go with the instrumental they are using.

Id say that adjusting the volume should be the very first thing to do - level settings are pretty much the most fundamental part of mixing. You'll probably want to keep adjusting the volume slightly as you make other adjustments that change the perceived level, but establishing a general level in the beginning should make it easier to adjust to fit anyway.

MASTERING

Frankly, I'd just forget about mastering at this point completely and focus on learning the very basics.
 
There are places you can find online to download unmixed vocals, I did that before and you barely have to EQ or mix that much. I assume that is with really higher end microphones though, it just seems like they sound so good that you don't have to change much because the vocal is already sounding good even before you mix it. Compared to a lower priced microphone it seems like you have to EQ or mix a bit more or at least do more work. I am not saying all lower end mics are bad I was just saying its kind of common sense that if I have a $250 mic it probably won't stand a chance against a $1,000 mic.

Yea I realized I messed up on some of the terminology but I was mainly talking that way so it would be easier to understand to someone.

For example I kept saying "High Pitched" noises but normally I would have said "Frequencies", the only reason I did not use terms like "Frequencies" is because to a new person they will have no clue what that means.

At least for me when I used to watch people explain how to mix and they would talk about "Frequencies" I had no clue what they were talking about until I found someone to use dumber terminology so I can understand it.

Your right on the compressor not raising the low parts, because you can clearly see in most DAWS it shows what is being compressed and it doesn't show anything being raised unless you use gain. I kind of knew I was wrong on saying that but was too lazy to fix it :D

Oh, and I didn't mean mute the beat/instrumental the entire time while mixing, I just ment when your trying to get your vocals to sound a certain way you usually have everything muted so you can EQ/Compress.

For example this is how I do it

I mute everything besides the vocal

Then I usually EQ first, then I compress, then I add Reverb, but when I add reverb that is when I usually unmute the instrumental so I can hear how much reverb I feel I need. Basically I only listen to the beat/instrumental after I am done with EQ and compression.

The hardest part for me is actually not making the vocal sound good when Eqing it, its actually getting the right volume on top the instrumental, because sometimes I will mix the volumes and think to myself "This sounds good".

Then when I export the file and listen to it 20 minutes later I will think "Now something seems to loud".

For me the part I hate the most is trying to get my voice and instrumental at the right volume because it seems I have to keep listening to it 30 times over and over before I get it right, even after I export the file it sometimes seems like I have to go back and fix it one more time.

The worst thing for me though is if I have a beat that is not mixed right, then it seems impossible for me to get my vocals to sound right on the track. How I understood it was that you would have to go back into the beat and EQ certain instruments that clash with your vocals?

However I am not that great at mixing the beats, I usually just mixed the vocals on top of instrumentals that are already mixed so I have less of a problem. The only time I have a real problem is if I record to a instrumental that seems to not be mixed right because I am not used to dealing with that.
 
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