Vocal Production
Mics, Mic Pres, Processors & Plugins
Welcome to the February issue of RECORDING Magazine. The focus of this issue of all about vocal production, from choosing the right microphones, preamps and pre-processing, to applying the right plugin polish to make your vocal performances shine bright!
Our February issue is the one distributed at the 2026 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California! We hope to see you there.
Reviews
Our reviews this month include all of the above––microphones, preamps, processors, plugins and even a full-featured audio interface and more. Being the NAMM issue, several reviews will be a surprise, since we can’t talk about them just yet.
In the microphone category, we have the Schoeps MK 4 cardioid microphones from the company’s new Desert Island Series, plus a full drum mic kit from Earthworks, the DK6 6-piece drum microphone kit. Since vocal mics frequently need a bit of “plosive” protection, we also sing through the latest PS101 V2 pop filter from Stedman.
Also in hardware from Universal Audio, we check out the new Volt 876 USB-C audio interface, and the affordable, yet full-featured AstroLab 37 keyboard from Arturia.
In the world of plugins, we check out the ReSing voice modeler from IK Multimedia, AutoTune 2026 from Antares, and the L4 Ultramaximizer from Waves. Finally, to get your stereo sources in order, we check out PSP stereoController2 from PSPaudioware.
As mentioned, there will be a few added surprises in the review department as well.
Features
We have some great vocal features to croon about this month.
In RECORDING Techniques, Dave Martin tackles the world of backing vocals–one part, two parts, or three-part background vocals, the reason why you might want the artist singing all of the backgrounds, versus bringing in others and more. [GET IT HERE]
In Field Notes, Giles Reaves also talks about backing vocals, looking at a variety of techniques to treat background vocals differently from lead vocals, including a look at how to create them using a variety of tools you may already have in your DAW. [GET IT HERE]
In Studio 101, producer and instructor Joe Albano continues this year’s focus on common audio terms and definitions. In this lesson, he looks at vocal-centric terminology such as Proximity Effect, Plosives and Sibilance. [GET IT HERE]
Mark Hornsby is also back with vocal-focused insights in Inside the Studio, [GET IT HERE] and we also continue with our just-launched RECORDING Remastered, where we revisit notable articles from our archives, and we have so many vocal recording entries from the past 39 years, that our editorial team is having a yodeling contest to determine the winner. [GET IT HERE]
Finally, we bring you the second installment of Studio Spotlight, where we showcase reader-submitted studios—from small beginner setups to full professional project rooms. [GET IT HERE]
So fire up the choir, get your vocal chops in order and get ready to add your voice to the mix in the February issue of RECORDING Magazine, and we will see you at NAMM.