How to Record the Best Vocals By Robert Plotnik

I have been asked several times how do you get those great vocal tracks. After the trial and error of engineering for many years, this is what we have found to work for us.

Setup:
First after listening to the singer we look through our microphone selection and choose 5 or 6 that we think would work well with their voice. Than we setup these microphones and go through the process of them singing though each microphone and each preamp, until we find the combination that brings out the quality of their individual voice. Once we find the combination of microphone and preamp, we go though all the compressors until we find the one that tightens up the track and colors the vocal that produces the sound we are looking for.

Of course recording a good singer in an acoustically great sounding room with quality microphones and excellent microphone placement, all plays a major part in creating a great vocal track. Matching these items can make or break a CD as the vocal usually sits out in the front of the mix

Punching In:
Now on the subject of using 15 takes and choosing parts from each one to make one good vocal track doesn't really work well, because you have different feelings, emotions, attitude, timing etc. on every track you sing. We found that singing the song till you get a take that has life and emotion in it, and only than punch in the spots that need to be fixed, gives you a bigger and better sounding vocal with the same feelings and tone quality throughout the whole vocal track. This way everything works together and sounds consistent. We don't cut and paste vocal sections because we believe that singing the parts live gives the vocal a more natural, musical sound with an organic feeling. We're not trying to invent something new we're trying to capture the vocal at its best and natural state.

Equalization:
We do have certain occasions that we have to use equalization when we record. But we try not to use any equalization when we're recording the vocals, as we find it works better for us if we rather spend our time setting up the proper placement of the microphones. If we need equalization to fix a problem we can than find the right equalizer with the proper transparency and color without affecting the track.

Doubling Vocals:
We than double or triple the vocal track which thickens it up. We're not talking duplicating, which only makes the vocal louder not thicker. But we're suggesting recording 2 or 3 takes which will always be a hair different no matter what you do, but they must be very similar to one another; this makes the vocal tracks to have a slight delay in them and thickens it up, making it sound full and rich.

These are techniques that should be done with an engineer in a professional studio so that the results of the vocal will come out to be world class. One of the advantages of using a professional studio is having a large assortment of microphones and equipment, and good rooms that gives an artist every opportunity to capture a great performance and produce a quality CD.