VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Hestoft · Contributor Joined: 11 Jul 2010 Posts: 39

Hello All,

My name is Ralf-Finn Hestoft and I am a photographer and wanna-be VO actor based in Chicago. I was active here a couple of years ago and got a ton of help in building my booth and with gear choices and was very appreciative. However, I kind of faded for a while, but now I am back!

My questions are as follows. My booth is in my basement and, for some reason, has just a ton of LF rumble, probably due to my proximity to a busy street and a factory. I have managed to get my noise floor down to -51db, which I regard as somewhat of a miracle.

I just purchased a new mic (AKG C414) and am finding that I can reduce the noise floor even further using the LF rolloff switches on the mic. A 40hz cutoff gets the noise floor down to -54db and using the 80hz cutoff makes things even quieter.

Two questions: Am I loosing anything in using the 80hz cutoff since I have a somewhat deep male voice? Also, is the mic the best place to activate any LF cutoff, or should I use my pre (Sound Designs USB2) or a plugin in Audition?

Thanks in advance for any and all help!

Ralf-Finn
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graemespicer · Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 7:32 am Post subject:

In my opinion, there is very little usable signal below 100Hz, even for the deepest of male voices. I have a variable high pass filter on my preamp, and leave it set at 100Hz all of the time. I live near a very active streetcar line in Toronto, so eliminating all of that low end junk before it hits my DAW has been a big advantage.

Good luck!
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Jason Huggins · Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 7:58 am Post subject:

I use the 80hz cut on my pre, and I think it helps my sound. The only things you really need to allow those frequencies for are bass (whether software or real) instruments. It just adds mud to a mix if a voice is recorded with those frequencies. Now a voice all by its lonesome can have those left in, but it is definitely not necessary. The human voice really doesn't have a huge spectral range. If it'll drop your noise by 10db, absolutely do it (IMHO).

Bish · Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 8:09 am Post subject:

I agree with the preceding comments. I have the 18dB/octave 75Hz filter engaged on my mixer. I prefer this to using the mic-option filter, but I can't really say why.
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asnively · Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 4:44 pm Post subject:

I roll off at 100.
(Welcome back!)
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Bruce · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 6:24 am Post subject:

I roll off the low frequencies only when I don't want the elephants to hear me.

B
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Hestoft · Contributor Joined: 11 Jul 2010 Posts: 39

Thanks for all the replies and the welcome! It sounds like 80hz it is for me!

Ralf-Finn
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Ralf-Finn Hestoft
The Great Dane

heyguido · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 6:32 am Post subject:

Dayo · Cinquecento Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Posts: 544 Location: UK

I often use 3 stages of high pass filters. That's just junk down there - get rid of it.
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Leslie Humble · Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 6:39 pm Post subject:

Sounds like you're getting the right advice to me. I always roll off 50Hz and sometimes 80Hz. Even though the VOG is a Holy Grail, you still don't need it. It frees up frequency space that can be used for other things. There is only so much to go around. That is why you will find "dipping" or "scooping" of one frequency to allow the voice to reside in a private place that makes it stand out. There is only so much frequency room. I remember the great LaFontaine once telling me that one reason for his success was that his voice "resided in a place few others could go." Besides the acolytes of VOG, the Tenor voices also profit from rumble and trash being removed. I find I do not want over 80 removed however, as something good can still live from 80 to 100..
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