Vocal Recording - Where to Point the Mic at the Vocalist

[@perpetualgrimace]

Such a great tip and it makes so much sense. Didn't hear the subtleties at first, unless I knew what to look for. 3:17 - straight on 3:29 - angled down 3:40 - angled up

[@creativesoundlab]

Nice thanks for the bookmarks!

[@martinbergmartinberg]

Forgot the reference for this but a lot of the mid and lower mid is coming from the vocalists chest and from vibrations in the throat. Not just from the air coming from the vocalists mouth. Therefore i often find it usefull to have the mic high and pointing it downwards. Great test as all your videos. Fantastic channel- amazing knowledge and skills you have.

[@kilgoretroutvibe]

i was surprised by this test it really does make a difference. i'm going to try this technique out on a vocalist i've been working with. thanks for making these great videos, peace.

[@creativesoundlab]

Yeah, I'm really glad the test was clear and it showed how sculptable the sound really is. Great feedback and comment!

[@mixedchalk]

It's a subtle difference, but at the same time quite apparent if that makes any sense.

[@creativesoundlab]

Yeah, I could hear a big different at the studio with the monitors. At home on cheap headphones it was much more subtle.

[@jilsky]

I actually think the biggest difference is that when pointing the mic up/down, you moved it a tiny bit further away from the sound source, hence the thinner sounds. I think it needs to be 5mm closer when you point it up/down to compensate for that... some thoughts. Love all your vids!!

[@wherewithall1617]

these videos have been so timely for me, i'm doing singer songwriter tracking soon and I'm stoked to have some starting points!

[@creativesoundlab]

Nice, glad they are a big help!

[@Boxcartheband]

Wow, that was simple and very effective. A tip that seems so simple that no one takes the time to explain. Thanks!

[@Sadlander2]

I always have a hard time to hear subtle sound/tone differences. One thing I do that helps a lot is to focus on something. In this case, I tried to focus on the high end produced in the "ss" as in "always" and also when he breathes. Indeed, there's a difference. When you point the mic to the chest, you don't hear the "ss" as much as when it's pointed up. This is awesome! If you only have one microphone and you think it sounds too "thin", point it to the chest! Too "warm"? Point it up! It's like you said: we do this all the time on the speaker of a guitar amp, we spend a lot of time on the mic placement on a snare, on toms, etc... So why not on vocals?

[@miablack]

Great vid !! Do you think a plastic or soft pop filter makes any difference or both? We have just got the SE dual one but haven’t tried it :)

[@erroldtumaque3430]

Aiming up helped me a lot. I was getting frustrated by how my low freqs would muddy the mix even with eqing. Aiming up helps it cut the way I want to.

[@polescalante]

Wow Ryan! Mind blowing! I'm listening with cheap apple earphones. I wasn't sure what differences to look for at first but as soon as you explained it made complete sense. Then I heard the difference in 3 positions very clearly.... just wow! Very nice trick sir!

[@creativesoundlab]

Nice really glad it was ear opening for you!

[@andrewradley]

I could hear the difference through my phone speaker! I will be using this. Great tip.

[@tonywinkler9230]

Great video, I love anything that applies the KISS principle. If you're using average gear, anything that can give you good sounds up front saves a lot of headache down the road at mix time.

[@creativesoundlab]

Yes, totally. Any problems can be fixed now, and will always be better in the long run.

[@timothyberner9938]

Very good! Even on my mobile phone's speaker I could hear the chestiness when the mic was angled downwards. Thanks for another cool video!

[@creativesoundlab]

Nice, glad you could hear it on your phones speaker!

[@joepage3065]

Thanks man that's a great tip. I could hear the differences immediately through my phone speaker.

[@billlord4203]

Ryan, cool tip. I am trying to rationalize what is going on here. Obviously the sound wave from the vocalist is striking the mic capsule at different angles. You would think the standard head on approach might produce the 'thickest' sound, as all frequencies would strike across the capsule surface equally and not be deflected by the grille. I can see why pointing up might deflect some of the sound as the voice wave could be getting deflected by the grill and not strike the capsule surface equally, but I can't figure out why angling down would thicken the soup. Thoughts?

[@AlexanderShibilski]

Definitely gets me thinking! Cool video for sure.

[@AdamRainStopper]

Well......I'm only using my bedroom laptop and a pair of Sony MDR-ZX100's, and my coffee is kinda weak, but I can hear a very subtle difference. I hate the up-tilted sound - at least solo, unproduced - but that could be the vocalist's particular voice. At the same time, I could see the chest-thumping sound getting buried in a mix. I actually have found, for vocals, distance seems to make a greater difference than angle.

[@maldonadocorrea]

felicitaciones excelente video. una consulta que interfaz usaron? pre etc

[@rufusambler7308]

Great video as usual. Amazing differences between those minor placement changes! What's your opinion on recording vocals with the the microphone slightly above the vocalist so they have to sing up into it, opening their vocal chords (Avoiding them looking down and closing chords off)

[@chandanpuri2428]

Speaking as a vocalist, singing up to a mic lead to more tension in my neck which will usually impact my performance negatively. Also, tilting their head up or down won't do anything to "open their vocal chords" and I frankly don't even know what that means at all? I don't think it would affect vocal fold closure or anything like that.

[@ping4229]

Great video! For this singer I think pointing up works best.

[@creativesoundlab]

Yeah, I really thought it sounds good.

[@mattlee4910]

Good insight! I see you're using a rode K2. I have the same mic and find it to be very sibilant and a bit too shiny. Do you find that too? If so, any tips to eliminate sibilance at the source? I've used a few de-essers in the mixing stage but find that they muddy the vocal too much. thanks!

[@JulianFernandez]

Nice tones!

[@KingBlonde]

Yeah man, with good headphones I can definitely hear the different characteristics being brought out in his voice with each different placement. Cool video :)

[@creativesoundlab]

Thanks man!

[@rav743]

Have you tried double miking vocals? Especially curiosity with this technique one mic angled to the chest and one more nasally

[@creativesoundlab]

I mostly stick to one single vocal for down the middle of the mix. This may change in time for me.

[@chrisw5742]

@@creativesoundlab Maybe a couple contact mics? One on the nose and on on the chest? lol Imagine how that would sound. Cartooney I bet :-P

[@zaynebee]

Great observations bud, thanks for the tips. Love this channel man.

[@creativesoundlab]

Thanks for being a fan!

[@sean-life]

always a good job man!

[@creativesoundlab]

Thanks!

[@Atipam]

Very great video!

[@creativesoundlab]

Thanks!

[@Zack_Darce]

great tip!

[@creativesoundlab]

Thanks!

[@blacksaona]

Awesome.

[@creativesoundlab]

Thanks!

[@SufyMusic]

is there sound from our noses?

[@kaiotvi]

so I take the opposite is true if your mic is inverted?

[@CzornyLisek]

No/yes, whatever you mean by inversion. It's should be pretty much same even when take into account thermodynamics and acoustics of mic body itself. As far I understand it just have mostly to do with position with relation to human head.

[@David_Logr]

Yeah, but @RaonLee is singing into the body of K2 and it just triggers me so much...