Thanks for the in depth reply Chris. So let me make sure I get where you're coming from. You're saying:
• As long as there is no clipping, we don't really care about the waveform/how hot the signal is?
Sort of. Clipping is VERY bad. But you also lose something called "linearity" toward the top of your A/D converter so really it's best to generally try to avoid getting within a few dB of clipping. When I cut vocals I generally only have a few peaks here and there over -6dBFS. If I'm getting lots of peaks over -6 when doing a rehearsal take (when I have the singer go through the song while I set my levels), then I'll turn the preamp (or other gain-staging device in my mic chain) down.
• You have the singer use consistent volume throughout without changing dynamics because you'd rather adjust the faders after the fact for soft vs loud parts?
No. I have the singer sing whatever volume is best for the performance. For example, in a verse there might be very intimate parts where they are singing very very quietly, softer than the volume of an intimate conversation, and then in the chorus they explode into full-blast belting. I want the emotion of their voice. I will deal with evening out the levels so everything is audible at mixdown. So again, just for emphasis, I do NOT consider technical recording factors when guiding a singer on how to perform their parts. I have them sing the best they can and I deal with the recording technical stuff on my end only.
• The singer chooses the volume and you adjust the fader to that (I think maybe this is what Adrian was saying to me as well)?
Yes, sort of. I may (as a producer) help them find the right voice for the part. But it has nothing to do with what level I want to record. I adjust the recording level on my end and I don't concern the artist with that.
If I have that all right then okay...with respect to getting the best "tone", how can a singer know they are singing at the ideal volume? Is it generally the volume closest to their natural speaking voice? Trying to understand how one goes about figuring out their baseline/ideal volume if it is so variable?
It's what sounds best to convey the emotion of the song. The human voice is incredibly dynamic so it's just what volume and timbre express the best emotion and feeling for the part.
Okay that makes more sense. Do you think recording on different days as long as the mic is in the same position is a good idea or are you an advocate for finishing songs in the day you start them?
I ALWAYS write down the exact position of the mic, the position of the singer relative to the mic, my preamp settings, and any other settings in my vocal chain so that I can later record parts and have everything match. That said, if I'm recording on multilple days (common, particularly with a lot of pop and r&b songs that have tons of vocal parts), I try and group them. So I try and get all the verses done on the same day. All the chorus parts done on the same day, etc. The reason is because even though I can replicate the recording portion, the artist might have a harder time replicating the exact same tone and feeling. When I do have to go back and replace part or all of say, a verse, I will go through great effort to make sure I get the artist singing exactly the same way they were before with the same emotion so that the new recorded takes blend with the old ones.
Yes I'm after the contemporary sound CB, Trey Songz, August Alsina, all these guys are getting. I understand they are just tremendously talented but even some singers who clearly aren't, like Future (imo), are getting really good sounds despite their voices so I feel like I'm missing something here. Currently my home studio of sorts is my bedroom. There's a curtain placed behind my mic for absorption. Since it's cardiod unidirectional, I haven't really got anything on the other side because the mic doesn't really pick up much of anything from behind if I understand how these types of mics work correctly.
You are correct in that you primarily want the absorption behind the singer (where the mic pics up sound) and less concerned with aborption behind the microphone (unless the back of the mic is within a few feet of a reflective surface because it will cause some comb-filtering). Bear in mind though that while you are missing "something" these folks are, for the most part, recording with great engineers that have a ton of experience. They are typically recording in good recording studio with good equipment. And their records are typically mixed by excellent mix engineers. Probably all of those things are lacking in your case so to a certain extent it just isn't a fair comparison. It will take a lot of time on your part to get there. For example, your records might not sound like mine, but I've been making these things for 20 years and for 15 of those years it's been my full-time job doing it day in and day out. It would be like taking a year of gymnastics and then trying to compete for a spot on the olympic team with people who have 10 to 15 times as much experience as you. Of course, this is what drives us to work hard and improve. There was a time, after all, where I knew nothing and struggled to just get something halfway usable recorded, let alone sound good!