The AlcaTrakz Process

Now this process is not, I repeat, not going to turn your $5 computer labtec mic and $20 stock soundcard into a pro-tools like system. This process is for those of you using decent equipment (delta 44 type soundcards, and up, and at least a $100 condenser mic). This is also not your typical “beginners” guide. You should know what a punch-in and chorus effect are (at minimum) if you plan on using this to your advantage.

This process though can be used on not so hot equipment if you know how to remove the noise from your vocals and if you pay A LOT of attention to the EQ process.

My Setup

Soundcard : M-Audio Omni studio
Mic : AKG C3000B Large Diaphragm
Monitors : Event Tr6’s

Obviouslly I will be using cool edit for this because that’s what most cats have and it is pretty much the simplest and most effective (for being free) software if used properly.

Step 1 – Setting up your, well….settings

In Cool edit, go up to OPTIONS > Settings. Click the Multitrack tab on the box that just popped up and make sure these settings are in effect:

Mixdowns = 32bit

Defaults :
track record = 32bit, Mono
pre-mixing = 32bit

click ok, the other settings should be fine as they are.


Step 2 – Levels are good?

Setup your mic / pre-amp / etc. so that when you are recording, you NEVER EVER “clip”. Clipping happens when your input signal goes above that 0db mark, that is BAD and you do not want that to happen. You also don’t want an input signal that is too close to the noise floor because when you boost the signal you will be boosting any noise you picked up along the way. Test out your knob settings, everyone is different, and this is also where mic etiquette comes into play! If you are singing/rapping and you know you are about to belt out a loud part in your performance…back away from the mic! It’s ok! Remember, usually when u begin your session you will be lower than when u end it. Most people start to get warm and louder as the session goes on. That’s why its always a good idea to warm up those vocals.

So what I am trying to say is make it where you are peaking your vocals around the -10db range (this level is usually good for me).

Step 3 – Can we run that back one more time?

When you are freestylin’ outside in the schoolyard, yeah, you are gonna wanna get that shit down in ONE take, obviosully. But guess what, you are RECORDING now, so this is not necessary (unless you rented out a $75/hour studio, then hell yeah you best be getting that shit done asap) Cool edit is a multitrack editing software for a reason, use up the tracks! If you can only spit 4 bars, then only spit 4 bars, punch in if you must.

What I like to do first. Spit your verse a few times without recording it, stand by the mic, get it down somewhat, get comfortable. It always helps.

Step 4 – What you all came here for

Now, the process! I am going to explain a simple 3 verse, 3 chorus song, and typically what would be recorded and how to mix it down.

First you want to get your main vocals down, these will be mono files (like almost all of your vocals). Then you are going to want to do your “dubs”. Dubs are the bars/words that you want to emphasize in your verse. These will go on a separate track from your main vocals. (optionally on another track you can do adlibs, which are the things that puff daddy is famous for…the background talking, the “uh-huh’s” and “woooo’s” during the track)

Next is your chorus. Now You will notice that most chorus’ have a “chorus” effect added to them. I will show you how to do that shortly, first you have to record a few things. First you want to actually get down one mono track of the main chorus, just as you did with the main verse. Then on a separate track you want to record a stereo file of the same chorus, which can either be with more or less or the same emotion, it is up to you (you can switch the one track from mono to stereo by clicking the little button on the left hand side of the track that says “Rec L or Rec R” and by changing it to stereo).

^repeat those two processes as many times as necessary until you have all of your vocals / chorus’ / intros / outros recorded.

Step 5 – Working the mixing magic

You are first going to want to EQ your vocals. You can do this in cool edit by either using the parametric EQ, or the Graphic Equalizer (both are located in the filter effects). I don’t use the same settings each time I record (besides a Mackie low cut in the parametric EQ to take away the excess bass from my mic). This is a “use your ears” process. If your vocals sound too hollow, add some bass or mids, if they are too muddy try adding some hi’s or taking out some lows or mids. It is really up to you on what you think sounds good with the beat you are using.

Second is compression. The best plug-ins to get are the WAVES NATIVE PLATINUM plugins (they can be found on kazaa, do not ask me for them). If you have them, I recommend the RCL compressor. My settings are :

Attack - .50
Release - 100
Ratio- 2.00
Gain - 0

Now for the threshold setting I will usually take a look at the actuall wave that I am compressing. If I notice that most of the waveform ends around the -12 or -16 db mark, and there are only spikes that go outside that range, then that is usually where I will set the threshold level. For a simple quick mixdown -14 is usually what I will use, but again you have to judge this on your own.

Eq and compress all of your waves in the same manner.

Do not worry about volume and normalizing, this can be done with the volume setting (the V0) to the left of each track in the multitrack.

Now for the chorus. In order to get a decent chorus effect you are going to want to put some effects on the stereo chorus track that you recorded earlier. You can do this with cool edits delay effect (located DELAY EFFECTS > DELAY). The setting I will most use is :

Left channel
Delay : -15ms
Mixing 75%

Right Channel
Delay : 15ms
Mixing 75%

Now you will have two tracks for your chorus, the mono track and the stereo track, this will give you a stereo separation effect, and can be added to by recording multiple stereo chorus tracks and slightly adjusting the delay on the left and right channel (do not simply copy and paste and take the easy way out, it will not sound as authentic as recording multiple takes!).

Next step is simply adjusting all of the volume levels to your liking. This is another step that is completely dependent upon your ears.


Other Delay effects – on your dubs or main vocals try this out, highlight from the beginning of the first kick in your beats loop to the very beginning of the upcoming snare (should be about 500-900ms depending upon the speed of the beat). Divide that number by 2 and write that down. Now…use this effect of the vocals of your choice, DELAY EFFECTS > ECHO. Chose the “light echo hall” preset on the right, change the decay % to 40% (both left and right if it is a stereo file), change the delay time to the number you had previously written down (both left and right if it is a stereo file), and change the initial echo volume to 60%. You can always play with the % settings to suit your liking.


Step 6 – Reverb

Once you are satisfied with all of the levels, and effects, and delays that you have added to your track, and when you would normally call it a day…DON’T! first lets add some reverb to give your track the warmth and blend it needs.

Mute the track that your beat is on (the little green M on the left of your beat). Right click on an open track at the bottom of the session and go to Mix Down To Track > All Waves. This will give you a nice mixdown of all your vocals. Now, there is another step that I do here, but im not giving away ALL of my secrets, so you are going to have to live with the basic reverb. If you have the waves plugins (the ones I told u to get) go to the TRUEVERB effect and select the New York Plate preset. Make sure the button that reads “direct” is not highlighted/checked (when unchecked it will take out the actuall vocals and leave only the remaining reverb of those vocals…which will give you only a REVERB LAYER TRACK!). The setting here that I mess with is usually the decay time…this is the major setting in this equation. I will use anywhere from 2 to 12 ms depending on how much of a reverb I want for my track. Click ok and there you have it, a nice reverb track! Now, the volume on this track should be SIGNIFICANTLY lower than the rest of your levels. I usually end up with my main vocals turned up to around 7 or 9 on the volume button and my reverb track is usually around -8 or much lower.

If you do not have the waves plug ins, you can use cool edits reverb presets. DELAY EFFECTS > FULL REVERB. Use the Medium vocal plate pre-set. I do not know if you can uncheck the “direct” button like with the waves plug-ins. If this is the case, you must simply apply this affect to all of your vocals individually, or you can mix all of your vocals down to one track (when you are satisfied with the other effects and levels as explained previously) and apply the reverb to that track, and mute or delete the other tracks.

Hope that wasn’t too confusing for everyone!

Now mix down and enjoy.

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..ghost...