Vocal Recording Techniques and Tricks of the Trade
Before you record your next vocal track, take a moment to consider a few basic best practices which will improve any vocal recording. Keep in mind that once you get the performance down, you can always add effects or dirty up your track later, but starting with a clean track is always the best.
Good mic technique basically means you need be aware of two things. Firstly, understanding that each microphones diaphragm reacts with varying sensitivities to all the subtle variations in your vocal delivery. Secondly, developing the skill of being able to adjust your body position according to the dynamics of your performance.
For intimate vocals that remain soft from start to finish, you can stay just a few inches from the mic for the duration of the performance. If you're going to belt it out, stand back a couple feet. If your performance uses a mixture of both, then you should start getting good at moving closer and further away from the mic as your delivery requires, even if its just for a couple words or a short phrase.
Ideally, you should keep your mouth just a few inches from the mic as long as you're not overloading the levels. If you do overload the levels, two things can happen to your track. One, you will get digital clipping- which sounds horrible. Two, it's possible that your mic will shut down temporarily depending on how sensitive it is. Both scenarios effectively ruin your recording, but both are also easily avoided by just 'wasting' your vocals a little. by this i mean just pointing mouth to the side or above the mic so you're not singing directly into it during loud bursts.
Mouth pop and lip noise can easily be rectified. Stage mics like the Shure SM57 and SM58 have a pop-filter kind of built in. Stage mics generally have a foam layer just behind the ball shaped mesh protective grid. Many musicians and engineers submit that these dampen om high end frequencies, and prefer the nylon stocking style O-ring pop-filters. Positioning one of these between the performer and the mic will effectively eliminate any uncontrolled blast of breath from overloading the mic.
Mouth noise can really make for a lot of clean up work afterward if you dont deal with it during the recording session. There is a surprisingly easy solution: drinking lots of water throughout the recording session will keep mouth noise WAY down. A few extra trips to the bathroom and no mouth noise Voila!
If you follow these simple rules, you will start with a nice clean vocal track. From that point you are free to add reverb and whatever crazy effects you can dream up without enhancing the unwanted noise when you're trying to get at the meat. These simple practices will save you hours on Mr. Fix-it time in the end. - 18780
Good mic technique basically means you need be aware of two things. Firstly, understanding that each microphones diaphragm reacts with varying sensitivities to all the subtle variations in your vocal delivery. Secondly, developing the skill of being able to adjust your body position according to the dynamics of your performance.
For intimate vocals that remain soft from start to finish, you can stay just a few inches from the mic for the duration of the performance. If you're going to belt it out, stand back a couple feet. If your performance uses a mixture of both, then you should start getting good at moving closer and further away from the mic as your delivery requires, even if its just for a couple words or a short phrase.
Ideally, you should keep your mouth just a few inches from the mic as long as you're not overloading the levels. If you do overload the levels, two things can happen to your track. One, you will get digital clipping- which sounds horrible. Two, it's possible that your mic will shut down temporarily depending on how sensitive it is. Both scenarios effectively ruin your recording, but both are also easily avoided by just 'wasting' your vocals a little. by this i mean just pointing mouth to the side or above the mic so you're not singing directly into it during loud bursts.
Mouth pop and lip noise can easily be rectified. Stage mics like the Shure SM57 and SM58 have a pop-filter kind of built in. Stage mics generally have a foam layer just behind the ball shaped mesh protective grid. Many musicians and engineers submit that these dampen om high end frequencies, and prefer the nylon stocking style O-ring pop-filters. Positioning one of these between the performer and the mic will effectively eliminate any uncontrolled blast of breath from overloading the mic.
Mouth noise can really make for a lot of clean up work afterward if you dont deal with it during the recording session. There is a surprisingly easy solution: drinking lots of water throughout the recording session will keep mouth noise WAY down. A few extra trips to the bathroom and no mouth noise Voila!
If you follow these simple rules, you will start with a nice clean vocal track. From that point you are free to add reverb and whatever crazy effects you can dream up without enhancing the unwanted noise when you're trying to get at the meat. These simple practices will save you hours on Mr. Fix-it time in the end. - 18780
About the Author:
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