Editing Our Show

[scottandtelly]

Hey everyone,

We think our show's sound is up to par with most shows out there. But we want to make it better.

We record with 2 Samson C01U mics into Adobe Audition.

Our system right now is to merge the tracks, compress, and normalize. We adjust the final volume to sound like other shows (we dont know the technical level!).

What settings are best to use for compression/normalization? We like the radio sound some shows (like NLO) have. Should we compress each track by itself? Help if you can... we'd really appreciate it. Maybe some audio secrets? ;)

- Scott and Telly

[X Pat Radio]

Hey everyone,

We think our show's sound is up to par with most shows out there. But we want to make it better.

We record with 2 Samson C01U mics into Adobe Audition.

Our system right now is to merge the tracks, compress, and normalize. We adjust the final volume to sound like other shows (we dont know the technical level!).

What settings are best to use for compression/normalization? We like the radio sound some shows (like NLO) have. Should we compress each track by itself? Help if you can... we'd really appreciate it. Maybe some audio secrets? ;)

- Scott and Telly

I use the RadioLimit preset in Audition. If I were you, I would handle each track seperatly until the end.

[BridgeHands]

Sounds like you'll want to add some equalization, a touch of reverb and definitely some compression (one track at a time). You'll want to tweak these based on your equipment and listening prefererences. You'll listeners will also appreciate it if you invested in an anti-popping filter and a boom or other type of sound isolation device so table thumps don't resonate through the microphone.

Regards, Michael

[scottandtelly]

What are some basic settings to start at?

2:1, -20 (that one is making the background noise really apparant), and a 14 gain. As I said before, we love the NLO type of sound.

[X Pat Radio]

What are some basic settings to start at?

2:1, -20 (that one is making the background noise really apparant), and a 14 gain. As I said before, we love the NLO type of sound.

I use an outboard compressor / limiter /gate (dbx 166XL) set at 4:1 compression.

The best way to get good sound is to get a good microphone (which isn't cheap). You can always buy outboard gear like an Aphex 204 or an Aphex 230 per mic.

Using a noise gate helped my podcast no end when I added it. You should also use the noise reduction in Audition.

I'm not familiar with NLO

[BridgeHands]

What are some basic settings to start at?

2:1, -20 (that one is making the background noise really apparant), and a 14 gain. As I said before, we love the NLO type of sound.

You'll either need to begin with either an external noise gate (like X Pat's 166XL) or use clipping in your software. You gotta' get rid of your noise BEFORE compression.

Have fun, Michael

[EclecticMix]

The most important thing about getting suggestions is to test them out to see if they work for you. When I started out a year and a half ago, I made the mistake of taking suggestions for granted. With a bit of testing I came upon the now obvious conclusion that what works for someone else may not necessarily work for me. After running a number of tests I was able to find what I felt was the best choices I could make. Try several tests of compression and other settings to see what works best for your voice and you'll surely find something that will fit what you are looking for.

Cheers -

george

[jeffoest]

I think George is right here - it's kind of hard to give 'standard' compression settings because all compressors are not created equally and level's going into the compressor will be different as well.

A good start for voices is 2:1 to 6:1 ratio and look for about 6-10 db gain and then twist the (virtual) knobs to taste....

Unless you can record in a really pristine environment or if you are going for an exaggerated effect, you probably don't really need reverb.

I use an outboard stereo compressor which basically compresses both tracks equally given different signals coming in on both tracks. It seems to work fine. It's just important to get both levels going in at similar levels. I've never tried compressing the tracks individually. Might be worth fiddling with to see if the benefits outweight the time to do it... My hunch is that it's probably not necessary for a two-person voice-only podcast.

I like a high-pass filter for EQ on voice - say at about 125 Hz. Get's rid of any useless boom. If you want to play a bit, you may add a bit (just a bit) of a bump somewhere between 8Kz and 15Khz for some "shine" but it's usually not really needed depending on your mic. EQ for voice is mostly used (general statement) when mixing voice with music as in a music studio.

[tsidock]

These are all great suggestions, I prefer using outboard sound shapers, I think the sound is more believable in many cases. The noise gate is nice, especially with condensor mics as they tend to pick up everything. dbXL266, Aphex204 really help. If I did not have the equipment and was doing a voice show, I would stip the noise, EQ as previously suggested and then just drop the file on the GigaVox Levelator. This free tool works great and really give the audio some punch. It reportedly normalizes (RMS), compresses and expands without any user intervention. I have had issues with some types of music(breathing and pumping), using this, but for voice, it works well. A new version was just released, so it should work better than I have stated. GIGAVOX (http://www.gigavox.com/levelator)


Tom