Speak into the Mic!
You spent your paycheck on a vocal mic. Time to put it to work. First, if it s a large diaphragm condenser mic, check your High pass, mic pattern, and pad..
A high pass filter rolls off the bottom during recording. You don’t want anything below 60….
The pattern selector changes the area the microphone covers. For vocals, you want it on cardoid. Careful with hypercardioid. It closes down the sweet spot. …because then …. even the slightest movements left and right will have an exaggerated change in volume.
Your pad usually cuts the gain 20db but can vary depending on the brand
Make sure the front of the mic is facing the singer…. The label will usually face the singer… I know…. On music videos directors have the mic backwards just to show the camera a cool logo. That’s not how it works in the studio. Put the singer 3-4 inches in front of the popper stopper. Watch out! Artists tend to get closer and closer as the session progresses, especially if you don’t have the vocal high enough in the headphone mix. Usually singer is right on top of the popper stopper. When singer is working the mic properly, he she can pull back as far as 5 more inches or more… Be careful artists that insist on tracking right on top of the mic… you’ll get the proximity effect …a ton of low end as you move closer to the diaphragm. Have the artist remove jewelry and any unnecessary clothing that that can make noise or be distracting. When Tracking Girls that play with their hair, … Take the time to arrange her headphones just right so they’re not a distraction… Have a glass of water within reach.. maybe a little lemon. Does your client want water or tea… a chair and music stand. Don’t forget! Cell phone on vibrate (good luck with that one). If you get your mic set up properly and your singer’s ready to rock it, you just might record a vocal for the ages.
You spent your paycheck on a vocal mic. Time to put it to work. First, if it s a large diaphragm condenser mic, check your High pass, mic pattern, and pad..
A high pass filter rolls off the bottom during recording. You don’t want anything below 60….
The pattern selector changes the area the microphone covers. For vocals, you want it on cardoid. Careful with hypercardioid. It closes down the sweet spot. …because then …. even the slightest movements left and right will have an exaggerated change in volume.
Your pad usually cuts the gain 20db but can vary depending on the brand
Make sure the front of the mic is facing the singer…. The label will usually face the singer… I know…. On music videos directors have the mic backwards just to show the camera a cool logo. That’s not how it works in the studio. Put the singer 3-4 inches in front of the popper stopper. Watch out! Artists tend to get closer and closer as the session progresses, especially if you don’t have the vocal high enough in the headphone mix. Usually singer is right on top of the popper stopper. When singer is working the mic properly, he she can pull back as far as 5 more inches or more… Be careful artists that insist on tracking right on top of the mic… you’ll get the proximity effect …a ton of low end as you move closer to the diaphragm. Have the artist remove jewelry and any unnecessary clothing that that can make noise or be distracting. When Tracking Girls that play with their hair, … Take the time to arrange her headphones just right so they’re not a distraction… Have a glass of water within reach.. maybe a little lemon. Does your client want water or tea… a chair and music stand. Don’t forget! Cell phone on vibrate (good luck with that one). If you get your mic set up properly and your singer’s ready to rock it, you just might record a vocal for the ages.
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