Recording a studio vocalist

Recording a studio vocalist is an important for most songs, since the vocals are one of the important aspects of a song's success. However, it's not difficult if you take the time to prepare correctly.

First, mic choice (and preamp) is critical. You should audition several mics with the vocalist to choose the best one to pull his or her voice out of the mix. In a studio, you would typically use a condenser mic, since condensers have the widest frequency range and sensitivity. However, you could use any mic that has performs well with your subject. Ribbon mics are often used to achieve a silky smooth sound, think of Sinatra. There are many mics that are dedicated vocal mics, and what separates them is that they have a low and high frequency boost. Again, this is to help pull the vocal out of the mix.

With these sensitive mics, you should put them on a boom stand. The boom helps break any vibrations from the floor or the singer from traveling up the mic stand and into the signal. Also, since tube mics heat up, you would want to flip the mic upside down so the heat doesn't change the response of the diaghram. You don't want later takes to sound different from the first as it makes it harder to punch in and out.

Next, be sure to use a pop filter. This prevents the percussive sounds of 'p' and other consonants from overloading the diaghram. The singer would normally position themselves 12 to 24 inches away from the mic. At this distance, the sound will be more balanced and will require less compression later on. But again, this is not a hard and fast rule. Most mics have a proximity effect where the bass response is greater the closer you are, and very good singers can use this effect to enhance their normal voice.

Try to use a vocal booth, or special room to sing in. These rooms are covered in sound absorbent materials that prevent reflections from creeping into the signal. Later on, it is easy to add back in reverbs, echoes, and other effects to achieve the desired spacial quality that the song requires.

If you are using a music stand, be sure to position it so that the singers voice is not reflected into the mic. It is possible to create unwanted comb filtering this way.

Choose good, closed back headphones for recording, with a large muff. You want as little monitor signal from leaking into the mic.

Finally, have fun and encourage the singer to live in the moment. The more relaxed the atmosphere, the more the singer will explore new ways to address the material.

Have fun, and hope this helps!