The vocal microphone is a critical link in the voice recording chain

This article is the second in a series of 6 parts on voice recording. The series starts here.

Now we're looking at the vocal microphone — the first link in the hardware recording chain. After you've made sure your singer is high quality, the mic is your next priority.

They can be called the ears of your recording system. They are the point of entry for the sound into your hardware. The same way your ears let sound into your brain, vocal microphones take the sound into the system.

Being at this place in the recording chain, they are critical components. Why?

Anything you do after the microphone is simply working with and polishing what's already there. You can do a lot with eq and compression, but you can't change what you actually recorded. You can make it sound better, but you can't polish mud!

It is very important to get a good sound when you track it (do the actual recording). That is where you should do most of your experimentation to get better sounds.

So, what is a good vocal microphone to get? How can you know which are good ones?

Look for recommendations. Ask some recording buddies, or call up a studio and ask them. Look online, especially at a site that gives reviews. Learn about the microphone.

When shopping for microphones, you need to consider several things in deciding what type of mic you want. These are:

pickup pattern
diaphragm size
body style

I would say that pickup pattern differences aren't crucial in the studio. On the stage you want directional mics to avoid feedback, but in the studio you probably won't have any speakers turned on while recording. You can experiment with different mics, or get one with a switchable pattern!

An interesting characteristic about cardioid microphones is that the closer the singer gets to the mic, the more the bass frequencies come out. This makes the sound fuller and bassier. The effect is called the proximity effect.

I think that large diaphragm mics work good on lead vocals, because they produce a warmer sound that makes a voice sound good. Of course small & medium diaphragms work good too, but results between the three may vary slightly.

When you look at body style, I think that the side address body style is used in studio microphones more. Front address mics are more commonly found in live sound applications. But don't base your microphone decision on this. Look at pickup pattern, brand, reviews, and price.

At any rate, be sure to see the article on microphones to help you further in choosing a mic.

When you're buying a vocal microphone, remember that you'll probably keep it for a long time. It'll get used on a lot of projects, and serve you faithfully. With this in mind, you should get the best one you can afford.

That will get you better results sooner, and it'll be much cheaper than buying a cheap mic now only to upgrade to a better one later. Don't be penny-wise but pound-foolish!

Take your time while shopping. Learn all you can about the microphone your getting, and about other ones close to the performance of it. Be a smart shopper. Check some reviews on different microphones to see what some pros are saying. Are they recommending it for vocals?

So now we looked at the first two links in the chain. What's next?

After the vocal microphone comes Part 3—the preamp section!

Or, go back to the recording voice overview.