Vocal Recording in Berlin

Yes — lead vocals, backing stacks and harmony groups are tracked close-mic'd in the vocal booth, using tube or FET large-diaphragm condensers as the primary choice and dynamics for louder rock vocals or when the room needs taming. The booth's broadband absorption keeps the sound tight and controlled, which is what most pop, rock and jazz vocals want as a starting point before any processing.

Yes — for repertoire that wants room ambience as part of the sound, we record with spaced-pair techniques in the main room or the stairwell, both chosen for their natural reverberance rather than close-mic isolation. This suits art song, lieder and oratorio singers who need the voice to carry the sense of a hall, even inside the studio. When there's a pianist involved, the same session usually leans on our piano recording setup around the Yamaha G5.

Close-mic'ing places a single mic near the mouth to capture a dry, present, controlled vocal — the standard approach for pop, rock, jazz and most contemporary genres. Spaced-pair mic'ing uses two mics positioned further back to capture the voice together with the room's natural reverberation, which is the technique art song, oratorio and choral recordings typically call for. We often augment these mics with additional room mics and choose the approach based on genre and room.

Yes, across all three traditions. Smaller ensembles record in the main room using space-pair or small-array techniques suited to blend and balance; gospel choirs and larger pop vocal groups often use the stairwell for its long natural reverb; and larger classical choirs move to our classical on-location recording service to record in a hall or church suitable for that scale.

Yes, in two ways. A studio session works well for a soloist recording against a piano reduction, a pre-recorded orchestral track, or for arias and excerpts; for a full opera recording with a live orchestra, that's handled through our classical on-location recording service, where we bring a mobile rig into the hall or theatre itself.

Yes — if the piece calls for the acoustic of a real hall or church rather than the studio's controlled rooms, that's exactly what our classical on-location recording service is built for. Many singers also split a project across both: studio sessions for control and precision, on-location for repertoire that needs a genuine room sound.

Yes, and we encourage it when the performance lifts with the band in the room. The isolation booth keeps bleed manageable, so usually only a handful of phrases need re-cutting afterwards rather than the whole take.

Comping happens in post from labelled takes, with the singer involved if they want to be. Tuning is handled with care — manual where it matters, subtle where it doesn't, and skipped entirely when the song calls for something rawer.

We work with a small circle of producers and vocal coaches who can be booked alongside your session if you want a second pair of ears in the room — useful for anything from a pop vocal comp to preparing an oratorio solo.

Either — before any session we suggest a starting mic based on the voice and genre, drawn from our Neumann, tube, ribbon and dynamic selection, but comparison shoot-outs at the start of a project are always welcome if you want to hear the options yourself.

Yes — the vocal booth's controlled, dry acoustic is well suited to spoken word as well as singing, and narration sessions follow the same relaxed, patient approach as our music vocal sessions.