Recording Vocals

Chuku

New member
Hello Greetings Everyone,

I've Just started a New Recording and i am now in the phase of recording a vocal. The song has some soft vocal parts in the beginning and there is a little higher part afterwards. The problem i am facing is that when i sing the higher part, i have to scream little which makes the level to go very high and then the volume meter on DAW shows RED (sounding distorted). To stop this, I decrease the level from my interface and now the soft part sounds too low and the higher note part where i have to scream little sounds high...

I hope if someone could answer the solution to this problem.

Thanks a lot.

cheers.
 
There are a couple way to deal with this.

1. Record the quiet parts separately from the loud parts, adjusting the gain appropriately for each

2. Lean into the mic on the quiet parts and pull back on the loud parts.

Also, some compression during the mix will help smooth it out a bit.
 
#2 there is very potent. It addresses it at the source- Working the mic distance a little bit evens the signal out, means you might be able to skip #1, and need less of #3- compression.
Also #4 - Look into 'Clip gain changes; reducing hot sections or bringing up low sections to even things out.
 
Another point to consider is recording a vocal track is not the same as singing live. Lessen the dynamic range of the volume when singing... ie, don't sing so soft and don't sing so loud. This is especially necessary if you want to capture the vocal performance in one take.
 
1. Record the quiet parts separately from the loud parts, adjusting the gain appropriately for each

I'm not sure why someone with multitracking capabilities wouldn't do this in the first place. That's the point of doing multitrack/recording at home. Smallish sections at a time, "best take" strategy. IMHO Recording 101.
 
I'm not sure why someone with multitracking capabilities wouldn't do this in the first place. That's the point of doing multitrack/recording at home. Smallish sections at a time, "best take" strategy. IMHO Recording 101.

It's a matter of work flow. I prefer to get one whole take and punch as needed so leaving the gain unaltered works best for me. One exception would be using a fancy "character" preamp. Then I might do it in sections to get the gain right for each part.
 
It's a matter of work flow. I prefer to get one whole take and punch as needed so leaving the gain unaltered works best for me.

Yeah...I do it like that too.

There's also the two mic method...and set each for one kind of requirement. Then slice-n-dice later.
 
You can do that...but it's not the same as singing louder/softer...or being further/closer.

Kinda like velocity with drums. If you hit the drum with the same velocity, and then automate the levels...it's not the same as hitting the drum softer/harder.
 
You can do that...but it's not the same as singing louder/softer...or being further/closer.

Kinda like velocity with drums. If you hit the drum with the same velocity, and then automate the levels...it's not the same as hitting the drum softer/harder.

Yeah totally correct. I wasn't sure if he had a take he liked and needed it fixed or he was talking about future recordings. In the future he should do as you say, but if he has a good take he's trying to salvage just automate it.
 
You can do that...but it's not the same as singing louder/softer...or being further/closer.

I've always used one take, and my verses are usually way softer than my choruses. I set my input gain on the interface to not clip for the loud choruses. Then, I create two tracks in the DAW and copy/paste; one for verse vocals, one for chorus vocals (two, actually, since I double take).

I do think that having the verse vocals on a separate, louder track, since originally recorded at a lower gain, adds a bit of...something. Not necessarily distortion, since it isn't clipping, but it's apparent that they are being pushed harder than the chorus vocals. The chorus vocals were recorded at an "optimum" gain stage, I believe, and the verse vocals were recorded very low, in comparison. So, when mixing time comes, I do have to turn the verse vocal track up several db more...and it isn't as clean as the choruses.

In other words, turning up the volume post-recording isn't the same, for sure.
 
I'll go back a little further and say that if you're having to scream on the high part, then you're straining your voice and you need to rethink completely what you're doing. You should not strain your voice as sometime down the line you will do yourself damage. It sounds like you need to sing in a different key so everything lies within your vocal range, then you can manage the soft and louds effectively. It's OK to go to the top of your vocal range but don't try pushing your voice further than it will go. Regrettably this will mean redoing all your other parts but surely that's better if you are to get a satisfactory result.
 
From ancient history: how to work a mic. She - with a degree in music, jazz vocals - knows that at the low end of her range, she can't project strongly, so she has to lean into the mic: at 22 seconds, 58 seconds, 2:00, and 2:35, she closes in on the mic, and then backs up when the melody suits her range and she can project again. Moral of the story: when you have to bellow, back up; for the soft parts, eat the mic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsIbfYEizLk
 
Working the mic is an essential skill, but it does mean you have to account for proximity effect. Sometimes it's better to have the singer work the mic, sometimes it's better to ride levels later.
 
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