I had a few people write to me and ask how I recorded my vocals. I record my vocals several different ways depending on the vocalist, style of music and my mood. But there are some basic things you can do to help improve the way your vocals sound. Next month I'll give you some specific tweaky tips. 1) Use your best mic! This is usually a no-brainier. A better mic will usually be more accurate than the $50 K-Mart special you got from aunt Edna last Christmas. Preferably, you'll use a large diaphragm condenser mic like the Rode NT-2 or AT-4050. These capture more bass and warmth then a small diaphragm like a AKG C-1000 or the SM81. A condenser mic will pick up more detail then a dynamic mic like a SM57. That's not to say that you can't use a 57. There are some times when a condenser will pick up too much detail and I'll pull out a dynamic. 2) Plug the mic into your best mic pre. A preamp is unique because it's amplifying the signal from a tiny voltage to a large voltage. A mic level signal... Read More »

Another movie, another magic box, another magazine and another column. What does this have to do with anything? Plenty. I asked Rip if I could start writing for ProRec and after a long phone conversation about what I should write about, we came up with the idea of doing an advice column. The main difference between this column and the ones in other magazines is that I'm going to write about whatever you want me to. Yup, that's right. Whatever you, the reader want to know about just tell me and I'll fill your brains with my knowledge. My name is Jay Kahrs. I've been involved in music for about 10 years. I play guitar, bass, some drums and I also sing when I'm forced to. My main thing is engineering. I attended Five Towns College in L.I. NY for a year, then jumped head first into an internship, then freelance engineering. Now I have my own studio in the basement (like everyone else) that I run commercially. I've worked on projects for major labels, indie labels, demos, etc. I'm not all... Read More »