TL Audio Fat Track - Manual (Page 19)

18
TIPS ON OPERATION
Recording a Vocal to your DAW via the Fat Track
To set up the Fat Track for a basic recording of a single vocal, you can use the
following instructions as a simple guide to get started. It is up to you how you wish to
use and operate the equipment, and the following is meant as a guide only,
highlighting one of many possible ways in which to record.
1. Connect your microphone cable to the 3-pin XLR connector at the top of one
of the channel strips, and check the Mic / Line switch is set to the ‘MIC’
position. If you are using a condenser (capacitor) microphone you should also
press the 48V phantom power switch - please ensure that you have the gain
and master volume down when you activate this switch as turning on the
Phantom Power can cause a loud pop which could potentially damage your
monitor speakers. Make sure you are using a balanced microphone cable.
2. If you are recording in a room where the acoustics are not ideal or there is
background noise / electrical hum, you may find it useful to activate the 90Hz
High Pass Filter, this will get rid of some of the unwanted noise from your
vocal recording
3. Test the input signal level by asking your vocalist to warm up while you
gradually step up the gain until you are getting an adequate level coming
through, you can monitor this via the analogue VU meters and by being aware
of the LED indicators. If you are recording straight to your DAW via the
direct output on the channel, you should also check your signal input level on
your chosen music software. Please note that on the Fat Track you can push
the channels and have the levels ‘tickling the red’ as it is a fully analogue
device, however, on your software interface you should never let it clip in the
red as it would result in a square wave digital clip. Once you think you are
happy with the level, ask your vocalist to sing the loudest and quietist part of
the song and make any necessary adjustments. The most important thing is to
avoid clipping, quiet parts add to the dynamic range of a vocal and can easily
be evened out via compression at the mix stage. If you are experienced in
recording you may find it better to use a compressor which recording as this
will control the dynamic range of the signal and make distortion at the DAW
less likely.
4. To listen to the stereo mix you are tracking to, bring back the main output of
the DAW / soundcard to one of the stereo returns (A-D) and then set
headphone levels to a comfortable volume for your vocalist and yourself.
Obviously there are other ways you can configure your set up and monitoring
due to the flexible I/O and routing / monitoring available on the Fat Track.
5. Now you are ready to go, so simply press record in your DAW and let the
vocalist do their work.