how loud should i rap?

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silverbullet

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sorry for the generic question, but this is actually very specific, I was wondering how loud I should rap "verses" and how loud I should do the "hooks" In adobe audition I usually rapped loud enough that the green/yellow/red meeter would go all the way up.(or all the way to the right), there is settings on my mixer where I can make this meeter go crazy, and I have to adjust my vocals accordingly, but how loud is a good volume to rap with? cus I can't always see those meeters lolz
 
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It depends on the kind of mic you have bro...what kinda mic are you rapping into
 
I forgot to ask you whats ya audio interface too??..but I used to record in Audition till I moved to Sonar w/ waves bundle..(imo best program other then pro tools) but it depends on the rappers taste..usually the "hook" is the loudest part on a song and the rest (verses, bridge) is a couple db's under it. One thing I will tell you is DO NOT record to where the vocals are pushing into the red part of that little meter (db meter) it causes alot of clipping and distorts it. Another way you can make your vocals loud is to eq them, throw a reverb on it, comp..try alot of stuff.. Im taking it your doing hip hop so with the verses, it depends on you and how you want them try and get the verses to a point were its not that much lower then the hook...
 
yeagh, i just want them loud enough where its not impossible to mix to proper levels, I tried certain volume levels, and some where impossible to even get louder with out messing up the vocals
 
I feel you, what you can do is turn the track down you are recording over or on, and when you get the mix of vocals you like then start turning the track back up a lil bit... What kind of eq plugins do you use?
 
It all depends on your vocal style. Snoop dogs raps really quiet while DMX yells all over the place. Thats their style. After you find one that suits you and your voice, then you can set the levels on your preamp to match.
 
Ya your makin this to hard, you shouldn't be worrying about how loud you rap for mixing purposes. I would say aim to never hit yellow even on peaks. You should be good then. And what are you doing to get your vocals louder because nothing should ruin them if they weren't distorted already unless your trying to compress them or something and raise em.
 
Just to add to the truths shared by Wedges2...

You can adjust your gain to find the yellow, but to what degree is something that changes with every vocalist, especially with rappers. Rappers don't usually come from a choral a theatrical background, and thus do not have a rehearsed dynamic range that they have compared to other vocalists.

You should rap in a way that is comfortable for you, and in time you will learn equipment and settings that compliment your sound and dynamic range. A lot of experienced recording artists will identify those things when they get in the studio.
 
You can't really ask how loud you should rap, it makes no sense. If the answer was 10dB - would you even know how loud that is?

Just rap however loud you want and adjust the input gain from your mic so that your vocals don't clip. Then when you're mixing you can see what level sounds best.
 
add a compressor on the input track that's recording your vocals very light 2:1 ratio..... the input meter should be loud enough that you don't get floor noise (or room noise lol) you don't need to rap loud.. you need to make sure your gain is correct....study recording bro... that's the simple things...
1. focus on a great performance
2. make sure your inputs,compressor levels are correct(you never want to clip into the red in the digital domain
3.worry about mixing once you do step 1. and 2.

you can ever copy and paste your vocals if you think your vocals still don't stand out...
but it's best to turn down the beat and turn the master fader up...
 
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