Howdy,
It’s day one for me. I’ve just started on an audiobook project and would really appreciate a quick listen to my room tone.
I’m using an AT-2035 mic with a pop filter, inside a Monoprice acoustic shield, recording on an older Macbook Pro running OS10.9.5, and using Audacity 1.3.13-beta (Unicode).
On this clip I just read off my equipment list and then give you about five seconds of room tone. Please let me know what you think, especially about the room tone.
TIA.
That seems to work. I like two to three seconds of room tone because that doesn’t give anybody enough time to do anything else like fidget or check Facebook. Also, hold your breath.
There are very low level pops at the end of the room tone segment. Can you identify where those are coming from? It doesn’t matter. The clip seems to pass all three specifications. I peeled off the first “hello” because it’s louder than the rest of the clip and it’s throwing off the loudness balance. The rest of the clip meets ACX with very minor processing. Effect > Normalize: [X] remove DC, Normalize to -3.
What processing did you use if any? My X2U won’t give good levels like that without help.
Koz
Indeed it seems pretty good to me. (putting my Carnak the Magnificent hat on) I suspect the two pops are you accidentally tapping the desk or mic stand. Looks like you have the mic in a shock mount of some sort, but the cord is running tight against the stand. That cord tapping the stand could be what is making the pops. You might want to see if you can run the cord in a way such that can’t happen.
There is a very low level hum in the background, probably something with a motor like a fridge, or maybe your heating systems. But it is quiet enough that it really isn’t an issue.
Thank you for the quick replies!
I think securing the xlr cable is a really good idea. That .wav was unprocessed. I know I have a learning curve ahead of me, and I really appreciate your advice.
I’m going to have to sit down for a minute. That was a terrific recording. You should have no trouble producing any deliverable you wish with any of the common sound specifications. As I said, just sheering off the slightly loud “Hello” and I could make ACX Audiobook compliance with very little work and no special effects.
Do you have a house in the woods with no roadway traffic? Good vocal quality and low background noise like that is most unusual.
Koz
There is a very low level hum in the background
Right. I see it. 60Hz at -73 by my count with a 120Hz down at -80 or so.
I don’t know that I would worry about it, either.
Where did you get the idea for your kit?
Koz
If you do Room Tone again, hold your breath and freeze. No movement at all. I don’t know what the ACX spec is, but we don’t need more than two or three seconds. The presence of your body affects the microphone, so yes, you do have to be there.
Just because I haven’t thrown mud in a long time: That was step one. You still have to be able to read theatrically. I famously have a voice that can put people to sleep better and more efficiently than warm milk. Probably not a good candidate for AudioBook reader. ZZZzzzzz.
Can you read to a bunch of kids at the library without losing them? That’s a scary test, isn’t it? Have you ever seen somebody good doing that?
There was one artist at work that could SRO a room by announcing he was going to give a talk. Didn’t much matter on what. Word got out.
As I mentioned in another thread, Emmet, an animated character in The Lego Movie was voiced by Chris Pratt, a theatrical actor. Emmet’s an animation. They could have gotten anyone.
Koz
My wife has a conference room in her office, which is at the back of an office condo complex. I’ll have to record after 8pm, because the place is deserted by then most nights. I turned off the heater and the fluorescent light, and laid some thick towels on nearby surfaces.
I think the Monoprice Isolation Shield deserves a lot of the credit.
Thanks for the encouragement!