Vocal Recording Essential Techniques
Are you about to lay down a new vocal track? Wait! Before you start wailing, there are a few basic things you should be aware of in order to get the cleanest and best sounding track possible. It is always possible to dirty up your vocals later and effects and so on, but starting with a clean vocal track is always a good practice.
Good mic technique is basically made up of two components. Number one, remember that the microphone's diaphragm reacts with great sensitivity to all of the subtle variations in your vocal performance. Number two, learn how to adjust your body position and proximity to the mic depending on the dynamics of your vocal delivery.
For quiet, soft, intimate vocals, you can stay just a few inches from the mic from start to finish. If you plan to let loose and sing full volume, stand back a couple of feet from the mic. If your performance requires a mixture of both, move up and back off as needed, and learn to make subtle adjustments, even if it's just for a short phrase.
Ideally, you should keep your mouth just a few inches from the mic as long as you're not overloading the levels. If you do overload the levels, two things can happen to your track. One, you will get digital clipping- which sounds horrible. Two, it's possible that your mic will shut down temporarily depending on how sensitive it is. Both scenarios effectively ruin your recording, but both are also easily avoided by just 'wasting' your vocals a little. by this i mean just pointing mouth to the side or above the mic so you're not singing directly into it during loud bursts.
Mouth pop and lip noise can easily be rectified. Stage mics like the Shure SM57 and SM58 have a pop-filter kind of built in. Stage mics generally have a foam layer just behind the ball shaped mesh protective grid. Many musicians and engineers submit that these dampen om high end frequencies, and prefer the nylon stocking style O-ring pop-filters. Positioning one of these between the performer and the mic will effectively eliminate any uncontrolled blast of breath from overloading the mic.
Mouth noise can also be equally as irritating if not dealt with at the time of recording. Don't worry, the solution is simple. drink lots of water or get your singer to drink lots of water throughout the recording. A few bottles of water and a few extra trips to the bathroom and voila! no mouth noise.
Follow these simple rules and you will get a nice clean vocal track. Once you have that, you can freely add reverb, effects, and whatever else you can think of without worrying about enhancing the bad stuff while you're trying to get at the good stuff. These simple best practices will save hours of fix-it time in the end. - 18762
Good mic technique is basically made up of two components. Number one, remember that the microphone's diaphragm reacts with great sensitivity to all of the subtle variations in your vocal performance. Number two, learn how to adjust your body position and proximity to the mic depending on the dynamics of your vocal delivery.
For quiet, soft, intimate vocals, you can stay just a few inches from the mic from start to finish. If you plan to let loose and sing full volume, stand back a couple of feet from the mic. If your performance requires a mixture of both, move up and back off as needed, and learn to make subtle adjustments, even if it's just for a short phrase.
Ideally, you should keep your mouth just a few inches from the mic as long as you're not overloading the levels. If you do overload the levels, two things can happen to your track. One, you will get digital clipping- which sounds horrible. Two, it's possible that your mic will shut down temporarily depending on how sensitive it is. Both scenarios effectively ruin your recording, but both are also easily avoided by just 'wasting' your vocals a little. by this i mean just pointing mouth to the side or above the mic so you're not singing directly into it during loud bursts.
Mouth pop and lip noise can easily be rectified. Stage mics like the Shure SM57 and SM58 have a pop-filter kind of built in. Stage mics generally have a foam layer just behind the ball shaped mesh protective grid. Many musicians and engineers submit that these dampen om high end frequencies, and prefer the nylon stocking style O-ring pop-filters. Positioning one of these between the performer and the mic will effectively eliminate any uncontrolled blast of breath from overloading the mic.
Mouth noise can also be equally as irritating if not dealt with at the time of recording. Don't worry, the solution is simple. drink lots of water or get your singer to drink lots of water throughout the recording. A few bottles of water and a few extra trips to the bathroom and voila! no mouth noise.
Follow these simple rules and you will get a nice clean vocal track. Once you have that, you can freely add reverb, effects, and whatever else you can think of without worrying about enhancing the bad stuff while you're trying to get at the good stuff. These simple best practices will save hours of fix-it time in the end. - 18762
About the Author:
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