How far back do you mic vocals from the mic?

[Recording David]

A typical starting point for me=6-8 inches.

[Chris Lago]

7 inches

[ThatSoundsWHAMMY]

5.7 Inches or 14.5 Centimeters

I even built a clamp for the vocalist to wear around their head which places the mic at that distance.
Clients love it. Gives them the opportunity to jump around the live room.

Ultimate sweet spot.

[soyezra]

yeah 7 inches here too, but keep in mind length isn't all that matter, girth is what girls go crazy for..

wait a sec though, oh... length from the CONDENSER! haha... yeah still 7 inches.

bow chika wah wah!

[PlayBackMusic]

Originally Posted by ThatSoundsWHAMMY

I even built a clamp for the vocalist to wear around their head which places the mic at that distance.
Clients love it. Gives them the opportunity to jump around the live room.

Ultimate sweet spot.

Lmao.

With a singer, about 7 inches is perfect. Now a rapper can get away with 4-5 inches.

[Chris Lago]

Originally Posted by soyezra

yeah 7 inches here too, but keep in mind length isn't all that matter, girth is what girls go crazy for..

wait a sec though, oh... length from the CONDENSER! haha... yeah still 7 inches.

bow chika wah wah!

Oh we were talking about miking distance? I had no clue.

Originally Posted by PlayBackBeatz

Lmao.
Now a rapper can get away with 4-5 inches.

And their egos make up for the 3 inches that they lack.

[asplashofcitrus]

I usually tell the person to make a fist and hold it to their mouth; that's how far they should be in front of the microphone. This is in cardioid position for up front vocals in my experience. Though if I'm in a good room, I'll shoot for Figure-8 and ask for maybe a step back.

[Chris Lago]

I've been using omni a lot lately.

[DivineMusic]

Originally Posted by chrislago

I've been using omni a lot lately.

use to love certain mics in omni when tracking vocals...

[Chris Lago]

Originally Posted by DivineMusic

use to love certain mics in omni when tracking vocals...

What happened?

[A LaMere]

this answer depends pretty greatly on the mic, the room, the singer...
and really even on what type of vocal it is..

lead vocal?? closer to the mic usually...
backing vocal... further back off the mic..

[Emi]

depending on the acoustics and the type of mic, I like tracking vocals in omni.

[echoclerk]

I think it really depends on what you are going for?

I've only got a Large Diagphram Cardiod Condenser. For upfront lead vox i'll usually get them about 150mm out from the Mic. I have a pop sheild that sits at about 100mm so they are forced behind that.


but for breathy in your ear stuff I get them rigth up on the pop screen

if they are belting it out or I need more 'space' in the mix or for backing vocals they could be 300 - 500mm back from the mic or even further, II think there might be times when you'd want say almost 1m between the mic and the singer - for effect.

but I'm more of a hobbiest so I could be totally wrong.

[echoclerk]

can the above explain what sort fo changes you get int eh sound when using a Bi-Directinoal or Omni Mic for say the Lead vocals?

in what instances would you use that over a Cardiod?

[Karloff70]

Originally Posted by echoclerk

can the above explain what sort fo changes you get int eh sound when using a Bi-Directinoal or Omni Mic for say the Lead vocals?

in what instances would you use that over a Cardiod?

Omni has no proximity effect, so you get a more natural 'body' of sound that doesn't fluctuate as much with the singer moving. But then if the singer moves purposely this can be part of the sound in cardio or fig 8. Generally different mics in different rooms on different vocalists will give you different reasons for either, as stated above.

As to the last question: When it sounds better, i.e. closer to the sound in your head you're going for. Don't forget, the frequency plot tends to change when switching patterns too......try and see.

[noah330]

Depends on the singer. Once guy I work with has (for lack of a better description) a Lou Reed style talk/sing thing - but he also has good mic technique but he pretty much is right on the filter - works for recording him.

[matskull]

Originally Posted by ThatSoundsWHAMMY

5.7 Inches or 14.5 Centimeters

I even built a clamp for the vocalist to wear around their head which places the mic at that distance.
Clients love it. Gives them the opportunity to jump around the live room.

Ultimate sweet spot.

Reading this, I've had the image of a total ****** jumping around come into my head lol

[Weasel9992]

Originally Posted by Robertt8

How far away from the condenser mic do you guys typically mic the vocalist?

How "close" do you want the source to be in the mix?

Frank

[KeithMoonwannabe]

exactly there is no right answer. it always depends.

depends on the singer, the mic being used, polar pattern of the mic, the room, the desired result, so many variables it's almost impossible for any of us to account for those in your scenario without being there.

best advice experiment and use your ears to find what works best for you in a given scenario.

Remember there are no rules just what sounds best to you.

[loh90]

if i have a room that sounds good or dead, I often mic vocalists about a 12-16" from the mic. gives it a more natural feeling and you dont need a pop filter which will leave you a much more accurate response. a healthy amount of compression will help bring the vocals up front in the mix too even though it was miked further back.

[fallforward]

I always start with 4 to 6 inches, but will do a few takes at different distances to see what works. If have a singer that I record that has a very Dennis DeYoung type of voice and he records with his nose on the pop filter to make the most of the proximity effect to give him an added low end boost.

Mic distance is something that you HAVE to experiment with.


Also when doubling vocals where a choir effect is wanted (not a beach boys doubling sound) have the singer take a step back on the first double, and then 2 or 3 steps back on the next go round. This works great on group background vocals. Thanks Bruce Swedien!

Robby

[narcoman]

as little as 6 inches. As much as 2 feet.

Iggy stands about 2 feet back most of the time. Gotta have a good vocal room to go that far though. Morrison used to be about 18 inches back.

Just depends - sometimes swallowing the mic, sometimes nowhere near it.

just depends. Don't specify a rule or you end up pretty much with the same "presence".

[bunnyholmes]

Originally Posted by Robertt8

How far away from the condenser mic do you guys typically mic the vocalist?

I depends on the track. I have done vox with a foam windscreen on a U47 where I had my mouth pressed right up against the foam. I've done stuff 2" or more away. It depends. Is the person whispering? Screaming? Are you trying to get room sound too? Whatever sounds right...

[Mark Kaufman]

In my "non-room" at home, about 6 - 8 inches. The closer I get, the harder the consonants and mouth noises. But if I had a good room I'd play around with the distance.

John and Paul look to be about a foot or so away here:

YouTube - The Beatles - Hey Bulldog in the studio

[DivineMusic]

Originally Posted by chrislago

What happened?

haven't been working on a lot of projects lately. just mixing.
i use to use a c800g (omni)into a aurora GTQC.. i loved it. same with the peluso P12 and 251 in omni when tracking vocals
must have a decent sounding room though. i had a dead 10x10 booth

[Lawrence]

About a foot to start for me.

[Chris Lago]

Originally Posted by DivineMusic

haven't been working on a lot of projects lately. just mixing.
i use to use a c800g (omni)into a aurora GTQC.. i loved it. same with the peluso P12 and 251 in omni when tracking vocals
must have a decent sounding room though. i had a dead 10x10 booth

What happened?

On a sidenote: Pretty sure that Akon and T-Pain use the c800g in omni mode.