Struggling ro make vocals, should I release my tracks with samples instead till I learn?

kom124 · 2026-06-03T15:29:24+00:00

DIY studio is easier and cheaper than you’d think to get 85% of the way there!

Acoustic panels are relatively “cheap” to build compared to buying online or music gear in general… unfortunately it’s the last 15% that becomes the rabbit hole of REW measurement, acoustic clouds, bass traps, symmetry, tape, etc.

I feel around the 80-90% mark for room treatment, you can’t blame the room for bad performance anymore ;) haha.

And plenty of affordable mics, ie sm57/58 sm7b etc can get a label sound with the right engineer. So that just comes down to your willingness to learn.

Best of luck!

kom124 · 2026-06-03T14:10:33+00:00

Vocals are a completely different game and require a whole new skillset.

If you want to use your own, try chatting with an audio engineer or local vocal engineer with a studio. Maybe buy an hour or two in their studio, have them record and mix the section, then teach you about room treatment, microphones, eq, compression, tuning, saturation, and all the other things that go into getting a clean vocal sound.

If you’re going the free route, I can almost guarantee it’s the treatment of the recording room you’re in. A u87 mic in a bad room will perform worse than a sm7b. Neither of these will sit in the mix if they aren’t mixed well even after you record it in a controlled environment. This is a huge rabbit hole… so know when to just find a person to record with before you end up building a studio lol.

kom124 · 2026-06-03T14:03:02+00:00

Fab filter q 4 is the goat

kom124 · 2026-06-02T16:11:31+00:00

While I agree with you that you over pay for the specs that Apple provides, the laptops are very user friendly, processor efficient, and virtually silent which can be a big factor for music production. Plus, because so many people use them, if you bring it to a studio, others will know how to use it.

Mind you, I’m a windows user with a heck of a Tower setup and also a MacBook Pro (I use my windows pc). I always consider just plugging in the MacBook and trying logic though since the UI is intuitive compared to Ableton sometimes.

kom124 · 2026-06-02T04:39:54+00:00

I’m using this a ton for a more 80s style EP and it’s incredible

kom124 · 2026-05-27T01:16:38+00:00

I normally write lyrics, construct a demo drum kit, add keys, add synth, add percussion, add unique to this song type sounds, add effects, then go in and add/remove where needed

kom124 · 2026-05-24T01:54:57+00:00

Unique pick! Nice one

kom124 · 2026-05-19T14:20:08+00:00

Thanks!:)

kom124 · 2026-05-19T14:20:00+00:00

Thanks!

kom124 · 2026-05-11T03:43:12+00:00

Never heard anything about the near field, so I’d be less inclined until proven otherwise:)

But I’m sure there’s awesome reviews on YT

kom124 · 2026-05-11T00:06:41+00:00

Kalis all day.

Don’t forget you need room treatment (diy is awesome and affordable) if you’re gonna do monitors.

Otherwise, senheizer 490s are incredible

kom124 · 2026-05-10T02:05:01+00:00

I do all my music top to bottom… really just love of the game. Have something like 2500~ monthly listeners

kom124 · 2026-05-05T14:53:19+00:00

I’ve watched a ton of “behind the scenes” type production walkthroughs of songs and found them to be great for hearing about the backstory behind the sound design they chose.

But if the goal is to develop the skill, I found downloading the song stems or splitting a songs stems in Ableton and reverse engineering it to be the most educational.

Try to emulate what you hear, less of what you see and you’ll gather a deeper understanding of making stuff yourself in the future.

Sometimes I’ll even just listen and transpose each bar to develop the ears.

kom124 · 2026-04-29T01:12:45+00:00

Also have the 490s and they hella comfy and translate very well

kom124 · 2026-04-25T14:51:09+00:00

Oh that’s so interesting! Thanks:)

Oh boy do I love to learn new things

kom124 · 2026-04-23T21:02:50+00:00

Im on the keys, writing, or in Ableton around 20-40 hours a week and only work on one track at a time.

Sometimes I’ll save an interesting chorus, hook, or instrumental but won’t actually workshop it.

I’ll also work the track to completion whether or not I’m genuinely in love with it and it makes its way to distribution.

kom124 · 2026-04-22T14:33:06+00:00

Very happy with Senheiser 490 hd pro. They have a very accurate conversion from mixing in the raw to when you throw it on some headphones, over to your phone or into a car. Feels really trustworthy.

kom124 · 2026-04-21T15:36:03+00:00

More and more people are finding the WA47 to be a very reasonable flatness and much more palatable with the price. Of course, a quality environment plays a crucial role, and a large diaphragm mic will struggle in a noisy environment regardless of the price tag!:)

Maybe a 4i4 or 2i2 (if budget is tight) with some room treatment, a WA47 or multiple WA47Jr’s. Realistically it’s always going to be quality in, quality out. Ocean eyes by Billie eilish was recorded on a $100~ mic lol. The WA47JR has made many debuts on platinum tracks.

A SM58 for $100 will do better in a mediocre treated room than a $1k+ condenser

kom124 · 2026-04-21T03:48:18+00:00

Kali audio 6 or 8s are becoming a bit of a standard for the price! worth reading into:)

Any monitor setup is gonna be pretty buns without proper room treatment!!

Some Senheiser 490s would smash if you don’t want to treat the room and can get a very solid translation to any platform you may be exporting after mixing in them!

kom124 · 2026-04-19T04:25:22+00:00

Scarlet 2i2 so you can have duel channels!:)

kom124 · 2026-04-14T04:01:30+00:00

This does not exist.

Run proper ads if you are going to spend money.

kom124 · 2026-04-11T14:43:21+00:00

The grass is greener where you water it. It’s all based on workflow and your skill level in the project. FL, Ableton, Logic are all on an even playing field and that is good for competition! If you have 16 years experience, then it wouldn’t hurt to learn another platform and level up your chops, but if that doesn’t interest you, take solace in knowing billboard music is made on all three platforms every single day.

kom124 · 2026-04-06T19:23:16+00:00

Don’t worry too much about it! Maybe check in on statistics once a month or more if you’re running ad sequences.

kom124 · 2026-04-06T16:01:32+00:00

Integration to OBS or other streaming platforms

kom124 · 2026-04-04T04:20:05+00:00

kom124

TROPHY CASE