So not entirely music related, but my don’t-use-reddit policy and this looking like the closest not entirely dead community has led me to post sooo…
I have an audio question about recording levels. I’m doing voice-over stuff for some really bad Youtube videos I’d like to make and it never sounds remotely good.
I get that the recording volume should be just the green side of clipping, but how do you take a track, and then add it to other tracks and balance the whole thing to not sound like ass?
It always seems that it’s either too loud or too quiet and I’m baffled as to how to tweak the mix correctly so that things sound right.
I suggest you first think about what your sources are? What microphones? Does it match the voice? How’s the proximity? How does the room sound? Can you hear the room? Not saying this is your case and it sounds harsher than what it means, but the old saying of “shit in, shit out” is always a good place to start. Check your sources.
It also sounds like compression might be needed on the vocal to level it. That way, whether you duck the BG music to the vocal, or have just vocals alone, things are even. EQ also plays a part in where stuff fits in the whole spectrum of sound.
Keep in mind that if the dynamics and equalization is off on each individual track, it’s trickier to balance stuff out bc it’s kinda untamed.
Seconding track leveling and compression, especially if the parts are recorded separately or you’re not used to live performance.
(This isn’t to say that track level dynamics aren’t important, especially in non-pop music)