Back to Basics: Getting a great Vocal Sound with Charlie Hugall

Looking to record vocals in your home studio? We talk to producer Charlie Hugall to get his top tips for a great vocal sound

In these 3 short videos Charlie Hugall (Florence + The Machine, Ed Sheeran, Dermot Kennedy, Dan Croll) shows you how to achieve a fantastic vocal sound. You’ll learn how to setup your vocal mic, dial in your mic preamp and set up your compressor.

How to set up your vocal mic

In this video Charlie shows you how he set up his vocal mic with minimal room treatment. He gives some great advice on what mic to choose and how to find the optimal singing distance.

How to set up your Mic-Preamps

To achieve a great sounding vocal recording you need to know how to set up your mic-preamps. In this video you learn how to choose the right gain and prevent unwanted distortion.

How to set up an 1176 Compressor for Vocal-Recording

Compression is really important in producing a great vocal sound. In this video you learn which compressors work well for vocals, as well as more detail on parameters such as ratio, gain, attack and release using the classic Urei 1176 as an example.

We hope these videos will see you on your way to producing some great vocal recordings! Check back to our resources section for more great tips.