Recording - February 2012 - 53

Tips on strips If you connect your vocal mic to a hardware channel strip, pick one that’s relatively easy to operate, unless you’ve worked with the singer before and can accurately pre-dial the settings. Easily adjustable input volume can be crucial. I’m partial to my Universal Audio 6176: there are only a few controls, including a big, smooth volume knob, and it sounds great on nearly everyone. Among engineers, opinions differ on how to print vocals to disk. Many insist you should not record eq or compression at all, since you may be stuck with them even if they turn out to be inappropriate later. I don’t agree with this approach. I find that judicious compression on input (1–5 dB, medium attack and release, 4:1 ratio or less) makes the vocal sound bigger, sit nicely in the track and almost always prevents that “I’ve got to automate every word” syndrome on mix day. I sometimes add a little “air band” 10K eq, or a warmth boost between 125–250 Hz, since these procedures always sound better to me on a hardware unit. If the track doesn’t sound close to perfect with this minimal work, I know I’ve chosen the wrong mic. Laying it down Now that the sound is dialed, we’re ready to record. Instruct your singer on the mic distance you like, taking into account any proximity effect. I don’t like to have the singer perform the whole tune for a level; this wastes performance energy. Instead, I check a verse and ask him to sing a few bars of the loudest section, allowing for plenty of headroom. Then I say, “Let’s rehearse it one time,” and record the rehearsal. Often, this will be the take—at least parts of it! Other times, it may take longer. Some singers prefer to work on songs a section at a time, where others prefer to record entire passes and punch in. I generally find it’s best to accommodate their workflow, even if it’s not my preferred method. Singers often develop strange recording habits. One guy I worked with liked to record a single track, then use it as a guide track to sing a second vocal. The second vocal would become the final and the first track would be deleted— he just liked the confidence factor the added voice gave him while performing. Two problems you’ll often encounter with singers are pitch issues and struggling to find the notes. For pitch problems, first try the old trick of removing one earpiece of the headphones, if they can be individually unplugged. Or turn one side outward, but you may have to guard against bleed into the mic from the earpiece that gets turned outward (pan all the sound to one side?). On many of the popular Sony sets, you can just slide one earpiece slightly off (either up or sideways) and it will rest against the head, still sealing in most of the sound (the MDR-7506 does this well). Or get some

one-eared models like those commonly used on movie-score recording stages, but the fidelity may be lacking. Cut back on effects, especially long reverb tails, and experiment with more or less vocal in the phones. Check to see if anything is out of tune in the mix, or if there aren’t enough pitched instruments to provide a good reference. The dreaded can’t-find-the-note syndrome happens to the best singers and is inevitably a horrible embarrassment. If you’re a musician, you can probably assist with a quick break and rehearsal at the piano or acoustic guitar. I’ll also plug a keyboard into the singer’s cue mix and play the elusive note during the pre-roll. Eliminating distractions and clutter in the cue mix—paring it down to essential tracks—may help also, especially turning off other vocal parts. Some singers just don’t do well with headphones. In this case, I recommend recording in the room with monitors as low as possible and facing the rear of a cardioid-pattern mic. Who cares about a little bleed if it gives you a killer vocal track? Some people swear by using two monitors that are of opposite polarity— the singer’s two ears hear them, but the single mic cancels them out. Worth a try? (Taking it to) the next level... The tips and procedures mentioned in this article should provide a good start for any project studio owner faced with the role of vocal producer. For the studio wishing to acquire a loyal clientele of singers, a few additional steps will help. First, consider adding a true vocal booth. Whether you build your own (see Recording’s archived article at www. recordingmag.com/resources/resource Detail/243.html) or buy a prefabricated offering, the dead space and isolation of a vocal booth can really give your recordings a professional sound. Building up a high-end mic locker may not impress singers, but might attract the attention of record labels or producers seeking a specific sound. Mood or ambient lighting sounds like an expensive frivolity, but studios do pay for it and I’ve heard singers insist it really helps inspire a performance. (Choose your lighting fixtures carefully—dimmers and fluorescents for example are notorious for creating noises!) But when all is said and done, most singers choose a studio for simpler reasons: Production skill and coaching. Provide honest feedback, musical inspiration, and enthusiastic support for your singers, and they will return and recommend you to others. Many hit-record vocal tracks come from humble home studios these days. There’s no reason yours can’t be one of those. Bob Emmet (emmet@recordingmag.com) is a studio owner, producer, and keyboardist living and working in Los Angeles.
RECORDING FEBRUARY 2012

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Recording - February 2012

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