Recording vocals

magma · Post by **magma** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 11:29 am

Does anyone have any tips for where to start? My main problems seem to be getting things clean without making the sound too thin... I get a bit of background noise which seems to be inevitable.. we have to record in a basement room which occasionally suffers from Tube rumbles (normally just have to retake for those!), but the main problem is just general ambient noise... whine from my laptop etc.

Other than bouncing everything to something like Audacity and using the noise removal tool (which is useful if used conservatively, I think) does anyone have any tips on how to get decent results?

Currently using a Behringer B-5 condenser mic which probably isn't quite up to the task, but it's going to have to do for a while.... and it's not like we're recording perfect acoustic sessions... mainly it's just short snippets of vocal that are going to be chopped up and pumped through various effects anyway.

legend4ry · Post by **legend4ry** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 11:32 am

What are you recording into? Soundcard(and what soundcard) or what?

You also is there a little room (like for storage or something) what isn't being used? you can get some foam for that and kit that out to try and get rid of noise.

magma · Post by **magma** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 11:38 am

Legendary wrote:What are you recording into? Soundcard(and what soundcard) or what?

You also is there a little room (like for storage or something) what isn't being used? you can get some foam for that and kit that out to try and get rid of noise.

Recording direct into a Mackie Onyx Satellite, although could bounce through my Mackie DFX12 desk if that might help things? It's all a bit trial and error at the moment.

Good idea on the spare room thing. We've just had someone move out of a room that the council says we're not allowed to rent anymore... might look into preparing that space a bit more....

Disco Nutter · Post by **Disco Nutter** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 11:40 am

I hang blankets around the mic space and easily record without almost any ambient noise or awful room acoustics.

legend4ry · Post by **legend4ry** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 11:43 am

Hmm I haven't heard of the Mackie Onyx Satellite so I can't give any knowledge on that but from my little experience of recording it can be tricky, although I have only recorded drum kits and pianos (since vocals were done with the guitars) I guess you'll need at least some sort of booth and the mic is also important, I'd try searching google for some stuff like.. "prepping a room for vocal recordings" .. "Industry standard mics for recording vocals" etc etc!

magma · Post by **magma** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 12:43 pm

Cool, cheers for the comments all. I'll see if I can sweet talk my housemates into donating our spare room, but in the mean time I think I'll be on the grind for spare blankets to hang around the place.... oh, and a few ironic comments in the back of the vocals complaining about the fucking Tube trains or something.

Sharmaji · Post by **Sharmaji** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 11:32 pm

#1, give the singer what they need in order to deliver the kind of performance that you want. Do what you can to get them into the right headspace, or if they're already there-- keep them there. Singing is a really, really emotional thing for even the best singers; respect that and you're on the way to a great performance.

#2, deaden the space as much as possible. packing blankets work wonders. kill whatever resonances and flutter echos may exist in the space--it's those early reflections that can suck the life out of a sound and make things feel 'boxy'. the treatment of the space behind the mic is just as important.

#3. use a mic that sounds good on the singer. Joe Strummer and Michael Jackson both sounded amazing on sm58's. yes, good old $100 sm58's. someone who's really laying into it, but has a slightly-thin sounding voice, might, too. a singer who gives you a really good, dynamic performance might sound better on a large condenser.

#4, in general, get the mic looking more at the singer's nose/head than at their mouth, and keep it at least a few inches away. a pop filter will make mixing alot easier as well.

yes, a really nice mic with an amazing pre will make something that always sounded good sound great; it won't make a mediocre performance sound better.

mix-wise, cut out the low end crap and, for a modern sound, compress and limit to the point that yr almost scared by how hard you're hitting the vocal. then back off ever-so-slightly.

For the tune i've got coming out on Soul Motive, "Break your Heart," we tracked with compression and then limited like crazy in the mix. For Juakali's vocals, he records them bone dry and in tons of layers, so lots of compression and eq is necesarry as things build up in layers-- but the performances are jaw-dropping. Same goes for Zulu-- he does his own vocals so we just get a stereo track with like 15 different layers in it. all i have to do is limit (i like using vintagewarmer on his voice) and it sits great.

but really, the most important thing in recording a vocal is getting a performance that's real and emotional. You need to get the singer to make the listener believe in every single word he or she is singing-- if they can get that, then distracting sonic issues will take a really far back seat. really PRODUCE it, don't just track it.

deadly_habit · Post by **deadly_habit** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 1:43 am

invest in or build a pop filter/windscreen
also what type of mic and space are you using?

teqh · Post by **teqh** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 2:01 am

Ive heard giving the singer a different backing track can help IE in the track they are hearing in the headphones give them a mix with emphasized bass so they can keep on time, using blankets is a great idea as well, I agree with terekete, theres nothing worse than listening to a singer who isnt feeling what they are singing !

deadly_habit · Post by **deadly_habit** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 2:04 am

oh and please do multiple takes rather then using auto tune for the sake of musicians everywhere

magma · Post by **magma** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 7:35 am

TeReKeTe wrote:LOTS OF VERY USEFUL STUFF

Nice one! I'll properly digest all of this later, but it all pretty much makes sense.

Love this place!

jasonk1234 · Post by **jasonk1234** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 2:01 pm

this is a comprehensive guide to audio recording, and rules i live by when recording my own vocals. also a shameless plug. enjoy
http://computermusicman.blogspot.com/20 ... -tips.html

tempromental · Post by **tempromental** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 1:14 am

use a pop shield, theyre only about a tenner, cut out all the low freq's that arent needed and layer a few different takes of the same vocal, add in ad-libs, bit of reverb here and there, and wallah! lol

deadly_habit · Post by **deadly_habit** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 1:48 am

in most traditional recordings mags every month or 2 there's generally some articles on how to mod a cheaper mic to sound alot better as well

tempahproductions · Post by **tempahproductions** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 3:26 am

go studio its cheeper lol £10 an hour record there for like 3 hours bang... saved urself £200 on a mic.

i got a pdf guide about home recording somewhere ill try and dig it up no promises

Recording vocals

Recording vocals

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