Ask any of the all time great recording engineers what their favorite vocal chain is in the studio and you’ll likely get a list of three things: a microphone, a preamp, and a compressor.
Recording vocals through compression is a wonderful thing that I highly recommend if you have it available to you. It gives you a smoother, more even recording that is mix ready.
But what if all you have is simple audio interface in your setup and no compressor (like our humble $300 studio we’re using right now) – what is a vocalist to do??
Via Ernest Duffoo Flickr
Rediscover The Lost Art
Did you know that for years, professional records were made without a single compressor?
In fact, vocalists were quite aware that they could easily overload the microphone (and the tape machine) so they developed a skill, an art form really, that we like to call “working the mic.”
Let’s talk about that.
It sounds obvious but the human voice is very dynamic. Meaning it can go from super quiet to super loud in an instant.
That’s not very unique to vocals – but what makes them more challenging and sneaky than say a drum kit or guitar part is that even if a vocalist is singing at one overall consistent level, he or she is actually is giving a very inconsistent performance due to two things: vowels and lyrical emotion.
Vowels And Emotion Are So Sneaky
If you or I sing a closed vowel like the “oooo” sound or the “eeee” sound, we don’t push a lot of air. But the moment we sing an “aaaaah” or “aaaay” sound, our mouths naturally open up and more volume comes out.
So even if we are singing at one dynamic in our minds, in reality we will put out a wide variety of dynamics if for no other reason than the variety of vowels we sing.
Secondly – since we are not just playing music with an instrument (which can definitely express and be affected by emotion) but we are singing words that contain meaning, we are naturally going to ebb and flow with our volume (i.e. dynamic) related to what words we are singing at the moment.
If the words are somber and introspective, we might sing softly. If the words are angry or passionate, we might sing loudly. And it can vary wildly throughout a 3 minute song.
Those two reason, vowels and lyrical emotion, alone cause a super wide dynamic range on any given vocalist – thereby giving the microphone and preamp/converter problems.
Learn To Play The Microphone
To combat this problem of system overload back in the day, some super smart people invented an automated volume knob. They called it a compressor.
It would automatically listen to the vocalist and if she sang quietly it would turn her up, and if she sang loudly it would turn her down. Thereby giving you a smooth and more even performance.
So these days if you have a compressor you can just sing and let it do the rest. Brilliant.
But what did people do BEFORE they had compressors?
They worked the microphone. They actually did a virtual dance with it.
When singing quietly they would sneak up a bit closer to the mic (giving you that intimate vocal) and when they would sing loud and proud they would back up from the mic and wail.
It involved a little planning and situational awareness, yes, but that was part of the skill set of a vocalist back then.
Knowing how to not only sing, but how to “play” the microphone as an instrument as well.
Don’t Just Stand There – Do Something!
And sadly, that art form seems to have dissipated these days. Compressors have made us lazy! Myself included!
But let’s talk about the home studio – a place where most of us don’t have an external compressor and preamp to record through.
And consequently many of you are discovering that your final vocal recording is all over the map level wise when you get to mix day. Some compression then will help, certainly.
But can you help yourself out a bit by capturing a more even vocal performance from Day 1 – even without a compressor?
Yes! Just work the microphone! (Or have your vocalist work it if you are just engineering).
Don’t just stand there and sing, actually perform with the microphone and do some old school “compression” with your body.
In the end, you’ll get two things:
- On the technical side you’ll have a more even signal doing to your DAW.
- But secondly, and almost even cooler, you’ll have a more engaged and intentional performance.
Although subtle, this can be a huge factor in capturing that “magic” vocal track in the home studio – one that virtually mixes itself.
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My name is Graham Cochrane and I'm the founder of The Recording Revolution, one of the world's most loved audio recording and mixing blogs with over 200,000 readers each month. 
Graham,
Wonderful! So nice to hear this. Some vocalists will sway and turn their heads while they sing – if they are not use to singing with mic that is not handheld and that movement will cause volume fluctuations as well. Mid phrase the sound would get thick and thin. You do as much teaching on how to be in front of a mic as do recording sometimes.
Peace!
Great tip! Of course, you could also just turn on the compressor in Garageband …
Yes that’s true and it would help a lot. But if you were distorting the input to the mic preamp , which is easily done when performing up close/in your face type vocal, then Garage band would be limiting an already distorted signal. This obviously would be of little help , so Performing without compressors is the best way of avoiding the first stage overload going into the mic preamp.
Would there be a problem with putting a compressor, (plug-in), on the vocal channel and then recording through that to another channel? So in theory the vocals would be going through a compressor?
There’s no problem with that, but that’s not what this article is taking about. A recording compressor goes before the mic preamp. A compressor plugin goes after the preamp. The real end goal of a recording compressor is to even out the performance before it hits the preamp so you don’t overload it and so it makes setting mic gain easier.
Glad we got that straightened out.
I don’t think so. The compressor would come ahead of the audio interface but not before a stand-alone mic preamp. A compressor able to take a direct mic input would have a mic preamp built-in.
But, how can the compressor protect the mic and pre-amp from overload, if you insert it after the pre-amp?
The compressor doesn’t protect the mic or preamp, it protects your tape recorder /DAW software from distorsion. And yes, the chain is Mic Preamp > Compressor > Interface In (or whatever type of recording device you’re using).
As always, good topic Graham !
Have a nice day,
Nick
Exactly! preamp-comp- interface
From Graham’s article:
So, If they invented the compressor to solve their problem of overloading the mic, preamp/converter, then the compressor must go in front.
Mic pres are able to take a lot of beating before you “overload” them. I’ve never heard of using a comp before the pre. Besides, the whole reason for using a comp on the way in is to control or “even out” the dynamics so the vocal sits better in the mix….. not the overload concerns. If you’re afraid to overload the pre, just turn down the gain knob!
Interesting stuff.
Good microphone technique is essential on stage as well as in the studio, and should be part of a singers technique, just like how a guitarist or drummer should learn about attack. I once heard a sound guy not so politely inform a singer that he shouldn’t get nearer the mic when he shouts and did he not know anything, I guess not.
I also think with all the auto-tuning and pro-toolsing that goes on these days, there are more singers out there that can sing just OKish, but have no idea about technique or anything as the studio makes them sound great so they think they are great. Yep that’s the job, but it’s like anyone can do it now rather than actually being able to. So much chart based pop stuff is full of this that people are now accustomed to hearing a slightly robot sound to the vocals they think it’s not it should. I cringe when my daughter puts on One Direction or Jessie J, although that isn’t just because of the auto-tune laden vocals.
Soooo I struggled with this same problem for a while, and so I did some research and I found the perfect solution that won’t kill anyone’s budget and is fairly easy to use:
ART Tube MP/C https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008879GO8/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_50qnvb1Z1A456
Highly recommended @ only $99 and it can be used with your existing audio interface, and on more than just vocals!
Maybe you could get the signal to DAW and put compressor on the same track, set to monitoring and set output on track where you record it, if that makes sense. If it wouldn’t work, why?
I think that every singer should learn to do this. I sing live a fair bit, and I learned quite quickly that I need to move in and out, to keep my volume balanced. Otherwise, I was trying to sing quiet parts too loudly and loud parts too quietly, which ruined the tone of my singing.
So although I think this is *most* important for live performance, it’s also extremely helpful in the studio. Just one more thing you can get right on recording day that you don’t have to deal with on mixing day, which is always good!
Thanks Graham!
Another way is to back your singer up from the mic, and use automation to even out the performance.
Absolutely true. But talking about mic technique does not do enough to illustrate how to do it properly. Go back to the masters and watch them. For instance, this video of the Rat Pack. Watch the masters at work
To me “working the mic” and Johnny Mathis are two sides of the same coin. Even when miming he can’t stop himself working the mic. Note how he goes slightly off-axis pointing the mic at his cheek. That avoids problems where the proximity effect would be inconsistent due to backing away from the mic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfsRN10EdWM
I love this Graham guy. Working the microphone, and putting some thought into the whole process pre-recording has great value. Thanks Graham.
You see this is with many of the bluegrass artist today. Even with a group of three or four they are going back to using a single or sometimes 2 mic only setup. It takes practice doing the single mic technique, especially as a group. It is a tradition that got started when a lot of the early country artists went on the road and played at the local radio station, honky-tonk or church where only one microphone was available. Everyone learn to crowd around the single mic and move in and out as solos were played, as well as to keep a consistent blend.
Here is a video of Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver doing an old gospel song “The Heavenly Parade” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3gj9RhKVbg). They start with four vocals and a guitar on a single mic, end with 3 guys on one mic and the fourth vocal (bass) on a second mic. Really well done
Always good tips and info here!
Hi Graham,
Great article again, but I don’t fully agree here:
The more you “work the mic” the more or less room you get into your recording (more distance = more room). And you can’t fix that later on. That mainly is a concern in a none or half treated room like yours. Not working the mic and automating the volume gives the better performace, at least for me.
Just my way and preference but anyway: Great article as always! Keep it up!
Cheers from Germany
Andy
Graham, these are great points indeed!
I used to sing with an acappella group for 7 years and one technique we’ve always used on stage is working the microphone. It’s easier to do with a hand-held dynamic mic, because you don’t have to move your body, just your hand that’s holding the mic. In the studio, we were told by the engineer to stand as still as we could, because he was using impressive Avalon pres and compressors on the way in. In my home studio, I place the mic in such a way that turning my head slightly sideways during dynamic parts which doesn’t change the sound much but really helps control the loudness of the signal passed into the interface.
Good stuff!
I used to sing in a few a cappella groups as well 🙂 Takes me back.
Those were good time 🙂 It’s tougher than it looks, you have to sing the ENTIRE song, no breaks, no guitar solos, lol. But it’s rewarding and you learn voice control like you wouldn’t with anything (aside from voice lessons).
I just try to think of the mic as someone I’m singing for. I want them to be able to clearly hear the quiet intimate parts so I move closer to them. I don’t want to be an inch from their face and blow out their ear drums when I scream a line so I move back. It’s simplistic and a little stupid but it makes sense to me.
Good article.
When recording vocals I always have to ask singers to step back from the mic as they’ve seen to many pop videos where people are singing a couple of inches away which is no good for proximity effect (unless you want it) or sibilance. I have a nicely balanced, pretty dead room for vocals so don’t need to worry about too much reflections so sometimes have singers 4 or 5 feet away from the mic. I’m lucky enough to have a good analogue desk to work with and don’t use a compressor when recording but do ride the gain to keep levels about 0vu this does mean you have to pay attention to what the singer is doing and know when the loud/quiet bits are coming up. However I will use compression on the vocals in the mix something to catch loud peaks then another to take a couple of db out to even the sound I the use the desk automation to ride levels during mix down and sometimes even do it by hand just along with the feeling of the song.
I have the Zoom H6 as an audio interface. The Zoom H6 allows you to add compression and filters to an input, but I was wondering if:
1. this comes close to the audio quality of an external compression that you mention in this article.
2. is this the same as working with these effects in post on a DAW. Would it be useful to use compression on the Zoom H6 and use compression in Ableton on a recording, or just one.
Thank you.
I’m wondering the same exact thing. Have you found out yet?
In a recent interview that Fab Dupont did with the legendary Al Schmitt, Al says he doesn’t use any compression or EQ when tracking. Instead he rides the fader to keep the volume level where it needs to be and will swap out Mics if he doesn’t like the tone. Al is 86 years old and indicated when he was young and learning there was no EQ on the console and so he’s done it the same way for decades. I personally don’t consider any particular way right or wrong, and there is no one single method the Pros use either. If you can make it sound phenomenal, the Pros will be asking you what you did to get it to sound that good.
Watching Daryl’s House the other day, I was reminded of the lessons I learned early in my singing career about working the mic. Daryl Hall is an expert at not only controlling his volume with his distance from the mic and head turns, but he also never slams the mic with stinging S’s, plosives or harsh consonants. No compressor needed, even at that pro level.
I think the point of this post is less about avoiding gear or getting around a lack of gear, and more towards limiting dependence on a type of gear.
Any I see tons of comments about cheap gear as a response!
It doesn’t hurt to turn off compression from time to time and learn about working a mic. Learn when to turn your head, HOW to turn your head to make high notes sound creamy. Learn when to back up.
There is more to working a mic than just adjusting volume.
Try setting feel of your vocals with distance. Sometimes you can sit outside of the pickup pattern of your mic and get a good feel for whistles, certain vocals.
Clap tracks sound best two feet away and at an angle. (to me).
Work it out when you do this.
I needed to thank you for thks fantastic read!! I abbsolutely enjoyed every bit
of it. I have you book-marked to look at new stuff you post…