Recording Vocals Clearly

[Wazn]

How do you record your vocals are clearly as possible?

I have a Behringer B-1 going to a Behringer TubeUltragain200 then into my soundcard.

I know eliminating room noise etc. will help the clarity but is EQ the 2nd best thing to do?


Example of Clairity... Avants music

Avant - Mr. Dream

 

[jonnyc]

I'd say most important is probably mic placement and performance. If you speak or sing clearly then it should translate that way. Now what you're using as far as gear goes isn't that great but you should still get a good clear(probably not clean) sound. I find myself using very little eq, maybe just rolling off the low end but nothing fancy really.

 

[lucky13]

I'd say most important is probably mic placement and performance. If you speak or sing clearly then it should translate that way. Now what you're using as far as gear goes isn't that great but you should still get a good clear(probably not clean) sound. I find myself using very little eq, maybe just rolling off the low end but nothing fancy really.

I concur. I usually try to place the mic a little above forehead level for the singe, and tell them not to look up and sing towards it. The mic is placed there for a reason. Also, use a pop filter. This will help eliminate p-pops, sibilance, and other vocal artifacts.

 

[Massive Master]

I know I'm sounding like a broken record, but it seems the problem is worse than I had ever imagined. So, I'm going to throw this out -

Most of the time, I find that people with "foggy" or unclear or "pinched" sounding vocal tracks are recording signals that are MUCH too hot... Especially on cheapie preamps (sorry). Try keeping the "meat" of the signal at around 0dBVU. If you can't tell where that is, set everything you can at unity and use the preamps pre-gain to get the signal to sit around -18dBFS. Signals beyond that are invading into the headroom (which that preamp has almost none of in the first place). Keep the signals normal** and you'll probably be in the ballpark.

** -18dBFS / 0dBVU isn't "low" - It's "normal" - It's where the gear is designed to operate. Getting your signals "as hot as you can without clipping" is... Well, I have no idea who came up with that one...

 

[williams]

first of all ... pop filter ... i guess you are using one but if not it's a must !!!
don't know about your mic but i use a SP-C3
and what i do to get a good vocal recording is just sing in front of an open
closet full of clothes ...
EQing isn't used usually in vocals that much ... just tiny little tweaks and small corrections here and there
and that's about it actually ...
experiment with different distances between you and your mic i guess
try compressing it too a little bit if you want it to be more in the front and to stick out more in a mix
that's it i guess

 

[JazzMang]

I would recommend posting an mp3 of what we are talking about here.

 

[studiomaster]

Decent mic, mic placement relative to the vocalist/instrument and acoustic treatment.

 

[felipousis]

In some situations I use directional pattern and in others omni, I set the mic near 5 inches from the mouth of the singer and a little higher than the mouth. As sombedody told you before, watch the levels

 

[brendandwyer]

does anyone believe, like i do that the higher the microphone is positioned above the singers mouth, the more they will sing up and go sharp? (we're talking marginally talented singers here not your top grossers)

The same in inverse?

 

[tarnationsauce2]

does anyone believe, like i do that the higher the microphone is positioned above the singers mouth, the more they will sing up and go sharp? (we're talking marginally talented singers here not your top grossers)

The same in inverse?

Yes I have encountered that before.
The idea is to let the throat open up and you get a powerful, and clear voice.
The problem is... most singers never sing like that. And get uncomfortable with that method.
Now I will place the mic in a position the singer is most comfortable with. 99% of the time it's straight out, almost never down and sometimes in the up position.


To answer the thread starter's question about clarity.
This is what I do to get a real clear, intimate voice. Knd of like what Tori Amos sounds like. I'd use a Large Diaphragm Condenser (the higher the quality, the better). Set the condenser to Cardaroid. A pop filter about 1-2" away from the mic. And have the singer sing fairly close to the pop filter.

Also, I bet a lot of the "clarity" you hear in Avant's vocal's is the result of compression through mixing and mastering. As well as a bit of high frequency EQ in the >10kHz range.

 

[RAMI]

Actually, I'm sure it has alot more to do with getting right from the start, meaning mic position (for that singer), good room, good vocal technique, good pre-amps, a clean signal chain....THEN they might add compression and whatever else, to enhance the sound. The compression and whatever else is not the reason a vocal track will sound clear.

 

[tarnationsauce2]

Actually, I'm sure it has alot more to do with getting right from the start, meaning mic position (for that singer), good room, good vocal technique, good pre-amps, a clean signal chain....THEN they might add compression and whatever else, to enhance the sound. The compression and whatever else is not the reason a vocal track will sound clear.

Yeah definately, there are a lot of factors.
But (listening to Avant) I think it's the partly compression and EQ that's bieng percieved as "clarity".