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David J Maxey and Home Music Studio 1.
The 5 Pillars Of Recording
Studio Quality Vocal Tracks
Introduction
My name is David Maxey and it's nice to meet you. I have
been a recording engineer and have been teaching the
process of creating professional quality home music studio
recordings for 2 decades now.
Preface
The information below is about laying the foundation of a studio quality vocal track. Often times it's
the simple steps we tend to over look. Though nothing I will share is inherently difficult to implement,
the 5 pillars below are far from trivial. Don't overlook them and skip ahead to implement a trial and
error process if your end goal is high quality results.
It should also be noted that I am making a few assumptions about your vocal tracking foundation. First,
I'm not addressing the quality of your talent (be it you or another artists). It goes without saying that a
singer who is off key and difficult to listen to live, will be equally difficult to hear recorded, and
ultimately an obstacle to a studio quality vocal track.
Second, I'm making the assumption that you have at least a basic understanding of something I call the
4-3 Framework. The 4-3 Framework is the process by which every professional quality recording is
created. It's important to understand that this e-book covers everything you need to know about the pre-
production phase of recording studio quality vocal tracks.
Since this may very well be the first time you've heard about such a process, I've created a video to
explain what exactly what I mean. WARNING! Do not continue with the rest of this e-book unless you
have viewed the following video first. http://bit.ly/the-4-3-framework
I'm also making the assumption that you do not have an unlimited about of money or time to get the job
done. In a professional studio situation, the engineer would no doubt have access to multiple mics and
optional gear. The idea of using the best mic for your talent is completely true, however it is often just
not practical in the home music studio environment.
The 5 Pillars Of Recording Studio Quality Vocal Tracks is very much about the typical home music
studio situation. You may have just one or two mics to choose from, very limited space, and not a lot of
time or money to make it all happen. My goal is to help you lay a foundation that is both affordable and
will not take months to implement.
Lastly, if you find yourself with questions after reading this e-book, feel free to send me a message at
dave@homemusicstudio1.com.
Pillar #1: Address The Early Reflections
The most critical aspect in capturing high quality vocal tracks is built upon the sound you're actually
capturing. Without going into the entire physics of sound let me simplify what I'm referring to here.
Sound is actually vibration that travels through the air as waves of pressure.
We can visually think of these sound waves like the ripples in water after a pebble is thrown into a
puddle. When the pebble hits the water it creates waves. These waves travel outward in equal directions
unless they encounter some type of resistance.
If there was a large stationary rock in the middle of this imaginary puddle, the waves would hit this
object and bounce backwards, likely in multiple directions. The first waves to hit the larger rock and
bounce back, we can compare to early reflections in sound.
As a talent sings into a microphone they become the source of sound waves. However, the sound waves
do not leave the talents voice and immediately dissipate into thin air. They actually hit resistance first in
the form of walls, floors, ceiling, and even the microphone itself. If these surfaces are smooth and solid
(like cement or drywall), the sound waves will bounce even more.
When sound leaves your talent, hits a hard surface, the first waves to bounce back into the microphone
are called early reflections. When these early reflections bounce back into their source (your vocal
talent), they create any number of unwanted tones and issues. Some of which even have the ability to
cancel out specific frequencies and massively lesson the quality of your sound.
However, very large spaces are not commonly found in most home music studios. The next best thing
is to use absorption panels, strategically placed, to absorbs these early reflections so they won't reflect
at all. When your room is small the sound captured will also sound small. This problem can easily be
fixed using re-verbs and delays during the mixing or post-production process.
The goal in this environment is to capture as clean of a signal as possible. In this situation it's often best
to avoid capturing any reflections at all. The dryer the signal the easier it will be to create a big vocal
track using re-verbs and delays (among other techniques).
If treating your entire space is not in your budget there are small portable options designed specifically
for vocal tracking. Here is an option I recommend that is very cost effective and will get the job done
well.
CAD Audio AS32 Acousti-Shield
If you're recording in the typical home studio environment (as I do today) then first consider the
placement of your talent and mic when tracking. Avoid tracking directly in an untreated corner as you'll
create more early reflections. Try to be far enough from reflective sources so that less early reflections
are likely to bounce back into your mic while tracking.
The good news is that most singers don't project as much energy as a drum kit would. In this case early
reflections are much easier to control. In a pinch, you can record a great vocal track in a walk in closet
or any other smaller space that has a natural sound absorption design.
So if the professionals are doing this then I should too, right? Well in most cases that's a pretty logical
argument. However, the home studio vocal booth concept needs a bit more consideration. One benefit
of the microphone acoustic shield I've mention above is that both the top and bottom are still open. This
allows for a far less boxy sound.
In most home studio's space is a limited commodity. So if your can build a vocal booth large enough to
stand up in and stretch your arms out completely, then you may have enough space to be of use. Just
understand that even a smaller space this size would need a good amount of the walls a ceiling
acoustically treated with panels.
That said, most of the time home music studio engineers have one room to work with. In this case, I'd
recommend treating a corner (both walls and ceiling) of that room with acoustical absorption panels.
Then place your microphone facing out into the room and have the talent sing directly into this corner.
This setup would create a more open vocal sound while still addressing the early reflections as
mentioned above.
You do not need to spend thousands of dollars to create a studio quality vocal track. In fact, when
you're struggling to get a great sound, the more gear you add, the more likely your sound will get
worse. The bare bones recording chain is a microphone, a cable, an audio interface, and a decent digital
audio workstation (recording software) (a pair of headphones is also needed to hear the results).
I have not spent thousands on my own personal home recording setup. Building upon these very same
pillars I'm sharing with you now has allowed me to create very high quality vocal tracks right in my
own basement studio. I have listed some of the gear I personally have used and also recommend you
consider below.
Microphone Options: Audio Technica AT2020, MXL 990, Shure SM58
Microphone Cables: Live Wire Standard EMX Series, Hosa Pro REAN
Audio Interface: I recommend the Focusrite Product line. I personally use a Scarlet 2i4 another
affordable option here is also the M-Audio M-Track
Digital Audio Workstation: I use Reaper nowadays, read this post for more thoughts here
Studio Headphones: I use the Sennheiser HD-280 PRO's
In the case of an external preamp the path would look like: microphone output cable external
preamp audio interface preamp digital audio workstation track channel.
When the input signal or gain is set too high, it adds extra noise to the signal path. This lowers the
quality quickly. When the input signal is higher so is the noise floor. The noise floor is the signal your
gear makes without an input signal present (nothing plugged in).
The big mistake I often see from home studio engineers is the idea that their vocal track input must be
as loud as possible without clipping. This is a false assumption and contributes to much of the amateur
sounding projects I hear today.
This assumption is also false because it assumes the end result of recording a great vocal track is lots of
volume. Keep in mind that a professional project is recorded, mixed, and mastered before its
completion. If done properly, your vocal track will not be recorded as loud as the end result of
mastering will be.
The noise I'm referring to is typically caused by something physically bumping the microphone during
tracking. Never let your talent hold the mic while trying to record a vocal track. Using both a shock
mount and mic stand will eliminate many of these issues as well.
Sibilance is the loud Sss and T sounds that come from as a talent sings. The vast majority of sibilance
will need corrected in the mixing stage. However, experimenting with mic placement and a slight angle
can often lesson the hot sibilance effect making it easier to address later. Sibilance issues can vary per
mic and per singers style.
I've listed a few recommendations for pop guards, shock mounts, and mic stands below.
If a singer gets loud, they must naturally move back just a touch from the mic. The opposite is true at
quieter spots of the track. Your talent must be able to hear that sweet spot in their position and keep it
consistently throughout the song.
This is one area that can sometimes benefit from using a rack-able compressor inserted into the channel
while tracking. If you are comfortable using compression and you have access to a good unit then light
compression can help to tighten up the track. I don't use compression while tracking often but when I
do my goal is to reduce the loud peaks by no more than 3db, and to do this very transparently.
Try different mic placements and positions until you are satisfied with the sound. Make the determining
factor by listening back to several test recordings through studio monitors if possible.
In my space, which is smaller that most, I typically start with the top of the microphone equal in height
to the talents upper lip and about 6 away. A distance closer to 10 will often produce a more balanced
sound but requires a room/space that has been acoustically treated for early reflections.
Conclusion
As I've previously stated, there is nothing on this list that is massively difficult to implement. There is
nothing here that costs tons of money either. Technology has now made very high quality gear
affordable to those of us who don't have large budgets for home recording.
If you take time to think through each of these pillars and implement them accordingly, your vocal
tracks will be light years ahead of most. If your track is going to sound great in a mix then the
foundation must be laid here first.
I've written this e-book to give you the necessary foundation of the task at hand but it is obviously just
the beginning. Now that you have the 5 pillars needed to get started tracking your own studio quality
vocals...