Recording in Soundtrap Best Practices

1. Quiet environment
1. Close the windows
2. Get away from the fridge, silence your phone, get away from your baby brother,
etc.
3. No echoes. Find a room with carpet, couches. The fewer hard surfaces, the
better.
2. Use headphones!
1. The microphone should only capture your performance - not the track you are
playing with.
2. To hear yourself better, take off one headphone (partly or completely off your
ear)
3. Use the metronome!
1. Turn the metronome ON
2. Adjust the volume of the metronome.
4. Do a soundcheck!
1. Click the track icon and click the Volume Check icon (speaker with gear)
2. Record a small portion of your track.
3. Solo the track, turn off the metronome, and listen back.
1. Is there any noise in the background I can get rid of?
2. Is my performance loud enough? Is it too loud and distorting?
3. Do I hear the metronome or the background track on my track? If so,
they are probably too loud in the headphones.
5. Record!
1. Practice! Before you record anything, make sure you can perform your part
well.
2. First take! Record yourself performing the entire song. If you make a mistake,
try to recover and keep going.
1. If you are having a lot of trouble, go back to step 1. Practice without
hitting “record"
2. If the first take was OK, but you think you could perform everything
better, delete what you recorded and record Take 2.
6. Review!
1. Turn the background track OFF or WAY DOWN. Keep the metronome ON.
2. Listen to what you recorded.
1. Rhythm: Do you notice places where you are off beat? Too slow or too
fast, or just uneven?
2. Pitch: Do you notice places where your note is out of tune or just wrong?
7. Punch in!
1. Place the playback line exactly on the measure where you want to re-record
 something.
2. Press record (the music will start playing back from 2-measures before).
Perform.
8. Trim / Edit
1. Listen to the transition between the older take and the newer take.
2. Drag the edges of the audio regions so that the edit points sound smooth - as if
it was all one take.
9. Repeat Steps 7-8 until you have a fantastic “Comp” (Composite).
10.