Would like some feedback please
I was recently turned down to join VB based on a the quality of my demo recording. I'm recording in a home built booth in a relatively quiet room that consists of a framework with a layer of shipping blankets and then a layer of canvas over that. I'm using a Neumann TLM 102 with an Audient EVO 4 for my interface. This linked file is totally raw. I was aware that the sound floor was -53 to -56 DB which I would have normally reduced in Audacity or Reaper, but the specs said not to.
Any help?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rDtYRwrvd5M9K1mTgZFfIJbrwp59CTmu/view?usp=sharing
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Hi Robert,
Thank you for reaching out. There are a few things to work here before our team can approve it, let's get into it!
There are many things we could suggest to work on these, but it would be best if we could see your particular setting. Would you like to share some pictures of your recording space with us?
Johnatan,
Thanks for much for offering to help. Here are some pictures of my setup. I've added the top covering and the carpet on the floor since I did the demo to work on the early reflections. I'll post a sample soon. Any advice on decreasing the background noise. The levels were -53 to -56 db in the file. I could have easily got that down below -60 with some simple noise reduction, but the directions said to just send a raw file. Any advice?
Also I can't hear the mouth noises you mentioned, but it could be I'm deaf to it. Would being a little more off mic help with that?
Thanks again for your help. - Robert
One thing I was thinking about was cutting down the height of the booth so the blankets go all the way to the floor.
-R
Hi Robert,
Thank you for these pictures, it is great to know what you're working with.
How about you try that mild noise reduction alongside with your other suggestions to see how that works out?
We'll be waiting for your new audio
Thanks Johnatan. Here is another demo file with everything except cutting down the booth height. The sound floor is down to -65 dB.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z8e9HBcFIHWWa9WUUCEHxMjuRDGorWoW/view?usp=sharing
Hi Robert,
Thank you for this!
Works like a charm, acoustics, and noise floor are great there. There's only one more thing to work on and we should be good to go.
It's about mouth noises, we are picking up distracting saliva noises on your recording.
Do you think you can try and work on that one and produce a new audio file for us?
There are some tricks as staying hydrated, having some special drinks next to you, maybe the apple trick... Feel free to experiment and find the one that works best for you.
We're almost there, keep at it!
Johnatan - Here is another go at an audition file. I just did my normal audition post stuff so it's a good representation of what a prospective client would get. I'm trying more water and Biotene spray to try to minimize mouth noise. I'll be interested in hearing your thoughts.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12TonmAeTLd1hct8OWrBy7oO7YKgpzU0D/view?usp=sharing
Also, I did some more work on my recording space.
Hi Robert,
Thank you for this new submission and the picture.
We decided to share your audio with our team and we got the following feedback:
There are some mouth noises and the audio is a little bit boxy. Also, I can notice some background noises. In general, it sounds good but he can improve those things to have an outstanding quality :D
It seems like the acoustics you had before we working better than what you have in this last submission. Do you think you can go back to the previous setting?
Hey Johnatan,
I've been redoing my space. I still have the same booth, but have been building out a space in my house, working on placement technique to minimize mouth noise, trying different mics etc. I did a quick sample and wanted to get your opinion.
This recording was done in my new space.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eT0LFsvZXikEerGew5jjMbV5pZ_4Wu0f/view?usp=sharing
Looking forward to hearing your feedback.
Best,
Robert
Hi Robert,
Thank you very much for this new submission.
After listening to your sample, I must say that https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z8e9HBcFIHWWa9WUUCEHxMjuRDGorWoW/view?usp=sharing was better sounding in regards to acoustics.
In this most recent one seems like the mic is picking up more reverberation than the one you sent before.
Please, give those two a listen and compare them to see if you can agree with us in this one.
Is there a chance we can get closer to the one we're sending here?
Thanks for the feedback. The new file is from my office which I'm still finishing the acoustic treatment. One of the prior comments from the sample you sent was that it was too boxy. I was hoping that the larger space might help with that. The newest sample is using a EV RE320 mic versus the link you sent which is using a NM TLM 102. It could be I'm just changing too many variables at once, but I was hoping that I might get lucky. ;-)
I can just go back over to the studio, but that will be the original "boxy" sounding setup. I'm hoping some improved speaking techniques will help with the mouth noise issue. I'm trying to figure out what I need to fix to get my profile approved. Any direction you can give would be helpful.
-R
Hi Robert,
Thank you very much for that information, we really appreciate it.
It seems like that first recording was working better than the second. We shared that first one again with another member of our QC team and here the remarks:
A little bit boxy but not so severe. However, there are a lot of distracting mouth noises and breathing noises!
It seems we could work with that one, just work a little bit more on the mouth and breathing. Do you think that is possible?
Hey Johnatan - I've made some adjustments and wanted to see if this sounded any better. Thanks for your continued help.
Robert
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TPgHPX40SQ6EwEvpsyh6l4Q8tt5bzKN6/view?usp=sharing
Hi Robert,
Thank you very much for this new audio, for mouth noise, you got it, sounds much better, but regarding acoustic, it sounds a bit boxy still. Also, it sounds as if it was being over processed by some plugin.
Can you help us understand if that's the case?
Guilty as charged. I'm trying out Izotope RX8 to see what it can do to help with the mouth noise and reverb. Like you said, it seems to help with the mouth noise, but the de-reverb plugin seems to be a bit heavy handed. I'll lighten it up and see if that helps.
-R
Actually... I think I'll make some booth adjustments and do a non processed version and one that just uses the mouth noise plug-in and get your opinion.
-R
Hey Johnatan - Here are three samples from my booth. They are all the same source files, but on the 2nd and 3rd I've done different post processing. I then boosted the gain a touch.
Raw Recording
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZTtGsnJD-08FNIpd4Qe3_Z1kc4Dn1qnj/view?usp=sharing
With Izotope RX8 Mouth De-Click
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FOPYRXqgtl_fj9t9NGzXsaKOOtAfiM8Y/view?usp=sharing
Using the Izotope RX8 - Repair Assistant Recommendation for the file
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11LqDZOtf3mcA5y-5f59EwijafjiTTReQ/view?usp=sharing
It will be interesting to hear your and/or the team's thoughts on which is best.
Thanks for your continued support.
Robert
Hi Robert,
Thank you very much for your submissions.
It is very important that you try to get your sound right from the beginning so you don't have to rely as strongly on plugins in post. As you can notice on your RAW recording, there are some acoustics, noise, and even the issue that it is a stereo file.
We highly suggest you try to work those issues right from the start, as using plugins may tend to harm your audio rather than help or fixed as you might expect.
Do you think it is possible to try again and find a better outcome?
Johnatan,
I really appreciate you sticking with me. I understand that getting the best input is they way to go, no argument there. What I'm looking for is some advice on techniques to do that. Can you offer some pointers?
R
Make sure you're recording and bouning into Mono
Lower your gain so it doesn't pick that much of ambiance noise, take a step back from the mic to see if we can prevent the proximity effect.
Let's try that and see what goes.