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These days it’s becoming more and more common for songwriters and bands to opt for a home recording solution over spending loads of cash in a commercial recording studio. Here’s one of the most important home recording tips I can give you: Take microphone techniques seriously. If you place your instruments and vocal microphone properly, you can easily produce recordings that rival those of the large recording studios. There are many common mistakes to be avoided when you’re just starting to produce music in your home studio. I talk about many of these in my Serve The Song blog.

One simple but crucial home recording mistake to avoid is microphone proximity effect. The definition of proximity effect as noted in Wikipedia is:

proximity effect in audio refers to a change in the frequency response of a directional microphone as the sound source is brought close to the microphone. The result of the change is a disproportionate increase in the bass response of the microphone.

In plain terms, if you mic your instrument or vocal too closely, you will end up with a distorted and bass-heavy recording. This only goes for directional microphones such as ones with a cardioid pickup pattern. There is nothing worse than laying down a killer take only to find that it’s all useless audio due to proximity effect distortion.

By the way- I’m not talking about the cool kind of edgy distortion you might find on heavier rock recordings. I’m talking about undesirable and super “boomy” bass-heavy distortion that says only one thing to the listener: This was done by an amateur.

Avoid Proximity Effect

Be sure to keep a healthy distance between your sound source and the microphone diaphragm. At least three to four inches of space should do the trick. Three to five inches of space will still provide the intimacy of close mincing an instrument. Farther than that will capture more of the room acoustics, which may or may not be desirable. A distance of under three inches runs the risk of causing proximity effect.

When recording vocals, it’s always a good idea to place a pop filter between the singer’s mouth and the microphone. While this will reduce unwanted pops and bursts of air, the pop filter alone will not necessarily reduce or avoid proximity effect. However, if you space your pop filter a couple inches away from the microphone diaphragm, then have the singer set up a couple inches away from the pop filter, you should be clear of proximity effect range.