Warm Greetings
A Happy New Year to the Bunny Crew and all.
Put simply, my purpose lies in Voiceover and would like to seek refuge among Bunny Studios, in my first steps forward. Now, I know next to nothing about audio engineering, acoustics, and the like. Having done my share of research, it's coming together, but there's a long way to go. Here is my setup:
Shure SM7B
Focusrite Scarlett Solo Interface
Amazon Basic XLR Cables
DT 770 Pro Headphones
2020 HP Envy x360 Convertible
I will be purchasing acoustic foam as well as heavy duty blankets to treat my workspace, however there's only one obstacle: Hiss
Yes, I'm certain this has come up many times before and I've read your article detailing this issue. Not bad, but something tells me getting feedback exclusive to my situation would do me a tad better. It's inaudible, until I normalize to 3db as required. I've got the goods and look forward to any suggestions I can take in becoming a prominent member of this group.
Here is an application I submitted in December. I can provide fresh recordings, if needed, once back in town tomorrow. Thanks, guys.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SBTu5mmQ5UkKdYEOV1I4q0Gchg4loqiZ/view?usp=sharing
-Dré
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Ah, I neglected to mention I am currently using Audacity to record and edit audio.
Hello Dré,
Another voice actor here with a few observations (I'm sure a Bunny studio rep will weigh in soon.)
What I hear:
I do hear the hiss and that will need to be addressed. I also hear some close order reflections from your recording space, particularly on sibilants. Most important: great voice!
Suggestions:
My first concern is the microphone. The SM 7B has a stellar reputation, predominantly in the broadcast world, but its output is lower than that of a large diaphragm condenser mic. If budget permits, try an LDC with your setup - maybe borrow one from a friend - to see if you can record with it using a lower gain setting.
Which brings me to your interface - you can't go far wrong with the Focusrite Scarlet (lots of VO talent use it) but if it's like my Clarett, the gain is not tons for those of us who have a lower volume delivery. That's why a higher self output LDC may help lower the hiss.
The reflections I hear may be coming off nearby hard surfaces such as desk, copy stand, even the computer screen. I'd suggest more acoustic treatment, and angle the screen so that reflections do not come back toward the mic. You might need towels or such on your desk or copy stand. (I do.)
Reflections may also be coming off untreated walls, floor, ceiling or nearby windows (if any). Personally I recommend 2' thick rock wool in 2' X 4' bats. It's inexpensive compared to manufactured "acoustic panels" and is easily covered with the inexpensive fabric of your choice. Best of all - it kills reflections like crazy - even more if you can mount it a few inches off the wall or ceiling.
As far as the recording platform, Audacity is perfectly fine in my opinion. It's all about what goes in, and that Scarlet should do the job nicely.
Let's see what the Bunny Studio QC folks have to say. They're really helpful in my experience.
Best regards,
Joe Brown
Joe,
First, I'd like to say thank you for such a well thought out response to my post (as well as the compliment!) Reflections are something I plan to take care of with proper acoustic treatment, very soon. I appreciate the depth of this information!
I will more than likely switch over to a condenser mic, but I've heard a Cloudlifter CL-1 helps nicely with the SM7B's low output. Will this benefit me at all?
Thank you,
Dré
Dré,
Sorry but I have no experience at all with Cloudlifter. Hopefully a Bunny Studio staffer will see this soon - I'm sure they can shed some light on the topic.
Best regards,
Joe
Hi, this is Julian Cubillos from QC.
First of all guys, we're happy to see this kind of interventions on our community. Secondly, my apologies for respond late on this thread, the new year for us brought us a ton of work, fortunately.
Ok, entering into the matter, let me congratulate you Dré, for having acquire great gear for growing up your quality in your work. As Joe Cullen stated in his respond, I agree with the same thoughts about the SM7B mic; This is great for broadcasting and even music recording applications, but it's sensibility particularities make it specially prone to hiss issues. I'm not saying that you did not chose properly your VO recording mic, but you have to be aware of this situation in order to proceed with other solutions.
On the other hand, what I recommend to your situation is to acquire a mic preamp, in order to achieve more gain with out compromising your recording with hiss artifacts. This are the following mic preamps I recommend.
Furthermore, I suggest that you spend a bit more in your power (energy) quality, thus can help to eliminate electricity artifacts such as EMI's, white noise issues, among others. Here there are some power conditioners that would make the job without spending a fortune:
Finally, massive kudos to Joe Cullen!, hope to see you soon participating in our forum actively. And Dré. I hope you found our help useful for your questions.
Thanks for your attention, best regards.
Julián Cubillos
QC Team
BunnyStudio
Julian,
Thank you for issuing a response. You may have overlooked something in my previous comment and being that Bunny Studio is high maintanence when it comes to quality, allow me to repeat myself in the quest for a viable solution.
The Shure SM7B is already connected to a Cloudlifter CL-1, as you mentioned. The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 is a part of this chain as well. Upon researching, it would seem the hiss could be a result of a bad XLR cable, preamp noise, or what have you. If a change in equipment is needed, that's fine. However, I would find it splendid if someone with more background on the subject than myself could guide me in the right direction.
Rumor has it, an LDC microphone may work better with my voice. I can switch it up, sure sure. But if I can make things happen with the SM7B, let's do just that. It would help to note the Focusrite has gone through diagnostics as is performing correctly. There is no audible hiss with appropriate gain levels, but my vocals fade. With normalization, the vocals boom but so does the white noise. (Noise floor?)
I look forward to the information.
- Dré
Hi Dré,
I am not a tech-head, but have found out a little bit. The sensitivity rating of Shure SM7B is 1.12mV. Compare that to an Audio Technica AT 2020 with sensitity rating of 14.1mV, or a Neuman TLM103 at 23mV.
Again, I am no expert, but think you are right in mentioning the noise floor. With a low sensitivity compared to some LDCs, combined with a relatively low-volume voice delivery, I think the inherent noise floor with the SM7B may just be too high to overcome even with the Cloudlifter. That's just my gut feeling on this issue and I would certainly defer to comments from those with far better technical knowledge.
If it is of any help, here's an article that mentions both the SM7B and the Cloudlifter:
https://producerhive.com/buyer-guides/studio-gear/what-does-a-cloudlifter-do/
Regards,
Joe B.
Joe,
From one human to another, I thank you kindly for your input. Some of this information was very new to me and will help my stride towards the finish line.
In terms of LDCs, any personal recommendations?
With gratitude,
Dré
Dré,
For many years I used an Audio Technica AT2035 with great results on my somewhat quiet voice. It seemed to give me a bit of edge that I needed. Another mic that many voice actors use is the Rode NT-1A. There many others, but those two seem to provide great quality for a modest price.
Best,
Joe B.