Vocal Recording

Getting a good vocal recording is less about expensive gear and more about understanding the basics: mic choice, placement, room, and signal chain. Get those right and even a budget setup produces usable results.

This guide walks through the full process.

What You'll Need

• A microphone (dynamic or condenser — we'll cover when to use each)
• An audio interface with at least one XLR input
• A DAW (any will do)
• Closed-back headphones for monitoring
• A pop filter
• A quiet room — or the best you've got

If you're unsure which mic type to choose, read the microphones section of the encyclopaedia first.

Step 1 — Choose Your Microphone

For most home studio vocal recordings, a large-diaphragm condenser or a dynamic mic like the SM7B will serve you well.

Condenser — more detail, more room sound. Best in treated spaces or quiet rooms.

Dynamic — less room pickup, more forgiving. Best in untreated spaces.

If your room isn't treated, a dynamic mic is usually the safer choice. The extra detail a condenser captures isn't useful if half of it is room reflections.

Step 2 — Position the Mic

Start with the capsule at mouth height, 15–20 cm from the singer's lips. Pop filter between mouth and capsule, 5–8 cm from the mic.

What to listen for: Proximity effect — bass buildup — increases as the singer gets closer. Pull back if the low end becomes boomy.

Step 3 — Deal With the Room

The room is the biggest variable in any home recording. Two things help immediately:

1. Record away from walls — at least 30 cm behind the mic
2. Absorb early reflections behind and to the sides of the singer

Don't obsess over this. A reflection filter helps. Hanging duvets helps. Professional acoustic treatment helps most, but start with what you have.

Step 4 — Set Your Levels

Aim for peaks around −12 to −6 dBFS. You want headroom — a clipped vocal recording is unusable, a quiet one can be gained up.

Step 5 — Monitor and Record

Use closed-back headphones. Keep the level comfortable — too loud and it bleeds into the mic, too quiet and the singer compensates by pushing.

Record at 24-bit. There's no reason not to in 2026, and it gives you more dynamic range to work with.

Common Mistakes

Recording too hot. Leave headroom. Peaks at −6 dBFS is fine. You can always gain up; you can't un-clip.

Ignoring the room. The mic hears the room as much as the voice. If the recording sounds boxy or echoey, the room is the problem, not the mic.

Wrong mic for the situation. A £2,000 condenser in an untreated bedroom often sounds worse than a £300 dynamic. Match the mic to the room, not the price tag.

No pop filter. Plosives (B, P, D) distort on the way in — they can't be fixed in post. A £10 pop filter prevents them.

Variations

• Quiet singers: Move closer, use a more sensitive mic, consider a Cloudlifter or inline preamp for extra gain
• Loud singers: Pull back, use a dynamic, engage the pad if your interface has one
• Breathy/intimate style: Closer positioning, condenser, minimal processing
• Aggressive/belting: Dynamic mic, more distance, watch the proximity effect

What's Next

Once you've got a clean recording, move on to:

Recommendations

Further Reading

• Sound On Sound — Recording Vocals
• Shure — Microphone Techniques for Recording