The 8 Constants Of Vocal Recording

By my count, there are 8 “constants” that we find in vocal recording. These are items or situations that almost always prove to be true. Just keeping them in mind can save you a lot of trouble in the search for a sound that works for you and your vocalist.

Here are a few tips taken from The Recording Engineer’s Handbook and the Music Producer’s Handbook to help you get a great vocal sound quickly and easily without any of those nasty side effects.

1) Your mic selection, amount of EQ, and compression used is totally dependent on the voice you are recording. Setting up the same signal chain for everyone might work sometime, but best to keep an open mind (and ears) before you settle on a combination.

2) The best mic in the house doesn’t necessarily get the best vocal sounds. There is no one microphone that works well on everything, especially a instrument as quirky as the human voice.

3) A singer who is experienced at recording knows which consonants are tough to record and knows how to balance the them against the vowels to get a good final result. A singer with this kind of experience will make you look like a genius.

4) With a good singer, many times you'll get “the sound" automatically just by putting him/her in front of the right microphone. On the other hand, with a bad singer (or even a good singer that just doesn't adjust well to the studio), no amount of high priced microphones or processing may be able to get you where you need to go.

5) In general, vocals sound better when recorded in a tighter space, but not too tight. Low ceiling rooms can also be a problem with loud singers as they tend to ring at certain lower mid range frequencies, which might be difficult to eliminate later.

6) Windscreens are actually of little use when recording a vocalist with bad technique. There are two different sorts of people in this category: the people who have never sung with sound reinforcement, and the people who have developed bad habits from using a mic on stage.

7) Decoupling the stand from the floor as well as the microphone from the stand will help eliminate unwanted rumbles. Often times a microphone isolation mount isn't enough. Place the stand on a couple of mouse pads or a rug for a cheap but efficient solution.

8) Just marking the floor with tape might get the vocalist to stand in the right position in front of the mic, but she can easily move her head out of position. An easy way to have a vocalist gauge the distance is by hand lengths. An open hand is approximately eight inches while a fist is about four inches. By saying, “Stay a hand away,” the vocalist can easily judge his distance and usually doesn’t forget (see the graphic on the side).

To read additional excerpts from The Music Producer's Handbook and my other books, go to the excerpts section of bobbyowsinski.com.

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4 Vocal Mic Placement Tips

The vocals are always in the spotlight of a song, yet sometimes they receive far less attention during setup than other instruments like the drums. In this excerpt from Audio Recording Basic Training, you'll not only get a few great tips, but an exercise that will lead you through the different ways of vocal miking that will show you their pro's and con's.

"Just like with a great sounding instrument, many times with a good singer you'll get the "sound" automatically just by putting him/her in front of the right microphone. On the other hand, with a bad or inexperienced singer even a high priced microphone or signal processing won’t add the polish you’re looking for. That said, if you start with the correct technique, you’re half-way there.

There are a number of things to remember before you begin to place the mic:

• The best mic in the house won’t necessarily get the best vocal sounds, so don’t be afraid to experiment with different mics.

• Decoupling of the stand from the floor will help get rid of many unwanted low-frequency rumbles that occur from truck traffic, machinery being used down the street, footsteps, and things that are even lower in frequency than normal hearing. Just place the stand on a couple of mouse pads or a rug for an inexpensive solution.

• One of the main things that you’re trying to do with mic placement is eliminate pops, lip smacks, and breath blasts.

• An easy way to have a vocalist gauge the distance from the mic is by hand lengths. An open hand is approximately eight inches while a fist is about four inches. By saying, “Stay a hand away”, the vocalist can easily judge his distance and usually doesn’t forget (see the figure on the side).

Exercise Pod: Recording The Lead Vocal

E8.1: Recording Lead Vocal

A) Place the mic even with the vocalist’s lips about one hand away (see the figure on the left) and have him or her sing the verse of a song. Did you hear any pops or breath blasts?

B) Move the vocalist back to about two hands away and sing the same part of the song. Turn up the gain so it’s the same as before. Did you hear any pops or breath blasts now?

C) Move the vocalist back to one hand away and readjust the gain. Place the mic even with the vocalist’s nose and have the him sing the verse of a song. Did you hear any pops or breath blasts? Did the sound of the vocal change? Is it more or less defined?

D) Now place the mic even with the vocalist’s eyes and point it down towards the lips (see Figure 8.3). Have him sing the verse of a song. Did you hear any pops or breath blasts? Did the sound of the vocal change? Is it more or less defined?

E) Now place the mic even with the vocalist’s lips about one hand away again. Either change the pickup pattern to omnidirectional or change the mic to one with an omni pattern. Have him sing the verse of a song again. Did you hear any pops or breath blasts? Did the sound of the vocal change? Is it more or less defined?

F) Place the mic so there’s no breath blasts or pops."

You can read additional excerpts from this and other books at bobbyowsinski.com.

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Bruce Swedien's Vocal Recording Tips

For anyone who doesn't know already, Bruce Swedien is truly the Godfather of modern day recording. Having been part of the team the produced Michael Jackson's greatest hits is only one of the things he's done over his long and illustrious career. He's also recorded so many of the jazz greats, from Count Basie to Dizzy Gillespie, and pop giants like Barbra Streisand as well.

There's a great article on ProSound Web (which also runs a few of my articles too) that's an excerpt from his great book, "Make Mine Music." Bruce also was kind enough to contribute an interview in one of my books as well - The Mixing Engineer's Handbook.

Below is an excerpt from the article over on Prosoundweb.com, from which I took some of his points about vocal recording.

• "First off, the type of music to be recorded is most important. Pop, jazz, rhythm and blues, country, and classical all require a different approach. The biggest single difference in studio mike technique for vocal recording comes from recording of vocal sound sources in classical music, contrasted with pop vocal sound sources. The first and most important consideration is that I would never mike the vocalist in a classical recording as closely as I would a vocalist in a pop music recording.

• Good choral recorded sound is best achieved by using as few microphones as possible, with the singers placed well back from the microphones. This technique places most of the sound mixing responsibility on the room acoustics and the vocalists. Obviously, this approach requires an excellent studio or a room with extremely good acoustics.

• Extreme equalization is most definitely not the way to achieve a superb vocal recording, though a small amount of EQ may be beneficial. If you find yourself having to apply a great deal of EQ to the mike channel to achieve an acceptable vocal sound, it’s time to try another microphone.

• Your choice of vocal microphone should be made on the basis of the artist’s vocal quality and the sonic personality you want to project – nothing else.

• Stacking, or “doubling,” a lead vocal is helpful. I frequently change the tape speed of the master recorder slightly during the recording of the “double,” or “stack” (or pitch down the cue mix coming from the digital audio workstation) and play that to the vocalists while recording the “double.” During this process, the amount of pitch change used should be very small. The amount of pitching down that I do is usually only 3 or 4 cents in pitch.

• When recording vocal duets, I frequently look for microphones for the vocalists that have an obviously different sonic character. This difference in microphone character adds to the already different timbre of the two voices and makes the resulting sonic picture more fascinating. 

• When mixing a “stack,” or “double,” of a lead vocal track, I frequently keep the “double” at a slightly lower level in the mix than the basic lead vocal track. This serves to add support to the vocal without making it appear to be an obvious trick."

Read the entire article here.

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You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating the music business.

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

The Beatles "I Feel Fine" With and Without Vocals

Here's an interesting comparison of an early take of The Beatle's hit "I Feel Fine." The first half of the video is a just the backing track and the second is the final product.

1) The take without the vocal isn't the final backing track because the drum beat is different. In the final version Ringo is playing a sort of Latin beat with a tom fill during the verse.

2) John Lennon's feedback guitar in the intro is one of the first examples of that every happening on record. Remember, this was back in 1964, but feedback would become commonplace in rock in only a few years down the road.

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Follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating the music business.

The 8 Constants Of Vocal Recording

By my count, there are 8 “constants” that we find in vocal recording. These are items or situations that almost always prove to be true. Just keeping them in mind can save you a lot of trouble in the search for a sound that works for you and your vocalist.

Here are a few tips taken from The Recording Engineer’s Handbook and the upcoming Music Producer’s Handbook to help you get a great vocal sound quickly and easily without any of those nasty side effects.

1) Your mic selection, amount of EQ, and compression used is totally dependent on the voice you are recording. Setting up the same signal chain for everyone might work sometime, but best to keep an open mind (and ears) before you settle on a combination.

2) The best mic in the house doesn’t necessarily get the best vocal sounds. There is no one microphone that works well on everything, especially a instrument as quirky as the human voice.

3) A singer who is experienced at recording knows which consonants are tough to record and knows how to balance the them against the vowels to get a good final result. A singer with this kind of experience will make you look like a genius.

4) With a good singer, many times you'll get “the sound" automatically just by putting him/her in front of the right microphone. On the other hand, with a bad singer (or even a good singer that just doesn't adjust well to the studio), no amount of high priced microphones or processing may be able to get you where you need to go.

5) In general, vocals sound better when recorded in a tighter space, but not too tight. Low ceiling rooms can also be a problem with loud singers as they tend to ring at certain lower mid range frequencies, which might be difficult to eliminate later.

6) Windscreens are actually of little use when recording a vocalist with bad technique. There are two different sorts of people in this category: the people who have never sung with sound reinforcement, and the people who have developed bad habits from using a mic on stage.

7) Decoupling the stand from the floor as well as the microphone from the stand will help eliminate unwanted rumbles. Often times a microphone isolation mount isn't enough. Place the stand on a couple of mouse pads or a rug for a cheap but efficient solution.

8) Just marking the floor with tape might get the vocalist to stand in the right position in front of the mic, but she can easily move her head out of position. An easy way to have a vocalist gauge the distance is by hand lengths. An open hand is approximately eight inches while a fist is about four inches. By saying, “Stay a hand away”, the vocalist can easily judge his distance and usually doesn’t forget (see the grapic on the side).

We'll discuss vocal recording in more depth in a future post.

Vocal Recording Checklist

Whether you're a producer or engineer, vocal recording can be one of the most challenging types of sessions you'll have during a project. Here's a checklist to help you keep the vocalist comfortable, get a great sound, and get the best performance possible.

1. Did you select the correct mic for the singer’s voice? Choose a mic with a lot of body for a thin voice and one with enhanced high end for a dark voice.

2. Did you select the correct microphone preamp? Certain mics come alive when they’re paired with the right preamp. Also, a certain mic/preamp combination can be just the right color for a vocal. Experiment.

3. Did you select the correct microphone pickup pattern? Not every vocal needs to be recorded with a cardioid pattern. An omni pattern will cut down on proximity effect and a figure 8 can help with isolation from speakers or other instruments.

4. Is proximity effect wanted or needed? Remember that the closer you get to a cardioid mic, the more the low end will become exaggerated. This could make the vocal too big for the track. Try the mic on omni if you really need to get a close and intimate sound.

5. Is the singer the correct distance away? Too far away and you’ll hear more room, which could change the vocal sound or take away the intimacy. Too close and the vocal might sound too big or too close due to the proximity effect of a cardioid mic. If the singer is singing softly and breathy, keep the singer close to the mic. If the singer is shouting, screaming, or just plain loud, back the singer off the mic from two to three feet.

6. Is the singer drifting off-axis? Some vocalists drift around the room and off-axis of the mic if they feel it’s too far away. Put up a dummy mic that they can get close to so they can feel anchored. This also helps when putting up different mics to determine which one works best for the vocalist.

7. Is the singer popping the mic? Try any of the following:

a) place the mic at eye level and point it down at the singers mouth

b) turn the mic slightly off-axis,

c) switch the pattern to omni

d) back the singer off the mic until the pops disappear

e) use a pop screen.

8. Would a handheld mic work better? Some singers aren’t comfortable unless they feel like they’re on stage. Give them an SM-58 and don’t worry about the sound. A great performance beats a great sound any day (and a 58 isn’t all that bad combined with the right preamp).

9. Are you limiting the signal? Just a few dB of limiting can help keep the vocal under control and stop overloading the signal chain. Don’t use software compressor/limiters because of the latency.

10. Is the headphone mix at the correct level? The phone mix is crucial to a good performance. If the track is too loud, the vocalist may sing too hard which might not be the sound you want. He may also sing sharp as a result. If the track is too soft, the singer may not sing aggressive enough.

11. Is the ambience conducive to a good vocal? Most singers like the light down low when they sing.