Control Room Vocals...Fact Or Fiction?

[echobridge]

Daniel! Thank you for so many years of inspiring music and stunning production.

Legend has it the vocals for Joshua Tree and So were done with SM57's in the control room with the mains wide open. As an engineer, I am often asked by singers how to get them out of the claustraphobic environment of headphones....we try this technique and it is fraught with problems...feedback....thin tone.....proximity oddities......phasing issues. What am I missing?

[Daniel Lanois]

We used a Beta 58 not a 57. The feedback to print ratio is relative to the output volume of your singer. A quiet singer then singing to a PA is a bad idea. Bono's a powerhouse singer which automatically reduces the amount of spill and feedback. This technique is good for him because he likes to be juiced up to get that stage feeling. He's a performer, he needs his PA. Regarding feedback try this... lower the volume of your speakers and don't put the vocal in the monitors at all. You won't get feedback and you have the advantage of the singer having better pitch. This is a technique I use all the time.