How to Record Vocals in an Untreated Room
Recording · 5 min read
Put your absorption behind the singer, not behind the mic. A cardioid points at the singer and past them at whatever is back there, so that wall's reflection arrives at the most sensitive part of the pattern. Hang a duvet 60–100 cm behind the singer's head, move in to 12–15 cm, and most of an untreated room is fixed.
Treat this wall first
BEHIND the singer
60–100 cm back · then move in to 12–15 cm
The 60-second answer
Absorption behind the singer, roughly 1.2 x 1.2 m at head height, 60–100 cm away. Mic and singer at least a metre from every wall and out of the corners. Singer 12–15 cm from the capsule with the gain dropped to match. Rug on the floor.
The mic is pointing at the problem
A cardioid is most sensitive at the front, roughly 6 dB down at 90 degrees and heavily rejecting at the rear. You aim the front at the singer's mouth, which also aims it at everything directly behind them. Their voice hits that wall, comes back, and arrives from the exact direction the mic listens to best. The wall behind the mic is already in the rejection zone.
Distance is the other half of the fix
Direct sound drops about 6 dB every time you double the distance. Room reflections stay roughly constant, because they arrive from everywhere at once. Moving from 25 cm to 12 cm buys around 6 dB more voice against the same room. One absorbing surface plus that change is usually the difference between a boxy take and a usable one.
Setting up the room, step by step
| # | Do this |
|---|---|
| 01 |
Find the position before the gear Stand in a few places and clap once. Wherever the clap sounds tightest is where you record. Avoid corners and the exact centre. Clap test, then commit |
| 02 |
Hang something absorbent behind the singer A thick duvet, a heavy curtain or two panels, about 1.2 x 1.2 m at head height, 60–100 cm behind them. 1.2 x 1.2 m, 60–100 cm back |
| 03 |
Get a metre from every other wall Especially the side walls. Closer gives you a short, strong reflection that comb filters the vocal. 1 m minimum clearance |
| 04 |
Move the singer in to 12–15 cm More direct sound, same room sound. Drop the gain 4–6 dB so peaks still land at -10 to -6 dBFS. 12–15 cm · gain down 4–6 dB |
| 05 |
Clear everything hard from around the mic A laptop screen or a lyric stand within 60 cm reflects back a couple of milliseconds later and notches the vocal in the low mids. Nothing hard within 60 cm |
| 06 |
Rug down, cupboards open, then test one line An open wardrobe of clothes is a genuinely effective bass trap. Record one line and check for a boxy ring before the real session. Rug + soft surfaces + test line |
The trick: the wall behind the singer is the one you hear, so treat that first
Search for home recording advice and you will be told to buy a reflection filter that wraps around the back and sides of the mic. Those help a little, but they work on the part of the polar pattern that already rejects sound, which is why people spend the money and hear almost nothing. Think about the path instead. The voice leaves the mouth in every direction, including straight backwards. It hits the wall behind the singer, bounces, and comes back to the mic from the front, on-axis, a few milliseconds after the direct sound. A few milliseconds of delay mixed with the direct signal is textbook comb filtering: notches through the vocal range that no EQ can undo, because you cannot subtract a reflection that is already in the recording. Kill that one path and the difference is immediate. A duvet on a mic stand, a heavy curtain, a mattress — anything thick, at head height, with a 5–10 cm air gap behind it, which makes it noticeably more effective low down than flat against the wall.
Stop guessing the chain.
The Vocal Chain Bible is 88 real vocal chains from Grammy-winning engineers — every plugin, every setting, in order, with free alternatives for each one. 5+ years, 100+ interviews, one PDF.
Get the Vocal Chain Bible — $48 →Mistakes that kill it
- Recording in a closet with hard walls. Small and hard is the worst combination. Small and soft is fine; a big room beats a bad small one.
- Foam squares and nothing else. Thin foam absorbs above about 1 kHz and does nothing in the low mids where boxiness lives.
- Singing into a corner. Two surfaces behind the singer means two reflections arriving on-axis at slightly different times.
- Fixing the room in the mix. A gate hides it between words and does nothing while the singer sings.
One absorbing surface in the right place plus 10 cm less distance beats a shelf of gear.
Keep going
FAQ
Where should treatment go for vocals?
Behind the singer first, because that reflection arrives at the front of a cardioid. Then the side walls, then the ceiling above the singer.
Do reflection filters around the mic work?
A little. They shield the rear and sides of the pattern, which reject sound anyway. Absorption behind the singer does far more for the money.
Is a closet a good vocal booth?
Only if it is full of clothes. An empty closet with hard walls is small and reflective, the worst combination for a vocal.
Who's behind this
Ivan Meshcheriakov · IvanFromRnD
5+ years ago I moved to LA with zero connections and started building from nothing — 14-hour days, meeting people and interning at studios. It took me 5+ years to meet and interview 100+ Grammy-winning engineers — then I turned it all into the Vocal Chain Bible.
Read my full story →