Everyone is doing their own demos these days. I personally think this is one of the greatest things to happen to record making, the one problem I have is that often can barely understand or listen to the vocals recorded on many GarageBand or cheaply done demos. After the jump I will give you ten quick pointers that you may have missed that can help your vocals greatly, making it easier for all of us to listen to your demo.
1. Less Bass, Not More Treble - A general rule that everyone can follow for any voice of any type is that before you add any treble make sure that you have taken away all the bass that you don't need in the mix. When the vocal starts to sound to thin than you have gone too far. Only after you have gotten rid of all of the bass that you do not need should you even consider turning up the treble on your vocal.
2. If You Recorded With A Cheap Condenser, You Probably Don't Need To Add Treble - We have all heard demos with ear biting treble on the vocal. The fact is most cheap condenser mics are designed with a HUGE treble boost. Just like I advised above, get rid of all of the bass first and be extremely cautious adding any treble if you used a Condenser priced under $500, since most of them have a great amount of high end hype.
3. Turn The Reverb Decay Down - One of the biggest annoyances in demos that I get is a reverb that is so long it sounds like you recorded it in a cathedral. Most reverb programs have a decay knob, play with it a bit. Always go with shorter than longer when making a mix decision, we will all thank you for this later.
4. Turn The Reverb Down As Low As You Can Take It - I know in some indie rock circles everyone is falling in love with reverb but unless you are cranking up the verb as an aesthetic, err on the side of having it to loud rather than too loud.
5. Unless You Are Going For The T-Pain Sound Use Auto-Tune In Graphical Mode - I have news for you, it takes about an hour or two of reading or watching YouTubes to learn how to use AutoTune decently. If you want your vocals to not sound like every hip-hop song on the radio today, please switch to graphical mode and take one hour to learn how to use it.
6. Pop Filters Aren't Always Enough - Even when you buy some of the super expensive pop filters out there it does not mean that all your pop will be cured. Vocalists can still pop P's and kill our ears when we listen to your demo. If you turn down the bass on the vocal and have already applied a HPF to the vocal and you are still hearing a huge P, please punch it in.
7. Keep Your Mic Pre Gain Low - Unless you are going for a distorted gritty sound don't aim to get the waveform and level high. Keep it as low as possible and adjust it later with compression and fader volume. This will keep your vocal clear and from picking up lots of noise in your room.
8. Reverb Isn't The Only Effect - Try slapback delays, and quiet delays for giving your vocal some ambiance. As well reverb settings with really short decay times (150-350 ms) can do a great deal for keeping a vocal dry and up front without it sounding dry and cold.
9. If You Can't Hit The Notes Program A MIDI Track To Sing Along To - Keep in mind demos are often practice to get good at singing in the studio. If you are having trouble hitting notes, singing along to a keyboard playing their melody can do worlds of good for your pitch and intonation. It only takes a few minutes to play your melody in and have a great pitch reference.
10. When Tweaking The Mix Keep In Mind That You May Need To Tweak The Other Instruments To Make The Vocal Work - I probably spend most of my time mixing getting the other instruments out of the way of the vocal. Keep in mind the sound of the vocal is very much determined by what is eating it up in the mix. If you are having trouble with your vocal sound try EQing and changing levels on other instruments.
Showing posts with label vocals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vocals. Show all posts
Wednesday, 18 January 2017
Friday, 13 January 2017
10 Tips For Nailing Your Vocals In The Studio
By Jeannie Deva
Vocal recording is an art unto itself. Singing in a studio--surrounded by sound equipment, with no audience hearing you--is quite different from stage performance. The following expert tips are a distillation of over 20 years of the author's experience as a recording studio vocal specialist.
1. Get Hold of a Rough Mix. Most musicians can't afford to waste recording studio time. If you want your recording to turn some heads and get you noticed, don't rush into the studio before you're ready. If the instrumental tracks are recorded days before the vocal recording begins, get a rough mix to practice with during preproduction.
2. Have a Grip on General Vocal Technique. Your vocal technique should be good enough for you to expressively sing your songs on-pitch with good tone and stamina without straining or blowing out. If you can't do that, you'll waste time in the studio with endless takes and lots of auto-tuning. Before going in the studio, establish the right key, know the melody and lyrics, smooth out pitch and range difficulties and lock in the rhythm.
3. Focus on the Message and Emotion. Once the technical details are covered, focus on the message and emotion(s) of the song. Your phrasing decisions relate to emotion and message and should be believable within the feel and style of the music. Your own unique style comes from making the lyrics your communication. Mean what you say when you sing.
4. Imagine an Audience. Your voice must reach through this electronic recording to emotionally affect the eventual listener. Sing in the studio with the same energy and believability of a live performance. Even though you may be in a small vocal booth, don't sing to yourself or to mental pictures of past audiences. Imagine someone or an audience out in front of your microphone in the here and now and sing to them with vitality and feeling.
5. Be Well Rested. If your vocal session is scheduled when you're tired and you're pushing past fatigue, you risk strain, blow-out and a general poor result. Some studios offer reduced rates for recording late at night. If you're trying to save money that way, take a nap and arrive once the rhythm section is recorded. You need to be at your physical best for your voice to respond well.
6. Get The Right Mic. Your voice is unique and so is each microphone. Match the personality of the mic to your voice. If possible, test the vocal mics prior to booking the studio. If they don't have one you're happy with go elsewhere or bring your own mic. You may unwittingly alter the way you sing if a microphone mismatch distorts the basic qualities of your voice. The complications are too numerous to list.
7. Adjust the Headset Mix: Headset mix makes a big difference in how you sing and perform. You can change volume levels of instruments, other voices, effects—like reverb—or eliminate them altogether. Adjust it at the beginning of the session until you can perform undistracted. It doesn't matter if you sound good to the engineer and what you hear in the headset is not what is being recorded. If needed, sing with one ear off.” You'll get similar complications to a mic mismatch when not comfortable with your headset mix.
8. Be Careful When Punching-in.” When re-recording a single line or word (called punching-in”), sing along with the earlier line or section and then continue singing past it. This maintains smoothness of phrasing and helps the engineer pick the best punch-in point. Part of recording studio technique is maintaining a constant distance between your mouth and the mic even if you move your body and especially during punch-ins.
9. Focus on Vowels vs. Consonants. Pops and hisses on a track created by overemphasis of consonants can spoil the recording. Think of the consonant as using the same amount of air as its neighboring vowel. Focus your energy on vowel sounds and let the consonants take a secondary role. Vowels are the sounds of your voice, not consonants.
10. Evaluate Your Tracks. Knowing what to look for in evaluating your tracks and how to fix errors makes the difference between a good or great recording.
Rhythm and Phrasing: Are there any places where the phrases go off rhythmically from the music or sound rushed? Consistent phrasing that is appropriate for the style sells” the song and helps you touch your audience.
Pitch: Are any words sung off-pitch? If you were able to sing on-pitch outside the studio possible reasons for pitch problems during recording can be incorrect headset mix or the wrong mic or its placement. The relative volume of your voice to the other instruments can hinder your pitch awareness. A wrong type of reverb or having too much of it, can confuse you by pulling your attention to the reflection of your voice rather than your primary sound.
Vocal Tone: In the context of this song and style, does the voice sound too choked, strained, or weak for pro standards? Sometimes too much compression on the vocal during recording can make a singer push and strain. If you've recorded the song in sections or line by line, ensure your vocal tone matches throughout the song. Variance of mic to mouth distance can result in unwanted tonal changes.
Overall Performance: Does the song sound alive? Do you believe the singer? Does it move you or leave you feeling untouched? There is a balance between achieving a great performance versus having technical details to correct. Once you have a great performance, fix anything that would distract the listener. Your objective: Recording a performance that keeps the listener immersed in the song.
© Copyrighted and reprinted by permission of Music Connection Magazine.
Vocal recording is an art unto itself. Singing in a studio--surrounded by sound equipment, with no audience hearing you--is quite different from stage performance. The following expert tips are a distillation of over 20 years of the author's experience as a recording studio vocal specialist.
1. Get Hold of a Rough Mix. Most musicians can't afford to waste recording studio time. If you want your recording to turn some heads and get you noticed, don't rush into the studio before you're ready. If the instrumental tracks are recorded days before the vocal recording begins, get a rough mix to practice with during preproduction.
2. Have a Grip on General Vocal Technique. Your vocal technique should be good enough for you to expressively sing your songs on-pitch with good tone and stamina without straining or blowing out. If you can't do that, you'll waste time in the studio with endless takes and lots of auto-tuning. Before going in the studio, establish the right key, know the melody and lyrics, smooth out pitch and range difficulties and lock in the rhythm.
3. Focus on the Message and Emotion. Once the technical details are covered, focus on the message and emotion(s) of the song. Your phrasing decisions relate to emotion and message and should be believable within the feel and style of the music. Your own unique style comes from making the lyrics your communication. Mean what you say when you sing.
4. Imagine an Audience. Your voice must reach through this electronic recording to emotionally affect the eventual listener. Sing in the studio with the same energy and believability of a live performance. Even though you may be in a small vocal booth, don't sing to yourself or to mental pictures of past audiences. Imagine someone or an audience out in front of your microphone in the here and now and sing to them with vitality and feeling.
5. Be Well Rested. If your vocal session is scheduled when you're tired and you're pushing past fatigue, you risk strain, blow-out and a general poor result. Some studios offer reduced rates for recording late at night. If you're trying to save money that way, take a nap and arrive once the rhythm section is recorded. You need to be at your physical best for your voice to respond well.
6. Get The Right Mic. Your voice is unique and so is each microphone. Match the personality of the mic to your voice. If possible, test the vocal mics prior to booking the studio. If they don't have one you're happy with go elsewhere or bring your own mic. You may unwittingly alter the way you sing if a microphone mismatch distorts the basic qualities of your voice. The complications are too numerous to list.
7. Adjust the Headset Mix: Headset mix makes a big difference in how you sing and perform. You can change volume levels of instruments, other voices, effects—like reverb—or eliminate them altogether. Adjust it at the beginning of the session until you can perform undistracted. It doesn't matter if you sound good to the engineer and what you hear in the headset is not what is being recorded. If needed, sing with one ear off.” You'll get similar complications to a mic mismatch when not comfortable with your headset mix.
8. Be Careful When Punching-in.” When re-recording a single line or word (called punching-in”), sing along with the earlier line or section and then continue singing past it. This maintains smoothness of phrasing and helps the engineer pick the best punch-in point. Part of recording studio technique is maintaining a constant distance between your mouth and the mic even if you move your body and especially during punch-ins.
9. Focus on Vowels vs. Consonants. Pops and hisses on a track created by overemphasis of consonants can spoil the recording. Think of the consonant as using the same amount of air as its neighboring vowel. Focus your energy on vowel sounds and let the consonants take a secondary role. Vowels are the sounds of your voice, not consonants.
10. Evaluate Your Tracks. Knowing what to look for in evaluating your tracks and how to fix errors makes the difference between a good or great recording.
Rhythm and Phrasing: Are there any places where the phrases go off rhythmically from the music or sound rushed? Consistent phrasing that is appropriate for the style sells” the song and helps you touch your audience.
Pitch: Are any words sung off-pitch? If you were able to sing on-pitch outside the studio possible reasons for pitch problems during recording can be incorrect headset mix or the wrong mic or its placement. The relative volume of your voice to the other instruments can hinder your pitch awareness. A wrong type of reverb or having too much of it, can confuse you by pulling your attention to the reflection of your voice rather than your primary sound.
Vocal Tone: In the context of this song and style, does the voice sound too choked, strained, or weak for pro standards? Sometimes too much compression on the vocal during recording can make a singer push and strain. If you've recorded the song in sections or line by line, ensure your vocal tone matches throughout the song. Variance of mic to mouth distance can result in unwanted tonal changes.
Overall Performance: Does the song sound alive? Do you believe the singer? Does it move you or leave you feeling untouched? There is a balance between achieving a great performance versus having technical details to correct. Once you have a great performance, fix anything that would distract the listener. Your objective: Recording a performance that keeps the listener immersed in the song.
© Copyrighted and reprinted by permission of Music Connection Magazine.
Thursday, 15 December 2016
26 Tips And Tricks For Mixing Better Vocals
I'm Scott Hawksworth, the founder and editor of When I first became interested in music production and home recording, I had no idea where to begin. Now, music production is my passion! I built Recording Excellence to share what I've learned with the world - and with you.
26 Tips and Tricks for Mixing Better Vocals
Vocals are the most important part of any mix (well, unless it's an instrumental with no vocals, but I digress). Unfortunately, vocals are also the most difficult thing to get right” in any mix. In this article, I've put together 26 tips for mixing vocals that you can apply RIGHT NOW. It's not easy to get a great vocal sound (especially if you're newer to mixing), but it IS possible to follow some basic tips, tricks, and rules of thumb to ensure you give yourself the best opportunity to have your vocals shine.
Resist the temptation to only solo the vocal to make EQ or compression changes — These tips aren't presented in any meaningful order, but if they were… this would be the still be the number one tip. No one listens to music in solo, they listen to the ENTIRE MIX. So why would you ONLY work on your vocals without the context of the rest of the mix? Listen to the vocal and make adjustments BOTH in solo and in the mix.
Get it Right at the Source — You'll here this sentiment a lot when it comes to recording and mixing. The biggest tip for better vocal mixing is to make sure you're recording vocals well in the first place.
Use a quality mic (and don't be afraid to change up mics depending on the singer).
Make sure you have a pop filter/shield (seriously, you can get them for cheap).
Record vocals in most sound optimal area you can (doesn't need to be a professional studio, but any place that cuts down on ambient noise and reflections is good).
Use proper miking techniques.
Don't be afraid to ask for a retake (or do one yourself if you're the vocalist) if the performance wasn't as good as you think it could be.
Don't forget to make use of De-essing and Autotune/Pitch Correction when necessary… but don't go overboard - It's easy to go crazy with plugins that remove sibilance (de-essing that's too aggressive can take out some of the sparkle in the highs). It's also easy to go to crazy with Autotune (unless you're mixing for T-Payne or something). They are powerful tools that can and SHOULD be used… but the point is, do so with intention!
Understand vocal ranges and frequencies — It's good to be familiar with these when mixing and especially using EQ. Here's a helpful chart:
If possible, consider the mic used to record the vocal when mixing — If you're mixing something you recorded, you should know what mic you used and be familiar with its strengths and weaknesses AKA the frequency areas that can be problematic. Tackle those first for cuts and boosts!
Consider the singer when mixing — If you're very familiar with the singer (let's say it's you), you might know that they have sibilance at a specific frequency. You know what you'll need to attack first then. You can even figure this out with a new singer just by listening to the first verse or chorus. If it's a problem in one phrase… it's likely to be in another.
Cut before you boost — This is my go to EQ tip , so of course it has application with vocals. It's tempting to boost away, but I'd encourage anyone to make cuts to the vocal first. It's a more subtle, and can yield better results.
Filter superfluous low end — High-pass (low-cut) filters are a tremendous tool to use when mixing anything, and vocals are no different. As such, it can be a solid idea to just roll off anywhere from 80-150Hz (depending on the mix, and the singer!) before you do anything else to the vocal.
Still getting a boomy vocal? Cut some more — Anywhere from 200-350Hz can be good to apply some cuts to.
Still not sounding right? Try even MORE surgical cuts — mid-to-high nasal frequencies when cut can improve a vocal… anywhere from 800Hz to 4kHz can be a good place to focus on.
You can boost a little too, but be smart with it — I like to boost the high-end just a little bit from time to time to give the vocals a bit of a lift. Nothing crazy!
Trust your ears — Okay this is a lame tip, and it's probably cliched at this point (because it can apply to anything in mixing), but it's still worth mentioning. If it sounds good to you, and sounds good across multiple listening platforms… chances are it IS good. Trust yourself, you're the mixing engineer!
Make sure your vocals fit in your mix (especially when it has guitars) — Guitars can sometimes crowd out vocals, so making a cut to those guitars between 900Hz and 3kHz can help solve that issue.
Make your choruses stand out by doubling and panning — Need that chorus to really pop? Double the vocal, pan all the way left and all the way right in the chorus. Voila! Here's a great article to learn more about doubling if you're unsure about it.
Don't be afraid to get creative with panning — In general, you want to keep vocals panned more traditionally… but if the song calls for it (maybe it's conversational, or references space in some way), some alternated left/right panning can be awesome. When I was a young and angry teenager, I loved this Kid Rock song Where You At Rock” (Parental Advisory - explicit lyrics!) which makes use of this technique.
IN GENERAL… EQ before you compress — This is not a hard and fast rule, it can be broken, but I often find myself EQing before I compress. If you're EQing to fix flaws or get a certain sound (which you should be 🙂 ), compression will just make those problems louder and potentially create MORE work for you. If you have mud in the vocal, the compressor will just make that worse (and in fact the mud could trigger the compressor more than you'd like). Avoid those potential pitfalls by just EQing first as a general rule.
If possible, try out different compressors — Not everyone has access to multiple compressors (be they analog or digital), and that's okay. But if you DO have access to multiple compressors, try out different ones on the vocal. See which you like best, and go with it.
Don't compress the life out of the vocals — Compression is a fantastic tool, but excessive compression KILLS vocals. If you're compressing everything hard and start to notice the life seeping out of your mix… dial it back.
Note: In some genres really heavy compression is desirable for the vocal… but the point is, watch out for over-compression!
Be smart and deliberate with the reverb… AKA don't overdo it! — I love so much of the music I'm sent by Recording Excellence subscribers… but I've come across times where artists are using WAY too much reverb on their vocals and it becomes a muddy mess. A little bit can really add some great life to vocals and serve the song well, too much sounds awful.
Really be careful with that effect!
Plates, halls, and rooms, oh my! — When it comes to reverb, using a plate (mono), and some hall or room (stereo) can serve you well. You'll find that stereo hall or room can help big time with glue to keep the tracks tighter. Again don't overdo the reverb.
Smart use of delay can really serve the vocal well — For example, if the vocal is particularly powerful at a point in the song and then suddenly gone the emptiness can be noticeable.
Set up a delay bus and then send a bit of your vocal to it (before the vocal drops out) and let the delays be the thing that let's the vocals drop out more gently.
De-breathing plugins are great, but so is manual chopping — Unless you really want that breath in your music, you should be tackling this issue in some way. Chopping instead of using a plugin is more time consuming, but can really preserve vocal punch.
Utilize volume automation, and ride it a bit — Don't let the compressor do all the work (again it can crush the life out of a vocal).
Side-chains are your friend — Above I talked about how you can use cuts to guitar to help… but if your guitar and vocal won't stop battling it out in the mix, don't hesitate to sidechain that bad boy and duck it out of the way when the vocal is going.
Simplify, man! — There's always a temptation to be fancy when it comes to mixing vocals… but if it's sounding good, why add extra effects and processing if you don't need it? Don't be afraid to just STOP and be happy with the vocal. (P.S. If you got my Simpsons reference , we can be best friends)
Reference your favorite vocal tracks — I'm probably sounding like a broken record to some, but referencing is so key to mixing, I just can't say it enough. Do you know of a song in a similar genre that you absolutely love the vocals on? Listen to it for a moment while you're mixing and try to go for that sound!
So there you have 26 tips for mixing better vocals. Did I miss any? Were there any you disagreed with? Let me know on Facebook or Twitter!
Learn How to Record, Mix and Produce Beautiful Music.
Home recording doesn't have to be a headache. You can immediately up your game when you download my free guide, The Home Recording Cheat Sheet, A to Z - A 26 Point Checklist to Instantly Improve Your Music. Enter your email and I'll send the free guide straight to your email inbox!
Scott
Scott Hawksworth is 's founder and editor. In addition to playing piano for over 15 years, Scott has performed in choruses, bands, and solo. His passion for music led him to learn more about music production and home recording. Scott lives in Chicago with his wife and two cats, Dylan and Sebastian.
26 Tips and Tricks for Mixing Better Vocals
Vocals are the most important part of any mix (well, unless it's an instrumental with no vocals, but I digress). Unfortunately, vocals are also the most difficult thing to get right” in any mix. In this article, I've put together 26 tips for mixing vocals that you can apply RIGHT NOW. It's not easy to get a great vocal sound (especially if you're newer to mixing), but it IS possible to follow some basic tips, tricks, and rules of thumb to ensure you give yourself the best opportunity to have your vocals shine.
Resist the temptation to only solo the vocal to make EQ or compression changes — These tips aren't presented in any meaningful order, but if they were… this would be the still be the number one tip. No one listens to music in solo, they listen to the ENTIRE MIX. So why would you ONLY work on your vocals without the context of the rest of the mix? Listen to the vocal and make adjustments BOTH in solo and in the mix.
Get it Right at the Source — You'll here this sentiment a lot when it comes to recording and mixing. The biggest tip for better vocal mixing is to make sure you're recording vocals well in the first place.
Use a quality mic (and don't be afraid to change up mics depending on the singer).
Make sure you have a pop filter/shield (seriously, you can get them for cheap).
Record vocals in most sound optimal area you can (doesn't need to be a professional studio, but any place that cuts down on ambient noise and reflections is good).
Use proper miking techniques.
Don't be afraid to ask for a retake (or do one yourself if you're the vocalist) if the performance wasn't as good as you think it could be.
Don't forget to make use of De-essing and Autotune/Pitch Correction when necessary… but don't go overboard - It's easy to go crazy with plugins that remove sibilance (de-essing that's too aggressive can take out some of the sparkle in the highs). It's also easy to go to crazy with Autotune (unless you're mixing for T-Payne or something). They are powerful tools that can and SHOULD be used… but the point is, do so with intention!
Understand vocal ranges and frequencies — It's good to be familiar with these when mixing and especially using EQ. Here's a helpful chart:
If possible, consider the mic used to record the vocal when mixing — If you're mixing something you recorded, you should know what mic you used and be familiar with its strengths and weaknesses AKA the frequency areas that can be problematic. Tackle those first for cuts and boosts!
Consider the singer when mixing — If you're very familiar with the singer (let's say it's you), you might know that they have sibilance at a specific frequency. You know what you'll need to attack first then. You can even figure this out with a new singer just by listening to the first verse or chorus. If it's a problem in one phrase… it's likely to be in another.
Cut before you boost — This is my go to EQ tip , so of course it has application with vocals. It's tempting to boost away, but I'd encourage anyone to make cuts to the vocal first. It's a more subtle, and can yield better results.
Filter superfluous low end — High-pass (low-cut) filters are a tremendous tool to use when mixing anything, and vocals are no different. As such, it can be a solid idea to just roll off anywhere from 80-150Hz (depending on the mix, and the singer!) before you do anything else to the vocal.
Still getting a boomy vocal? Cut some more — Anywhere from 200-350Hz can be good to apply some cuts to.
Still not sounding right? Try even MORE surgical cuts — mid-to-high nasal frequencies when cut can improve a vocal… anywhere from 800Hz to 4kHz can be a good place to focus on.
You can boost a little too, but be smart with it — I like to boost the high-end just a little bit from time to time to give the vocals a bit of a lift. Nothing crazy!
Trust your ears — Okay this is a lame tip, and it's probably cliched at this point (because it can apply to anything in mixing), but it's still worth mentioning. If it sounds good to you, and sounds good across multiple listening platforms… chances are it IS good. Trust yourself, you're the mixing engineer!
Make sure your vocals fit in your mix (especially when it has guitars) — Guitars can sometimes crowd out vocals, so making a cut to those guitars between 900Hz and 3kHz can help solve that issue.
Make your choruses stand out by doubling and panning — Need that chorus to really pop? Double the vocal, pan all the way left and all the way right in the chorus. Voila! Here's a great article to learn more about doubling if you're unsure about it.
Don't be afraid to get creative with panning — In general, you want to keep vocals panned more traditionally… but if the song calls for it (maybe it's conversational, or references space in some way), some alternated left/right panning can be awesome. When I was a young and angry teenager, I loved this Kid Rock song Where You At Rock” (Parental Advisory - explicit lyrics!) which makes use of this technique.
IN GENERAL… EQ before you compress — This is not a hard and fast rule, it can be broken, but I often find myself EQing before I compress. If you're EQing to fix flaws or get a certain sound (which you should be 🙂 ), compression will just make those problems louder and potentially create MORE work for you. If you have mud in the vocal, the compressor will just make that worse (and in fact the mud could trigger the compressor more than you'd like). Avoid those potential pitfalls by just EQing first as a general rule.
If possible, try out different compressors — Not everyone has access to multiple compressors (be they analog or digital), and that's okay. But if you DO have access to multiple compressors, try out different ones on the vocal. See which you like best, and go with it.
Don't compress the life out of the vocals — Compression is a fantastic tool, but excessive compression KILLS vocals. If you're compressing everything hard and start to notice the life seeping out of your mix… dial it back.
Note: In some genres really heavy compression is desirable for the vocal… but the point is, watch out for over-compression!
Be smart and deliberate with the reverb… AKA don't overdo it! — I love so much of the music I'm sent by Recording Excellence subscribers… but I've come across times where artists are using WAY too much reverb on their vocals and it becomes a muddy mess. A little bit can really add some great life to vocals and serve the song well, too much sounds awful.
Really be careful with that effect!
Plates, halls, and rooms, oh my! — When it comes to reverb, using a plate (mono), and some hall or room (stereo) can serve you well. You'll find that stereo hall or room can help big time with glue to keep the tracks tighter. Again don't overdo the reverb.
Smart use of delay can really serve the vocal well — For example, if the vocal is particularly powerful at a point in the song and then suddenly gone the emptiness can be noticeable.
Set up a delay bus and then send a bit of your vocal to it (before the vocal drops out) and let the delays be the thing that let's the vocals drop out more gently.
De-breathing plugins are great, but so is manual chopping — Unless you really want that breath in your music, you should be tackling this issue in some way. Chopping instead of using a plugin is more time consuming, but can really preserve vocal punch.
Utilize volume automation, and ride it a bit — Don't let the compressor do all the work (again it can crush the life out of a vocal).
Side-chains are your friend — Above I talked about how you can use cuts to guitar to help… but if your guitar and vocal won't stop battling it out in the mix, don't hesitate to sidechain that bad boy and duck it out of the way when the vocal is going.
Simplify, man! — There's always a temptation to be fancy when it comes to mixing vocals… but if it's sounding good, why add extra effects and processing if you don't need it? Don't be afraid to just STOP and be happy with the vocal. (P.S. If you got my Simpsons reference , we can be best friends)
Reference your favorite vocal tracks — I'm probably sounding like a broken record to some, but referencing is so key to mixing, I just can't say it enough. Do you know of a song in a similar genre that you absolutely love the vocals on? Listen to it for a moment while you're mixing and try to go for that sound!
So there you have 26 tips for mixing better vocals. Did I miss any? Were there any you disagreed with? Let me know on Facebook or Twitter!
Learn How to Record, Mix and Produce Beautiful Music.
Home recording doesn't have to be a headache. You can immediately up your game when you download my free guide, The Home Recording Cheat Sheet, A to Z - A 26 Point Checklist to Instantly Improve Your Music. Enter your email and I'll send the free guide straight to your email inbox!
Scott
Scott Hawksworth is 's founder and editor. In addition to playing piano for over 15 years, Scott has performed in choruses, bands, and solo. His passion for music led him to learn more about music production and home recording. Scott lives in Chicago with his wife and two cats, Dylan and Sebastian.
Saturday, 10 December 2016
3 Tips For Recording Group Vocals With A Single Mic
Using a single mic to record a group of vocalists allows the singers to control their blend and balance more naturally than if they were recorded individually. The result can be a richer, more organic sound.
With that in mind, we've put together a few tips that will help you record a small vocal group as a single unit.
1. Figure 8 Pickup Pattern with Two Vocalists
Using an AT4047MP multi-pattern condenser microphone set to figure 8 will allow you to record two singers with one mic. Place a singer on each side of the mic. The front and rear half of the mic act as if there were two cardioid elements in one housing back-to-back. The balance of the vocalists can be controlled by adjusting their relative distance from the mic.
2. Multi-Pattern Condenser Mic Set to Cardioid
To accurately capture four singers, arrange them in a half circle around an AT4050 multi-pattern condenser microphone set to cardioid. In addition to controlling their balance and blend in real time, you can also adjust the relative distance of each singer from the mic. Remember to keep the two outermost singers from drifting too far to the sides or the mic's cardioid pattern won't pick them up.
3. Multi-Pattern Condenser Mic Set to Omni
Switch the AT4050 from cardioid to omnidirectional to allow the singers to fully encircle the microphone. Balance can still be adjusted by physical distance from the mic. Keep the singers close enough to the mic to prevent the sound from getting too roomy.
With these three techniques, you can capture a vocal group of any size with a single microphone. Check out the full video below and keep checking the blog for more pro audio tips.
With that in mind, we've put together a few tips that will help you record a small vocal group as a single unit.
1. Figure 8 Pickup Pattern with Two Vocalists
Using an AT4047MP multi-pattern condenser microphone set to figure 8 will allow you to record two singers with one mic. Place a singer on each side of the mic. The front and rear half of the mic act as if there were two cardioid elements in one housing back-to-back. The balance of the vocalists can be controlled by adjusting their relative distance from the mic.
2. Multi-Pattern Condenser Mic Set to Cardioid
To accurately capture four singers, arrange them in a half circle around an AT4050 multi-pattern condenser microphone set to cardioid. In addition to controlling their balance and blend in real time, you can also adjust the relative distance of each singer from the mic. Remember to keep the two outermost singers from drifting too far to the sides or the mic's cardioid pattern won't pick them up.
3. Multi-Pattern Condenser Mic Set to Omni
Switch the AT4050 from cardioid to omnidirectional to allow the singers to fully encircle the microphone. Balance can still be adjusted by physical distance from the mic. Keep the singers close enough to the mic to prevent the sound from getting too roomy.
With these three techniques, you can capture a vocal group of any size with a single microphone. Check out the full video below and keep checking the blog for more pro audio tips.
Thursday, 1 December 2016
5 Tips For Mixing Background Vocals
Here are 5 things to think about when mixing background vocals and who knows, maybe they can help improve and simplify your approach.
1. Crank the Pan Pots
The one thing that I think is easy to do as a new engineer is to try and find the perfect spot for every part of a stack or harmony. You know pan the high harmony 50% left and right and the mid harmony 75% Left and Right etc.
But if you think about it for a second, a harmony is just a note of a chord.
Is it realistic to record each note of a piano chord and then start panning them into their own pocket”?
I didn't think so. Try and think of background stacks or harmonies as one. They are going to accompany the lead vocal/melody and therefore don't necessarily have to be easily heard on their own. Just pan them hard left and hard right and focus more on the blend (to sound like a chord) and also the contrast between the lead vocals.
2. Group Your Background Vocals
Piggy backing off of contrast and blend, sending the background vocals to a Group Bus can help tremendously. Whenever you add processing to the combined background vocals it has a glue like effect, fusing them together.
Most of the time I will have some form of compression and EQ on my grouped tracks but there are times where a little more processing will be added. This is more of a taste and mood kind of thing.
Compression - This is by far the biggest thing I do on my vocal groups. I tend to go for a more compressed sound because I don't like my background vocals to be very dynamic. I want them to kind of get lost in the background and have your ear gravitate towards the lead; compressing generously tends to help me reach that goal. If you want numbers I'm probably taking out -6 dB's (maybe more) and a fast attack with a medium to long release. Compressing heavily also helps to squeeze all the background tracks together, fusing them into one big fat vocal chord.
3. Get Rid of the Junk
When you pan harmonies out left and right, often times you get a build up in the lower mids. For whatever reason it just seems to be one those things that I consistently notice from record to record.
Taking care of that zone can help give clarity to other parts in the mix and can also give more focus to the star of the show, i.e. the lead vocal. I would generally attack this region with some type of EQ or dynamic EQ depending on the severity of the problem.
But not all background vocals are created equally.
For the most part I would take an EQ and apply it to the entire Group but there are times when you have to go in and treat each track individually.
Because the harmonies are in different frequencies ranges, taking an EQ to the entire bus might actually damage the quality of the sound. In this situation the best thing to do is treat each problem on its own and then maybe make a gentle cut on the entire Group. Just make that judgement call when the situation arises.
4. Make them Mysterious
Often times the role of the background vocals is to just support the lead melody and not get in the way. You can get creative with how you mix the backgrounds so that they add a bit of mystery to the way they sound in the track. The goal is to try and get them to move around the lead vocal.
There are a couple of tools I use when going for this type of effect but I'm sure there are a lot more creative possibilities out there
Stereo Imaging - Putting a stereo imager on the background vocals widens them out and also makes them a bit phasey sounding. By adding this type of texture you are making them sound less direct or obvious to the listener, making the lead vocals sound clearer.
Flanging - I would probably lean toward this effect now-a-days just because I like the backgrounds to be effected but not too washy sounding. With flanging you can kind of achieve that sound. If you have a mix knob just dial in the amount of flanging you want so that they become a bit more swirly” and float around the lead vocals.
5. Put them In the Back”
To truly achieve this effect is a lot easier said than done and I really mean that. It's definitely not impossible; it just can't be explained easily in words. What I can do is give a couple of pointers to send you off in the right direction but in the mean time, listen to some records with great sounding background vocals and get an idea of how that texture sounds.
Balance - This definitely trumps everything. You need to get the balance right so that the vocal up front sounds, well, up front and the background vocals sound in the back. It's not just a matter of turning them down so that they are quieter; you really have to finesse the fader so that the vibe of the backgrounds is achieved but they support the lead vocal and don't get in the way.
Reverb - Dave Pensado always referred to reverb as a front to back panner and I agree. Just be conservative with it because it starts to sound unpleasant when you use a lot. Try and add it in to a point where you start to hear it and then pull it back.
EQ - Yep, more equalization! Now in this situation it's a bit different. There's usually one frequency area that the lead vocal lives in and there are times when the background vocals compete. I really try to avoid using the EQ but there are times when I may have to knock out a little bit around 1-5 kHz so that the lead vocals dominate that range. It also helps to push the background vocals to the back.
Conclusion
So I keep harping that there isn't really any one silver bullet to the realm of mixing. Often times I create a new technique every time I mix a song because the last technique never seems to work on a future project.
However these 5 tips should be able to get you going when you are mixing your background vocals. I will usually use at least one on every mix that involves a harmony or stack. Try them out and see if they work.
1. Crank the Pan Pots
The one thing that I think is easy to do as a new engineer is to try and find the perfect spot for every part of a stack or harmony. You know pan the high harmony 50% left and right and the mid harmony 75% Left and Right etc.
But if you think about it for a second, a harmony is just a note of a chord.
Is it realistic to record each note of a piano chord and then start panning them into their own pocket”?
I didn't think so. Try and think of background stacks or harmonies as one. They are going to accompany the lead vocal/melody and therefore don't necessarily have to be easily heard on their own. Just pan them hard left and hard right and focus more on the blend (to sound like a chord) and also the contrast between the lead vocals.
2. Group Your Background Vocals
Piggy backing off of contrast and blend, sending the background vocals to a Group Bus can help tremendously. Whenever you add processing to the combined background vocals it has a glue like effect, fusing them together.
Most of the time I will have some form of compression and EQ on my grouped tracks but there are times where a little more processing will be added. This is more of a taste and mood kind of thing.
Compression - This is by far the biggest thing I do on my vocal groups. I tend to go for a more compressed sound because I don't like my background vocals to be very dynamic. I want them to kind of get lost in the background and have your ear gravitate towards the lead; compressing generously tends to help me reach that goal. If you want numbers I'm probably taking out -6 dB's (maybe more) and a fast attack with a medium to long release. Compressing heavily also helps to squeeze all the background tracks together, fusing them into one big fat vocal chord.
3. Get Rid of the Junk
When you pan harmonies out left and right, often times you get a build up in the lower mids. For whatever reason it just seems to be one those things that I consistently notice from record to record.
Taking care of that zone can help give clarity to other parts in the mix and can also give more focus to the star of the show, i.e. the lead vocal. I would generally attack this region with some type of EQ or dynamic EQ depending on the severity of the problem.
But not all background vocals are created equally.
For the most part I would take an EQ and apply it to the entire Group but there are times when you have to go in and treat each track individually.
Because the harmonies are in different frequencies ranges, taking an EQ to the entire bus might actually damage the quality of the sound. In this situation the best thing to do is treat each problem on its own and then maybe make a gentle cut on the entire Group. Just make that judgement call when the situation arises.
4. Make them Mysterious
Often times the role of the background vocals is to just support the lead melody and not get in the way. You can get creative with how you mix the backgrounds so that they add a bit of mystery to the way they sound in the track. The goal is to try and get them to move around the lead vocal.
There are a couple of tools I use when going for this type of effect but I'm sure there are a lot more creative possibilities out there
Stereo Imaging - Putting a stereo imager on the background vocals widens them out and also makes them a bit phasey sounding. By adding this type of texture you are making them sound less direct or obvious to the listener, making the lead vocals sound clearer.
Flanging - I would probably lean toward this effect now-a-days just because I like the backgrounds to be effected but not too washy sounding. With flanging you can kind of achieve that sound. If you have a mix knob just dial in the amount of flanging you want so that they become a bit more swirly” and float around the lead vocals.
5. Put them In the Back”
To truly achieve this effect is a lot easier said than done and I really mean that. It's definitely not impossible; it just can't be explained easily in words. What I can do is give a couple of pointers to send you off in the right direction but in the mean time, listen to some records with great sounding background vocals and get an idea of how that texture sounds.
Balance - This definitely trumps everything. You need to get the balance right so that the vocal up front sounds, well, up front and the background vocals sound in the back. It's not just a matter of turning them down so that they are quieter; you really have to finesse the fader so that the vibe of the backgrounds is achieved but they support the lead vocal and don't get in the way.
Reverb - Dave Pensado always referred to reverb as a front to back panner and I agree. Just be conservative with it because it starts to sound unpleasant when you use a lot. Try and add it in to a point where you start to hear it and then pull it back.
EQ - Yep, more equalization! Now in this situation it's a bit different. There's usually one frequency area that the lead vocal lives in and there are times when the background vocals compete. I really try to avoid using the EQ but there are times when I may have to knock out a little bit around 1-5 kHz so that the lead vocals dominate that range. It also helps to push the background vocals to the back.
Conclusion
So I keep harping that there isn't really any one silver bullet to the realm of mixing. Often times I create a new technique every time I mix a song because the last technique never seems to work on a future project.
However these 5 tips should be able to get you going when you are mixing your background vocals. I will usually use at least one on every mix that involves a harmony or stack. Try them out and see if they work.
Wednesday, 30 November 2016
6 Awesome Tips And Tricks To Sound Better When Recording Vocals Audio Issues
Have you tried recording your own singing voice in a studio?
It usually doesn't sound anything like you thought it would the first time you hear it. It can almost sound… bad.
You know you sound good and other people have told you the same thing.
So what gives?
Don't worry. Just like many singers, you may sound horrible the first time that you studio. But that's not how it has to be forever. You can significantly improve your sound through these tips and tricks on better vocal recordings.
1. Prepare Before Recording
Do not rush into the vocal booth before you are ready. Standing in a studio about to record vocals can be very intimidating for new singers. So practice a lot before recording.
Try recording yourself prior to hitting the studio and listen back to note what you like and correct what you don't like. Establish the right key and smooth out any range difficulty. Your vocal technique should be good enough to avoid wasting time in the studio with lots of takes and auto-tuning. That also means it's better to have your lyrics and melody memorized so you're not fumbling around.
2. Microphone Technique
Your preparation should also include standing in front of a microphone. In the studio, microphone to mouth distance remains constant. Since you will be standing relatively still as you record your song in a studio, it will be better to get used to it beforehand. Singers with little experience behind microphones make fidgety head movements, which can ruin the recording. Common microphone techniques are:
Volume Control
Move closer to the microphone as the volume gets softer and farther as the volume gets louder. This will help level out volume fluctuations, which can help reduce the amount of compression needed later on.
Avoid Popping And Sibilance
Pronouncing words containing P's and B's that produces extra bursts of air is known as popping.
Sibilance is the excessive hissing when producing S's and F's sounds. You will not notice these extra bursts of sound in daily conversation but will be painfully obvious in recordings.
Adjusting your angle and distance from the microphone can help reduce traces of popping and sibilance.
Control Breath Sounds
Turning your head to the side with each breath will help avoid those breathing sounds that need to be edited out later on.
3, Select The Right Microphone
Before you start recording, run through a verse using different microphones at a time.
Record three separate tracks without changing the EQ and volume settings then listen back. Doing so will help you choose which is the right microphone for you. A microphone mismatch can distort the quality of your voice. Match the personality of the microphone to the uniqueness of your voice to sound great in recording.
4, Shape Your Vowels When Singing
Shaping your vowels allows you to give more emotion when you are singing. It also allows you to use your voice to flow within the instrument track. Vowels are the sound of your voice, let the consonants take a secondary role. Good studio singers know how to shape their vowel sounds and use them to end their words with more character.
5. Communicate Through Your Song
As you sing your song, the lyrics must become your own communication.
Mean what you say phrase by phrase - use emotion.
Your phrasing should relate to your emotion and should be believable within the style of the music. Making your lyrics and emotions pop through a recording is important to coming up with your own unique style that is felt by listeners. This also comes back to comfort in the studio - not being nervous and doing what you can to avoid those nerves (like memorizing your songs, practicing beforehand, etc).
6. Song Delivery
Let your voice and emotion reach through your recording to your listener's heart. Bring out the same energy and believability as you would in a live performance to create an emotional effect. It can be hard in the studio.
But to accomplish this, imagine that you are singing to someone. Sing the song as if the person is in front of you and the lyrics are directed at them. Connect with the listening audience as you would to a live audience. It will shine through on your recording.
Mistakes and flaws become more visible after recording. If you do not like the way you sound, just follow these steps and practice more. It won't be long before you improve your vocals and head towards becoming a professional singer that can belt out a great recording in a single take. You can do it!
It usually doesn't sound anything like you thought it would the first time you hear it. It can almost sound… bad.
You know you sound good and other people have told you the same thing.
So what gives?
Don't worry. Just like many singers, you may sound horrible the first time that you studio. But that's not how it has to be forever. You can significantly improve your sound through these tips and tricks on better vocal recordings.
1. Prepare Before Recording
Do not rush into the vocal booth before you are ready. Standing in a studio about to record vocals can be very intimidating for new singers. So practice a lot before recording.
Try recording yourself prior to hitting the studio and listen back to note what you like and correct what you don't like. Establish the right key and smooth out any range difficulty. Your vocal technique should be good enough to avoid wasting time in the studio with lots of takes and auto-tuning. That also means it's better to have your lyrics and melody memorized so you're not fumbling around.
2. Microphone Technique
Your preparation should also include standing in front of a microphone. In the studio, microphone to mouth distance remains constant. Since you will be standing relatively still as you record your song in a studio, it will be better to get used to it beforehand. Singers with little experience behind microphones make fidgety head movements, which can ruin the recording. Common microphone techniques are:
Volume Control
Move closer to the microphone as the volume gets softer and farther as the volume gets louder. This will help level out volume fluctuations, which can help reduce the amount of compression needed later on.
Avoid Popping And Sibilance
Pronouncing words containing P's and B's that produces extra bursts of air is known as popping.
Sibilance is the excessive hissing when producing S's and F's sounds. You will not notice these extra bursts of sound in daily conversation but will be painfully obvious in recordings.
Adjusting your angle and distance from the microphone can help reduce traces of popping and sibilance.
Control Breath Sounds
Turning your head to the side with each breath will help avoid those breathing sounds that need to be edited out later on.
3, Select The Right Microphone
Before you start recording, run through a verse using different microphones at a time.
Record three separate tracks without changing the EQ and volume settings then listen back. Doing so will help you choose which is the right microphone for you. A microphone mismatch can distort the quality of your voice. Match the personality of the microphone to the uniqueness of your voice to sound great in recording.
4, Shape Your Vowels When Singing
Shaping your vowels allows you to give more emotion when you are singing. It also allows you to use your voice to flow within the instrument track. Vowels are the sound of your voice, let the consonants take a secondary role. Good studio singers know how to shape their vowel sounds and use them to end their words with more character.
5. Communicate Through Your Song
As you sing your song, the lyrics must become your own communication.
Mean what you say phrase by phrase - use emotion.
Your phrasing should relate to your emotion and should be believable within the style of the music. Making your lyrics and emotions pop through a recording is important to coming up with your own unique style that is felt by listeners. This also comes back to comfort in the studio - not being nervous and doing what you can to avoid those nerves (like memorizing your songs, practicing beforehand, etc).
6. Song Delivery
Let your voice and emotion reach through your recording to your listener's heart. Bring out the same energy and believability as you would in a live performance to create an emotional effect. It can be hard in the studio.
But to accomplish this, imagine that you are singing to someone. Sing the song as if the person is in front of you and the lyrics are directed at them. Connect with the listening audience as you would to a live audience. It will shine through on your recording.
Mistakes and flaws become more visible after recording. If you do not like the way you sound, just follow these steps and practice more. It won't be long before you improve your vocals and head towards becoming a professional singer that can belt out a great recording in a single take. You can do it!
Wednesday, 2 November 2016
How To Mix And Record Vocals
Learn how to record and mix vocals in your own studio. Achieving high quality vocal recordings can be confusing at the best of times. Having clear and prominent vocals with the right processing can really enhance your mix and add a serious boost to your production skills..
The tips and techniques shown in this article will help you achieve the results that your music deserves.
Choosing The Right Microphone:
First of all, you need to decide if you're going to use a Small or Large diaphragm microphone. Your choice of microphone for a singers particular vocal tone can have a dramatic effect on the final mix.
Typically, in today's industry, large diaphragm microphones are the standard. They offer a certain warmth and smoothness but can also lend your singer an airy/sizzly tone. Cardioid-
Pattern Capacitor Microphones are the most common for any type of Pop or Urban recordings. However some singers prefer to use dynamic microphones such as some ‘Shure' models because it brings out a certain tone in their voice.
Valve/Tube condenser mic's have also been popular over the years with their added warmth as the valve in the mic gets driven and adds a mild harmonic distortion that is pleasing to the ear.
A favourite of mine is the 90's model of the AKG Solidtube which was a particularly ‘colourful' mic. I used this mic to record the acoustic guitars for our Acoustic Guitar - Steel String Essentials V1 loop pack. It's also a great vocal mic and works surprisingly well as a room ambience mic for drumsAlthough the make and model is important, the tonal characteristics and overall sound is key! This is much more important to the singer than a lot of producers and engineers can appreciate.
Most singers don't care what microphone patterns, make and model is used, just as long as you can bring out a good sound in their vocals. There is nothing more frustrating to a singer than knowing they nailed a perfect take, only to find out the recording doesn't do it justice.
Polar Patterns:
This also ties in with ‘Choosing The Correct Microphone' section above. It's important to take the polar patterns of certain microphones in to account when purchasing your next microphone.
Cardioid-Pattern Microphones are the industry favorite because they generally exclude most off axis sounds, such as room reflections, spill from other sources and the home studio nightmare of the computer fan / cooler!
We would recommend not using an omni-directional pattern microphone unless you have a vocal booth. Omni-directional microphones are equally sensitive all round and will pick up a lot of unwanted sound. If you do have a vocal booth you may find that this type of polar pattern can pick up a more desired vocal sound, or natural ambience.
Try testing out different microphones with different polar patterns and compare the recordings and see what you prefer. As long as you have a good ear for music, it's all about personal taste.
Ribbon microphones are also worth mentioning. As of late, these microphones are showing up in more and more studios. They all have figure-of-eight polar patterns and deliver a very unique and bright sound. Figure of eight polar pattern microphones are equally sensitive to the front as they are the back. In a home studio, putting a sound absorbing panel behind the microphone can stop any unwanted sound to leak in to the vocal recording.
Buyers Tip:
Last year I was in the market for a new vocal mic for some new recordings for Platinumloops, so I hired about 8 different condenser mic's of varying qualities and price ranges. By setting them all up on separate mic stands behind a pro quality pop shield I was able to record lots of vocal takes on multiple mics.
I also rotated the mic positions so that each mic got a fair shot at recording the sweet spot. By doing this I was able to make accurate comparisons of recordings from each mic which yielded surprising results. Some of the most expensive mics didn't sound as good as the less expensive mics. It was also good to try adding compression, eq and de-essing to each track individually to see how much that affected the tone of the mic.
I found that some mic's required less processing than others in order to create a transparent, even tone.
In the end, the mic I eventually purchased was the SE Electronics Z3300A and to this day is my favourite all round vocal mic. This is the mic I used to record our popular Lush V1 - 12 String Guitar & Voice loop pack.
Mic Pre-amps
As I covered in my article on How to Record Drums , do you really need a Microphone Pre-amp?
The answer is No you don't NEED them, but it would be nice to use the best Mic-pre's you can get your hands on. My microphone pre-amp of choice is the Focusrite Liquid Channel which I use on pretty much everything I record. I like to tweak the harmonics” knob on the Liquid channel just a little bit on the snare but this is only a very subtle enhancement.
Acoustic Problems And Treatments:
Unless your studio has been professionally designed by professional acoustic designers there will be reflections from lots of different sources in your recording room.
Why is this such a big problem?
Well, if you get the sound you're after you will still have the reverb and reflections from the room layered over the vocal take. So when adding a nice reverb sound in the mix, you'll essentially be adding reverb to an already reverberated signal. This is a huge problem in the typical home studio.
Home studios have lots of unwanted room reflections and prevent you from achieving a professional sound. Overlooking acoustic treatment is a big mistake. You could spend thousands on a great selection of microphones and equipment, but without a correctly treated recording booth / room you'll have problems at the mixing stage.
If you can't afford to do much acoustic treatment, many home studios simply hang a duvet, blanket or curtains behind the microphone and around the singer. This can go a long way and you'll be able to notice the difference immediately. This will at least stop the ‘boxy' type of sound you get when not treating the environment.
A rug/carpet rather than wood floor will also help tremendously.
If you can afford acoustic treatment there are various products available that won't break the bank and will seriously reduce your room reflections. We recently treated one of our new mixing rooms with a Room Kit and Cloud Kit from Primacoustic and it seriously improved the sound of the room for less than $1000.
If you're a lottery winner there are many professional acoustic engineers available to take your money and get your rooms sounding perfect. A quick internet search will yield many results.
Shock-Mount & Pop Shield:
While a Shock-Mount is not the most important aspect in achieving a great vocal sound, it will stop those annoying low end vibrations coming up from the floor. Most decent microphones will come with a Shock-Mount.
Before you can start recording, purchasing a decent Shock-Mount and Pop Shield is vital. Fitting the pop shield a few inches away from the microphone will stop the popping and booming problems you'll get in the vocal performance. Certain words and sounds, such as ‘P' will give that effect, using a pop shield eliminates the blasts of air (called ‘Plosives') hitting the microphones diaphragm.
Recording Vocals
Now you're finally ready to start recording the vocals. We would suggest not using much compression (if any) at the recording stages, and definitely no EQ. Recording the sound with no processing allows more flexibility and control at the mix stage.
Experienced engineers may use certain types of processing at the recordings stage, but this is risky. What might sound great when isolated might sound terrible in the mix and frequency spectrum. For this reason I would suggest recording with no effects or processing. A tiny bit of compression can work well, but make sure not to overdo it. You can always add more at the mixing stage!
The Headphone Mix
When recording vocals it's important to help the singer achieve the best performance. For starters, setting up a good headphone mix can make things much easier for yourself and the singer.
The headphone mix must be well balanced, giving the singer a small amount of reverb or delay. It's also a good idea to do a few test recordings and find out what headphone mix the singer likes.
They may want to be smothered in reverb if that helps make them confident. As we mentioned earlier you don't want any processing on the vocals during recording, so even though you're giving the singer reverb, make sure it's not on the recording.
Simply add the effects and processing on the output of your channel as you send it to the microphone amp for the singer. You'll want the flexibility to add different reverbs and see what sounds good later on. You always want as much freedom as possible at the mixing stage.
Be Friendly
Your attitude as a producer / engineer can also be the deciding factor in the singer delivering a good vocal performance.
Try to be encouraging rather than critical about their performance. It's usually a good idea to get the singer to sit in with you after recording a few vocal takes and let them listen to what they've recorded. They are usually their own best critics, so if they can assess problems themselves then it makes your job a lot easier.
Usually they'll ask if they can do another take or correct a line in the song. If a singer is constantly not delivering a good performance then don't keep them in the booth until they get it right. Give them a short 10 - 15 minute break.
This can work wonders. Remember, the best tool in having your singer give the best performance is confidence. Make them comfortable and let them adjust without telling them constantly what they're doing wrong.
Spoiling them with green tea and honey can also help to make them more comfortable. A singer needs lots of fluids to keep their mouth and throat moist, so avoid alcohol which will just dehydrate them. Water is the best drink.
Mixing & Processing Vocals:
Once everything is recorded and you've compiled your favorite takes to create the master and cleaned up any unwanted noise and breath effects in the gaps, you can use a variety of processing and mixing effects to touch up the vocals to get the final polished sound.
EQ
When it comes to EQ there's nothing set in stone. Although following the list below will help you start to clean up the sound:
Removing some of the 150-450Hz range will remove some low-mid range boxiness.
Boosting Frequencies around 8 kHz + can add a nice airy tone, and crisp effect to the sound. However, watch out for the ‘S's and ‘T's as any brightening will inevitably boost these.
When using EQ, make sure to boost and cut as little as you can get away with. Drastically changing the sound with EQ will give an unnatural sound to the performance.
Compression
This is my favourite part of processing vocals. A compressor works in 2 ways. Firstly the main purpose of a compressor is to even out the peaks and dips of volume in the recording. By squeezing the volume of the recording a compressor will make the loudest parts of a recording sound closer in volume to the quiet parts. This gives a smooth, even volume and is kind on your ears.
The second and more important aspect of compression is the musical energy that it gives to a recording. When used correctly, compression adds an immediate pressure and energy to very dynamic recordings that can really bring a vocal take to life.
Listen to a radio DJ and you'll be able to hear the compression pumping away to keep the volume of the voice on an even level. Radio compression is excessive so as to protect peoples hi-fi speakers so I'm not suggesting you use such drastic settings, but experiment and you'll soon discover that compression is the most important tool in processing of vocal recordings.
Aiming for about 6-9dB of gain reduction, using a ratio of between 2:1 and 7:1 on the loudest parts in the track should give you a good starting point. Make sure when setting the attack and release time you get an even sounding reduction. It's important not to get that ‘pumping' effect. You don't want to hear the compressor working, you just want the vocals to sound even.
Reverb
Reverb is really all about personal taste. While some engineers and singers use the smallest amount possible, others will use as much as they can get away with. A plate emulation is usually the common setting used when mixing urban vocals. Plate emulations are good and often serve to settle the vocal into the mix. Try these settings on your vocal sound.
Plate Reverb
Double Tracking
To create that thick wall of sound vocal effect that just sounds huge, you're going to want to double or triple track your vocals. By this we mean record an extra take onto a new audio track and play it alongside the original.
This often smooth's out any pitch imperfections and adds a ‘chorusing' type of effect to the voice. The differences in the two different takes combine to make a lush, dense sound that you'll already be familiar with.
If you decide to double track the vocals. We would recommend doing it for real. Trying to fake a double tracking effect will usually give poor results and make your hard earned vocal recording sound amateur. Although if you must fake the double tracking then follow these tips.
Double Tracking your vocals using pitch variations and not aligning the audio files up perfectly can give great results.
Copying your vocal take to another track, (you can even do this more than once, known as ‘vocal stacking') and using a plug in such as auto tune, or Melodyne you can introduce slight pitch changes in the copied vocal. Also adding a delay of 50 - 120 ms to the copied vocals can also fake the ‘2nd part' vocals well.
De-essing
De-essers can be used either at the mixing stage or recordings stage. If your singer has a particularly sibilant voice you are going to have problems. My advice is to get the singer to back away from the mic so that there is a 10 inch space between the singer and the pop shield. Also ensure that the singer is off-axis (not pointing directly) from the mic diaphragm.
The downside to this is that the recording will loose some of its warmer bottom end and the proximity effect will be gone. The upside is that you'll be able to record a clean usable vocal with only mild de-essing required at mix stage.
So, what is a De-esser?
A De-esser is a tool that engineers can use to take out the very pronounced and harsh ‘S' and ‘T' sounds that some singers can produce. If the problem is really affecting the recording then you will have to use electronic ways of reducing just the sibilant peaks.
Think of a De-Esser as a compressor that only works on the ‘S' and ‘T' sounds. Anything in the 3-6 khz range to be specific. With a de-esser, make sure to use light settings when possible, otherwise you may find your singer has a slight lisp to their recording. If your going to use a De-esser, we recommend spending money on one that really pinpoints the correct frequency range so the rest of the recording is left unchanged!
There are many hardware and software signal processors and mastering tools that have De-esser presets but in my experience you'll need to do some tweaking to hone in on the problem frequencies that need to be compressed. Record the vocal correctly with the right room treatment and you'll only need very subtle de-essing, if any.
Final Thoughts
Make sure you plan the recording process, take your time with the singer and mixing stage and have fun. Experiment with different techniques and find what works best for you and the singer you're working with. By reading this article you've taken your first step to achieving the industry professional vocal sound you've been looking for. Good luck!
The tips and techniques shown in this article will help you achieve the results that your music deserves.
Choosing The Right Microphone:
First of all, you need to decide if you're going to use a Small or Large diaphragm microphone. Your choice of microphone for a singers particular vocal tone can have a dramatic effect on the final mix.
Typically, in today's industry, large diaphragm microphones are the standard. They offer a certain warmth and smoothness but can also lend your singer an airy/sizzly tone. Cardioid-
Pattern Capacitor Microphones are the most common for any type of Pop or Urban recordings. However some singers prefer to use dynamic microphones such as some ‘Shure' models because it brings out a certain tone in their voice.
Valve/Tube condenser mic's have also been popular over the years with their added warmth as the valve in the mic gets driven and adds a mild harmonic distortion that is pleasing to the ear.
A favourite of mine is the 90's model of the AKG Solidtube which was a particularly ‘colourful' mic. I used this mic to record the acoustic guitars for our Acoustic Guitar - Steel String Essentials V1 loop pack. It's also a great vocal mic and works surprisingly well as a room ambience mic for drumsAlthough the make and model is important, the tonal characteristics and overall sound is key! This is much more important to the singer than a lot of producers and engineers can appreciate.
Most singers don't care what microphone patterns, make and model is used, just as long as you can bring out a good sound in their vocals. There is nothing more frustrating to a singer than knowing they nailed a perfect take, only to find out the recording doesn't do it justice.
Polar Patterns:
This also ties in with ‘Choosing The Correct Microphone' section above. It's important to take the polar patterns of certain microphones in to account when purchasing your next microphone.
Cardioid-Pattern Microphones are the industry favorite because they generally exclude most off axis sounds, such as room reflections, spill from other sources and the home studio nightmare of the computer fan / cooler!
We would recommend not using an omni-directional pattern microphone unless you have a vocal booth. Omni-directional microphones are equally sensitive all round and will pick up a lot of unwanted sound. If you do have a vocal booth you may find that this type of polar pattern can pick up a more desired vocal sound, or natural ambience.
Try testing out different microphones with different polar patterns and compare the recordings and see what you prefer. As long as you have a good ear for music, it's all about personal taste.
Ribbon microphones are also worth mentioning. As of late, these microphones are showing up in more and more studios. They all have figure-of-eight polar patterns and deliver a very unique and bright sound. Figure of eight polar pattern microphones are equally sensitive to the front as they are the back. In a home studio, putting a sound absorbing panel behind the microphone can stop any unwanted sound to leak in to the vocal recording.
Buyers Tip:
Last year I was in the market for a new vocal mic for some new recordings for Platinumloops, so I hired about 8 different condenser mic's of varying qualities and price ranges. By setting them all up on separate mic stands behind a pro quality pop shield I was able to record lots of vocal takes on multiple mics.
I also rotated the mic positions so that each mic got a fair shot at recording the sweet spot. By doing this I was able to make accurate comparisons of recordings from each mic which yielded surprising results. Some of the most expensive mics didn't sound as good as the less expensive mics. It was also good to try adding compression, eq and de-essing to each track individually to see how much that affected the tone of the mic.
I found that some mic's required less processing than others in order to create a transparent, even tone.
In the end, the mic I eventually purchased was the SE Electronics Z3300A and to this day is my favourite all round vocal mic. This is the mic I used to record our popular Lush V1 - 12 String Guitar & Voice loop pack.
Mic Pre-amps
As I covered in my article on How to Record Drums , do you really need a Microphone Pre-amp?
The answer is No you don't NEED them, but it would be nice to use the best Mic-pre's you can get your hands on. My microphone pre-amp of choice is the Focusrite Liquid Channel which I use on pretty much everything I record. I like to tweak the harmonics” knob on the Liquid channel just a little bit on the snare but this is only a very subtle enhancement.
Acoustic Problems And Treatments:
Unless your studio has been professionally designed by professional acoustic designers there will be reflections from lots of different sources in your recording room.
Why is this such a big problem?
Well, if you get the sound you're after you will still have the reverb and reflections from the room layered over the vocal take. So when adding a nice reverb sound in the mix, you'll essentially be adding reverb to an already reverberated signal. This is a huge problem in the typical home studio.
Home studios have lots of unwanted room reflections and prevent you from achieving a professional sound. Overlooking acoustic treatment is a big mistake. You could spend thousands on a great selection of microphones and equipment, but without a correctly treated recording booth / room you'll have problems at the mixing stage.
If you can't afford to do much acoustic treatment, many home studios simply hang a duvet, blanket or curtains behind the microphone and around the singer. This can go a long way and you'll be able to notice the difference immediately. This will at least stop the ‘boxy' type of sound you get when not treating the environment.
A rug/carpet rather than wood floor will also help tremendously.
If you can afford acoustic treatment there are various products available that won't break the bank and will seriously reduce your room reflections. We recently treated one of our new mixing rooms with a Room Kit and Cloud Kit from Primacoustic and it seriously improved the sound of the room for less than $1000.
If you're a lottery winner there are many professional acoustic engineers available to take your money and get your rooms sounding perfect. A quick internet search will yield many results.
Shock-Mount & Pop Shield:
While a Shock-Mount is not the most important aspect in achieving a great vocal sound, it will stop those annoying low end vibrations coming up from the floor. Most decent microphones will come with a Shock-Mount.
Before you can start recording, purchasing a decent Shock-Mount and Pop Shield is vital. Fitting the pop shield a few inches away from the microphone will stop the popping and booming problems you'll get in the vocal performance. Certain words and sounds, such as ‘P' will give that effect, using a pop shield eliminates the blasts of air (called ‘Plosives') hitting the microphones diaphragm.
Recording Vocals
Now you're finally ready to start recording the vocals. We would suggest not using much compression (if any) at the recording stages, and definitely no EQ. Recording the sound with no processing allows more flexibility and control at the mix stage.
Experienced engineers may use certain types of processing at the recordings stage, but this is risky. What might sound great when isolated might sound terrible in the mix and frequency spectrum. For this reason I would suggest recording with no effects or processing. A tiny bit of compression can work well, but make sure not to overdo it. You can always add more at the mixing stage!
The Headphone Mix
When recording vocals it's important to help the singer achieve the best performance. For starters, setting up a good headphone mix can make things much easier for yourself and the singer.
The headphone mix must be well balanced, giving the singer a small amount of reverb or delay. It's also a good idea to do a few test recordings and find out what headphone mix the singer likes.
They may want to be smothered in reverb if that helps make them confident. As we mentioned earlier you don't want any processing on the vocals during recording, so even though you're giving the singer reverb, make sure it's not on the recording.
Simply add the effects and processing on the output of your channel as you send it to the microphone amp for the singer. You'll want the flexibility to add different reverbs and see what sounds good later on. You always want as much freedom as possible at the mixing stage.
Be Friendly
Your attitude as a producer / engineer can also be the deciding factor in the singer delivering a good vocal performance.
Try to be encouraging rather than critical about their performance. It's usually a good idea to get the singer to sit in with you after recording a few vocal takes and let them listen to what they've recorded. They are usually their own best critics, so if they can assess problems themselves then it makes your job a lot easier.
Usually they'll ask if they can do another take or correct a line in the song. If a singer is constantly not delivering a good performance then don't keep them in the booth until they get it right. Give them a short 10 - 15 minute break.
This can work wonders. Remember, the best tool in having your singer give the best performance is confidence. Make them comfortable and let them adjust without telling them constantly what they're doing wrong.
Spoiling them with green tea and honey can also help to make them more comfortable. A singer needs lots of fluids to keep their mouth and throat moist, so avoid alcohol which will just dehydrate them. Water is the best drink.
Mixing & Processing Vocals:
Once everything is recorded and you've compiled your favorite takes to create the master and cleaned up any unwanted noise and breath effects in the gaps, you can use a variety of processing and mixing effects to touch up the vocals to get the final polished sound.
EQ
When it comes to EQ there's nothing set in stone. Although following the list below will help you start to clean up the sound:
Removing some of the 150-450Hz range will remove some low-mid range boxiness.
Boosting Frequencies around 8 kHz + can add a nice airy tone, and crisp effect to the sound. However, watch out for the ‘S's and ‘T's as any brightening will inevitably boost these.
When using EQ, make sure to boost and cut as little as you can get away with. Drastically changing the sound with EQ will give an unnatural sound to the performance.
Compression
This is my favourite part of processing vocals. A compressor works in 2 ways. Firstly the main purpose of a compressor is to even out the peaks and dips of volume in the recording. By squeezing the volume of the recording a compressor will make the loudest parts of a recording sound closer in volume to the quiet parts. This gives a smooth, even volume and is kind on your ears.
The second and more important aspect of compression is the musical energy that it gives to a recording. When used correctly, compression adds an immediate pressure and energy to very dynamic recordings that can really bring a vocal take to life.
Listen to a radio DJ and you'll be able to hear the compression pumping away to keep the volume of the voice on an even level. Radio compression is excessive so as to protect peoples hi-fi speakers so I'm not suggesting you use such drastic settings, but experiment and you'll soon discover that compression is the most important tool in processing of vocal recordings.
Aiming for about 6-9dB of gain reduction, using a ratio of between 2:1 and 7:1 on the loudest parts in the track should give you a good starting point. Make sure when setting the attack and release time you get an even sounding reduction. It's important not to get that ‘pumping' effect. You don't want to hear the compressor working, you just want the vocals to sound even.
Reverb
Reverb is really all about personal taste. While some engineers and singers use the smallest amount possible, others will use as much as they can get away with. A plate emulation is usually the common setting used when mixing urban vocals. Plate emulations are good and often serve to settle the vocal into the mix. Try these settings on your vocal sound.
Plate Reverb
Double Tracking
To create that thick wall of sound vocal effect that just sounds huge, you're going to want to double or triple track your vocals. By this we mean record an extra take onto a new audio track and play it alongside the original.
This often smooth's out any pitch imperfections and adds a ‘chorusing' type of effect to the voice. The differences in the two different takes combine to make a lush, dense sound that you'll already be familiar with.
If you decide to double track the vocals. We would recommend doing it for real. Trying to fake a double tracking effect will usually give poor results and make your hard earned vocal recording sound amateur. Although if you must fake the double tracking then follow these tips.
Double Tracking your vocals using pitch variations and not aligning the audio files up perfectly can give great results.
Copying your vocal take to another track, (you can even do this more than once, known as ‘vocal stacking') and using a plug in such as auto tune, or Melodyne you can introduce slight pitch changes in the copied vocal. Also adding a delay of 50 - 120 ms to the copied vocals can also fake the ‘2nd part' vocals well.
De-essing
De-essers can be used either at the mixing stage or recordings stage. If your singer has a particularly sibilant voice you are going to have problems. My advice is to get the singer to back away from the mic so that there is a 10 inch space between the singer and the pop shield. Also ensure that the singer is off-axis (not pointing directly) from the mic diaphragm.
The downside to this is that the recording will loose some of its warmer bottom end and the proximity effect will be gone. The upside is that you'll be able to record a clean usable vocal with only mild de-essing required at mix stage.
So, what is a De-esser?
A De-esser is a tool that engineers can use to take out the very pronounced and harsh ‘S' and ‘T' sounds that some singers can produce. If the problem is really affecting the recording then you will have to use electronic ways of reducing just the sibilant peaks.
Think of a De-Esser as a compressor that only works on the ‘S' and ‘T' sounds. Anything in the 3-6 khz range to be specific. With a de-esser, make sure to use light settings when possible, otherwise you may find your singer has a slight lisp to their recording. If your going to use a De-esser, we recommend spending money on one that really pinpoints the correct frequency range so the rest of the recording is left unchanged!
There are many hardware and software signal processors and mastering tools that have De-esser presets but in my experience you'll need to do some tweaking to hone in on the problem frequencies that need to be compressed. Record the vocal correctly with the right room treatment and you'll only need very subtle de-essing, if any.
Final Thoughts
Make sure you plan the recording process, take your time with the singer and mixing stage and have fun. Experiment with different techniques and find what works best for you and the singer you're working with. By reading this article you've taken your first step to achieving the industry professional vocal sound you've been looking for. Good luck!
Thursday, 27 October 2016
How To Record Vocals
Can you record vocal tracks from home and make them sound like they were recorded in a top commercial recording studio? Are there any advantages for recording vocals at home other then, of course saving a lot of money?
The answer is: YES!
You'll be surprised to know that some of the vocal tracks you hear on the radio were actually recorded at a home studio. When it comes to recording a source of sound with a single microphone like vocals, you can get the same sound quality as a commercial recording studio if you take the proper steps.
Vocal Recording Software
Any software such as Pro-Tools , Cubase , Logic , Digital Performer or even the Garage Band software that comes free with your mac will do. Almost all of these software have the same technique for recording audio (or if we want to call it in it's technical term, converting digital audio to a file on our computer). Some voice recording software that you download for free online might not have the capability of recording CD quality tracks(at least: 44.1KHz 16 bit). IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure that the software you use is for music recording.
Choosing the Right Audio Interface for Vocal Recording
Recording vocals requires a sound card/audio interface with high quality Analog to digital converters and a low latency audio driver. This means that you although you already have a microphone input built in to your computer, connecting a microphone directly to your computer won't give you the sound quality you're after. There are many brands that produce high quality audio interface for recording vocals on a budget. For example: M-Audio Firewire Solo ($249), M-Audio Fast Track ($149), Avid's MBox Mini ($269), and many others. When you buy your Audio interface for vocals, always make sure it has an XLR, BALANCED connection Here comes the fun part: Almost any card that you'll buy will have the same sound quality. I know many readers would probably kill me for that sentence, but guys, it's true! Almost all semi-professional audio interfaces are using the same chip made in China and the only difference in the driver is the amount of input/outputs (which doesn't matter to you cause you're using only 1 channel to record vocals), preamp and design. I tested a $149 audio interface with Pro-Tools' 192 A/D converters (worth $4500) and I could barely hear the difference.
Preamp for Recording Vocals
I'll try to explain what a preamp is in a simple paragraph. When you sing to a microphone you create analog sound that needs to be amplified about 1000 times in order to reach zero DB (which is the level of music played in your headphones). For more info, wiki it. All the audio interfaces I mentioned before, have a preamp built in. If you are on a budget under $1000 for your home studio, you are fine with the built in preamp and don't need to buy an external one. If you do want to buy an external one, like a tube preamp to warm up” your vocals, try reading recommendation on Gearslutz However, if you hire a mixing engineer , warming up your vocals with analog outboard gear can be done in the mixing stage - not necessarily in the vocal stage. Again, it would be very hard for you to tell the difference between your built in preamp in a ~$100 audio interface and a high-end preamp that costs $1,000.
Microphone for Vocal Recording
When it comes to microphones there is a noticeable difference with compering a $200-$300 mic and a ~$1000 mic. The materials of the microphone such as the membrane metal type and thickness are crucial for picking up low frequencies as well as high level vocalists screaming into the mic net.
Here's a short guide to buy your first microphone:
You want a condenser microphone, not a dynamic one.
Don't be afraid of buying a cheap microphone made in China… they sound as good as well known brands but cost 30% less.
Don't count on specifications only. Almost all microphones under $1000 aren't being tested individually and the specs are being calculated in factory conditions on a specific mic”.
Here are a few recommendations for good vocal microphones: Audio-Technica AT2020n ($100), Neumann TLM 102 ($700), AKG C 414 XL II ($1,000) or any early edition of this mic… (I LOVE the AKG 414 and so do the StudioPros' musicians!)
One important note: Don't save on the microphone cable. Make sure your are using a good XLR, Balanced microphone cable, not longer than 15′-25′. There's no point in buying a high quality microphone if you're using a cheap cable.
Vocal Recording Tips - Vocal Booth and Acoustics
This might be THE MOST IMPORTANT section of this entire vocal recording technique guide. The acoustics of the room, the place you choose to position your microphone and the distance of your lips from the mic are crucial for getting a good vocal sound. Here's a short vocal sound engineering that will dramatically improve your vocal recording:
Acoustic Space: Try this: Stand 1″ from the wall and try to sing. You'll hear that your voice echoes off of the wall. This happens in rooms that are not acoustically treated. In order to record high-quality vocals, you should reduce the amount of reflections coming from the walls, ceiling and floor. The key is to use heavy item with rough surfaces around the room to absorb the sound. Put a thick carpet on the floor, use a library shelf with books, a sofa, etc'. For more professional acoustic treatment, I recommend 2″ Studio foam Wedges
Vocal booths are huge booths with acoustic treatments that allow you to get absolute silence when recording your vocals. However, those are very expensive, require a lot of space and are pretty ugly :)… Not my cup of tea.
Avoiding the unwanted reflections are crucial for a good sounding vocal track. This is more important than buying the right gear or software.
You don't want to place the microphone close to a wall because of the wall's reflections, but you also want to stay away from all source of noise like computer fans and windows. It's obvious that you better record your vocal tracks in a room that's doesn't have noise from the outside or inside of the house. Remember: any sound will be amplified 1,000 times and might be noticeable when mixing your vocals.
Most Common Mistakes of Recording Vocals
Use a pop filter : A pop filter will help you avoid booming the microphone with the air pressure cause by saying the letters P, B, and others. If you're not sure what I mean, put your hand close to your month and say: Popcorn”. You'll feel the pop of air coming from your month. You microphone doesn't like those.
Your lips should be approximately 2″-6″ from your microphone. The closer you are to your microphone the more bass you'll have. The further you get away from the mic, the lower your vocal would be comparing to the overall noise and reflections in the room.
This last mistakes is very silly, but I've seen it happen so many times, I can't even count. When you sing - don't touch the microphone, don't hold the mic stand and especially don't tap your foot on the floor. (Some people gets very excited when they sing their song…)
To sum up the how to record vocals guide - Part 1
You can record great sounding vocal tracks with semi-professional gear on an independent musicians budget. No matter how good your gear is, it's more important to know how to get the most out of it. Your mission is to provide high-quality sources of vocals. A good mixing engineer will be able to take it to the next level afterward.
The answer is: YES!
You'll be surprised to know that some of the vocal tracks you hear on the radio were actually recorded at a home studio. When it comes to recording a source of sound with a single microphone like vocals, you can get the same sound quality as a commercial recording studio if you take the proper steps.
Vocal Recording Software
Any software such as Pro-Tools , Cubase , Logic , Digital Performer or even the Garage Band software that comes free with your mac will do. Almost all of these software have the same technique for recording audio (or if we want to call it in it's technical term, converting digital audio to a file on our computer). Some voice recording software that you download for free online might not have the capability of recording CD quality tracks(at least: 44.1KHz 16 bit). IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure that the software you use is for music recording.
Choosing the Right Audio Interface for Vocal Recording
Recording vocals requires a sound card/audio interface with high quality Analog to digital converters and a low latency audio driver. This means that you although you already have a microphone input built in to your computer, connecting a microphone directly to your computer won't give you the sound quality you're after. There are many brands that produce high quality audio interface for recording vocals on a budget. For example: M-Audio Firewire Solo ($249), M-Audio Fast Track ($149), Avid's MBox Mini ($269), and many others. When you buy your Audio interface for vocals, always make sure it has an XLR, BALANCED connection Here comes the fun part: Almost any card that you'll buy will have the same sound quality. I know many readers would probably kill me for that sentence, but guys, it's true! Almost all semi-professional audio interfaces are using the same chip made in China and the only difference in the driver is the amount of input/outputs (which doesn't matter to you cause you're using only 1 channel to record vocals), preamp and design. I tested a $149 audio interface with Pro-Tools' 192 A/D converters (worth $4500) and I could barely hear the difference.
Preamp for Recording Vocals
I'll try to explain what a preamp is in a simple paragraph. When you sing to a microphone you create analog sound that needs to be amplified about 1000 times in order to reach zero DB (which is the level of music played in your headphones). For more info, wiki it. All the audio interfaces I mentioned before, have a preamp built in. If you are on a budget under $1000 for your home studio, you are fine with the built in preamp and don't need to buy an external one. If you do want to buy an external one, like a tube preamp to warm up” your vocals, try reading recommendation on Gearslutz However, if you hire a mixing engineer , warming up your vocals with analog outboard gear can be done in the mixing stage - not necessarily in the vocal stage. Again, it would be very hard for you to tell the difference between your built in preamp in a ~$100 audio interface and a high-end preamp that costs $1,000.
Microphone for Vocal Recording
When it comes to microphones there is a noticeable difference with compering a $200-$300 mic and a ~$1000 mic. The materials of the microphone such as the membrane metal type and thickness are crucial for picking up low frequencies as well as high level vocalists screaming into the mic net.
Here's a short guide to buy your first microphone:
You want a condenser microphone, not a dynamic one.
Don't be afraid of buying a cheap microphone made in China… they sound as good as well known brands but cost 30% less.
Don't count on specifications only. Almost all microphones under $1000 aren't being tested individually and the specs are being calculated in factory conditions on a specific mic”.
Here are a few recommendations for good vocal microphones: Audio-Technica AT2020n ($100), Neumann TLM 102 ($700), AKG C 414 XL II ($1,000) or any early edition of this mic… (I LOVE the AKG 414 and so do the StudioPros' musicians!)
One important note: Don't save on the microphone cable. Make sure your are using a good XLR, Balanced microphone cable, not longer than 15′-25′. There's no point in buying a high quality microphone if you're using a cheap cable.
Vocal Recording Tips - Vocal Booth and Acoustics
This might be THE MOST IMPORTANT section of this entire vocal recording technique guide. The acoustics of the room, the place you choose to position your microphone and the distance of your lips from the mic are crucial for getting a good vocal sound. Here's a short vocal sound engineering that will dramatically improve your vocal recording:
Acoustic Space: Try this: Stand 1″ from the wall and try to sing. You'll hear that your voice echoes off of the wall. This happens in rooms that are not acoustically treated. In order to record high-quality vocals, you should reduce the amount of reflections coming from the walls, ceiling and floor. The key is to use heavy item with rough surfaces around the room to absorb the sound. Put a thick carpet on the floor, use a library shelf with books, a sofa, etc'. For more professional acoustic treatment, I recommend 2″ Studio foam Wedges
Vocal booths are huge booths with acoustic treatments that allow you to get absolute silence when recording your vocals. However, those are very expensive, require a lot of space and are pretty ugly :)… Not my cup of tea.
Avoiding the unwanted reflections are crucial for a good sounding vocal track. This is more important than buying the right gear or software.
You don't want to place the microphone close to a wall because of the wall's reflections, but you also want to stay away from all source of noise like computer fans and windows. It's obvious that you better record your vocal tracks in a room that's doesn't have noise from the outside or inside of the house. Remember: any sound will be amplified 1,000 times and might be noticeable when mixing your vocals.
Most Common Mistakes of Recording Vocals
Use a pop filter : A pop filter will help you avoid booming the microphone with the air pressure cause by saying the letters P, B, and others. If you're not sure what I mean, put your hand close to your month and say: Popcorn”. You'll feel the pop of air coming from your month. You microphone doesn't like those.
Your lips should be approximately 2″-6″ from your microphone. The closer you are to your microphone the more bass you'll have. The further you get away from the mic, the lower your vocal would be comparing to the overall noise and reflections in the room.
This last mistakes is very silly, but I've seen it happen so many times, I can't even count. When you sing - don't touch the microphone, don't hold the mic stand and especially don't tap your foot on the floor. (Some people gets very excited when they sing their song…)
To sum up the how to record vocals guide - Part 1
You can record great sounding vocal tracks with semi-professional gear on an independent musicians budget. No matter how good your gear is, it's more important to know how to get the most out of it. Your mission is to provide high-quality sources of vocals. A good mixing engineer will be able to take it to the next level afterward.
Sunday, 23 October 2016
How To Record Vocals In A Bedroom
Recording vocals can be one of the more challenging tracking phase processes you may run into. If it wasn't enough of a tough cookie in the studio, you can be sure it's a daunting task in a bedroom (or a home office or any other room you've set aside for recording fun that wasn't purpose-built for it).
The sad truth is that you can't get pro quality vocals happening at home. But you can improve the sound by a mile if you're armed with a few tricks and tips, and that's what I intend to give you.
The Room
The number one factor in vocal recording is the room. You might've thought it was the mic you're using or the pre-amp you're running it through, but the truth is if you've got a U87 and an Avalon but the room you're recording in is crap, you won't be much farther ahead than a guy using a Behringer mic through an Mbox.
You could buy one of those (often rather expensive) reflection shields that attach to the stand and sit behind the microphone, and this will do you some good, particularly if your mic is omnidirectional. However, most common vocal microphones for both home and studio users are cardioid, so the shield will still help to an extent but the majority of problem reflections will come from the front — that is, the surfaces behind the vocalist's head.
This article isn't about treating your room, which is a great idea if you own your home and you can learn more about doing so on a budget here We're talking about cheap, fast and temporary solutions for the moment. The best thing you can do in this case is to grab a blanket and tape it to a wall or hang it over a reasonably tall and wide bookshelf with some books pinning it down on top.
You want to get as much of the surface on the wall behind the singer covered as you can. Don't neglect the area behind and above the head in particular — if your singer is taller than your bookshelf (or even around the same height), forget about hanging the blanket and tape it to the wall. The thickest blanket you can find is best.
Here's an example that compares a bedroom recording without a blanket, and then with a blanket — I've used a clap, the industry standard reflection measurement technology:
As you can hear, the first sound has a very metallic reflection to it, which isn't particularly pleasant. The second clap shows that you can't eliminate reflections in a bedroom this way, but you can control them and give yourself some room to apply a nicer reverb later.
You'll have the best luck in a carpeted room. If you've got floorboards or tiles, get a rug that covers as much of the floor as possible. You should also ensure your curtains or blinds are drawn as window glass is incredibly reflective. Slat blinds are not particularly good at blocking the reflections because of the gap between each strip, so try to hang a curtain even if only for the duration of your recording session. Again, the thicker the better. In some recording rooms a bit of liveliness isn't a bad thing when the reflective surfaces have been purpose-designed, but in a bedroom you're best of deadening as much as you can and adding reverb during the mixing phase of your project.
Dampening the vicinity behind the singer's head can be enough to reduce reflections to decent level for home demo recording, but if you're full of energy and have more blankets than you know what to do with, put one on every wall and maybe even lay one over your desk surface. The last suggestion involves a lot of work — you need to move your gear, put the blanket down, put the gear back, and then repeat the process when you're done, but a reflective desk can cause a lot of problems.
Positioning
Positioning the microphone can be tricky in a home studio situation. You don't want to be too close to walls or other reflective surfaces such as desks (especially desks, as frequencies, in particular bass, will build up underneath the desktop). On the other hand, you don't want to be in the middle of the room — the frequencies that build up due to non-purpose specific room design are most prominent here, and are known as standing waves.
In a small room, as most home recording environments are, it's tough to get away from walls and from the center of the room. My recommendation is that you put yourself closer to a wall that is dampened with a blanket and face the other side of the room. Get a few feet away from the wall if you can do so without putting the microphone in the middle of the room, and make sure the wall you've chosen is furthest away from your desk or windows. You may want to rearrange the room so your desk is at the window! It might increase the reflectivity of that area of the room, but if you can get far enough away from it, this is better than having nowhere to go because your desk is at one end and the window's at the other.
If you can get a few feet in front of the wall you've chosen to dampen, make sure you can dampen as much of that wall as possible. Using a few blankets is a bit of a pain, but worth it in the end.
Your singer should stand about a foot away from the microphone as a general guide. Softer singers might be better off standing at half that distance, while a loud metal screamer might need as much as two feet of distance. Good microphone technique plays a part in the process, which unfortunately requires the singer has some experience with studio recording. Someone who has sung live for years but has never entered a studio is not going to be much better than a total neophyte, particularly if you're using condensers, as the correct technique differs in both situations. They may have a bit of an advantage if you're recording with dynamics (and I've only ever seen a dynamic mic used for studio vocals a couple of times, and one of those times was because the singer was too loud for a condenser even with a -20dB pad on and low gain!).
It's also advisable to put the singer a couple of degrees off the center of the microphone, where it's less sensitive. Singers like to move their heads, and a centimeter can make too much of a difference at dead-center. Which leads me to…
The Proximity Effect
Almost all dynamic microphones and the vast majority of condensers used in a home studio have a proximity effect, which is to say that the closer the sound source is to the microphone, the more the bass frequencies will be exaggerated. 90% of the time, this is undesirable in vocal recordings.
There are a few ways to combat this — your best bet is to use a singer with good microphone technique and awareness of the various problems that can crop up when they move their little heads too close. When you're dealing with a less experienced singer I've found an effective quick fix is to move the pop filter a few inches away from the mic so they physically cannot get too close to the microphone (you are using a pop filter, right? If not, get one right away!). Be careful, as this may limit their ability to compensate for a sudden drop in volume by moving in a bit closer.
Gain
Most people have a tendency to record vocals too loud, which causes clipping and definitely cannot be fixed in the mix. Unfortunately, if you've got a home studio with typical home studio gear, you don't have the luxury of recording too soft, either. With a studio quality set-up, you can record quietly without danger (usually) of running into noise floor problems.
At home, the equipment and cables are almost always too noisy and you need to record with enough volume to escape that ugly sound.
Every time you set up a vocal recording session, you're going to need to spend time getting the levels right so that the quietest point in the song can be heard loudly enough without introducing clipping when the singer gets a bit more passionate in the chorus. To make matters worse, you need to remember that a singer — be it yourself or someone you're recording — will get louder as they get further into the session and begin to overcome nerves, particularly those singers who are not experienced in the recording studio. So even if you spend twenty minutes getting your levels right at first, there's a good chance you'll need to compensate for it by the time you're doing the real-deal tracking.
Make the Singer Sound Great
At least, to them! Almost all singers are suddenly and magically able to sing better if they hear their voice after is has been processed a bit. Different singers have different needs, but a bit of compression and reverb on the monitoring bus are usually the way to go. If your compression and reverb units are hardware units, make sure you can route your headphone bus through them so the hard effects aren't recorded for good, unless you know what you're doing and don't intend to change it later on.
For those of you with a more basic setup, such as an Mbox, headphone mixes aren't an option. You'll need to satisfy yourself with slapping a plug-in or two on the vocal track and using software monitoring, or going without if the latency is too high for that.
Singers — and have no illusions, every singer from yourself to Rob Halford — will try to overcompensate for the flaws they hear in their voice if confronted with the raw sound from the microphone. Some are better at focusing on the performance and doing less compensating than others, but they all do it. Put some artificial control in place with the compressor and a more natural sounding room with a bit of nice reverb.
Ever seen someone who has never worked in a studio enter a treated dead room or anechoic chamber before? I was surprised to find that many people find it disconcerting. A disconcerted singer is not a very good one, so liven up the deadened sound and you'll notice an immediate improvement.
As it happens, they say this is why people sing in the shower more than any other location!
The sad truth is that you can't get pro quality vocals happening at home. But you can improve the sound by a mile if you're armed with a few tricks and tips, and that's what I intend to give you.
The Room
The number one factor in vocal recording is the room. You might've thought it was the mic you're using or the pre-amp you're running it through, but the truth is if you've got a U87 and an Avalon but the room you're recording in is crap, you won't be much farther ahead than a guy using a Behringer mic through an Mbox.
You could buy one of those (often rather expensive) reflection shields that attach to the stand and sit behind the microphone, and this will do you some good, particularly if your mic is omnidirectional. However, most common vocal microphones for both home and studio users are cardioid, so the shield will still help to an extent but the majority of problem reflections will come from the front — that is, the surfaces behind the vocalist's head.
This article isn't about treating your room, which is a great idea if you own your home and you can learn more about doing so on a budget here We're talking about cheap, fast and temporary solutions for the moment. The best thing you can do in this case is to grab a blanket and tape it to a wall or hang it over a reasonably tall and wide bookshelf with some books pinning it down on top.
You want to get as much of the surface on the wall behind the singer covered as you can. Don't neglect the area behind and above the head in particular — if your singer is taller than your bookshelf (or even around the same height), forget about hanging the blanket and tape it to the wall. The thickest blanket you can find is best.
Here's an example that compares a bedroom recording without a blanket, and then with a blanket — I've used a clap, the industry standard reflection measurement technology:
As you can hear, the first sound has a very metallic reflection to it, which isn't particularly pleasant. The second clap shows that you can't eliminate reflections in a bedroom this way, but you can control them and give yourself some room to apply a nicer reverb later.
You'll have the best luck in a carpeted room. If you've got floorboards or tiles, get a rug that covers as much of the floor as possible. You should also ensure your curtains or blinds are drawn as window glass is incredibly reflective. Slat blinds are not particularly good at blocking the reflections because of the gap between each strip, so try to hang a curtain even if only for the duration of your recording session. Again, the thicker the better. In some recording rooms a bit of liveliness isn't a bad thing when the reflective surfaces have been purpose-designed, but in a bedroom you're best of deadening as much as you can and adding reverb during the mixing phase of your project.
Dampening the vicinity behind the singer's head can be enough to reduce reflections to decent level for home demo recording, but if you're full of energy and have more blankets than you know what to do with, put one on every wall and maybe even lay one over your desk surface. The last suggestion involves a lot of work — you need to move your gear, put the blanket down, put the gear back, and then repeat the process when you're done, but a reflective desk can cause a lot of problems.
Positioning
Positioning the microphone can be tricky in a home studio situation. You don't want to be too close to walls or other reflective surfaces such as desks (especially desks, as frequencies, in particular bass, will build up underneath the desktop). On the other hand, you don't want to be in the middle of the room — the frequencies that build up due to non-purpose specific room design are most prominent here, and are known as standing waves.
In a small room, as most home recording environments are, it's tough to get away from walls and from the center of the room. My recommendation is that you put yourself closer to a wall that is dampened with a blanket and face the other side of the room. Get a few feet away from the wall if you can do so without putting the microphone in the middle of the room, and make sure the wall you've chosen is furthest away from your desk or windows. You may want to rearrange the room so your desk is at the window! It might increase the reflectivity of that area of the room, but if you can get far enough away from it, this is better than having nowhere to go because your desk is at one end and the window's at the other.
If you can get a few feet in front of the wall you've chosen to dampen, make sure you can dampen as much of that wall as possible. Using a few blankets is a bit of a pain, but worth it in the end.
Your singer should stand about a foot away from the microphone as a general guide. Softer singers might be better off standing at half that distance, while a loud metal screamer might need as much as two feet of distance. Good microphone technique plays a part in the process, which unfortunately requires the singer has some experience with studio recording. Someone who has sung live for years but has never entered a studio is not going to be much better than a total neophyte, particularly if you're using condensers, as the correct technique differs in both situations. They may have a bit of an advantage if you're recording with dynamics (and I've only ever seen a dynamic mic used for studio vocals a couple of times, and one of those times was because the singer was too loud for a condenser even with a -20dB pad on and low gain!).
It's also advisable to put the singer a couple of degrees off the center of the microphone, where it's less sensitive. Singers like to move their heads, and a centimeter can make too much of a difference at dead-center. Which leads me to…
The Proximity Effect
Almost all dynamic microphones and the vast majority of condensers used in a home studio have a proximity effect, which is to say that the closer the sound source is to the microphone, the more the bass frequencies will be exaggerated. 90% of the time, this is undesirable in vocal recordings.
There are a few ways to combat this — your best bet is to use a singer with good microphone technique and awareness of the various problems that can crop up when they move their little heads too close. When you're dealing with a less experienced singer I've found an effective quick fix is to move the pop filter a few inches away from the mic so they physically cannot get too close to the microphone (you are using a pop filter, right? If not, get one right away!). Be careful, as this may limit their ability to compensate for a sudden drop in volume by moving in a bit closer.
Gain
Most people have a tendency to record vocals too loud, which causes clipping and definitely cannot be fixed in the mix. Unfortunately, if you've got a home studio with typical home studio gear, you don't have the luxury of recording too soft, either. With a studio quality set-up, you can record quietly without danger (usually) of running into noise floor problems.
At home, the equipment and cables are almost always too noisy and you need to record with enough volume to escape that ugly sound.
Every time you set up a vocal recording session, you're going to need to spend time getting the levels right so that the quietest point in the song can be heard loudly enough without introducing clipping when the singer gets a bit more passionate in the chorus. To make matters worse, you need to remember that a singer — be it yourself or someone you're recording — will get louder as they get further into the session and begin to overcome nerves, particularly those singers who are not experienced in the recording studio. So even if you spend twenty minutes getting your levels right at first, there's a good chance you'll need to compensate for it by the time you're doing the real-deal tracking.
Make the Singer Sound Great
At least, to them! Almost all singers are suddenly and magically able to sing better if they hear their voice after is has been processed a bit. Different singers have different needs, but a bit of compression and reverb on the monitoring bus are usually the way to go. If your compression and reverb units are hardware units, make sure you can route your headphone bus through them so the hard effects aren't recorded for good, unless you know what you're doing and don't intend to change it later on.
For those of you with a more basic setup, such as an Mbox, headphone mixes aren't an option. You'll need to satisfy yourself with slapping a plug-in or two on the vocal track and using software monitoring, or going without if the latency is too high for that.
Singers — and have no illusions, every singer from yourself to Rob Halford — will try to overcompensate for the flaws they hear in their voice if confronted with the raw sound from the microphone. Some are better at focusing on the performance and doing less compensating than others, but they all do it. Put some artificial control in place with the compressor and a more natural sounding room with a bit of nice reverb.
Ever seen someone who has never worked in a studio enter a treated dead room or anechoic chamber before? I was surprised to find that many people find it disconcerting. A disconcerted singer is not a very good one, so liven up the deadened sound and you'll notice an immediate improvement.
As it happens, they say this is why people sing in the shower more than any other location!
Sunday, 2 October 2016
Performance And Technical Tips For Recording Vocals
This two part article will cover these methods. I believe… and many others will agree, that in order to get great sounding vocals is to get it right, or at least the best you can, in the initial stages of the recording process before any mixing or fairy dust tricks have been applied.
In Part 1 my fiancée and song writing partner Georgie Gillis will cover the important performance techniques required when tracking vocals based on her 13 years experience as a vocal instructor, performer and recording artist. In Part 2 - I will cover the technical processes for recording great sounding vocals.
The Singer's Guide - 12 Steps To Prepare For Your Best Vocal Take By Georgiana Gillis.
They say Success is 90% preparation and only 10% perspiration”. Unlike the other instruments in your mix, your voice requires a very different kind of preparation. Whether you're a professional singer or hobbyist, the following tips can help you get the very best from your voice.
Before You Arrive At The Studio - Sleep Before The Big Day
Singing requires energy - fact. Tired bodies create flat notes. I always tell my singing students to approach a performance as if they were entering a boxing ring - pumped. When it comes down to it, you will want to channel all of your energy into a great vocal take. If you are ill, have not slept well or have had a late night you will not be able to give it your best.
Water Is A Singer's Best Friend
Water to your voice is like oil to an engine. Stick to still water as your drink of choice and always keep a bottle available for sipping. This can be done as frequently as you need during vocal takes. Beware of dehydration - your body will allocate water to other body parts before it reaches the mucous membranes aka your larynx. Room temperature is always best as it is absorbed more quickly than cold.
Don't Eat A Heavy Meal Before Singing
Approach eating and singing in the same way you would swimming. Don't eat a heavy meal right beforehand. A full stomach encroaches on your breathing space - not to mention diverting your energy to digestion. Ideally, eat little and often in the run up to keep energy levels high or if this isn't possible, make sure you eat your meal a couple of hours before recording.
Plan To Sing When You Feel Fresh
Usually not first thing in the morning or last thing at night, but in the fresh part of your day according to your own body clock. Your concentration levels peak and fall during the course of any given day. A good time to record vocals would be when you are usually at your most energetic. For most of us for e.g. that is not near the afternoon ‘slump' or late in the evening.
At The Studio - Use Gentle Vocal Warm Ups
Save yourself for the effort to come. Humming and speak singing are effective warm ups without requiring much effort. Humming creates nice reverberations that gently ease away any lingering mucous and can be done almost inaudibly (ideal if you are shy about warming up in front of others). Following that, ‘speak' sing something simple to get your voice nice and warm without being too taxing.
Save Your Energy
Try to save your best performance for the actual take. Adrenaline + excitement = conviction in your voice. It's hard to fake that if you end up having to endlessly repeat yourself. This goes for you too - try to make your journey to the studio the least physically tiring as is possible. If you must cycle, jog, walk miles to get there then make sure you're feeling rested before your take (and drink water!).
Don't Tire Your Voice
You're keen and you want to give your best effort but you should never max out your voice. A performance should sound effortless to the listener and straining your voice to reach difficult notes will tire your voice faster than you can say ‘blow out'. This seems like a no-brainer but so many fall trap to this. Resist the urge to ‘show off'.
Keep Your Lyrics To Hand
No matter how well you know your lyrics, always have easy access to them. This is because you are shifting your focus 100% to your vocal performance and the critical listening that goes along with that. Your memory may not be as reliable when you are feeling pressurised to perform well. You will also be concentrating on visual and/or auditory cues/instructions from your producer.
It's Time To Sing - Mark Your Breathing Points On Your Lyric Sheet
Using a pen or pencil, mark in capital B's where you can take a full breath and lower case b's where you can only get a quick breath. Even though you may have sung the song 100 times, recording is a different experience altogether and alters your focus as a singer. You may find yourself fixated for e.g. on your timing and your breathing may become an afterthought.
Are You Feeling Nervous?
Understand adrenaline and the affect on the human body. It is good for giving our performance that special ‘lift' and thus can be harnessed for a good outcome. But if we're too worried, we may become tense. Tension equals tight muscles - tight muscles equal sharp notes. When standing up at the mic, unlock one knee to relax your entire body. Alternate legs periodically as is comfortable.
The Correct Approach
Singing while standing doesn't come naturally to all but sitting down obstructs your deep breathing space by as much as 30%. If you must sit and sing for e.g. at the piano, balance your weight on the front of the stool to tilt your pelvis down or in the case of a low chair, position one leg underneath you to open up your abdomen. Remember that breathing to a singer is paramount.
Performing To A Pop Shield
It will feel unnatural regardless of the type of singing you've done before. This is when you must combine your imagination with technical ability. Keep your distance and don't touch the pop shield - your producer will have positioned it proportionately to the mic. Close your eyes to sing when you can (you can still glance at your lyrics when you need to). When your eyes are closed, your other senses become more focussed - in this case your hearing which in turn heightens your ability to pitch. In addition, you can visualise something more natural to perform to - like an audience - blocking out the static mic in front of you as well as the studio environment.
Do's
Eat little and often beforehand to keep energy levels up or make sure you eat your meal a few hours before recording.
Hydrate - especially if you've been doing a lot of sport, it's hot or you've been drinking diuretics (for e.g. coffee, tea, alcohol, cola).
Wear comfortable clothing and shoes - unless you're filming there is no need to dress up for the studio. Anything tight around your waist will be difficult to breathe against and standing in high heels is tiring.
Keep your arms and hands at waist height during your vocal take so they can remain expressive - don't let them hang at your sides or put them in your pockets.Talk to your producer if you're unsure of what to expect or are feeling nervous. Ask them to explain anything you do not understand.
Don'ts
Absolutely no fizzy drinks before a vocal take - bubbles like to resurface at the worst moments.
Avoid chocolate, milk and anything else which coats your throat as you will be left trying to clear your throat - ‘ahem'.
It might be seen as rock'n'roll to have a heavy night the evening before you go into the studio but - alcohol + tiredness = bad performance.
Salty snacks and baked goods will undo your hydration efforts as salt dehydrates and bread absorbs fluid. Choose fruit and protein instead.
In Part 1 my fiancée and song writing partner Georgie Gillis will cover the important performance techniques required when tracking vocals based on her 13 years experience as a vocal instructor, performer and recording artist. In Part 2 - I will cover the technical processes for recording great sounding vocals.
The Singer's Guide - 12 Steps To Prepare For Your Best Vocal Take By Georgiana Gillis.
They say Success is 90% preparation and only 10% perspiration”. Unlike the other instruments in your mix, your voice requires a very different kind of preparation. Whether you're a professional singer or hobbyist, the following tips can help you get the very best from your voice.
Before You Arrive At The Studio - Sleep Before The Big Day
Singing requires energy - fact. Tired bodies create flat notes. I always tell my singing students to approach a performance as if they were entering a boxing ring - pumped. When it comes down to it, you will want to channel all of your energy into a great vocal take. If you are ill, have not slept well or have had a late night you will not be able to give it your best.
Water Is A Singer's Best Friend
Water to your voice is like oil to an engine. Stick to still water as your drink of choice and always keep a bottle available for sipping. This can be done as frequently as you need during vocal takes. Beware of dehydration - your body will allocate water to other body parts before it reaches the mucous membranes aka your larynx. Room temperature is always best as it is absorbed more quickly than cold.
Don't Eat A Heavy Meal Before Singing
Approach eating and singing in the same way you would swimming. Don't eat a heavy meal right beforehand. A full stomach encroaches on your breathing space - not to mention diverting your energy to digestion. Ideally, eat little and often in the run up to keep energy levels high or if this isn't possible, make sure you eat your meal a couple of hours before recording.
Plan To Sing When You Feel Fresh
Usually not first thing in the morning or last thing at night, but in the fresh part of your day according to your own body clock. Your concentration levels peak and fall during the course of any given day. A good time to record vocals would be when you are usually at your most energetic. For most of us for e.g. that is not near the afternoon ‘slump' or late in the evening.
At The Studio - Use Gentle Vocal Warm Ups
Save yourself for the effort to come. Humming and speak singing are effective warm ups without requiring much effort. Humming creates nice reverberations that gently ease away any lingering mucous and can be done almost inaudibly (ideal if you are shy about warming up in front of others). Following that, ‘speak' sing something simple to get your voice nice and warm without being too taxing.
Save Your Energy
Try to save your best performance for the actual take. Adrenaline + excitement = conviction in your voice. It's hard to fake that if you end up having to endlessly repeat yourself. This goes for you too - try to make your journey to the studio the least physically tiring as is possible. If you must cycle, jog, walk miles to get there then make sure you're feeling rested before your take (and drink water!).
Don't Tire Your Voice
You're keen and you want to give your best effort but you should never max out your voice. A performance should sound effortless to the listener and straining your voice to reach difficult notes will tire your voice faster than you can say ‘blow out'. This seems like a no-brainer but so many fall trap to this. Resist the urge to ‘show off'.
Keep Your Lyrics To Hand
No matter how well you know your lyrics, always have easy access to them. This is because you are shifting your focus 100% to your vocal performance and the critical listening that goes along with that. Your memory may not be as reliable when you are feeling pressurised to perform well. You will also be concentrating on visual and/or auditory cues/instructions from your producer.
It's Time To Sing - Mark Your Breathing Points On Your Lyric Sheet
Using a pen or pencil, mark in capital B's where you can take a full breath and lower case b's where you can only get a quick breath. Even though you may have sung the song 100 times, recording is a different experience altogether and alters your focus as a singer. You may find yourself fixated for e.g. on your timing and your breathing may become an afterthought.
Are You Feeling Nervous?
Understand adrenaline and the affect on the human body. It is good for giving our performance that special ‘lift' and thus can be harnessed for a good outcome. But if we're too worried, we may become tense. Tension equals tight muscles - tight muscles equal sharp notes. When standing up at the mic, unlock one knee to relax your entire body. Alternate legs periodically as is comfortable.
The Correct Approach
Singing while standing doesn't come naturally to all but sitting down obstructs your deep breathing space by as much as 30%. If you must sit and sing for e.g. at the piano, balance your weight on the front of the stool to tilt your pelvis down or in the case of a low chair, position one leg underneath you to open up your abdomen. Remember that breathing to a singer is paramount.
Performing To A Pop Shield
It will feel unnatural regardless of the type of singing you've done before. This is when you must combine your imagination with technical ability. Keep your distance and don't touch the pop shield - your producer will have positioned it proportionately to the mic. Close your eyes to sing when you can (you can still glance at your lyrics when you need to). When your eyes are closed, your other senses become more focussed - in this case your hearing which in turn heightens your ability to pitch. In addition, you can visualise something more natural to perform to - like an audience - blocking out the static mic in front of you as well as the studio environment.
Do's
Eat little and often beforehand to keep energy levels up or make sure you eat your meal a few hours before recording.
Hydrate - especially if you've been doing a lot of sport, it's hot or you've been drinking diuretics (for e.g. coffee, tea, alcohol, cola).
Wear comfortable clothing and shoes - unless you're filming there is no need to dress up for the studio. Anything tight around your waist will be difficult to breathe against and standing in high heels is tiring.
Keep your arms and hands at waist height during your vocal take so they can remain expressive - don't let them hang at your sides or put them in your pockets.Talk to your producer if you're unsure of what to expect or are feeling nervous. Ask them to explain anything you do not understand.
Don'ts
Absolutely no fizzy drinks before a vocal take - bubbles like to resurface at the worst moments.
Avoid chocolate, milk and anything else which coats your throat as you will be left trying to clear your throat - ‘ahem'.
It might be seen as rock'n'roll to have a heavy night the evening before you go into the studio but - alcohol + tiredness = bad performance.
Salty snacks and baked goods will undo your hydration efforts as salt dehydrates and bread absorbs fluid. Choose fruit and protein instead.
Monday, 19 September 2016
Processing Vocals - Recording The Vocal
Lately I've been getting a lot of questions on processing vocals. Folks are asking for a step-by-step guide for getting a good vocal sound — from actually recording the vocal all the way to the finished mix.
This is a great topic. After all, for most music styles the vocal is the focal point of the entire song. Who cares if the drums, bass, and guitars sound amazing if the vocals are lame, right?
So…I think it's time for a little series of articles on vocals!
Recording the Vocal
Before jumping into EQ settings and effects plugins, we need to take a step back and make sure we get a good vocal recording to begin with. There's this annoying tendency among a lot of recording engineers to just capture the audio as quickly and thoughtlessly as possible, then say, I'll just fix it later with plugins.”
Plugins are amazing, no doubt, but they're not miracle workers. It's a garbage in, garbage out” situation. If your recordings don't sound good, you'll end up spending HOURS trying to fix them, and you'll still end up with garbage (albeit very polished garbage) at the end.
I promise I'll share as many tips and tricks as I can for how to take a recorded vocal and make it behave” in a mix, but it will be all for naught if you don't focus on getting a good vocal sound first.
That reminds me, I went to a demonstration at my alma mater ( Middle Tennessee State University ) last Thursday. They had just installed an API Vision surround mixing console in Studio A and had the folks from API there showing it off. Acclaimed mix engineer Ronald Prent was actually there to demonstrate the mix capabilities of the board (which are REALLY cool).
The song he was mixing had a nice little funky groove to it. It reminded me a little bit of Tower of Power. What struck me about the song was how well the tracks were recorded. He would solo the drums or the horn section, and they all sounded SO GOOD.
He commented that his job as a mix engineer is much easier when he receives tracks that have been recorded well. The mix engineer can focus more on the music rather than figuring out how to put band-aids on all of the poorly recorded audio.
This concept obviously applies to anything you record, but since the lead vocal is SO important to the overall success of your song, it's critical that you make sure to capture a good recording before moving on to editing, mixing, etc.
Am I implying that you should hold off on that vocal session until you've mastered recording or have bought all the right gear? Not at all. For more on this, read my article on Gear
Acquisition Syndrome
Tips for Getting a Good Vocal Recording
I don't have a magic formula to give you that will guarantee a good vocal sound, but here are some tips that have worked for me.
1. Use a Good Microphone
Okay, this may be a bit on the obvious side, but you can't expect to get a phenomenal vocal sound if you're using a $20 Radio Shack mic. I'm not saying you need to sell one of your kidneys and buy a $10,000 microphone, but you do need to find a way to get your hands on a decent mic (buy, rent, or borrow if you have to).
Dynamic or condenser? This is a really good question. There are no hard and fast rules here. In general, I would suggest using a good, large-diaphragm condenser mic. However, I was thoroughly impressed with both the Shure SM7B and the SM58 when I did a shoot-out between the two.
2. Use a Good Preamp
A good preamp can make even a cheaper microphone sound phenomenal. I've heard so many stories of people using an SM58 with a high-end preamp to get a great recording.
The same thinking applies here as with the microphone. I'm not saying you need to spend thousands. However, if you can swing it, using an external preamp will almost always sound better than the stock preamps on your audio interface.
3. Use a Pop Filter
This is an obvious step to most people, but for those of you just starting out you want to make sure you have some sort of pop filter between the singer's mouth and the microphone.
Trust me, I've tried to record vocals without a pop filter, and as a singer it's such a distraction to have to focus on not popping” the microphone that I tend to not sing as well.
4. Isolate the Microphone
Every room is different. Some of you may have an amazing room with killer acoustic treatment. Some of you may not have a single piece of treatment at all. (Be sure to check out my article on why you NEED acoustic treatment)
I've recently started using a little homemade reflection filter to reduce the amount of room noise that gets picked up by the vocal mic. It's a subtle difference, but it does make a difference. Give it a shot.
5. Record Multiple Takes
Unless your singer is infallible, you'll want to record multiple takes of the lead vocal part. A good singer will give you a good performance, but you want a REALLY great performance.
Have the vocalist sing through the song 3-5 times. Later you can comp together a great take.
6. Play with Mic Placement
Most of the time, placing the mic directly in front of the singer, 4-6 inches from the singer's mouth, will work just fine. However, don't be afraid to move the mic closer or farther away.
Perhaps the singer is giving a very intimate, quiet performance. Having the mic right next to his/her mouth may be the perfect thing. Or if the singer is belting out a dramatic ballad, maybe placing the mic a foot away will work better. As always, use your ears to make your decisions.
Along with mic placement, be sure to make the singer comfortable A happy singer is a great performer.
This is a great topic. After all, for most music styles the vocal is the focal point of the entire song. Who cares if the drums, bass, and guitars sound amazing if the vocals are lame, right?
So…I think it's time for a little series of articles on vocals!
Recording the Vocal
Before jumping into EQ settings and effects plugins, we need to take a step back and make sure we get a good vocal recording to begin with. There's this annoying tendency among a lot of recording engineers to just capture the audio as quickly and thoughtlessly as possible, then say, I'll just fix it later with plugins.”
Plugins are amazing, no doubt, but they're not miracle workers. It's a garbage in, garbage out” situation. If your recordings don't sound good, you'll end up spending HOURS trying to fix them, and you'll still end up with garbage (albeit very polished garbage) at the end.
I promise I'll share as many tips and tricks as I can for how to take a recorded vocal and make it behave” in a mix, but it will be all for naught if you don't focus on getting a good vocal sound first.
That reminds me, I went to a demonstration at my alma mater ( Middle Tennessee State University ) last Thursday. They had just installed an API Vision surround mixing console in Studio A and had the folks from API there showing it off. Acclaimed mix engineer Ronald Prent was actually there to demonstrate the mix capabilities of the board (which are REALLY cool).
The song he was mixing had a nice little funky groove to it. It reminded me a little bit of Tower of Power. What struck me about the song was how well the tracks were recorded. He would solo the drums or the horn section, and they all sounded SO GOOD.
He commented that his job as a mix engineer is much easier when he receives tracks that have been recorded well. The mix engineer can focus more on the music rather than figuring out how to put band-aids on all of the poorly recorded audio.
This concept obviously applies to anything you record, but since the lead vocal is SO important to the overall success of your song, it's critical that you make sure to capture a good recording before moving on to editing, mixing, etc.
Am I implying that you should hold off on that vocal session until you've mastered recording or have bought all the right gear? Not at all. For more on this, read my article on Gear
Acquisition Syndrome
Tips for Getting a Good Vocal Recording
I don't have a magic formula to give you that will guarantee a good vocal sound, but here are some tips that have worked for me.
1. Use a Good Microphone
Okay, this may be a bit on the obvious side, but you can't expect to get a phenomenal vocal sound if you're using a $20 Radio Shack mic. I'm not saying you need to sell one of your kidneys and buy a $10,000 microphone, but you do need to find a way to get your hands on a decent mic (buy, rent, or borrow if you have to).
Dynamic or condenser? This is a really good question. There are no hard and fast rules here. In general, I would suggest using a good, large-diaphragm condenser mic. However, I was thoroughly impressed with both the Shure SM7B and the SM58 when I did a shoot-out between the two.
2. Use a Good Preamp
A good preamp can make even a cheaper microphone sound phenomenal. I've heard so many stories of people using an SM58 with a high-end preamp to get a great recording.
The same thinking applies here as with the microphone. I'm not saying you need to spend thousands. However, if you can swing it, using an external preamp will almost always sound better than the stock preamps on your audio interface.
3. Use a Pop Filter
This is an obvious step to most people, but for those of you just starting out you want to make sure you have some sort of pop filter between the singer's mouth and the microphone.
Trust me, I've tried to record vocals without a pop filter, and as a singer it's such a distraction to have to focus on not popping” the microphone that I tend to not sing as well.
4. Isolate the Microphone
Every room is different. Some of you may have an amazing room with killer acoustic treatment. Some of you may not have a single piece of treatment at all. (Be sure to check out my article on why you NEED acoustic treatment)
I've recently started using a little homemade reflection filter to reduce the amount of room noise that gets picked up by the vocal mic. It's a subtle difference, but it does make a difference. Give it a shot.
5. Record Multiple Takes
Unless your singer is infallible, you'll want to record multiple takes of the lead vocal part. A good singer will give you a good performance, but you want a REALLY great performance.
Have the vocalist sing through the song 3-5 times. Later you can comp together a great take.
6. Play with Mic Placement
Most of the time, placing the mic directly in front of the singer, 4-6 inches from the singer's mouth, will work just fine. However, don't be afraid to move the mic closer or farther away.
Perhaps the singer is giving a very intimate, quiet performance. Having the mic right next to his/her mouth may be the perfect thing. Or if the singer is belting out a dramatic ballad, maybe placing the mic a foot away will work better. As always, use your ears to make your decisions.
Along with mic placement, be sure to make the singer comfortable A happy singer is a great performer.
Monday, 12 September 2016
Recording And Mixing Vocals
Recording and mixing vocals; the basics
The boom in DAW software means that anyone can start recording vocals at home; you just need a vocalist, a computer, a mic and a little know how. Paul White, editor-in-chief of
Sound on Sound magazine shares his tricks and tips for getting it right every time.
Vocals are invariably the most important part of a mix and it's an area where those less experienced in recording can come unstuck. You'll find a lot of in-depth material on the subject at , though it's not difficult to make a good vocal recording as long as you follow a few simple guidelines. Indeed you can get a perfectly acceptable vocal sound using the same dynamic mic you use on stage but you'll usually get even better results using a capacitor mic as the highs will come over more cleanly. You'll also need a pop shield as explained a little later.
The best place to start is with the recording environment itself as that has a big influence on the end result and problems encountered there can't be fixed later.
SETTING UP THE RECORDING SPACE
Too often vocals are compromised because they've been recorded in boxy sounding bedrooms or garages but it's easy enough to improvise screens using heavy blankets, duvets or sleeping bags to deaden room reflections. There are also numerous commercial screens designed to go behind the mic, and these can help, but in my view the most important place to start is with the wall behind the singer as that can bounce sound back into the sensitive side of the microphone if you don't do something about it. Perhaps the most effective simple treatment is to hang up a couple of heavy polyester duvets in a V shape where the singer stands with their back towards the point of the V. The key point here is that you don't need to acoustically treat the whole room, just the area around the vocalist and microphone. If you combine the duvets with a curved commercial screen behind the mic, you can get pro vocal booth quality in a typical domestic room or rehearsal space. If the ceiling is especially low, then a square of acoustic foam fixed to the ceiling, centred between the singer and the mic, will help too.
Try to maintain a distance of between 15 and 39cm inches between the singer and the microphone where a mesh pop screen is generally placed 50mm or so in front of the mic. Pop screens are important as without them you'll almost certainly suffer thumps on some of the plosive P and B sounds. Metal mesh types sound the most transparent, though the nylon mesh type are OK and may actually help if the singer's voice is over-bright or sibilant as they soften the highs slightly. More up market are the reticulated foam types but a plain metal mesh works just fine.
CAPTURING A GOOD PERFORMANCE
Keeping the singer comfortable, both physically and psychologically, is also key to a good vocal performance, and that includes encouraging them to do some warm up vocal exercises before you start. Make sure that cool (but not ice cold) drinking water is on hand and if the singer is a shy type, then try to get the other band members to leave the studio when you're recording vocal overdubs. If you need to redo something, try telling them that they can do even better, not that they've made a hash of it.
When working in a home studio most vocals end up being put down as overdubs as that's usually the only way to achieve adequate separation from loud instruments such as drums and electric guitar. A guide vocal can be recorded during the recording of the main backing if required, then you can replace it later.
A good headphone mix is also important in getting the best possible performance so take the time needed to give the singer the headphone balance and volume they need. If they would like some comfort reverb in the phones, then work with them to get the right amount. If you're working with a computer, set the buffer size as low as possible and bypass any unnecessary plug-ins so as to keep latency (headphone delay) to an absolute minimum.
The phones themselves should, ideally, be closed back types as that helps prevent sound from the headphones leaking into the microphone, and if the singer likes to work with one phone on and one phone off, make sure that the unused phone is still resting on the side of their head so as to prevent sound leakage.
Always start recording as early as possible — many pro engineers even record the warm up and sound check as the singer will feel more relaxed knowing there's no pressure and may deliver a better performance. Even it if it isn't complete or only some lines are good, keep them for later as you may be able to use them when you compile the final vocal. The same psychology applies when you have captured all you need but then ask the singer to belt out a final version just to see what happens. They know you have already recorded what you need, so nerves don't get in the way.
Don't rely on pitch correction software more than you have to. It can be used to polish a vocal that's already pretty good but it rarely works for salvaging a bad performance. Always put pitch correction devices or plug-ins before effects such as delay, reverb or modulation as they work best on a clean signal.
Almost all pop vocals are compiled from several takes where the producer goes through each one and marks off the best and worst parts on a lyric sheet. Once all the best parts have been identified, these are compiled to form the final vocal and a modern computer recording system makes this task very easy. Don't edit out all the breaths though as they're an important part of the performance. You can always reduce their level if they are too obvious using mix automation.
USING VOCALS IN THE MIX
Once a satisfactory vocal part has been recorded, a suitable reverb or ambience treatment is invariably needed to add life and interest to the sound but before you do that, it's best to take care of any level discrepancies. It can be tempting to try using only a compressor to flatten out the vocal level but a better approach is to use the level automation facility of your recording system to even out the worst peaks and dips in level before you apply compression.
COMPRESSION
High levels of compression can exaggerate any noise and sibilance present in the recording so combining level automation with compression to control your levels can lead to a noticeably cleaner result. While a gate or expander can help in cleaning up the spaces between phrases, computer users often get better results by looking at the waveform display and manually muting sections where no singing is taking place — again taking care not to mute any breath noises that contribute to the performance.
Soft-knee compressors tend to sound the most natural while fixed ratio compressors or even limiters come into their own when you need to use compression as an effect to give your vocal more of an assertive edge. For transparent gain control, start by setting the compressor so that the maximum gain reduction is just 5 or 6dBs, but for a more hard-hitting sound a gain reduction of 10dB (or slightly more) combined with a ratio of 4:1 or higher might be appropriate. As a starting point, choose a fast or programme-dependent attack time and a release time of around half a second but always use your ears to judge the result. There's also no shame in using a vocal plug-in preset as long as you appreciate that you will still need to adjust the threshold (or compression amount control on some models) to achieve the desired amount of gain reduction — there's invariably some form of gain reduction meter to guide you.
EQ
No two singers have the same vocal characteristics, which is why it is usually better to try a variety of microphones to see what works best with a particular voice, but at mixing stage you'll probably also need to use a little EQ. Excessive use of EQ can lead to a very unnatural sound so as a starting point use low-cut below 100Hz to remove unwanted lows and a shelving filter set at around 7.5kHz that you can push up by a dB or two if you need a more airy sound. Voices that are not cutting through the mix can be given a gentle and fairly wide boost at between 2 and 3kHz but excessive boost in this region can cause harshness. If you hear boxiness in the lower mid-range then try using a gentle dip at that point to clean it up but don't do anything too dramatic. EQ boost is always more audible than cut, so fix problems by cutting where you can.
DE-ESSING
Sibilance caused by air passing over and around the teeth during the pronunciation of S and T sounds can be annoyingly loud with some singers and gets worse as you add compression. Fortunately there are many excellent de-essers available, both as hardware and as plug-ins, where the best remove only the offending sibilant frequencies while leaving the rest of the frequency range untouched. De-ess only as much as required as processing too heavily can leave the vocals sounding ‘lispy'. Often sibilance can be reduced at source by using a nylon mesh pop filter rather than a metal mesh and/or, singing slightly to one side of (or above/below) the microphone. The choice of microphone can also make a big difference.
DOUBLE TRACKING
Double tracking is a popular technique for adding texture and interest to a vocal part and is routinely used on both main and backing vocal lines. Essentially, the singer performs the same part twice (or more) on separate tracks, then the tracks are played back together to give the effect of two or more singers in unison. This depends on the singer being able to replicate the same timing and phrasing on each pass, though modern DAW software provides tools that allow the occasional out-of-time word or phrase to be massaged back into line.
Where the singer can't replicate their original phrasing, there are several ADT, or Automatic Double Tracking techniques that can be used to fake it. In the early days, a short delay of between 30 and 100ms would be added to the original vocal using a spare tape recorder and in later years the delayed version might also be detuned by a few cents using a pitch shifter. Today there are numerous plug-ins that recreate double tracking reasonably well though my own favourite trick is to copy the vocal part, delay it slightly and then put the copy through a pitch correction plug-in or device to introduce a subtle pitch variation. When played back alongside the original, the effect is very authentic.
REVERB AND DELAY
As vocals tend to be recorded in an acoustically ‘dry' environment, some artificial ambience usually needs to be added to make them sit comfortably with the rest of the mix. Modern digital reverbs units and plug-ins can recreate anything from very small, dry-sounding room ambiences to huge cathedrals though a plate emulation still works well for most vocals where the typical decay time might be set between one and 1.5 seconds depending on the style of music. Today's music tends to use less obvious reverb treatments than were common a couple of decades ago and if you listen carefully to a cross-section of pop music, you'll often hear that a modest amount of reverb has been combined with subtle echo — or delay with a little feedback. Delays that emulate vintage tape loop echo boxes are good for this purpose and sometimes rolling off a little treble from the delay helps it sit more comfortably behind the vocal. Finding the right vocal treatment is more about art than science but always judge the result in the context of the whole mix, not in isolation.
Finally, make sure that your vocals are mixed loud enough to be clearly audible but not so loud that they sound ‘glued on' to the rest of the mix. A great tip for judging this is to stand outside the studio door with the door left open and see how the balance sounds from there. A lot of pro engineers use this technique to double check their mix balances.
The boom in DAW software means that anyone can start recording vocals at home; you just need a vocalist, a computer, a mic and a little know how. Paul White, editor-in-chief of Sound on Sound magazine shares his tricks and tips for getting it right every time.
Vocals are invariably the most important part of a mix and it's an area where those less experienced in recording can come unstuck. You'll find a lot of in-depth material on the subject at , though it's not difficult to make a good vocal recording as long as you follow a few simple guidelines. Indeed you can get a perfectly acceptable vocal sound using the same dynamic mic you use on stage but you'll usually get even better results using a capacitor mic as the highs will come over more cleanly. You'll also need a pop shield as explained a little later.
The best place to start is with the recording environment itself as that has a big influence on the end result and problems encountered there can't be fixed later.
The boom in DAW software means that anyone can start recording vocals at home; you just need a vocalist, a computer, a mic and a little know how. Paul White, editor-in-chief of
Sound on Sound magazine shares his tricks and tips for getting it right every time.
Vocals are invariably the most important part of a mix and it's an area where those less experienced in recording can come unstuck. You'll find a lot of in-depth material on the subject at , though it's not difficult to make a good vocal recording as long as you follow a few simple guidelines. Indeed you can get a perfectly acceptable vocal sound using the same dynamic mic you use on stage but you'll usually get even better results using a capacitor mic as the highs will come over more cleanly. You'll also need a pop shield as explained a little later.
The best place to start is with the recording environment itself as that has a big influence on the end result and problems encountered there can't be fixed later.
SETTING UP THE RECORDING SPACE
Too often vocals are compromised because they've been recorded in boxy sounding bedrooms or garages but it's easy enough to improvise screens using heavy blankets, duvets or sleeping bags to deaden room reflections. There are also numerous commercial screens designed to go behind the mic, and these can help, but in my view the most important place to start is with the wall behind the singer as that can bounce sound back into the sensitive side of the microphone if you don't do something about it. Perhaps the most effective simple treatment is to hang up a couple of heavy polyester duvets in a V shape where the singer stands with their back towards the point of the V. The key point here is that you don't need to acoustically treat the whole room, just the area around the vocalist and microphone. If you combine the duvets with a curved commercial screen behind the mic, you can get pro vocal booth quality in a typical domestic room or rehearsal space. If the ceiling is especially low, then a square of acoustic foam fixed to the ceiling, centred between the singer and the mic, will help too.
Try to maintain a distance of between 15 and 39cm inches between the singer and the microphone where a mesh pop screen is generally placed 50mm or so in front of the mic. Pop screens are important as without them you'll almost certainly suffer thumps on some of the plosive P and B sounds. Metal mesh types sound the most transparent, though the nylon mesh type are OK and may actually help if the singer's voice is over-bright or sibilant as they soften the highs slightly. More up market are the reticulated foam types but a plain metal mesh works just fine.
CAPTURING A GOOD PERFORMANCE
Keeping the singer comfortable, both physically and psychologically, is also key to a good vocal performance, and that includes encouraging them to do some warm up vocal exercises before you start. Make sure that cool (but not ice cold) drinking water is on hand and if the singer is a shy type, then try to get the other band members to leave the studio when you're recording vocal overdubs. If you need to redo something, try telling them that they can do even better, not that they've made a hash of it.
When working in a home studio most vocals end up being put down as overdubs as that's usually the only way to achieve adequate separation from loud instruments such as drums and electric guitar. A guide vocal can be recorded during the recording of the main backing if required, then you can replace it later.
A good headphone mix is also important in getting the best possible performance so take the time needed to give the singer the headphone balance and volume they need. If they would like some comfort reverb in the phones, then work with them to get the right amount. If you're working with a computer, set the buffer size as low as possible and bypass any unnecessary plug-ins so as to keep latency (headphone delay) to an absolute minimum.
The phones themselves should, ideally, be closed back types as that helps prevent sound from the headphones leaking into the microphone, and if the singer likes to work with one phone on and one phone off, make sure that the unused phone is still resting on the side of their head so as to prevent sound leakage.
Always start recording as early as possible — many pro engineers even record the warm up and sound check as the singer will feel more relaxed knowing there's no pressure and may deliver a better performance. Even it if it isn't complete or only some lines are good, keep them for later as you may be able to use them when you compile the final vocal. The same psychology applies when you have captured all you need but then ask the singer to belt out a final version just to see what happens. They know you have already recorded what you need, so nerves don't get in the way.
Don't rely on pitch correction software more than you have to. It can be used to polish a vocal that's already pretty good but it rarely works for salvaging a bad performance. Always put pitch correction devices or plug-ins before effects such as delay, reverb or modulation as they work best on a clean signal.
Almost all pop vocals are compiled from several takes where the producer goes through each one and marks off the best and worst parts on a lyric sheet. Once all the best parts have been identified, these are compiled to form the final vocal and a modern computer recording system makes this task very easy. Don't edit out all the breaths though as they're an important part of the performance. You can always reduce their level if they are too obvious using mix automation.
USING VOCALS IN THE MIX
Once a satisfactory vocal part has been recorded, a suitable reverb or ambience treatment is invariably needed to add life and interest to the sound but before you do that, it's best to take care of any level discrepancies. It can be tempting to try using only a compressor to flatten out the vocal level but a better approach is to use the level automation facility of your recording system to even out the worst peaks and dips in level before you apply compression.
COMPRESSION
High levels of compression can exaggerate any noise and sibilance present in the recording so combining level automation with compression to control your levels can lead to a noticeably cleaner result. While a gate or expander can help in cleaning up the spaces between phrases, computer users often get better results by looking at the waveform display and manually muting sections where no singing is taking place — again taking care not to mute any breath noises that contribute to the performance.
Soft-knee compressors tend to sound the most natural while fixed ratio compressors or even limiters come into their own when you need to use compression as an effect to give your vocal more of an assertive edge. For transparent gain control, start by setting the compressor so that the maximum gain reduction is just 5 or 6dBs, but for a more hard-hitting sound a gain reduction of 10dB (or slightly more) combined with a ratio of 4:1 or higher might be appropriate. As a starting point, choose a fast or programme-dependent attack time and a release time of around half a second but always use your ears to judge the result. There's also no shame in using a vocal plug-in preset as long as you appreciate that you will still need to adjust the threshold (or compression amount control on some models) to achieve the desired amount of gain reduction — there's invariably some form of gain reduction meter to guide you.
EQ
No two singers have the same vocal characteristics, which is why it is usually better to try a variety of microphones to see what works best with a particular voice, but at mixing stage you'll probably also need to use a little EQ. Excessive use of EQ can lead to a very unnatural sound so as a starting point use low-cut below 100Hz to remove unwanted lows and a shelving filter set at around 7.5kHz that you can push up by a dB or two if you need a more airy sound. Voices that are not cutting through the mix can be given a gentle and fairly wide boost at between 2 and 3kHz but excessive boost in this region can cause harshness. If you hear boxiness in the lower mid-range then try using a gentle dip at that point to clean it up but don't do anything too dramatic. EQ boost is always more audible than cut, so fix problems by cutting where you can.
DE-ESSING
Sibilance caused by air passing over and around the teeth during the pronunciation of S and T sounds can be annoyingly loud with some singers and gets worse as you add compression. Fortunately there are many excellent de-essers available, both as hardware and as plug-ins, where the best remove only the offending sibilant frequencies while leaving the rest of the frequency range untouched. De-ess only as much as required as processing too heavily can leave the vocals sounding ‘lispy'. Often sibilance can be reduced at source by using a nylon mesh pop filter rather than a metal mesh and/or, singing slightly to one side of (or above/below) the microphone. The choice of microphone can also make a big difference.
DOUBLE TRACKING
Double tracking is a popular technique for adding texture and interest to a vocal part and is routinely used on both main and backing vocal lines. Essentially, the singer performs the same part twice (or more) on separate tracks, then the tracks are played back together to give the effect of two or more singers in unison. This depends on the singer being able to replicate the same timing and phrasing on each pass, though modern DAW software provides tools that allow the occasional out-of-time word or phrase to be massaged back into line.
Where the singer can't replicate their original phrasing, there are several ADT, or Automatic Double Tracking techniques that can be used to fake it. In the early days, a short delay of between 30 and 100ms would be added to the original vocal using a spare tape recorder and in later years the delayed version might also be detuned by a few cents using a pitch shifter. Today there are numerous plug-ins that recreate double tracking reasonably well though my own favourite trick is to copy the vocal part, delay it slightly and then put the copy through a pitch correction plug-in or device to introduce a subtle pitch variation. When played back alongside the original, the effect is very authentic.
REVERB AND DELAY
As vocals tend to be recorded in an acoustically ‘dry' environment, some artificial ambience usually needs to be added to make them sit comfortably with the rest of the mix. Modern digital reverbs units and plug-ins can recreate anything from very small, dry-sounding room ambiences to huge cathedrals though a plate emulation still works well for most vocals where the typical decay time might be set between one and 1.5 seconds depending on the style of music. Today's music tends to use less obvious reverb treatments than were common a couple of decades ago and if you listen carefully to a cross-section of pop music, you'll often hear that a modest amount of reverb has been combined with subtle echo — or delay with a little feedback. Delays that emulate vintage tape loop echo boxes are good for this purpose and sometimes rolling off a little treble from the delay helps it sit more comfortably behind the vocal. Finding the right vocal treatment is more about art than science but always judge the result in the context of the whole mix, not in isolation.
Finally, make sure that your vocals are mixed loud enough to be clearly audible but not so loud that they sound ‘glued on' to the rest of the mix. A great tip for judging this is to stand outside the studio door with the door left open and see how the balance sounds from there. A lot of pro engineers use this technique to double check their mix balances.
The boom in DAW software means that anyone can start recording vocals at home; you just need a vocalist, a computer, a mic and a little know how. Paul White, editor-in-chief of Sound on Sound magazine shares his tricks and tips for getting it right every time.
Vocals are invariably the most important part of a mix and it's an area where those less experienced in recording can come unstuck. You'll find a lot of in-depth material on the subject at , though it's not difficult to make a good vocal recording as long as you follow a few simple guidelines. Indeed you can get a perfectly acceptable vocal sound using the same dynamic mic you use on stage but you'll usually get even better results using a capacitor mic as the highs will come over more cleanly. You'll also need a pop shield as explained a little later.
The best place to start is with the recording environment itself as that has a big influence on the end result and problems encountered there can't be fixed later.
Wednesday, 31 August 2016
Recording Vocals At Home
Recording Vocals at Home: Clean & Clear
The times they are a-changin'. It used to cost an arm and a leg to go into the studio to record vocals. Now, consumer level recording equipment is not only more than good enough, but it's affordable enough that anyone who's serious about the task can put together a quality vocal signal chain for under a thousand dollars, and even less than that! The question has shifted from "How can I afford it?" to "How do I do it?" Let me show you.
No matter your goal... whether you're a rapper, producer, singer, podcast creator, video game designer, etc., you need a quality vocal chain set up and ready to rock at home. Recording vocals at home used to be a dream, and now it's a no-brainer. Money is no longer the barrier to entry. The know-how is what gets in the way because you have to know not only which pieces of studio equipment you need, but how to hook them up, in what order, and how to record the signal in your computer, not to mention using the software. That sounds intimidating right?
Don't worry. After this article, you'll understand the concept like the back of your hand and know exactly what you need. Remember, the question is not just "how do I record vocals?" but how to get a clean and clear end result that sounds professional. This broad question could open a huge can of worms that could spawn a discussion that could go on for weeks.
What we're going to do is skip the nuances and get right down to the nitty gritty with a quick overview so you can get started immediately. I'm even going to wrap it up with a few equalization and compression tips to take your clean recording from crystal clear to polished and ready for your listeners. In the future, we'll explore each sub-topic in this article in more depth. But for now...
Without further ado...
Here's a table of content of sorts to let you know what we're going to cover, in order:
Microphone
An Example of Perfect Quality Vocals
If you cover the basics of each of these areas, you will achieve decent results that are good enough to present to the world without being embarrassed. If you go the distance and take the time to accumulate the equipment by trading up quality over time and really learn the tricks of the trade, you'll have pristine results that would make the Abbey Road guys cry. I jest, but you can compete and even charge money to help others get the results they need. Let's get started. At the end, I'll show you some Abbey Road results that'll make your mouth water.
Note: All of the "recommendation" links you'll see below formatted like this will all take you to Amazon so you can get an idea of the price and other technical details. I'll show you my favorite budget option and then my absolute favorite option available, despite cost, so you can get a frame of reference. If you're ballin' on a budget, you're still going to get massive results with these suggestions. In some cases, I'm won't show you this or that since it's all budget. I'll show you types.
Don't worry about the order that these various pieces of equipment go in within the signal chain. We'll cover that in the conclusion. It's simple and will make plenty of sense by the time you get there.
Microphone
The microphone, obviously, is the very device that allows you to capture the fluctuations of your vocal cords. When it comes to mics, price doesn't always correlate to quality. There are also many types of microphones that you should be acquainted with. But as far as vocals go, you need to ask yourself what type of vocals you'll be recording.
Dynamic Mics
Shure SM57 Dynamic Mic
If you're recording rap vocals, heavy metal screaming, or anything else that's forceful and varies in volume and intensity constantly, you'll want to go for a dynamic microphone. They can not only withstand the force of air that'll be shooting out of your mouth, but won't decrease in their ability to record as humidity rushes past the diaphragm.
Give it a good preamp and it'll take you all the way. Big studios default to it for a lot of applications.
Favorite: Electro-Voice RE20 - "The Radio Announcer's Choice"
I'll venture to say 99% of radio shows use this for their DJ's and talk shows. It's got a great proximity effect to enhance the bass in your voice if you choose.
Condenser Mics
Rode NTK Condenser Mic
On the other hand, if you're recording singers with beautiful voices that feature subtle nuances that should definitely show up in the recording, then you'll want a condenser microphone. You'll see various types, but go for a large diaphragm condenser mic. Because it's larger in diameter, it's more sensitive to each sound wave that hits it. That also means that you shouldn't scream directly into it or let spit fly into it, etc. If you decide to record a rapper or "screamo" type of vocalist on it, make sure they face off-axis and use a pop-filter and windscreen, without question. No matter what type of vocalist you're recording, expect a lot of sibilance and plosives at times.
Budget: MXL 990 - "As Good as the Rest of Your Chain"
My feeling about this mic is that it will perform as good as you'll let it, based on the rest of your gear. You'll eventually want to upgrade, but it'll get you started for sure. It will become your bottle neck for quality later on, though. (Another option is the Oktava MK-319)
I love this mic more than my cat (not my dog though). I go to this mic for all types of vocalists, unless their voices feature a lot of bass and I want to capture that. This microphone shines for anyone with a mid to high frequency ranged voice. It only gets better as you pair it with better preamps.
Here's a heads-up to remember as you continue this article. Most mic's have different casings that require specialized shock mounts. Fortunately, if you buy most mic's new (and I suggest that for condensers so you know it wasn't treated roughly), it'll come with its own custom shock mount and mic stand adapter. If you order a bunch of stuff at once, be careful that you're not doubling up on those items!
Room Acoustics
Something that a lot of people don't consider is that the recording environment is just as important as the equipment you use. Many home studios choose to use a closet as a make-shift vocal booth to try to avoid these issues, but that only exacerbates the issue. What is this issue I'm talking about? Acoustics.
Room acoustics refers to the size of the room, the orientation of the walls, how smooth the walls are, etc. All of these things affect how sound waves will bounce back to the mic.
These "bounces" are called reflections. They can create delays, reverbs, constructive or deconstructive interference at various frequencies, and a multitude of other problems like flutter and on and on. The tools discussed in this section will help you combat these problems. You've basically got two options.
Acoustic Treatment
People will tell you, "Oh, you don't need to treat your room, just close mic everything." Don't listen. If you want to record freely in your studio room or vocal booth, it will require acoustic treatment. I'm going to tell you a little about it here, but if you want to learn more please head over to our full feature on acoustic treatment Prepare to lose your mind and become addicted though. It's a fun topic.
Professional Acoustic Treatment (Panels and a Diffusor at Bottom)
To be honest, I'm not going to suggest this to someone who's recording vocals exclusively. If you're mixing or recording a band all at once, then this is for you. There are two types of acoustic treatment out there, the cheaper and less effective egg-crate foam type, and the more handsome paneling option. Within both there are reflection panels, clouds, bass traps, diffusors, and more. Again, read our full feature if you want to go this route; it's too much to cover here.
I honestly would only ever use these kits inside of a vocal booth, and have. Some people are happy to plaster their walls with this stuff, but not only would I not want to look at it, but it's not that great. The positive is that it's cheaper than the dickens and does help.
Favorite: Professional Studio Paneling - "The Now We're Talking Option"
You can order these from Real Traps or GIK Acoustics Those are the only two options I'd consider. I made my own by ordering the right high-density insulation and doing some wood-working.
Reflection Filters
If you're mainly focused on vocals, let's be honest. Skip that whole can of worms above and go for a reflection filter. These are miniature acoustic treatment panels that attach to your mic stand and envelop your mic. Not only will they block out any reflections making their way back towards your mic, but they also stop the creation of reflections in the critical directions (based on the pick-up pattern of your mic, which should be cardioid for vocals). It'll make more sense if you look at a picture of one:
Auray Reflection Filter
The snazzy part is that the egg crate foam, in this case (and what makes it suck in the full-on room application) is that it only absorbs middle and high range frequencies. It let's the bass frequencies pass through it here so they don't bounce back at you (which is a huge problem in small rooms like vocal booths or closets). This is your ticket to the big leagues for cheap if you're only recording vocals at home. With the EQ tips I'll share with you at the end of this article, you'll be absolutely pleased with the results.
Not only do I feel Auray's option has a more sturdy construction, but you can change the shape and open up your mic to more room ambience if you choose.
I've said my piece. Start with a reflection filter and save yourself the acoustic treatment nightmare until you're ready to expand beyond just vocals. Then the nightmare will become a beautiful fantasy that you can't get enough of. It's absolutely my favorite aspect of having a studio.
Mic Stand & Shock Mount
This part isn't nearly as fun as the rest, but it's crucial. As far as mic stands go, you have a couple of options. These include a desktop stand and a standing, traditional mic stand. It really depends on what you're doing. If you're podcasting or recording audiobooks, you might as well sit down since it's going to take a while. If you're trying to perform your best take of vocals ever, you'll want to stand up so you can get a full lung and stomach expansion and belt it out. When it comes to standing stands, you can consider whether or not you'd like to add a boom to it (the part that stretches out so it's not just straight up and down). Also, think about how heavy the shock mount, the reflection filter, and the mic is. This will help you decide if you want a boom, and the critical decision of if you want tripod legs or a heavy circle base. I prefer legs.
Various types of mic stands, including booms and desktop styles
Tripod Legs: If you want to use a boom, you'll want a stand of this type of stand so you can angle the boom over a leg to keep it from tipping over. Especially if you have a reflection filter on it and a heavy condenser mic.
Circle Base: If you forgo a boom, then you can rock a tripod or a circle base The circles are usually made to be very heavy to keep from tipping. And you're less likely to trip over a leg and knock the whole set up over (which is bad for a condenser's tube).
When it comes to shock mounts, a condenser mic should come with one custom fitted to it. You can buy them for dynamics, but it's not as necessary. What they do is suspend the mic in mid-air off of the mic stand using rubber bands so that bass vibrations aren't moving up the stand and getting into your recording. If you have a random mic but no shock mount, search for a one-size-fits-all and it'll do the trick.
Pop Filter & Wind Screen
There's not much to this. Pop filters do exactly what they sound like they do, which is help dissipate bursts of air, known as plosives, that occur during syllables that start with the letter "B" or "P" for instance. I prefer the kind of pop filter that is on a flexible arm that extends towards the vocalist. You can orient it in a certain way to achieve two results: You can keep the vocalist from getting right up on the mic and spitting all over it and breathing their hot, humid air into it, and you can trick them into remaining slightly off-axis. This distance and off-axis orientation should completely eradicate pops. If they don't, you can use volume automation when you clean up the vocals to hide any that slip through.
One of the coolest pop filters available, the WindTech PopGard
Wind screens are essentially the same thing as pop filters, and you can combine the two if you have an unruly vocalist. While a pop filter is a thin piece of fabric stretched out (think of panty hose), a wind screen is a thicker chunk of foam that goes all around the mic (think of a sock). Wind screens may come more in handy if you have a vocalist who likes to hold the microphone in their hand.
Pop Filter: This is an example of your typical pop filter , unlike the nifty one above. They are cheap enough that you can put up two if you need.
Wind Screen: These are you basic wind screens They are only a dollar or two each, and you can buy them solo or in packs. You can get any color of the rainbow too.
At least have one or the other, but go ahead and pick up a nice pop filter and a pack of wind screens. They are both cheap enough and are more than worth it. The last thing you want is the perfect take ruined when it could have been saved by you not being a cheap bastard!
XLR Cables
Notice I didn't just say "cables." I specifically typed XLR. Any microphone worth it's weight is going to expect an XLR cable. If you even consider using a mic that asks for a USB cord, you should take that USB cord and... well, you get the point.
Typical 3-Prong XLR Cable
The main reason I wanted to talk about XLR's is to save you some money. One of the biggest myths in the business, and it's only perpetuated by audiophiles who have more money than sense, is that super expensive cables are better than cheap ones. Yes, to an extent, that's true. You don't want to go so bottom rung that the cables don't have any shielding and pick up tons of 60 Hz hum and other electrical interferences.
But you also don't need these cables that get your money through crazy marketing. If a cable tells you all about it's 24 karat gold micro-weaved and braided shielding with quantum vibrational flux capacitors, then put it back on the shelf. There's one company that's notorious for this type of scam, and they are a real "monster," ya feel me. I'll point you in the right direction (take note of the length before you order any cable!):
Budget: There are plenty of budget cable companies. Hosa does a good job , Livewire is okay, and Monoprice is another that pops in my head. They aren't budget, but more so standard in price.
Favorite: If you can afford the extra spend and want a piece of mind, I like to run my vocal signal chain with Mogami cables , along with my monitors. They go the extra mile without extorting you.
This goes for all cabling of all types all across the board. Never fall for the marketing trick. Now, the one thing that is true is that if you're using an unbalanced (versus balanced) connection, you don't want a ton of extra length on the cable. That's more opportunity for interference to be picked up. With balanced it doesn't matter. This is another topic that's far beyond the scope of this article. Honestly, just don't get a 30 foot cable if you only need 6 feet and you won't need to worry about it.
Preamplifier
Let me stress this, because it's not obvious until you've had some experience. The difference in a crappy preamplifier and a quality preamp is literally night and day. And yes, you must have one, because you have to boost the signal in the cable from "mic level" to "line level." Stuff like electric guitars, keyboards, and electric basses are already at line level, but mic level is very quiet.
Some goofy dudes will try to get around having to buy a preamp by just cranking the volume on their inputs like mad. All you're doing is introducing a boat load of noise. You need to boost this signal without also boosting the noise, and that's what a preamp does.
Let me preface this part of the discussion by letting you know that interfaces will come with preamps on most every channel, that you can bypass or not. So if you're stretching your budget thin, you're better off not buying an independent outboard preamp and adding some extra cash to your interface purchase. If you can afford to pick up a stand-alone racked or desktop preamp, then do it, only if you can spend enough to get past the bottom rung of quality. The cheapest ones on the market will harm your signal more than they will help, while the best mic preamp will unlock the full potential of your mic.
FMR RNP Preamplifier - The Really Nice Preamp
Remember earlier, too, when I said that most microphones have a range of ability to provide you with a quality recording. You can force a microphone to sound like crap by pairing it with a horrible preamp, or you can help it show its full potential by hooking it up to an awesome preamp. This is not the place to skimp out on and be cheap. Do this step right!
Budget: FMR RNP - "The Really Nice Preamp"
I can't sing this pre's praises enough. FMR cut the cost by offering a plain plastic casing in a desktop format, but the electronics are a masterpiece. You can rack them with various kits out there. Check out the Funklogic options, which is how I racked my RNP and RNC together.
Favorite: Great River MP-2NV - "The I'll Never Need Another Preamp Again"
This is on my wishlist ever since I was able to play with one of these. They say at the level of perfection, you have various flavors to appeal to preferences. This is my flavor. It's pristine and adds nothing to the signal, whereas some top-level pre's might add warmth or coloring.
Preamplifiers are my second most favorite piece of studio gear after acoustic treatment. That's because it's the second most important, after acoustic treatment. That's a hint. Get the RNP if you can!
Interface
What most people who are new to the concept of recording don't understand is how your audio signal is moved into the computer. This is what an interface does. Many beginners will attempt to use their computer's sound card, but not only does it not feature all of the components you need, but the ones they do have don't cut it. You need an interface, which is like a glorified outboard sound card with additional features.
An interface combines several elements of the signal chain. Remember, most will include at least one if not two channels that include a preamplifier. It will include analog-to-digital converters and digital-to-analog converters so you can move the signal into the computer and back out so you can hear it through your monitors. That's the basic concept.
Let me say up front. If this is the spot you try to save money on, you're going to doom yourself. Don't buy some kind of $50 dollar cheap audio interface and expect any of the components inside of it to be worth a crap. Another heads up is that a lot of interfaces will come bundled with installation disks for a DAW, which we will talk about next. Make sure you know what you're getting so you don't buy twice!
Lastly, you'll find several options for how the interface connects to the computer. You'll see USB, Firewire, Optical TOSlink (Lightpipe), Thunderbolt, Ethernet, and more. Concern yourself at this point with only USB or Firewire. Both are fast enough at this point and have been for at least a decade for this level of recording (one to ten tracks at a time or so). It's just a matter of preference. I use Firewire right now.
Focusrite is known for having quality preamps in their interfaces. If you're only recording one voice at a time, you can slide by with this money-saving option.
This bad boy gives you so many inputs and outputs that you'll be ready to record an entire band, including a million drum mics, but you'll need to add some preamps into the mix.
Focusrite offers expansions that can daisy-chain to this main interface though. I love Focusrite.
There are tons of interfaces out there and I've only tried a handful, partially because once you buy you don't need any others unless they fry their electronics over time. Mark of the Unicorn, or MOTU, makes some solid stuff. I enjoyed my two that I went through, but I'm currently using the Saffire Pro 40 mentioned above and don't see myself leaving Focusrite in the future.
DAW Software
Again, before you purchase a DAW, or digital audio workstation, make sure your interface isn't coming with one first! When it comes to DAW's, there are a ton of options that will all get the job done. Let me list a ton just for example: Avid Pro Tools, Apple Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Image-Line Fruity Loops Studio, Cakewalk Sonar, Steinberg Cubase, Sony Acid Pro, Propellerhead Reason, Presonus Studio One, MOTU Digital Performer, Cockos Reaper, and on and on.
A typical DAW user interface
If you want to simplify the decision, consider either Pro Tools or Logic Pro (if you're on a Mac with OSX, this is killer and my favorite). Those are the leaders, and if you learn them, you've learned them all.
A DAW is a digital audio workstation. It's a piece of software that communicates to all of the hardware we've been talking about. It will take the recordings and lay them out for you on a multi-track where you can then proceed to signal processing and making your vocals sound even better. It's not an option if you want to produce the kind of results everyone expects in this modern age.
Windows: Go for Pro Tools You can get it for Mac too but Avid doesn't keep their update cycle as on point for Macs right now. You will either need an Avid interface or buy a USB dongle to be able to use Pro Tools. It's how they keep people from stealing their software, which is smart.
Apple Mac: Go for Logic Pro It's beautiful, intuitive, and keeps getting better. And since it's made by Apple, you know it will always work for your Mac and be up-to-date with their constant operating system upgrades.
Vocal Mixing Tips
It'd be real crappy of me to tell you about all of these tools you need to record but then leave you hanging. What I can't do in this article is explain how to install your DAW and sync it up to your interface, tell the multi-track mixer which inputs to use, or give you the complete run down on mixing. You need to take the time to experience the learning curve of a DAW.
Everyone has to, but only once. Then you're good to go for life.
I want to share some techniques for post-processing your vocals. I can't go in super depth here. If you'd like more details, please check out our article on basic audio mixing tips Here,
I'm going to point you in the right direction. You'll understand it all and can revisit it after you've become familiar with your DAW and it's plugins.
Equalization
When dealing with vocals, you'll want to vary these values depending on if you're doing something where it's vocals only such as a podcast, or if you're mixing vocals into a song. The principals will remain the same. In your DAW, find a parametric EQ plugin and apply it to the track. Open it and you'll have you have five nodes that you can move around to affect the frequency spectrum of the vocals, from the lowest portions to the left and up to the highest on the right. You should be able to play the track and see it's signal appear on the plugin.
Oceanturtle's Fnequalizer Plugin
On the leftmost side, apply a low-end roll off. You'll want to start it anywhere from 60 to 100 Hz, where the slightest impact occurs. It will veer deeply off to the left, removing more and more of the sub-bass frequencies out of your vocals. This won't impact your voice, but it will remove any low frequency noises that crept into your recording. For mixing over kick drum and bass, you may choose to push this value as high as 150 Hz. You can change the rate of the roll off as well so that it descends more sharply. You can do the same at the high end or even the inverse where you boost the high end. Use your ears, not your eyes, to make the proper decisions.
Now use another node and set up a medium width Q curve and subtract anywhere from 2-6 db of amplitude and begin sweeping it from around 200 Hz up to 500 Hz. You'll find the sweet spot where a sense of muddiness is removed and clarity occurs. This is removing the boomy sensation your room is creating due to lack of complete acoustic treatment.
Do the same as above but use a wide width Q curve (boost wide and cut thin!) and add anywhere from 1-3 db of boost around 2.5-6 kHz. Sweep it around and play with the width of the curve to find the sweet spot. This is the range where the human voice has definition. It will help your words be understood. The value will be lower for females and higher for males.
Compression
Once you've EQ'd your vocals, you've removed the "nasty" frequencies, or at least turned them down to where they aren't recognizable. Now you're ready for compression. You don't want to compress your vocals before you've done this preliminary EQ-ing or you'll just be compounding the problem.
Logic Pro's Compressor Plugin
Compression has four variables associated with it: Ratio, Threshold, Attack, Decay. For vocals, you can usually get away with a very fast attack and decay. These have to do with how quickly compression is applied and released after the amplitude surpasses and dips back below the threshold you set. The threshold is set in decibels and is the level you choose to start apply compression. The ratio then is like an inverse gain knob. For vocals, you could use a 2:1 and as high as a 5:1, depending on the style of vocals and genre of music. Rap and Pop will take more to duplicate the feeling you're used to hearing. What this means is that if your vocals go over the threshold by 5 decibels, it will reduce it down to 1 decibel in volume, assuming a 5:1 ratio. If it goes over by 10 db, it will be reduced to 2 db. This evens out the volumes of your vocals so the spikes and dips are less extreme.
When done, you may find you want to add an additional EQ plugin after the compression and do a little bit more work with it. It should be minor. If you find yourself doing a lot of EQ work after compression, that means you didn't do it right the first time before compression.
Effects
This is the fun part. Play around with panning, delays, flangers, reverbs , pitch shifters, and more to get an idea of what the possibilities are.
Logic Pro's Space Designer Plugin
Certain effects will be more appropriate for some songs or applications than others, but largely this boils down to the creative control of the mixer. You can also independently apply compression and EQ to the effects as well by sending them to another track via a bus.
Perfect Quality Vocal Recording Example
I can't leave you to the task without providing an example of something to aim at. Here's Paul McCartney singing Golden Slumbers from the Beatles' album Abbey Road, recorded at the amazing Abbey Road studio! (Edit: That one got yanked off of YouTube. Here's an equally good example from Boyz II Men singing The Beatles tune Yesterday!)
Notice the clarity due to the reduction of extreme low-end and the muddy area, along with the compression that keeps the overall average volume consistent across segments. Then listen for the subtle reverb tail. You can produce these results at home with the proper studio gear and practice. Keep hope and work hard!
Recording Vocals At Home is a Piece of Cake!
That's it, my friends. Really. There are three aspects to recording vocals that follow chronologically along the audio signal chain. You start with your hardware which sends the signal to the computer and DAW software and then you apply some post-processing. It's a piece of cake once you've done it a couple of times.
Take your time to experiment. Once you've familiarized yourself and become comfortable with the technical aspects of recording, you'll brain will be ready to get into the creative part, and that's where your world will open up to an endless realm of possibility. Be patient and studious and you'll get there in no time. These skills are horizontally applicable to recording instruments too! You're on your way to becoming a professional studio engineer!
The times they are a-changin'. It used to cost an arm and a leg to go into the studio to record vocals. Now, consumer level recording equipment is not only more than good enough, but it's affordable enough that anyone who's serious about the task can put together a quality vocal signal chain for under a thousand dollars, and even less than that! The question has shifted from "How can I afford it?" to "How do I do it?" Let me show you.
No matter your goal... whether you're a rapper, producer, singer, podcast creator, video game designer, etc., you need a quality vocal chain set up and ready to rock at home. Recording vocals at home used to be a dream, and now it's a no-brainer. Money is no longer the barrier to entry. The know-how is what gets in the way because you have to know not only which pieces of studio equipment you need, but how to hook them up, in what order, and how to record the signal in your computer, not to mention using the software. That sounds intimidating right?
Don't worry. After this article, you'll understand the concept like the back of your hand and know exactly what you need. Remember, the question is not just "how do I record vocals?" but how to get a clean and clear end result that sounds professional. This broad question could open a huge can of worms that could spawn a discussion that could go on for weeks.
What we're going to do is skip the nuances and get right down to the nitty gritty with a quick overview so you can get started immediately. I'm even going to wrap it up with a few equalization and compression tips to take your clean recording from crystal clear to polished and ready for your listeners. In the future, we'll explore each sub-topic in this article in more depth. But for now...
Without further ado...
Here's a table of content of sorts to let you know what we're going to cover, in order:
Microphone
An Example of Perfect Quality Vocals
If you cover the basics of each of these areas, you will achieve decent results that are good enough to present to the world without being embarrassed. If you go the distance and take the time to accumulate the equipment by trading up quality over time and really learn the tricks of the trade, you'll have pristine results that would make the Abbey Road guys cry. I jest, but you can compete and even charge money to help others get the results they need. Let's get started. At the end, I'll show you some Abbey Road results that'll make your mouth water.
Note: All of the "recommendation" links you'll see below formatted like this will all take you to Amazon so you can get an idea of the price and other technical details. I'll show you my favorite budget option and then my absolute favorite option available, despite cost, so you can get a frame of reference. If you're ballin' on a budget, you're still going to get massive results with these suggestions. In some cases, I'm won't show you this or that since it's all budget. I'll show you types.
Don't worry about the order that these various pieces of equipment go in within the signal chain. We'll cover that in the conclusion. It's simple and will make plenty of sense by the time you get there.
Microphone
The microphone, obviously, is the very device that allows you to capture the fluctuations of your vocal cords. When it comes to mics, price doesn't always correlate to quality. There are also many types of microphones that you should be acquainted with. But as far as vocals go, you need to ask yourself what type of vocals you'll be recording.
Dynamic Mics
Shure SM57 Dynamic Mic
If you're recording rap vocals, heavy metal screaming, or anything else that's forceful and varies in volume and intensity constantly, you'll want to go for a dynamic microphone. They can not only withstand the force of air that'll be shooting out of your mouth, but won't decrease in their ability to record as humidity rushes past the diaphragm.
Give it a good preamp and it'll take you all the way. Big studios default to it for a lot of applications.
Favorite: Electro-Voice RE20 - "The Radio Announcer's Choice"
I'll venture to say 99% of radio shows use this for their DJ's and talk shows. It's got a great proximity effect to enhance the bass in your voice if you choose.
Condenser Mics
Rode NTK Condenser Mic
On the other hand, if you're recording singers with beautiful voices that feature subtle nuances that should definitely show up in the recording, then you'll want a condenser microphone. You'll see various types, but go for a large diaphragm condenser mic. Because it's larger in diameter, it's more sensitive to each sound wave that hits it. That also means that you shouldn't scream directly into it or let spit fly into it, etc. If you decide to record a rapper or "screamo" type of vocalist on it, make sure they face off-axis and use a pop-filter and windscreen, without question. No matter what type of vocalist you're recording, expect a lot of sibilance and plosives at times.
Budget: MXL 990 - "As Good as the Rest of Your Chain"
My feeling about this mic is that it will perform as good as you'll let it, based on the rest of your gear. You'll eventually want to upgrade, but it'll get you started for sure. It will become your bottle neck for quality later on, though. (Another option is the Oktava MK-319)
I love this mic more than my cat (not my dog though). I go to this mic for all types of vocalists, unless their voices feature a lot of bass and I want to capture that. This microphone shines for anyone with a mid to high frequency ranged voice. It only gets better as you pair it with better preamps.
Here's a heads-up to remember as you continue this article. Most mic's have different casings that require specialized shock mounts. Fortunately, if you buy most mic's new (and I suggest that for condensers so you know it wasn't treated roughly), it'll come with its own custom shock mount and mic stand adapter. If you order a bunch of stuff at once, be careful that you're not doubling up on those items!
Room Acoustics
Something that a lot of people don't consider is that the recording environment is just as important as the equipment you use. Many home studios choose to use a closet as a make-shift vocal booth to try to avoid these issues, but that only exacerbates the issue. What is this issue I'm talking about? Acoustics.
Room acoustics refers to the size of the room, the orientation of the walls, how smooth the walls are, etc. All of these things affect how sound waves will bounce back to the mic.
These "bounces" are called reflections. They can create delays, reverbs, constructive or deconstructive interference at various frequencies, and a multitude of other problems like flutter and on and on. The tools discussed in this section will help you combat these problems. You've basically got two options.
Acoustic Treatment
People will tell you, "Oh, you don't need to treat your room, just close mic everything." Don't listen. If you want to record freely in your studio room or vocal booth, it will require acoustic treatment. I'm going to tell you a little about it here, but if you want to learn more please head over to our full feature on acoustic treatment Prepare to lose your mind and become addicted though. It's a fun topic.
Professional Acoustic Treatment (Panels and a Diffusor at Bottom)
To be honest, I'm not going to suggest this to someone who's recording vocals exclusively. If you're mixing or recording a band all at once, then this is for you. There are two types of acoustic treatment out there, the cheaper and less effective egg-crate foam type, and the more handsome paneling option. Within both there are reflection panels, clouds, bass traps, diffusors, and more. Again, read our full feature if you want to go this route; it's too much to cover here.
I honestly would only ever use these kits inside of a vocal booth, and have. Some people are happy to plaster their walls with this stuff, but not only would I not want to look at it, but it's not that great. The positive is that it's cheaper than the dickens and does help.
Favorite: Professional Studio Paneling - "The Now We're Talking Option"
You can order these from Real Traps or GIK Acoustics Those are the only two options I'd consider. I made my own by ordering the right high-density insulation and doing some wood-working.
Reflection Filters
If you're mainly focused on vocals, let's be honest. Skip that whole can of worms above and go for a reflection filter. These are miniature acoustic treatment panels that attach to your mic stand and envelop your mic. Not only will they block out any reflections making their way back towards your mic, but they also stop the creation of reflections in the critical directions (based on the pick-up pattern of your mic, which should be cardioid for vocals). It'll make more sense if you look at a picture of one:
Auray Reflection Filter
The snazzy part is that the egg crate foam, in this case (and what makes it suck in the full-on room application) is that it only absorbs middle and high range frequencies. It let's the bass frequencies pass through it here so they don't bounce back at you (which is a huge problem in small rooms like vocal booths or closets). This is your ticket to the big leagues for cheap if you're only recording vocals at home. With the EQ tips I'll share with you at the end of this article, you'll be absolutely pleased with the results.
Not only do I feel Auray's option has a more sturdy construction, but you can change the shape and open up your mic to more room ambience if you choose.
I've said my piece. Start with a reflection filter and save yourself the acoustic treatment nightmare until you're ready to expand beyond just vocals. Then the nightmare will become a beautiful fantasy that you can't get enough of. It's absolutely my favorite aspect of having a studio.
Mic Stand & Shock Mount
This part isn't nearly as fun as the rest, but it's crucial. As far as mic stands go, you have a couple of options. These include a desktop stand and a standing, traditional mic stand. It really depends on what you're doing. If you're podcasting or recording audiobooks, you might as well sit down since it's going to take a while. If you're trying to perform your best take of vocals ever, you'll want to stand up so you can get a full lung and stomach expansion and belt it out. When it comes to standing stands, you can consider whether or not you'd like to add a boom to it (the part that stretches out so it's not just straight up and down). Also, think about how heavy the shock mount, the reflection filter, and the mic is. This will help you decide if you want a boom, and the critical decision of if you want tripod legs or a heavy circle base. I prefer legs.
Various types of mic stands, including booms and desktop styles
Tripod Legs: If you want to use a boom, you'll want a stand of this type of stand so you can angle the boom over a leg to keep it from tipping over. Especially if you have a reflection filter on it and a heavy condenser mic.
Circle Base: If you forgo a boom, then you can rock a tripod or a circle base The circles are usually made to be very heavy to keep from tipping. And you're less likely to trip over a leg and knock the whole set up over (which is bad for a condenser's tube).
When it comes to shock mounts, a condenser mic should come with one custom fitted to it. You can buy them for dynamics, but it's not as necessary. What they do is suspend the mic in mid-air off of the mic stand using rubber bands so that bass vibrations aren't moving up the stand and getting into your recording. If you have a random mic but no shock mount, search for a one-size-fits-all and it'll do the trick.
Pop Filter & Wind Screen
There's not much to this. Pop filters do exactly what they sound like they do, which is help dissipate bursts of air, known as plosives, that occur during syllables that start with the letter "B" or "P" for instance. I prefer the kind of pop filter that is on a flexible arm that extends towards the vocalist. You can orient it in a certain way to achieve two results: You can keep the vocalist from getting right up on the mic and spitting all over it and breathing their hot, humid air into it, and you can trick them into remaining slightly off-axis. This distance and off-axis orientation should completely eradicate pops. If they don't, you can use volume automation when you clean up the vocals to hide any that slip through.
One of the coolest pop filters available, the WindTech PopGard
Wind screens are essentially the same thing as pop filters, and you can combine the two if you have an unruly vocalist. While a pop filter is a thin piece of fabric stretched out (think of panty hose), a wind screen is a thicker chunk of foam that goes all around the mic (think of a sock). Wind screens may come more in handy if you have a vocalist who likes to hold the microphone in their hand.
Pop Filter: This is an example of your typical pop filter , unlike the nifty one above. They are cheap enough that you can put up two if you need.
Wind Screen: These are you basic wind screens They are only a dollar or two each, and you can buy them solo or in packs. You can get any color of the rainbow too.
At least have one or the other, but go ahead and pick up a nice pop filter and a pack of wind screens. They are both cheap enough and are more than worth it. The last thing you want is the perfect take ruined when it could have been saved by you not being a cheap bastard!
XLR Cables
Notice I didn't just say "cables." I specifically typed XLR. Any microphone worth it's weight is going to expect an XLR cable. If you even consider using a mic that asks for a USB cord, you should take that USB cord and... well, you get the point.
Typical 3-Prong XLR Cable
The main reason I wanted to talk about XLR's is to save you some money. One of the biggest myths in the business, and it's only perpetuated by audiophiles who have more money than sense, is that super expensive cables are better than cheap ones. Yes, to an extent, that's true. You don't want to go so bottom rung that the cables don't have any shielding and pick up tons of 60 Hz hum and other electrical interferences.
But you also don't need these cables that get your money through crazy marketing. If a cable tells you all about it's 24 karat gold micro-weaved and braided shielding with quantum vibrational flux capacitors, then put it back on the shelf. There's one company that's notorious for this type of scam, and they are a real "monster," ya feel me. I'll point you in the right direction (take note of the length before you order any cable!):
Budget: There are plenty of budget cable companies. Hosa does a good job , Livewire is okay, and Monoprice is another that pops in my head. They aren't budget, but more so standard in price.
Favorite: If you can afford the extra spend and want a piece of mind, I like to run my vocal signal chain with Mogami cables , along with my monitors. They go the extra mile without extorting you.
This goes for all cabling of all types all across the board. Never fall for the marketing trick. Now, the one thing that is true is that if you're using an unbalanced (versus balanced) connection, you don't want a ton of extra length on the cable. That's more opportunity for interference to be picked up. With balanced it doesn't matter. This is another topic that's far beyond the scope of this article. Honestly, just don't get a 30 foot cable if you only need 6 feet and you won't need to worry about it.
Preamplifier
Let me stress this, because it's not obvious until you've had some experience. The difference in a crappy preamplifier and a quality preamp is literally night and day. And yes, you must have one, because you have to boost the signal in the cable from "mic level" to "line level." Stuff like electric guitars, keyboards, and electric basses are already at line level, but mic level is very quiet.
Some goofy dudes will try to get around having to buy a preamp by just cranking the volume on their inputs like mad. All you're doing is introducing a boat load of noise. You need to boost this signal without also boosting the noise, and that's what a preamp does.
Let me preface this part of the discussion by letting you know that interfaces will come with preamps on most every channel, that you can bypass or not. So if you're stretching your budget thin, you're better off not buying an independent outboard preamp and adding some extra cash to your interface purchase. If you can afford to pick up a stand-alone racked or desktop preamp, then do it, only if you can spend enough to get past the bottom rung of quality. The cheapest ones on the market will harm your signal more than they will help, while the best mic preamp will unlock the full potential of your mic.
FMR RNP Preamplifier - The Really Nice Preamp
Remember earlier, too, when I said that most microphones have a range of ability to provide you with a quality recording. You can force a microphone to sound like crap by pairing it with a horrible preamp, or you can help it show its full potential by hooking it up to an awesome preamp. This is not the place to skimp out on and be cheap. Do this step right!
Budget: FMR RNP - "The Really Nice Preamp"
I can't sing this pre's praises enough. FMR cut the cost by offering a plain plastic casing in a desktop format, but the electronics are a masterpiece. You can rack them with various kits out there. Check out the Funklogic options, which is how I racked my RNP and RNC together.
Favorite: Great River MP-2NV - "The I'll Never Need Another Preamp Again"
This is on my wishlist ever since I was able to play with one of these. They say at the level of perfection, you have various flavors to appeal to preferences. This is my flavor. It's pristine and adds nothing to the signal, whereas some top-level pre's might add warmth or coloring.
Preamplifiers are my second most favorite piece of studio gear after acoustic treatment. That's because it's the second most important, after acoustic treatment. That's a hint. Get the RNP if you can!
Interface
What most people who are new to the concept of recording don't understand is how your audio signal is moved into the computer. This is what an interface does. Many beginners will attempt to use their computer's sound card, but not only does it not feature all of the components you need, but the ones they do have don't cut it. You need an interface, which is like a glorified outboard sound card with additional features.
An interface combines several elements of the signal chain. Remember, most will include at least one if not two channels that include a preamplifier. It will include analog-to-digital converters and digital-to-analog converters so you can move the signal into the computer and back out so you can hear it through your monitors. That's the basic concept.
Let me say up front. If this is the spot you try to save money on, you're going to doom yourself. Don't buy some kind of $50 dollar cheap audio interface and expect any of the components inside of it to be worth a crap. Another heads up is that a lot of interfaces will come bundled with installation disks for a DAW, which we will talk about next. Make sure you know what you're getting so you don't buy twice!
Lastly, you'll find several options for how the interface connects to the computer. You'll see USB, Firewire, Optical TOSlink (Lightpipe), Thunderbolt, Ethernet, and more. Concern yourself at this point with only USB or Firewire. Both are fast enough at this point and have been for at least a decade for this level of recording (one to ten tracks at a time or so). It's just a matter of preference. I use Firewire right now.
Focusrite is known for having quality preamps in their interfaces. If you're only recording one voice at a time, you can slide by with this money-saving option.
This bad boy gives you so many inputs and outputs that you'll be ready to record an entire band, including a million drum mics, but you'll need to add some preamps into the mix.
Focusrite offers expansions that can daisy-chain to this main interface though. I love Focusrite.
There are tons of interfaces out there and I've only tried a handful, partially because once you buy you don't need any others unless they fry their electronics over time. Mark of the Unicorn, or MOTU, makes some solid stuff. I enjoyed my two that I went through, but I'm currently using the Saffire Pro 40 mentioned above and don't see myself leaving Focusrite in the future.
DAW Software
Again, before you purchase a DAW, or digital audio workstation, make sure your interface isn't coming with one first! When it comes to DAW's, there are a ton of options that will all get the job done. Let me list a ton just for example: Avid Pro Tools, Apple Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Image-Line Fruity Loops Studio, Cakewalk Sonar, Steinberg Cubase, Sony Acid Pro, Propellerhead Reason, Presonus Studio One, MOTU Digital Performer, Cockos Reaper, and on and on.
A typical DAW user interface
If you want to simplify the decision, consider either Pro Tools or Logic Pro (if you're on a Mac with OSX, this is killer and my favorite). Those are the leaders, and if you learn them, you've learned them all.
A DAW is a digital audio workstation. It's a piece of software that communicates to all of the hardware we've been talking about. It will take the recordings and lay them out for you on a multi-track where you can then proceed to signal processing and making your vocals sound even better. It's not an option if you want to produce the kind of results everyone expects in this modern age.
Windows: Go for Pro Tools You can get it for Mac too but Avid doesn't keep their update cycle as on point for Macs right now. You will either need an Avid interface or buy a USB dongle to be able to use Pro Tools. It's how they keep people from stealing their software, which is smart.
Apple Mac: Go for Logic Pro It's beautiful, intuitive, and keeps getting better. And since it's made by Apple, you know it will always work for your Mac and be up-to-date with their constant operating system upgrades.
Vocal Mixing Tips
It'd be real crappy of me to tell you about all of these tools you need to record but then leave you hanging. What I can't do in this article is explain how to install your DAW and sync it up to your interface, tell the multi-track mixer which inputs to use, or give you the complete run down on mixing. You need to take the time to experience the learning curve of a DAW.
Everyone has to, but only once. Then you're good to go for life.
I want to share some techniques for post-processing your vocals. I can't go in super depth here. If you'd like more details, please check out our article on basic audio mixing tips Here,
I'm going to point you in the right direction. You'll understand it all and can revisit it after you've become familiar with your DAW and it's plugins.
Equalization
When dealing with vocals, you'll want to vary these values depending on if you're doing something where it's vocals only such as a podcast, or if you're mixing vocals into a song. The principals will remain the same. In your DAW, find a parametric EQ plugin and apply it to the track. Open it and you'll have you have five nodes that you can move around to affect the frequency spectrum of the vocals, from the lowest portions to the left and up to the highest on the right. You should be able to play the track and see it's signal appear on the plugin.
Oceanturtle's Fnequalizer Plugin
On the leftmost side, apply a low-end roll off. You'll want to start it anywhere from 60 to 100 Hz, where the slightest impact occurs. It will veer deeply off to the left, removing more and more of the sub-bass frequencies out of your vocals. This won't impact your voice, but it will remove any low frequency noises that crept into your recording. For mixing over kick drum and bass, you may choose to push this value as high as 150 Hz. You can change the rate of the roll off as well so that it descends more sharply. You can do the same at the high end or even the inverse where you boost the high end. Use your ears, not your eyes, to make the proper decisions.
Now use another node and set up a medium width Q curve and subtract anywhere from 2-6 db of amplitude and begin sweeping it from around 200 Hz up to 500 Hz. You'll find the sweet spot where a sense of muddiness is removed and clarity occurs. This is removing the boomy sensation your room is creating due to lack of complete acoustic treatment.
Do the same as above but use a wide width Q curve (boost wide and cut thin!) and add anywhere from 1-3 db of boost around 2.5-6 kHz. Sweep it around and play with the width of the curve to find the sweet spot. This is the range where the human voice has definition. It will help your words be understood. The value will be lower for females and higher for males.
Compression
Once you've EQ'd your vocals, you've removed the "nasty" frequencies, or at least turned them down to where they aren't recognizable. Now you're ready for compression. You don't want to compress your vocals before you've done this preliminary EQ-ing or you'll just be compounding the problem.
Logic Pro's Compressor Plugin
Compression has four variables associated with it: Ratio, Threshold, Attack, Decay. For vocals, you can usually get away with a very fast attack and decay. These have to do with how quickly compression is applied and released after the amplitude surpasses and dips back below the threshold you set. The threshold is set in decibels and is the level you choose to start apply compression. The ratio then is like an inverse gain knob. For vocals, you could use a 2:1 and as high as a 5:1, depending on the style of vocals and genre of music. Rap and Pop will take more to duplicate the feeling you're used to hearing. What this means is that if your vocals go over the threshold by 5 decibels, it will reduce it down to 1 decibel in volume, assuming a 5:1 ratio. If it goes over by 10 db, it will be reduced to 2 db. This evens out the volumes of your vocals so the spikes and dips are less extreme.
When done, you may find you want to add an additional EQ plugin after the compression and do a little bit more work with it. It should be minor. If you find yourself doing a lot of EQ work after compression, that means you didn't do it right the first time before compression.
Effects
This is the fun part. Play around with panning, delays, flangers, reverbs , pitch shifters, and more to get an idea of what the possibilities are.
Logic Pro's Space Designer Plugin
Certain effects will be more appropriate for some songs or applications than others, but largely this boils down to the creative control of the mixer. You can also independently apply compression and EQ to the effects as well by sending them to another track via a bus.
Perfect Quality Vocal Recording Example
I can't leave you to the task without providing an example of something to aim at. Here's Paul McCartney singing Golden Slumbers from the Beatles' album Abbey Road, recorded at the amazing Abbey Road studio! (Edit: That one got yanked off of YouTube. Here's an equally good example from Boyz II Men singing The Beatles tune Yesterday!)
Notice the clarity due to the reduction of extreme low-end and the muddy area, along with the compression that keeps the overall average volume consistent across segments. Then listen for the subtle reverb tail. You can produce these results at home with the proper studio gear and practice. Keep hope and work hard!
Recording Vocals At Home is a Piece of Cake!
That's it, my friends. Really. There are three aspects to recording vocals that follow chronologically along the audio signal chain. You start with your hardware which sends the signal to the computer and DAW software and then you apply some post-processing. It's a piece of cake once you've done it a couple of times.
Take your time to experiment. Once you've familiarized yourself and become comfortable with the technical aspects of recording, you'll brain will be ready to get into the creative part, and that's where your world will open up to an endless realm of possibility. Be patient and studious and you'll get there in no time. These skills are horizontally applicable to recording instruments too! You're on your way to becoming a professional studio engineer!
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