With the changing of the seasons we here at The Music Studio are also going to change gears a little here on the blog. Starting this week and over the course of the next few posts we’re going to be taking a look at some handy tips and tricks for recording various musical instruments. To begin this new series of blogs we’ll start with the vocalists.
Modern digital audio workstations (or DAWs) come with so many bells and whistles to record, edit, and produce audio files that it’s fairly common for entire projects to be completed within the program. However, no matter how many accessories, add on, and options each workstation may have, when it comes to recording the vocals you still have to do it the old fashioned way; headphones and a mic. So if you’re new to vocal recording, or just looking for a few tips to improve your production, here are 5 tips for that perfect vocal recording.
#1 Try using a condenser vocal mic.
You’re choice of microphone is an important factor in the quality of your recording. If you watch performers on stage, you may notice that they commonly use the same, or similar, hand held microphones. The most common is the Shure SM-58. Regardless of the exact make or model, most of these on stage microphones are what are called “dynamic” mics. Using a magnet and moving-coil to capture sound, these microphones are very rugged, and can handle being tossed around and potentially dropped on stage. But though dynamic mics provide great sound in a performance setting, they miss a certain level of clarity that you would usually want from a studio recording. So, in the studio, it is much more common to use “condenser” mics rather than dynamic. Condenser mics use a lightweight charged plate to capture sound, granting them a better transient response, and a more open quality to the recording, capturing every nuance of the human voice. Serious vocal artists might spring for large-diaphragm, “side-address” condenser mice, but these high-end pieces of equipment can run in the thousands of dollars. Try sticking to a more reasonably priced alternative for your small studio or home. For a fee of $100 – $400 you should be able to find a decent quality condenser mic with some of that characteristic openness, clarity, and detail.
#2 Keep a proper distance from the mic.
Again, watching vocalists perform, you’d notice they hold the mic as close to their mouths as possible so their voice is strong and clear, and anything else picked up by the mic is much weaker because of its distance, giving the singer a well isolated sound. Singing for a recording is a little different. First of all, while isolation is more important for studio recording, holding the mic so close to your mouth is not, especially if you took me up on my first tip and are using a condenser mic. Vocal microphones are almost always uni-directional, meaning they pick up the sound directly in front of them, and reject sound from the sides and back, and as such, they are subject to a number of general issues when used close up. The biggest of these is the proximity effect; using a condenser mic too close will enhance the bass significantly. While this is a great trick for an announcer or someone else going for that big, booming voice of authority, it is not ideal for the clean, natural sound you want for a vocal recording.
Most recordings vocalists try to position themselves between 6 inches and one foot from the microphone. At that distance there should be no proximity effect, and the natural sound of your own voice will be captured. Most musicians use a single hand, with fingers spread as wide as possible. Touch your pinky to the microphone and your thumb to your lips. This is a good minimum distance to start with, as long as you can remain consistent. Of course, staying this far from the mic means that all the other sounds in the room need to be minimized as much as possible.
#3 Avoid plosives.
Another issue that often comes out when recording vocals, even when you maintain your proper distance, is “p-popping,” or more technically “plosives.” These are what those little, unpleasant thumps you sometimes hear a microphone make when a singer uses words with the letter P or B. They happen with those specific sounds because you make a little blast of air when you make them, which can make the mic’s diaphragm vibrate like it’s been tapped. All microphones are subject to this little irritation, some more so than other, and it can be a worse problem from some performers than others.
I’m sure you’ve taken note of the little metal mesh that covers the head of most microphones. This tiny screen is in place to try to protect at least a little against p-popping (or wind), but unfortunately it just isn’t robust enough to prevent much. This is why it is so common for recording studios to use a “Pop Filter.” These are the black circles of mesh you see suspended in front of microphones in videos of studio sessions. Because all these little devices are is really something to break the wind created by your voice, while letting the sound through, a simple solution is pantyhose wrapped around a wire hanger bent into a circle. This will certainly get the job done, but if you are a little more fashion conscious you can buy commercial Pop Filters for about $15. These work even better than pantyhose, clip to the mic stand, and even look rather professional.
#4 Remove any unwanted background noise sources.
Since, as we discussed in tip #2, you should be at least a little ways away from you microphone while recording, you need to make sure your surrounding environment is quiet. You don’t want your sensitive condenser mic picking up too much ambient sound. Ideally, you want to be singing in a different room from the often noisy computer and studio gear. You can buy pre-made isolation booths, but they tend to be rather expensive. Commercial baffles are also an option, but may still be beyond your price range. A third option is, of course, to build a vocal isolation booth yourself. There are countless “How-To” book and internet references on the subject to help you along. Of course, if you are looking for the simplest solution, that would be your uni-directional microphone itself. Since it is already rejecting most sounds from the rear, simply position it in front of the loudest piece of equipment. You can even try hanging some blankets around the performer and mic stand. It might look a little goofy, but it will sound much better.
#5 Use you headphones properly.
While overdubbing a vocal performance on top of pre-recorded tracks, the singer should be wearing headphones during the recording, and any speakers in the room should be shut off. The headphones should be the big, over-ear design to avoid any sound leaking out. Earbud style headphones are lighter, often more comfortable, and usually less expensive, but any sound leaking from them might be picked up by the mic and cause problems later on.
Some singers find it hard to stay on pitch when using headphones because they are used to hearing their own voice in their head, and the sound from the headphones throws them off. To counter this many vocalist will take one headphone off, placing it either behind their ear, or turned away. The problem with this is that while it may help their performance, the microphone will almost certainly pick up some of the sound spilling out of the unused headphone. Instead of using this technique, try making adjusting to the headphone mix first.
Hopefully these five simple tips will get you started off recording! Next week we’ll take a look at recording tips for guitarists.
