Recording Vocals

When recording vocals what is the most import part in the chain and why?

The Sound Card
The Mic Pre
The Mic
The Booth

ORIGINAL: akil

When recording vocals what is the most import part in the chain and why?

The Sound Card
The Mic Pre
The Mic
The Booth

It depends on the vocal you are trying to get and what you are strating from. If it's a soft song with the vocal as the main track with music in the backgroud you will want more quality for the vocal recording. If it's a loud dense mix you may even need less quality to get the vocal to sound more like a live stage show. I have had to downgrade mics to get the right sound.

The sound card quality affects all the recordings so that needs to be at an acceptable level for the song.

The mic might be the most important of the gear if you have a good singer and need to capture good detail. These days that does not have to mean expensive mic just the correct kind and one that works well with the singers voice. Again, you can have too much "quality". A mic that works for one singer might need a ton of EQ if used on another singer.

The preamp might be a weak link if you get enough noise that the track can't be mixed to the correct level in the song. But after you get to an acceptable level it's subjective in all other ways such as tone and dynamics, I would put this next to last on the list.

The booth (or studio) can be imporatant after all the above is at the "good enough" level. Again, some songs don't need a track with perfect acoustics you may be going to reverb the heck out of it anyway. Near refections can cause some lumps in the mids but even that can be avoided by just staying away from walls. However, if there is too much noise in the recording space and you are using a mic that picks it up so much you can hear it in the track, then it's a problem.

So my "as a rule" (there are execptions) list would be....

1. The Sound Card
2. The Mic
3. The Mic Pre
4. The Booth

My chain is... wood walled (3/4" pine) with some brick living room, center of the room -> large condensor (AKG SolidTube or MXL V12) -> Grace 101 preamp -> Lynx II sound card - > 44.1/24bit into Sonar

lol yep,

I reckon I like 'em okay with mustard on 'em....mmmmhmmmmmm......

ORIGINAL: Jamz0r

lol yep,

I reckon I like 'em okay with mustard on 'em....mmmmhmmmmmm......

Ha! I rented that video a few weeks ago. There is a 20th anniversary edition out that is very cool. Billy Bob had interviews with all the main characters and Daniel Lanois (in his studio). The special features were almost as entertaining as the original movie. Check it out if you get the chance.

ORIGINAL: thefuture

Hi,
Wondered if there is a "most common" fault before I go through all the topics in the "help" section on sonar, that causes tracks to skip beats when recording/playing back audio. I have tracks that are all recorded midi and am now attempting to record the live vocals.
My microphone is poor, if that help diagnosis. Soundcard is soundblaster audigy 2.

Not sure if this is what you mean by "skip beats," but you can get "dropouts" under certain circumstances if your computer can't keep up with the incoming audio stream, either because the computer is underpowered, or because some background program (antivirus, instant messaging, etc) is interrupting Sonar, or any number of other things. You can try playing with the latency and buffer settings in the audio options to increase the amount of time your computer is allowed to process the audio. If you're still stuck, you may want to start a new thread with more detail about your computer and the exact nature of the problem. It's definitely not your microphone.

And definitely read through the Sonar manual. This is a big and complex program with a lot of layers, and the manual has a lot of very useful info.

Cheers.

ORIGINAL: themidiroom

ORIGINAL: ohhey
My chain is... wood walled (3/4" pine) with some brick living room, center of the room -> large condensor (AKG SolidTube or MXL V12) -> Grace 101 preamp -> Lynx II sound card - > 44.1/24bit into Sonar

Ohhey,

What kind of absorbtion is in your room? Do you ever find it too ambient for vocals? Just curious.

Not at all, it's the best sounding room I've ever used even counting studios. The fireplace is a corner type (quarter round) and is huge, floor to ceiling. There is a big couch, table with lamp, and two chairs and the floor is carpet. The walls are 3/4" think pine about 6" wide each and have deep grooves where they fit together. There is also a felt lined display shelf bulit into one wall and big beams on the ceiling every 5 foot or so. There is not a lot in the way of large flat surfaces in there. If I position the mic so the plasma TV is at the back of the mic and at an angle that reflection bounces into the couch and I get a fairly dry sound. If I want a little more reflection I can put it with the TV to one side. Over by the brick seems to sound best as long as I don't get too close.

It's a great tracking room I just wish the Frontier Design Tranzport had a little better range