Recording Vocals

SteveDon

Hi there,

I dont normally venture into this forum... I normally stay to the dance music forum, i make mainly electronic music.

Im doing a project a the moment with a singer trying to make more conventional music than the normal techno/house i make.

Basically looking for some advice on how to get the best vocal sound in a bedroom studio... At the moment i using a budget audio technica condenser mic to record.

Any advice as to how far i was the singer to be away from the mic? Where abouts in a bedroom to position the mic? And what efx to stick on the vocals etc?

This is how our first track has turned out so far:
http://soundcloud.com/steve-donaldson/jen-moore-stephen-donaldson

I have slight compression, eq and verb on the vocals.

Im convinced i can get a better sound, so any tips?

DamagedTrax

they sound decent. quite massive attacky. good for a bedroom job, thats for sure.

i do some preproduction stuff in my bedroom studio and i just try keep it as dead as possible and add verb later.

good acoustics will help and a bit of dampning material or a reflection filter behind the mic will work wonders for you.. theres only so much we can do in these situations and you've managed very well on lisening to it.

SteveDon

DamagedTrax wrote: »

they sound decent. quite massive attacky. good for a bedroom job, thats for sure.

i do some preproduction stuff in my bedroom studio and i just try keep it as dead as possible and add verb later.

good acoustics will help and a bit of dampning material or a reflection filter behind the mic will work wonders for you.. theres only so much we can do in these situations and you've managed very well on lisening to it.

Thanks for the reply. Will look into getting a reflection filter... Might have to make a diy one.

My studio set up is so ghetto at the moment, my mic is duck taped to a broom stick as a stand and im using a pair of old tights wrapped around a bent clothes hanger as a pop filter!

DamagedTrax

if it works it works!

krd

SteveDon wrote: »

My studio set up is so ghetto at the moment, my mic is duck taped to a broom stick as a stand and im using a pair of old tights wrapped around a bent clothes hanger as a pop filter!

Ghetto indeed. The only way to go.

Assume the lotus position on your studio floor. Close your eyes and relax. Breath in and hold for three, then breath out. .....In your state of serenity, listen closely. Can you hear the sounds of the world without - a gentle murmur of traffic, the wind, of life............That can be a real headache on your recording. It turns up as an annoying noise floor - like a hiss. Without a purpose built room, or somewhere that's just quite, it can be hard to get away from.


The pop shield - use low denier tights......the shield stop the pops but can kill the highs.

Get your singer as relaxed as possible. And interesting vocal performance will beat a pristine one any day. Get lots of takes so you can comp and edit them.

DamagedTrax

krd wrote: »

Get your singer as relaxed as possible. And interesting vocal performance will beat a pristine one any day. Get lots of takes so you can comp and edit them.

^^ this.
also layer after layer after layer can make a bedroom recording sound much fuller. vocalign is your friend!

im currently working with an unknown female vocalist. she has no training, doesnt have a voice that would blow you away with power, hits bum notes, has a few timing issues.

but when people hear the tracks they just love the quirkiness of her vocal. its very beth orton/tracy thorn.

krd

DamagedTrax wrote: »

im currently working with an unknown female vocalist. she has no training, doesnt have a voice that would blow you away with power, hits bum notes, has a few timing issues.

I've had a vocal that I've been meaning to do something for a while g (I got from somewhere). I was going to plunge right in. I knew there were timing issues - but Jesus Christ. Singing out of tune I can understand - timing is something funny - if you can dance you should have the timing. In tune can be more of not really have a strong enough singing kit (power and tone control come with practice, and more the weight training element of practice).

but when people hear the tracks they just love the quirkiness of her vocal. its very beth orton/tracy thorn.

The quirkiness is far more important than anything else. Singers with too much training sound boring - and there isn't a personality that comes out in the song. And people for impersonate other singers just turn everyone off straight away. One Liam Gallagher is enough for the world (though he does a great John Lennon impersonation - that's so good, most people don't even realise he's ripping off Lennon.)

Quirkiness and more personality is what you should be going for. Something people will remember.