Vocal mic placement, setup, and technique

Question

I have AT4050 for my home studio that I'm using as a vocal mic. I have a rather powerful voice (not a screamer, just tend to be loud) and I'm trying to figure out the best way to position mic (distance, angle, etc), what pattern to use, and any tips on how to get the quiter parts of the song to standout without peaking out on the louder parts of the song.

Answer 1

I think some combination of the following will help:

• Work the mic. The closer to the mic, the louder the signal, obviously, but also use the proximity effect to your advantage. Years of listening to recordings have attuned us that the bass boost when the singer eats the mic means "intimacy".

• Use a compressor. "Keeping the loud parts and the quiet parts closer together" is practically the compressor's job description. Careful compressor usage is not something you can "hear", it just makes the quiet parts stand up a little.

On positioning... the main thing is that you want to point it at your face when your head and neck are in a comfortable position for singing, and you don't move your head around unless you intend to. If it's more than 12 inches away your room better sound good because you're going to hear it.