Have you ever felt the frustration of not quite achieving the vocal quality you envision?
In today’s guide, we’ll explore the art of recording clean vocals.
Now, this is super important because, many of you songwriters out there might unknowingly be hitting a roadblock in your recording journey right out the gate.
And here’s the kicker—it’s a problem that’s easy to fix at the start but almost impossible to correct once the damage is done. You could be unintentionally sabotaging your own sound from the very beginning.
Great music is a partnership between all those involved, the artist writing and performing the piece, and the audio engineer producing & shaping the final mix.
But this collaboration comes with a catch: To use the analogy of the photograph, if your recording isn’t pristine, you’re handing over a picture to the mix engineer that’s overblown or overexposed.
It’s like capturing a beautiful moment but with too much light, the picture is overexposed washing out the details and leaving the final image lacking the depth and nuance that makes it truly captivating.
Let’s work together to ensure your musical snapshots are perfectly exposed, allowing the mix engineer to highlight every detail and create a mix that truly stands out.
Stick around cause you’re gonna learn how you can elevate your recordings and achieve professional-quality vocals.
Lesson: Identifying Clipping Distortion
The first step to recording professional vocals is
Learning how to set the proper amount of gain for your vocalist.
And before we talk about why that’s important, I want to show you and have you identify the difference.
For Question 1, Listen to these four short examples and identify the one where clipping occurs.
Question 1. Notice how…… one of these is clearly more distorted than the others.
The Wave form shows that the peaks have been completely squared off, This means that the full dynamic range of the performance hasn’t been accurately recorded because the gain level overloaded the system. The results in a very ‘sausaged’ recording that is harsh and unpleasant to listen to.
Lets do another, Here’s question 2, again 4 vocal example, try to identify which recording is clipping.
Characteristics of clipped audio:
LOUD and distorted
Red Light in DAW
Lack of dynamic range
Louder sections appear ‘squared off’
Unpleasant/Harsh to Listen to
Sausaged
Question 2. Like before we have a total sausage. Even tho I did my best to gain match these examples, the distorted one has this LOUD abrasive quality to it that you can’t really take out of it.
This is a big reason why you always want to aim to set you vocal gain so you have several decimals of headroom before hitting 0dBFS and clipping.
But these last 2 distorted examples were recorded at the maximum gain level on my interface, so the vocal was practically living in the red. That’s not typically how vocals are recorded, I hope.
But Even at lower gain levels, if you’re not keeping a close eye on the meters, it’s not always crystal clear when your gain level is pushing the limits.
Now, let’s up the difficulty. We’ve got four more examples, but this time, only the peaks of one of them are clipping. Just as before, your mission is to identify which example is crossing the clipping threshold. Ready for the challenge? Here we go question 3.
Question 3. So only a few peaks have been squared off here, but those parts still contribute to the harsh and abrasive quality of the vocal in Letter B especially when compared to Letter C which is the same line recorded at a proper gain level.
Let’s do one more Question 4.
Question 4. Besides the rogue plosives, there’s also a few places in letter C that have also been squared off from clipping.
Next, lets quickly go over the Characteristics of Clean Audio.
Characteristics of clean audio:
We want No background hum or noise (dry as possible)
Plenty of headroom before hitting 0dBFS (no red light)
And we don’t wanna see that red light come on because that means you’ve crossed the threshold of what the system can handle so you are no longer accurately recording the performance.
You want to see a clear dynamic range that reflects the intensity of the performance.
Louder sections display natural peaks.
The recording is smooth, easy to listen to, it may actually sound a little dull or quiet in comparison to a finished vocal.
But why is this all this important? Why shouldn’t you send over a clipped vocal track?
Why Record as Clean as Possible?:
Grit, volume, and intensity are carefully incorporated into a vocal during the mix process. This character is added incrementally based on your desired outcome.
However, recording a vocal with distortion from the start commits you to a specific distorted sound, leaving no option to refine or make it cleaner afterward.
The best practice is to focus on recording your best performance as clean as possible.
Although not as exciting as a fully produced vocal. A clean recording doesn’t restrict the audio engineer from doing their job.
The effects that really transform a vocalist into a superstar are usually added throughout the mixing process to ensure we can maintain full control over the tone and dynamic range of your vocal.
This is because you maintain the most control working with a clean vocal; you can always go back and try something else if you don’t like what you’ve done.
But Keep all your production work, keep your rough mixes!
These really help engineers to get a sense of your production ideas, but make sure to always send over a clean version with all of your processing bypassed.
So Distortion, compression, limiting, loudness ,whatever character you desire, leave it on a reference track, and off your clean vocal track, because these can always be added and tweaked in the mix!
Recording at home is fantastic, but sometimes nuances get lost in the mix.
I specialize in turning your raw tracks into professional, captivating music. But here’s the thing – I want to collaborate with YOU from the very start.
If your recordings are feeling a bit like a blurry snapshot, let’s fix that.
Connect with me, and together, we’ll navigate the world of home studio recording. And you’ll learn how to record better tracks that allow you to get your dream mix.
Vocals often form the most relatable part of a song for listeners. Achieving excellence in vocal recording not only expands the possibilities in the mix but also provides your audience with more to latch onto during distribution.
The quality of production, specifically the clarity and character of vocals, profoundly shapes listener response, which can influence a song’s performance on streaming platforms. This impact is seen in heightened overall appeal, increased engagement, and greater potential for recognition through playlisting.
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I hope you found these tips helpful in improving your vocal recording.
Remember, keeping an eye on your levels, watching out for those unexpected peaks, and understanding the tools at your disposal will make a world of difference in your final mix.
Now, before you go, I want to hear from YOU!
Have you encountered clipping issues in your recordings?
What challenges are you facing?
Drop a comment down below, and let’s start a conversation.
If you’re still wrestling with clipping or have more questions, feel free to reach out.
Send me an email, I’d love to work together.
I’m here to help you on your journey to achieving that Radio-Ready sound.
Alright, friends, if you found this video valuable, don’t forget to hit the like button, subscribe, and ring that notification bell so you won’t miss more videos like this one.
Thanks for tuning in. Keep recording those vocals clean, and I’ll catch you in the next video!
