Sample WAV file evaluation requested

[kozikowski]

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AT2035

You could use the field operator’s techniques. Before you move it back or turn it, put a handkerchief, bandanna or other cloth over it while you listen on headphones to the quality. Change it out. Stop when enough of the crisp edge goes away.

I was eating lunch here (large picture)…

http://kozco.com/pix/Cathay-Pacific.jpg

…that’s not a trick photo. Also known as The Worse Place On Earth To Shoot Sound.

The guy in the next table over was shooting a simple interview. I think he actually stopped when an Air France went over rattling the windows. I asked him after the shoot how he would handle high wind normally at that location. LAX is two blocks away from Docweiler Beach. I was expecting him to impart some magic gleaned from years of shooting sound in difficult circumstances.

He said throw a towel over the microphone.

This is me writing that down.

Koz

[SheilaQ]

Good morning Koz,

Thanks so much for the info and pics you included in your previous post about the microphones, mixers, etc. Sounds like you’ve maybe been in the “recording” business for a while and have accumulated some nice toys. And OMG! on the plane thing!!! That HAS to be incredibly loud!! I’m sure that makes for a really great, relaxing time at the beach! LOL!

I’ll give your bandana thing a try. I also have an open side to my recording area still (to my right), so I think I’ll plug that up some too. Here’s one for you, and DON’T LAUGH AT THIS (ha! ha! ha!), but I was doing some research on some other voice over websites and found one where someone said that if you rubber band a pencil down the middle of the sensitive part of your mic, that the hisses in your S’s will “split” - thus, reducing or eliminating the hiss. Then again, my thought is, well . . . won’t everything else split as well?? But, for grins, I’m going to try it. But, I’ll try your recommendation first.

Well . . . I’ve had a tough morning of getting out to watch the sun rise at the lake and fish this morning. But, hey, somebody has to do it! Ha! Ha! Is going to be hot again, so will be a good day to putz around with trying to tweak my microphone some more. I’m learning that this whole process can become a bit obsessive. Then again, it may just be my personality. LOL! I’m having fun with it though, but it will be more fun once I get a good foundation set and can get serious about pursuing some real recording.

Hey, have a super day! Thanks so much again for all your help!

Sheila

[kozikowski]

really great, relaxing time at the beach!

At the beach they’re just annoying, but even with all that, the airport has certain advantages. It’s the only portion of public beach that allows open campfires.

The newer jets are efficient and relatively quiet, but some airlines are still driving the older 747 series with the four loud engines. You have to stop what you’re doing when they come in. They’re loud enough to shake the tables.

if you rubber band a pencil down the middle of the sensitive part of your mic, that the hisses in your S’s will “split” - thus, reducing or eliminating the hiss.

Or as I would guess, the rubber band is doing all the work and you can probably leave the pencil home.

You’re in magic zone now. Try different materials between you and the microphone. Many microphones come with an optional foam wind sock and in addition to suppressing wind noise, it also muffles the sound slightly.

This thing is officially a news-gathering microphone. Walk up to someone and stick a microphone in their face. That’s why the case is so long. Since it’s used outside, the windsock is more or less required.


I’ve been known to go to the fabric store and feel different foams and fabrics—and listen through them—to get an idea of how much muffling I could get if I made a windsock out of them. Or wind break with no muffling. You can get that with quilt stuffing or batting.

The store ladies got used to me.

Koz

[SheilaQ]

Good morning Koz,

Hey, hope you are doing well today and thanks for your last post and info. I’m a pretty visual person, so I can picture you wandering through the fabric store. That was still an amazing shot of how close the planes come in over where you were eating!

I tried some new things yesterday and got close, but . . . well, maybe it’s that OCD thing kicking in and I want to get even closer/better! I tried the pencil thing and that was bunk (ha! ha!). However, I did wrap a lightweight fabric napkin around it . . . and sure enough, I think it helped with my hissing. I was able to nail everything but consistently being in the acceptable RMS level range. Usually still just barely off.

I decided to splurge and get some more toys. Maybe they will help, maybe not. I did some research and found a Auray RF-5P-B Reflection Filter that has gotten quite a few good reviews. Found a great price on it at B&H Photo – surprised, it was much cheaper than Amazon! Then, something took me off on the toot of looking for moving blankets (I think it was from the ACX blog where they showed a home studio that one of the Audible Certified folks use – and she had used packing blankets.). Well, one thing led to another (as is usually the case for me - ha! ha!) and I discovered that the US Cargo Control folks have very recently introduced a “sound blanket”. I called and spoke with a guy who was very helpful. They are working on getting a NCR rating for them. In the meantime, they are so new that they don’t have any reviews for them either. So, I asked if he’d pay for the shipping and send me 4. So he agreed and at $24/each. Figured what the heck . . . maybe they will provide me more consistency in my “surrounding” recording area . . . and I told him I’d be happy to write a review and share with him what I think. And, if they end up being junk, I don’t have a lot invested in them.

Oh gosh! My post is getting really lonnnnng! Sorry. Hope you have a super day. I may do some more test runs/recordings, but I may wait until I get my reflection filter too. I might have it Wednesday . . . and the panels likely by Thursday or Friday. Will let you know how they both work out. I might also revisit your comment about the rubber band likely being what would actually “split” my hisses . . . and put it back on my mic.

Have a super day and week and hope the ash didn’t blow in on you! Take care!

Sheila

[kozikowski]

hope the ash didn’t blow in on you!

No ash this time; blue skies are back. One really bad fire about a couple of years ago did dump fine, white ash all over everything.

Don’t breathe the air.

That was still an amazing shot of how close the planes come in over where you were eating!

There’s a lot of good lines there. The tables are a quarter block away from a public park that has two of the approach lights. You know those flashing blue strobes the planes line up on to land? You can walk over and touch two of them, look straight up at the belly of an L1011. I’m still fascinated they let us do that.
This is a joke picture, but very real. They’re moving too fast for auto-focus to keep up.

she had used packing blankets.

Like these?

I’d be happy to write a review and share with him what I think.

And with us. Remember Audacity Forum. Users sharing experiences.

This is me writing down the pencil thing. Try putting the rubber band or two around the middle of the sensitive part of the microphone. There is an effect where people swear they hear a sound effect which is completely in their imagination. Alternately, the effect is real for their exact version and model of microphone. It gets posted as a generic solution for all microphones.

Auray RF-5P-B Reflection Filter

It has to say the right maker and model. You can get really cheap acoustic foam blocks for your studio walls, but look-alike packing foam doesn’t work.

If you shine a powerful flashlight just right, can you see the little silver-doller or quarter size round thing inside the microphone? That’s the metal disk your voice is vibrating when you speak.

Koz

[kozikowski]

Missed a step.

If you put the bandanna over the microphone and the sound lost a little of its crispness, you should also have been able to make RMS easier to hit. That’s one of the reasons we’re doing this.

The crisp sound creates the sharp, tall peaks which mess up the peak/RMS relationship. If the peaks go down, the RMS can be amplified without violating any standards.

Koz

[SheilaQ]

Hi Koz!

As always, thanks for your feedback. Firstly, glad to hear you missed the ash! Secondly, I have to agree with you on the runway light thing – and the pic was amazing. Good thing people can’t throw stuff out the plane window at that location . . . and better yet, hope they never “dump” their tanks – if you know what I mean! Ha! Ha! Ha!

The packing blanket thing . . . you can go to the following link on one of ACX’s blog posts and scroll down to see Kate Udall’s setup (Is the pic you sent me of your setup?):

https://blog.acx.com/tag/recording/

Yeah, the rubber band thing was grabbing at straws, wasn’t it? Ha! Ha! That’s OK . . . it didn’t cost me anything. I still played around with my recording setup that I have in place TODAY and eventually got several raw recordings that passed the ACX Check test! Woo Hoo! I ended up switching a switch on my mic that was pre-set when I received it. I forget which one I changed, but it appeared to beef up the sound what seemed like somewhat considerably. I was also able to raise the gain on my audio interface (still with the bandana effect) – which also brought my RMS levels into range. So, I just kept playing with the gain knob and found a nice position – at least one that worked today.

I’m kinda anxious to get my new toys to see how they work out. Figure at that point, I’ll likely change my entire setup. That’s OK . . . baby steps. I’m having a good time learning.

Well, that’s it for my testing today. I’ll keep you posted. Thanks again for all your help. And, by all means, I’ll be MORE THAN HAPPY to leave a review for the Audacity Forum – will have to snoop around and see where to do that! I honestly cannot tell you how helpful you have been to me and how much I appreciate your time . . . and patience. Take good care and have a great rest of your day and evening! I know we’ll be in touch.

Sheila

[kozikowski]

You have a PAD control. That’s used in the face of somebody playing a trumpet or trying to record jets at the airport (not that I would ever want to do that). It reduces the volume of the microphone 10dB, somewhere between 1/2 and 1/4. Sound goes double and half every 6dB. This could prevent overload during loud performances. Overload is Very Bad. It’s clearly audible and permanent.

hope they never “dump” their tanks

They frown on openings in the hull at 600 MPH.

I’ll be MORE THAN HAPPY to leave a review for the Audacity Forum

I don’t know we need a formal review. Your user comments here are good. It’s not unusual for us to make suggestions and we assume they succeeded because we never hear from the poster again.

The picture with the music stand and microphone was an actual voice sound shoot. The whole thing knocks down into a pile in the garage. Plus, if I never need to move any furniture…

Koz

[SheilaQ]

Hi Koz!

Hey, hope you are doing well. I know I’ve been offline for a few days, but I was busy building my little “recording studio”. It seems to be just perfect! The sound blankets I purchased from U.S. Cargo Control seem to be doing their job. I no longer have noise floor issues – unless the neighbor decides to cut grass. I’ve attached a pic of my new setup. Only really tried it out today as I had some changes to make to the stand that holds my shield and microphone. But, I’m happy to say that I got numerous ACX Check test passes in raw form!! Woo hoo! I still occasionally have the RMS levels off – but I’ve noticed that when I do, they are consistently between -23.1 and -23.5 – nothing horrible, but enough to keep pushing me to get them in range.

So, my little recording area is built out of a PVC frame, the sound blankets on the sides and a cheap-o eggcrate-like mattress pad from my first go-around, so I put it on the top with a blanket over it. I can now leave the room light on – and I have a small LED-bulb light inside. It is 4’W X 5’L X 6’H - so I can either sit or stand. I can even leave the back sound blanket open a little and the door to the room, so I no longer suffocate.

Now I need to get serious about practicing a LOT more and learning the software/editing, etc. process. I’m also working on how I physically pronounce my “Ssss”. I found a YouTube video (of course! ha! ha!) that had a woman who is a speech therapist illustrate how to speak words with the sharp S’s and C’s to curb the “sibilance”? Anyway, it seems to work, I just need to practice it more. Once again, it’s that effort to correct things and make them as close to perfect from the get-go rather than fixing later. So, we’ll see – it’s a work in progress.

I do hope you are having a fantastic weekend. I got a giggle from your comment about the plane and “dumping” as they fly over the beach/restaurants. I’m sure I’ll be in touch with you as I move forward on my practicing. As always . . . thanks so much for all of your input and recommendations! Take good care!

Until later . . .
Sheila

[SheilaQ]

Hi Koz,

Oooops! Remembered something I forgot to add to my other message. Are there any not-so-hugely-expensive, but still decent, headphones you can recommend that I get? I’m just using some that came with my Walkman years ago. Would really appreciate your recommendation. Thanks a bunch!

Sheila

[SheilaQ]

Hi Koz,

LOL! I changed the setup AGAIN! I think I’m really done this time. Hey, have a super day and week! Take good care!

Sheila

[kozikowski]

OK if I use that pix?

Headphones are a moving target. My favorite set is no longer available. My second favorite set is a mistake. I got the wrong replacement ear pads once and they sounded wonderful. Since the shipment was a mistake, I couldn’t do it again.

Hollywood standard is Sony 7506. MDR-7506?? They’re good for production, but I can’t listen to them for a long time.

So I’m stuck, too.

Koz

[kozikowski]

Yes, Sony MDR7506. “The blue ones you see on a movie set.”

Koz

[kozikowski]

The headphone search is ripe with stories.

I bought a second set of Koss Pro4AA headphones to replace the ones that were falling apart before I realized each set was guaranteed for life. They sound OK but weigh as much as a Land-Rover and make you sweat.

The Koss Pro3AA, I expect were hoping to ride on the coat-tails of the 4AA, but they advertised the wrong things. No, the titanium drivers may have made good advertising copy, but they don’t sound as good.

I have a set of Sony MDR-CD60 Digital Reference headphones. They left out the words “Studio” and “Professional.” I didn’t like the sound. I don’t remember why.

I have a legacy set of Sennheiser HD414 “Open Air” Headphones whose age is measured in decades. This was the set that responded very favorably to installation of the wrong earpads. I can’t reproduce them. I have the only set like this, full stop.

I bought the Sony MDR-150 headphones off the rack in a bookstore in Hawaii. I did a bit of music production before I got suspicious the sound balance wasn’t quite right. Turns out they had fake disco bass boost, enough to throw my production off.

And finally, the Sennheiser EH-150 rescue puppies, currently my favorite, but no longer made.

So that’s my shopping bag (literally) of headphones.

The Sony MDR-7506’s claim to fame is stark reality. They don’t hide anything and they’re the ones to use if you want to hear something wrong before everybody else does. That’s great in production or a movie set, but less good if you want to enjoy a movie without annoying the neighbors.

I took my shopping bag of headphones to a movie production office and asked if I could listen to their 7506s and they said yes. That’s how I know the comparison.

It was quite an afternoon.

If I find something good, I’ll post it.

Koz

[waxcylinder]

I love my Sennheiser HD25-1 studio cans - and the folding Px-100 Sennheisers that I use for travelling with my iPod are pretty good too (but open ear).

WC

[kozikowski]

Notes on the studio.

I fixed the paint on the chair.

• I’ve never seen a pop and blast filter like that before. Is that how you’re taming your crisp delivery?
• Many Windows laptops have noisy fans. How did you get around that?

Koz

[kozikowski]

This is where you tell me it’s OK to use your picture as a “good example.”

Koz

[kozikowski]

It Suuuuuure would be good to use that picture in my graphics collection…

Koz

[SheilaQ]

Hi Koz,

I’m so very sorry for taking so long to get back to the forum. I have a real job – and though it is only part-time, I had to dedicate some real work to it for a few days straight. So, I’M BACK! By all means, you may use my pic. the Neewer mic arm/boom is wrapped with some thick interfacing material. I had done that prior to building my new setup and just left it on there. I don’t know if it really DOES anything, but what the heck.

Thanks for the recommendation on the headphones, but I had gotten impatient and went ahead and ordered some . . . but I did order the Sony 7506 ones you mentioned as I had read what appears to be many happy people who use them in the audiobook recording world. They are due to arrive today!! So, at the end of the day, in case anyone would be interested, here’s the equipment I have ended up with:

1. Audio Technica AT2035 microphone $149 from Amazon - bought as a bundle from Amazon.com - included the audio cable, shock mount, mic stand, pop filter

2. Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface (1st generation) - $125 from Amazon - At the time I bought it, it came bundled with the Neewer mic boom

3. Sony MDR7506 Headphones - $79.95 - from Amazon

4. Auray RF-5P-B Reflecton Filter (Metal) - NOTE: Got the best deal on this from B&H Photo’s website $149 vs. $204 on Amazon

5. Sound Blankets - from U.S. Cargo Control website. I go the 72" X 80" size (grommets on 72" side) - They weigh about 9lbs. each (beefy)
   (NOTE: The sound blankets run about $25-$26/each. If anyone orders don’t freak out at the shipping price – CALL THEM, they can do better than the online shipping calculator! They just started handling/selling these the end of May, 2016)

So, for anyone looking to start out without having to remortgage there home, I got all the equipment, sound blankets, and made the PVC frame all for $664.13 (to be exact - smile). Oh, and that also included a cheap-o foam mattress topper from Walmart that I used on the top of my little sound booth.

Now I have to get busy and test the waters of ACX!

Hey Koz, have a super day. Sorry again for the delay. Have a great weekend too!! And, as always, thanks so much for all your help, input, and recommendations. Take good care!

Sheila

[SheilaQ]

Hi again Koz,

Ooooops! Me again. Forgot to mention that my little recording booth is 4’W X 5’L X 6’H. For me, that allows me to either sit or stand. I’m also including one more pic in case you like it too (might have to touch up the chair again - smile). It shows the “ceiling”. And, yes, that is a web of jute twine used to keep the mattress topper from caving in. I also had an old blanket that I then put on top of the foam mattress topper. OK, that’s really it, I think. Any questions, do let me know.

Sheila