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The Software

As a rapper with a home studio the only type of software that should be installed on your computer other than the operating system, its necessities and itunes or windows media player is professional "multi-tracking" audio-editing software. Multi-tracking software allows simultaneous playback and recording of multiple "tracks" of audio information. Added feature may include the ability to run VST and Direct-X plug-ins for audio editing, Non-Destructive editing for when you highly edit an audio track with your genius knowledge of a gigantic amount of reverb and parametric equalization.

(Tip: less is more, be light on the compression and equalization. The trick with reverb is if you can hear it then you've added way too much, get it to the point where it's just below that and you're fine. If it doesn't sound right without light editing then redo the track, check the acoustics of the room, or get a new higher quality microphone. Don't do something just because you always do, in fact don't get into a habit of anything and always experiment. There are no set "Laws" in audio-editing. If it sounds good without editing so be it, like the old saying "If it aint broke, don't fix it". A seasoned sound engineer's ears have developed with mixing and mastering over a period of many years and is accustomed to all the minor, small artifacts and anomalies that a normal person just wouldn't be able to comprehend)

After installing and hooking up your equipment properly to your computer you will load up your Multi-Track software. From there you will load up your instrumental by way of an import feature. Then you will press a red or type of button to arm a track from underneath your instrumental track, this lets the multi-track software that you are prepared to record. Next you will press it's record button and your vocals will appear as you speak into the microphone. When done, press it's stop button.

Since the software you are recording in is a multi-tracking audio-editor you will be able to add "Doubles", "Ad-libs", "Hooks", "Instruments", "Sound Effects" and anything else you choose in the audio tracks underneath your instrumental and main vocal tracks.

Next you will clean up the track, deleting silent spaces, compress and equalizing to your delight, maybe adding a little reverb and echo, a de-esser if the pop-filter is too weak, VST or Direct-X plug-ins like ones from "WAVES" or "STEINBERG".

The final step in the recording process is to save your session and export the compilation of tracks into one audio file such as .wav or .mp3, or whatever format your software supports and you like for either quality or compression type.

If you can't mix or master tracks or have a preference for any type of "unseen" quality then it doesn't matter which multi-track software you record vocals.

(The alchemy practicing digital heads will try their best to convince you that Pro Tools is better than Cubase or vice-verse, it's a bunch of fuckin' soggy ass baloney, it's all the same soundin' shit, except on some nerdy 0101010101 programming binary language level that has to do with the multi-track software's algorithms of their exportation of .wav and similar formats)

Yet if you plan on not messing around with your finished vocals and leave it up to the pros your vocal tracks better be in Pro Tools or Cubase session forms or you will not get the optimal mixing of your track. Alternately, you can make each track a separate .wav file including the space from the beginning of the first sound of audio in the session to the end and put the audio tracks on a data disk, naming each one track 1, track 2, track 3 and so on.

Although similar, with play/record/stop being universal, each software comes with a type of "learning curve". A learning curve refers to the amount of time and how easy or hard it is to come from knowing jack-shit about something to becoming a full blown einstein-guru-master of it. In my experience, Adobe Audition and Pro Tools win hands down in most ease-of-use categories for multi-track software.


RECOMMENDED MULTI-TRACK SOFTWARE (Sorted by price, lowest to highest)


Cakewalk Sonar Home Studio 6XL Recording Software
Price: $159.99


Digidesign Pro Tools M-Powered 7.4
Price: $299.99


Sony Acid Pro 6 Multitrack Recording Software
Price: $299.99


Cakewalk Sonar 7 Producer Edition
Price: $299.99


Adobe Audition 3 for Windows
Price: $349.99


Apple Logic Studio
Price: $499.99


Steinberg Cubase 4
Price: $599.99

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