user167: Just finished a tracking session with a singer who has a huge dynamic range. This musician is otherwise very professional, and is a joy to have in the studio, and I'm not in any way criticizing her. However, there are some variables I'd like to know how to handle should they recur (with either her or another musician): 
The was musician playing guitar while singing live in the studio. By the end of the session, we got the takes we needed, and their quality was good. She never needed more than a few takes, but we had to do a few retakes on top of that because of a little clipping. (But hey, six songs in three hours...not bad.) But this is making me wonder: 
The extreme dynamic range makes using the pad setting problematic, coupled with a slightly noisy environment. (Read: lotsa planes and trucks today in my normally quiet neighborhood.) 
In general, what can one do to cope with a situation like this? Should the tracking engineer ride the trim pot in a situation like this, or would that make the recording choppy? Suck it up and use automation and light compression on the audio in post? Run a second mic for the vocal?
Here's my rig. (Today was the first non-test session with a new computer and interface, after a recent rig meltdown.)

Macbook Pro with Garageband, wille export to Logic for mixdown
MOTU Audio Express interface
SM58 on her vocal and a Studio Projects C1 on her guitar, with a bit of bleed between the two (as anticipated)


user-1: Singing with an microphone, both live and recorded, can be improved with a little technique. Compression cannot compensate for clipping and, as you point out, some singers have an incredible dynamic range.
If you look closely at vocalists who regularly perform with microphones, you will notice they either move the microphone or the head to increase the distance between the microphone and the mouth at particularly powerful phrases and sounds. It takes a little practice to internalize and get the timing right, but the result is yet another control the vocalist can use to shape the sound and expression.
Chances are you will be compressing the vocals anyway. A good microphone vocalist is not only able to control his or her own voice, but also control how the dynamics of the voice is recorded. This in turn could lead to more natural and open sounding recordings because more subtle compression settings can be used.

user18353: So I am a singer with a huge dynamic range. I think it is useful to let the singer hear the problem (i.e. the clipping or etc.) and then to ask her/him to adjust distance to the mic for particularly loud passages. I think this comes quite naturally to many singers as most of us have seen our favourite singers do this. I also think that it's worthwhile to let them know that many technical solutions have drawbacks (let them hear these). I also think that reminding them that they are in studio as opposed to on a stage, and that as such, that there are more options apart from volume to communicate intensity is also a good idea. Letting them play around and listen to the effects is something they can do before getting into studio (with a mic and computer at home) or depending upon the studio something they can experiment in studio. 

user442: What Kim Burgaard said is very true. The vocalist has a lot of control over how their voice is recorded. As I'm a much inferior vocalist to those I record, it can be difficult teaching them this technique, as you just want to get a good take.
So what I end up doing is have the vocalist scream. Well, I ask them to warm up and hit the loudest levels they can. I then adjust via that. I try not affect overall sound with compression in the analog domain. With the takes in 24bit, I can use envelopes or a compressor in the mixing stage.
I would stay away from ridding the level during recording. It's more difficult to get the levels right in the mixing stage.
You mention running a second mic for the vocal. I would hope that is what you are doing anyway. I don't think recording the mic and guitar with one mic is a good idea at all. You'll not be able to mix anything.

167: <p>Just finished a tracking session with a singer who has a <em>huge</em> dynamic range. This musician is otherwise very professional, and is a joy to have in the studio, and I'm not in any way criticizing her. However, there are some variables I'd like to know how to handle should they recur (with either her or another musician): </p>

<p>The was musician playing guitar while singing live in the studio. By the end of the session, we got the takes we needed, and their quality was good. She never needed more than a few takes, but we had to do a few retakes on top of that because of a little clipping. (But hey, six songs in three hours...not bad.) But this is making me wonder: </p>

<p>The extreme dynamic range makes using the pad setting problematic, coupled with a slightly noisy environment. (Read: lotsa planes and trucks today in my normally quiet neighborhood.) </p>

<p>In general, what can one do to cope with a situation like this? Should the tracking engineer ride the trim pot in a situation like this, or would that make the recording choppy? Suck it up and use automation and light compression on the audio in post? Run a second mic for the vocal?</p>

<p>Here's my rig. (Today was the first non-test session with a new computer and interface, after a recent rig meltdown.)</p>

<ul>
<li>Macbook Pro with Garageband, wille export to Logic for mixdown</li>
<li><a href="http://www.motu.com/products/motuaudio/audio-express">MOTU Audio Express</a> interface</li>
<li>SM58 on her vocal and a Studio Projects C1 on her guitar, with a bit of bleed between the two (as anticipated)</li>
</ul>
 -1: <p>Singing with an microphone, both live and recorded, can be improved with a little technique. Compression cannot compensate for clipping and, as you point out, some singers have an incredible dynamic range.</p>

<p>If you look closely at vocalists who regularly perform with microphones, you will notice they either move the microphone or the head to increase the distance between the microphone and the mouth at particularly powerful phrases and sounds. It takes a little practice to internalize and get the timing right, but the result is yet another control the vocalist can use to shape the sound and expression.</p>

<p>Chances are you will be compressing the vocals anyway. A good microphone vocalist is not only able to control his or her own voice, but also control how the dynamics of the voice is recorded. This in turn could lead to more natural and open sounding recordings because more subtle compression settings can be used.</p>
 18353: <p>So I am a singer with a huge dynamic range. I think it is useful to let the singer hear the problem (i.e. the clipping or etc.) and then to ask her/him to adjust distance to the mic for particularly loud passages. I think this comes quite naturally to many singers as most of us have seen our favourite singers do this. I also think that it's worthwhile to let them know that many technical solutions have drawbacks (let them hear these). I also think that reminding them that they are in studio as opposed to on a stage, and that as such, that there are more options apart from volume to communicate intensity is also a good idea. Letting them play around and listen to the effects is something they can do before getting into studio (with a mic and computer at home) or depending upon the studio something they can experiment in studio. </p>
 442: <p>What Kim Burgaard said is very true. The vocalist has a lot of control over how their voice is recorded. As I'm a much inferior vocalist to those I record, it can be difficult teaching them this technique, as you just want to get a good take.</p>

<p>So what I end up doing is have the vocalist scream. Well, I ask them to warm up and hit the loudest levels they can. I then adjust via that. I try not affect overall sound with compression in the analog domain. With the takes in 24bit, I can use envelopes or a compressor in the mixing stage.</p>

<p>I would stay away from ridding the level during recording. It's more difficult to get the levels right in the mixing stage.</p>

<p>You mention running a second mic for the vocal. I would hope that is what you are doing anyway. I don't think recording the mic and guitar with one mic is a good idea at all. You'll not be able to mix anything.</p>
