Ho do you record your vocals?

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anoopbal

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Ho do you record your vocals.

Do you use headphones with both ears covered or have it just on one ear, or do you use open back ones, do you have compression and reverb included, or just the raw vocals?

I still have trouble singing with headphones. Even when I take one side off, I still cannot judge how loud I am singing. I find myself singing better without any headphones with the instruments coming in through speakers. But that creates the bleed. I dont know if it is more of a practice thing or I am doing it wrong.

Thank you
 
I ain't no ho:D! When I'm setting my vocalist to record I give him a set of closed back headphones. Sometimes I put a condenser at the other side of the room to get natural reverb. This only works in a big room though.
If you want to record through speakers there is a technique for that.
How to Record Vocals Without Headphones: 10 Steps - wikiHow
Essentially you run the mix through a single speaker and record your vocals. Once you are done don't touch the mic! Then play back the song and do not sing. Flip the phase on the second pass. This will create a vocal take with significantly less bleed. Freddie Mercury and Kurt Cobain used to do it!
 
Hey

Thanks bro! does he only hears the dry voice through his headphones?

I have seen people tell me some of them wear only one headphone bcos they can sing better. I am curious to know if every singer feels they can sing better without headphones and they just do it because they have to prevent the bleed. Or will I get better if i practice with headphones?

Just looking at if people had trouble and how they overcame it
 
"I still have trouble singing with headphones. Even when I take one side off, I still cannot judge how loud I am singing. I find myself singing better without any headphones with the instruments coming in through speakers."




You can also try plugging one ear while singing. Not too damn hard, though.

Experimentation.....is King!
 
Just one ear. Have to get an acoustic - realistic feedback on myself
 
It depends on the song, which backing I'm listening to, how I'm feeling......
I think you will get used to phones but try them all ways. A couple of times, I've recorded the vocal listening to the music coming out of a monitor. It was pretty low in volume and behind the mic. When I listened to the take that I was satisfied with, you couldn't hear the music. I was quite surprized.
If I'm singing to bass and drums, I'll often have just one ear covered, not so I can gauge how loud I am { I can judge that well} but so I can ensure that I'm in tune. I really need to hear my voice raw if I'm singing to bass.
And I never use effects while tracking, or at least I haven't done so for many years. I was rubbish at it and it rarely turned out right.
 
I prefer closed back phones (to limit bleed) over both ears. Naturally, the key is to create the right mix - with the vocals present enough in the mix to hear, etc.

While I use to keep one phone off one ear - it created the potential for bleed and I found it distrating (trying to make sure the phones stayed on, etc.) and often less comfortable. So - I gradually learned how to work with both phones and either work on the mix - or communicate with the engineer, to get a mix I could work with.

I've found three (3) things that often helped:

1. Keep the mix simple, maybe rhythm gutar, bass and drums - there may be a lot of guitar tracks, synth pads, etc. - but often the singer does not need to hear that during the mix

2. Monitor with some vocal F/X (reverb or delay) - often a vocalist will adjust their delivery to work with the processing - and candidly, a dry vocal can often be a negative turn-off for a vocalist (they feel their voice sounds weak, etc)

3. Keep the mix volume low - if the mix volume is low enough, a vocalist can often hear enough of their live sound (even with closed mic cups on both ears) - and without doubt it helps reduce fatique (which can significantly shorten a session and compromise the quality of the performance)
 
I'm led by the vocalist but generally closed back headphones to avoid bleed. If they're more comfortable, one ear can be pushed back.

The choice of reverb or no reverb I leave to the singer. Some perform better without it, others like the effect and sing more "meaningfully" with it.

I never add compression though. All to often this results in the singer "chasing dynamics". They try to get louder, don't hear a change so go louder still and so on.
 
Thanks for the feedback. What you mean by closing one ear? Is it when you use your headphones or when you listening through monitors?
 
Thanks bro. So you close one ear with your finger when you use headphones? Just making sure I am reading it right
 
anoopbal said:
Thanks bro. So you close one ear with your finger when you use headphones? Just making sure I am reading it right
Click to expand...



Yes, singing with one ear plugged.

Sometimes, you would see Professional singers plug one ear, before the new in ear monitors became popular....
 
Closed back phones. It depends on the track if i use one ear or both.
I like to hear how my voice interactes with the space i'm singing in.
I never use compression or reverb. personal choice. many people i have recorded just want some reverb.
Use whatever reverb you have to hand and mix to taste again dependant on the track.
 
I always record my voice with headphones - just a habit. But this thread makes me want to try with onl yone hear for my next recording sessions...
 
Anoopbal. Sorry I never answered your question. When I did the distant mic trick the singer heard both the close and ambient microphones. He was wearing closed back microphones. Recently I have done a few more experimental things with vocal tracking.
My band did some chants on one of our songs where we put a condenser in either corner of the bathroom and blasted the music through a pair of phones so we could all hear it. On another track the vocals were recorded with an SM58 but also played through a guitar amp miced up with a D112.
I guess what I'm saying is there is more than one way to skin the cat.
 
Hi! Most are using desk microphones (which unfortunately I don't have :'() but me, I use my tab for recording. It actually gives me decent results :D
 
doll on ice said:
Hi! Most are using desk microphones (which unfortunately I don't have :'() but me, I use my tab for recording. It actually gives me decent results :D
Click to expand...
How do you know what "most" are using ? Have you asked any of them/we/us ?
 
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