Recording a soft, gentle vocal (The recording technique)

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PizzImperfect

New member
Hi all,

I was looking to pick your brains regarding records soft, gentle vocals.
My disability here is I don't own a condenser mic, which I've heard would be best due to there sensitivity.
I use an AKG D5 which is quite responsive on the high end though.
I'm thinking of recording a particular part of a track which is pretty soft and quiet..
So my question is, what are the adjustments you would make for this part of the vocal?
I'm thinking if I crank the sensitivity on my interface, I may get background hum/noise.. May lose clarity?
Or am I best messing with a compressor?

Bit unsure of what to try first.. bad practices etc.

Thanks in advance!
 
When I want to do quiet, intimate vocals, I just get really really close, and turn the preamp up enough to get a strong signal. It probably won't introduce enough noise to be a problem. Try it out and see if the noise level is alright. If your getting anything around 24db input you should be fine, and that probably won't take enough preamp gain to introduce lots of noise.

Messing with a compressor will probably help with the overall dynamic and how the vocals sit in the mix. But, a compressor will push down the loudest parts and allow the softer ones to become louder...so it will just add more background noise. I'd probably still compress the track some (if it needs it, which it may not), but just pay attention to how much more noise you can hear.
 
As aaronmcoleman says, compression is just going to bring up the background noise, but you'll porbably need a little compression to help the mix (not necessarily though). Again as aaronmcoleman says, getting in close will be the trick. This will mean your vocal is relatively as loud in the mic (halving the distance to the mic doubles the perceived volume...not in dBs). It will also make use of the proximity effect, increasing the bass end and you'll get all the mouth noises that you only get from close up, which will make it feel more intimate.
 
When singing directly on the mic, you might want to use an extra pop filter if the vocalist is prone to 'plosives'.
 
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