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  • Samantha #376438863679
      0

    Hi Sarah, 

    Thank you for reaching out to us here!

    I had a listen to your audio, what a really lovely calming voice you have!

    There is some hiss/white noise heard throughout your audio which is quite loud. 

    You may have seen this before, but this article helps people understand what could be causing this problem in their audio: https://bit.ly/2ZixGeI 
    To briefly summarize what the usual suspects are when hearing white noise/hiss in audio recordings:
    - It could be that your computer fan is too close to the mic
    - You are recording with your pre-amp dialed too high
    - Or you are using a USB mic

    I have a feeling, maybe you are recording with your pre-amp dialed too high. We suggest lowering it, so it's below the 12-noon mark when recording. 
    Nevertheless, if you have your computer close to your mic when recording, try to move it further away (or outside of your studio if possible and read the script from your phone/another device)
    If you are using a USB mic. We'd highly recommend using an XLR mic, since USB mics are naturally noisy when recording. The reason for this is because USB mics have all their components inside them which produce a lot of white noise/hiss when recording. 

    Hope you have a great week! 

    Kind regards, 

    Samantha 

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  • Sarah #15533377551891
      0

    Hi Samantha,

     

    Thank you so much for getting back to me and for this great advice! Turns out the pre-amp was dialled too high.

    I've re-recorded some samples, would you mind having a listen and letting me know if there are still any issues with the quality?

    Many thanks again for your help,

    Sarah

    https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mArMEkSvjoWANmWxCZTMEq671WoM_7Nv?usp=sharing

     

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  • Samantha #376438863679
      0

    Hi Sarah, 

    Sounds much better!

    There is some slight hiss still heard in the parts where you are not speaking. The best way to remove this is by using a noise reduction plug-in or manually reducing the noise in post. 
    Here is a great explainer of how to do it in your DAW: 
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfNAN7ZZJnE

    There are soft plosives, whenever you said 'p'. It's not too intrusive to me, however, I just wanted to make reference so that you are aware for future recordings and this won't be a problem that QC flags up. 
    Repositioning your mic or even just tilting your head slightly away from your mic when recording so your breaths don't hit the mic capsule with prevent this. I've found some people insist on having 2 pop filters too, to catch the plosives. 

    And finally, I noticed that these samples were recorded in stereo. On our platform, we require them to be mono. And with the audio file normalized to -3dB too. 

    Kindest regards, 
    Samantha 

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  • Sarah #15533377551891
      0

    Hi Samantha,

    That’s great, thank you!

    Do you need me to submit another sample with the above taken into account? I’m happy to do so.
    If not, could you please tell me what the next steps might be? Do I need to resubmit my original application to be considered?

    Many thanks again for all your help so far,

    Sarah

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  • Samantha #376438863679
      0

    Feel free to send another sample and I can double-check it. 

    But with them slight changes, you should be all good. :) 

     

    Yes, you would need to send the samples again for QC to assess and then once accepted you will be on our platform. 

     

    Best wishes, 

    Samantha 

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  • Sarah #15533377551891
      0

    Hi Samantha,

     

    Hopefully this will be the last one! Let me know if the plosives are still bad, I might need to adjust the mic position a bit more.

     

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fwSW2s2qhsTk-I4TW9kvWuu3teA-ZY8J/view?usp=sharing

     

    Thanks so much,

     

    Sarah

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  • Samantha #376438863679
      0

    Hi Sarah,

     

    Sounds great!   

    Be careful when editing - when removing the slight hiss in the parts where you are not speaking, there are some noticeable cuts. So it makes it sound a bit choppy. Use of fades, or editing the silence closer to the ends of your speaking will fix this. 
    Plosives aren't too bad. I would recommend repositioning your mic to be on the safe side. Also, I noticed the audio is still recorded in stereo. Do remember we require it to be in mono. :) 

    All the best, 

    Samantha 

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