VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[ronphi]

I am having the devil of a time getting rid of ambient noise. I am getting in the neighborhood of -45db on my meter. I've moved the mic to different rooms (away from the computer), made sure all fans, air handling, TVs are turned off (as well as any other electrical appliances that can possibly be silenced). I've also tried my wife's laptop instead of my desktop. Same problem. I can lay the mic on the bed with two pillows and two fleece throws (folded so there are 8 layers) on top and the noise will reduce to about -63db. Not very practical.

I use a Rode NT1A cardioid mic into an Alesis USB mixer into a USB 2.0 connection on the computer. I am wondering if a shotgun mic would help. If I remember from my TV days many, many moons ago, they are much more highly directional than the standard cardioid. Would this isolate my voice better and give me a decent S/N ratio (on the recording not the mic)?

Needless to say I am not a sound engineer so it's driving me nuts trying to figure it out. I have also been told not to worry about this amount of noise. It will be masked with music and/or FX and won't be discernible through most speakers anyway. But I do worry about it. I would like to submit auditions that won't be rejected because of technical issues. How do you folks without isolation booths deal with ambient noise?
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Ron Phillips

"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?"
David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urging for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

[Bill Campbell]

Are you using a highpass filter on your mic(rolls off the bass end below 80z)?
You should, if you have that option.

What editing software are you using? You could roll off in the EQ section.

Below 80Hz adds a lot of noise, and it's probably out of your vocal range.

If you're using Adobe Audition I could give you some processing settings
that lightly compress your voice while taking all the ambient noise OUT.

I don't reccomend a shotgun mic for general VO. They can sound very good on some voices, though. It's a very "in your face" sound, but not always flattering.
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www.asapaudio.com

[dagoldenknight86]

I don't personally have a shot gun mic but a guy who does my station's imagining uses it (Sean Caldwell), sounds AMAZING. He has a sennheiser shotgun mic and again wow, if you can get the results he did again, you'll sound wonderful.

[sdelgo]

Try using a gate in your mic chain. The gate will open up and let your vocals through and when the sound dips below a preset level the gate won't let anything by.

Steve
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you'll always have something on your plate... if you keep your bearings straight.

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[Yoda117]

a good gate, or better yet, treating the room will do wonders for your sound.

While I love the 416, it's not for everybody. More to the point, I can't justify spending $1,000 if the room where you record isn't properly treated to help reduce the ambient noise.
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Voiceovers by Gregory Houser
Philadelphia based Voice Actor

Blog - A man, a martini, and a lot of microphones

[richgates]

I am a living testament to what Greg is saying. I have a 416, and a horrible space currently as far as ambient noise is concerned. It is frustrating because I really don't want to gate my recordings but it is a necessity for now.

The good news is I should be able to make some improvement when I move at the end of the month. I just hope that the new landlord is going to be ok with me sound treating a room.

I'm not going to buy another house until the market stabilizes.

[Doc]

Bill,

I'd be interested in seeing your settings and experimenting a bit.

[Frank F]

I won't belabor this subject, so here is my take. The use intended for a "shotgun mic" is: gathering audio at a distance.

Using a Sennheiser 414 with one of the numerous short capsules is not a bad thing, however, a "shotgun mic" is a condensor mic (in most cases), meaning the sensitivity is high. Use in a noisy environment is not ideal.

Personally, I would consider a dynamic microphone in a noisy room. The pattern is smaller, the rejection is good, and sensitivity is low. Your microphone should be YOUR microphone. No matter what anyone else uses as a microphone, make what you have work for you and your situation. What is right for one person is not necessarily correct for your voice or room/studio.

Some, not many, "imaging" voiceover talent use a shotgun microphone, thereby and through some pretty incredible processing get a very loud, hot, compressed sound. Great for radio, not so great for commercials and what MOST voiceover talent are going to create to make a living.

I use a Schoeps (approximately five times the cost of a Sennhesier) "shotgun mic" when recording location audio for film and video. Occasionaly I have used the Schopes for looping or ADR. Once in a great while - once in the last five years - for voiceover work on location.

Choose the tools of your trade with great care. The proper tools can make or break a craftsman or craftswoman.

Toodles

Frank F
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Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com

[richgates]

I don't know Frank, I think the 416 sounds great with my voice. At least it does on my demos. If I can figure out the voodoo of getting everything calibrated correctly I am sure I can make it sound good at home as well.

[Yoda117]

Hey Rich,

you know that a lot of folks have been using a collapsable box with some sound wedges a la Harlan Hogan that have been used well with a desk mount and the 416.

For $35 (cost of desk stand and collapsable box), it might be worth your while to try it out if your recording area is that poor.
_________________
Voiceovers by Gregory Houser
Philadelphia based Voice Actor

Blog - A man, a martini, and a lot of microphones

[Frank F]

Well Rich, what can I tell you? The sound you ahve is nice, it is solid and has the "edge". With a good ATA, RE 20, AKG 414, Blue, Neumann, etc., I could show you the same sound with a bit more polish. I know of several dynamic microphones which would give you the same "power" you show with the 414, many for under $150.00.

I must add, the Vintage Warmer adds some flavor and color to the 414 shotgun mic. Some things are acheived with money and some with luck, but the best is acheived with talent. It seems you have all three going for you.

Frank F
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Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com

[richgates]

Greg:

I have that very thing, set up and I still have a lot of ambient noise for some reason.

Frank:

I appreciate that but what I was really getting at is that I just liked the way my voice sounded on the finished product. There was definitely some post-production magic like the Vintage Warmer which definitely helps. I can see where a dynamic mic would be advantageous though especially with conditions like I have right now.

[Frank F]

I understand and understood. Consider looking at a few other microphones for your style and sound... although if you have a 414 and it works for you... then some other changes need be made in your environment.

Microphones are like underwear; you have to find the pair that fits, but what fits for this moment, may not fit for the next moment. Also, like underwear, you don't want to share them with your friends.

If you have a noisy studio/room, consider a dynamic mic, I can suggest several which might help you achieve a similar sound to that which you create with the 414. The changes are up to you, but with the right attitude, anything can happen.

Toodles

Frank F
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Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com

[richgates]

I just want the magic where my dry recordings can be submitted for auditions without having to gate them.

[Bill Campbell]

For Doc and anyone else. Here is a very nice setting in Adobe Audition for light compression and nearly invisible gating (expander). Use it if you like.
go to...
effects...amplitude...dynamics processing. Choose "compander ".
Go to "traditional" view, now type in these values:
Compress ratio "2"
Threshold "-10"
Leave the other settings alone, other than output compensation gain.
That's your final level and you can adjust that for your final level.
I use 1db. That's it. If you like it, "ADD" it (save it) as a Preset.

I think this setting is very tasteful and will cut out ambient noise
without hearing it work.
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