Recording/Processing Vocals

[JTMMusicuk]

Im putting an EP together currently and i'm going to be working alongside a female vocalist to make me a bigtime proffessional like chad...

...I would prefer to record them myself with my sm57 but will this cause problems? do i need to think about acoustics and room treatment or will i be fine with a shield covering the mic?

How would you EQ and treat the vocals once recorded? any tips and tricks to help make them sit in the mix a bit more?

Any help will be appreciated

[fuzion]

probably worth recording them at a local studio or something, prices won't be much and results will be much better -

but if you can't just try record a few takes of the vocal and layer them up maybe pan some left/right and compress them differently makes them sound lots thicker and wont be able to tell that there recorded in a non-treated room

[Electric_Head]

Im putting an EP together currently and i'm going to be working alongside a female vocalist to make me a bigtime proffessional like chad...

...I would prefer to record them myself with my sm57 but will this cause problems? do i need to think about acoustics and room treatment or will i be fine with a shield covering the mic?

How would you EQ and treat the vocals once recorded? any tips and tricks to help make them sit in the mix a bit more?

Any help will be appreciated

At the very least transform a closet or a corner of your room with a screen around you and a mic screen.

[JTMMusicuk]

probably worth recording them at a local studio or something, prices won't be much and results will be much better -

but if you can't just try record a few takes of the vocal and layer them up maybe pan some left/right and compress them differently makes them sound lots thicker and wont be able to tell that there recorded in a non-treated room

Will layering the vocal not cause phasing problems?

[didge]

but if you can't just try record a few takes of the vocal and layer them up maybe pan some left/right and compress them differently makes them sound lots thicker and wont be able to tell that there recorded in a non-treated room

Lol, smh.

[deadly_habit]

if you have the privilege and opportunity of recording a talented vocalist please do so in a proper environment and with a condenser mic to do her some justice

[JTMMusicuk]

whats advantage would a condenser have over a dynamic mic?? i've honestly forgotten everything i learned in college haha
i know dynamic is usually for instruments but whats the difference?

[deadly_habit]

greater frequency and transient response, louder output

[JTMMusicuk]

greater frequency and transient response, louder output

ah ok makes sense, so you dont have to throw loads of compression and limiting on to make it sound decent basically?

[therapist]

greater frequency and transient response, louder output

ah ok makes sense, so you dont have to throw loads of compression and limiting on to make it sound decent basically?

Please tell me this isn't serious.

[Ongelegen]

Like Deadly said, a nice condenser is the way to go. You might want to look into it and perhaps invest in one if you plan on recording more vocalists in the future.

[JTMMusicuk]

greater frequency and transient response, louder output

ah ok makes sense, so you dont have to throw loads of compression and limiting on to make it sound decent basically?

Please tell me this isn't serious.

mate i never use mics so im a bit clueless atm but its something id like to learn more about, no harm in asking questions
i know using dynamic mics with a singer can be a bitch if they move away from the mic just a little bit. Im not on about brick walling the vox but compression is needed alot of the time anyway

[JTMMusicuk]

anyone got any tips to do with the actual processing side of things? EQ/bussing/layering etc.
Cheers for the help everyone

[therapist]

Until you have the recording it's kind of hard to say. It might come out way too bassy/noisy/quiet/toppy which will need different processing. If you've not done a lot of this stuff, don't be thinking too much about mental processing/layering etc. Just get try and good clean, consistent levels. Compression will help, but don't track the thing hoping that compression will fix all your issues afterwards.

Layering/panning can be a great effect, just don't use it to blag a s**t recording. Look up mid-side processing too.

[JTMMusicuk]

Until you have the recording it's kind of hard to say. It might come out way too bassy/noisy/quiet/toppy which will need different processing. If you've not done a lot of this stuff, don't be thinking too much about mental processing/layering etc. Just get try and good clean, consistent levels. Compression will help, but don't track the thing hoping that compression will fix all your issues afterwards.

Layering/panning can be a great effect, just don't use it to blag a s**t recording. Look up mid-side processing too.

yeah makes sense, i've heard of mid-side before on here apparently its something that is massively under-rated but i cant seem to find a good article on it. I know ableton has the option to EQ mid/side so i might just have a play round with it when im not producing.

[therapist]

Until you have the recording it's kind of hard to say. It might come out way too bassy/noisy/quiet/toppy which will need different processing. If you've not done a lot of this stuff, don't be thinking too much about mental processing/layering etc. Just get try and good clean, consistent levels. Compression will help, but don't track the thing hoping that compression will fix all your issues afterwards.

Layering/panning can be a great effect, just don't use it to blag a s**t recording. Look up mid-side processing too.

yeah makes sense, i've heard of mid-side before on here apparently its something that is massively under-rated but i cant seem to find a good article on it. I know ableton has the option to EQ mid/side so i might just have a play round with it when im not producing.

Playing around is generally the solution. Your recording might sound good getting slammed with a compressor, or with a plate, or with a 3 hour reverb. Who knows. Try things extreme, and then dial them back.