Hi Guys,

I need your help on this one.

I'm trying to record a song that we play live quite a lot. We've always had good feedback on the song and particularly on the vocals. 

When I tried recording the vocals last week however, I didn't get the sound i wanted:

1) It was a bit pitchy

2) I didn't get the texture I was after - It had a harsh croak, that I think was caused by compression.

3) I got clipping on the loud parts of the song


Part of the problem was caused by being too close to the mic, and by having a poor mix in my headphones.

Other than standing further from the mic, and changing the headphone mix, what other steps can i take to improve the performance/recording of my lead vocal? 

I've thought about playing the melody on piano so that I have a guide to follow, but I'm worried this may lead to a mechanical sounding  performance, lacking personality.

Any advice would be deeply appreciated.

Practice, practice, practice!
Really. It should get better.
But you can also set the program (which program are you using?) to loop record and to create a new track for each recording. Then sing the song over and over as it records each take on a new track. Find the best takes, cut them out a piece them together into one good vocal track.
As for levels, set the input where it peaks around -6 at the loudest parts of the song. Don't use any effects on the input; add effects after recording.
Then there is the pitch-correction software, such as Melodyne, or Cakewalk's V-Vocal.
I'm the last person who should be offering advice on getting good vocals, but practice, loop recording, getting good, safe levels before recording and using software to effect and correct mistakes are recommendations for recording anything. 

1st - get a good mix in your headphones, even a great singer can be pitchy if
the mix is bad,  ( some like to hear lots of themselves others hardly a thing)
2-set gain at loudest part to peak at -6 db
3- hopefully you have a decent mic, but start by testing spots in the room
and distances away from the mic for the best sound.
4-yea, the practice thing :) 

Practice the song so you know it well. It takes time to warm up your vocals and get into the groove of the song. Don't sweat the punch in. The main thing with a punch in is that it sounds the same as the other vocals around it. So... if the punch is done the next day..... be sure you have warmed up to the point you were at when the surrounding tracking was done. I have even gone as far at times to record the entire vocal track again because the punch sounded different from the existing material. 

Pitchy vocals come from not being warmed up, straining, singing without control, too loud, too quiet, and lots more things...... just aim to get them as close as possible. Melodyne can fix many bad vocals. 

Tone quality.....  see the line above^^^^^  focus on the quality of the vocal part. 

Clipping... to close and loud for the mic..... weak vocals, too quiet of too far away from the mic. 

Use mic technique. When you know a loud belt it out part is coming.... back away and even turn off axis to the mic by 45 degrees or so. If it's a quiet part, get up close. Use a pop filter. 

I often sing with no pop filter close up with the mic beside my mouth and I sing 45 degrees past it so the plosives and sibilant sounds don't get jammed into the windscreen. 

If you want to sing... it's just like playing an instrument. You have to warm up, and practice every day to get good at it and develop the control and tonal qualities you are seeking. 

I sometimes will lay a track in one take. Fix the bumpy parts with melodyne and let it roll. 

Oh yeah... another good tip..... use a good condenser mic. 

Practice.  Doing stuff live and getting feedback is good, but the studio is a different beast where control is more important than sheer emotion.

Try doing harmonies in the studio, as opposed to live.  Most likely they will suck - or that has been my experience w/ bands.  What sounds fine live is ... problematic in the studio.  A lesson in how to burn time.

Once you get the performance down you can work on the engineering aspect.  As always w/ acoustics, once you get past performance it is the room, mic and preamp (most conversion these days ain't going compromise the recording).  All the first three act in common and your recording will only be as strong as the weakest link.  A good room means you can back off the mic so good "air" (ie. the room) surrounds the voice.  Obviously if you depend upon promixity effect, most of the following doesn't apply.  Back off the mic - that will help w/ the overs.  The energy falls off by the square, not double.  A foot or two is better than an inch or two.  A good mic should be able to handle the loud parts if it is set up right.  A good preamp will provide enough gain for the quieter parts and not crap out on the loud. 

A compressor/limiter (set lightly) can also help even out the sound - that is its purpose pre or post recording.  Someone that knows the song and your part can also ride the levels a bit - the important thing is a bit.  If you are moving the fader more than 5 dbs you proably need to redo your gain staging for most songs.

Most modern equipment - even interface preamps and a sub $100 mic should be able to give you a good replica of a good performance.  You just need to experiment w/ what you have to find the correct position vis-a-vis the mic and levels.  You can do that while practicing your performance.  Get someone to help w/ that while you work on singing if possible (preferably somone w/ musical talent).  It will go faster, you'll get better and then start wanting to buy better gear.  It is a sickness that can squeeze a few percentage points of goodness into your song - but the main thing is the performance.  Only us sickos would rather listen to a bad song well recorded than a good one badly recorded, and that is only if we are in engineering mode.

@

Can you post a clip of what you're getting so far?  That will make it easier to help solve the problem.   
As others have said - practice a lot.
One consideration would be the room you are recording in.  If you've got some weird standing waves happening it can ruin the recording no matter how good you sing.  It's hard to "eq" that stuff out.  This can give you a false reading on the quality of your performance.  If your room has soft furniture, drapes, carpet, and so forth it will help greatly.  Or you can stand in front of an open closet filled with clothes.  Or buy a reflexion filter.

The clipping can be fixed easily by adjusting the input volume appropriately.  The type of mic will determine how far away you should be standing away.  Although generally you need to get used to putting more space inbetween you and the mic than on stage.  Make sure to buy a windscreen (they are inexpensive).

For me, a live vocal delivery will not be the same as a studio vocal. Live dynamic range is not the same as recorded. I've been learning to control my voice more for a recording, working on "sounding louder" in my tone while trying to maintain a more even SPL. The vocal will take less overall compression. I would still recommend a little on the way in tho. ----------------------- About sounding pitchy, make sure you can hear yourself adequately. Maybe try the "one headphone on/one off" approach, or lower the music in the cans. HTH.

it's all been covered above, but to underscore:

it all starts at the mic.

the control of the performance is key.
everything else that happens after the sound hits the mic, is just taking the time to set levels correctly.

it's hard to capture the excitement of a live gig performance in the cold sterile environ of a studio....

but that's your job as singer.
go for it.

Are you using the same microphone in the studio that you use for live performance? If you use an SM58 on stage but an LDC in the studio, try using the 58 and hold it in your hand if that's what you do live. Feel free to move around and get right up on the mic like you'd do onstage.

With LDCs you'll generally get better, more consistent results by backing off the mic. The downside is you also get more of the room, and if you don't have a great-sounding room that may not be desirable. In that case, position some absorption around you. Packing blankets if that's all you have, ideally some 703 panels, in a pinch even an SE Reflexion Filter - anything to reduce reflections.

The clipping issue is easy: do test recordings and keep turning down the input gain on your interface until the clipping goes away. Don't worry about recording too quietly, that's far less important than avoiding clipping. You might also consider investing in a hardware compressor and compress the vocal going in. 

Warming up the vocal chords is important. You can sing scales, solfeggio, or the song you want to record, but sing for several minutes before trying to record a vocal.

As far as being pitchy, one thing that can help you hear your voice better is to stick a finger in an ear while singing. Doing that will let you hear your voice through direct bone conduction. It's a trick singers have been doing for hundreds of years, and it works.