Help the clarity

Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2005 8:39 am

Hi, I'm a newb to posting but have enjoyed what I have learned from reading. I hope you can help me. I have a small recording studio and we handle tons of cable t.v v/o's from tele-commuting voice talent. We've recently added one who has an odd quality to the sound of her audio, and I thought if I posted her chain here, you could give me some suggestions for her. First, what I'm receiving is a slightly distorted-sounding, flat vocal quality.

From her description: I'm using an AT814 directly into the microphone jack, with SoundForge Normalization at RMS -10db, slider set at 31.62%, attack and release both at 200.

I'm not an engineer, but I know the sound I hear could be vastly improved. I guess there's no mic preamp and no audio board. It sounds like she's going right into the computer(?).

Thanks for your input!

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 9:37 pm

I'm not an engineer either, and I don't record directly into my computer, but I'll tell you what kind of setup I have and maybe it might help. I recently bought an Audio Technica AT3035 condenser mic, which for me, is quite an upgrade from what I've been using, which is a couple of cheap Radio Shack condensers. I was using, (still do) an old Peavey six channel PA mixing board for my preamp.
I have been using that, along with the Radio Shack mics for several years. Since I bought the new AT3035, I also decided to buy a small Behringer Eurorack UB802 for a new preamp, because my Peavey board doesn't have phantom power. I also bought a DBX 266XL compressor/gate. I do not record using my computer. I use a Fostex VF160, then when I'm done mixing down my song, I transfer it to my computer where I can make CDs if I want.
I've found that it's not neccesary to be too close to the AT3035 to get a decent sound. Also, your friend should not allow her vocal recording to clip, as I've found that might cause distortion to her vocal track. A good compressor will help with this problem.
I know the equipment I said I have is quite different from your friend's, but I hope I've helped you in some way.

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