6 tips for recording vocals

recording vocals with a condenser Vocals are the most important thing in a popular song. Recording vocals right is therefore on the top of the list when it comes to recording your next hit.

Everything from the correct melody, intonation and feel has to be absolutely right for that song to grab the listener's attention.

If something is lacking in the vocal department the song loses momentum and weight and the listener loses interest.

Get a great vocal recording out of your singer!

How you ask? Follow these tips.

1. Make sure he's comfortable singing

First and foremost, make sure he can sing. There's nothing worse than trying to squeeze a super performance out of a subpar singer. He will most likely stay in the vocal booth all day trying to squeeze out notes that aren't right for him. This makes him uncomfortable and it's all going to be downhill from there. Make sure he can sing and feels comfortable singing before you hit record. It will save a lot of time.

2. recording vocals with the right microphone

Sometimes a different microphone can make all the difference to a singer. His voice might sound dull and uninteresting on the last mic you used, but on that new one you haven't tried before his vocals suddenly shine and cut through like never before.

If you have extra mics lying around, be sure to test them. Even though they might be less expensive, or god forbid a dynamic! And if you don't have extra mics to use, maybe you could spend some money on renting out a few quality mics to try out. Consider it an investment. Recording vocals with a great mic gives that extra sweetness to a song.

3. Position the mic correctly

Just like any other instrument recording, you have to place your microphone correctly. Make sure the singer isn't standing too closely as this gives the vocal a low end boost called the proximity effect. If you need a little extra low end and then you should definitely make him sing as close as possible to the microphone.

But if you want a different sound, experiment with different positions of both the singer and the mic before you decide which way you want to cut it. Making him sing farther away gives a different sound, and making him sing sideways gives another result. Experiment until you are satisfied.

4. Get a pop filter

Use a pop filter to eliminate problematic plosives like the “p” sounds from a singer. P sounds have more energy and tend to be harder to deal with, if not downright impossible without the use of a pop filter. You can eliminate most of the plosives by tying a pencil or pen vertically, point down over the front of the microphone. The pencil diverts the plosives resulting in a very effective budget strategy.

5. Eliminate background noise and unwanted acoustics.

Kill your room acoustically if it's a horrible sounding room to begin with. If you are recording vocals in a good sounding, acoustically treated room, make sure there aren't any unwanted noises. This can be from the computer that might be humming in the background or background noise from the street.

Make sure your room is dead and quiet before you record, because there is nothing worse than hearing some unwanted noise in the middle of your greatest vocal take. Check out my guide to creating a vocal booth in your bedroom before trying to record vocals in a bad sounding bedroom.

6. Don't be afraid to do punch-ins

Some vocalist can get through a vocal track in one take. One take and they are done and gone. But most singers take a little while longer, with some verses or phrases being better than others.

You can either compile the best vocal take from various run throughs, or you can punch the vocalist in multiple times until every phrase is great. Check out my tutorial on how to comp tracks together in Logic Pro.

With a little editing it will sound like a magical singer completely dominating his vocal track.

Reference: Gibson, Bill.(2007). Instrument & Vocal Recording. Hal Leonard Books.

An extra tip for a round number

Why 6 tips? Because I thought of the sixth when I was brainstorming great tips for you guys. It's a nice even number and I like to think I've given you a little bit more to process and learn from.

Keep these tips in mind next time you are recording vocals and see if you can't squeeze a little more magic out of your melody. Help the page going by stumbling this to your friends or sharing the page on Twitter or Facebook using the box below! Every litte bit counts!

Check out Microphones 101 - Microphone basics

Done recording vocals? Check out the 5 frequency areas for EQ'ing the vocal

The Lazy Mixer's guide to automating vocals!