What is a good vocal take?

Dark haired girl singing into studio microphone wearing headphones

There are two crucial components that are always present in a good vocal take.  The first is technique. Good pitch and good phrasing have to be present in order to even consider keeping a take. With pitch correction, deciding what to keep or not, is made more difficult.  If the initial pitch is good, however, […]

The Gooderizer

Audio processing equipment in studio racks

When fellow recording engineer Dom Barone called the UREI 1176, the “gooderizer”, I couldn’t stop laughing, but it’s so true. It makes everything sound good. It is one of the most renowned and sought after compressors that brings whatever passes through it to life. Now I’ll admit that some some tracks have no salvation, even […]

Recording Lada Gaga

Young blonde woman walking on city street in black and white

A good friend of mine, producer Joe Vulpis, was not able to record vocals for one of his clients, Stefani Germanotta; yes, the one and only Lady Gaga.  It was 2003 and she was just Stefani back then, and only 16 years old.  She was auditioning for the Tisch School at NYU and needed a […]