How to improve upon a vocal recording in GarageBand? (Sample vocal attached)
As an amateur music enthusiast, I like recording vocals for songs I like to sing in GarageBand. I have a Blue Yeti condenser mic for this purpose. However, being the amateur that I am, I have to set up audio tracks, record vocals, and then do basic audio engineering over the sound sometimes to improve upon the quality of recorded vocal so it has more of a studio sound. I don't want to add too much reverb / echo to make my voice sound good though and would like to keep it natural.
My question is: to me this recording sounds acceptable for a small home studio recording in GarageBand, but what would the more experienced / professional musicians / audio experts say about the vocal quality here? Did I overdo / under-do any effects? Any glaring errors / improvements you can observe right off the bat? (I'm using the 'Dance vocal' amp in GarageBand)
Another question: is there a standard GarageBand Amp that you use when recording vocals (I know it depends on the sound but still)? If yes, what settings do you use on that vocal amp in GarageBand? Do you leave it default or make modifications?
My voice recording can be played here:
EDIT:
After suggestions given in answers below, I removed almost all vocal effect and this is close to what my mic naturally records. Just wondering if this sounds acceptable:
Ultimately, I'm trying to reach a standard for myself in all of my recordings. I don't want to over-do the vocal effects.
(2)2 Comments
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I don't know the amps in Garage Band, so can't comment directly on that aspect.
This might all just be "my opinion" as so often these things are, however...
Generally the vocal is all a bit 'pointy' compared to the guitar.
Guitar is reasonably soft - buried most of the time behind the vocal & might be able to come up a bit in the mix.
The vocal is all a bit cold in comparison, too sibilant & not enough warmth at the bottom end. I'd be tempted to pull back the high mids & see how it sounds, before trying to actually push lows into it.
It's also far too wet for me, drop the reverb to half.
Don't assume any 'enhancement' other than (maybe) a touch of reverb is necessary. The vocal sounds a bit 'hyped' and the guitar could be louder.
Yes, when you want more of one frequency range, cut the rest instead!
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