tips for recording a singer

This technique is a quote from Fletcher I read recently. It specifically was in reference to a Neumann SM26 but could be utilized with any pair of mic's one could place in a coincident array.

Fletcher

One trick I love to do with is to put it on a very dynamic singer… pick which of the two capsules sounds best for when they’re singing quietly and use the other for when they’re singing loudly.

The way I get the two to switch over is to give the one that is meant for the quiet passages about 10db more gain on the mic preamp than the one for the louder passages… then set up a compressor that will pull the output of the “soft passage” capsule back about 13–15db when the singer gets loud… and sum the output of the two to one channel… which effectively acts like an “automatic mixer” where I can get a very even vocal level without the apparent effects of heavy compression.

The easiest way I have to do utilize this (without a SM26) is with a pair of SDC mated with an http://www.AKG.com/…"]AKG H300[/]="http://www.AKG.com/…"]AKG H300[/]. I've used the H300 with AT4051's as well as AKG C391/392/393/394 (not at once!) for M/S as well as ORTF & NOS & Blumlein & DIN. It had never occurred to me to track a vocalist that way.



Another implementation would be by using a Sabra-Som ST4 vertically and placing two medium or large condensers in coincident mode. Actually that is what I use to get my R101's in Blumlein or M/S.



I love learning new stuff.