recording: help your mixer!

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very sorry if this comes out rather rude; just remember that's not the main point. i'm trying to help! :D and also i'm not an english speaker so yeah bad bad engrish

Hi!
so 2013 for me has been a year rather full of mixing choruses. but tbh, not all raw vocals i got were pretty-sounding, mixing-wise. i know we commonly do home recording just as a hobby, so i can't really expect much from you guys. but. i know you could do better. all you need is effort. i won't even tell you to intentionally waste some money.


i'm writing this on a mixer's point of view, and in a collaborative projects situation (such as choruses). if you think "omg these are too complicated wtf i'm fine with how i do stuff right now so just fuck off" that's fine, but please apply it to your own stuff as in your non-collaborative projects, like solos.

you think of joining collabs? then add more effort. mixing is not magic, if you're not supportive enough, we mixers can only give you as far as average to low quality mixes. and surely we won't even think twice of lending another hand to mix your vocals. it's just wasting time, is it not?

the thing about collaborative project is, you are not alone. you may act indifferent and whatnot about your recording quality but be ready cause other members will mark you as "the one who's not ready for collaboration". mixers would probably just say.. well.. let's keep it to myself and other mixers hoho.

and so, i'd like to share these tips about recording.
most of the general ideas are from my experience, but I also did internet research and compiled it together.
Some sources:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct98/articles/20tips.html
http://music.tutsplus.com/tutorials/the-ultimate-vocal-recording-tutorial--audio-17783

• singing: learn the song first. this should not be too hard. if you're not sure about the song choice, you can always tell the collaboration leader/organizer that you're having a hard time and make them adjust the script or even change the song.
• sing the lyrics correctly. self-explanatory. feel free to poke the scripter if there are some incorrect lyrics.
• sing with the correct timing. this is also pretty obvious. how? loop the song.
• sing the notes with the correct duration; pay attention to when to sustain/hold the notes or to cut it short. usually in collabs, sustained notes are allowed in solo parts, while group parts are much better following the original. really, this little thing makes mixing jobs much, much easier.
• minimize accentual influence. or better: hide it completely.
• don't try to stand out much in group parts. i mean it. blending is rather essential in mixing, and singing normally in non-solo parts makes everything more beautiful.
• sing in the same octave as the original song. changing octave mid-recording is very discouraged. ask for assistance to the scripter if some parts are not comfortable enough to sing.
• use the best mic available when possible. internal/built-in mic is only ok when it gives a clear and bright recording (noises are common but as long as it's manageable it's ok). other than that, i strongly suggest buying external mic, or even condenser/studio quality one if you're willing to do so.
• choose the most silent and reverb-free room to record. bathroom is definitely not a good choice. if your private room or wherever you usually record produces too much echo/reverb in the recording, change to another room. if you're that desperate that you can't use any other room in your house or don't have the time to, i think you can just.. refrain from joining collaboration projects. You're just not ready to.
• be careful of external noises. such as vehicle/motor sound, people talking, pets, even the sound coming from your earphones/headphones when recording.
• choose the time to record when you're in your best condition. best condition = physically and psychologically healthy. not when you're sick, not when you're overly tired from school/uni/work, not when you lack sleep, not when you just woke up, not even when you believe you sound like crap at the moment. lacking confidence? then don't record and don't add more workload to mixer by giving crap vocals.
• position your mic in the ideal distance from your mouth depending on the mic's type, and hold it there until you finished recording all your parts. don't change your mic's distance mid-recording, and also when you decide to suspend your recording activity and continue it later. please keep it the same. this is very crucial; different distance will produce different recording and so mixers will have to work harder :( for condenser mic, a distance of 15-25cm is ideal.
• review your recording. is it clipped? if it is, then it means you're singing too close to the mic. you are much obliged to resing after you lower your mic's gain/sensitivity level. find it in recording devices > mic properties > levels.
• ideal recording volume: not that loud. the peak record level of -10dB and lower is pretty fine. no need to submit a fat one.
• if you have some overlapping vocals, please submit them in different files. also with timing.

yay.

i will add more if needed.

thank you for reading and happy recording! (please consider making mixers happy too.)