How To Record Vocals At Home

Part of the Video Series How to Record Music at Home

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Learn tips on how to set up a place to record vocals at home in this free video clip.

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All Videos in the Series, How to Record Music at Home

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Posted by keibafan on Monday, 10 December, 2007 at 12:22 AM

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Great presentations in this series, Shana...thanks for the essential info!

Video Transcript

How To Record Vocals At Home
Hi! This is Shana Bethune on behalf of Expert Village and I am going to talk to you about how to set up a place to record vocals. When you are recording vocals you are not just recording the voice, you are also recording every other noise that happens in the room. So a bathroom may have natural reverb but then that reverb is permanent and you can't get rid of it after you are doing with the recording. Sometimes you might record in the bathroom because you want the natural reverb but remember that you won't have a choice later on and you are stuck with that. A dry recording is your best option because you can add any sort of effects that you want later and you have more control over what you do. Sound bounces off of walls and you want dead space while you are recording so if you have any extra blankets or towels around, you can hang them up on the walls to get rid of any unwanted noise. One of the best locations is a closet because it can act like a recording booth. There is virtually no echo and the clothes inside muffle the sound. Your goal is to record the vocal and nothing else. Even though a closet might be the best option for sound, if the vocalist isn't comfortable then it is really not good so you might want to find some place else, another room that is a little bit bigger so the vocalist is more comfortable. A room like this will work if you shut all the windows. Wherever you decide to record you have to make sure that it accommodates your equipment. Like for example make sure you have power outlets for using a computer. Looking at a mess of wires like that you can really see why you have to make sure that there is enough room.

About the Expert

Expert: Shana Bethune is an accomplished home studio engineer with four years experience producing local recordings in the Boston area. Read More