My rap recordings sound bad and I can't understand why exactly

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psihobambi

New member
Hi,
I've been trying to record a song and rap, but it just sounds bad.. :( No matter how many times I try, I usually just lay down, tired as all hell, thinking why the fck is this so hard now ?
I've been making beats and writing since a long time ago and now I am getting ready to wrap up a few songs and post them online for people to hear.
It all sounded great, I mean when I rapped to my phone's voice recorder it sounded dope. When I freestyled in front of my friends (who are not even into rap) it sounded dope. When I featured on few tracks it sounded relatively good.

I use Audiobox Presonus Pre-Amp (don't record too hot), M7 microphone (I stand about 8 inches from the mic and use pop-filter) and I put on slight reverb and a bit of compression when recording (I tried with and without). Also... I record in a bedroom, but I tame the reflections to the point where it works just fine.

Am I missing something ? It's starting to drive me nuts. I could use some help and advices. Thanks :)
 
I can give some tips (and maybe do some tricks) if you post an audio example! At the moment, we have no solid idea of what sounds good or bad with your recordings.
 
Maybe it's not you, but your expectations. You can only sound like you. It could be that you just have to get adjusted to your voice and how you sound. Could also be that you need improvement, but hard to tell without reference.
 
A lot of it can be self-judgement. In my case when I started out it was a combination the room acoustics, self-judgement, and the practice of vocal recording. Any one of these 3 can cause poor taste.
 
As Sleepy and Kalm said it could be your expectations. It will take time adjusting to your own voice after recording. I've been recording for several artistes for a number of years now and I hear the same thing over and over. I even feel less than my worth sometimes listening to my own recordings.

Let me tell you now that 90% of the time its not the room, or the mic, or the interface, or your DAW...its the mix or you.
It is hard to tell without reference as other users have said. So we'd be better able to assist you if you gave us something to work with.

If you really want to get into mixing your own music then you need to take some time to practice and learn the art. Its going to be fun and frustrating at the same time. If you can find somebody that is willing to mix your songs for you and you can afford it (or they do it for free.......meh) then go that route if time is against you.

I would also recommend NOT placing effects on your mixer track while recording. This is digital recording...unless you have problems with clipping or you really know what you are doing (or have analog gear lying around) just record dry ie. without effects. You can always add them later and it makes no difference to the sound in a digital environment.

Recording hotter is not always a solution. You need not record your tracks to the point that your meters are int he "red-zone". Again....this is digital recording and you can always increase the volume later on. HOWEVER, it is important to maintain a decent signal to noise ratio especially if your noise floor is fairly high. I usually just boost the gain on my interface until meter peaks about half way during the recording. This will all depend on how you as the recording artiste works the mic (proper mic techniques and so forth) and how the recording engineer sets you up. I also should mention that some interfaces do sound different when recording hotter. Over time you will learn your equipment and you have to make calls as to whether you should be keeping things at a moderate level or even barely clipping.

Finally, IF you like to blast your headphones or monitors at full volume while mixing and recording I strongly advise to stop...not tomorrow...not in an hour...now. Not only are you damaging your ears (and possibly others' xD) but louder sounds are perceived differently by the ear. Your ears will become fatigued a lot faster and change the way you hear the mix. You will end up over compensating on EQ and compression and the next day wonder why it sounded so good last night. I assure you if you practice using lower volumes in your studio now, you will be complaining a few months later 10% volume is too loud ;)

Happy mixing :)
 
psihobambi said:
Hi,
I've been trying to record a song and rap, but it just sounds bad.. :( No matter how many times I try, I usually just lay down, tired as all hell, thinking why the fck is this so hard now ?
I've been making beats and writing since a long time ago and now I am getting ready to wrap up a few songs and post them online for people to hear.
It all sounded great, I mean when I rapped to my phone's voice recorder it sounded dope. When I freestyled in front of my friends (who are not even into rap) it sounded dope. When I featured on few tracks it sounded relatively good.

I use Audiobox Presonus Pre-Amp (don't record too hot), M7 microphone (I stand about 8 inches from the mic and use pop-filter) and I put on slight reverb and a bit of compression when recording (I tried with and without). Also... I record in a bedroom, but I tame the reflections to the point where it works just fine.

Am I missing something ? It's starting to drive me nuts. I could use some help and advices. Thanks :)
Click to expand...

Cause everything is out of phase and out of tune.
 
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