Recording vocals in stereo?

  • Thread starter Thread starter pathdoc
  • Start date Start date
P

pathdoc

New member
I was wondering, is there any reason to record vocals in true stereo? I just recently starting recording guitars in stereo (mostly acoustic but electric as well) and I like the result. Is there any reason to do the same for lead vocals or harmonies?
Thanks for your thoughts.
 
No. A voice is a point-source that you can pan around or place in the stereo field, so it only needs to be recorded mono.

Now if you were recording a choir that would be different...
 
Double-tracking vocals, on the other hand, can give you some good solid vocal tracks. As for stereo recording, like anything else around here, give it a try and see for yourself, but it doesn't seem like it would ultimately have much of an effect.
 
When you say 'record in stereo' what do you mean exactly ? Do you mean two mics as the singer sings ? Placed equadistantly ? Sorry to be picky but I guess I'm sticking to my thing of finding out exactly what a person means as even a supposedly simple phrase can mean different things to different folk. I bet you'll even find diverging understandings of the word 'stereo'.
Anyway, over the last couple of months as I've been learning not to track hot, when doing vocals, I've been recording the singers simultaneously with both a dynamic (an SM58) and a condenser (an EM700), just to see what it would sound like. You get a little more 'presence' though it's barely noticeable and certainly nothing revolutionary. But one thing that I have noticed when listening closely on phones to the two vocal tracks is this kind of swirling effect, like inside a metal tube. It isn't prominent but it is interesting.
 
By stereo I meant two mics, two preamps, each panned hard.
 
pathdoc said:
By stereo I meant two mics, two preamps, each panned hard.
Click to expand...

Unless your singer stays perfectly still you're gonna get phasing which will probably not sound good. A voice is one sound from one source. Mono is the way to go. If you want to mix in a room mic, if it's a great room, knock yourself out, but that's not really stereo miking either.
 
grimtraveller said:
But one thing that I have noticed when listening closely on phones to the two vocal tracks is this kind of swirling effect, like inside a metal tube. It isn't prominent but it is interesting.
Click to expand...

It sounds like your recording is a bit out of phase. You can try and get rid of the swirling(or increase it) by moving one of the tracks forward a little.

It's usually not a sought after sound on a vocal track.
 
G-Jay said:
It's usually not a sought after sound on a vocal track.
Click to expand...
Unless you're a strange individual, comme moi.....:eek:

Seriously though, I quite like it. It's not distracting.
 
Anything that is a single source is a mono source and not worth recording in stereo. I'm not sure how even recording guitars in stereo would work unless you're recording a stereo effect. Otherwise, you're putting 2 mono mics on it, even if in different places, it's just 2 mono recordings of the same performance from different places.

I always prefer the option of recording 2 mono tracks anyway than 1 stereo track, for the versatility.
 
Agreed. I get some fab results by recording 1 track on center, then sing an identical track at 50% volume and panned 30-50% right.

Stereo recording ??? NAH
 
legionserial said:
Anything that is a single source is a mono source and not worth recording in stereo.
Click to expand...

Mmmmmmm...I know what you are trying to say...but actually, stereo is more about how we hear things rather than there being "stereo sources" VS “mono sources”.

So...even a single voice IS heard in stereo when someone is in the room speaking/singing to you. That said, recording lead vocals in stereo may not work well because the vocal may drift from its center/lead position in the mix, and that could sound odd...though honestly, it could work well if you did some Floyd-style of music where you wanted the vocals to have some L/R motion or that 3-D, L/R image.

A vocal is no different than an acoustic guitar or sax or piano...etc...and many of those DO get recorded in stereo...if the song/mix calls for it.
 
TimOBrien said:
No. A voice is a point-source that you can pan around or place in the stereo field, so it only needs to be recorded mono.

Now if you were recording a choir that would be different...
Click to expand...
A vocal is a point-source if the producer wants it to be a point source. But a vocal is a sound originating somewhere in the stereo field of a room if the producer wants that instead. In that case, you better believe you're using stereo mics. In other cases, the producer wants the vocalist to wear a peizo element on a choker collar around his neck so you don't use any microphones. Maybe the producer wants the vocals to come from Steven Hawking's voice synth so don't use anything to capture sound from the environment.

So no, you can't file lead vocals under "only needs to be mono".
 
legionserial said:
Anything that is a single source is a mono source and not worth recording in stereo. I'm not sure how even recording guitars in stereo would work unless you're recording a stereo effect. Otherwise, you're putting 2 mono mics on it, even if in different places, it's just 2 mono recordings of the same performance from different places.

I always prefer the option of recording 2 mono tracks anyway than 1 stereo track, for the versatility.
Click to expand...

Do you own and play an acoustic guitar? I'm not asking to be condescending or anything, but I'm curious.

It's really worth playing around with, if you haven't. The problem with close micing an acoustic is that the sound you're pricking up is VERY sensitive to where the mic is positioned in relation to the body/neck. You tend to get a sound that really emphasizes one part of the sound, which isn't really that desirable.

So, the idea goes, you want to take that weakness and turn it to your advantage. By placing mics such that they pick up complimentary emphasized areas (a classic example is one pointed at the neck for a very trebly, jangly sound and another at the soundboard a little below the bridge for a deeper, darker one) and then panning them left and right, you both get a broader frequency spectrum but you also get a markedly "wider" sound, as there's a lot of differentiation between the left and the right side of the sound field.

I mean, I know you understand the mechanics of this and all, but at the end of the day it's the results you get that matter, and multiple mics allow you to capture a very lush, spacious, wide-sounding guitar performance in a way very different from either one single mic or two separate takes with different mic positions would. It's a different sound, and whether it's better or worse for the song depends on the song.
 
matttheaxe said:
Agreed. I get some fab results by recording 1 track on center, then sing an identical track at 50% volume and panned 30-50% right.

Stereo recording ??? NAH
Click to expand...


I sometimes record a vocal, then record an identical vocal and put around 30%-50% volume but keep both centered.


Why exactly do you pan the 2nd identical track 30%-50% right? Why not left? Just wondering.
 
I sometimes record main vocal in true stereo. For it I use a pair of Rode NT3's which are somewhat thin and make side by side placement easy. The result is very nice and IMO does not require any special mic technique. Since all vocal recording requires the singer to stay withing the sweet spot of the mic that's all that needs to be done. Vocals done like this have a certain open sound that works well for some songs.
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
So, the idea goes, you want to take that weakness and turn it to your advantage. By placing mics such that they pick up complimentary emphasized areas (a classic example is one pointed at the neck for a very trebly, jangly sound and another at the soundboard a little below the bridge for a deeper, darker one) and then panning them left and right, you both get a broader frequency spectrum but you also get a markedly "wider" sound, as there's a lot of differentiation between the left and the right side of the sound field.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's a well used technique but it's 2 mono mics. It isn't a stereo miking technique.

I doubt I'd pan those tracks very far left and right either. Stereo miking is more about capturing the sound of the instrument in the room and all the reflections it causes. If I wanted a wide acoustic guitar sound, I'd track it in a nice sounding room with probably an XY stereo mic configuration.
 
pathdoc said:
I was wondering, is there any reason to record vocals in true stereo? I just recently starting recording guitars in stereo (mostly acoustic but electric as well) and I like the result. Is there any reason to do the same for lead vocals or harmonies?
Thanks for your thoughts.
Click to expand...

I generally record vocals in mono and use some of the techniques mentioned here about adding additional vocals. However MID-SIDE recording is an interesting technique and I've heard some very effective stereo recordings and mixing techniques which give the vocal more width and presence - more noticeable in headphones. Read more about the Mid Side technique here Mid-Side (MS) Mic Recording Basics - Blog - Universal Audio
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top