60 Seconds To Recording Better Vocals

60 seconds is all it takes for you to record better vocals. During your next vocal recording session try these  tips for better vocals and and easier mix down process. After you read through be sure to add a comment or contribute any of your own vocal recording tips.

1. Always stay in record. Once the vocalist is in front of the microphone stay in record mode as much as possible. The perfect take my come at anytime. Typically musicians and artists tend to rehearse comfortably and then freeze up when the red light goes on. Lie. Tell them your not recording , just for them to practice. You’ll get lots of great takes to use in your final vocal comp.

2. Make adjustments to the microphone and artist. Moving the microphones distance and or direction from the artist can change the sound being recorded drastically.  Don’t over look the simplicity of this. Experiment with different amounts of space between the artist’s mouth and the microphone.

3. Solve your recording problems as organically and natural as possible. Before you reach for the pre amps and compressors to boost and limit signal ask the artist to take a step back from the mic or get closer to the mic. Encourage the artist to sing louder or softer as well to help you get a good level.

4. After a take of a section has been recorded mark it. Make notes of what phrases of a tke were really good and what parts were bad. This will only take about 5 seconds per take. this will save you a huge amount of time during the editing process

5. Make sure the artist is comfortable with what they are hearing in their headphones. Check from time to time during the session to see if anything needs to be lowered or raised. Every artists is different. Some artists want to hear the beat an almost none of theme selves as they are recorded, other singers or rappers might want the beat very low and their voice very loud. Give what they want and they will perform better.

6. Don’t make the headphones to loud. Loud headphones will be picked up in the mix
later on especially as track counts add up and vocals are doubled and tripled.

7. De Bling. Take off anything that can make noise during the recording. This includes jewelry, bracelets, cell phones, ipods, ect. There is nothing worse then having to trash and great take because some ones south park ring tone went off during the recording.

8. Try a different microphone. If you have more then one microphone available take a few seconds to try it. Different models of microphones and different patters will give a different feels to a recording.

9. Take command of the session. Never be afraid to tell the artist they need to back up from the mic, sing louder, or sing softer.

10. Make Changes. As the session goes on the artists will get more comfortable and louder or more tired and softer. Keep an eye on your levels and make adjustments to your pre amp and mic positioning as needed.

11. Watch out for reflections. If your vocal sounds strange you could be recording a reflection of the sound from something else near by.  Music stands are great at creating reflections because they are usually very close to both the artists mouth and the microphone. You can get a piece of felt fabric to cover the music stand to minimize this. Other causes of reflections can be near by walls or hard surfaced floors like wood or tile.

12. Make sure you are recording to the proper side of the microphone. If you pre amp is way up and things sound strange take a peek into the booth and make sure your microphone is facing the right way. I have a piece of tape with a happy face on it on the front of my microphones to make a clear distinction between the front and the back. Before you laugh you would be surprised how many times an artist gets in the booth and starts touching the microphone and playing with things.

When recording vocals it is very important to remember that small things add up to make the difference between a great vocal recording and an awful one.  Good microphone technique also does wonders for people recording on a budget. With a $200 microphone and a decent soundcard it is possible to get extremely high quality results recording in your home.