The 411 on recording vocals

What are the relevant points I should know when starting to record vocals?

What do I need to know about proximity?

Making sure that you have a relative distance between the vocalist and the microphone is essential. You don't want to be too far away where the vocals are not clear and thin. But you also don't want to be too close where there are too many plosives. To solve this issue of plosives, it is always recommended to use a pop filter whenever recording vocals. You will notice a difference almost immediately with reduction in those p's and d's.

An extra tip is to make sure that your mic is facing away from and electronical /analogical interference. Knowing what the type of directional microphone you have will help.

How to make sure you don't clip

It is commonly known that recording your vocals dry is a must. This is because adding effects prior means you can't remove them later. However, if you have a clean base, you can add effects and play around with as many as you like later in the mixing stages.

To enable the vocals to be recorded clean and dry, you need to ensure they don't clip. This refers to when the gain is too high and you can hear distortion. A good guide to avoid this is to make sure when checking vocal levels, make sure that the vocals don't progress about -12db. You will notice this in recording because your interface /DAW will light up red. It will personally let you know that you gain needs to be reduced.

It should be noted, that it is also best to leave a little headroom when moving onto record the actual vocal takes because when doing sound checks, singers tend to not go as loud as they would.

How do I know if my space is suitable for recording?

A way to notice the treatment of the room can be simply explained like this...

Go into your bathroom and sing. Now go into your living room. Notice a difference? Your living room is dry. This is due to the furniture and proofing that comes from natural items like carpets and rugs. If you don't have these items in your given space, you should look into sound proofing to help get the best vocals. Therefore, make sure to listen carefully to the sound of the vocals to see how you could progress them with potentially more treatment.

How can I amplify the vocals and give myself room post-production?

One easy way to help amplify your vocals is to record multiple stacks, this enable you to open up your song and use different takes to pan. Recording at least three to four different stacks of the main melody line is a good piece of advise. It is good to know that other vocalist may even use six to eight different tracks. Not only does it help with depth in panning, but it can be a natural way of getting a chorus effect.

How do I make the recording session more personable?

Lets say you have a new vocalist coming in that you have never worked with before. How do you make them feel comfortable? If they aren't comfortable they may not perform to their best potential. Do they prefer certain mics/headphones? what is their chosen beverage? Do they like raw vocals or a little bit of reverb? Subtle things like this can really change the vibe in the room and effect the overall outcome of the session and recording.