Vocal Recording levels :

[largoman]

System DetailsEdit Value
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-8400T CPU @ 1.70GHz 1.70 GHz
12.0 GB (11.8 GB usable)
64 Bit operating system. Is there a standard Volume level to record at When Singing over a recorded song. Should I set Microphone level at -20 Db / Or at 0 Db? I Find myself Constantly changing the gain level, or the Volume level , To get any kind of Decent recording. I've watched many YouTube videos and each one I Watch get me just a little more confused. Can someone point me to a video that shows what Volume levels I should be recording at. Or better yet, a suggestion or two. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

[Darryl Ramm]

There is a lot here that is just a wrong thought process.

What you don't say anywhere is what problem you actually have.. what is the difference between a "Decent" or not recording?

You are talking about recording level? That's not a "volume" and you are asking about input level? That's typically described as dBFS (not Db).

You would *never* try to record at 0dBFS, that's digital clipping. If you really understood the meaning of dBFS you just would not ask that question.

For most people getting started I'd be suggesting they try to place the input signal peaking at -12 or -16dBFS. Way low that there is no way it's going to clip. And deliberately low because many cheap interfaces or preamps don't sound great when driven hard, and also because for beginners you can usually recover problem that are recoded at low levels vs recovering stuff that is distorted by a cheap preamp/interface and/or digitally clipped. But that's just a number, something in that ballpark is a good place to start. There is no magic number you aim at for anything in audio where hitting that number will make stuff sound good. You need to understand basic concepts and use your ears to listen during tracking and mixing for what sounds best.

None of this has anything to do with *volume*. You have over 1000dB of digital gain available in the DAW through clip gain, fader gain, plugins etc. You can make any signal as loud as you want through the mixing process (or as loud as your playback hardware can deliver). And lots of things you record won't sound as "loud" as may of todays messed up commercial recordings until you (over) compress or limit the mix.

And depending on how you are monitoring (hardware or software) you also control the volume level heard by talent while tracking and that again is separate from the input recording level. Folks who assume you use the input gain as a volume control, and I suspect you are, are doomed to fail.

You need to get your head around basic concepts, what dbFS means, how to measure input dBFS (track meter needs to be in pre-fader mode), the mixing process (and all level controls available), controlling monitor levels without adjusting input preamp gain, etc.. And maybe other concepts like gain staging, good mic techniques, are your monitors well set up? Are the monitors even capable of producing a decent SPL without distorting? Have you calibrated the setup (often a good idea to help you understand how SPL effects what you are hearing, including the Fletcher–Munson effect). There are multiple good courses and books on audio engineering and recording. Some examples: Alan Parson's Art and Science of Audio Recording (https://www.artandscienceofsound.com), Groove3 courses, Bobby Owinski's The Recording Engineer's Handbook, and The Mixing Engineer's Handbook, and Tim Dittmar's Audio Engineering 101: A Beginner's Guide to Music Production. And yes lots and lots of stuff on YouTube but you need to pick a good trusted source and start building your basic knowledge vs. flipping though videos on YouTube and confusing yourself more.

And stop hoping for any magic numbers to set stuff to thinking that will make things great. That's just the wrong approach, instead work on the skills needed to do things like post-tracking mixing or setting up a good monitor mix. (You might well end up say wanting to track hotter with some preamps and analog gear... and if you develop the right skills you'll just make those changes without much thought).

What computer you are using makes no difference here, artist mic technique, what mics, preamps, interface, genre of music, treatment of the recording room/space, etc. might make a large difference. If you end up still having problems describe what the problem is as best as you can and describe the setup and how you are recording stuff.

[albee1952]

Extremely concise info above! I'll offer a more "seat of the pants" plan. Start with your meters set to Pre-fade(which is the default)>set your mic gain(on your interface) so that your loudest singing just reaches yellow on the track's meter. If you can't hear your voice over the track, turn the track down.

More to consider; The "recorded song" you are singing to might already have some mastering on it(depending on where it came from), which will make it quite loud, so to get your recorded vocal to sit right into the overall mix, your vocal track will likely need leveling out(this can be done with Clip Gain, compressor plugin(s) or a combination of both.

[basslik]

Originally Posted by albee1952

Extremely concise info above! I'll offer a more "seat of the pants" plan. Start with your meters set to Pre-fade(which is the default)>set your mic gain(on your interface) so that your loudest singing just reaches yellow on the track's meter. If you can't hear your voice over the track, turn the track down.

More to consider; The "recorded song" you are singing to might already have some mastering on it(depending on where it came from), which will make it quite loud, so to get your recorded vocal to sit right into the overall mix, your vocal track will likely need leveling out(this can be done with Clip Gain, compressor plugin(s) or a combination of both.

Oh yeah