Recording vocals.. (MPC Ren users)

I record vocals straight into the Ren. Why not? It's an audio interface, it has mike inputs, phantom power. As someone said above tracks on a digital DAW are basically samples. The ability to use plugins on the input while recording would be useful for pre-compression, or tape emulation etc. Rather than buying a pre-amp.

I just treat my vocal recordings as samples. probably no more awkward than handling loads of takes , drop ins etc on a DAW. Same with my hardware synths.

on the 4000 you can trigger recording with a midi note, then place the vocal sample to start where the midi note was.

I got a load of acoustic tiles from EBay for £20. stick a few round the room, make a patch if about 6 tiles on a wall, put your mike in front of it, no sound reflections. it works. those things that go round the Mike are expensive.

We still have no clear answers regarding this subject.!

mcroepster wrote:Yo Pete,

Maybe you can help us out here.?
When u use a condenser mic plugged into the Ren,
it is recorded into the left. As usual.
But how can you make it sound like the vocal is coming from both
studio monitors.?

viewtopic.php?f=36&t=166971&p=1626065#p1626065

peace

peteblues wrote:to my knowledge, we don't have a 'mono monitor' on the hardware. I'll check if there's anything wrong on the software side, so the monitor feature picks up from the selected channels.

peace

MPCHolland053 wrote:\

es-k wrote:you wont be able to record the "audio track" directly into the ren but you can use your ren as your "soundcard" in your DAW and still kinda do what your trying to accomplish

this probably IS his daw.....as I also wish I did not need to use other software...fortunately i still have reaper and reason 6.5...
He might not......
But i like to not be needing those no more

i agree completely.

at least you could use something like audacity or the free version of reaper though


of course you can record vocals directly into the ren as a sample but there are still no audio tracks so no matter how closely you "hit the pad to trigger when you want your vocals to start" it is nearly impossible to record an audio track and have it replayed EXACTLY as you recorded it.

and keep in mind the OP's original question.. all he said was he wanted to plug the mic into the ren and record vocals.. not exactly into the rens software. (we can assume thats what he meant, but literally he just said through the ren) so in that case my original reply still holds true. just use the ren as your audio interface in your daw.

if audio tracks ever come to the ren that could change obviously

if anyone out there actually works with vocals (tracking/recording, mixing, etc) then you would know you really just cant chop up someones performance and piece it back together with integrity. a performance is a performance and if your triggering all the vocals by chops on pads... i cant imagine that sounding any good/cohesive.

yea for samples/adlibs/etc maybe no problem.. i nudge little things sometimes.. but for a main vocal performance you really cant be recording it as a sample.. its more than not ideal.. its not possible to create the same results.

so, use a daw. or wait till the ren software becomes a full daw

Thanks every one for your input and helping me understand things more clearly. I apologize if I wasn't too clear in my OP but I am open to any kind of suggestions in regards to just recording from my mic using the Ren's preamp whether it'd be more suffice in the MPC software or in PT or Logic. I'm open to all suggestions and hear what someone here may do. I'm glad that I can do it both in the MPC software or DAW so I will try both out. And thank you hellfire, that kind of gave me some relief and inspiration towards the future if I want to pickup a condenser down the road.

@InspectahEX No sensitivity here and even if I am? And? I'm speaking my mind. Don't ask for confrontation if you don't like it. There will always be questions asked and that person may not be as knowledgable in the field as you may be.

es-k wrote:of course you can record vocals directly into the ren as a sample but there are still no audio tracks so no matter how closely you "hit the pad to trigger when you want your vocals to start" it is nearly impossible to record an audio track and have it replayed EXACTLY as you recorded it.

if audio tracks ever come to the ren that could change obviously

if audio tracks or Direct Recording/Record Event ever come to the ren that could change obviously

What es-k said. Just use your ren audio interface as the device in either logic or protools...

REcording vocals like a verse into a mpc would become infuriating to edit and to play from specific points to edit.. like punch in recording.. or splitting a event in half then guessing where that new bit has to start.. Volume automation..
This is a painless and easy process in protools or logic.. which all happens in the main arrange view..

Your only option is getting/monitoring the voks through one ear for the mic because it is mono.. Like mcroepster has quoted.

blackeye wrote:I got a load of acoustic tiles from EBay for £20. stick a few round the room, make a patch if about 6 tiles on a wall, put your mike in front of it, no sound reflections. it works. those things that go round the Mike are expensive.

There's even more science to add to that. There's a basic mirror trick you can do which means you can place the tiles in the right spots symetrically from the spot your mic is.. you put a small mirror against the wall/cielings and when you can see your self or the mic you need to put tiles there.. (two people helps with this)
The good thing about doing this option is that you treat the room aswell for listening.. not just for recording.. it's also best usually to place the mic in the centre of the room away from walls.(farthest distance from a reflection.)

Hopefully your floor is carpet too.. Makes a big difference..
Although your mic is designed with a built in kinda pop screen, purchase a extra pop screen, this helps with stopping the 'ps' and 'bs' and means you can get closer to the mic than without it.. because it's dynamic, it has a kinda proximity effect. (meaning if your too far away it goes all thin sounding)
OR you could make a a pop screen...Out of your girls stockings... and a metal coat hanger...

The ren's mic pre is clean. And should work fine with the sm7b. You may need a bit of gain on it though.. Compress the fuk out of it after in the software.. This will thicken the vocals.
Damn there's a bit to learn..

theNovice wrote:And thank you hellfire, that kind of gave me some relief and inspiration towards the future if I want to pickup a condenser down the road..

No prob! But remember, when recording without a booth, there are lots of other things to consider as well as just shielding the mic. It helps to also have other treatment in the room as well. Also, you don't really want to have a loud ass computer in the room, or fridge, or any other appliances that make noise, or cause electrical buzzes. And you don't want people sitting on the couch farting and shit in the middle of your takes. As long as you get your room fairly quiet and as echo free as possible, pop a filter on behind the mic, and some treatment behind the vocalist's back, you'll get some good results provided you set your recording gain properly and not too high or too low.

DJ Hellfire wrote: And you don't want people sitting on the couch farting and **** in the middle of your takes