Feedback regarding Plosives
Hello everyone!
I recently uploaded a sample in Norwegian to my voicebunny profile that was rejected for having loud plosives. I reviewed the sample and couldn't for the life of me hear any location that had plosives louder than the audition sample I initially recorded for Voicebunny.
Could somebody give it a listen and specify where these plosives occur in case it's my headset that is the technical culprit for weeding out these errors?
https://voicebunny.com/samples/136282
The same clip below linked on soundcloud in case the first sample doesn't work:
https://soundcloud.com/dragonnor/demo-e-learning/s-7FWDB
Many thanks!
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Hi Stig,
I do hear some low-frequency plosives at the following timecodes: 0:01, 0:09, 0:15,0:18, 0:26. For a quick solution make sure you're using a professional pop filter. If you're already using one, try recording at an angle to prevent the air from your mouth from hitting the mic's capsule directly which causes these 'pops'.
Hope that helps,
-Seb
Hi Stig!
Seb did a great job pointing out the plosives. I believe the issue is present all over and more likely it will be present again if you don't take care of it from the source. There are various things you can try to reduce plosives. Fortunately, it's a very easy thing to fix!
1. Record farther away from your mic's capsule. Plosives usually happen when you record too near to the mic and the air from your mouth hits it too strongly. Keeping an appropriate distance will definitely help reduce the air pressure and give you a smoother p and b sound.
2. Get a big, mesh pop filter. They sell some metallic ones that are not quite effective in my opinion. The big, common ones that are super cheap and made of mesh fabric are the best at reducing the pressure without impacting your sound. They also have booms you can adjust so you can keep a good, healthy distance with your mic.
3. As Seb said, record off-axis (at an angle) from your mic's capsule. Some mics are super sensitive so recording at an angle from the capsule can be a great option to reduce the air pressure. Angles can also help you reduce other problems like sibilance and boominess. For this to work, make sure you know which polar patterns your microphone has and what frequencies the mic is sensitive to. This way, you can choose the best angle to achieve the cleanest sound possible.
Hope this helps :)
Thanks for the great feedback Sebastian and Angela!
I've had to record as close as I dared to the microphone as I didn't have a proper booth to record in until now and room-ambient was usually an ever present problem. I reckon this made it difficult for the popfilter to catch the plosives as intended.
I have in the last few days finished constructing a recording booth so now I can give the microphone a bit more distance and let the popfilter do it's job. Recording at an angle was great advice and I've started doing it regularly when I record to great effect.
Thanks again :)
- Stig
Awesome, Stig! Would you mind sharing a recording on your new booth?