MIC PLACEMENT (VOCALS)

First things first, what kind of microphone are you gonna use?? (and do have a mic pre to choose from if so LUCKY!) Well when deciding, keep in mind the genre of the music, the mood of the song and the timbre of the artist's voice... Also to avoid the P's and B's punching the track (not that those can't be touched up but let's not half to rite?!)(and yes I say "have" like that I'm from Va/Fla) POPPER STOPPERS, they can come in 2 different flavors your original pany hose stopper which is more affordable, or a wire metal stopper which is a lil more expensive (also said to be less effective) but they work and they are way easier to clean. Have you ever smelt a popper stopper after a few months of use straight?! It's the cross between a million different morning breathes and a porto- potty on a hot summer day hehe PUKE

Ok so you've chosen your mic pre (if u have that luxury), picked your microphone to best fit the timbre of the artist's voice and the mood of the song, for example a heavy metal song you might wanna use a mic that requires more SPL (hint: Dynamic Microphones)because you don't want to distort the microphone (or even damage the mic itself) and depending on the frequency response add a lil more grunge to the vocals. Or is it an RnB track? where you might consider a nice condenser microphone that requires Phantom power and is built with better quality components (usually) to add clarity to the artist's voice...

I know this post is about mic placement but there's alot more to the equation than plugging in a mic and throwing a person or instrument in front of it. I always start an artist 6-12 inches from the diaphragm of the microphone and the height of the mic stand keeping the diaphragm of the microphone a lil above the vocalist's mouth...I'll know from the first mic check if I should raise the mic a lil more so it's higher than the artist's mouth to decrease sibilance (the ssss in the s's) or you could also have the vocalist move his or her face off axis of the diaphragm of the microphone, that also helps with not only your s's but with your p's and b's too!


Another thing to keep in mind is the closer an object is to a microphone the lower the tone or the more lower end (or boomier the sound) you will get. ( google proximity effect)

So I put a list together of most of the techniques I've learned over the years.
here's your home work, look em up if interested, try them on your own and listen for the imagery characteristics each one offers....

X AND Y
STEREO
M and S
ORTF
NOS
A/B

Besides phase issues, and proximity effect, I live by 1 rule one of my instructors told me and its stuck with me ever since IF IT SOUNDS GOOD IT IS GOOD!!

THANX FOR YOUR TIME

GBEATS
HIPHOPPRODUCTION.COM