Quick question folks. mono or stereo for recording vocals?

That's a pretty broad question. There is no 'one-size fits all' approach to panning vocals. It really depends on a lot of factors (genre, song, vocal styling). For a single vocalist, it is common to keep it centered. I occasionally hear a song with the lead vocal panned one way, but not very often.

I record a lot of indie type rock that sounds great with the lead vocals doubled and panned in opposite directions. This isn't always the case though. Often times, I think doubling will sound awesome until I actually implement it. Background vocals are often doubled and panned to thicken them up and give them presence in the mix.

What I typically do is record a few complete vocal takes, not knowing at the time if I will use them all. This gives me the option later to double if desired...plus it gives me more to choose from if I want to 'Frankenstein' a good single take together.
 
dudernut said:
I record a lot of indie type rock that sounds great with the lead vocals doubled and panned in opposite directions. .
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I think he's asking about recording in stereo....as in using a stereo miking technique...not about doubling a single vocal track.
If he is asking about doubling a single tracks...mmm...that's not really stereo recording anyway.

The answer is no...there's no real need to record vocals in stereo. That's not to say you shouldn't/couldn't do it. There may be a situation where the vocal and the space you are recording can provide a stereo recording quality that will enhance the mix/song...but generally, it's done with one mic to one track. You can also double track...but those are still one mic to one track.
 
miroslav said:
I think he's asking about recording in stereo....as in using a stereo miking technique...not about doubling a single vocal track.
If he is asking about doubling a single tracks...mmm...that's not really stereo recording anyway.

The answer is no...there's no real need to record vocals in stereo. That's not to say you shouldn't/couldn't do it. There may be a situation where the vocal and the space you are recording can provide a stereo recording quality that will enhance the mix/song...but generally, it's one mic, one track.
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Oh, I didn't even consider he may have been talking about tracking in stereo. Yeah, no point. I've tried using two mics on a single vocalist (centered in the mix), but found that any benefit (if there was any) was not worth the extra effort
 
I was referring to miking technique you guys; but being fairly new to this dudes it feels great to be able to come here and have such a welcoming community rooting for you i'm always so shocked at how friendly and helpful everyone wants to be. Thanks for the help you guys also that backround vocal advice is really cool, i'd never thought about that. :)
 
Here is my 2 cents. Picture anyone you have ever loved, respected or admired playing live. Odds are they are singing into a cheap dynamic mic. One mic, with their voice going into it. If you want to capture the sound of a performer in a space, and the space is important then use a stereo technique.
 
For a solo voice 99.999% of the time I'll use a single (mono) mic. If somebody has a voice that varies from very quiet to very loud I'll sometimes use two mics at different distances but that's to control dynamic range, not create stereo.

However, if I'm doing some kind of choir or chorus, that I'll often do with some form of stereo pair.
 
I can't recall the artist (I think it was Michael Jackson?) had an entire album where everything, including vocals, was recorded with a stereo micing technique.

Like people have already said, the majority of the time it's going to be a single mic for a mono recording, but it couldn't hurt to try recording something in stereo. If it doesn't sound good, then go for mono!
 
for me personally ( using Sonar 8.5 producer ) i tend to run all mono tracks on every part... vocals i will double track same exact and pan 6% left & right with one side dry one side reverb ( very fat sound ) i pan my mono tracks guitars bass drums etc accordingly to what fits with all having certain stereo sub buss groups drum bus , acoustic guitars bus etc... then into the final master stereo out... that is just the way i do it however ... not sure there is a right or wrong way... that is just my particular work flow that suits me i am getting fairly decent mixes https://soundcloud.com/kevhenderson/sets/kev-henderson-music
 
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