Recording vocals

ENVIRONMENT

I attempted to get professional sounding vocal takes for my tracks by recording in the studio. However I find it challenging getting a take that I am happy with and this is due to the environment. It’s always been the case that I perform much better alone in my own environment where I feel more relaxed and more ‘in the zone’. Therefore I decided to use the same microphone I tried in the studio and set it up with my own interface and Macbook in my bedroom, with the room lit by few fairy lights and candles (a relaxed mood light).

SET UP

https://ehomerecordingstudio.com/recording-vocals/ When it came to the vocal recording, I knew it was important to use a condenser mic that would compliment my voice (e.g. style and tone). After testing various mics, I decided to use the AKG C414 as this is a great all-rounder mic, picking up the sound in clarity and giving good range of frequencies. When I recorded the song, I wanted to convey the same emotion within my voice as well as the lyrics.

Recording Acoustic Guitar

I took to the studio when recording acoustic guitar. Using the Neumann TLM 103 condenser mic positioned just past the soundhole of the guitar, and the Oktava MK012 condenser positioned around the 12th/13th fret of the guitar, I achieved a well balanced and clean sound. Following on from a studio session with Stuart Bruce learning about recording acoustic guitar, I felt more informed about the best mics to use. The Oktava is effective for picking up brighter tones and the Neumann has a larger diaphragm so therefore can pick up more sound from the body. This was the result of my setup: