Suggestions for my Narration Voiceover Tracks?

[wshaw]

I'm looking for suggestions for narration recordings of my own voice, which is on the high end of a baritone timbre, with some o' that New York nasality :(

I usually use one of the following:

Mics: CAD VX2 or Royer SF-1

Pres: Seventh Circle A12 or Grace Lunatec v3

Converters: Lunatec v3 or RAMSA/Panasonic WZ-AD96

With the Cad, my voice comes out a little thin, and needs treble cut to deal with sibilance (which is an extra problem b/c the tracks get converted to MP3 format, which creates some spurious sibilance). That doesn't happen so much with the Royer, but those tracks could still use a little compression.

I'm getting OK results with a UAD card (LA2A plug), some Sonalksis EQ, and a little Waves MaxxBass for fullness on the CAD tracks, but y'know . . . always thinking of new toys.

To hear what I'm talking about, check out the audio files on my website--go to Audio . The second and fourth files on that page were recorded with the CAD/A12/Ramsa chain, with a tiny, tiny, amount of compression (like 1 db) from an FMR RNC. The rest of the processing was ITB. I'm pretty happy with the fourth track, but the second one has a sibilance I couldn't eliminate, thanks to the MP3 conversion (my voice is NOT sibilant in real life).

The other tracks on the page, BTW, were recorded live with a Sennheiser G2 lavalier into the Grace lunatec v3 into a Microtrack.

Thanks!

[James Lehmann]

Hi Warren,

You're right that the 4th track sounds best but to my ears this has much more to do with the room ambience. You must have recorded in a different position?

I'd find it difficult to comment on the relative effects of the rest of your gear because the clips are mp3 so any subtelty is lost. It seems you have some nice gear, although I've not tried any of the mics you list.

I'd first be making sure I had a good quality mic cable - poor ones can definitely make anything sound 'thin' and good ones will give you a fuller low-end (I will pre-empt the sceptics here and refer them to this thread). After that you could experiment a bit more with positioning - maybe move a little closer to the mic to trigger some fat proximity? After this the obvious investment (based on the very 'roomy' sound of your 2nd clip) would be some acoustic treatment like the RealTraps PVB & some MicroTraps, to make a really effective little booth for yourself. Hear this stuff in action in the thread I started here.

If thinness was still a problem in the original recordings then I might go out and try something like an EV RE-20 which is anything but thin - I believe the Founding Fathers wrote into the Constitution that it is the God-given right of every American to employ one of these on voice-over, so I'd doubt you'd go wrong with that!

[A LaMere]

Originally Posted by James Lehmann

If thinness was still a problem in the original recordings then I might go out and try something like an EV RE-20 which is anything but thin - I believe the Founding Fathers wrote into the Constitution that it is the God-given right of every American to employ one of these on voice-over, so I'd doubt you'd go wrong with that!

Yep... if you haven't checked 'em out yet...

I'd also suggest the re-20 or Shure sm7... both will cure any thin and work as well on voiceovers as any mic made imo.

[wshaw]

Hi--

Thank you both for your time and suggestions!

To clarify, both of those clips were recorded in the same space, which has been treated with bass traps and reflection absorbers. I stacked several auralex LENRDs behind the mic to create a reflection-free area, in an emulation of a Reflexion Filter.

The difference in ambience between clips 2 and 4 was created by adding a bit of "medium room" ambience via a convolution reverb program (Sonic Foundry Acoustics Modeler, to be exact), on clip #2. I only added a drop, but it became more prominent in the MP3. Maybe I should remove the ambience?

I'm certainly aware of the sm7 and re20, tho I haven't tried them. It was my assumption that the Royer sf1 would be at least as warm and fat sounding as either of those, but I can't say for sure.

The mic cable was a CAD proprietary cable between the mic and the power supply, and a Blue Kiwi from power supply to preamp.

I used "bump boxes" before and after the RNC, to convert the signal tfrom balance and +10 to unbalanced and -4, and back again (the RNC only works with unbalanced signals).

[wshaw]

Anyone else care to chime in?

[cubivore]

i checked out both 2 and 4 and would say to dump the reverb. for 99% of the VO i do for education/information/instructional use, it is too distracting unless it is from a lecture in a hall of some sort. i think you chain sounds fine. there is a little ground buzzing you might want to look in to, but other than that #4 probably best represents your sound. if you want a fatter sound try the above listed mics. as far as performance, try to maintain your mic position (went off a couple time in #2), and be careful with page turns while talking.

[wshaw]

Thanks for the input. I will forgo the ambience in the future.

I must say I'm struggling with lust for a new compressor, for no particular reason except that the bump boxes needed for the RNC are a pain . . . not much of a reason, I admit.

[Dave Peck]

Originally Posted by wshaw

Thanks for the input. I will forgo the ambience in the future.

I must say I'm struggling with lust for a new compressor, for no particular reason except that the bump boxes needed for the RNC are a pain . . . not much of a reason, I admit.

There is a preset in some Lexicon products called "Dialog Booth" that can work really well for this type of material. It doesn't sound like an obvious reverb effect at all, not even like a small room effect. It's subtle but it can really help to smooth out the track and avoid the distracting harshness of a completely dry dialog track. Worth a try.

[wshaw]

That sounds intriguing . . . hope it's not only in their really expensive products. I'm trying to do a web search for that preset, but it's not turning out all that easy to do. Getting the preset lists for Lexicon's products seems oddly elusive.

Thanks very much!

[wshaw]

Anybody know whether the Lexicon plugins--the PSP 42 or PSP 84-- have the dialog booth preset? If they do, how good do they sound?

Thanks!!!!

[uncle duncan]

A great comp for tracking vocals is the Safesound P1. It has auto-release, and it's very transparent, even when you're really hitting it hard. It comes with a bypassable preamp. The pre is clean, but with a bit of extra smoothness (a dip) in the sibilance range, which might be the perfect match for the CAD mic.

[wshaw]

Yes, the reviews of the P1 have been really gushing. I'd guess that the Grace lunatec v3 plus RNC comp would give similar results, i..e, smooth and clean.

Actually, the Seventh Circle A12 pre is incredibly smooth and true-to-life, as long as you don't do the lowered output/boosted gain thing. It was actually much more natural sounding than, say, the Seventh Circle N72 Neve clone or the True Precision pre. That's why I used it on those tracks. As you suggested, though, it it may be that the P1's midrange dip would make an even better match with the VX2 for spoken word tracks.

My only issue with the RNC is that it only does unbalanced input and output. I was thinking that a really clean comp (with balanced i/o) like an Aphex 651 Expressor might be a good replacement. They're pretty inexpensive, too.

Thanks very much. I will certainly keep the P1 in mind.

Anyone know whether the PSP 42 or 84 have the dialog booth preset?

[wshaw]

Well, I just heard from PSP, the folks who built the Lexicon plug-ins.

The presets on those plugs are PSP's design, not Lexicon's. They have no idea what the Dialog Booth preset is.

How annoying.

Wouldn't you expect that a plug-in modelled after hardware with well-known presets would attempt to model the presets along with the hardware?

[manthe]

My limited VO experience led me to a lot of experimentation with my gear. Here is what worked very well for me

Male:

#1 - Shure SM7B through LA-610 with ~3db GR with the opto T4 compressor (very smooth and LA2A-ish)
#2 - EV RE20 through Symetrix 528E, also with ~3DB GR (ratio=2:1 or 3:1), a little bit of scoop in the mid-range EQ and the deesser engaged at ~7k/4 o'clock

Female:

Neumann TLM149, through LA-610 with ~3db GR

Just my .02

[wshaw]

Thanks for the suggestions, Mike.

Do you think another opto-compressor would be OK? I assume Joemeek would be way too heavy-handed, but . . .

[Dave Peck]

Originally Posted by wshaw

That sounds intriguing . . . hope it's not only in their really expensive products. I'm trying to do a web search for that preset, but it's not turning out all that easy to do. Getting the preset lists for Lexicon's products seems oddly elusive.

Thanks very much!

Go to Lexicon® and select the product, then click on DOWNLOAD MANUAL (on the right). The presets for each product are listed in the back of each manual. BTW I know the 'Dialog Booth' preset is in the MPX1. I don't know what other products might have it or something similar to it.

[SveNaj]

Hi to everybody

UncleD, would you be so kind to suggest me some compressor settings for recording/tracking voiceover with/ through the P1 comp ?

I use a P1's expander as a insert on my Metrichalo ULN2 preamp together with Shure SM7 and I'm more than satisfied with the results since I'm not in the ideal acaoustcal enviroment. Partialy because of that, I rarely use a P1 comp during tracking

When I'm done with recording a VO, sometimes I put the recorded vocal take through the P1 compresor with fairly light settings ... input is between 7 and 9 o'clock .......ratio 9 o'clock (someting like 2:1) and attack at 4 o'clock (position between 1 and the first marker on the P1 attack section)...... although I noticed that I must lower the threshold to the -16 or even more in order to 1 or 2 comps LEDs start blinking... btw, is this normal or I'm doing something wrong here ?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Sven

Originally Posted by uncle duncan

A great comp for tracking vocals is the Safesound P1. It has auto-release, and it's very transparent, even when you're really hitting it hard. It comes with a bypassable preamp. The pre is clean, but with a bit of extra smoothness (a dip) in the sibilance range, which might be the perfect match for the CAD mic.

[manthe]

Originally Posted by wshaw

Thanks for the suggestions, Mike.

Do you think another opto-compressor would be OK? I assume Joemeek would be way too heavy-handed, but . . .

Sorry wshaw, I missed this question earlier. It would be dishonest if I said yes or no here. I only own the 1 opto compressor and the times I've tried the LA2A was just that...trying it. I've done some studying on the different ways that designers use to compress signals. The difference between opto and elec., for the most part, is the release characteristics. Opto releases quicker at higher levels and gradually slower as the signal gets lower. Elec, is almost the opposite, I believe. Obviously, this factor alone is going to change the character of the compression. I'm sure some one could go in to more accurate detail and explain why one might be more suited for something over another. If I go there at rthis point in my quest, I'll confuse you and myself further. In other words, I'm still trying to catch that fly with chopsticks.

i can say this...when I had X amount of dollars to pick a vocal channel, I tried a lot of stuff. I tried combos of pre/compressor/EQ and channel strips. Ultimately, the LA610 with the opto compressor won out for me (and I did try the 6176 and a solo 610 with a few other, stand alone compressors. My budget was only 2k to 2.2k, so there was a lot I just couldn't try. Ultimately, i came in under budget

I am ridiculously happy with the LA610. I can't make a single voice, singing or talking...male or female sound bad through it. Although, for BGV I almost always bypass the opto compressor and run them through my 1176LN.

Wish I could help more...but I prefer honesty or BS.