How to give a vocal recording more "AIR" ?

JakeyMort

New member
so ive always had to boost my vocals from about 12k onwards (seen a lot of places refer to this freq as "air")

what gives more air before recording? certain polar pattern? certain mic type? is there anything that gives more of this freq?

a lot of mics with "boost to high frequency's" only actually boost the presence 4-5k, I don't want to boost that range, if anything I normally cut that range 0.5db or so,
 
This Sweetwater mic shoot out may help your out. From what I have always been told, to add more air will always boil down to mic type and track room acoustics. If you record in a dead room than you will start with those results. Some recording engineers claim it will have to do more with the room, than the mic. Others say the opposite. If the mic does not have the ability to record certain freqs, you will only get the results the mic can produce.

The Sweetwater website above uses 50 mics in a controlled environment to show the different results. Shure has a mic lab that basically does the same thing.
 
so ive always had to boost my vocals from about 12k onwards (seen a lot of places refer to this freq as "air")

what gives more air before recording? certain polar pattern? certain mic type? is there anything that gives more of this freq?

a lot of mics with "boost to high frequency's" only actually boost the presence 4-5k, I don't want to boost that range, if anything I normally cut that range 0.5db or so,


Yeah...the high frequencies are often associated with "air"...but it's not always as simple as boosting them to get "air".

Start by capturing a more "airy" vocal...IOW, pull back from the mic rather than being on top of it, and also how you sing makes a difference. Open, breathy vocals will always convey more "air" than hard, close-up vocals. Also, by moving back from the mic, you open it up to capturing more of the room, which also adds to the feeling of "air". You just have to find the right distance that works for a given situation...but I would say at least 8"- 12" will start to open things up...and it can be even as much as 2' away...just keep in mind that as you move your vocals back, you can get a lighter/thinner sound, which also convey an airy quality...but you don't want to go too far. A lot depends on the mic...they are all different in their response to frequencies and position.

This also applies to instruments too, not just vocals.
 
so ive always had to boost my vocals from about 12k onwards (seen a lot of places refer to this freq as "air")

what gives more air before recording? certain polar pattern? certain mic type? is there anything that gives more of this freq?

a lot of mics with "boost to high frequency's" only actually boost the presence 4-5k, I don't want to boost that range, if anything I normally cut that range 0.5db or so,

There are several reasons it could be. But please state what gear you are using.
 
Most vocals you end up mangling so much that it really hardly matters what mic you use. A sense of "air" is mostly archieved by delays, reverbs, exciters and EQ. This Pensados place episode might be what you're actually looking for: youtube... /watch?v=VtMlPwqAcTs
can't post complete links yet.
 
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