technical probs - No Top end

Sara Kirkpatrick · **Voice Talent** Joined: 06 Nov 2007 Posts: 2

Hi

I am having problems with my quality.

Please listen to the sample below.
The feedback i have had from it is that there is no top end, it sounds dull and i'm popping.

I can fix the popping but i'm struggling to fix anything else.

I use a AT2020 mic, Behringer Tube Ultragain MIC100 and an M-audio fastrack USB interface with an Apple Mac G5

One lot of advice i've been given is to upgrade the preamp to a Focusrite Voicemaster Pro.
The other is to upgrade the interface to a Echo Gina3G interface

My room isn't fantastically soundproofed so i am trying to pick up sound from as close to the mic as possible so using low gain and output settings on the preamp.

My tech knowledge is limited but any help you have would be very gratefully received.

Sara Kirkpatrick

www.sarakirkpatrick.co.uk
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Philip Banks · **Voice Talent** Joined: 23 Jun 2003 Posts: 404

The feedback you are being given is a bit like someone burning your house down and you shouting at them for not colour co-ordinating their clothes.

You need to be around 8-12 inches from your mic and the position should be at the same angle as that of your nose. All gain, EQ and other settings should be at 0 (zero). In other words, nothing added and nothing taken away. If your room does not sound good, take the time to make it sound good. If you would like to call me to talk things through please do.

Tommy Smith · **Voice Talent** Joined: 10 Sep 2007 Posts: 1

Hi Sara,

I listened to the sample you provided and I don't think the top end sounds too bad. Granted, I'm listening through a pair of marginal computer speakers at work so I'm not hearing it the way you're hearing it.

I recommend that you spend some time experimenting to find the "sweet spot" among these three things:

1) Mic Position - Remember that speaking very close to the mic will produce a lot of proximity effect. This is a pronounced increase in the lower frequencies of your voice, or whatever sound source, the closer it is to the mic. All mics exhibit this to some degree. It can make the high end seem attenuated since the low end becomes overbearing. Radio announcers love it. You can learn to use it or avoid it as necessary by varying your distance from the mic.

You probably already know that your mic is a "side address" mic. That means you position it vertically and speak into the front side of the mic (where the logo is printed) and not the end of it.

2) Input Gain - Setting the input gain to it's lowest possible setting is not necessarily the best thing to do. I know you're trying to avoid background noise but some mic preamps are actually quite a bit noisier at their extreme low and high settings. Somewhere in the middle is usually the best. Experiment to find the "sweet spot" for your preamp (which may change as you change these other factors or use a different mic). Try to set the input gain so that the meter on your MIC100 just touches 0 (zero) on the very loudest bits, the "peaks". This may change depending on the copy you're reading and/or the style of your read. Adjust the input gain accordingly. If things are just too loud and you can't turn the input gain down far enough to prevent the peaks from exceeding '0', you can try engaging the Limiter on the MIC100 or if it's really loud (not probable in your situation) you could engage the Pad which just lowers the input level by a uniform 20db.

3) Output Gain - Once you've adjusted the input gain to get the proper level, you then adjust the output gain so that the signal arriving in your audio software isn't too hot. Digital distortion is horrible and is to be avoided at all costs. You may need to adjust the gain control on your M-Audio box too but I would start with it all the way down, and make sure the switch on the back of it is set to "line" (the button should be pushed in).

Also be aware that the Behringer is a tube preamp and in a general sense, tube preamps are considered to sound "warm" to some degree and are preferred much of the time specifically for that quality. Among other things, what "warm" usually means is that there is a gentle roll-off of higher frequencies! So, that may be part of what you're hearing as well.

As far as the general "oh, you need to upgrade to a suchandsuch" advice goes, think about this: What could Don LaFontaine (or whoever, pick your favorite VO artist) do with your gear? Whenever I start thinking my gear is the problem I ask myself what Andy Johns, Bob Clearmountain, or Roger Nichols (all Audio/Recording Engineers that admire and respect greatly) do with my equipment.

Hope this helps. Good luck & let us know how it goes!

Cheers,

Tommy