Reverb/boxiness - Feedback request please?
Hi there! I'm Emma, and I'm new to the Bunny world. I had an audition turned down for over-editing (in one sample) and some reverb/mouth sounds (in another) - I revamped my editing process and added a lot of acoustic treatment to the room I was in, and I think it's getting better. Would love some feedback on this sample I just recorded.
Thanks for your time! :)
Sample: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eOFPBIMwZ1OjuVwF3zAxO9COeIyCnGpx/view?usp=sharing
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Hello Emma,
Thank you for reaching out to the community!
I gave your audio a listen and I think it's great because it sounds so natural! However, I did find a couple of issues that may be a problem with QC.
1.) There is noticeable background/fan noise that could be coming from your laptop or computer's fan. Maybe distancing from the noise source can help with this. You can also try finding the appropriate mic angle where the noise is minimal. If this is not the case, then it could be hiss coming from your interface.
2.) There is also a significant amount of breath noise and mouth noise present in the audio. For the mouth noises, eating an apple or drinking some warm tea/water before recording usually helps eliminate/minimize this. For th breath noises, you can simply edit them out. :)
3.) There are also a couple of volume spikes where the volume gets a bit too loud and makes the audio sound distorted. It is most noticeable at 0:19, during the word 'allow'.
4.) For the boxiness/echo issue, you can still hear a little in the recording. Since you already added some treatment, you can try placing some additional cushion about half a meter at the back of your mic. But if this is no longer possible, I suggest placing an EQ on your audio and carefully taking out about -2 to -4dbs at around 250-900hz to eliminate or minimize the boxiness.
I hope this helps and feel free to send us another sample here anytime!
Best,
Hiroshi
Thanks very much Hiroshi, I appreciate it!
There was a humidifier running in the hall that I completely forgot about - turned that off and hopefully that improved the "white noise" somewhat. I've also added some additional padding to the ceiling and walls of my recording area to try to soften that boxy sound, and moved the mic to be at a slight angle.
New sample: https://drive.google.com/file/d/140hwK1pM3t-F3qIBRSv1tO3zrIu3Fqvs/view?usp=sharing
Side note: I'm noticing that my mic likes to pick up my accent in "glottal stops" (example, at "ask" 0:03). Is this something I should work on at the mouth level (e.g. softening those intentionally or eating an apple), or something that could be helped with mic adjustments? The places I've recorded in before had the mic all set up for me, so I'm still learning this bit of home recording. I'm using a Samson G Track Pro if that helps at all. :)
Thank you again for the help, and thanks to anyone else who gives this a listen!
Hello Emma!
It's good to hear from you again. :)
Thanks for stating your mic/interface. It does help assess the issue better! Unfortunately, QC doesn't recommend using USB microphones, I believe the quality of your recording can be managed if recording and editing are done carefully. However, USB microphones usually produce higher noise and distortion at certain levels compared to XLR microphones.
I did give your new recording a listen and there's a noticeable improvement compared to your first recording.
Here are my thoughts:
1.) The hiss/background noise is barely noticeable now! However, starting at 0:19, you can begin to hear a bit more again. It could probably be due to the low volume of your voice during recording during this part.
2.) There are still breathing sounds throughout the sample. As clients can sometimes find this distracting, generally, I believe it would be better if these breath sounds were edited out entirely. At 0:12, you can also hear an unnatural doubled breathing sound.
3.) Regarding the glottal stops issue, at 0:03, I did notice it as well. It sounded as if it is distorting during the word 'ask' (even though it's not. It could also be the microphone). But yes, maybe trying to soften these parts intentionally would be the better fix for this one.
-In addition, at 0:05, the part 'they never say' sounds significantly louder than the rest of the audio. It would be good to make sure the volume of the audio doesn't drop down or spike up at certain points. This can be done through volume automation or adjusting the clip gain itself.
4.) The mouth clicks can still be heard throughout the audio. Usually, making sure that your mouth is properly hydrated before recording fixes this issue. If it doesn't, there are plugins called Mouth De-clickers which you apply to your audio and it takes care of the mouth noise for you. However, these plugins should be used sparingly as it may affect the quality of your audio.
5.) The boxiness can still be heard. It is also noticeably worse at 0:06 and 0:13, during the 2nd voice. After comparing it to your first sample, the first one has less noticeable boxiness.
I'll be sending your audio to the rest of the QC team and have them assess the audio quality coming from your mic. I'll be sure to give you an update by the end of the week. :)
Best,
Hiroshi
Hello again, Hiroshi, and thank you again for all the help! I've upgraded my setup (an EV re320 + Cloudlifter + UR22C interface) and I am very happy with how it sounds so far. I have a pop filter and shock mount on the way, but this is how it sounds without those and with some basic normalization (no de-essers or mouth de-clicking).
If you happen to have time, I would love feedback based on this! I'm speaking just a bit off-axis at about 8 inches away. Would you recommend more EQ work from this? (I confess, it's been a long time since I worked with EQ settings, since I used to just send raw files to folks for my jobs.)
Sample: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MGpY5LmlUjK-jVe5PJUEuP-l_-85QKbp/view?usp=sharing
Thanks again for the advice, and no worries at all if you don't get to this. :)
Hi again, Emma!
Great news! After reviewing your most recent sample with the QC team, I'm happy to tell you that your quality has really improved!
There are just 2 more minor issues that need to be addressed to minimize revisions/rejections from QC.
1.) Breath noise- We did notice that there are still some breathing sounds in the deliverable. Generally, these should be edited out as most clients may find this distracting.
2.) Mouth noise- The mouth clicks are getting less noticeable. Your new mic placement and new dynamic microphone must have helped out with this! However, some of our QC agents still found it to be a bit distracting which could be a cause for a revision/rejection. EQ-ing out mouth clicks can be a really tedious process so I think it would be better to use a subtle de-esser if possible.
If not, here are a couple more fixes that may help!
-Try placing your mic directly to your chin. Hopefully, this helps without changing the quality/tone of your voice too much.
-Another good solution is chewing gum or an apple before recording.
I hope this helps and I look forward to hearing your next sample!
Hello Hiroshi, and thank you again so much for the help! I've gotten my pop filter set up and tried applying a de-esser to these tracks (I am not sure if I over-did it...). If you could possibly take a listen sometime, that would be amazing - but please don't feel obligated. :) I appreciate it!
Sample 1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1D92Stu1IO7blag4JAW0jBdD_SLQ19I6V/view?usp=sharing
Sample 2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12TuifAJnL4Ojpu8n--5C5D13WSKQsFRi/view?usp=sharing
Hello Emma!
Thanks for sending these samples over! I just gave them a listen along with one of my fellow QC agents and we both noticed that breath noises are completely gone and the mouth noises are pretty tame now. Great job! Honestly, I would say the quality in your Clinic Cares sample is good!
However, we suggest addressing one more minor issue to avoid any inconsistencies with other QC agents.
1.) Boxiness- There seems to be a bit of boxiness in both of the samples. I suggest applying the same technique/setup as you did with the Clinic Cares sample since the Wequilibrium sample has more noticeable boxiness.
Fix: You can try reducing about -3.5db up to -4db at 300-350hz with a 4.7Q EQ to help minimize/eliminate this. I attached a sample of how it should look and sound. I also reduced some to around 10k to help with the sibilance. :)
Link: https://we.tl/t-tydbipT18d
I hope this helps! I do believe you have better chances of getting accepted so give it a try and let me know how it goes!
Best,
Hiroshi