Ep 158 - From Recording Setups to Mastering: Essential Tips for Voice Talent

WEBVTT
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:26.160

00:00:26.001 --> 00:00:30.981
Hey, welcome back to the VoiceOverGurus podcast. This is part two of my chat
00:00:30.981 --> 00:00:33.441
with George Whittem and Rob Reiter.
00:00:33.861 --> 00:00:38.081
Is there anything that voice talent can do where you're recording a session
00:00:38.081 --> 00:00:42.441
and all of a sudden you realize that your mic input was slightly too hot?
00:00:42.681 --> 00:00:47.581
And now you've got this file that has some peaks, like some hot peaks.
00:00:47.721 --> 00:00:50.021
You can't fix that, can you, afterwards?
00:00:51.041 --> 00:00:55.601
Hot peaks. Hot peaks. So you've got to listen to it.
00:00:55.601 --> 00:00:58.741
You you might even see hot peaks that literally go
00:00:58.741 --> 00:01:01.781
above zero they're just right through the roof right it does
00:01:01.781 --> 00:01:04.461
not mean it will sound clipped and distorted does not mean
00:01:04.461 --> 00:01:07.441
that transients like a hard t
00:01:07.441 --> 00:01:10.341
or a k or something where you hit the first word
00:01:10.341 --> 00:01:14.781
too hard a lot of a lot of beginners hit the very first word of a phrase hard
00:01:14.781 --> 00:01:18.661
it's always a sign of a beginner because they'll give you a wave and the very
00:01:18.661 --> 00:01:24.001
first thing is a spike and then the rest of it's like this right that's a very
00:01:24.001 --> 00:01:28.781
typical thing And so if that first transient is clipped,
00:01:29.041 --> 00:01:31.301
it doesn't mean it's going to sound clipped.
00:01:31.561 --> 00:01:35.461
So if you listen to the audio and it sounds good, don't panic.
00:01:35.821 --> 00:01:40.041
Just you can re-normalize it. You can take that file and normalize it back down
00:01:40.041 --> 00:01:41.301
to minus three or something.
00:01:42.081 --> 00:01:45.781
And again, as long as it sounds clean, you're okay.
00:01:45.941 --> 00:01:50.821
But if you audibly hear crunchiness, distortion, over-modulation.
00:01:52.321 --> 00:01:55.401
If you have absolutely no choice there believe
00:01:55.401 --> 00:01:58.421
it or not there are tools like an isotope there's a d clip
00:01:58.421 --> 00:02:01.301
function isotope rx has d clip
00:02:01.301 --> 00:02:04.301
it works really works
00:02:04.301 --> 00:02:07.961
pretty well shockingly i've had to use it probably less
00:02:07.961 --> 00:02:11.081
times than her fingers on my hand but i've experimented with
00:02:11.081 --> 00:02:13.941
it and each time i have played with it i've been amazed at
00:02:13.941 --> 00:02:17.321
how after i apply it it doesn't sound crunchy
00:02:17.321 --> 00:02:20.401
or distorted it anymore so there is there
00:02:20.401 --> 00:02:24.761
is a way to do it but i would only do it because these
00:02:24.761 --> 00:02:28.201
tools exist because the engineer is not the talent so they're
00:02:28.201 --> 00:02:33.001
given what they're given and they have to make it work right if that's routine
00:02:33.001 --> 00:02:38.461
for you you just need to correct your recording levels you know don't make that
00:02:38.461 --> 00:02:43.921
a routine to try to fix everything record it correctly but yeah don't panic
00:02:43.921 --> 00:02:48.061
you may find out that that recording is still quite listenable.
00:02:48.581 --> 00:02:53.501
That's so good. Rob, what's your level of input? What range do you stay in?
00:02:53.641 --> 00:02:55.781
Do you try to stay in when you're doing an audio book?
00:02:56.281 --> 00:03:00.661
When I try to do that, I try to peak at minus six.
00:03:01.761 --> 00:03:07.701
And occasionally I'll get a little more. But when I go to master it,
00:03:08.121 --> 00:03:10.401
it goes into another program.
00:03:11.094 --> 00:03:16.374
An iZotope program called Batch Processing.
00:03:16.574 --> 00:03:23.434
And George set me up so that if I record an audio book, I won't change the microphone.
00:03:23.654 --> 00:03:28.454
I won't change how far I am from the microphone. I won't change the room I'm
00:03:28.454 --> 00:03:30.654
in. I won't change the level settings.
00:03:30.874 --> 00:03:33.774
And then when all of them are done and i'm edited and
00:03:33.774 --> 00:03:37.974
ready to master they go into the rx editor
00:03:37.974 --> 00:03:41.414
and then there it
00:03:41.414 --> 00:03:45.234
does some things like loudness control and equalization and maybe a little voice
00:03:45.234 --> 00:03:54.194
denoise whatever some things that then will will then output the audiobook signal
00:03:54.194 --> 00:04:00.314
to meet the audiobook creation exchange statistics or specifications, I should say.
00:04:00.534 --> 00:04:03.154
And it always works.
00:04:03.734 --> 00:04:09.734
So, and I've, when I started, I was doing things one at a time.
00:04:10.074 --> 00:04:16.374
And when you're doing it one at a time, you can't set a standard because your
00:04:16.374 --> 00:04:17.874
ears can play tricks on you.
00:04:18.054 --> 00:04:21.334
And so by doing it in an automated fashion,
00:04:21.594 --> 00:04:28.694
like batch processing, like George set up for me, I can literally load them in, press go,
00:04:28.914 --> 00:04:38.574
go have dinner, and an 11-hour book will be mastered and meet spec for ACX in about 14 minutes.
00:04:38.954 --> 00:04:41.654
Is this all done in your DAW? How are you?
00:04:41.994 --> 00:04:47.554
I do it on my computer, and I have the RX, iZotopes RX.
00:04:47.974 --> 00:04:51.754
Did they happen in just, I know we have it in standard. Yeah. Standard.
00:04:51.934 --> 00:04:52.754
I have it, too.
00:04:53.314 --> 00:04:53.854
Yeah.
00:04:54.314 --> 00:04:56.774
Yeah, install the standard package. You got all the plug-ins.
00:04:57.194 --> 00:05:02.874
But you also get a separate host application, an editor program called RxEditor,
00:05:02.894 --> 00:05:05.294
which is the application he's referring to.
00:05:05.694 --> 00:05:10.334
Oh, wow. Okay. And so he set that batch process. It's called a chain and a batch.
00:05:10.814 --> 00:05:15.274
You have a chain, which is all the different plugins, and then a batch where
00:05:15.274 --> 00:05:20.754
you can have it do a whole bunch of files automatically, converting them both into WAV and MP3.
00:05:21.154 --> 00:05:24.374
At the same time. All at the same time. And you walk away and it's done.
00:05:24.654 --> 00:05:25.994
So is that mastering?
00:05:26.554 --> 00:05:30.874
Yep. In essentially mastering, mastering in the context of an audio book,
00:05:30.994 --> 00:05:35.794
at least an audio engineer who's a mastering engineer. There are literally people. That's their job.
00:05:36.054 --> 00:05:41.754
They literally master music album recordings for music.
00:05:41.994 --> 00:05:48.054
And they spend insane amounts of money on speakers and amplifiers and gear.
00:05:48.194 --> 00:05:52.514
And it's a very, very, they are the golden ears of our industry,
00:05:52.674 --> 00:05:53.514
the mastering engineers.
00:05:53.674 --> 00:05:56.174
But so when we talk about mastering for audio books.
00:05:57.195 --> 00:06:02.895
It's a lot more of a mechanical automated process, but it does start with properly
00:06:02.895 --> 00:06:08.275
tuned settings, the equalizing tone and balance, the right amount of mouth noise
00:06:08.275 --> 00:06:12.075
declicker or the right amount of denoising.
00:06:12.255 --> 00:06:18.395
And so that automated process will end up with a really pleasing final file,
00:06:18.415 --> 00:06:21.655
but predictably, right? That's the whole concept.
00:06:21.655 --> 00:06:27.355
And between chapters that way, the listener will not have to adjust the volume
00:06:27.355 --> 00:06:30.755
level between one chapter and another. That's annoying.
00:06:31.075 --> 00:06:36.055
And the Audio Publishers Association and all of the producers of audiobooks,
00:06:36.155 --> 00:06:39.155
the big five and all of them, they will not.
00:06:39.315 --> 00:06:43.495
They have oftentimes, if I'm working for a producer or a publisher,
00:06:43.815 --> 00:06:47.515
they get my raw file. The only thing I do to it is mouth to click.
00:06:48.695 --> 00:06:53.915
And then they get my raw file and their mastering engineers take care of everything
00:06:54.435 --> 00:06:57.975
i give them what is called a clean punch edit
00:06:57.975 --> 00:07:04.595
Right yeah has acx has they changed have they changed their specifications for
00:07:04.595 --> 00:07:08.075
what you have to submit audio i mean dave was telling me something about that
00:07:08.075 --> 00:07:10.875
because he had a client that did an audiobook at our studio and then he had to like
00:07:11.495 --> 00:07:14.875
reformat all these files he had to research it because he you know we're not
00:07:14.875 --> 00:07:18.615
big with audiobooks at the studio. But has that changed, Rob?
00:07:19.375 --> 00:07:24.715
There have been some changes in what people think are the standards with the
00:07:24.715 --> 00:07:31.095
decibel standard versus loudness units, full scale, and things like that. Right, George?
00:07:31.995 --> 00:07:36.395
Yeah. You know, I have to be honest. I haven't looked at the most current up-to-date
00:07:36.395 --> 00:07:41.675
standard ACX has released if they've changed anything in the last six months.
00:07:42.015 --> 00:07:47.355
I'm not aware the only time i hear people complain online nowadays is that they'll
00:07:47.355 --> 00:07:53.115
run some automated testing thing that tests the files such as acx check or something
00:07:53.115 --> 00:07:57.595
like that in audacity and they'll get a they'll get kicked back something that
00:07:57.595 --> 00:07:59.355
says the noise floor is too low,
00:08:00.195 --> 00:08:04.835
that's something i see people mentioning like it said my noise floor is too low,
00:08:05.774 --> 00:08:06.694
Like, wait a minute.
00:08:06.974 --> 00:08:09.554
Isn't that a good thing? We're trying to get rid of that.
00:08:09.954 --> 00:08:14.694
Isn't that a good thing? Yeah. So, but in terms of actual standards,
00:08:14.834 --> 00:08:17.574
I think there's certain things they've maybe relaxed a little bit because they
00:08:17.574 --> 00:08:18.574
weren't quite as important.
00:08:18.994 --> 00:08:24.034
But in general, there's still a very specific decibel average or what we use
00:08:24.034 --> 00:08:25.994
called RMS, average level.
00:08:26.274 --> 00:08:31.474
There was a very specific spec for that that they still are very adamant about keeping.
00:08:32.194 --> 00:08:36.754
They wanted to between minus 18 and minus 23 decibels. I don't believe that's changed.
00:08:36.934 --> 00:08:38.854
Maybe certain publishers have different things.
00:08:38.854 --> 00:08:39.714
No, it hasn't.
00:08:39.874 --> 00:08:40.734
You know, things.
00:08:40.974 --> 00:08:47.814
Last one I submitted was just about two months ago to ACX, and there was no—they
00:08:47.814 --> 00:08:50.974
analyze as you upload the files into ACX.
00:08:51.094 --> 00:08:55.754
They analyze the files right away, and I've never had any issue with
00:08:55.754 --> 00:08:56.254
Any of that.
00:08:56.674 --> 00:09:02.834
And that's because I'm using the setup that George did for me.
00:09:03.294 --> 00:09:07.154
There's consistency. there's confidence the
00:09:07.154 --> 00:09:10.814
end and and it takes the technical part
00:09:10.814 --> 00:09:14.174
and compartmentalizes it especially when
00:09:14.174 --> 00:09:17.274
you're recording when you get your level set to record you get
00:09:17.274 --> 00:09:20.334
your room right when all those things are right then
00:09:20.334 --> 00:09:23.434
the head gets to perform yeah and
00:09:23.434 --> 00:09:27.194
that's crucial to get important that that
00:09:27.194 --> 00:09:30.994
the technical becomes so set and
00:09:30.994 --> 00:09:37.054
basically a second nature type thing i come in here i don't have to change anything
00:09:37.054 --> 00:09:44.314
all i do is load the file up give it a name press record and talk and that's
00:09:44.314 --> 00:09:50.534
if i'm doing stuff for sporty's pilot shop or or or if i'm doing other narrative nor narration things
00:09:51.416 --> 00:09:55.276
The only time I will change the levels, if I'm going to do some sort of commercial
00:09:55.276 --> 00:10:01.036
that requires a little more energy, you know, but on my equipment, I can knock it down.
00:10:01.216 --> 00:10:06.156
I have a specific setting and I can knock it down 60 B and then I can talk all
00:10:06.156 --> 00:10:07.736
I want, you know, do it today.
00:10:08.956 --> 00:10:13.956
Yeah. Generally, I teach people to have two gain settings that are their usual settings.
00:10:14.636 --> 00:10:20.736
Three, maybe, is someone who does a lot of very soft read, very soft read stuff.
00:10:20.736 --> 00:10:22.016
And maybe they end up in a different setting.
00:10:22.316 --> 00:10:29.236
But generally, you have a very soft read, a average read, and a very loud performance-level read.
00:10:29.416 --> 00:10:34.636
Game, animation, character stuff where there's shouting and all sorts.
00:10:34.976 --> 00:10:37.936
Then you have a very different gain setting for that kind of work.
00:10:38.096 --> 00:10:41.836
And so that repeatability so that you know, okay, it's a game.
00:10:41.836 --> 00:10:44.316
I'm going to set my gain here and forget it.
00:10:45.156 --> 00:10:51.576
Not micromanage it, not hyper control it. just okay i'm doing a game i'm going
00:10:51.576 --> 00:10:56.376
to set my game here i know i'm going to be fine 99.9 percent of the time at
00:10:56.376 --> 00:10:58.356
this point i can just get to my performance.
00:10:58.356 --> 00:11:04.476
I i'm very much more of a voice talent than i would never proclaim to know much
00:11:04.476 --> 00:11:08.436
about producing engineering anything and i stay in my lane we'll put it that
00:11:08.436 --> 00:11:12.896
way so i tell students too that you know because it's such a massive learning
00:11:12.896 --> 00:11:15.876
curve that if you don't have some fantastic friend
00:11:15.876 --> 00:11:16.376
That knows what.
00:11:16.376 --> 00:11:20.056
They're doing that the best thing to do is to just hire someone to
00:11:20.056 --> 00:11:23.076
set up your studio for you and teach you the basics i
00:11:23.076 --> 00:11:26.916
always say i know what to do what i need to do but beyond that i don't have
00:11:26.916 --> 00:11:30.896
the interest honestly i want to perform i want to do my auditions i want to
00:11:30.896 --> 00:11:36.236
you know so and thankfully i've had friends growing up who you know brian lee
00:11:36.236 --> 00:11:41.656
he's got massive ears all he does is and he helped me set up my first studios in the 90s he's
00:11:41.656 --> 00:11:46.896
A guy that his name comes up in more conversation when it comes to,
00:11:47.056 --> 00:11:49.036
you know that guy, Brian Lee?
00:11:50.136 --> 00:11:50.696
Yeah.
00:11:52.253 --> 00:11:56.373
Totally. He's a gold, he's in certain circles. He's a gold standard of,
00:11:56.373 --> 00:12:00.313
of audio production quality for voiceover. Absolutely.
00:12:00.313 --> 00:12:05.573
When I met him, it was my first shift at a country station in Fort Myers, Florida.
00:12:05.853 --> 00:12:10.733
And he was friends with the program director, Paul Orr, who's floating around.
00:12:11.133 --> 00:12:15.753
And he came in because he had advice for Paul on how to tweak the signal and
00:12:15.753 --> 00:12:16.553
what they were going to do.
00:12:16.673 --> 00:12:20.033
And that was my very first meeting with Brian Lee because he's such a geeky
00:12:20.033 --> 00:12:22.933
head with that stuff because it's a passion for him.
00:12:23.693 --> 00:12:28.193
But it was definitely awesome to have him as a friend because I got solid advice.
00:12:28.193 --> 00:12:31.673
But if you don't have that, guys, you're going to pay somebody because this
00:12:31.673 --> 00:12:33.273
is just too difficult, honestly.
00:12:33.753 --> 00:12:36.713
There's too much to know, and it would make you crazy. And then,
00:12:36.813 --> 00:12:39.173
of course, like we're talking about, how do you balance that?
00:12:39.413 --> 00:12:44.433
What's your best advice to at least get started in a simple setup so then you
00:12:44.433 --> 00:12:45.713
can focus on performance?
00:12:46.733 --> 00:12:50.453
Yeah, I don't want you to buy, unless you come from another career,
00:12:50.633 --> 00:12:54.413
you've set aside a bunch of money, and you're like, this is what I'm going to invest in my career.
00:12:54.613 --> 00:12:59.093
I have this budget. I'll spend your money. No problem. You tell me your budget. Right.
00:12:59.393 --> 00:13:02.273
Be darn honest with your budget. Let's know what your budget is.
00:13:02.393 --> 00:13:03.813
Don't play with me with the budget.
00:13:03.973 --> 00:13:07.193
Like just to say, I have a budget for this and this is what I want to spend.
00:13:07.293 --> 00:13:10.193
If you have literally no idea, I'll at least give you an idea what you're going to spend.
00:13:11.365 --> 00:13:16.325
There are microphones that I will, any day of the week, recommend to do professional-grade
00:13:16.325 --> 00:13:23.485
work on that are $150, with no reservations, right?
00:13:24.225 --> 00:13:28.605
Audio Technica 2035, one of my absolute all-time favorite budget mics.
00:13:28.885 --> 00:13:32.605
Really great. Sounds great. Self-noise, low enough. It's not noisy.
00:13:32.905 --> 00:13:36.625
It's an honest, accurate-ish mic. I mean, we always use the word accurate.
00:13:36.785 --> 00:13:42.065
It's not about that, but it's got just a natural tone. that doesn't sound overly
00:13:42.065 --> 00:13:45.885
hyped, overly sibilant, overly bright, whatever. Great.
00:13:46.405 --> 00:13:47.745
It sounds like you.
00:13:47.925 --> 00:13:52.065
It sounds like you, the way you want to be perceived, right?
00:13:52.225 --> 00:13:56.385
If I wanted to sound like you, I would put a measurement, an omni microphone
00:13:56.385 --> 00:14:00.905
right in front of me, and that would be the way I sound, but that's the way I would sound in a room.
00:14:01.405 --> 00:14:06.905
The listener wants to hear the way you would sound if you were sitting two feet
00:14:06.905 --> 00:14:12.085
from each other, having a nice and intimate conversation. That's what they want to sound like.
00:14:12.325 --> 00:14:16.485
And so the right kind of mics do that. And yeah, again, $150 mic.
00:14:17.505 --> 00:14:21.105
And then the audio interface, they're not getting any simpler.
00:14:21.285 --> 00:14:23.805
That's the thing that makes me really angry about a lot of gear.
00:14:23.985 --> 00:14:27.045
They're just getting more feature creep and more complex.
00:14:27.605 --> 00:14:33.485
Even the most stalwart of basic beginner interfaces, which is the Scarlett Solo
00:14:33.485 --> 00:14:38.405
by Focusrite, even that one has suffered from feature creep.
00:14:38.405 --> 00:14:43.805
And now it's got more buttons more things to screw up and they put the mic input
00:14:43.805 --> 00:14:48.005
as channel two default is the input is channel two i.
00:14:48.005 --> 00:14:48.785
Had no idea
00:14:48.785 --> 00:14:52.465
Audacity which is like if you're going to get a scarlet to a solo you're probably
00:14:52.465 --> 00:14:55.525
a beginner let's be honest even though it works fine there's nothing wrong with
00:14:55.525 --> 00:15:01.325
it but that's the people thing people and then they get audacity it's free and
00:15:01.325 --> 00:15:03.265
then they record and they get nothing,
00:15:04.604 --> 00:15:08.064
And I'm just like, because it's channel two is the mic input.
00:15:08.304 --> 00:15:10.984
Why did they change it? Focusrite. Are you listening?
00:15:11.564 --> 00:15:13.524
What the hell are you guys thinking?
00:15:14.084 --> 00:15:14.564
Wow.
00:15:15.864 --> 00:15:19.764
So even that it's like, there, there are, there aren't a lot of really simple
00:15:19.764 --> 00:15:24.504
audio interfaces that just work, but SSL two is one of those.
00:15:24.884 --> 00:15:30.004
If you look for the SSL two, they can often be found for under, under $200.
00:15:30.524 --> 00:15:34.384
And that would be my starting point. I wouldn't, yes, you can probably luck
00:15:34.384 --> 00:15:39.044
into something cheaper that sounds good, but that's when I can feel super confident
00:15:39.044 --> 00:15:44.804
in recommending because there are no really, there are very few like buttons that are software.
00:15:45.124 --> 00:15:49.204
There are actual physical switches and knobs that do one thing.
00:15:49.724 --> 00:15:55.244
And they're very clear, easy to see. The knobs, they stand up proud of the interface
00:15:55.244 --> 00:15:57.104
on a table. You can see everything.
00:15:57.724 --> 00:16:01.004
It's just such an easy thing to use. And that to me is really, really important.
00:16:01.004 --> 00:16:04.164
So yeah what $200 for the interface $150
00:16:04.164 --> 00:16:12.244
to $250 for a mic boom arm yeah a nice boom arm or a stand don't use a tripod
00:16:12.244 --> 00:16:18.544
for live music performances that tip over and are awkward and have a long boom
00:16:18.544 --> 00:16:21.964
arm that's not always in the wrong place get.
00:16:23.684 --> 00:16:27.884
Something that works for your space if you're in a closet or there are things
00:16:27.884 --> 00:16:30.644
you can attach to a little table or a wall or a desk,
00:16:31.593 --> 00:16:35.453
You know, make sure it's super easy to put the mic in the right place.
00:16:35.913 --> 00:16:37.853
And even more important, what
00:16:37.853 --> 00:16:41.693
actually determines where the mic goes is where your eyes are looking.
00:16:42.033 --> 00:16:45.813
And what determines where your eyes are looking is the script.
00:16:46.793 --> 00:16:50.653
So figure out where's your script going to go? Where's it going to go?
00:16:50.753 --> 00:16:52.013
Is it going to be there every time?
00:16:52.433 --> 00:16:56.193
Especially with people, a lot of people now have a big 26, 27 inch monitor.
00:16:56.993 --> 00:17:00.333
If you put the script on the right side of the monitor, you're looking to this
00:17:00.333 --> 00:17:04.053
direction. If you put it over here, you're looking over here, right?
00:17:04.213 --> 00:17:07.533
So make sure you put everything in a consistent place because that's going to
00:17:07.533 --> 00:17:08.573
determine where you're looking.
00:17:08.913 --> 00:17:12.053
That's going to determine where the mic goes. And it should be very easy to
00:17:12.053 --> 00:17:17.753
fine tune your mic placement to suit where you're looking and make sure it's
00:17:17.753 --> 00:17:19.993
very ergonomic. Make sure it's comfortable.
00:17:20.393 --> 00:17:23.653
Make sure you're never like, well, I have a pop screen. It's always covering
00:17:23.653 --> 00:17:25.413
one eye or I can't really.
00:17:25.833 --> 00:17:28.873
No, if that's what's happening, it's not right.
00:17:29.633 --> 00:17:35.533
Yeah. I put mine, and this came from my late brother was the chief engineer
00:17:35.533 --> 00:17:38.353
of Cincinnati's classical music station for a number of years.
00:17:38.873 --> 00:17:45.433
And he told me back then, they were putting the mic off to the side,
00:17:45.653 --> 00:17:52.253
slightly above the mouth, aimed down at your lips, and talk past the microphone.
00:17:52.253 --> 00:17:55.853
I can say telephone poles, telephone poles, telephone poles all day long,
00:17:55.873 --> 00:18:03.013
and it'll never pop because it's aimed down, and I'm looking straight ahead
00:18:03.013 --> 00:18:05.533
at the monitor where my script is.
00:18:05.933 --> 00:18:09.773
So, and I don't favor the mic. That's this mic right here.
00:18:10.293 --> 00:18:12.173
There it is. Look at that.
00:18:13.229 --> 00:18:18.489
That's the same thing. And for me, I've got it on a fairly large stand.
00:18:18.629 --> 00:18:23.389
I'm in a fairly large room, but I've got it on a big, big, big boom stand. And so it doesn't move.
00:18:23.549 --> 00:18:30.129
I have the chair markings on the floor marked where I'm going to be.
00:18:31.029 --> 00:18:35.629
So I slide into the chair. If I have somebody else in to record,
00:18:35.849 --> 00:18:37.749
I know where the chair is going to go back to.
00:18:37.889 --> 00:18:42.389
It's the consistency. And I think it's probably important to say,
00:18:42.429 --> 00:18:47.629
if you have a space, not a closet that already has a lot of clothing in it,
00:18:47.709 --> 00:18:49.389
if you've got to develop a space,
00:18:49.549 --> 00:18:53.509
it is probably more important to spend money on the space,
00:18:53.709 --> 00:18:57.129
a higher amount of money on the space than the gear.
00:18:57.129 --> 00:19:00.929
Because I think I've heard you, George, and gosh, Jim Edgar,
00:19:01.209 --> 00:19:03.469
and who all else, everybody else say.
00:19:03.549 --> 00:19:05.129
We're all on the same page about that, for sure. Yeah.
00:19:06.409 --> 00:19:10.789
You can have a $200 mic in a great room that'll sound great.
00:19:10.929 --> 00:19:16.309
You can put a $3,000 mic in a bad room and it'll sound bad. Yeah.
00:19:16.869 --> 00:19:22.729
Absolutely. Yeah. So a couple, yeah, three, let's say $500 for a mic,
00:19:22.829 --> 00:19:25.569
mic stand, mic cable and interface, maybe $600.
00:19:26.309 --> 00:19:29.869
Add another $100 for a decent pair of headphones that are comfortable enough
00:19:29.869 --> 00:19:31.089
that you can wear all day long.
00:19:31.509 --> 00:19:38.749
And then Mac versus PC. I'm a huge proponent of Mac because there's fewer variables
00:19:38.749 --> 00:19:43.689
to can be concerned with in terms of tech, the software we, we,
00:19:43.829 --> 00:19:46.109
we, you know, we know they're not all perfect.
00:19:46.409 --> 00:19:50.749
We also know that not all Mac OSs are perfect. We, we know, but we know that
00:19:50.749 --> 00:19:55.069
because there's consistency over what my Mac and your Mac and her Mac and their
00:19:55.069 --> 00:19:59.829
Mac will do because they're all the same hardware and what's under the hood. Right.
00:20:00.089 --> 00:20:03.769
And that level of consistency, it makes it so much easier for me to recommend.
00:20:03.769 --> 00:20:06.069
And then support you and train you.
00:20:06.089 --> 00:20:10.449
If you're on a Windows system, there's far more variables to be concerned with.
00:20:10.749 --> 00:20:17.349
And there's just a lot more to do to make the Windows PC, let's just say fine-tuned
00:20:17.349 --> 00:20:20.269
to be a good recording thing.
00:20:20.629 --> 00:20:26.069
Now, once it's tuned, a PC can work beautifully. And there's a lot of very talented
00:20:26.069 --> 00:20:31.469
engineers and geeky people who have very well hot-rodded and tuned PCs.
00:20:31.789 --> 00:20:36.989
And that's fine. If that's your thing, but I don't want to be concerned with that.
00:20:37.289 --> 00:20:41.629
I want to have something simpler to operate and more just predictable.
00:20:41.949 --> 00:20:45.769
Right. So, so it's going to be a $300 Mac.
00:20:45.929 --> 00:20:52.769
Go on M go on eBay and buy a Mac mini M one for $300.
00:20:53.289 --> 00:20:54.509
I just bought my daughter one
00:20:54.509 --> 00:20:59.609
on eBay. It is exactly the same computer I'm using in my studio right now.
00:21:00.049 --> 00:21:03.549
And it is more than enough for voiceover.
00:21:03.769 --> 00:21:12.109
And it just, since, since Mac controls every aspect of the hardware, the, the, the,
00:21:13.391 --> 00:21:21.571
reducers or the developers of digital audio workstations can more easily make
00:21:21.571 --> 00:21:25.171
their equipment work with a Mac because they don't have to worry about somebody
00:21:25.171 --> 00:21:30.671
else's graphics card or a different sound card or a different circuitry in there.
00:21:31.271 --> 00:21:35.931
And George, pardon me? Or IRQ conflict. Oh, gosh, yes.
00:21:35.951 --> 00:21:37.371
Windows people know what that means.
00:21:37.371 --> 00:21:44.331
Yeah. And George, you also just got yourself a MacBook Air, a used MacBook Air
00:21:44.331 --> 00:21:48.071
with an M1 chip in it for $800.
00:21:48.831 --> 00:21:52.431
And that'll last, I don't know, it's got to be three or four years old,
00:21:52.531 --> 00:21:55.971
but it'll last you another three or four years or even longer.
00:21:55.971 --> 00:22:04.631
I had my first Mac was a Mac Pro desktop that I used for 11 years.
00:22:05.331 --> 00:22:05.811
Wow.
00:22:06.011 --> 00:22:10.531
And I was able to upgrade the RAM, but all it did was work well.
00:22:10.651 --> 00:22:14.451
And my son got me to change from Windows machines to Mac.
00:22:14.591 --> 00:22:19.491
And he said, Dad, just think of the simplest, dumbest, easiest way to do something.
00:22:19.591 --> 00:22:20.571
And that's how Mac does it.
00:22:21.251 --> 00:22:25.951
Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, there's feature, we always call it feature
00:22:25.951 --> 00:22:27.871
creep. There's feature creep in everything.
00:22:28.111 --> 00:22:30.951
Because the only way they'll sell you a new computer is to tell you that all
00:22:30.951 --> 00:22:35.691
the new stuff is so cool, you can't not get it. So you got to buy a new computer, right?
00:22:36.031 --> 00:22:40.891
But we know that in the professional world, pros don't need new things all the time.
00:22:41.251 --> 00:22:45.711
And you learn something and you learn to rely on it and you keep it in service
00:22:45.711 --> 00:22:47.271
for a long period of time.
00:22:47.671 --> 00:22:52.311
That's really the way pros work. Pros do not keep buying and upgrading every
00:22:52.311 --> 00:22:57.511
year. They, they use a consistent stable thing and they use it. So yeah.
00:22:57.671 --> 00:22:59.511
My microphone's 15 years old.
00:23:00.428 --> 00:23:06.348
Microphones are going to be the longest lasting piece of gear you have will
00:23:06.348 --> 00:23:08.248
be your microphone it will outlast
00:23:08.248 --> 00:23:13.288
almost anything in the studio it may at some point need to be cleaned,
00:23:13.888 --> 00:23:18.788
10 15 years later you might want to get it cleaned and serviced because it's
00:23:18.788 --> 00:23:23.728
been collecting spit and dust and whatever on its capsule for many many years
00:23:23.728 --> 00:23:27.868
so not a bad idea but generally mics are are a good investment.
00:23:27.868 --> 00:23:29.348
I have like a 20
00:23:29.348 --> 00:23:35.248
I have a 25 year old audio technica 4033 and it's still i had one of those studio
00:23:35.248 --> 00:23:39.148
and my students use it but it's a great mic you know
00:23:39.148 --> 00:23:44.108
I was one of the early days non-german studio
00:23:44.108 --> 00:23:47.548
condenser large diaphragm cardioid mics that
00:23:47.548 --> 00:23:50.468
was the gold that was like they were one of the first ones to say look
00:23:50.468 --> 00:23:57.168
you can buy a 500 mic and it can be amazingly good and it's obtainable so that
00:23:57.168 --> 00:24:01.968
one's always been yeah the 4033 you know it's not as flashy or it's not been
00:24:01.968 --> 00:24:09.728
the latest native thing but any day of the week the 4033 holds holds uh holds its own yeah no problem.
00:24:09.728 --> 00:24:14.508
Yeah and you sound like you on it right linda you sound like you
00:24:14.508 --> 00:24:20.008
I do i mean i'm used to using my sennheiser but yeah the Audio has held a special
00:24:20.008 --> 00:24:22.928
place in my heart since it was back when I was first, you know,
00:24:23.028 --> 00:24:24.168
really recording from home.
00:24:24.368 --> 00:24:29.348
But so, George, tell us how what's your process like if someone wants you to
00:24:29.348 --> 00:24:32.168
help them with their studio? How do you make that work remotely?
00:24:33.948 --> 00:24:37.468
Well, this is where my website gets a little out of control because I've thought
00:24:37.468 --> 00:24:39.828
of so many different ways to serve people.
00:24:40.803 --> 00:24:46.123
Starting from the most free thing possible, which is a lot of videos and blog
00:24:46.123 --> 00:24:47.663
posts on there to learn from.
00:24:48.343 --> 00:24:52.963
There's a search utility on there that's like a chat bot thing where you can
00:24:52.963 --> 00:24:57.503
click on my little tiny head and then it pops up and you can type things in
00:24:57.503 --> 00:25:02.063
and it'll help you find answers on the website or find resources. That's all free.
00:25:02.703 --> 00:25:05.843
Then the next thing from there would be a sound check, which would be send me
00:25:05.843 --> 00:25:09.363
your audio from the gear you do already have and the setup you already have.
00:25:09.363 --> 00:25:14.523
And send me your files with a selfie of you at your mic so I can see your mic placement.
00:25:15.143 --> 00:25:19.903
And I'll take a listen and give you my notes on how you're doing.
00:25:20.163 --> 00:25:23.063
That's extremely high value prospect for $40.
00:25:23.783 --> 00:25:28.763
And then from there on, it's more, there's a lot of other what I call self-service
00:25:28.763 --> 00:25:33.883
or virtual engineering things like processing presets. We talked about it quite a lot.
00:25:34.143 --> 00:25:38.903
Mastering presets and all sorts of stuff. There's a lot of ways.
00:25:39.363 --> 00:25:42.183
But if you really do want to sit down and have a consult a
00:25:42.183 --> 00:25:45.063
consultation consultation with me
00:25:45.063 --> 00:25:48.163
one on one you can do that too there's a service called
00:25:48.163 --> 00:25:52.603
george whittem consults and i'll we'll do a zoom together and i will answer
00:25:52.603 --> 00:25:58.043
a million questions and get you down the road as quickly as possible and that's
00:25:58.043 --> 00:26:03.703
available as well so there's a lot of ways we can work together and i've gotten
00:26:03.703 --> 00:26:05.743
very effective at doing this stuff remotely.
00:26:06.083 --> 00:26:09.203
I do make site visits and house calls.
00:26:09.323 --> 00:26:12.843
I have a few folks who are on a membership with me. I see them on a quarterly
00:26:12.843 --> 00:26:16.483
or annual or even monthly basis, a few of them here in LA.
00:26:16.703 --> 00:26:21.123
But overall, there's so much we can do together. I also have a membership for
00:26:21.123 --> 00:26:24.863
people that want to just check in with me every couple of weeks on Zoom,
00:26:25.083 --> 00:26:28.683
join in our Zoom meetings, get more ongoing support,
00:26:29.103 --> 00:26:32.003
get, you know, access to our webinar library.
00:26:32.003 --> 00:26:35.043
We have an extremely robust library of
00:26:35.043 --> 00:26:37.823
videos and training content now that we've built and
00:26:37.823 --> 00:26:41.663
we teach i teach new stuff every month so there's
00:26:41.663 --> 00:26:45.763
a lot of different ways to to get help and support at different budget points
00:26:45.763 --> 00:26:49.563
just depends on how much like on you really want to talk to me one-on-one okay
00:26:49.563 --> 00:26:53.263
that's probably the most expensive sure but there's a lot of other things we
00:26:53.263 --> 00:26:58.943
can do on different levels as well so a lot of ways we can we can help you and your.
00:26:58.943 --> 00:27:03.883
Website your head george the dot tech is that the move your
00:27:03.883 --> 00:27:09.363
Head george the dot tech my name is my address okay.
00:27:09.363 --> 00:27:11.743
Very very nice i really appreciate all this
00:27:11.743 --> 00:27:15.663
Information and he's got a great team he's got a great team as well he's got
00:27:15.663 --> 00:27:19.523
a bunch of people working with him who if george is not available he's got other
00:27:19.523 --> 00:27:25.823
folks who are and i've veiled myself with with Jim Edgar is one of the guys on your team still right
00:27:26.886 --> 00:27:31.286
Yeah. Jim runs his own consulting business. And when I was looking to bring
00:27:31.286 --> 00:27:36.426
more people into the fold, he was one of the folks I approached and he was like,
00:27:36.546 --> 00:27:37.626
I'd love to work with you.
00:27:37.726 --> 00:27:40.946
I respect you and we respect each other tremendously. We're also bike nerds too.
00:27:41.126 --> 00:27:46.326
So we have multiple level bicycle nerds. So we both have a lot in common,
00:27:46.326 --> 00:27:52.526
but yeah, we've got folks at his level with just as much experience as I do that are available.
00:27:52.726 --> 00:27:55.746
And we also have Mike McGonigal, who's our resident windows guy
00:27:55.746 --> 00:27:58.986
so if you have a windows specific issue you will
00:27:58.986 --> 00:28:01.606
you will book when you go to the website to book a service let's say you
00:28:01.606 --> 00:28:04.926
go to the windows support you know it's something windows related
00:28:04.926 --> 00:28:10.286
you're gonna only get people that are windows experts it the system is designed
00:28:10.286 --> 00:28:15.406
so that you're gonna book time with the windows people right and so whoever
00:28:15.406 --> 00:28:18.406
you get will be an expert in what it is you need to learn you know the menu
00:28:18.406 --> 00:28:22.126
is long we have services for adobe audition twisted Wave, Pro Tools,
00:28:23.006 --> 00:28:25.326
SoundSource Connect, you know, on and on.
00:28:25.526 --> 00:28:29.426
But it's designed so that when you book somebody's support, you're getting somebody
00:28:29.426 --> 00:28:31.226
on our team who's an expert on that thing.
00:28:31.686 --> 00:28:32.666
Specific to that.
00:28:33.186 --> 00:28:34.486
Yeah, that's how it's set up.
00:28:34.826 --> 00:28:38.426
This has been great. I appreciate, and I'm sure listeners are going to appreciate
00:28:38.426 --> 00:28:41.606
all this information because this is what we all need to know.
00:28:41.826 --> 00:28:43.866
But both Rob and George, thank you
00:28:43.866 --> 00:28:47.846
for your time today. It was an absolute pleasure. And put in the notes.
00:28:47.846 --> 00:28:48.926
Thanks for having me.
00:28:49.006 --> 00:28:52.406
How to reach you guys. Of course, that wraps up another episode of the Voice
00:28:52.406 --> 00:28:54.866
Over Guru's podcast, a very informative one.
00:28:55.006 --> 00:28:57.186
I'll have to figure out if I put this into two or not.
00:28:57.906 --> 00:28:59.946
But yeah, everybody have a great rest of your day.
00:29:01.840 --> 00:29:29.294