Shure SM58 - Classic Studio Mic - http://images.thomann.de/pics/prod/105769.jpg

Everyone has had the experience of listening to themselves speaking and thought “that isn’t me!” Getting the sound you actually do recognize is an equally unfamiliar task when you first begin. The first step, obviously, is the hardware you need: a microphone (this author recommends very highly the Shure microphone portfolio of products), cables, and a stand. But what about the actual recording itself? What does you have to do to that sound you want (like when you sing in the shower or car)? Well, below are my ABCs of vocal recording:

Amplification – Most people don’t realize it until they try, but the human voice simply isn’t strong enough to compete with some like a drum set or electric guitar. The human voice needs amplification if you are to hear all the rich textures and nuances your vocalist has to offer. Most sound cards worth their salt come with Pre-Amps built in, like the Digidesign MBox, but for those that don’t you’ll have to buy an external one to place between your mic and sound card.

Balance – Audio balance is a tricky thing and applies in a couple different ways. Shure makes an SM58 microphone intended to only pick up sound within a certain area around the mic. This is excellent for live recording with many vocalists, and instruments, recording in the same space. For solo recording, however, you may want to pick up everything in the booth. In this case you’ll need to worry about balance between the voice and reverb, or any other noise in the space. The vocalist cannot be to close or to far, and the room padding shouldn’t be too absorbent or reflective. What you’ll need is balance between these elements for an authentic sounding vocal.

Compression – Possibly the most important and most difficult to manage is the problem of compression. Compression levels out the sound of the voice so that the strong part don’t hurt the listeners ear, and the soft parts can be heard. ProTools, and other production software alternatives, come with software compression built in. This requires less hardware to use but can be constricting. IZotope offers many plugins for ProTools to give you a wide variety of real-time software compression alternatives, but some still find buying a hardware compressor to be more useful. I’ve always just used the software and found it to be great.

So how does the SM58 stack up against the ABC’s of vocal recording? In my opinion it gets five starts in each category. The SM58 gives you clean sound that is free from outside noise and easily smoothed out with compressed amplification. This little mic retails for about $100 and is a must have for any home studio.

Example of Non-Keyboard Sampler. Source: http://www.vintagesynth.com/akai/mpc2000xl.jpg

To many music purists, this post is going to seem like heresy, but sampling, whether you agree with it or not, has become one of the most popular ways to make catchy music. Most often associated with early Rap and Hip-Hop, sampling is often also used in Techno, House, and other musical forms. A good sample can be a great foundation upon which to build an innovative musical work.

How does one go about obtaining samples, and how can one use them effectively? In my own studio I use a Korg small studio keyboard, which has an optional sampler that I can plug in. The Keyboard interface for the sample is nice because I can then use the pitch bender and other adjustable knobs on the keyboard to manipulate the sample as I play. Keyboards aren’t the only way to use samples, however, many pieces of hardware exist that allow you to treat samples the way you treat a percussion instrument, which make for more rhythmically innovative uses of samples.

For those that don’t want to buy new hardware but want to use samples, a software solution is also available. Many times I’ve ‘cheated’ my way into samples by simply recording the sound byte I want from the internet into a ProTools session. From there I can then chop, repeated, pitch bend, stretch, and otherwise have precise control over what I do with the sample.

It may seem like kid’s stuff to those who insist every piece of music be derived from a ‘real’ musical performance, but non-trivial music innovations are possible with samples. Submitted for your approval is a small piece I put together in a single day using a Yo-Yo Ma sample I love. Listen and then respond with your own thoughts by taking the poll.

Ecstasy of Gold – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Soundtrack [Remix]

*Fair warning, the song goes from 0-60 in about 1 second about a third of the way through, so adjust your volume accordingly.

View This Poll

9. Sound Card – Regardless of what your creating your music on (piano, vocals, electric guitar, etc) your going to need a good sound card to get everything into digital format. There are many alternatives if you’re building a studio from scratch but for the less brave there are software/hardware bundles (such as ProTool and MBox) that give you everything you need.

8. Cables – Many enthusiasts debate over whether or not one needs to pay the market for Monster Cable, but for those who are more price sensitive there are affordable quarter inch cables available that will get the job done.

7. Audio Monitors – The sky is the limit with speakers, but fortunately many retails offer solutions at a wide range of price points (for example Rokit has a size and quality monitor option for just about every price).

6. Software – Many free music production software alternatives exist – Reason, Logic, etc, but in my experience and the experience of many professional colleagues, ProTools is still the definitive software for music production. Period.

5. Pre-Amp – This becomes extremely important for vocal recording. Often a microphone recording simply doesn’t have the output to compete with powered instruments (like an electric guitar). Amplification of the vocal within the recording path will enhance and warm any vocal performance.

4. Compressor – From bass guitars to vocals just about everything needs a little compressing from time to time to warm the sound and prevent variability in the volume level of the performance form damaging speakers (and ears).

3. Microphone – As with ProTools for software, there is only one brand that stands out in microphone technology. Sure microphone is known worldwide for their superior performance and sound quality. Every price point and benefit imaginable is addressed by at least Sure product. Start out with a $100 mic and work your way up according to your needs.

2. Devoted Friends – As with any hobby, your music will need a second (and third) opinion, over and over again. Each time you remaster tracks you’ll need another set of ears to keep you grounded. That means asking other to listen over and over again to new versions of the same song. Treat them to a beer every now and again to show your appreciation.

1. Time – As an ammeter, it WILL take you time to figure all this stuff out. Radio quality recording in one’s basement isn’t easy, it must be a labor of love you’re willing to make time for.