Punchy vocals

[Benreturns]

This might seem vauge but, does anyone understand what I mean by 'punchy' vocals? On most radio hits (particulary hip hop and rock) the vocals are very in your face and stand out above the mix. What would be responsible for this? The mic? the pre? EQ?Compression? Mine sound a lil bit weak. Im using a Samson C01 Condenser and the Tascam 488mkII's pre-amps.

 

[Recording Engineer]

Obviously, all of the above is what's responsible... But if you HAD to label one thing, it's compression. However, the end result can only be as good as the signal that has been tracked.