Prepare your voice before the studio session

Why prep protects studio time

In the booth, every half hour counts. Wobbly lyrics, missing references or a voice thinned by a short night push you into retakes instead of keeper passes. Good prep is not about perfection — it is about clear choices: which sections you record today, which you defer, and what the engineer receives in advance.

Our vocals & voice-over service starts at €98 per hour including 20 % VAT. A half day (four hours) is €340; the per-track package up to three hours is €185. The clearer your plan, the easier it is to match the right package without extra booking.

The week before

Treat your voice as a sensitive instrument: long shouting in noisy rooms, gigs without breaks or evening lyric marathons drain reserves. If you rehearse hard, split it into shorter sessions rather than one long block.

Lock the lyrics. Few things burn studio time like rewriting a bridge between takes. Print words, mark entries, breath spots and places where you sing softer or harder. Listen to the instrumental in daily life — tempo and entries should be automatic before you reach us on Lerchenfelder Straße 45 in Neubau.

Sleep, food and hydration

Rest helps pitch, articulation and patience. Alcohol dries mucous membranes; very spicy or heavy meals right before a session bother some singers through reflux. Sip room-temperature water through the day — not only minutes before recording.

Many vocalists skip dairy in the last hours because saliva can feel thicker. Moderate coffee is fine for most; energy drinks and ice-cold drinks right before singing are less helpful. If hoarseness or pain persists, postpone and see a clinician — rescheduling follows our terms and conditions (free cancellation more than 7 days ahead).

Warm up without overdoing it

Start with body and breath: loosen shoulders, neck and jaw; long steady exhales on “s” or “f”. “Ng” sirens, lip trills and quiet glides in your song range wake the voice without exhausting it.

Ten to fifteen minutes is usually enough. Do not open with the highest chorus — build gradually. For rap and spoken word, slow tongue twisters then faster. You can keep warming quietly while mics are set; tell us if you prefer a few calm minutes after arrival.

What to bring

• Instrumental as WAV or clearly named stems without a loud guide vocal
• Lyrics on paper and on a charged device
• Your own in-ears if you rely on them
• Water, caffeine-free tea or non-menthol lozenges if you use them
• References as links or files — as direction, not a copy mandate

Check travel: U3 Volkstheater or Neubaugasse, then about 5 minutes on foot along Lerchenfelder Straße. Tram lines 5 and 49 stop nearby.. Hours: Mon–Fri 10–19, Sat 10–16. Sessions are by appointment via contact or +43 1 526 48 92.

In the booth: headphones and distance

Your headphone mix changes how loud you sing. Too much voice in the cans often means quieter level at the mic; too little return makes you push. Many singers drop one ear to hear themselves in the room — say so and we adjust levels to limit bleed.

Keep pop-filter distance steady (about a hand’s width) and step back slightly on very loud lines. Breaks are productive: silence and water beat a run of tired takes. The engineer flags usable passes so you can focus on performance.

When the voice will not cooperate

Sometimes stamina does not match the plan. We then prioritise structurally important parts and leave doubles or ad-libs for another date. One clean song beats three half-finished ones. We keep raw sessions 12 months; still store exports locally.

Bands adding vocals after the live room benefit from aligned rehearsal — see rehearse before studio. After tracking, mixing often follows; file prep is covered in stems for mixing.

Quick checklist

This is general guidance, not medical advice. For ongoing issues, see an ENT or voice therapist. Process questions: FAQ or [email protected].