Freesound Forums
What is the best FREE sound recorder software for singing?
Started January 24th, 2013 · 2 replies · Latest reply by copyc4t 11 years, 10 months ago
Know where to download a free sound recording software for Window 7 that has good audio quality for singing? I don't have those microphone and I can't buy them. I tried the normal sound recorder but when I try to sing and play it, it hurts my ears. It too bad quality for singing.
Your best bet on the software side is probably Audacity ( http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ )
The installers for Windows are here: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows
But don't expect miracles from software alone. If you tried recording via the built-in mic on a laptop, then even a very cheap (~5$) desktop microphone can be perceivably better, but it's still way far from production quality.
If you have a recent smartphone, try recording on that; I've heard a few recorded singings on them that didn't hurt my ears. Still not a pro mic, but if you have it already, it's zero-cost.
After that, the next 2 things you can do to improve quality (again without miracles) is using a pop shield (you can make one yourself practically for free) and apply proper equalization in Audacity or other mixing software; VERY shortly and roughly (professionals forgive me! O:^) )
Muffled muddy sound? Cut the low freqs a bit, boost the rest.
Boxy, radio-like sound? Cut the mid freqs a bit, boost the rest.
Tinny sound? Cut the high freqs a bit, boost the rest.
Should you ever be able to grab a decent/good microphone, judge by your ears; way too many people are being let down after spending what they thought would be enough (speaking of the 50-100$ range, not pro but not entry level).