Recording Vocals the Right Way - Setting the Preamp

In this video we cover how to set your preamp when recording, as well as some common controls found on microphone preamps.
This is a sample video from the online course "Recording Vocals the Right Way." Please click the following link to check out the full course: www.udemy.com/recording-vocal...

[@zacharyseabolt4434]

Put on a random youtube playlist and looked to see two of my favorite SAE teachers! Killing it guys!

[@emanueloliver1297]

She sounds really good!!

[@americangoldking]

The vocal sound was incredible crystal clear which is what I am looking for so many of the studios where I am have no idea how to get that clarity in vocals

[@NickWarnerMedia]

Balancing the input gain vs output trim is a KEY PART of gain staging. many microphones and preamps sound different depending on how hard they are being driven on the input gain knob. Often, there are "sweet spots" where the gain level sounds best. Therefore finding the right balance between how hard it is being driven with input gain vs output trim is a very important part of "setting" the preamp. I wish you talked more about finding this balance

[@liljons6753]

So use a fry vocal recording to find it?

[@mathiasfrancocano]

She's a really an amazing voice! loved it

[@garnetbey7400]

that was a beautiful vocal take, very very nice...had me focused...those dynamics was seriously tight and wide..very well done..

[@3xEStudios]

Matt was one of my instructors at SAE Institute in Atlanta, GA. I'm back in the Bay Area now, but it was hella dope getting some game from this man. Keep it up rogue @3xEstudios

[@RhetorikalMusek]

You two are both gentlemen and scholars! Thank you!!

[@FUFUWO]

tell me what did you actually learn?

[@josefk5659]

Without comment on the composition or style, the audio quality is really world class.

[@telegraphaudio1834]

Absolutely amazing voice!!!

[@dexterphillips9212]

These guys are the truth, always great information.

[@sweetfoampunishment3286]

Outstanding vocalist!!!

[@kicksncapz]

Very pretty voice, it sounds beautiful

[@teashea1]

Intelligent and articulate video. Very useful. Nice production values also. Wonderful vocalist. Quite well done.

[@hopegiver6409]

Very beautiful setup and content

[@HitMenProductionGroup]

Her vocal sounds good! What mic and reverb were used in this tutorial?

[@imothy]

Can you explain more about the signal path and where its going after the preamp/compressor? Does it go into your audio interface and does that interface have a preamp? What settings are you using on the interface preamp to help keep your noisefloor as low as possible?

[@michaelmiller4879]

Good stuff!

[@StevenBrooks2012]

Any suggestions on plugin software to use for preamp, non professional, that is. Thanks for the video--real informative

[@chaoticlove7988]

What would you recommend for a Rode nt2a going into a focusrite interface? The problem is some people say aim for highest peaks to be -6db, others -12db etc? What's the best? And to avoid the condensed mic picking up all that white noise when its super sensitive? The vocals for the track are pretty dynamic, many quiet parts and many loud parts?

[@kcgreen843]

Extra dope!

[@AtmLifted]

So is your meve clone preamp running through the preamp on the mixing desk or are you just using it as a ad d's converter to the daw

[@ronymartinez7949]

thanks very helpful

[@IAMDC322]

great singer!

[@ivannio8519]

Wow the voice!!!

[@geoffreymerrifield5666]

Very helpful video. Graet singer too.

[@YurisChruli]

Jimmy Fallon looks great with a beard and a new haircut

[@nikgiengermakesmusic]

best comment. holy cow

[@brandonrichardson4227]

Wow buddy does look like jimmy fallon lol😂😂😂

[@ryanwilson5936]

I knew he looked familiar.

[@ule2300]

That is freaking Fallon wtf

[@wavyboyjodii]

LMFAAOOOOOO

[@MelissaLyric]

Her voice is greatest

[@santillanmusic]

Solid work, new fan! Question, is it ok to track with reverb?

[@mixbygygyondbeat1295]

Wow thanks, guys. I work entirely in the box but I always wish I could daily those settings while tracking vocals....

[@billymack4258]

Wow this sounds really great and she has a great voice too! What converters do you guys use ? I just purchased the b2 Bomber ADC for tracking also bought the BAE 1073 micpre w/eq going into a Apollo x6 DAW Cubase 12 pro and a Neumann 103. Thanks

[@tommysuditomo8943]

Great tips! and I love her voice already!! she is beautiful also...

[@TiqueO6]

By the way, with the phase switch there is a big difference when you’re wearing headphones and singing or speaking or playing into the mic. Try it! You’ll see that when you flip the phase it’s either very thin in the bass frequencies or thicker depending on the position. Other than that yes, phasing is very crucial when using multiple microphones in recording sessions, you’ll need to check all that as you go along. Also especially on Kick Drums always experiment with flipping the phase during recording or mixing you will hear a big difference.

[@lytehousemusic111]

Excellent tone singer! Very disciplined! Star quality singer! Kudos! Great tutorial as well!

[@jeffreydeppa7082]

Gain staging and output trim. Got it

[@uriel-heavensguardian8949]

awesome

[@3star2nr]

wow she has an amazing voice. pretty girl too

[@DrunkenRabbit]

Hey from the little bit of vocal i heard.. can you tell me the song and if it has been released?

[@mondrian5620]

Beautiful voice

[@bigbeastmusicjamaica]

Ok the switch that you guys are calling the 'phase switch' is actually a polarity with and this switch is very essential to recording and you don't have to be recording multiple mics to use it and there is a different when u switch it even in a recording session such as this.It is the key to getting our mixes sounding stellar.

[@TiqueO6]

I’ve found the phase especially important when there’s leakage between Mics and especially in live recordings on stages in clubs where the Mics can tend to be fairly close together, phasing is super important and even the panning of various elements in the mix become super important, if you pan everything to where they were on stage, (keep a stage plot for each recording!), The clarity becomes noticeably better even if all mics are technically wired the same way phase-wise.

[@TiqueO6]

when tracking the phase is also very important to the performers if they’re on headphones because especially if they’re singing or playing a horn or other instrument where the acoustical vibrations in their heads are out of phase with the microphone, which often happens with vintage microphones or a bidirectional microphone turned around, then the phase can make your voice or instrument sound very thin compared to what it really sounds like an alter your performance.

[@JannickJeezyman]

LOVE

[@lionroots11]

Thanks for the tutorial, how is the Vintech VA573 Microphone Preamp connected to the compressor? Out xlr to comp? or

[@MattHayes]

It's connected through the patch bay. But basically mic --> preamp --> compressor --> input to Pro Tools

[@lionroots11]

Cool Thank you!

[@harleyrider9166]

Do you record the vocals with the reverb while recording or do you record the vocals dry and post process with reverb? Just curious.

[@angusbrown2712]

Sounds Great ! Was your Preamp a Neve ???

[@ShehryarAhmed]

How about the attack and release levels?

[@ShawnKurtis]

Can you make a video about (or point me in the right direction) on how to set up verse/hooks/& backups tracks. Meaning: how many tracks to use.. I've heard of some people will have a main track panned center and have two backups panned left/right (with all the effects) I'm just needing a basic guideline. Using Mixcraft Pro Studio 7 (I'm sure that doesn't matter) Truly would appreciate feedback and thank you for you time!

[@MattHayes]

There's really no right answer for that. Some artists will only do one track of vocals. I've had others lay down 20 stacks. The lead should definitely stay panned center, but all the stacks/backgrounds can be panned all around.

[@artbluevibe6629]

how much compression ? Thank you

[@KaceyBakerFilms]

Thanks for taking the time to make this video, much appreciated. But dam, drowning in verb, how are you even hearing the micro tweaking?

[@MattHayes]

The tweaking is all volume control. You can use the reverb to help you hear the level changes.

[@chuckken3438]

Love the verb man...are you nuts?...it sounds badass

[@KaceyBakerFilms]

Bad ass? Sounds like a 12 year old trying to mix. Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Bowie, Guns & Roses, Michael Jackson, Bon Jovi, Prince, Madonna, Witney, Rihanna, Beyonce, Gaga, Bieber.. never once drowned a vocal in this much reverb... but okay..

[@eddiepizza3900]

hey matt! was just wondering which metering in protools your using? sample peak or rms? seems like your getting a really clean signal.

[@MattHayes]

I believe we had it set to Pro Tools Classic view for the meters.

[@TiqueO6]

@@MattHayes Which is that peak or RMS or the new 'loudness' one, I forgot the name for it but it’s the one people are using to try to get maximum allowed this out of all their tracks, bummer!

[@kicksncapz]

I have a friend out here from Nashville he said it's a great town for all types of music!

[@mrgrind210]

I record with pro tools 12..does a pre amp help the sound quality ? I have a legit wood pecker microphone,with a fast track duo..home studio

[@khourflextv6280]

yes good préamps act in good sound quality, you must know what you need n your recording before...

[@willsantos3781]

- YaBoyGrind - its a game changer.

[@daviddwhit3225]

What preamp is this?

[@kierenmoore3236]

What did you switch at 3:22? Was the phantom power accidentally on prior to that, or something?!

[@MattHayes]

Yeah. That mic has its own power supply so 48V isn't needed.

[@Prodby_duke]

so what’s the difference between using all that outboard gear vs just preamps from a single audio interface? I only ask because pretty much every gear community I’ve ran across encourages against it, yet I see analog gear in 90 percent of recording/production based KZbin videos.

[@MattHayes]

It's kinda like cooking. Every piece of gear adds its own "flavor" to the sound. The outboard preamps sound different than the preamps on the mixing console, and those sound different from the ones on your audio interface.... and the same thing goes for microphones, compressors, and EQs. It's all about finding those combinations of equipment that sound great (and knowing how to use them properly of course)!

[@i_amChrisJxmes]

When I bought a preamp it was def better than just my interface alone. I'd say it is neccessary.

[@KNUX_Austin]

what MIC is this??

[@saint_nxckk]

How can i send my vocals for you guys to mix & master?

[@MattHayes]

check out urmixd.com

[@ntandazobekwa6198]

Hey man nice beat, how can i listen to it some more?

[@allthingsdandan.2711]

is there a reason the mic is upside down? Tried to find a reasonable explanation for this and wondered why you guys do it? many thanks for the video x

[@calebknott8021]

Dan Oaten sometimes a mic is top heavy and the mount will lose its grip, so you don't want it to fly all over the place. Also, if the singer needs a lyrics sheet, you can achieve the mic capsule placement you want without getting in the way of the singers sheets. I'm sure there are other reasons, but those are the most common for myself.

[@MattHayes]

Caleb knott makes some good points. Additionally, if it is a tube microphone then it tends to get hot. We do not want the diaphragm of the microphone to heat up, and since heat rises, inverting the mic helps. But even if its not a tube mic this technique does help to keep the microphone out of the way (as Caleb already said).

[@allthingsdandan.2711]

ah, nice points, thanks guys. I did read about tube mics and the heat rising, no tube mic for me though.... yet haha Singers needing lyric sheets, what is it with singers, if a guitarist turns up and doesn't know his parts its embarrassing, but singerrrrrs, oh no, thats fine ;P cheers guys.

[@billymack4258]

WHAT SHOULD THE INPUT LEVEL BE SET AT IN THE DAW PROTOOS. CUBASE ETC.. -18, -12, -6 ETC....... PLEASE EXPLAIN THANKS FOR YOUR TIME!!

[@MattHayes]

I usually aim to peak on the meter around -6dB and get above -12db with some consistency

[@billymack4258]

Thanks Matt!

[@TiqueO6]

I’m using universal audio Apollo Pro interfaces, they allow me to bypass the interfaces preamp entirely when I’m using external preamp. Great feature! Maybe if you have a direct input that allows you to bypass the interface is preamp you can do it that way.

[@lytehousemusic111]

Im sure the reverb is wet to accommodate the singer's feel but not processed in the actual recording.

[@virlbourbonstreet514]

what if all I have is a rode nt2a and a focus rite audio interface?

[@3star2nr]

idk bro just experiment. just don't turn the Mic input up too high to prevent it from clipping. the way how I do it is to turn the mics up till I start picking up white noise then dial it back till the gauges aren't picking up anything then sing and up the gain till I start clipping and dial it back. you want on average -10db while your singing with no noise. then you can eq out the noise and boost the low parts of the vocals to get it uniform.

[@TheBlashMusic]

PigsOnParadise ! Then the Waves "Shepps73" is the closest you'll get to a decent pre-amp sound without hardware or a UAD interface. (It's on sale for REALLY cheep right now)

[@douglascarneau5454]

Some of the best recordings were done with limited equipment like Jazz at the Pawnshop or when Buddy Holly did some of his own recording at his house as demonstrated on the 3 disc set that you can buy now...Point is the fact that these guys think you need to screw with the signal so much is why we get lousy recordings...Think about it that is why they keep remastering it going back to the master tape that hopefully has the least amount of screwing with the signal...I just recently bought Elvis Close Up and on some of those even though they are old ,, well they sound like you are there...

[@TiqueO6]

A lot of the Elvis stuff was recorded with great RCA ribbon mics and probably on an RCA mixer and preamps so they were completely matched. Ribbon mics give the true sound like you were “there”. They’re the only “Real Microphones”.

[@7171jay]

On Neve style micpreamps the output gain at noon is not "nominal" as one of these jokers says. Noon is actually about a 20db cut while full up is zero. Many people do drop the output so they can run the input gain a bit hotter and this is certainly a legit way to go if you like the sound that it produces. It should be understood that the output full up and the gain just high enough to get a nominal level out of the device is the proper starting point however. Another method if you want to push a Neve style preamp is to keep the output at full and push the input gain but use and external pad to bring down the output. With this method you get the whole unit cooking including the big old output transistor as well as the output transformer. Doing it the way these guys are by just lowering the output gain is like cranking the gain on a guitar amp and turning down the master, not as nice really as opening the amp up for real.

[@JovaniOrtizOficial]

Did anyone notice the pentagram on the outboard gear drawn in blue on tape?

[@fionagoodwin717]

The biggest improvement I got in my recordings was when I upgraded to higher quality mic pres like Neve and Sebatron. Changing vocal mic didn't make that much difference for me .

[@PinballLunatic]

I use a Rupert Neve 511 and a Neumann U87 Ai, huge difference for me :)

[@TiqueO6]

Have you tried good ribbon mics?

[@kicksncapz]

People speak highly of Nashville!

[@TheBlashMusic]

Dudes Jimmy Fallon's Doppelgänger

[@heathsledger]

foreal

[@readyrecordsllc3786]

I noticed you turned up the the main gain maybe to about 4 o'clock but then it ended up back at 12 o'clock.What was the reason for that?

[@MattHayes]

That was actually the output trim knob. Wyatt turned it back down to 12 o'clock because he boosted the input gain.

[@readyrecordsllc3786]

Ok cool.Thanks for responding.You guys have a great sound just from tracking vocals so i can imagine what the final Master would sound like.Keep up the great work.

[@woodgrain816]

Matt Hayes In the Vintech manual I remember it saying to have the output knob up all the way. Why have the output 50% with higher gain vs output at 100% with lower gain? I thought that would somehow internally 'clip' the signal. Or does 100% output potentially internally clip the signal inside the preamp?

[@MattHayes]

It could potentially clip internally, but Wyatt was not running the gain loud enough to clip in this example. He likes to be able to add a little extra gain, or ride the level, while working. Keeping the output trim down a little when level setting will let you add a little gain later without a full bump from the main gain. Does that make sense (I feel like I may have worded it in an odd way)?

[@readyrecordsllc3786]

Makes perfect since.

[@brianleechee]

Guy on right resembles "The Professor" from Money Heist with straight hair lol

[@joshlove7973]

what kind of mic is that

[@MattHayes]

Sterling ST-69

[@garyharrison8891]

Matt Hayes Has the mic had any modifications done?

[@Studio-Xhoni]

What Microphone is that man ?

[@MattHayes]

Sterling ST 69

[@Studio-Xhoni]

@@MattHayes Thank you for answer That was so sweet and smooth I well like That's sound to my studio

[@BillyBlaze7]

yo yo yo yodel yo yodeleeeyo yodel-o yo yo yoooodel o

[@blvkqmusicgroup]

Does anyone know who she is??

[@liljons6753]

The singer name?

[@dennisjohnminicz8036]

Who is the singer?

[@MattHayes]

Alex Tru

[@icemike841]

What's the singers name?

[@MattHayes]

Alex Tru

[@sanciopancioahoy]

Who is she ? Pleace

[@jameswallace5967]

Wow.....thats a lot of reverb!

[@blvkqmusicgroup]

James West you don’t have to actually apply the reverb while recording if you don’t want. You can just have it turned on so the singer can hear a smoother sound rather than a raw vocal.

[@beaus101]

Guy on the right: you look a lot like Aesop Rock .

[@zandewilson]

Interesting to see about 40 gain on preamp. And 5 on the fader.

[@TiqueO6]

Depending on the power of the microphone or whatever you’re putting into the preamp the gain on the preamp can be at many different 'interesting' positions just to get enough signal.

[@brtcobra]

don't you just hate it when you see a audio tutorial video with such bad mic background noises.

[@kelvinmanley6166]

who is the HOT CHICK ?

[@chuckken3438]

Hot?...Your kidding right?

[@KeenApollo]

Chuck Ken people like what they like what's the issue?

[@PinballLunatic]

What is Chuck Ken? @@KeenApollo

[@howto-everything1705]

This dude looks like Jimmy Fallon with a wig

[@richardrogers9464]

The audio editing in the general video eeeeeeek....no bueno. Im not sure if i can sit through this..

[@mumbles215]

This is NOT the right way. The right way is ZERO reverb, unless asked for by the artist, and then even then don’t put it on while getting tones. You cannot hear all the subtleties with all the reverb. Your not hearing your work in a clean environment. That reverb will prob be changed anyways for the mix. Also, there’s no reason to bybass the comp while dialing in the pre. If you want to add a make up gain of 5 to even 10dB you will need to lower your pre anyways for that. Ditch the reverb. It’s a crutch for the vocalist anyways

[@kishorilalkishoreda5719]

Your topic says one thing and your tutorial is something else basically you are showing people how to use that one compressor, NOT how to record vocals obviously

[@MattHayes]

huh? Well that is a preamp, not a compressor... and as the description says: This is a sample video from the online course "Recording Vocals the Right Way."

[@danymethal]

too much talking and no show anything important. the girl never change intensity in her voice. to easy for recording.

[@zip7806]

This SUCKS because you Showed Nothing of Where to Set the Meters in The DAW.

[@FUFUWO]

Sorry but going to have to give a thumbs down. You're failing miserably to teach the viewers on "how to set the preamp the right way" which is in your title Here are a couple of the reasons why: 1. You failed to say how much dB of input gain you should give your mic's preamp to get the tone your getting/ a good recording 2. You failed to talk about the mic your using, distance and how that plays a role to setting the preamp... 3. You failed to say where you should be peeking (in dBFS) in order to get a good noise to signal ratio for a good recording when hitting the DAW 4. You failed to say also at what level your 2 track (in dBFS) should be in order to track a vocal properly in a DAW. this is to not record to hot. Recording vocals the right way?? This really sucked to be honest. To the people reading comments. Feel free to ask I have the answers.