Recording vocals
Getting the perfect vocal recording
01
To avoid those demons of vocal recording – the plosive sounds that are excessive ‘b’ and ‘p’ sounds that can come through with singing – employ a pop shield. This simple and largely inexpensive item sits between the vocalist and mic – in the middle, around 3 to 4 inches distance from each – and will be your saviour in many a recording situation. Some mics come with one bundled in, but they can cost just a tenner, so invest! 02
The type of microphone you use will often depend on the singer. Top studios will have a selection of mics, and engineers have favourites for particular types of vocalist. Generally speaking, dynamic mics are a more robust solution for louder parts of a recording and also tend to be used in the brash world of live singing. A decent condenser – the more sensitive option – should capture all vocal recordings. Choose one with a cardioid pattern – that is the sweet recording spot in front of the mic. Lower budget recommendations include the AKG C7, Rode NT2A, Aston Spirit, Audio Technica AT2020 and Shure SM58. 03
Use a decent shockmount. This will reduce vibrations during the recording and therefore any rumble that might ensue. Again, many mics come with their own shockmounts; indeed some come with the complete recording kit of shockmount, headphones and pop shield usually in a pack with quite a saving. But why include headphones? Well… 04
Vocalists will need to monitor themselves while recording. It’s not an ego thing (usually); they will just need to know they are hitting the right notes, and a set of headphones allows them to hear themselves as a part of the mix which they can then follow. Use headphones for this so the mix won’t be picked up on their vocal recording. With that in mind, choose headphones with good isolation, that is they won’t ‘bleed’ audio that can be picked up in the recording. Good isolation is a factor we test for in headphones as it is a great asset for mixing too – closed-back headphones tend to be the best option here. And make sure that you have the mix level set up correctly at the start of the recording. Too loud and the vocalist might sing too loud to compensate! 06
Record all of your vocals dry. Sure, they may sound stunning recorded through a reverb, but you can always add that later. You can’t – unless you are using some pretty hit-and-miss or expensive restoration software – remove effects after the recording event, but it is very easy to add them, so it’s dry every time. 07
Record everything. Once you have hit that red button, don’t bother hitting it again until the session is over. It’s not like hard drive space is expensive any more, and you know full well – because it’s one of the laws of recording – that if you do press stop when you go to the loo, the vocalist will give their bestever performance while practicing during your refreshment break. Record, record, record and don’t stop. 08
Get your levels set up correctly before you record. That way you won’t be stressed during the recording. Get the vocalist to practice the loud passages before the sessions start and adjust accordingly. Go on the low side if you can, as anything recorded red will be difficult to correct. 09
Have as much set up for a recording before the vocalist arrives at a session. You don’t want to be faffing about, and your stress will make them stressed and result in bad take after bad take. You might be a technological wizz-kid but they need the technology to be as invisible as possible. 10
And leading on from that, keep your singer as relaxed and happy as possible and you will get the best performance from them. Keep the studio atmosphere convivial and encouraging; low lighting and (very) constructive criticism helps, or you may just end up singing the parts yourself!