recording vocals

[jazzyblues]

I'm using an Audio Technica AT3035 condensor mic for recording vocals. I'm plugging it into my Aardvark Direct Pro 24/96. Any helpful suggestions on how to record the vocals to where they'll sound as professional as possible?
I tried recording a little yesterday, but they sounded a little weak and somewhat distant.
thanks -

 

[adam_in_audio]

Hi,

Depending on what kind of vocal sound you're looking for, people will tell you different things on how to record them.

for me, the most important part of vocal recording is getting a good line-input level (high enough to where it almost clips). that way everything is nice and loud to begin with.

the next (and most often overlooked) step is to de-ess your vocals...you know, those annoying ssss's and things. I'm still a novice at this but here's an article that will help!

http://www.godinthemachine.net/recording-docs/Beyond De-essing.htm


People tend to want a 'drier' sound nowadays, including myself. This basically means no reverb lol But reverb (and short delay) can always be useful in 'thickening' up a vocal take. You'll probably want to use compression as well, you'll have to expirement with different ratios and such because this is going to depend largely on your microphone technique. Compression will help keep them at a constant level, and this is much easier on the listener!

It's a good question, and the rest of the users on here are bound to give you very valuable advice.

Good luck!

Adam

 

[Raw-Tracks]

I tried recording a little yesterday, but they sounded a little weak and somewhat distant.
thanks -

Are you close up on the mic? It's pretty common to only be a couple inches away from the mic. Use a pop screen. Compression will help as well, be careful not to over do it. Just pull out a couple of dB.

 

[jazzyblues]

I do use a pop screen, but I have not tried compression. And I'm not sure how far I am from the mic. Probably around 5"-6" or so. And I do get a good signal. Maybe being that far away from the mic has something to do with it (?).
I'll try to experiment a little with the distance.
Thanks!

 

[dirtythermos]

You can also angle the mic down a little more, toward your throat and chest. That is where the bass frequencies resonate from. Compression will help a lot. Also, if your mic or preamp has a high-pass filter (bass rolloff switch), try disengaging that.

 

[jazzyblues]

You can also angle the mic down a little more, toward your throat and chest. That is where the bass frequencies resonate from.

Thanks, dirtythermos. I'll try that. I really appreciate everyone's help.

 

[jazzyblues]

Thanks, everyone. It helped. Now if I just knew how to sing.