How do you record vocals? Hell, that’s a rhetorical question, because there’s no commenting on this web site. I might need to change that. Anyway, I have found that a great headphone mix leads to a happy singer, which leads to a better vocal take. I have also found that it’s a bad idea to “print” (record) things like eq, compression, delay, and reverb on a vocal track because you can’t change your mind later. Also, I have found that there’s enough latency in plugins that it can screw with a vocalist’s sense of timing. And finally, I have learned that my Alesis rack mount compressor does not sound as good as the compressor plugins built into Logic Pro X.
So here’s what I do. I use one of my mics directly into my Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, which is directly connected to my Mac and recorded into Logic. No compression, no eq, nothing. I can tweak all of that stuff later. And I have a small but decent Alesis mixer, and I send a 1/4 inch line out from the back of the 2i2 into the Alesis mixer. I also connect the computer to the mixer via USB and set up Logic to use the 2i2 for input and the Alesis mixer for output.
Still with me? OK. So I connect my headphones (for the singer) to the Alesis mixer, and I can control the volume of the microphone and the output of Logic separately. But best of all, I can add compression, eq, and reverb to the vocal and none of it gets printed. So if the singer (usually me) wants more or less of any of those things, I can change it in the headphone monitor mix. And what gets recorded is just the dry vocal track.
Compression is great on vocals when singing. Some singers get a little timid when they belt out a line and it blows out their eardrums. They won’t sing as loud. Compression (or limiting) can really help with that, so the singer can just let the vocal fly and not worry about singing “too loud.” EQ can be especially helpful when a singer can’t hear themselves well enough. I like a little midrange bump, myself. It’s super important that you hear yourself when singing.
My Vocal Chain:
Microphones: Shure SM7B, Shure SM57, AKG C1000, AGK c212, Rode NT1-A, EV N/D767a.
Recording Interface: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
Mac: Mac Mini, i5 CPU, 8 GB RAM, OS 10.13.6
Mixer (for monitoring only): Alesis Multimix USB FX
Outboard: Alesis 3630 Compressor
Playback: Alesis Monitor One speakers, Mackie FR 800 power amp, no-name powered subwoofer, AKG K240 Studio headphones
As you can see, my gear is pretty modest. 90% of the time I use the Rode NT1-A. I modded by Mackie power amp with a very low noise fan. I’ve had the Alesis Monitor One speakers for 20 years – I know what they sound like. I like the 2i2, but it can’t really drive a set of headphones decently unless you’ve got everything really cranked. But it does give you a pretty darn good recording.
