How to record your vocals
The quality of your audio will make a huge difference and helps elevate songs from sounding amateur. It really boils down to finding the right environment (quiet!) and positioning the microphone correctly. As you level up you may want to invest in a separate microphone, but you don't need to spend a lot of money to sound good.
How to Record Vocals in 9 Steps:
1. Find the right place to record. When recording, make sure you are in a quiet environment with very little background noise. Background noise can be VERY distracting and can potentially reduce the quality of your finished track. Some of the best places to record while using the RC studio are closets, cars, and bedrooms.
2. Use a set of wired headphones. A set of wired headphones will be best for you to monitor the recording (hear the beat and any vocal tracks) so they are not picked up by the microphone. We strongly recommend that you DO NOT use Bluetooth headphones while recording or you may notice a delay.
3. (Optional) Use an external microphone. The app will default to your phone microphone unless your headphones have a built in mic. You can also use a separate microphone as long as it can connect to your phone and has a monitoring jack for your headphones. A good example would be the Shure MV1.
4. Position the microphone about a foot in front of you. You want the mic at a distance where it's able to pick up your voice, but at the same time not causing harshness or saturation. If you are using Apple headphones, put the left earphone in your ear and hold the right one (which has the mic attached) in front of your mouth. Make sure the mic symbol is turned towards you and cup the right earphone in your hand to avoid audio leak into the mic.
5. Adjust your input volume. It is always best to record on low volume. This not only reduces the chance of audio feedback from your headphones into the mic, but it is also easier to turn up your vocals rather than having to turn them down in the end.
6. Record some test vocals. You'll want to first record some test vocals to get a feel for the sensitivity of the mic and your volume levels. Play around with it until the audio sounds good.
8. Add Vocal Layers. Once you've recorded some vocals, you can continue recording in that layer or add additional layers. To add a vocal layer, simply locate the (+) vocal layer icon on the left side of your screen and a new vocal layer will appear. Depending on your subscription, you will either have 3 vocal layers or up to 10.
9. Remove Vocal Layers. To remove a vocal layer, simply tap the mixer icon in the bottom left and then tap the 3 vertical dots that appear. You will then see an option to delete any vocal layer with the “delete” option underneath each layer within the mixer view. You can also click on any individual vocal recording to delete it.
10. Record your Ad Libs. After you've recorded all your vocals, you can your Ad Libs—the background vocals like "yeah," "straight up,""yugh,""it's lit!" Use ad-libs placed at correct measures to flow with the beat, to fill spots of awkward silence, and to “fill the gaps” (keep the track flowing and piece it together) Many artists have their own signature ad libs that they are known for, and you can too.