Caelellowynn Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 I read in one of the posts here that Meira and Darios published a tutorial on this, the poster thought. I have looked but have been so far unsuccessful, anyone know where I can find it if it exists? The question I have about this is after recording, I run noise removal (audacity) to get the buzz out of the recording. The problem I am having is inconsistent results in quality afterwards. Sometimes it sounds natural, othertimes I get this odd warble (for lack of a better word) in the voice. I know about the tin sound when I clean too much out and have learned you can get a bad noise profile. Just wondering if I'm missing something. I have read the tutorial/posts in the links section. They don't seem to address this unless I'm missed something. Link to comment
jcompton Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Honestly, the best approach is to simply not record it in the first place. Before you over-wash your recordings, you might want to check them out in-game, as music and game ambients do have a way of smoothing out things which sound more obvious when listened to in isolation. Link to comment
theacefes Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 When I had my "Be Sarah for a Day" day when I recorded something like 150 lines over the course of several hours, I just used a regular pc mic and put a piece of paper from those little pull off sheet calendars (I think it was the Far Side) loosely over the mic, and put the mic on the table. The only editing I ended up doing was just upping the volume a bit on some. But Sarah is supposed to have a soft voice anyway.... I use Soundforge because I prefer it over Audacity but I didn't use much of its editing features, so what I just described can easily be done with Audacity too. Link to comment
Guest Guest Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 Honestly, the best approach is to simply not record it in the first place I was so impressed with this simply put, commoned sense approach to my question I felt it needed its own quote tags. When I had my "Be Sarah for a Day" day when I recorded something like 150 lines over the course of several hours, I just used a regular pc mic and put a piece of paper from those little pull off sheet calendars (I think it was the Far Side) loosely over the mic, and put the mic on the table. The only editing I ended up doing was just upping the volume a bit on some. Sounds like, from the way you just described you record, I likely have some kind of electrical noise (the buzzing) in my recording then, and I'm better off getting rid of it before I record rather than trying to filter it out after (was hoping that might be an option). I do have a pop filter (or better known as pantyhose and a coat hanger) in front of the mic and it is quiet in the room I am recording. Okay, thanks that gives me a direction to go in. Oh, and I love the far side (midvale school for the gifted, one of my personal favorites). Link to comment
Caelellowynn Posted January 20, 2008 Author Share Posted January 20, 2008 *Sigh* Bugger thought I was logged in. That was me. Link to comment
theacefes Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 Also, turn down (or turn off) your speakers when you record. This may help with the buzzing. Link to comment
jcompton Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 Turn off as much as you can while recording. Particularly anything with a dimmer switch, like a fancy floor lamp. Make sure the dimmer box isn't getting power. Link to comment
ericp07 Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 If you are resting your microphone on a hard surface (not a good idea), it's possible that some vibrations get picked up. If you can, put something under the mic, like a piece of foam rubber or other cushiony material. Give yourself about six inches of space between your mouth and the mic. If you need to soften up the plosives (the forceful part of the P, B, and similar sounds) and/or the S and T sounds, put panty hose over the mic (no joke, this is what the pros do in the studio!) or similar screening material, as that lets the sound through, but deflects some of the air pressure, so it won't sound too percussive (like you just smacked the mic). Experiment with signal input level, too. It's usually best to get the highest signal you can, before distortion, for the input, then you can adjust and mix the recorded sound as you like. These things have been mentioned before, I know...just want to add my input (pun intended ). There are also some things you can do with EQ to improve the way the recorded voice sounds, but I'll stop here unless anyone is interested. Happy recording, Eric Link to comment
Caelellowynn Posted January 20, 2008 Author Share Posted January 20, 2008 There are also some things you can do with EQ to improve the way the recorded voice sounds, but I'll stop here unless anyone is interested. I am definitely interested. I'm getting the basics covered I think, but I know there is way more out there I don't know, then do. EQ is one of them. So please, share away. I'll try the speakers. That is the only thing on besides the 'puter in the room. Well, that and the boiler occasionally, but that isn't the background noise I'm having issues with. Link to comment
ericp07 Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 Male and female voices, not surprisingly, have different characteristics in frequencies. The fundamental (low end of the range) for males is usually around 100Hz, and that of females is usually around 350Hz. The upper end of the range, the high end, of males is usually around 8KHz, and that of females is usually around 18KHz. So, if you're male and recording a female line, or female and recording a male line, you'll want to boost or cut the opposite frequency (with as wide or narrow a band as you'd like) accordingly, to bring out the characteristics you want and get rid of the characteristics you don't want. Small adjustments are best to start with. I usually boost or cut by 3dB, and then add or cut more depending on how it sounds. Fundamentals and overtones vary for each instrument, including voice, within the hearable audio spectrum of 20Hz - 20KHz. The range of an instrument is known as timbre (TAM-ber). OK, that's enough from me for now Somewhere on my computer, I have a chart that shows the ranges of many different instruments. I can post or e-mail it if anyone's interested. - E Link to comment
ericp07 Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 OK, just my luck that the file I mentioned is nowhere to be found on my HDs *L* However, I found a pretty cool chart on the Web. So, if you're interested in the frequency ranges of various instruments, including human voice, aim your browser here: Frequency chart Hope that works I like the chart better than the one I had before. Enjoy, Eric Link to comment
Guest Guest Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 So am I right in thinking that the audio in Mur'Neth, Indira, Kelsey, Keto etc (basically every NPC hosted here and at PPG) are completely free of backround noise, buzz, pops, clicks and the like? Link to comment
ericp07 Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 So am I right in thinking that the audio in Mur'Neth, Indira, Kelsey, Keto etc (basically every NPC hosted here and at PPG) are completely free of backround noise, buzz, pops, clicks and the like? I'm guessing that the only way to tell is to listen Gating and compression are our friends when we want to eliminate unwanted noise on the extreme low or high end. Heh, I was going to mention something about tape hiss, but only dinosaurs like myself record to tape anymore *LOL* - E Link to comment
Ascension64 Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 So am I right in thinking that the audio in Mur'Neth, Indira, Kelsey, Keto etc (basically every NPC hosted here and at PPG) are completely free of backround noise, buzz, pops, clicks and the like? For Indira, the answer is no. Link to comment
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