Recording the Voice – Part 01 – The Set(Letto 32 volte)
In a large professional room that has undergone high-level acoustic treatment, positioning yourself in an ideal spot near the centre of the room will allow you to achieve a neutral and very subtle acoustic colouration induced by the environment.
Distance from the microphone
In a large professional room that has undergone high-level acoustic treatment, positioning yourself in an ideal spot near the centre of the room will allow you to achieve a neutral and very subtle acoustic colouration induced by the environment.
In this case, it will be possible to move the microphone considerably away from the singer's mouth, up to a distance of approximately 60 cm, which may have some positive effects, including:
- reduction in the incidence of more aggressive consonants, which will sound more “rounded” and natural
- complete elimination of occasional air turbulence
- elimination of the proximity effect, which manifests itself by creating a progressive tonal emphasis on low frequencies
- greater incidence of resonances in the singer's head, neck and chest, capable of giving the voice an even more natural sound
- feeling of spatiality around the source
It goes without saying that in small recording studios and in the case of imperfect or insufficient acoustic correction of the same, it is advisable for the singer to assume a position closer to the microphone, in order to minimize the negative influence induced by environmental reflections.
In summary, therefore, the ideal distance will be close to 50-60 cm, while the minimum distance should be 15 cm.
In most applications, especially in home studios, a distance of between 20 and 25 cm will be the best choice.
As the distance increases, the acoustic pressure on the microphone will decrease, forcing us to increase the gain level of the preamplifier.
This assumes that the microphone and preamplifier are sufficiently quiet, especially in cases involving delicate vocal sources (with low output volume) or relatively high ambient background noise.
For more delicate voices, the sensitivity of a microphone will also be important if you decide to increase the recording distance. As we will see, a microphone with low sensitivity may not be able to capture the dynamic and tonal details of the voice with sufficient precision.
Microphone tilt
To reduce the incidence of plosive and fricative consonants, it is often advisable to tilt the microphone.
In this case, the capsule should be positioned approximately at nose height and directed towards the mouth, with an angle of approximately 20° or 30°.
This inclination is highly recommended in cases where the position is very close (15-20°). cm) while gradually losing significance as it moves further away (at 30 cm and beyond).
Anti-pop and elastic support
Even the use of a anti-pop stocking It is particularly recommended for avoiding the impact of plosive and fricative consonants, and can also be used in combination with the microphone tilt described above.
The anti-pop filter also protects the microphone from moisture and small “spits” of saliva that are unintentionally emitted by the singer.
As with tilt, the use of an anti-pop device is also highly recommended in the case of very close positioning (15-20). cm) while gradually losing significance as it moves further away (30 cm and beyond).
Another recommended element is the elastic shock mount, which allows the microphone to be effectively isolated from vibrations induced on the microphone stand and floor. This becomes even more important when using a high gain setting on the preamplifier.
Example of the distance and angle of the microphone capsule (shown in light grey) relative to the sound source indicated by the arrowhead. On the right is a microphone stand with an elastic shock mount, equipped with a double-layer pop filter.
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