How to Record vocals in a Home studio ?

When it comes to recording vocals in a home studio, room acoustics plays the most important role. If your room sounds awful then you have to either treat it acoustically using acoustic foam panels or professional rock wool panels. If you can’t afford it then try looking for a spot in your room where it sounds better than the rest of your room.

Room Acoustics

The recording quality depends a lot on your room acoustics. if your room sounds bad then the same can be said for whatever sounds you will record in your room. One has to take care of Phasing, Comb filtering, etc which happens inside a room due to the formation of standing waves. Eventually, some frequencies will get boosted and some might cancel out therefore loosing the overall Balance. Moreover, recording in a closet is also not a very wise choice. The vocals has to sound as dry as possible which cannot be achieved inside a room because of all the reflections happening. ( McAllister, 2019)

Headphone Cues Matters

It is highly recommended that you give the Artist what he or she needs otherwise there is a strong possibility that you would not get the best out of them. If an Artist wants to listen to themselves with reverb on their voice then it is wise to provide them with it. Some singers might want their cues to be loud or soft depending upon the person. So, make sure to provide them with the best mix. Moreover, headphone cues can be used for communication purpose inside a studio where the live room and the control room are separate.

The Microphone

When it comes to choosing a microphone for recording vocals you have to be very critical about it and think wisely. Ask yourself whether you want a dynamic or condenser. Generally speaking most of the time a condenser microphone is your go to unless you feel like going for a vintage vibe. Then, thing what kind of condenser microphone will suit you purpose or work well with the vocalist. Usually, it is the large diaphragm condenser microphone because of its wide frequency response. The polar pattern is of utmost importance. Generally, vocals are recorded in cardiod polar pattern. But make sure you are not too close to the microphone when it is a cardiod because it tends to boost the low frequencies and make your recording sound boomy. This effect is called Proximity effect. Some good examples for large diaphragm condenser microphones are AKG C414 and SE 2200.

Make the singer comfortable

Make it your priority to make the singer comfortable for example take care of the temperature inside the studio whether it is too cold or hot, are the lights too bright, etc. Ask the singer about the kind of environment they want. Sometimes, their surrounding can switch their mood off or make them uncomfortable.

Make sure to use a Pop Filter

Using a Pop filter is very important because the plosives can make your good recoding sound bad. Plosives are those letters that have a lot of energy and creates popping sounds such as “P” and “B”. So make sure to minimise them using Pop filter. Moreover, makes sure that the pop filter should not come in the way of the singer because vocals tends to move a lot and if in case they touch the Pop filter, it might throw off their mood.

References

McAlister M. (2019). The basics of recording Vocals. Retrieved from https://producelikeapro.com/blog/basics-recording-vocals/