A good starting mic position for vocals is directly on-axis with the mouth, 6 to 12 inches away. You may get a softer sound by placing the mic a few inches to either side of the mouth. Placement above or below the mouth can result in different vocal characters, which may be advantageous for certain voices. One popular off-axis mic placement is roughly 12 inches from the singer, at about forehead level, pointing down towards the mouth. Off-axis placement also has the advantage of reducing sibilance and popping.Mic distance depends in large part on the room. A noisy or highly reverberant room (or one with poor-sounding acoustics) will require a closer mic placement, at which point proximity effect becomes a significant factor in the vocal sound. At six or eight inches away, certain directional mics generate enough bass boost to really muddy up a vocal sound. If your mic has a low-cut switch, it can clean up the bottom end of the vocal considerably. *(Use the low-cut if you have it, your vocals will be nice and crisp.
Because most vocals are recorded at very close distances, even small shifts in mic or vocalist placement can make a dramatic difference in the sound. A shifty vocalist can make for punches or edits that are very obvious due to the change in level and/or vocal tone. When tracking vocals—especially with a directional mic—it's very important that mic distance and placement stay consistent throughout a session. I keep a log on everything, that way if I ever have to recreate a session, I can do so pretty easy.
My next post will be on converting a closet into a Vocal Booth.
Until next time,
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