Boxiness rejection
If my rejection notice only included a comment about boxiness in the file, is that the only found issue, or just the most egregious one? I have addressed that issue with acoustical treatment and several other upgrades, but am curious if that is the only issue. Thanks for your time and feedback!
The note from the email is as follows:
we regret to inform you that we cannot approve your application at this time for the following reason(s):
Hi - the quality of your submission does not meet our standards at this time.
Here are the issues found in your application:
Boxiness throughout, due to insufficient acoustic isolation.
As a VoiceBunny Pro, you must record using professional equipment in an acoustically treated space. Your performance needs to sound engaging and conversational. We also expect the recording to be properly edited, unprocessed, and ready-to-use.
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Hi, Russell
I've listened to your application project and the main issue is indeed acoustic treatment.
There are also a couple of minor issues that could be improved:
-the audio sounds a tad over compressed.
-There are some mouth noises which could be edited out (they are especially noticeable in between words).
Luckily those issues can be fixed.
Please add a link with new samples here so we can provide further feedback.
-Seb
Hi Russel!
Can you please share the recording here? You can use a link from Google Drive, Dropbox, Mega, Soundcloud or any other hosting service you use. This way, we can listen to it and give you all our feedback.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uyqdr1lgy054297/Voicebunny.wav?dl=0
If I did that right, the above link is to my original application, stored on Dropbox.
Thank you for the initial insights, Seb. I was not compressing the signal, but I was using a noise gate that certainly left some artifacts. I will make it less aggressive, or probably disable completely for any further trials or, hopefully, work here!
Thanks to both of you in advance for your input!
Hi Russel!
Thanks for sharing.
I agree with Seb's comments. The noise gates usually are a mix of several processes including a compressor. For this, it's normal for your recording to give this compression sound. I do believe that you should toss it away. The idea in VoiceBunny, is to achieve the best quality possible without the use of extra processing like noise gates, denoisers, compressors or others.
I also feel that you're recording a bit too near to the mic as I feel some boominess and some plosives. Try positioning yourself a bit farther away and at a slight angle off-axis. This usually helps a lot!
Looking forward to your next recording :)
I must say that you two, Seb and Angela, are two of the best forum moderators I have seen. Your responses are always upbeat and straightforward, and timely. Thank you for your professional approach to what I am sure at times must be a bit frustrating.
I will apply all your suggestions and retry my application. I am debating if I should wait until I upgrade my microphone (or indeed if I should upgrade at all). I am currently making do with an AT835B, functional but certainly suboptimal, and would be interested in hearing you thoughts if I could impose upon you a bit more. I am considering the RE20 or the SM7B.
Hey Russell,
Thanks! We try our best!
In terms of mics, both of your choices are staples. The Re-20 has been one of the top choices in radio for years and the SM7 also has a great reputation. I think you can't go wrong with either of them, but there's a caveat:
They need a good preamp to drive them (they need a lot of gain) so make sure to not overlook that part of the recording chain. A lot of cheap preamps cause a lot of hiss/white noise when driven, which negatively impacts audio quality.
Hope that helps...
Yes, I had seen the comments to that effect in other places, and I am going into a Yamaha MW12 mixer so I figured that would take care of it.
Hi Russell!
Thank you for the compliments! Those comments are what make this worth it and I really appreciate your words and support!
In regards to the gain, this kind of mixers usually doesn't have the best preamps to provide a good level without hiss noise, to a mic like the RE20 or the SM7B. I suggest you get a signal lifter and use the preamp of your mixer to a minimum. There are various signal lifters but the most common one is the CL-1. It's a bit expensive but we tried a similar device called de SS-1 by a company called Simply Sound Co. which is much cheaper and provides the same amazing quality! I'd definitely recommend you to get it if you're planning on getting one of those mics!