#jespa

OK, Imagine you had a vocalist who would whisper words quietly and then belt out some loud screams.  You,  the engineer, has to record such a take. You find the whispers are too quiet unless you boost the fader and the screams require you to quickly lower the fader so you don't overload the recorder. That is the time-honored technique called "riding the gain" (gain is another word for volume).  A compressor is an audio circuit that automatically rides the gain. It pumps up the volume when things get quiet and slams down the peaks when they get loud. The goal of the compressor is to achieve a more uniform, more consistent audio signal that is optimum for recording and listening.  A gate is a switch that turns off the audio when it goes below a defined threshold. It's great for removing room noise, and makes the recording dead silent when it kicks in.  It's a valuable feature and if you want it, double check the specs before you buy. 

Most vocal parts are recorded using a cardioid-pattern condenser microphone, usually a large-diaphragm model. There are lots of these to choose from these days, and most will give good results if used carefully, even the relatively cheap ones. In most instances where users complain of a mic sounding boxy or coloured, what they're really hearing is the acoustic properties of their recording space affecting the recording. If you're working in a typical domestic room, you can make the best of the situation by following a few simple guidelines. Firstly, hang up some acoustically absorbent material, such as a duvet or some heavy blankets, behind and to either side of the singer. This will help prevent sound bouncing from the room surfaces back into the microphone. Then set up the mic well away from walls, but avoid putting it exactly halfway between any two sets of walls, as this may exaggerate any room coloration — a couple of feet from the dead centre of a room is generally fine. Always use a mesh pop screen between the singer and the mic, and leave at least a couple of inches between this and the mic — it won't work properly otherwise. As far as singer-to-mic distance is concerned, start with a gap of around six inches, as this is far enough away to avoid the worst of the proximity bass-boost effect, but close enough to give a good ratio of direct sound to room reflections. Finally, provide the singer with a comfortable headphone mix, and don't record in the same room as your computer setup unless you really have to, otherwise you'll probably pick up some fan and drive noise. If you have no alternative, face the mic away from the computer and try to keep as large a distance as is practical between the mic and the computer.