Frequently Asked Questions about Smule App Problems (FAQ)!

Q: Due to current events - In the current update (status mid October 2020) new visual effects were introduced. In this context, there were also adjustments to the hall effects, which seem to be currently causing a tinny echo for many users .

A: We currently assume that changes in the noise gate were made in connection with the new effects. These changes were probably unintentionally made in connection with the adjustments. The noise gate ensures that no distant, quieter sounds get into the microphone. For example, if the sounds of your fellow singer are played softly through your headphones, the noise gate filters them out so that they don't get into your microphone input. If these tones are not filtered, this will result in a doubled voice of your vocal partner. Apparently this effect is buggy in the latest app update of Smule. Many users currently report tinny sound from this vocal. If you have this problem, please report it to the official Smule Support. But the more people report, the higher the priority is to fix the problem. Affected users can currently only wait for a bugfix from Smule and an update of the app. In addition, it can be taken care that the headphones are shielded as good as possible from the microphone, so that no sound can escape. The main cause is, according to our information, the faulty noise gate effect. We will keep you up to date on this page as soon as there are any news.

Q: Can I use my Bluetooth Headset to sing Karaoke online on Smule?

A: No, Bluetooth headsets are not technically supported by Smule. At best, they work randomly but are not suitable for smule because of latency (low delays in wireless transmission). Therefore, I advise from experience to solutions with cable.

Q: When I sing as a second person to a vocal score, it degrades the sound quality of my vocalist. This sounds like tinny afterwards.

A: This usually happens when, with your microphone, you pick up the vocals of your vocalist for some reason. For example, by the vocals of the vocal partner from the speakers of your headset gets into your microphone and thus creates a kind of loop. Read more in the Smule Tips.

Q: Can I use Smule on a PC running Windows or a Mac?

A: Smule is officially only supported by iOS devices from Apple and many Android smartphones. There is a way to run the Smule app on an Android emulator like Bluestacks (Windows). Bluestacks pretends to use an Android smartphone, but Smule works rather randomly and not fully functional on it. If you are a technical dinker, you are welcome to try your luck. However, Smule is officially not supported by this and there are problems to be expected. The most mature is Smule on iOS devices. Here are the fewest difficulties to be expected. If you would like to enhance the sound quality of your own vocals, I recommend using a professional vocal microphone with Tascam iXZ Audio Interface on an iOS device.

Q: Although I sing correctly timed, my vocals are delayed afterwards to the instrumental template. Why is that?

A: Most likely, you are using an Android device. Android smartphones have sound chips from different manufacturers with different sound characteristics and processing time. Smule is not tuned to each device individually. The resulting processing latency can be readjusted and corrected by the illustrated controller. Smule latency setting On iPhone, however, the values are stored internally for each device predefined and no manual correction is necessary. Unfortunately, if the problem occurs under the Android Emulator Bluestacks, the latency setting has no function because the corresponding functionality is not implemented in the emulator. If a delay occurs here, unfortunately, no solution is currently known.

Q: Can effects or volume of a recording be changed afterwards?

A: Unfortunately there are no possibilities to change the effects or volume of a finished recording afterwards. This is because Smule does not archive individual tracks, only the individual overall results. Due to the high number of daily recordings, gigantic amounts of data come together every day, for which storage space must be made available. If each track were saved individually, this would multiply the storage requirements and increase the monthly costs. For this reason, Smule has currently decided not to offer this option. On the page Smule Basics I describe how you can adjust sound, effects and volume as well as possible before saving.

Q: Can you re-record parts of a song?

A: In vocal recordings without video, you can scroll back in the text with a finger and jump to a part of a song that has already been sung. This will delete the already sung part and you can sing it again. This option only exists before a song is saved. Once the song has been saved, there is no possibility to change it and you can only start a completely new recording. In vocals recordings with video, there is no way to jump back to a previous position in the text.

Q: Why do I see the pitch of a syllable to be singed for some songs in addition to the text, while for others only text appears?

A: While some instrumental recordings of songs are provided directly by Smule, others have been uploaded by users. Some users record and upload instrumental versions of songs privately on their instruments. In addition to entering text and adjusting the correct timing of the lyrics, it is very time consuming to position the pitches with the correct timing. For this reason, many users forego this effort when uploading the songs. For some songs where, for example, singing is offset with multiple voices, it may not be practical to specify a certain pitch. If you care about the visualisation of pitch and timing, because you don't know any song well enough: there may be different instrument templates from the same song and a different instrument template than the one you selected contains the corresponding pitch display. Simply try out different instrument templates until you find the perfect one for you. If you do not tap an instrument template with your finger, but instead swipe it to the left, a possibility appears to save an instrument template permanently.

Q: Why is the annual VIP subscription through the iOS App Store so expensive?

A: There are three different payment systems: If you pay the annual subscription via the iOS App Store, Apple receives 30% commission on it. Afterwards the VIP use over iOS devices (iPhone, iPad) is possible. If you pay the annual subscription via Android phone in the Google Play Store, Google receives commission on the annual subscription. The purchase allows the use exclusively on Android smartphones. However, if you buy via the Smule website in the web browser, the annual subscription is bound to the account and VIP can be used both on iOS devices and Android devices. For this, logging in with the identical login data to the Smule mobile account is necessary. Buying through a website usually costs about $30 for one year and is the method recommended by Smule. Here comes the complete and cheaper purchase amount at Smule. To complete the annual subscription, however, payment by credit card is necessary. If you do not have a credit card, you will get a cheap credit card via Amazon.*

Have the initial difficulties been resolved ...

Then here you will find the first basics for singing on Smule.

Do you want to use a professional vocal microphone in Smule instead?

Then it goes on here: How do I use a professional microphone in the Smule Online Karaoke app? Please keep in mind, however, that more hardware can make your technical setup more complicated, and consider this only if everything already works!

Note about affiliate links

*On this page, I share my personal experience with my own personal experience. If articles such as technical equipment are presented, this is not sponsoring by the manufacturer. Nevertheless, I reserve the right to put affiliate advertising links to shopping sites. In the case of product sales on the linked website, the website operator receives a small commission - of course, without the article for the buyer is thereby more expensive. Affiliate advertising links are marked with an appropriate *.