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Originally Posted by SONIC GAIL
I have sony Sound Forge Audio Studio, a nice mic (apex 440) and a 9 x 9 room. that's it! I am still learning the capabilities of the program as far as editing, but I am hesitant to over edit, because once I get this right we are going to give out demos locally so possibly we can book some shows. I want us to soundlike we really do, but in a clean recording. THANKS!!!!!
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The recordings are coming out w/ very low output. Low signal, but high noise. There is a lot of issues with the tracking specs and set-ups. 1'st, if your software allows for multitracking... like recording mutilple tracks at separate times, that would be priority #1. Not because it's impossible to capture a balanced and quality signal with one mic/ one track to include both guitar and vocal, but because your room is seemingly too noisy, the mic placement isn't near sweet spots and the input is too loud / opened up, or both.
The concept would be to record the guitar track - mic focused on guitar, then vocal on a dubbed track. You'd need to get the mic closer to the source though and cut out any room noise. Somewhere in here I was talking about recording in a closet.... check into that. It feels retarded, but based on the noise levels in your room,
I started to ask about the mic vs. input to the computer, but see it's a USB mic. I'm not to familiar with the limits of this. Just make sure you know all the functions of the mic, like not having the -10db switch on when it's not needed... the bass roll-off, etc.
I was thinking you are using a condenser mic, which requires phantom power, and wasn't getting the +48v power it needed. That's almost what it sounds like. Now, I don't know. That mic has it's own analog to digital conversion going on right within it!
Then there's the possibility you have the mix too low in the audio app. You might need to push the master fader up more to get the signal closer to 0. I can't really figure where the noise is coming from, but if you try and get the mic closer to the source when recording, thus lowering the input level / gain when recording, you might eliminate the noise and boost the signal. Don't be reluctant to get the mic like 6" off the hole on guitar and 6" away with the vocals. Getting closer to the mic will go a long way for starters.
The songs are great. Shouldn't have trouble getting gigs, but honestly the recordings should be better if you're going to put them in peoples hands to get gigs. I can't really see any reason your recordings couldn't sound 10x's better. It might require a cheap preamp upgrade and maybe even an XLR cable upgrade.... just cheap things but could be a weak spot in the signal. Sorry though, I'm not familiar with the software you're using or the mic.
Some of the tracks aren't very noisy and sound really good, like stroll on the tracks and today. Stroll on the tracks almost sounds like it was recorded in a closet compared to others. I don't hear as much "room" in it. I think in some cases, the output gain (master gain) is just a little low. I can pull them up in ProTools and see what happens when I push the gain.... maybe even apply a couple pro-mastering apps to them like a compressor and limiter. Might sound good. When I get back on the ProTools system, will do.