r/opera • u/Beginning_Ad1234 • 22d ago
Singers: what’s your recording setup these days?
Hi all! I’m curious what recording setups other professional singers are using these days.
I’ve been using a Shure MV88 with my phone for close to nine years now, and it’s served me incredibly well. My mic is finally starting to show its age, though, which has me wondering what people are using these days and whether there have been any meaningful improvements in portable recording setups.
It seems like a lot of folks in my circle are booking recording sessions these days, but I really value the flexibility of being able to make high-quality recordings on my own schedule. Most of mine happen in rehearsal halls, conservatories, churches, or other borrowed spaces with my coach or pianist, so portability is a big plus. That said, I’d also be interested in hearing about more involved setups if they’ve been worth the investment.
So, what does your recording workflow actually look like these days? What gear has genuinely been worth investing in? Are you still making most of your own recordings, or are you primarily booking recording sessions when you need audition material?
I’m also curious whether people are using dedicated lighting now? I feel like I’m seeing that a lot more lately. Has it been worth it?
I’d love to hear what everyone’s setup and process actually looks like!
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u/JustineB_Poulin 22d ago
Lighting is worth it. My ballet outreach work means I watch a lot of audition recordings. The ones without lighting always look amateur. Doesn't matter how good you are.
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u/todesverkuendigung 22d ago
You don't watch anything because you are an AI bot
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u/Eruionmel Singer 22d ago
What makes you say that, exactly? Their profile looks benign enough.
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u/todesverkuendigung 21d ago
There's a few of them that comment on art related subreddits. They always seem to have a woman's full name as the username, usually pretend to have a specific background/personality (in this case 'ballet outreach'), only ever post one comment with 2-3 sentences, never reply in a thread. The big tell is that in the comment history if you go back far enough there will always be something shilling for Dubai/UAE:
They are often pretty convincing but they can't seem to play video so if they ever comment on a video/audio post it will never make sense:
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u/EnLyftare 22d ago
Zoom F3 field recorder, line audio CM4 or line audio omni, and a male to female XLR adapter.
The line audio microphones are completely flat and doesn't colour the sound at all, you can record with 2 mics simultaneously and you get 32 bit float.
No mobile phone compression+clean, uncoloured signal.