3 Ways To Get Better Vocal Recordings
Early on I never really got great vocal recordings, ones that sounded BIG and full. A vocal that sounded like my favorite artists. If this is something you struggle with, well, you came to the right blog post! I don’t think this is something that you necessarily need to invest a ton of money into, at least not right away, but having good gear can make things easier. Also, expensive gear won’t really get you great results if you’re not able to do this with a less than ideal set up.
I’m excited to write this because this is something I’ve been figuring out on a journey the last 3 years. The cool part of all of this is that I’d say 60% or more was just getting it right on a skill level and the rest was knowing what I’m doing at the technical side of things (producing and mixing). If you don’t know me, I’ve been singing since I was 18 but, truthfully, I was never really GOOD at it for the longest time. It wasn’t until around 2019 I started to take it more seriously. So take it from me, someone who wasn’t naturally good at vocals that was able to get this to work!
Your Mix Is Only As Good As The Source
I did another blog in late 2021 talking about why your mix doesn’t sound professional. This blog is going to talk more specifically about that, but on the topic of vocals. The truth is, no amount of mixing is going to save a poorly recorded and performed vocal. Just to note, almost everything in this section was taught to me by the wonderful Moriah Lapointe. So what does a well performed vocal sound like though, as far as recording goes?
Well for one, timing. While this is a given, and important across all genres of music, some genres will demand more precise timing than others. For instance, rap and pop music have extremely fast paced melodies and rhythms that aren’t going to sound good in the wrong places. This is not to say that it’s okay to be off time anywhere else. Please edit the vocal if need be!
Let’s talk about intention a bit. Intention and execution is probably going to be one key important quality that will be the difference between professional and unprofessional. The one thing I learned the most about recording my vocal takes was getting the intention down. This included how I planned to sing every vowel and how I wanted it sung and how much emotion went into the vowels and words. I promise if you listen to your favorite artist, they either did the same thing or internalized this exact process without needing to think about it.
The third thing to mention is singing your takes in key. Sometimes we do takes, and they might be a little sharp or flat, and you probably think “I’ll just tune that later.” I think having your vocal as close to perfect in the raw take itself is going to benefit your song the most and keep you feeling confident. This will take some training and a lot of practice. There might be a lot of times that you nail the feel, timing and intention but the vocal is slightly off tune and sometimes we have to decide if it’s worth it at that point to really go back and get the last 10% right or let the tuning handle it. Overall, it’s good to aim for the closest take.
Having a Good Room and Acoustic Treatment
This part of the vocal process can be pretty important, because the way our rooms sound AFFECTS the way the vocals sound. What do I mean by that? Well, a lot of people don’t think about this because mixing is a very niche thing. What happens is that the sound bounces off the walls and creates harsh, or annoying resonances in the vocals. Think of ringing sounds if you were going to move your finger around a water glass. Most songs you listen to are carefully processed so it doesn’t hurt your ears. (Not that vocals are supposed to, but in general untamed frequencies can be generally unpleasant.). Also, a big room will affect the vocals as it will sound like it was recorded in a big room. You’ll hear a little bit of slap back or reverb off the walls if you listen to the vocal carefully.
So here’s how you correct this issue. What I recommend for a budget friendly option is blankets. Thick blankets, like moving blankets, can help deaden the sound. You want to put them behind you and to the sides, as when you use a large condenser microphone it tends to pick up those areas the most. One thing I tried out was putting a giant, thick blanket behind me when I sang. It helped a little, but not to where I wanted it. Over time, I kept trying different places in my room until I found a corner that helped. I actually ended up putting blankets in the middle of the room and choosing the side that sounded the best. You’ll need to find the best place in your room or house that has the most “dead” sound where you aren’t hearing a bunch of room reverb on the vocals. Make sure each time you experiment, solo the vocals and remove the reverb and delay and listen to the decay of the vocals, and if there’s any noticeable room in the recording. Be sure to push the compression too on your experimented takes and listen, as compression will make this more and more noticeable.
The more expensive option is to set up acoustic panels along with moving blankets. Or just outright build a treated studio room. That can get pretty costly. The thing is though these panels are more accurate to address the resonances I mentioned earlier to get you a clean, flat vocal you can really push in the mix.
One thing to mention to maybe avoid too is cheap foam panels and those cheap vocal booths you can buy. Both of these are very inaccurate and can cause weird filtering/combing and phase like issues. Especially if you get them cheap and they aren’t crafted as acoustic panels. The acoustic panel and or blanket route should get you pretty far!
Having A Good Mic
Let’s say we have a good grasp on making the first two steps in this blog work for you, and we're ready to get good recordings. I think having a super solid microphone will do you a lot of good IF and only if the first two steps are workable. A good mic can still sound BAD if you’re not sure what you’re even doing. But a good mic will sound great if you do! Truthfully, even a bad mic can sound good but also it’s circumstantial.
I recently bought the Slate ML-1 Microphone and it’s such a great microphone that I felt it really stepped up my recordings. I think anything in the $400 and up range can be a good investment for a microphone. There’s other cheap alternatives, but there’s something about the higher price range that has a better quality, for obvious reasons.
Once you have a good recording done, the next step is to really just process it right, with the right gain staging and gain reduction on a compressor or two. In the case your room isn’t perfect, and even if it is, doing the right EQ adjustments will go a long way. For instance, any resonances need to be cut that are happening due to the microphone or room, or any harsh-ness that’s not doing the singer any favors (in the 1k to 3k hertz range).
ARE YOU READY?
Do you think you’re ready to try this out? Remember that vocals can be a very finicky process because it’s very “us” and can be very personal. Numerous times, and it still happens, that I’ve been discouraged during the process. It’s important to be patient! Feel free to send me a message, or email, if you’d like a second opinion on any vocal recordings or even hit up Moriah for lessons if you found this article helpful.