I'm constantly astounded with the e-mails I get from home studio consultation clients. Most are pretty simple and involve a misplaced mouse click in a preference menu. "My mic won't work," "My levels are too low," "Why does my sound, sound distorted?"
I learned the art of troubleshooting from my, yes, 9th grade Power Mechanics teacher, Mr. Sohmann. A classic, brush cut and bow tie kind of a guy who was a true "teacher" in every sense of the word. He must have caught my 15 year old self's usually lacking attention. Those lessons learned in process checklists on how a lawn mower works and can malfunction apply across several technical disciplines. I see his face every time I'm faced with a troubleshooting question.
Those of you who are familiar with computer programming know what an algorithm is. "This- then this- if this- this -if not- this," is the essence of an algorithm. If something in a chain of events does not work properly, the chain ends there and the end function does not occur as expected, or at all.
Troubleshooting is an algorithm. In Mr. Sohmann's example, a lawn mower or any internal combustion engine, you need three things for the motor to fire up and do its "work." Fuel, air, and spark. If the motor won't run, you go through that checklist. Do you have gas? Is it flowing to the carburetor? If yes fine. If not, why not? Fix the "why not." Do you have air? Is the throttle working? Is the air filter clogged? If no problem there, check the spark plug...etc. etc...and down the line until you find the missing or malfunctioning link in the chain.
In a home voice over studio, the same logic applies. What does your computer need to record that audio? Your voice, a microphone, a cable to take the microphones analog signal to a digital interface, which converts the analog audio signal to the bits and bytes your computer and software understand, and can use to magnetically imprint on your hard drive. Each device has a function and has its own algorithm to function. Knowing those individual functions, without necessarily knowing how that function works, only that it does or does not work, is usually enough to go through the checklist and find your problem. Having been around sound processing equipment my entire life, the checklists are ingrained in my mind. If you really have no idea how your voice gets from your vocal chords to the hard drive, you call me.
When I got this e-mail from my client "Jim," it was so unusual, you would think that this logic would be thrown out of kilter. You have to hear and see this in a waveform in order to really get an idea of what I was presented.
Hello Master VO,
I hope all is well in your world and you had a great holidays. After we talked several months ago, I did as you suggested as I set up my home studio in my closet. It also gives me an alone space in which to hide from time to time. I also worked on reducing the over modulating and I've been happy with what the results have been.
However, now I have a problem that I'm unable to figure out. I plugged everything in to do an audition this morning and there's something in the background that almost sounds like an irregular heartbeat that I can't remove. I've got the MXL hanging from the suspension thing and when I couldn't get it to stop, I tried it in the firm holder and still no good. I made sure nothing was touching the stand; no breezes coming in; everything looks like it's still, quiet, and as it's supposed to.
I closed the closet door so nothing was inside but the mic and stand and recorded about 10 seconds. I then normalized it so you can really hear the demon that has possessed the thing. The click in the background was my wife locking me up so disregard that part. Please, help. Any suggestions as to what might be causing this?
Listen for yourself....
The algorithm still applies though.... I solve it by asking questions...I had a hunch based on prior knowledge of something. My line of questioning proved my thesis.
You screwing around with me? I'm not a doctor (But I've played one on TV) and that sounds like Atrial Fibrillation.
Have you had any power surges lately? Sometimes the electronics can be zapped by that and screw things up. (MY HUNCH) There's only one way to find out. You have to use something else to track down the source. For instance, what are you using for a Digital interface, a Mic Port Pro or is the Microphone a USB mic? You have to have a an alternate input device to see if its the mic, the D/I, or your just really excited when you get in the room.
What are you using? I can make a suggestion when you tell me.
You're using a Mobile Pre USB. Guess what? I think it's fried. How do I know? A few years back, after a big ice storm and lots of power surges in our neighborhood, my M-Audio MobilePre did something similar and started sending "Snaps" into the audio. I replaced it and away went the problem. I used it a few weeks ago for something and its still doing it. How long have you had it? It may be a design flaw.
That said, It may be time to get yourself a CEntrance Mic Port Pro or something I just started using, an Apogee ONE. The Mic Port works great for $150. Really!
I'm 99% sure that's it.
About The Author
Buffalo, NY native Dan Lenard has been a radio personality, an insurance sales consultant, a high school Media and Social Studies teacher and a stay-at-home dad. He earned his BA in Broadcasting from Buffalo State College in 1980, a New York State teaching certificate from Buff State in 1997 and then in 2002, an MA in Creative Studies from again, his hometown Alma Mater.
Dear Master VO,
I'm a British actor, and have been doing voiceover work on and off and am now taking the plunge into setting up my own mini home studio. I've been researching on your great posts and via other sites the type of mic to go for and am wavering between the Samson C01U or the C03U. A review I read said that the '3' is best for multi-instruments and that the C01U is great just for the voice. Am I right in thinking I'm not losing out as a voice artist in any other way by buying the earlier model and can happily go for the C01U without fear of missing later techno improvements?
Secondly I have a laptop (Dell Inspiron 1545) with Windows Vista. I take it that using this set-up with such a mic and Audacity software should be perfectly compatible?
Just thought I'd best check these things before making the purchase. Your help would be great - thankyou! :O)
Greetings and Salutations Ian!
Thank you for your compliments.
OK, the CO1U....."As time, keeps flowing like a river, to the sea," as Alan Parsons once put it, Master VO's philosophy evolves with the changing technology in our industry.
5 years ago, the CO1U was a great leap forward for beginners to start learning the use of digital audio creation and editing software, without breaking the bank. The CO1U was surpassed by its next competitor, Blue's "Snowball," and then over time, every microphone manufacturer entered the marketplace with a USB microphone. Another development was USB adapter modules for ANY Microphone, most notably the CEntrance Mic Port Pro, which is VERY easy to use, Blues, "Icicle" and Marshall's "Mike Mate." The Mic Port is truly amazing!
There's one major drawback to these mics though. They are notorious for introducing background "white noise" because of the difficulty in getting enough input volume from some less than perfect digital converters. The Mic Port Pro has great digital converters and totally eliminates that problem!
I'm now recommending that people can start off with a CO1U or CO3U, the Snowball or one of Marshall's USB models if dollars or pounds is your top criteria for selection. If not, go through any of the retailers catalogs and see the price ranges of the other more expensive USB condenser mics, like the Shure, or the SE Electronics models. They are an improvement.
OR...
Buy a good $200 condenser, like say Harlan Hogan's VO: 1-A, which is excellent for voice over (too many others to mention) and get a Mic Port Pro, which is $150 US, and you'll be set for some time with a simple set-up of a quality mic and digital interface that will work as well as anything else.
You can spend a fortune on mics and complex digital interfaces, but today, it really isn't necessary, because you can get competitive sound from these more budget oriented models and simple set-ups. its your wallet and its your sound. the choice is yours.
Master Vo....
Hi ALL ,,
I have Aquestion .. iam arabic voice over and need to know your openion of my sound cad Realtik High Defintion version 2009
should i have to chang it to creative ? is it will makes my sound better ? or this demo quality is good ? alsow i want to know is theres anoise in it .. so please listen and resend me your openion .
ah forgat my mic is ( sure pg58 ) is it alsow good or buy another ?
heres the demo recorded from my mic and my sound card
and alsow filtered by my program adobe audition . listen to it :)
http://www.voices.com/demo_detail/67089
Waiting :)
Hi, Dan, happened onto your blog via a Google search...and WOW! First I'll say my head is "swimming" with what software/mic/interface to use in setting up my home studio, but I am struck by your generosity in the time and care you take with answering questions. That is very nice.
I am just starting out in VO, have a new 27" iMac and noted you said one could simply start with the included Garage Band software. Do I need a pre-amp and interface as well? (not sure of the diff. btween the two) :) And if so, what would you recommend. Should I use external speakers or are the built-ins adequate? I saw you recommended Harlan's mike with Mike Port Pro, is that all I would need with my Garage Band to be able to effectively provide voicework online?
Thanks so very much for your input. Tracie