Vocal Recording Techniques and Tricks of the Trade

Are you about to lay down a new vocal track? Wait! Before you start wailing, there are a few basic things you should be aware of in order to get the cleanest and best sounding track possible. It is always possible to dirty up your vocals later and effects and so on, but starting with a clean vocal track is always a good practice.

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 quiet, soft, intimate vocals, you can stay just a few inches from the mic from start to finish. If you plan to let loose and sing full volume, stand back a couple of feet from the mic. If your performance requires a mixture of both, move up and back off as needed, and learn to make subtle adjustments, even if it’s just for 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.

Avoid recording annoying mouth noise. Its and easily avoidable situation that requires minimal effort to correct, and makes a big difference in the end. Ok, brace yourself, here it is: drink lots of water, or have your singer drinks lots of water. It will go a long way towards eliminating unwanted mouth noise, and a few extra trips to the bathroom is a small price to pay.

Follow these simple rules and you will get a nice clean vocal track. Once you have that, you can freely add reverb, effects, and whatever else you can think of without worrying about enhancing the bad stuff while you’re trying to get at the good stuff. These simple best practices will save hours of fix-it time in the end.