Vocal Recording, Mixing And Production

[john]

Hi

Ok, I know what I do, but I would like to hear your process, decisions and selections.

What microphones would you use and how would you use them? Do you use a pop shield? What about microphone placement? How does that affect the sound?

What about effects and processors? EQ?

Cheers

John

[john]

Hey

Thanks for the reply Steve. What mic do you use?

I use a Rode NT2 with shock-mount and a pop screen (for many years i used nylons over a coat hanger and only recently actually bought a proper pop screen).

On the EQ I rarely boost an EQ frequency on anything. EQ is largely dependent on how natural I want the sound to be. I tend to cut the very low frequencies (70 Hz and lower) and cut above 16KHz. There after I don't tend to do overly much unless my mic placement is not ideal. If there are hotspots in the vocalist's voice I use a notch filter but with as broad a Q as possible to address the problem without effecting the not hot frequencies. I use a variety of methods of detection from my ears alone to ears and a sweep-able notch with boost, to a spectrum analysis.

Compression is the key thing for me. I try to avoid it wherever possible, and unless using it as an obvious effect (such as deliberately pumping the sound) I want it not to be noticed. A such I EQ first as that can remove hot spots far more sympathetically than a soft-knee compression.

Cheers

John

[dc2daylight]

I agree with Steve -- Large diaphragm condensor, e.g. U87, M49, M149, TLM170, AT4030, AKG414, C12, C12A etc. with an outboard windscreen when required (almost always unless the singer is a real pro). Avoid reflective surfaces (glass, music stand) near the singer or mic. Here is an M149 in action.

a TLM193 -- no screen (a real pro )

[john]

Hah Michael!

Cute picture!

Cheers

John

[typo]

how far away should the refelective surfaces be?

[dc2daylight]

Reflections in front of the singer (behind the mic) a minimum of 3 feet from the mic. Behind the singer 6 feet, but infinity is better.

It depends on the range of the voice, volume of voice, pattern of mic. For instance a hypercardioid has a pronounced rear lobe as compared with the cardioid pattern (perfererable). Tube mics (M49) tend to have a wider, gentler pattern than solid state mics (U87).

Edited February 27, 2009 by dc2daylight

[typo]

i want to record a convincing breathy, initimate vocal. i have an akg perception 220 mic, large diaphragm and will bre cording into a computer to do the eq etc (I don't record with any effects inline, other than sometimes a small amount of compression. i will be recording a female who happens to have quite a thin voice so it looks to be a challenge.

thanks for the suggestions michael, always handy to know. i might have a little problem due to my studio space. perhaps hanging a blanket behind the mic might help? i know that's not ideal acoustics.

[john]

Hey

A blanket would help cut down higher frequency reflections, but do little if anything for lower frequency reflections. If you have the space you could place a board in front of the wall (say 4 inches away) cover it with carpet felt (the bumpy kind) and then the blanket. Still not ideal but it is basic acoustics on a budget.

Cheers

John

[john]

Hey

One other thing, the bumpier and less uniform the surface of the board is the better as that will also help to diffuse the sound.

Cheers

John

[dc2daylight]

The 220 looks like an excellent choice for vocal recording. Hanging a blanket is a good solution.

The high freq's are the most problem for reflection/phasing.

[john]

Hey

I'll need to check it out. The Rode is certainly better than what I used to use but doesn't compare well to the Neumann mics I used in the studio.

Cheers

John

[typo]

hehe. a blanket i can do! thanks guys.

[Prometheus]

Hanging a blanket is a good solution. The high freq's are the most problem for reflection/phasing.

Only thing to watch out for this that a blanket will do hee-haw to deal with standing waves. You can figure out where these will be worst by measuring the room and using this equation.

Speed of Sound (v) = Frequency (f) x Wavlength (lambda)

The speed of sound is variable depending on humidity, air pressure, temperature (in short the weather) but a workable rule of thumb is to call it 330 meters per second.

My room is twelve feet from end to end, which is 3.6 meters.

So:

Velocity = Frequency x Lambda

330 = f x 3.6

f = 330 / 3.6

f = 91.6 hertz

Now a thing to watch is that there will be a problem at 45 hertz where half a wavelength crosses the room, but this is no too bothersome as it is down in the low bass and will not be perceptually all that loud. The 91.6 hertz problem I tend to fix with a notch in the EQ if required. There will be a first harmoic at 183.2 hertz that I usually find I need to attenuate with an EQ notch as well, then the first even harmonic at 366.4.

After that, the harmonics of the standing waves tend to be too weak to cause any big problems.

This is worth watching out for, because even though phasing is more disturbing to listen to in high frequencies, ninety nine percent of EQ problems in a recording originate from below a thousand hertz.

Of course, if you can use sound baffles to stop these problems getting to the tape in the first place that's half the battle.

I keep a bed in my studio because it's excellent for breaking up standing waves and flutter echoes. Piles of clothing round a guitar amp and mike can help. Books round the walls. One of the main areas that cause problems are where waves collect in corners of the room. I was lucky in that two big f*ck off pieces of polystyrene packaging where being thrown out at work, so I filled them up with old T-shirts and Rock wool and used "no more nails" to put them in the corners.

Egg boxes on their own are not dense enough to absorb much sound but they are a good shape for diffusions, so what I did was get a chef I know to keep me a wheen of large egg boxes and stuffed them with rock wool. and put them along the bit where the ceiling meets the wall. That eliminated a lot of phase problems with the standing oscilations. I've also got strips of foam across the ceiling with spaces between them to make the surface uneven.

Edited March 25, 2009 by Prometheus

[tgrover]

When recording vocals i always try to get as tight a sound as possible. I like to add everything later.

I record with a AKG 414 or Solidtube mic about one foot from a wall which is layered with acoustic foam. The opposite wall about 8 foot away has a section of foam on as well. I always use a pop screen - two reason one to take away the pops and secondly this gives an uneducated singer a position to be.

My mic goes into a True Systems P solo - which is a wired gain pre amp, at this point i record. All i have on tape is the uncoloured vocal take.

In sonar - i use the plugins form PSP Audio. Usually Mix pressor first - then EQ - then if required i run it through the PSP mix saturation to just add a little ommhhppp. I will have a send on this track to the vst breverb which i will add as necessary.