New booth -- up to snuff (or at least better) now?
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I have been assembling a decently equipped, acoustically treated vocal booth. Well, it's finished and my first recording in it was the attached "Bunny test" re-take. If you find it acceptable I will politely request an opportunity to re-submit an audition sample to Mr. Bunny.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K41Cd2Fy9oSF1sG-UjJUe-txkOcJTu9h/view?usp=sharing
I hope the holiday season thus far has been has been a happy one for all.
All the best and Happy New Year!
Craig
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Hi Craig,
Firstly I want to say, you did a fantastic rendition of the script - you have a lovely voice!!
Regarding the audio quality there are a few things I picked up whilst listening;
- There was white noise throughout the recording. I'm wondering how far do you have the pre-amp turned up? A lot of the time, the pre-amp being turned up too high is the main cause for white noise. Nevertheless, there is a great article here which offers tips to help manage with white noise: https://bit.ly/2ZixGeI
- There are a lot of breathing noises in the recording which can be distracting to the ear. Make sure to softening your breaths during editing, or removing the breaths altogether.
- I noticed some editing issues too. Perhaps this is due to editing out mistakes etc. You can particularly hear it at 0:10 - 0:11 there is a jump from a breath to 'besides' and at the very end where you read; 'and fun' there was a slight jump. This is easy to rectify.
You'll find tips on how to use fades here: https://bit.ly/37HlIke
If you want to upload new samples on here, I'd be delighted to review or offer more feedback!
Hope you have a happy new year!
Kind regards,
- Samantha (Bunny Studio QC Agent)
Hello Samantha,
Happy New Year's Eve! Here's a link to my effort reflecting the kind and valuable advice you've given me. It's a read of the alternative Bunny promotional script. The mic, as before, is a Shure SM7B; notorious for its low output and preamp gain hunger (at least 60 dB). The former recording was done through a Focusrite Scarlett Solo USB interface running "full bore" with predictable (but I was hoping undetectable) results. So, I switched to a homebrew preamp I built to accomodate my ribbon mics. It's capable of 72 dB of gain, but I ran it at just 60 dB. Perhaps it is quieter than the Focusrite at the same gain setting. We'll see. I also took pains to attenuate my mouth and breathing noises, so let's see what's what now.
BTW I REALLY appreciate the exacting technical critiques. Until I built this home studio, I relied solely on the talents and skills of first class engineers to smooth out the wrinkles in my recordings. Learning to do this myself is sometimes frustrating but very rewarding.
Here's the new file:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/18AcNwx01cbK1qsc5oIld6NXkcw7sBlgl/view?usp=sharing
Best wishes,
Craig
Hello again Craig,
Thank you for your kind comments!!
Hope you had a great New Year celebration!
Ah yes, I know all too well with these problems with the Shure SM7B as I own one myself.
This recording sounds so much better then the last!
There are an occasional breathing noise which can be heard, but it's not too distracting compared to the last recording and you could easily fade or edit these out. So that's nothing to worry about.
You have certainly got rid of the white noise too!!
The main problem I am hearing, is it sounds like an electrical humming throughout the recording. You can hear it clearly at 0:45 - 0:70 where it starts, and it's effected throughout the recording till the end. Do you have your PC/Laptop in your booth with you?
What DAW are you using too?
Honestly, once this electrical hum is gone in your recording - you are good to go!
Best wishes,
Samantha
Hello again Samantha,
Thank you for your feedback on my last effort. I have re-recorded it after re-arranging things a bit to distance my desktop PC from the booth (though I am very limited in how far I can separate them). Even with my Sony MDR-7506 headphones, I cannot hear the hum of which you spoke, so I have no idea whether or not the new recording exhibits it. If it does, I'm afraid I am at a loss as to how to remedy the problem.
I did go through this take and faded breath noises, so at least that should not be an issue this time. :-)
The digital revolution has certainly had a profound effect on the recording industry. Editing is now far more convenient and versatile than cutting and splicing tape mechanically. Effects and sound manipulations are also much easier to effect. But, with the "clinical" digital signal comes new demands for, frankly, unrealistic signal cleanliness. "Back in the day" engineers enjoyed sessions with me because they knew that post production editing would be simple. My breath control was such that no cutting was needed. Of course, I now realize two things: 1) my breath control ain't what it used to be, and, 2) analog recordings simply didn't "hear" all the flaws that digital devices do.
I am not complaining, mind you. I love to learn, and the challenges presented by today's recording technology simply provides an opportunity to acquire new ways of listening to recordings and the skills needed to correct the heretofore unheard anomalies in them. It's fun -- though I am beginning to wonder if I will ever meet "Mr. Bunny".
Here's the latest take:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uB3yPB4WkuxFqUf2LL7IWXvAMju3COha/view?usp=sharing
All the best, Samantha.
Craig
Craig lovely to hear from you again!
Listening to your latest recording it's fantastic, the only tiny issue I picked up was at the very end where you read 'and fun' - Somehow loud white noise was a lot more present here! Did you perhaps step/move back when you said this part?
There was also some movement after you spoke that last line, but honestly this is nothing to worry about, that can easily be edited or faded out in future.
As for the breath noises - no issues here! :)
I couldn't agree more with your sentiments. The digital revolution has certainly had an effect on the recording industry.
Some may argue for the worse - but I find it both fascinating and rewarding to be able to produce clear audio in my own audio work instead of relying on producers in recording studios that I had done in the past... But I digress.
Referencing back to your latest recording provided. Could you provide one more recording? I suspect the small issue that I detected was due to movement or moving further away from the microphone.
Moving your desktop PC from your booth has definitely got rid of the electronic humming sound that was effecting the whole recording in your last audio! Often fans from PC's produce a noise which once you are used to hearing it can sometimes become unnoticed.
Look forward to hearing from you!
All the very best,
Samantha
Hello Samantha!
My days are now beginning with a nice note from you. I like it! Thank you again for your input.
I agree with you completely about the DIY production benefits (and fun) afforded us by digital technology. Speaking of "and fun", I have eliminated the mysterious extraneous noise from the "Why are we..." script's coda. I have no explanation for the white noise presence to begin with other than to postulate that some household EMI-emitting device powered up at that moment (or not). At any rate, I'll listen carefully for such anomalies in future and try to track down the source. Here's the edited file:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XorzKwZRu5uQV_tC7I-muxZjdkQgxo2Y/view?usp=sharing
Now, I have a favor to ask, if I may. I have recorded the script again using my new ribbon mic. I like ribbons for their warmth and, possibly, nostalgic value since I started my radio career long ago and far away speaking into such relics as the Altec 639 "Birdcage" and much coveted RCA 44-BX. So, I built a ribbon mic employing a hand cut and corrugated 2-inch ribbon and Cinemag CM-9888 transformer. This combo replicates, as close as possible, the response of the old RCA mic. I suspect, without equalization, the home made mic will sound "boomy" (but warmer) when compared with my (our) Shure SM7B, but I'd like your honest opinion as to its usefulness. My feeling will not be hurt by a negative review. Here's the link to its sample:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P_A5c5q0jNW99ZujBJk4a_9ffBih8uix/view?usp=sharing
Please let me know if I am - as Stan Laurel would say - "bounding over my steps" by asking for your advice about this second file, but I value your judgment.
Al the best,
Craig
Hello Craig,
Always lovely to hear from you!
Listening to this new recording of the "Why are we..." script - it's fantastic!!
Yes, definitely keep an eye (or rather ear) on household EMI-emitting devices starting up which can impact your recordings.
I'll go ahead and see if we can have our team send you another application! :)
As for your rippon mic listening - haha not at all, always happy to lend an ear.
From where I'm originally from, there is a commonly used phrase we use; "shy bairns get nowt" In other words, if you don't ask, you'll never know!
Listening to this recording, you are right it does sound awfully booming the quality, such a big boost in the low frequencies. I'll be honest with you, if you use this take for the application process it would be rejected mainly for this reason. I also detected loud white noise at points 31.0 - 37.05, the rest of the recording the white noise wasn't too distracting it was merely faintly present, but for some reason at the points just mentioned, it did seem to jump up high! Perhaps another pesky household EMI-emitting devices starting up?
Hope you have a wonderful week!
Wishing you all the best,
Samantha
P.s If you like Laurel and Hardy try looking up Will Hay (I do love the quick witted dialogue he has, almost as quick as Groucho Marx, but not quite!) They don't make em' like they used too!
Hello again, Samantha,
Ah -- a Scots lass, eh, (or maybe from just across the border in Northumberland - or have I been watching too many episodes of "Vera")?
Will Hay? I'm very familiar with Will Hay. In fact, every time I hear someone hollering into a microphone while doing a sound "CHECK!, CHECK!, CHECK!", I think of Sergeant Dudfoot's microphone technique in the opening scene of "Ask a Policeman".
A good portion of my broadcast journalism career was spent in the UK which is where - considering the time of day you're responding to my submissions -- is where you are now. My decade and a half there was mostly in London but in Edinburgh as well. Years of exposure to the locals in both places eventually left me with a hybrid accent that resembled the denizens of neither. In fact, it was most often misidentified as an Orangeman, though I never set foot in Northern Ireland. Since returning to the States many years ago, though, the mongrel Brit accent has faded and reverted to my native Upper Midwestern.
But, as you say, I digress. Thank you for the encouragement and offer to put in a word with "the team". It is, as always, much appreciated. I hope we stay in touch. You're a good lass.
Warm regards,
Craig
Wor Vera! Aye she's from my neck of the woods! Now I am surprised you've seen Vera over in the US? I remember years back the series Castle had a Geordie witness in one episode, it was soooo bad. They even played Scottish bagpipe music when he was speaking, so funny though, it even made the local news in the North East as a lighthearted ending segment!
Haha oh, it's a funny ol' world. I moved down South, and people down here keep thinking I sound; Scottish, Irish, Welsh, Australian, and even on a few occasions European - and we are a tiny island! But it makes me laugh. I think they mostly sound like typical farmers 'Oo Arr' Or/and have an unusual cockney spin to their accent. With the odd one of course sounding very upper-class. Or as my mam would say 'Posh'.
Ah, now I really am digressing!
You certainly sound like you have a wealth of experience and knowledge of working in the industry. May I ask, which radio/television stations?
Nevertheless, thank you for being co-operative and productive in all our feedback giving to you from your audio samples shared on this community page (all threads included).
Truly been a pleasure speaking with you, and I wish you all the very best for future endeavors!
With warm wishes and kindest regards,
Samantha
P.s - I ALWAYS think the same of Sergeant Dudfoot when I hear anyone doing a sound "CHECK!, CHECK!, CHECK!"
Craig great news!
I've just been informed that our team is giving you another chance - a new application will be arriving in your emails within the next 30 days!
Keep your eyes peeled.
Best of luck,
Samantha
Hi Samantha!
Thank you VERY much for putting in a good word for me. I'm anxious to try again!
In appreciation of your patience and friendly aid, I've just recorded a little audio gift for you - resurrecting what's left of my admittedly rusty and somewhat flawed RP/BBC accent:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ncgi2emIuHK5AQLhyU7yQQXII_eo3b-i/view?usp=sharing
My UK career began in Boston, Massachusetts, actually. I did a radio talk show there and one day interviewed the managing editor of The Economist Magazine (an Aussie, by the way). At the conclusion of the pleasant on-air chat, he offered me a part-time editorial job in London. I leaped at the chance of what seemed like a Great Adventure and moved quickly to Great Britain. To support myself, I sought and landed a second job with the now-defunct United Press International news wire service as chief of the bureau's audio division, feeding audio clips and stories to New York and, thus, to the UPI news radio affiliates in the U.S..
One evening after an exhausting day, I was relaxing with a pint of bitter at my local when a beleaguered looking young man sat down next to me. I noted that he had a portable tape recorder hanging from a strap 'round his neck so inquired as to his business. He was a reporter, he said, for a new radio network in the UK -- a commercial one. We chatted amiably about the radio business for some time and, impressed by my American knowledge of commercial radio, the young man invited me to his office the following day (my day off) to meet his managing director. Thus, I began another part time job as a consultant to the-then infant IRN. The harried kid, by the way, was Jon Snow (I guess he did okay, eh? :-) ).
I also worked for the Associated Press and with ABC News (American, not Australian) as a news writer and as a contributor to a motorcycle magazine during my London years. It all ended with Margaret Thatcher's much-needed but dramatic re-ordering of the British economy and I came home (very reluctantly).
So, there you have it!
Thanks again, Samantha. You've been a true friend. I hope to build a nice relationship with Bunny Studios, so, see ya around!
Warm regards,
Craig
With great cheers and applause: "BRAVO!! BRAVO!!"
What a wonderful performance of your audio gift, I was gripped from start to finish - thank you very kindly! :D
Ah, truly fascinating! It's wonderful how unpredictable the media industry is at times, takes one in all sorts of weird and wonderful directions.
Hmmm, as for that young lad... Jon Snow? ... Jon Snow... It does ring a bell...
Of course, I jest, he's practically the face of Channel 4! (or at least in my eyes).
Hope you have a fantastic weekend - See ya around!
Best wishes and kindest regards,
Samantha