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Common Vocal Recording Mistakes

Whisper Room
September 2020
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“If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail!” This old adage from American founding father and polymath Benjamin Franklin sums up the ideal attitude and outlook for anyone who wants to record vocals for whatever purpose. So before you accidentally plan to fail at this endeavor, here are some of the most common vocal recording mistakes that your initial recording plan should take into account.

Not Using the Right Mic

If you’re familiar with online meetings and video calls, then you already know that built-in laptop and smartphone microphones are simply not that suited for capturing crisp vocals. Recording vocals for posterity entails real studio mics, many of which have become more affordable for home studio enthusiasts. Shout4Music rates the Rode NT2-A as a top-tier mic for its price, able to capture the rich subtleties of different voices without artificial coloration. Because of their ability to catch sound with increased richness and depth, highly sensitive condenser mics like this are more suited to podcasters, folk singers, or voice actors.

However, if you’re looking to record loud instruments alongside your vocals, you might have better luck with a dynamic microphone like the notoriously durable Shure SM58, an onstage favorite used by pop divas and rock bands. Using the right mic will result in a recording that’s closer to your intended sound from the start. In turn, this will make it easier to add effects or master the audio track later on, which brings us to our next common mistake.

several microphone grouped together for picture

Recording Wet

This is studio jargon for recording with effects. You should only record wet if you’re a studio vet who knows what you’re doing and is trying to achieve a certain style or vocal sound. Otherwise, it’s best to stick to recording dry or without any effects.

This is mainly because when it comes to audio editing or mastering, it’s more prudent to record vocals raw. With a raw or dry vocal track, it’s much easier to layer on effects however you want to or tweak levels to achieve your ideal sound – much harder to do if you record vocals wet or with effects. The cleaner or ‘drier’ the original recording, the easier the process of mastering will be. This is also why it’s important to take into account how your chosen recording space will affect the quality of the audio, which brings us to our next key consideration.

Recording in Terrible Conditions

For beginners to record, it’s not always easy to tell whether or not the available recording space is ideal for the purpose. The key to optimizing any space for recording is a basic understanding of acoustic principles. In a nutshell, hard and smooth surfaces reflect sound, while softer and more textured surfaces absorb it. This is why DIY home studio beginners who record in tight storage spaces or repurposed bathrooms with tiles and hard, reflective surfaces end up with a lot of natural echo and reverb, which can be typically fixed by hanging well-positioned thick curtains or blankets.

Meanwhile, recording in medium-sized carpeted rooms like living rooms or bedrooms will typically result in warmer vocals, although these spaces make the mic more vulnerable to capturing unwanted noises. Even the decision of where to place your mic in the room will affect the way it can capture sound.

When you’re having problems DIY-ing your home recording space, the key is to find the balance between sound absorption and reflection while also ensuring that the space is almost soundproof. Depending on your available room and resources, there are many different configurations of sound reflecting and absorbing surfaces that can allow you to achieve the cleanest, crispest possible vocal recordings without any unwanted noises. That’s why there are 26 different WhisperRoom™ booth sizes to choose from – modular and expandable plans that can be customized to your specific home recording needs. Work with us to ensure that you’ll never have to record in terrible acoustic conditions ever again.

Outsourcing Audio Mastering

If you’re a beginner at the recording game, there’s nothing wrong with outsourcing the final mastering of your tracks to someone who’s more experienced and suited for the task. However, you should always look towards knowing how to master your own audio. As a studio tech, familiarizing yourself with at least one digital audio workstation (DAW) should be part of your master plan.

Thankfully, given the different DAWs available to anyone with a mid-range laptop today, it’s become much easier to start learning audio mastering. From more complex and customizable workstations like Cubase 10 to free and more basic software like Mac’s Garageband, there’s a large variety of DAW you can start using. This is important because the skill of audio mastering cuts across all studio disciplines.

Learning to master your own audio can train your ears for a variety of recording and production work, improve the way you choose and set up audio equipment, increase your knowledge of studio acoustics, and ultimately make you better at any future recording endeavor.

A man using a DAW to master audio

Written for the exclusive use of whisperroom.com

By Alisha Elliot

The WhisperRoom Experience

“As a result of the broadcast quality output I get from my vocal booth, I am now represented by four Talent Agents and I have produced three Audiobooks available on Audible. Lastly, and most exciting I was selected by Marvel's Audiobook Drama Director to be the voice of Nick Fury Jr.”

Art Dent - Voice Actor, arthurdentvoiceacting.com
Voice Actor
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“My WhisperRoom is a great solution for practicing both acoustic and amplified instruments in my home, without driving other occupants out of the house. The sound response inside is neutral and perfect for recording, and with my small reference monitors, is also great for mixing and editing.

The modular construction made it easy to set up and configure exactly how I wanted my space. The lighting kit, ventilation, and optional window make it very comfortable even in the 6x6 foot room.”

Chris L. - Multi-instrumentalist, NVHMusic
Multi-instrumentalist
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“I use my whisper room for my private practice audiology clinic. It works perfectly and saved me thousands. Customer service was great!”

Dr. Joni Ruiz - Audiologist, Big Thicket Hearing Aids & Audiology
Audiologist
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“WhisperRoom makes the very best in sound isolation enclosures. We’ve purchased 3 in the past couple of years and will be buying more. Love this product!”

Steve Burrington - Owner & Operations Director, Texas Hearing Clinic
Owner & Operations Director
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“Great experience with WhisperRoom…I’ve been told by multiple people it’s the nicest hearing booth they have ever been in! Would highly recommend!”

Jaclyn Charie - Au. D., Owner & Audiologist, Hearing AuD
Au. D., Owner & Audiologist
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“I bought a WhisperRoom in November. I just opened my practice and wanted a good reliable room for audiologic testing. It came on a pallet and with a friend’s help, we moved it from the pallet to my clinic space. We then built it in about 4.5 hours. I love using this WhisperRoom, it suits my needs perfectly.”

Liz White - Au. D., Owner & Audiologist, Harbor City Hearing Solutions
Au. D., Owner & Audiologist
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“Awesome product. Our patients love the roominess and comfort they feel when using our WhisperRoom booths.”

David Brooks - RHIP,
RHIP
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“Everything is great! We received the WhisperRoom about a week after placing the order and I put it together myself. I’m loving it and use it almost daily as my home office/studio.”

Adam Mast - Audio & Video Services, Mast Productions
Audio & Video Services
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“An epic WhisperRoom has just been assembled at The Guitar Store at Quimper Sound Records!!! 🤘🔥🔥We still have some finishing touches to make this kickass sound booth perfect! It’s time to set up a demo at The Guitar Store.”

Quimper Sound Records and Guitars
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“Incredibly satisfied! My WhisperRoom vocal booth is revolutionizing my workflow and really impressing my recording clients. And delivery and assembly went very smooth. 10/10 would recommend.”

Zachary Manno - Producer - Engineer - Musician, zacharymanno.com
Producer - Engineer - Musician
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“I recently became a full-time voice actor and the WR is the ‘heart’ of my home studio. I’m in it every single weekday and I simply could not do my work as effectively without it. I have to tell you, the more I use my WR, the more I absolutely love it!”

Todd Stark - Voice Actor, starkvo.com
Voice Actor
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“I never thought a fuzzy big box could be sexy, but it is. It truly cuts out all of the ambient noise that is a must for clean, studio-quality vocals. This is truly the #GoldBar standard in audio recordings. Extremely well built (like a tank) and with the wheel package, I’m able to easily move it around…

A lot of engineering went into this system and I’m extremely proud to own such a coveted, iconic, and industry-standard product, that yells, “Professional” to which, no one can hear me outside of it because of the supreme sound isolation properties that the WhisperRoom has provided. Thank You WhisperRoom for creating this”

Glen - Voice Actor, iglen.com
Voice Actor
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“I’m a musician that lived in a free-standing house for 25 years. When we moved into our current house, with shared walls, all of a sudden I could no longer play at any hour. My neighbors made that very clear!

Thank goodness for the WhisperRoom! Now I’m just getting started at midnight and no one minds a bit. I’m thrilled! The quality of this item is excellent.”

Jay Friedman - Trombonist & Conductor, jayfriedman.net
Trombonist & Conductor
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“Our WhisperRoom has been a great addition to our school! Offering private music lessons to all ages and levels.”

SoCal Jazz Academy
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“Have you ever heard of a recording studio in a library? Sounds like an oxymoron, right? It’s not though, thanks to our incredible WhisperRoom. It keeps all the good vibes inside so that lovely library atmosphere is preserved. Genius!”

New Orleans Public Library - Best Buy Teen Tech Center,
Best Buy Teen Tech Center
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“This WhisperRoom allows me to have the dedicated, professional home studio space of my dreams without interrupting the entire house.

Before the WhisperRoom, I had to schedule time away for the family and work on productions during specific windows of time.

Now I can work on client productions and my own music 24x7x365. With less than 30dB of room noise even with the AC and computers on, production quality has increased and so has creative output! Thanks, WhisperRoom, for having such amazing products.”

Mattimus - Artist - Studio Engineer - Producer
Artist - Studio Engineer - Producer
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“The 4x6 double-wall WhisperRoom is my personal padded cell where I can experiment with tone day and night without disturbing anyone.”

Tom Northnagle - aka ‘Guitar Tom’
aka ‘Guitar Tom’
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“There is no upgrade quite as substantial as a WhisperRoom. A great booth with high-quality Auralex treatment and I’m cooking with fire. Thanks. I love your products.”

Mark Hauswirth - Voice Actor
Voice Actor
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“I’m so excited to finally have my WhisperRoom…looking forward to hours of practice.”

Antonio Hart - Jazz Saxophonist, antoniohartmusic.com
Jazz Saxophonist
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“The WhisperRoom is used as a testing booth for neurophysiological recordings. Inside, participants complete computerized assessments while their brain physiology is passively recorded using an electroencephalogram (EEG)…It has turned out to be a great solution for us!”

James R Houston - Ph.D. Department of Psychology | MTSU
Ph.D.
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“Our WhisperRoom is part of what we call the PodLab. The PodLab is a state of art podcasting studio for the students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where we’re training the next generation of professional podcasters.”

Will Davis - Award-Winning Instructor, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Award-Winning Instructor
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“With the help of this bad boy, I am finally feeling comfortable singing full-voice in my apartment. In other words, I’m finally practicing again 🖤🖤 It’s been exactly one week since I’ve had it and already my growl is feeling better than it’s ever been 😄😈🤘”

Michele Whitlow - Singer - Songwriter - Musician, michelewhitlow.net
Singer - Songwriter - Musician
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“My radio and digital production students have really enjoyed the WhisperRoom booth (and use it often)! Even in the middle of an active classroom, students are able to record in a nearly silent environment. As for the construction of the booth: under teacher supervision, we had the kids assemble it. Talk about great practical experience!”

Mike Hatch - Radio/Digital Technology I & II, Prosper High School
Radio/Digital Technology I & II
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“The WhisperRoom has transformed our tiny studio into such a functional space. It is such a versatile feature and is used for tracking drums, vocals, guitars, and has even been used for strings, brass, and woodwind instruments. We also recently started using the space to record podcasts too! The WhisperRoom has forever evolved the way that we create content at RPRC!”

Kyle Therrien - President - Producer - Engineer, RPRC, Railroad Park Recording Co.
President - Producer - Engineer, RPRC
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“I’m starting to fall in love. With this setup I can now let out every song idea I’ve been holding onto for years - uninterrupted...”

Muyinza - Artist & Producer
Artist & Producer
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“My WhisperRoom is one of the best investments I’ve made that launched my voiceover career and recording studio business to a higher level!”

Jorge Infante - Voice Actor, jorgeinfante.com
Voice Actor
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“I've had a WhisperRoom (7x7) up and running for about a year now. It easily contains my drums and a mixing rack (single bass, double pedal, 7-piece). It reduces the sound enough to prevent disturbing everyone in the house and at my neighbor's house (only a few feet away)...The experience with the company was wonderful…It's nice to go into a dedicated, professional space and practice or record almost any time of the day or night.”

Kevin Thomason - Drummer
Drummer
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“It works spectacularly! My clients like the clean voice tracks I'm now able to send, and I like the fact that I can jump and perform voice work without having to shut down all my noisy equipment. Thank you for manufacturing such a fine product!”

Jeff Berlin, KISS 108 Radio
Boston, MA
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