Noticeable boxiness - SAMPLES
Hello! I've had problems with jobs rejected for "Noticeable boxiness"
What I can't understand is how some works are approved and others rejected, being ALL recorded in the same place, same equipment, same position.
I have an Audient ID44, Rode NT2a, I record in Pro Tools and no customer has reported this error to me, only here. What's more, I recorded in bookings projects through slack and they have never rejected my material, only in speedys projects they inform me of this error.
Gabriela has asked me to upload samples here for review.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-jwr0DtxaCfU0U3YdJKwqwISj3GITENe?usp=share_link
Greetings
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Hi Bell, thanks for contacting us!
I listened to your audio files and indeed they have boxiness. This is an undesirable sound that occurs when we record either in a small space or very close to hard surfaces such as walls, wood, etc.
Regarding the inconsistencies you mentioned, they can happen because for the speedies we try to be a little more demanding with the quality because many of these projects go to clients like Spotify, while in the case of bookings, we assume that the client has previously heard your quality and is satisfied, so we approve it immediately.
The fact that we have asked you to contact us through the community is to help you improve your quality even more and to completely eliminate any trace of boxiness. Therefore, we would like to ask you if you can share some photos of your workspace so we can have a clearer idea of the root of the problem.
I look forward to your response, sincerely,
Steven.
Hi Steven! Thanks for taking the time to help me.
Here are some photos of my recording location.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OUWmAN6D4dRHs1weuNzl8c0I4jg8MyrW?usp=share_link
I hope they help
Greetings
Hi Belu, I've been reviewing the photos and indeed, due to the small space, multiple reflections are occurring between the walls, which are causing the problem. Additionally, the acoustic treatment you have is not effective in the mid and low frequencies, making it even more difficult to control the "boxiness."
The best option would be to look for a larger space to record and avoid these annoying reflections. However, I would like to ask you at what distance you are recording from the microphone, as another way to try to minimize the effect is to record closer. However, this can bring other problems such as plosives or an unwanted increase in low frequencies. If you are recording a bit far from the microphone, I would like to hear a demo recording closer so that we can compare.
Regarding acoustic treatment, the most recommended solution is to use some type of mineral wool absorber like "rock wool" with a thickness of at least 5 or 6 inches (the wider, the better absorption capacity in mid-low frequencies). However, the ideal solution is to record in a larger space.
I hope this helps you, and I look forward to hearing your audio. Best regards!
Steven.