Vocals are one of the most important parts of the song .Your audience will listen to the song and decide whether to listen to it or not, in large part, because of the voices. Therefore, we need to make good vocal recordings. In this article, I will show you the 7 steps to record vocals correctly and not fail in the attempt.
7 Steps to Record Voices in the Best Way
1. Get the right microphone
When we talk about voices, the first thing we need to record is clearly the microphone. But what we need to find is the right microphone for the voices we want to record. For most of the time, condenser microphones are the Most suitable and versatile for recording vocals. This type of microphone gives beautiful color, warmth and a very smooth tone. It’s hard to go wrong with a condenser mic. If you haven’t read the condenser microphone guide yet, take a look at the best ones for the price you’re looking for. There is an exception in case you are looking to record a heavy style like metal, in that case the best option would be to go for a dynamic one.
2. Find good acoustics
The second fundamental step is to find a room in your house with good acoustics. When we refer to recording at home… we only have the kitchen, living room, bedrooms and bathrooms, correct? The ideal is to find a room between girl and medium that has a lot of furniture inside.
Why is a room with furniture better?
The reason why it is better to fill it is because furniture, clothes and so on absorb sound. They act like home acoustics. On the other hand, empty rooms tend to have a lot of reverberation which is terrible for recordings. Also another way to generate more advanced acoustics inside your room is by getting a reflected sound filter for a portable microphone. These filters They are perfect for vocals since they absorb all the echoes, reverberations and reflections in the room. And the best thing is that they are super portable and you can move them easily. You can check out different filter models at Thomann. It’s a great way to level up your recording and get a much more professional sound.
3. The importance of the pop filter
When we record voices, the consonants sound very loud and this does not sound pretty at all. Therefore, if you look at the wave of the recording in the consonants you will see that it is wider than the rest. To avoid “popping” of the consonants loud noises such as “P” or “T”, the pop filter is used. The pop filter is perfect for reducing these loud noises and making them much softer. In addition to this, it is also useful to distance the singer from the microphone and prevent them from eat the microphone. You know several of those right? Having a fixed distance is also key to generating more even audio. Most condenser microphones come with a pop filter included, but if you don’t have one, you should purchase one immediately.
4. Recording base: Audio interface
If you already have a microphone, you will see that they have an XLR type output like this:
All condenser microphones have these outputs and need to be powered with Phantom Power. To avoid purchasing strong phantom power separately, most audio interfaces today come with this feature built in. The audio interface will be the responsible for boosting the volume of the microphone, transforming the audio into digital and sending it to the computer ready to record with the greatest possible fidelity.
That is, the audio interface is the basis for being able to record microphones and instruments in the home studio. If you have not yet seen our guide to audio interfaces, then I recommend reading it before purchasing an interface.
5. Record and produce in the DAW
Once we have the audio coming from the audio interface on our computer, we need to record and produce it. To do this, we need a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software that works as a central base for recording, editing, mixing and post-production.
The best known DAWs are FL Studio, Ableton Live, Cubase, Reaper, Pro Tools, etc. You can check the complete list here. In these software we can make multitrack recordings, that is, of different instruments and voices. Then, we can mix it to our liking. Many audio interfaces come with a DAW included and we can save the cost (between US$100 and US$200 generally). For example, the Scarlett 2i2 comes with Ableton Live Lite or the Audient iD4 with Cubase Elements.
6. Processing and mixing
After recording the voices in the DAW, it is time to process and modify the audio. For this, many VST plugins help us. There are many free plugins and they are very effective for mixing voices.
Some of the effects plugins that can be applied to voices are:
- A compressor to level the volumes.
- An equalizer (EQ) to eliminate unwanted frequencies and maximize the relevant ones.
- Reverb (but not much)
- Delay for some parts of the song
The idea is to try different plugins and shape the voices to your preferences. You can check out this list of the best free VST plugins to mix voices and improve your vocal productions.
7. Key tips for recording voices
And as a last step, I want to leave you some general tips for recording voices and their production. Something to keep in mind is that it is always better to make several voice recordings. Sometimes it seems fine, but then when we mix we realize that some parts need modification. If we have multiple takes, this solves this. If you want your vowels to sound much fuller and deeper, you can also try taking two different takes (that are in tempo) and panning one on each side. It is a trick widely used in various musical styles to generate a greater sensation of depth. Otherwise, you can also try the free Vocal Doubler plugin that mimics this feeling with just one track. Another tip is to record absolutely everything. Even while rehearsing. Recording never hurts and we can always choose and discard what is no longer useful. You won’t want to miss any shots.
Same OG Producer Guide
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