Capturing the perfect vocal

There are plenty of synth samples, drum loops and guitar effects to make your life easy, but if you need an original vocal you are going to have to record it yourself. Huw Price explains the techniques you need to nail that killer vocal.

Two things stand in the way of great vocal tracks: microphones and singers. We can certainly help with the former, but those rarefied souls known in the industry as ‘the talent’ can be a trickier proposition. This article is designed to give you a good grounding in the technical issues surrounding vocal recording. We will be looking at microphone selection in detail and examining the pros and cons of the different types. What’s more, we will be looking at many of the commonly encountered technical problems such as plosives, sibilance and distortion and examining ways to get around them. A lead vocal performance can make or break a track. It’s easy to keep a snare drum or a guitar amp happy and they will perform for you all day, but singers require gentler handling. If you want to get the best out of a singer you have to create an environment in which they actually feel like delivering, so we will also be looking at production strategies and monitoring issues that can help with this.

This feature first appeared in Music Tech Magazine issue 24
Filed under General Features

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