How do I record my voice in high quality?

High-quality voice recording is essential for capturing clean, crisp audio for podcasts, videos, voiceovers, audiobooks, and music. With more and more content being created and consumed online, listeners expect professional sound quality. A clear, broadcast-ready recording leaves a strong first impression and allows your message to come through. Additionally, quality audio makes post-production much easier, saving significant time and hassle.

Investing in the proper gear and technique for voice recording can elevate the production value of your content to engage your audience. This guide will walk through the key steps to achieve studio-quality vocal recordings using common equipment available to most creators.

Choose the Right Microphone

When choosing a microphone for high-quality voice recording, the two main options are dynamic and condenser microphones. Dynamic mics are more rugged and better suited for live performances, while condenser mics tend to be more sensitive and capture finer details, making them a common choice for studio recording [1]. Here are some key differences:

Condenser mics:

Tend to have a faster transient response, producing a brighter, more detailed sound.
Require phantom power to operate.

More sensitive, can capture subtle nuances and quiet sounds.
Best suited for studio recording in controlled environments.

Dynamic mics:

Do not require phantom power, simpler to set up.
More rugged and durable.
Less sensitive but handle high volume levels.

Recommended for live performances.

For professional-quality vocal recording, a large diaphragm condenser mic is usually the best choice as they excel at capturing the nuances of the human voice. Just be sure to record in a treated space free of background noise.

Microphone Placement

Proper microphone placement is crucial for capturing high quality audio recordings. Generally, you’ll want to position the microphone 6-12 inches away from your mouth to avoid the proximity effect and plosives while still capturing a strong signal.

The proximity effect causes bass frequencies to become exaggerated as a vocalist gets very close to the capsule. This can make the recording sound boomy or muddy. Plosives are distracting pops and blasts of air that happen when words with ‘p’, ‘t’, and ‘s’ sounds are recorded up close.

To avoid the proximity effect and plosives, start with the microphone 6 inches from your mouth and make adjustments as needed. An optimal distance is usually around 8-10 inches. You can also use accessories like a pop filter to further reduce plosives without sacrificing audio quality.

Additionally, aim to have the mic capsule pointed toward the area just below your nose and above your lips. This “sweet spot” helps accentuate the rich tone of your voice.

Proper positioning takes some experimentation, but following these guidelines will set you on the path to quality recordings.

Acoustic Treatment

When recording audio at home, it’s important to acoustically treat your space to improve sound quality. Bare walls and hard surfaces can cause excessive reverberation, flutter echoes, and standing waves that muddy up your recordings. To tame room acoustics, you need a combination of soundproofing materials to block outside noise and absorbent panels to control reflections inside the room.

For soundproofing, add mass and density to your walls using products like mass loaded vinyl (source). Double-layer drywall and weatherstripping around doors and windows also helps block exterior noise. Inside the room, broadband absorbers made of rigid fiberglass or mineral wool soak up reverberant energy. Mount bass traps in room corners to absorb low frequencies and prevent standing waves (source). Diffusers scatter sound to even out the decay.

DIY acoustic panels made from rigid insulation or recycled denim provide a budget-friendly way to treat smaller spaces. Experiment with placement near sound sources like speakers, microphones, and amplifier cabinets where the first reflections originate. Combined with proper gain staging, quality acoustic treatment gives you a clean, balanced recording environment.

Microphone Preamp

Choosing the right microphone preamp is critical in a recording setup. A microphone preamp amplifies the signal from your microphone to line level before it reaches your audio interface or other device. Aspects of preamps to consider include gain, impedance, and noise performance.

Select a preamp with enough gain to drive your microphone and enough headroom to avoid distortion. For example, according to Reddit users, the ART Pro MPA II provides sufficient gain to push dynamic microphones like the SM7B to adequate levels without excessive noise.

Impedance and noise also vary between preamps. The Focusrite ISA One output impedance helps reduce interference from long cable runs, while its variable impedance input allows matching a variety of microphones. With noise performance measured at less than -128 dBu EIN, it is suitable for quiet sources (acoustic guitar, vocals) and louder ones (kick drum).

Audio Interface

An audio interface is an essential piece of equipment for recording high-quality vocals. The audio interface serves as the connector between your microphone and computer, converting the analog signal from the mic into digital audio that can be recorded on your computer.

When selecting an audio interface for vocal recording, two key specifications to consider are:

Sample rate – The sample rate determines how many times per second the interface samples the incoming audio signal. For studio-quality vocal recording, an interface with a sample rate of at least 44.1 kHz is recommended, with professional studios often using 48 kHz or higher.
Bit depth – The bit depth determines the resolution and dynamic range that can be captured by the interface. An interface with a bit depth of at least 24-bits is recommended for vocals in order to capture a wide dynamic range with minimal noise.

According to a Reddit thread (source), “For recording vocals, you will want an audio interface with a bit depth of at least 24 bits.” This will allow you to record vocals with high resolution and minimal noise or distortion.

Record in a Quiet Space

Background noise can easily get picked up by your microphone and ruin your voice recordings. Even subtle noises in your room like air conditioning, humming equipment, or traffic outside can interfere with and distract from your voice if you’re making professional recordings. So one of the most important things is to record your voice in a quiet, noise-free space.

Make sure you close all windows, doors, and anything that may let in outside noise. Turn off air conditioners, fans, and appliances in the room. Minimize the amount of equipment you have running. If possible, ask others in your household, roommates, or neighbors to limit noise during your recording time. Do a quick check by recording a minute or two of room tone to listen back carefully for any audible noises or hums in the background. If you’ve done everything possible and still get some background noise, you will need to use noise reduction during post-production. But attempting to block that noise upfront will lead to the cleanest possible recordings.

Use a Pop Filter

Using a pop filter can greatly reduce plosives (hard “b”, “p”, and “t” sounds) and sibilance (harsh “s” and “sh” sounds) when recording vocals. Plosives create gusts of air that hit the microphone diaphragm, resulting in distorted audio. Likewise, sibilant sounds can be piercing at close range to the microphone.

A pop filter is usually made of acoustically transparent material like mesh or foam, stretched across a circular frame. The filter fits between your mouth and the microphone, blocking fast moving air particles. According to WIkihow, you can create a DIY pop filter with materials like pantyhose and a wire coat hanger. Place the filter 2-6 inches away from the microphone for optimal dampening of plosives without negatively affecting tone.

Consistently using a pop filter will greatly minimize editing plosives and sibilance in post-production. Ultimately your recordings will sound more clear and professional.

Set Input Levels

When setting input levels for recording vocals, it’s important to pay attention to the peak and average (RMS) levels. As this guide explains, you generally want to set your input levels so that the vocals peak around -10 dB, with the RMS averaging around -18 dB. This provides sufficient headroom so that your recording does not distort or clip when loud sounds occur.

Leaving some headroom is important because vocals are dynamic and the volume can change quickly from quiet to loud. If you set the levels too high, clipping or distortion can happen at sudden loud peaks. Based on advice from audio engineers, around -20 to -18 dB average with -10 dB peaks is a good rule of thumb for clean vocal recordings with enough headroom.

You can keep an eye on both the peak and RMS levels in your recording software to get the input levels just right. Start with RMS around -20 dB and adjust as needed if the peaks seem too hot. Finding the optimal level takes some careful balancing to get a strong signal without allowing peaking issues.

Post Production

After recording your vocals, the next step is post production which includes editing, mixing, and adding effects to your recordings. Proper post production can take a good vocal recording and transform it into a professional sounding final product.

First, you’ll want to edit the vocals. Cut out any mistakes, bad takes, noise, or silences. Ensure you have a clean take of the entire vocal performance. Use crossfades where needed to smoothly transition between multiple takes.

Next is mixing. Set levels between the lead vocals, backing vocals, and any instruments so the most important elements can be clearly heard. Use EQ and compression to shape the frequency spectrum and dynamics of the vocals. Add supporting effects like reverb for space or delay for width.

Effects play an important role in post production. Standard effects to use are:

Reverb – helps place the vocals in a natural space
Delay – creates depth and harmony to vocals
Chorus – thickens and widens the vocals

Pitch correction – fixes slightly out of tune sections
De-esser – removes harsh “ess” sounds
Harmonizer – adds vocal harmonies

The goal with effects is to enhance the vocals, not overwhelm them. Subtle use of multiple effects can take a good vocal recording and give it that professional polish.

Final Delivery

When delivering your final high quality voice recording, the most important consideration is choosing the right audio file format. The two best formats for sharing high quality audio are:

MP3 – This is the most common lossy audio format. It provides a good balance of quality and file size for sharing voice recordings online. Use a bitrate of at least 192 kbps.

WAV – This is an uncompressed lossless format that preserves maximum audio quality. However, file sizes are very large. Use WAV if quality is the top priority.

In addition, make sure to properly encode your audio files before delivery. Use a sample rate of at least 44.1 kHz, which is the standard sample rate used for CD audio. For bit depth, 16-bits or 24-bits are recommended for high quality voice recordings.

Choosing the right settings during encoding and saving to a high quality lossless or lightly compressed format will ensure your voice recordings are delivered with optimal audio fidelity.