VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Bob T · Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 7:02 am Post subject: protools volume newby question

I hope someone can help with this. When I record short projects like tags, spots or even 60 sec. ads. I generally have no problem with volume. When I bounce to disc, the volume is very loud during bounce. But when played back through a player, the volume drops off to the point where clients have asked for more gain. This is especially true on longer pieces. I'm reading a bunch of short stories, and am seriously disappointed in the results. I am using a Rode NT1-A through an M Box 2 mini and have read a couple of complaints about low volume issues with this mic. Monitor volume is great through head phones until after bounce. Any ideas?

Thanks for any help

- Bob

Deirdre · Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 4:51 pm Post subject:

Are you on a Mac or PC?

I may be able to help you if you're on a Mac.
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captain54 · Lucky 700 Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 744 Location: chicago

the first question I would ask is....what format are you bouncing to?

are you choosing mono summed? possible you are trying to play back 1/2 of a file you recorded in stereo ......thus the drop in volume...

PTools ( and other programs) has a tendency to, at times, to weird things to your file after you "bounce to disk"..... I ALWAYS route my track to a bus, and then route that bus to an empty audio track, where I record in real time,...that way, I can hear exactly what is going on...then just export the recorded track from the Region list.

Chuck Davis · Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 5:32 am Post subject:

If you're on a PC I could help here as well. Need more details to figure out what's happening though. Probably easiest just to talk you thru it.
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Bob T · Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 11:36 am Post subject: newby question details

First, Thanks so much for taking time to answer my plea!

Diedre, I am using a PC running Windows 7. I am afraid of Macs.

I always bounce my session when I finish recording. I bounce to an external USB hard drive and format as aif, wav or mp3 with the same wimpy results. I convert to mp3 using the Protools plug-in.

Captain54, you are talking way above me. I thought I was recording in real time by just plugging in my mike, creating a new track, setting a level and speaking in golden tones.

Chuck, I would gratefully accept any input you can give. Captain, you too if we can communicate in neophyte-speak?

Again thank you all.

- Bob

Chuck Davis · Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 12:12 pm Post subject:

I can help you this afternoon. Check your PM's for my phone number.
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Deirdre · Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 1:14 pm Post subject:

I love you guys.
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Chuck Davis · Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 1:49 pm Post subject:

Aw gee Deeb. :)
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Bob T · Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 1:55 pm Post subject: Life is Good!

Diedre, Me too!

Chuck helped enormously via phone and had other Protools tips as well. I can't say enough about the great community on this BB! The V/O world can be kinda lonely and cold now that home studios have become the standard. As someone who is just beginning to dip a toe into this strange new world, it is truly a comfort to know I can ask a really basic question and get a straightforward answer along with a healthy dose of empathy and positive reinforcement. You guys Rock!

Chuck Davis · Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 4:37 pm Post subject:

It's always fun to share Bob. It was great talking to you!
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jasbart · Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 7:55 pm Post subject:

How 'bout a post mortem on these Pro Tools tips. Feel like sharing?

Thanks, Jim
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Chuck Davis · Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 8:57 pm Post subject:

Hey Jim,

Nothing huge really, Bob just needed to get his input level up a bit. I also introduced him to normalization.... and since Bob does a bit of long-form stuff I showed him how to export vs bounce to disc. Big time saver.
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Bob T · Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 9:50 pm Post subject: Post Mortem

Jim - I'm almost embarassed to admit my (until today) lack of knowledge regarding the intracacies of ProTools. I don't think you will find anything new here, but for all you lurkers (You know who you are): If you open the audio suite and choose normalize, you can really kick up the volume by normalizing at 100%. I've been normalizing at about 50%. As an alternative to bouncing to disc, you can export from the region list in any available format - wav, aif, etc. Region list resides in a pop up menu accessed by clicking on the little arrowhead at lower right corner of the edit window. The process happens quickly, whereas bouncing happens in real time. Big time saver on long narrations. This is all simple stuff for an experienced or well educated user, but this kind of information has been difficult to come by from my perusal of ProTools documentation and any self-help materials I have found. I am so grateful to Chuck for so generously and patiently sharing his expertise and time on a Saturday to guide me through these simple processes. It has been an amazing example of why I love this forum and so much appreciate the good natured and non-judgemental attitude of it denizens. V/O can be a pretty tough racket and I come to it late in life, but I am getting work, have some repeat clients and through this forum I can continually improve my product and give my clients better value. Wow.

Mike Sommer · Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 4:58 pm Post subject:

I'm not a fan or normalizing, if you're recording correctly (with peaks at -6dB) you should not need to do anything. You should only normalize if your level is so low that the track is not usable. When you normalize you also increase the noise floor. You should never normalize above -6dB.

If your recordings are peaky, use an outboard compressor with a very light 2:1 compression to keep it under control.
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Chuck Davis · Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 7:13 pm Post subject:

Agreed Mike. My goal was to get Bobs input level fixed first. A second line "fixup" was to normalize in some cases...not all. I always default to 80% personally if needed.

What we found in his situation also was a bit of room tone that he hadn't noticed before. There's some work to be done to really get his studio in first rate shape.

The good news - he's got some freinds here.
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