The Pro Audio Suite: Recent Episodes
Voodoo Sound
Hosted by voice-over and audio pros, George 'The Tech' Whittam, Robert Marshall from Source Connect and SUM1, Darren 'Robbo' Robertson from Voodoo Sound and Andrew Peters a voice-over talent home studio expert.
The Pro Audio Suite features interviews with key players not just in VO but anything to do with audio and voice over. They also talk about tech stuff, VO tips and industry news! The Pro Audio Suite is delivered weekly.
How do you build a voiceover audition setup when the room is tiny, space is precious, and you really don't want to pull the whole thing apart every time you're finished?
AP's daughter has moved into a share house in Melbourne and needs something permanent enough to give her consistent audition audio without taking over the room.
The gear is already pretty capable: a RØDE NTG3, CEntrance MicPort Pro, Porta Booth, TwistedWave, Source Connect and a trusty old pair of AKGs. The question is how to put it all together so it actually works.
That gets the guys talking about mic placement, portable acoustic treatment, desk stands versus boom arms, why positioning can matter more than buying a better microphone, and Robert's recent experience trying to record someone through a remarkably cheap USB mic.
Then the conversation turns to a bigger issue for working voice actors. When did having a broadcast quality home studio become something clients simply expected talent to provide for free?
Plus old AKG headphones, MRI headphones, sagging boom arms, remote studio costs, subtle compression and the engineers who can hear processing you thought nobody would ever notice.
Featuring George Whittam, Robert Marshall, Andrew Peters and Robbo.
Recorded using Source Connect. Edited by Andrew Peters. Mixed by Robbo.
Got an audio problem of your own? Visit justaskrobbo.com
Join the conversation at theproaudiosuite.com
Do voice actors really need in ear monitors?
They offer excellent isolation and can sound fantastic, but they can also feel uncomfortable, create an unnatural sense of pressure, and make it harder to hear your own voice unless your direct monitoring is set up properly.
In this episode, George, Robert, Robbo and AP look at when headphone isolation genuinely matters, including WALA sessions, radio interviews, music driven reads, remote recording, pickups and situations where headphone bleed can end up permanently embedded in the recording.
They also consider the complete opposite approach. Rather than blocking everything out, could lightweight open headphones give voice actors a more natural performance while still providing enough cue audio for punch and roll recording?
Robbo shares how headphone bleed unexpectedly saved part of a previous Pro Audio Suite episode. A damaged recording contained a missing line from Robert, but a faint version had leaked into another host's headphones. After gaining it up, processing it and running it through Waves ReGen, Robbo was able to slip the repaired line back into the episode.
The team also discusses reading to music, reading to picture, custom in ear monitors, cheap Koss headphones, modular AIAIAI headphones, and Robert's experimental plan to eliminate Source Connect echo with a ribbon microphone, a loudspeaker and some carefully aimed figure-eight rejection.
IN THIS EPISODE
- Why voice actors consider in ear monitors
- When headphone bleed actually causes problems
- Why WALA sessions require serious isolation
- Radio interviews and remote recording echo
- Recording pickups when music has leaked into the original take
- Reading voiceover scripts with music underneath
- When music improves a performance
- Reading to picture and visual timing cues
- How headphone bleed helped rescue a damaged podcast episode
- Using Waves ReGen to reconstruct missing dialogue
- Robert's figure eight microphone experiment
- Why sealed in ears can make some performers feel uncomfortable
- The importance of direct monitoring with IEMs
- Open headphones for punch and roll recording
- Affordable Koss headphones for voice actors
- Custom moulded in ears
- Modular AIAIAI TMA headphones
What is the cleanest way to connect several microphones, preamps and audio interfaces without constantly crawling behind the rack?
AP starts with what sounds like a simple question about expanding the line-level inputs on his Audient iD44. That sends the team down a glorious rabbit hole involving passive switchers, mic splitters, USB converters, matrix routers, the Heritage Audio Synth Buddy, ESI interfaces, Broadcast Tools, Source-Nexus and the Passport VO.
Eventually, one decidedly old-school solution keeps winning the argument: the humble patchbay.
The team discusses quarter-inch, Bantam and TT patchbays, normalled and half-normalled connections, passive mic splitting, phantom power, transformer isolation, corrosion, loose connectors and why adding another preamp stage may not be the sonic disaster people imagine.
Along the way, George mourns the disappearance of simple line-level audio interfaces, Robert explains how passive splitters survive real concert recording jobs, and Robbo demonstrates his remarkable ability to make a straightforward signal path impressively complicated.
In this episode:
• Switching several microphones and preamps into one interface • Passive line-level switchers versus audio interfaces • Why a patchbay may be the simplest solution • Normalled, half-normalled and open patchbay configurations • Quarter-inch patchbays versus TT and Bantam systems • Passive microphone splitting and phantom power • Transformer isolation and troublesome ground loops • Keeping the signal path clean without overengineering it
The Pro Audio Suite is hosted by George Whittam, Robert Marshall, Andrew Peters and Darren "Robbo" Robertson.
Thanks to our sponsors:
Tri-Booth Austrian Audio, Making Passion Heard
Leave a comment, suggest a topic or simply say g'day at theproaudiosuite.com.
The Neumann U87 may be one of the most recognisable microphones in the world, but does that make it the right microphone for voiceover and animation?
This week, the team digs into the reputation, sound and real world value of the U87. Andrew is considering one for Somerset's animation work, which sparks a much bigger discussion about why certain microphones become industry standards and whether producers genuinely require them.
We compare the U87 with alternatives including the Neumann TLM 103, TLM 193, U89, Sennheiser MKH 416, Microtech Gefell models and the Austrian Audio OC818.
The conversation covers:
• Why animation studios sometimes record with both a U87 and a 416 • Whether microphone requirements are about sound or repeatability • The differences between older U87s and newer U87 Ai models • Why a great microphone can still sound ordinary in a poor room • The U87 compared with the Austrian Audio OC818 • Transformer and transformerless microphone designs • Whether the mic, preamp or converter makes the biggest difference • Why performance and room acoustics still come first • Processing, reverb and the engineer's role in the final sound
Is the U87 still the ultimate voiceover microphone, or has its reputation become bigger than the microphone itself?
Thanks to our sponsors:
Austrian Audio Making Passion Heard.
Find out more about the team and the show at theproaudiosuite.com.
This week on The Pro Audio Suite, the crew dives into the weirdly perfect world of AI fixing AI.
Robert shares a corporate video job about AI adoption that was, rather beautifully, rescued by AI audio cleanup. Robbo jumps in with his own tale of a big corporate shoot where the lapel mics were fitted, but somehow the camera mic was what got recorded. Enter Source Elements ReGen.
The team talks through where tools like ReGen sit in the real world of audio post. Not as a first choice, not as a magic button, but as a serious get out of jail option when the recording is so far gone that traditional noise reduction is not really the answer anymore.
From there, things take a sharp left into AI watermarking, audio disclosure, stealth metadata, digital rights management, and whether AI voices on radio should be clearly labelled. Is the problem AI itself, or is it the lack of honesty around how it is being used?
There is also a brief but important discussion about using AI cleanup for auditions, why bad audio can affect casting decisions before anyone even realises it, and whether Robbo should launch his own service called RoboGen.
In this episode:
• Source Elements ReGen in real post-production jobs • Fixing badly recorded corporate audio • Why ReGen is different from normal noise reduction • AI audio cleanup for voiceover auditions • Watermarking AI images and audio • Disclosure around AI voices on radio • Why honesty may matter more than the tool itself • The birth of RoboGen, unfortunately
Thanks to our sponsors Austrian Audio, making passion heard.
Got your own audio issues? Just Ask Robbo.
This week on The Pro Audio Suite, George brings out a little show and tell with the SSL One, SSL's compact single mic preamp interface aimed squarely at the same world as the Scarlett Solo and other simple home studio boxes.
The team gets into what actually matters for voice actors and home studio users, including physical gain knobs, direct monitoring, high pass filters, 4K mode, USB-C connections, headphone control, auto gain, clip protection, and why simple interfaces are sometimes the best interfaces.
There is also a little live testing with Twisted Wave, a quick look at Source Elements Recorder on mobile, some PASport VO phone patch chat, and the usual collection of detours involving Jack FM, trap doors, yacht rock, and turntables that apparently survive being moved while playing.
If you are a voice actor, producer, podcaster, or home studio owner trying to choose an audio interface without accidentally buying a puzzle box, this one is worth a watch.
Thanks to our sponsors, Austrian Audio.
Recorded using Source-Connect, edited by Andrew Peters, and mixed by Voodoo Sound.
This week on The Pro Audio Suite, the crew dives into one of the biggest traps in audio production: trusting what you think you're hearing.
Robbo talks about working in an unfamiliar studio and being reminded how much your room, routing, monitoring chain, headphones, templates and habits shape the way you work. The conversation moves into headphone mixing, crossfeed, SPL monitoring, virtual control rooms, Sonarworks, Waves room emulation, EQ Mac, old school graphic EQs, and the fine art of not destroying your mix because your room has a 120Hz attitude problem.
There's also a proper old school tangent involving INXS, cassettes, car checks, Chernobyl, 1980s hi fi EQs, and the horror of someone flattening your carefully rung out live sound graphics.
If you've ever mixed in a strange room, questioned your headphones, or wondered whether your monitors are telling the truth, this one's for you.
Thanks to our sponsors, Austrian Audio.
This week on The Pro Audio Suite, we take a first look at the new Source Elements Recorder, a browser-based recording tool designed for voice actors, producers and modern remote workflows.
George opens it up live during the episode with no rehearsal, no manual and no safety net, while Robert walks him through the setup, recording options and deeper features. Along the way, they explore sample rates, bit depth, mono and stereo recording, loudness targets, waveform displays, peak meters, noise floor readings, take management, ratings, notes, level conforming and export options.
What starts out looking like a simple web recorder quickly reveals itself as something much more interesting. The team digs into where this could fit for auditions, podcast recording, voiceover delivery, producer workflows and future cloud-based collaboration.
There's also talk about editing, MP3 delivery, AAF exports, session sharing, file naming, Dropbox-style workflows, watermarking, DRM, AI voice protection and, because it is The Pro Audio Suite, a fairly rapid descent into the end of civilisation.
In this episode The team covers:
• First impressions of the Source Elements Recorder • Recording directly in a browser • Choosing input devices, sample rate and bit depth • Mono vs stereo recording for voice work • Loudness targets for podcasts, voice acting, Netflix, Spotify and more • The oscilloscope-style waveform display • Peak meters, noise floor and LUFS readouts • Take naming, starring and notes • Level conforming vs normalising • How this could help voice actors with auditions • Why browser-based tools could suit mobile recording • Future editing and delivery possibilities • Export formats, AAF sessions and file naming templates • Workflow ideas for casting, producers and agents • Watermarking, DRM and protecting voice recordings in the AI era
The team breaks down what "acceptable audio" really means for voice actors recording from home, from reflections and noise to mic placement, editing, clothing rustle and using reference recordings. What actually counts as acceptable audio when you're recording voiceover from home?
That question came up after Robbo spoke with a group of aspiring voice actors in Perth. The advice was simple enough, don't overprocess, don't gate everything, and send clean raw audio when asked. But one student asked the thing every beginner wants to know: how do I know if what I'm recording is actually good enough?
In this episode, Robbo, Robert, George and eventually AP unpack the answer. They talk about why reflections are often a bigger problem than background noise, why "boxy" booth sound is so hard to fix, and why a great recording is usually more about the room than the microphone.
The crew also gets into mic technique, the danger of editing yourself into oblivion, clothing noise, hair rustle, inconsistent recording levels, portable booths, the value of reference recordings, and why sometimes "consistent but flawed" is much easier to work with than audio that keeps changing from take to take.
There's also a detour into rare microphones, a surprise AP entrance, and Robbo discovering that the PASport VO may have just made phone patching easier than expected.
Thanks to our sponsors, Austrian Audio, making passion heard.
Apple has not always been known as the bargain option, but the latest Apple Silicon Macs might be changing that conversation.
In this episode, the team gets into the surprising value of the M4 Mac Mini, why even a base model can be serious overkill for many voice actors, and how smaller machines like the MacBook Air and MacBook "Neo" style systems compare for remote sessions, Source Connect, Pro Tools, and travel rigs.
The conversation also wanders into classic Pro Audio Suite territory, including old Macs that refuse to die, running Linux or Windows on ageing Apple hardware, right to repair, weird manufacturer lockouts, obsolete cables, Shure MV88 bargain hunting, Pro Tools archiving disasters, and why keeping your sessions self contained still matters.
There is also a very important chainsaw story. Obviously.
Thanks to our sponsors, Austrian Audio, making passion heard for supporting the show.
00:00 Intro and sponsor mention 00:33 Talking Macs before the show 01:20 The M4 Mac Mini and Apple's surprising value 02:29 Apple Silicon price to performance 03:38 Why older M1 machines still hold up 04:02 Using a Mac Mini as a road computer 05:22 Is the Mac Mini overkill for VO work? 06:38 MacBook Air, external monitors, and display quirks 09:04 Apple cables, chips, and control 10:04 The end of Lightning and the move to USB C 12:09 Audio interfaces on iPhone and iPad 12:30 Shure MV88 bargains for older iPhones 14:43 Right to repair 16:11 Robbo's old chainsaw story 18:21 Repair restrictions and replacement culture 19:29 Mac longevity 20:18 Running Windows on an old iMac 22:03 Linux on old Apple hardware 25:29 Old drives, CDs, DVDs, and lost archives 26:12 Mezzo and old Pro Tools backups 27:13 Missing Pro Tools audio files 28:33 Pro Tools archiving tip, sort by file path 29:54 Wrap up and credits
This week on The Pro Audio Suite, things go gloriously off the rails.
AP has been rebuilding his studio, and is talking reclaimed timber and custom desks, George is showing off weird vintage Apple gear, and somewhere in the middle, the boys fall down a rabbit hole involving Korg M1s, old ISDN boxes, retro synths, ancient Macs, and why audio people can never throw anything away.
There's also a surprisingly deep discussion about why the physical studio environment matters creatively, why a tidy desk changes your mindset, and how modern workflows are reshaping how studios are built and used.
Plus: • Studio rebuild ideas and workflow tweaks • Reclaimed timber stories from Australia and the US • Vintage synths and old gear suddenly becoming valuable again • Apple Neos, fanless laptops, and remote session setups • PASport VO in real world workflows • Why old Macs refuse to die • The weird psychology of creative spaces • 80s and 90s music production nostalgia • Why nobody seems to jam together anymore
It's part studio therapy session, part gear archaeology dig, and part pub chat between audio nerds.
Thanks to our sponsors: Tri-Booth and Austrian Audio.
What happens when audio is so bad… even the best plugins can't save it?
In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, we're joined by Michael "Gomez" Pearce-Adams from Waves Audio to talk about Voice Regeneration, a new AI-driven tool designed to rebuild poor-quality dialogue into something actually usable.
And this isn't just noise reduction or EQ… it's a complete rethink of how broken audio gets fixed.
We dig into:
- Why this will never be a plugin
- How AI is actually "rebuilding" voice recordings
- Real-world use cases, from podcast disasters to phone interviews
- What this means for audio engineers and post-production
- The limits of AI audio, and where it still falls over
There's also a bigger conversation here about where the industry is heading, and whether tools like this are helping or hurting the craft.
If you've ever been handed unusable audio and told "can you fix this?", this one's for you.
🎙️ What You'll Hear in This Episode * Why traditional tools fail on truly bad audio * The rise of content creators as the biggest audio market * Cloud processing vs plugin workflows * Ethical concerns around AI and audio data * Accent bias in AI models and why it matters * Real examples of voice regeneration in action * How fast AI processing is changing expectations
🔗 Links & Resources * 🌐 Waves Voice Regeneration: https://www.waves.com/voice-regeneration * 🎧 More episodes: https://www.proaudiosuite.com * 💬 Join the conversation: https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
🙌 Sponsors Thanks to our mates at:
- Tri-Booth – Portable vocal booths built for voice pros. Use code TRYPAS200 for $200 off.
- Austrian Audio – Making passion heard with world-class microphones like the OC818 and OC18.
TwistedWave has dropped updates that feel like they were built for anyone smashing through a pile of auditions or VO edits every day.
George walks through what's new in 32.3 and 32.4, including the ability to apply a Batch directly to your currently open file and map that Batch to a single keystroke. That means you can normalise to a target level, then apply a processing stack, all in one hit, without the old multi step workflow.
Then there's the new Repair tool, a quick "auto heal" style fix for little clicks, mouth noises, and short waveform anomalies. Select the problem area, hit a key, and TwistedWave smooths it out. No fiddly sample drawing required.
Also included, a friendly rant about software developers changing things that don't need changing, and why options matter.
Sponsors, Tribooth and Austrian Audio, Making Passion Heard.
Recorded using Source Connect. Edited by Andrew Peters. Mixed by Robbo.
Loopback is one of the most common and misunderstood problems in home studios.
In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, the team breaks down how the new Nexus Suite, specifically Nexus Review, makes it dramatically easier to capture system audio, create proper mix-minus setups, and send playback to clients without complicated routing.
If you have ever wrestled with UA Console routing, virtual drivers, Chrome output quirks, or Mac system audio conflicts, this one is for you.
We cover:
• Why traditional loopback setups get messy fast • The UA console routing method and its limitations • How Nexus Review captures system audio automatically • Why this eliminates feedback loops • Whether you still need an Apollo • Chrome finally fixing its output bug • What this means for USB interfaces and simpler setups
If you are podcasting, live streaming, directing voice talent, or running remote sessions, this episode will save you time and headaches.
Thanks to our sponsors:
Tri-Booth Professional vocal booths that keep your recordings clean and controlled. Use the code TRIPAP200 for $200 off yours...
Austrian Audio Makers of the OC818, OC18 and more. Making passion heard.
In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, the team dives into some major shifts in the audio industry.
Audio Tonics has acquired DPA, Austrian Audio, SSL, Harrison and more. What does this wave of consolidation mean for boutique brands and the future of innovation?
Then we unpack the developing Native Instruments insolvency proceedings. With Kontakt, iZotope, Plugin Alliance and Brainworx under that umbrella, what could this mean for producers, composers and post professionals? And does this reignite the subscriptions versus perpetual debate?
We also wander into:
• Neumann U47 reissue rumours • The real value of vintage microphones • Why old music keeps resurfacing • 8-tracks, cassettes, DAT and the democratisation of audio • LimeWire confessions and plugin hoarding
A wide ranging conversation about where audio has been and where it might be heading.
Thanks to our sponsors:
🎧 Austrian Audio – Making Passion Heard 🎙 Tribooth – Use code TRIPAP200 for $200 off
Find out more at https://theproaudiosuite.com Watch on YouTube and subscribe for future episodes.
In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, the team digs into a large-scale remote recording with Robert Marshall, capturing a full orchestra and 100-plus voice choir performing Handel's Messiah inside a church.
Robert breaks down his microphone choices, including Neumann KM184s, Austrian Audio CC8s, Schoeps mains, and why ORTF still delivers a convincing stereo image in complex acoustic spaces. We also talk about spot mic placement for piano and soloists, blending ambience naturally without artificial reverb, and the realities of recording live with zero second chances.
The conversation drifts into mobile recording rigs, spinning-disk backups, FireWire laptops, remote recording trucks, and the kind of gear paranoia that only comes from doing this work solo for decades.
It's a proper deep dive into classical capture, stereo technique, redundancy, and why "old-school" workflows still hold up in 2026.
Sponsors: Thanks to Austrian Audio – Making Passion Heard And Tri-Booth Use code TRIPAP200 to save $200 on your Tri-Booth.
A fascinating piece of gear quietly surfaced ahead of NAMM, and it sent us down a deep rabbit hole.
In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, the crew digs into the Carno Sepia system, a digitally controlled, fully analog modular hardware platform that feels like a modern reimagining of the 500 series concept, minus the knobs.
We unpack how it works, who it's really for, and whether this kind of hybrid approach is genuine innovation or just another expensive way to chase "analog purity." Along the way, we talk NAMM expectations, Sweetwater leaks, digitally controlled analog routing, redundancy, reliability fears, scratchy pots, touring rigs, and whether DSP has already caught up anyway.
This one is equal parts curiosity, scepticism, and hard-earned industry perspective.
In this episode: * A NAMM-bound product that surfaced early on Sweetwater * Digitally controlled analog hardware with no physical controls * How Carno Sepia compares to traditional 500 series systems * Routing, redundancy, and remote control advantages * Real-world concerns around longevity and software dependency * Analog obsession vs modern DSP reality * Who this gear actually makes sense for * Why some innovation feels brilliant and ridiculous at the same time Thanks to Tri-Booth and Austrian Audio for supporting The Pro Audio Suite.
2025 has been a big year for The Pro Audio Suite, so this episode is a full end-of-year wrap up with Robbo, Andrew Peters, George "The Tech" Whitham, and Robert Marshall.
We look back at the biggest moments, the most downloaded episodes, the conversations that sparked the most reaction, and the industry shifts that actually mattered.
From the launch of the PASport VO and real-world use cases, to persistent Source-Connect confusion, to the realities of AI in voiceover and audio production, this episode ties together the themes that defined 2025 for working audio pros.
We also talk gear myths, room realities, video versus audio podcasting, career curveballs, and why experience still beats prompts every single time.
If you've followed the show this year, this is the episode that puts it all in context.
Key Topics Covered * The biggest Pro Audio Suite episodes of 2025 * PASport VO real-world workflows and lessons learned * Source-Connect 3 vs 4, and why the bridge episode mattered * Why AI still struggles with direction, nuance, and repeatability * Gear matters less than people think, but understanding it matters more * Room setup and monitoring mistakes that keep catching people out * Audio-only vs video podcasting, what's worth the effort * Career curveball gigs from the hosts this year * Why experience still wins over automation
Thanks to our sponsors:
- Tri‑Booth
- Austrian Audio
Recorded using Source-Connect Edited by Andrew Peters
Mixed by Voodoo Sound
This week the team dives into one of the strangest mics we've ever had on the show. A client of George's sent through a full placement test of the Aston Element, the active moving-coil oddball with its own made-up technology name, the Rydion capsule. Aston claims it blends the bottom end of a dynamic, the clarity of a condenser, and the smoothness of a ribbon. Big call.
We compare it directly against a 416 and a TLM103, and the reactions in the room say everything. Does it punch above its weight? Is it just a quirky USB-era gimmick? Does it actually compete with entry-level VO mics? And most importantly, would any of us actually buy one?
We also wander into proximity effect, capsule placement inside shotgun mics, and George literally dismantles an NTG4 on air. Good fun.
If you're a mic nerd or you love oddball gear, you'll enjoy this one.
Brought to you by Tri-Booth and Austrian Audio. Tri-Booth discount code: TRIPAP200 for 200 bucks off. Austrian Audio, making passion heard.
Episode recorded and produced by The Pro Audio Suite.
Listen, explore, connect at proaudiosuite.com
This week we're digging into the skills that used to define the studio, back when audio wasn't just about tools and tech but the craft behind the session itself. Punch-ins, drop-ins, reading along with yourself, directing talent, matching pitch on the fly, using feel instead of formulas… so much of this has disappeared from the modern workflow. Robbo, AP, George and Robert swap stories from the tape era, pick apart why many of these skills are fading, and talk about what VO talent and engineers can learn from the old way of doing things. From casting realities to coaching blind spots, and even how quickly a demo gets skipped in a session, it's equal parts fun and brutally honest. We also touch on Toby Ricketts' blog on breath control and unseen punctuation
https://www.tobyrickettsvoiceover.com/blog/unseen-punctuation-how-breath-control-engages-eardrums Thanks to our sponsors TriBooth and Austrian Audio.
Use code TRY200 for 200 dollars off your TriBooth. Recorded using Source Connect, edited by Andrew Peters, mixed by Robbo.
Join the chat in our Facebook group.
Breaths — they're natural, emotional, and sometimes downright necessary. But should they always stay in your voice tracks? This week, the crew dives into the great de-breathing debate, inspired by a post from voice actor Toby Ricketts on how breaths act as "unseen punctuation." Robbo, AP, George the Tech, and Robert Marshall discuss when removing them improves clarity and when it strips away the performance. Along the way, they touch on AI voices, happy accidents, and the fine art of keeping things human — from Sting's laugh on Roxanne to Chad Smith breaking a drumstick mid-take. They also chat about Austrian Audio's new CC8 Supercardioid — a small-diaphragm beauty George currently has in front of him. Is it time to stop editing the life out of your sound? Tune in and take a breath.
🧠 Episode Keywords / Hashtags #ProAudioSuite #VoiceOver #AudioEditing #DeBreathing #VoiceActing #AIvoices #SoundDesign #Mixing #PodcastProduction #GeorgeTheTech #AustrianAudio #Tribooth 🏷 Sponsors This episode is brought to you by TriBooth and Austrian Audio.
Use the code TRIPAP200 to get $200 off your TriBooth.
Austrian Audio — Making Passion Heard. 🌐 Links * Toby Ricketts' Blog: "Unseen Punctuation – How Breath Control Engages Eardrums"
* Austrian Audio CC8 Supercardioid
* The Pro Audio Suite Website
* YouTube Channel
* Spotify
* Apple Podcasts
* Amazon Music
Finally! Apple’s latest iOS 26 update gives users control over which mic their iPhone or iPad apps use. Whether you’re recording with AirPods, a PASport VO, or your favourite external mic, you can now select your input per app — a massive leap for voice actors, podcasters, and mobile content creators. The team also unpacks the new AirPods Pro 3 and their surprisingly usable mic quality, adaptive noise reduction, and hearing-aid features. As always, the conversation goes off the rails (in the best way) with plenty of laughs and gear talk. 🎙️ In this episode: * Choosing your mic per app in iOS 26 * AirPods Pro 3 mic tests & live translation * Adaptive noise reduction that actually works * Using iPhones for auditions (and why it’s fine in a pinch) * iFixit teardown & the repairability debate * Chaotica Eyeball + iPhone = quick VO setup
🎛️ Hosts:
Andrew Peters, George ‘The Tech’ Whittam, Robert Marshall, and Darren ‘Robbo’ Robertson 🎧 Sponsors: * TriBooth — use code TRIPAP200 for $200 off
* Austrian Audio — Making passion heard
🔗 Join the conversation:
Facebook Group: The Pro Audio Suite Podcast Group
Website: www.proaudiosuite.com
This week, the crew takes a hard look at reflection filters — those curved bits of foam and metal you often see sitting behind microphones. Do they really make your recordings sound better, or are they just clever marketing? George “The Tech” Whittam, Robbo, Robert Marshall, and Andrew Peters break down what reflection filters actually do (and don’t do), why they often make voiceovers sound worse, and what to invest in instead if you want to improve your room sound. From the SE Electronics RF-X to the Aston Halo, the team compares designs, materials, and real-world results — and offers smarter, more effective alternatives for both travelling and home setups. 🎧 Recorded using Source Connect
🎚️ Edited by Andrew Peters. Mixed by Robbo. 🔊 Thanks to Our Sponsors This episode is brought to you by:
🎙️ Tri-Booth — the portable vocal booth used by the pros.
💰 Use code TRIPAP200 for $200 off your Tri-Booth at tribooth.com. 🎧 Austrian Audio — Making Passion Heard.
Check out their full range of professional mics and headphones at austrian.audio. 🔗 Links & Extras 🌐 theproaudiosuite.com
💬 Join the conversation: Pro Audio Suite Facebook Group
🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music
Ever wondered what those strange wooden grids on studio walls actually do? In this week’s episode, the guys dive into diffusers — how they work, when to use them, and why your small booth might not be the best place for one. We also chat about the brand-new Austrian Audio CC8 Supercardioid — the latest addition to their small-diaphragm condenser range — and how it performs in real-world sessions. From quadratic and skyline diffusers to the mysterious Fresnel-style designs, we break down what each type does to your sound, and why diffusion is often misunderstood. George shares insights from a beautifully treated garden-shed studio (yes, really), Robbo recalls diffusers hanging as ceiling “clouds” at Foxtel, and the crew even take a detour into restaurant acoustics — because if you can’t hear your dining partner, maybe they need better room treatment too! Whether you’re building a home studio or just want your booth to sound a little bigger, this one’s packed with real-world advice (and a few laughs along the way). 🎧 MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE * Austrian Audio CC8 Supercardioid (and upcoming release) * Quadratic, skyline, and Fresnel diffusers * Tube traps and hybrid panels * Auralex and GIK Acoustics products * RPG diffusers * Blackbird Studios Nashville * Soundprint App (for measuring restaurant noise levels)
🔊 SPONSORS Tri-Booth — Get $200 off your Tri-Booth with the code TRIPAP200 at tribooth.com
Austrian Audio — Makers of the OC818, OC18, and the brand-new CC8 Supercardioid. Making passion heard. 🌐 LINKS 🎧 www.proaudiosuite.com
🎥 YouTube: @proaudiosuitepodcast
💬 Join the discussion: Pro Audio Suite Facebook Group
Levels mysteriously rising and falling with no changes in your setup? In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, we go hunting for those dreaded signal-chain gremlins.
From flaky TRS connections that drop a balanced leg and cause sudden 6 dB losses, to patchbay switches that “moved themselves,” to the quirks of send/return jacks on interfaces like the Audient iD series—we unpack the common culprits behind random level swings.
We also share a practical, step-by-step troubleshooting method called binary reduction: change one thing at a time, ideally from the middle of the chain, and halve your suspect list with every move.
What you’ll learn:
- Why XLR usually outperforms TRS for reliable, balanced connections
- How to “exercise” or clean jacks to stop intermittent dropouts
- How the Return jack on the Audient iD bypasses the preamp (and why the Send is half-normalled)
- Why patchbays and inserts can be both lifesavers and headaches
- The simple logic of binary reduction for solving audio mysteries fast
Mentioned: Grace m101, Audient iD22/iD44, Mackie inserts, Apogee Duet, phantom power quirks, Behringer patchbay switches.
Sponsors:
- TriBooth — use code TRIPAP200 for USD $200 off your TriBooth
- Austrian Audio — Making passion heard.
Credits: Recorded via Source-Connect. Edited by Andrew Peters. Mixed by Robbo. Tech support by George “The Tech” Whittam. theproaudiosuite.com
This week the guys take a quick dive into one of the biggest factors that can make or break your booth sound: the room itself. From walk-in wardrobes to DIY blanket forts and even apartments in Rome, we talk about what really matters when it comes to room size, shape, reflections, and treatment.
Spoiler alert: bigger isn’t always better, but dead is definitely good.
Thanks to our sponsors TriBooth (use code TRIPAP200 for $200 off) and Austrian Audio – making passion heard.
Edited by Andrew Peters. Mixed by Robbo. Recorded via Source Connect with tech support from George “The Tech” Whittam.
Got your own audio issues? JustAskRobbo.com. Join the conversation in our Facebook group or drop us a note at theproaudiosuite.com.
voiceover booth, recording booth, room acoustics, voice acting tips, home studio setup, soundproofing, Pro Audio Suite, George the Tech, TriBooth, Austrian Audio
#ProAudioSuite #VoiceOver #HomeStudio #RecordingBooth #TriBooth #AustrianAudio #SourceConnect
This week on The Pro Audio Suite, the team dives into a question every engineer, producer, and voice actor has wrestled with: is outboard gear still worth the space and the spend?
From vintage LA-2As and Neve compressors to Avalons, VariMus, and the rise of clones and plug-ins, we break down:
- Whether classic hardware really goes up in value
- Why collectors, commercial studios, and voice actors see things differently
- The surprising role of AI in modeling old gear
- When plug-ins are “close enough”… and when they’re not
- Tales of gear that doubled in value (and some that didn’t keep up with inflation)
Join Robbo, AP, George the Tech, and Robert Marshall as they debate if that rack of gear is an investment or just taking up space.
Recorded with Source-Connect, edited by Andrew Peters, and mixed by Robbo.
🔗 Find us online at proaudiosuite.com
Thanks to our sponsors: 🎤 Tribooth — use code TRIPAP200 for $200 off 🎙 Austrian Audio — Making Passion Heard
We’re busting some of the biggest myths still floating around VO and podcast studios. From noise gates that wreck your takes to USB mics that promise “pro quality” but rarely deliver, we cut through the nonsense and share what actually works.
In this episode:
- Noise gates: why they usually cause more harm than good
- Noise reduction: AI vs old-school fingerprint NR
- USB mics: when they fail and why they’re limiting
- Expensive mics: shiny gear doesn’t fix a bad room
- Coaching: how much do you really need once you’re working?
- Booths & acoustics: why treatment matters more than a box, and why high ceilings aren’t the enemy
Hosts: Andrew Peters, George Whittam, Robert Marshall, and Robbo Sponsors: Proudly supported by Tri-Booth and Austrian Audio
George heads out on a time-sensitive PSA to capture wild VO lines at an actor’s house — and rebuilds a lean, one-case kit on the fly. We dig into what made the rig work, why he chose an onboard recorder for redundancy, mic choices (NTG-4 vs NTG-5), and a stack of road-tested tips from our early days hauling DA-88s, DATs and Franken-booms.
What we cover:
- Packing everything into a Pelican 1510 (laptop, interface, mic, stand, boom)
- Primary vs backup: PortCaster with onboard record + laptop DAW
- Why the NTG-4 worked (once the low-cut was off) and when the NTG-5 is nicer
- Quiet-room scouting at talent’s home (carpet, bookshelves, sofa placement)
- Redundancy paranoia that saves the day (and the gig)
- Old-school sync and remote workflows: clapper slates, Boom Recorder, Reaper, DA-88s, DAT, Ramza/Fostex rigs
Gear & software mentioned: Pelican 1510, Sentrance MicPort Pro, PortCaster, RØDE NTG-4/NTG-5, Grace Lunatec V2, Sony & Tascam DAT, Boom Recorder, Reaper, DA-88, Fostex 9624, Ramza 8-bus.
Sponsors: TRI-BOOTH — use code TRIPAP200 for $200 off your Tri-Booth. Austrian Audio — Making Passion Heard.
Credits: Recorded via Source-Connect. Edited by Andrew Peters. Mixed by Robbo. Tech support from George “The Tech” Whittam. Got an audio issue? JustAskRobbo.com
Ever been caught in a panic when Source-Connect 3 won’t talk to Source-Connect 4? You’re not alone. In this week’s Pro Audio Suite, the team dives into the Source-Connect Bridge—what it is, why it exists, and how it can save your session.
Robbo shares a real-world case of a talent stuck between versions, Robert explains how the Bridge works behind the scenes, and George breaks down when it’s the best option (hint: travelling VO talent on Windows, we’re looking at you).
We also get sidetracked on long VO sessions, Apple’s memo banning typewriters in 1980, and why agencies sometimes make a 10-second tag take two and a half hours.
Whether you’re a studio, talent, or just someone who’s had “version hell” ruin your morning, this episode is a must-listen.
🔗 Find out more at www.proaudiosuite.com
Sponsors:
- 🎙️ Tri-Booth – Get $200 off with code TRIPAP200 at tribooth.com
- 🎤 Austrian Audio – Making passion heard
This week on The Pro Audio Suite, the team open up their plug-in folders and share their favourites — from free finds to trusty old processors and some surprising new AI tools.
Robbo kicks things off with TDR Nova, a free dynamic EQ/multiband compressor that’s perfect for VO artists working in home studios. Robert digs back into his bag of tricks with Waves C4/C6, still unbeatable for multiband control after all these years. George brings Acon Extract Dialog to the table, showing how modern AI can pull voices cleanly from noisy recordings. Along the way, we debate noise reduction chains, “less is more” processing, and why not every AI fix is the magic bullet people think it is.
If you’re looking for plug-ins that actually help (without emptying your wallet), this one’s for you.
🏷 Hashtags / Tags voiceover, plugins, audio plugins, vst plugins, audio production, pro tools, audition, twisted wave, waves audio, izotope, acon digital, tokyo dawn records, tdr nova, waves c4, multiband compressor, de esser, noise reduction, clarity vx, source connect, home studio, podcast editing, pro audio suite
🙌 Credits The Pro Audio Suite is proudly sponsored by TriBooth (use code TRIPAP200 for $200 off) and Austrian Audio — Making Passion Heard. Recorded via Source Connect. Edited by Andrew Peters. Mixed by Robbo. Tech support from George the Tech Whittam.
Got your own audio issues? 👉 JustAskRobbo.com
Latency, it’s that tiny, annoying delay between what you say and what you hear back. In the studio, online, or even in your own headphones, it can trip you up, wreck your timing, and make you feel like you’re talking to yourself in slow motion.
In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, Robbo, AP, George, and Robert dig into:
- What latency really is (and why it’s not just a tech buzzword)
- How it sneaks into your recording chain
- The difference between “good” latency and “bad” latency
- Fixes you can do right now without buying a new rig
- When hardware or interface upgrades actually make sense
Whether you’re a VO artist fighting through a remote session, a podcaster dealing with talkback lag, or a studio pro chasing perfect sync, this is your guide to killing the delay and getting back in the groove.
Proudly supported by Tri-Booth and Austrian Audio, we only partner with brands we believe in, and these two deliver the goods for pro audio pros like you.
🎙 Listen now and get ahead of the delay. Proudly supported by our mates at Tri-Booth and Austrian Audio. Tri-Booth gives you a world-class recording space that fits in your spare room (or your suitcase), while Austrian Audio mics deliver the clarity and detail that make every take shine. We use them, we trust them, and we think you’ll love them too.
This week on The Pro Audio Suite, Robbo and AP pull apart one of the most alarming AI voice contracts we’ve ever seen. An offer of $2,500 USD for perpetual, irrevocable rights to your voice? Sounds tempting… but here’s why this could destroy your career.
We dig into:
- The fine print that locks your voice away forever
- How AI voice deals strip away future earnings
- Why SAG-AFTRA and other bodies are pushing back
- The long-term cost of a short-term payday
Before you sign anything, listen to this episode. Your career might depend on it.
🎧 Join the conversation: www.proaudiosuite.com
✅ Sponsors: 👉 TriBooth – Use code TRIPAP200 for $200 off: https://www.tribooth.com 👉 Austrian Audio – Making Passion Heard: https://austrian.audio 🎧 Subscribe to The Pro Audio Suite: www.proaudiosuite.com
AI voices are popping up everywhere , from audiobooks to YouTube explainer videos, but SAG-AFTRA has just drawn a line in the sand. In this episode, the team dives into the union’s new “no contract, no work” order against companies using AI voice replicas without being signatories.
We unpack:
- What the new SAG-AFTRA policy means for voice actors.
- Why YouTube is demonetizing AI-driven “headless” channels.
- The growing issue of AI-generated bands and synthetic music on Spotify.
- The human factor: Will art survive if AI takes over the creative process?
Plus, a few old-school ideas about bringing back handwritten letters and board games!
Thanks to our sponsors:
- Tri-Booth — The portable VO booth that works. Save $200 with code TRIPAP200.
- Austrian Audio — Making Passion Heard.
Links & Resources:
- Join the conversation on our Facebook group
- Visit us at theproaudiosuite.com
Recorded using Source Connect, mixed by Robbo, and edited by Andrew Peters.
This week on The Pro Audio Suite, we pit two Austrian Audio mics head-to-head: the compact CC8 pencil mic versus the classic OC18 large diaphragm condenser — both run through the PASport VO interface.
The results? Surprisingly close.
AP takes the CC8 for a spin in his booth and on the road, while George and Robert weigh in on specs, noise floors, travel setups, shotgun myths, and why mic placement matters more than mic price in many situations.
We also dig into the legacy of the Sennheiser 416, explore the quirks of mic voicing, and chat about some esoteric models only mic nerds will remember.
Whether you’re a gear head, a travelling VO, or just mic-curious — this one’s for you.
👊 Shout out to our sponsors:
- TriBooth – Get $200 off with code PASA200
- Austrian Audio – Makers of the OC18 and CC8 we tested today
🎙️ Recorded via Source Connect 🎛️ Edited by Andrew Peters 🎚️ Mixed by Robbo
🌐 More episodes and info: theproaudiosuite.com 📢 Join the convo on Facebook: The Pro Audio Suite Group
When Should You Process Your Audio—and When Should You Leave It Clean?
Description: This week on The Pro Audio Suite, we’re tackling a topic that trips up a lot of voice talent: processed voice over.
What does “processing” really mean when a client asks for it? Should you send your files squeaky clean, lightly polished, or fully mastered? And how do you avoid overcooking your audio before it even hits the mix?
George Whittam, Robert Marshall, Andrew Peters, and Robbo break it all down, including: 🎙️ What basic processing actually involves 🔊 The difference between a gentle clean-up and heavy-handed treatment 📂 How to ask the right questions so you deliver exactly what your client expects 🎧 Why your environment matters more than your plugins
Proudly sponsored by Tri-Booth and Austrian Audio.We only endorse products we actually believe in—and these are two of the best in the game.
Don’t forget to check out Tri-Booth (use code TRIPAP200) and explore the OC818 from Austrian Audio for your studio.
Links Mentioned: 🌐 The Pro Audio Suite Website 🌐 Tri-Booth 🌐 Austrian Audio
This week, the team tackles the most common myths about the Tri-Booth – the portable recording solution trusted by countless voice actors and audio pros. From misconceptions about its sound isolation, to confusion about setup and portability, we dig into what’s real and what’s just internet chatter.
Andrew shares his first-hand experience using a Tri-Booth on the road, Robbo explains how it compares to permanent studio spaces, and George breaks down the physics of why it works (or doesn’t) in certain environments.
If you’ve been considering a Tri-Booth or wondering whether it’s worth the investment, this episode will give you the clarity you need to make an informed choice.
Highlights:
- What the Tri-Booth can and can’t do for your sound
- How real users set it up successfully
- Why some people expect miracles from any portable booth
- The biggest mistakes people make when judging its performance
- How it compares to purpose-built spaces
Episode Resources: 🔗 Tri-Booth Official Site
Sponsors:
- Tri-Booth – Record anywhere, sound amazing. tribooth.com
- Austrian Audio – Makers of the OC818 and other world-class microphones.
Connect with us: 🌐 proaudiosuite.com 📺 YouTube Channel 🎧 Listen on Spotify 🎙️ Listen on Amazon Music
Join Our Community: 👉 Facebook Group
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page that is strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners.
https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
Hunter S Thompson
Ever watched Spider-Man swinging across the city and heard crowds gasping, yelling, or whispering in the background? Those voices don’t record themselves—loopers do that. In this episode, we meet voice actors who specialize in looping and learn how they bring background scenes to life. They share stories from the studio, tips for aspiring loopers, and insights into why this small community is so important to every production.
🎤 In This Episode:
- What is looping, and why does Hollywood rely on it?
- How loopers are cast and directed
- The difference between looping, ADR, and Foley
- How voice matches work
- Why looping is hard to break into—and why it’s worth it
- The impact of AI on this specialized craft
🔊 Sponsored by:
- Tri-Booth — The ultimate portable vocal booth
- Austrian Audio — Making passion heard
Subscribe, rate, and review if you enjoy the show.
A big shout-out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page that is strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners.
https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
Hunter S Thompson
This week on The Pro Audio Suite, we're diving deep into a topic that sparks endless debate (and confusion) in VO forums everywhere: the noise floor. What does "-74 dB" even mean if you don't know how it was measured? And why are voice actors obsessing over numbers that might not matter?
Join AP, Robbo, George The Tech, and Robert Marshall as they break down:
- What noise floor really is (and what it isn't)
- Why context, weighting, and window size matter
- RMS vs Peak vs LUFS – and why it all depends
- How your mic, preamp, plugins, and power can mess with your readings
- Whether your studio noise is actually a problem or just sounds nice
We even talk about whether it's OK to use a high-pass filter, what settings to use, and why some mics (looking at you, TLM 103) are just better at hearing ghosts.
If you’ve ever been told “your studio needs to be -60 dB or else,” this episode will save you some sleepless nights.
🎧 Thanks to our sponsors: TriBooth – Use the code TRIPAP200 to get $200 off your TriBooth. Austrian Audio – Making passion heard
🔗 Links * Join the conversation: https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203 * Learn more: https://www.proaudiosuite.com
This week, it's all about the front end — microphones for voiceover. George recently ran a live webinar comparing a wide range of mics from the Audio-Technica AT875R to the mighty Austrian Audio OC818, and we’re diving deep into the results.
From self-noise to low-end roll-off, polar patterns to punchy midrange, we break down what makes a great mic for VO, including:
🎧 Why the AT875R punches above its weight 🎙️ The OC818 and CC8 — why Robbo and AP love them 💡 What makes the Mojave M50 a hidden gem 💥 The big-name mics like the 416, U67 and beyond 🔬 How capsule design and manufacturing history still matter 📦 The surprising pros and cons of handheld condensers 🎤 And whether a kick drum mic could actually work for voice!
If you’ve ever wondered what mic is “the one” for VO, this is the episode for you.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page that is strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
This week on The Pro Audio Suite, we dig into the lab-tested results of our very own PASport VO, the portable audio interface designed for voice talent and podcasters. George took it to a respected LA repair shop for an independent bench test, and the results? Minus 89 dB of self-noise. Translation: it's dead quiet.
The Jasmine™ preamps inside impressed the pros, even when compared to far more expensive gear. And the design? Tough, tiny, and travel-ready. But here's the kicker: unless there's enough demand, there won't be another production run.
If you missed out the first time, now’s your chance to change that. We want this thing back in production, and Michael at CEntrance needs to hear it from you.
👉 Want one? Email CEntrance. Harass Michael (nicely). Make some noise. mgoodman@centrance.com
LINKS 🎧 More on the PASport VO: https://www.proaudiosuite.com 🎤 Join the convo: Facebook Group 🎛️ Got audio issues? JustAskRobbo.com
Thanks to our sponsors: 🎙️ TriBooth – get $200 off with code TRIPAP200 🎧 Austrian Audio – Making Passion Heard.
A big shout-out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page that is strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners.
https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
Hunter S Thompson
This week on The Pro Audio Suite, we dig into the lab-tested results of our very own PASport VO, the portable audio interface designed for voice talent and podcasters. George took it to a respected LA repair shop for an independent bench test, and the results? Minus 89 dB of self-noise. Translation: it's dead quiet.
The Jasmine™ preamps inside impressed the pros, even when compared to far more expensive gear. And the design? Tough, tiny, and travel-ready. But here's the kicker: unless there's enough demand, there won't be another production run.
If you missed out the first time, now’s your chance to change that. We want this thing back in production, and Michael at CEntrance needs to hear it from you.
👉 Want one? Email CEntrance. Harass Michael (nicely). Make some noise. mgoodman@centrance.com
LINKS 🎧 More on the PASport VO: https://www.proaudiosuite.com 🎤 Join the convo: Facebook Group 🎛️ Got audio issues? JustAskRobbo.com
Thanks to our sponsors: 🎙️ TriBooth – get $200 off with code TRIPAP200 🎧 Austrian Audio – Making Passion Heard.
A big shout-out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page that is strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners.
https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
Hunter S Thompson
This week, it’s just AP and Robbo flying the plane—and they’re kicking around an idea that’s been brewing for a while: 👉 Should we launch a voiceover conference right here in Australia?
We know there are VO events in the US and UK, but barely anything for Aussie or Kiwi talent. So… what would it look like if we ran one? Who would show up? What would we cover?
We chat about:
- The gap in the local VO scene
- Robbo’s Home Studio Rehab webinar (coming up June 12th — $30, and 5 attendees get their audio personally reviewed)
- Remote recording tools like Source Connect and Twisted Wave
- Whether George Whittam and Robert Marshall would make the trek down under
- What agents used to do… and what they don’t anymore
- And some early demo distribution tactics involving mini SD cards (true story)
🎧 Plus, here's that link Robbo promised in the episode—a quick test we did using Twisted Wave on iOS, recorded in the car: 📱 https://youtu.be/cWcLKq215-Q
📣 Tell us what you think! Would you be interested in a VO conference in Sydney?
Take 2 minutes to fill out our quick interest form: 📝 https://forms.gle/KQ5YxHkLJyqcrjKK9
🧰 Robbo’s Webinar – June 12 Home Studio Rehab – $30 for 90 mins of live guidance, plus 5 attendees get their audio reviewed 🔗 www.justaskrobbo.com/home-studio-rehab
🎙 Presented by: The Pro Audio Suite – with Darren "Robbo" Robertson & Andrew Peters Proudly sponsored by Tribooth (use code TRIPAP200 for $200 off) and Austrian Audio – Making Passion Heard
💬 Join our Facebook group, subscribe to the show, and get in touch at: 🌐 www.proaudiosuite.com
A big shout-out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page that is strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners.
https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
Hunter S Thompson
This week on The Pro Audio Suite, we’re joined by Matthew Kleinman from KIT Plugins and the newly developed NoizHub. We dive into the current plugin landscape, what makes Kit Plugins stand out, and how NoiseHub is aiming to change the way audio professionals collaborate and manage assets.
Join George ‘The Tech’ Whittam, Robert Marshall, Darren ‘Robbo’ Robertson, and Andrew Peters as they explore the tools and trends shaping the audio post-production industry today.
A big shout-out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page that is strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners.
https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
Hunter S Thompson
Award-winning voice actors Cissy Jones and Larissa Gallagher have seen their voices stolen by AI. Literally. In this hard-hitting episode of The Pro Audio Suite, they join us to share the shocking reality of finding their voices on AI platforms — being sold, shared, and synthesized without consent or compensation.
But they’re not just here to sound the alarm — they’re here with solutions.
We dive into:
- How they discovered their voices were being used
- The legal and ethical grey areas of AI voice cloning
- Their fight for control through advocacy with NAVA (National Association of Voice Actors)
- The groundbreaking tech tools being developed to protect voice actors
- What YOU can do to secure your voice and future
Whether you're a voice actor, producer, or just someone who cares about consent in the age of AI, this is a must-listen.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page that is strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners.
https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
Hunter S Thompson
What’s the weirdest direction you've ever received in a session? "Read it more magenta"? "Give me rage, but lean toward anger"? "Sound like a potato"?
In this week’s episode of The Pro Audio Suite, Robbo, AP, George, and Robert dive into the hilariously bizarre world of VO direction that makes absolutely no sense… and yet somehow still happens every day.
Pulled straight from Robbo’s viral LinkedIn thread, this episode is packed with laugh-out-loud moments, real-life war stories, and a bit of therapy for anyone who's ever heard: “That was perfect. Let’s do one more.” 😵💫
PLUS: Why weird direction is your real job to decode as an engineer or producer, and how to turn “less voice, less you” into a usable note.
🎙️ Edited by Andrew Peters 🎧 Mixed by Robbo
👉 Grab the free "Direction Dictionary" we talked about here: voodoosound.com.au/vo-dictionary
🎙️ Sponsored by: * Tribooth — The portable vocal booth that's more than just a tent. https://www.tribooth.com * Austrian Audio — Makers of the OC818 and OC18 microphones we use on this very show. https://austrian.audio
A big shout-out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page that is strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
This week, The Pro Audio Suite breaks tradition — and smashes a few stereotypes along the way — as we welcome Christy Harst to the show.
Christy is a voice actor and founder of Building Doors, a grassroots movement dedicated to creating opportunities for women in male-dominated sectors like sports, automotive, gaming, and tech voiceover. After years of hitting roadblocks, Christy decided to stop waiting for the industry to change — and started building her own doors.
In this wide-ranging, real, and sometimes confronting conversation, we dive into:
- The harsh realities facing women in promo and commercial VO today
- Why even major brands are missing huge opportunities by ignoring female voices
- The importance of representation in creating real cultural change
- How grassroots support — a like, share, or tag — can directly impact a voice actor's career
- Christy's global plans for Building Doors, including expansions into Australia, Egypt, and the UK
The Pro Audio Suite proudly stands behind Building Doors and its mission. If you believe in a more inclusive, forward-thinking voiceover industry, you can help in three simple ways: 👉 Follow, like, and share Building Doors' posts — even one click makes a difference. 👉 Tune into their podcast and live events to hear inspiring voices and real stories. 👉 Buy Christy a coffee — every small donation helps fund wider campaign efforts.
🌎 Connect with Building Doors: * Website: buildingdoorsvo.com * Instagram: @buildingdoorsvo * LinkedIn: Building Doors VO * YouTube: Building Doors VO Channel * Podcast: Building Doors Podcast (Spotify, Apple, YouTube Music) * Donate: Buy Me a Coffee
💬 Got a thought, a story, or just want to lend your voice to the cause? Call the Building Doors Hotline at +1 (216) 307-1917 and leave a message.
Because sometimes when opportunity doesn't knock... you have to build your own door.
Title: NAB 2026 Recap: Booths, Bridges & Broadcast Breakthroughs
Description: We’re back from NAB — well, two of us are! George and Robert hit the Las Vegas show floor to scope out the latest in broadcast tech, while AP and Robbo keep the audio nerd banter flowing.
In this episode:
- A deep dive on ultra-high-end ISO booths like MECART and the pros/cons of serious soundproofing
- The rise and practicality of Cousteau Block acoustic systems
- The origin story of SourceConnect and how it revolutionised VO and remote workflows
- The surprising legacy of SourceNexus, and how it changed Robbo’s day-to-day life
- Wild stories: $13K calls to Cuba, ISDN blunders, and cruise ship mishaps
- Why the PASport VO is the modern answer to overpriced Comrex units
Whether you're reminiscing about ISDN or eyeing off your next mobile rig, this one’s packed with insights, laughter, and enough gear talk to fill a Pelican case.
🎧 Produced by: Andrew Peters 🎚️ Mixed by: Robbo 🛠️ Recorded using: SourceConnect 🤝 Sponsored by: TriBooth (use code TRIPAP200 for $200 off!) and Austrian Audio
Join the conversation in our Facebook group or visit theproaudiosuite.com for more.
In this week’s video episode of The Pro Audio Suite, AP's got his ears on the new Audio-Technica R70xA headphones, and the team dives into a full-blown can convo.
He shares his first impressions after two weeks of use — lightweight, comfy, and eerily similar in tone to the Hi-X65s. But how do they really stack up against other studio staples like the KRKs, Austrian Audio Hi-X55s and 65s, Sennheiser HD280s, and even some vintage Audio-Technica ATH2s?
From comfort and design quirks (hello magnetic straps and mystery cables) to 470-ohm impedance madness, gear abuse stories, and which cans sound great but feel like a head clamp, this is one juicy headphone shootout.
Bonus: George nerds out on impedance math, Robert gets officially certified as “professional grade,” and an AKG suffers a tragic fate at VO Atlanta...R70xA Headphones – Worth the Hype?
🎙️ Sponsored by: * Tribooth — The portable vocal booth that's more than just a tent. https://www.tribooth.com * Austrian Audio — Makers of the OC818 and OC18 microphones we use on this very show. https://austrian.audio
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page that is strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode, we dive into one of the biggest and most talked-about voiceover events on the planet — VO Atlanta.
Andrew, George, Robbo, and Robert break down the experience from every angle:
- Is it still the king of VO conferences?
- What's changed post-pandemic?
- Who should (and maybe shouldn’t) be booking flights for next year?
- The good, the bad, and the “interesting” from this year’s event
- Tips for getting the most out of VO Atlanta if you go in the future
Plus, a little side chat about conferences in general — when are they worth it, when are they not, and how they could be better.
Oh, and don’t miss the usual dose of questionable humour, honest takes, and hard-earned industry insight.
🎙️ Sponsored by: * Tribooth — The portable vocal booth that's more than just a tent. https://www.tribooth.com * Austrian Audio — Makers of the OC818 and OC18 microphones we use on this very show. https://austrian.audio
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page that is strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
This week's episode of The Pro Audio Suite dives headfirst into the world of budget audio gear, exploring whether cheaper equipment has actually improved or if it's still just average kit with fancy marketing. Here are some key highlights and insights from the discussion:
Budget Gear: Better or Still Rubbish? * Robustness & Quality: The crew revisits the Rode NT1’s evolution—from early plastic models to today's sturdy iterations. They ponder its surprising collectability today. * User-Friendliness: A cheeky chat unfolds about how budget gear manufacturers should assume nothing when it comes to user knowledge, advocating for painfully obvious product instructions, especially with mics like Rode’s NT1.
Headphones: Still the Achilles Heel? * Consensus emerges around headphones as one area where low-budget options haven't improved as dramatically as microphones. The crew reckons that decent studio cans rarely dip below the $100 mark without significant compromises in sound and build quality. * Austrian Audio gets a shout-out for their entry-level headphones offering decent quality, but it's noted that paying a little more generally delivers much better audio.
Interfaces and Converters: * Robbo's downsized rig is highlighted, having moved from larger interfaces to compact solutions like the SSL2 and the Centrance PASport VO. * An important insight shared is that cheap interfaces often share internal converter chips with much pricier gear, meaning the sonic differences can be surprisingly subtle.
Bargain Finds and Bargain Fails: * Andrew points out the rise in cost of entry-level interfaces from brands like Focusrite, thanks to feature-creep. * The group chats about bargain-basement gear flooding Amazon, discussing surprising finds like a $30 dual XLR-to-USB-C interface cable. * Robbo humorously advises caution, noting that certain inexpensive gear—particularly cables and mic arms—can still be absolute rubbish.
Chinese Clones and Cheap Accessories: * George brings up affordable Chinese-made hardware like camera mounts and mic arms, now significantly cheaper yet surprisingly robust compared to premium brands. The "magic arm" clamp is a notable budget win. * However, the consensus firmly recommends against skimping on headphones and cables. Quality connectors from Neutrik and Mogami cables are touted as essentials worth investing in.
Plug-ins: Stock vs. Premium vs. AI * Debate surrounds stock plug-ins vs premium offerings, questioning the necessity of higher-priced plug-ins from brands like FabFilter. * Healthy skepticism about AI-enhanced plug-ins and noise reduction is expressed, particularly regarding Adobe Podcast's AI noise reduction.
Emulators & Mic Modeling: * Opinions split on whether mic emulation is beneficial or just a feel-good factor. Townsend Sphere and Antelope Audio's mics spark a conversation about whether emulated models truly rival their inspirations.
Final Thoughts: * Cheaper gear today often does punch above its price tag compared to the past, especially microphones. But there remain clear lines where quality is non-negotiable (headphones, connectors, and build quality in general). * Ultimately, the episode reinforces the idea that good engineering practice and knowledge still win the day, regardless of budget constraints.
It’s another lively, opinionated, and informative chat from Robbo, Andrew Peters, George "The Tech" Whittam, and Robert Marshall, brought to you by their sponsors Tribooth and Austrian Audio.
If you're keen to catch the full flavour and all the banter, check out the episode at theproaudiosuite.com.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page that is strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
We’re back with Derek Bargaehr, co-founder and chief designer at Vanguard Microphones, for Part 2 of our deep dive into the world of boutique microphone design.
In this episode, Derek opens up about what really drives sound quality — from component selection to the subtle tweaks that can make or break a mic’s character. We also get into the realities of manufacturing in today’s world, and why Vanguard is so passionate about keeping the ‘human touch’ in their mics.
If you love gear talk and want to know what separates the good mics from the great ones, don’t miss this.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page that is strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this first part of our two-part interview with Derek Bargaehr, co-founder and chief designer at Vanguard Microphones, we dig into the nuts and bolts of what goes into designing a modern microphone that stands out in a crowded market. From capsule choices to ribbon designs, Derek gives us the lowdown on how Vanguard approaches innovation, sound quality, and the all-important ‘vibe factor’ every engineer is chasing.
Whether you’re a gear junkie, a home studio tragic, or a working pro wondering if that next mic purchase should have a Vanguard badge on it, this is the episode for you.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page that is strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
This week on The Pro Audio Suite, it's down to just AP and Robbo as they dive into a hands-on session showcasing the PASportVO—the ultimate audio interface designed specifically for voice actors and podcasters. In this special video episode, the guys demonstrate exactly how easy it is to set up and use the PASportVO for crystal-clear two-way podcast interviews and directed voiceover sessions with clients. From connection tips and best practices to a live demo of its seamless functionality, this episode is packed with practical advice to elevate your remote recording game.
Check out the video version on our YouTube channel to see the PASportVO in action!
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page that is strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, we sit down with one of the most recognizable voices in the industry—David Kaye. Whether you know him as Optimus Prime, the voice of countless movie trailers, or his extensive video game and animation work, David’s journey is one for the books.
From his radio roots to discovering the power of simply being himself behind the mic, David shares invaluable insights into the craft of voice acting, the evolution of home studios, and the unexpected lessons he learned along the way. We talk character voices, the nuances of delivering an authentic read, and why sometimes the best performance comes from doing nothing at all.
This one’s a masterclass in voiceover wrapped in great stories, laughs, and a little nostalgia.
🔊 Brought to you by our sponsors: 🎧 Austrian Audio – Making Passion Heard 🎙️ Tribooth – Get $200 off your Tribooth with code TRIPAP200
💬 Got thoughts on this episode? Join the discussion in The Pro Audio Suite Facebook Group.
🎧 Listen, Subscribe & Review! 📌 Spotify: The Pro Audio Suite Podcast 📌 Amazon Music: Pro Audio Suite on Amazon 📌 YouTube: Watch & Subscribe
#TheProAudioSuite #DavidKaye #Voiceover #VO #Radio #Podcasting #HomeStudio #VoiceActing #Transformers #AudioProduction
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page that is strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Ever wondered how to get the absolute most out of the PASport VO? This episode of The Pro Audio Suite is your deep dive into everything you need to know about setting up, optimizing, and troubleshooting this powerhouse of an interface.
From default settings and compressor behavior to multi-computer setups and even game streaming, we break it all down. Whether you're a voice actor, podcaster, or producer, this guide ensures you get the best audio possible with your PASport VO.
In this episode, we cover: 🎙️ The default PASport VO setup and what each knob does 🎛️ The built-in compressor—when to use it and when to skip it 🔄 How to set up recording vs communication computers (including mobile devices!) 📞 Source-Connect, Zoom, and remote sessions—how to route your audio correctly 🎮 Live streaming & gaming setups—optimizing your PASport VO for content creation 🔊 How to avoid clipping, latency issues, and phasing
PLUS: We test and troubleshoot in real-time so you don’t have to!
🚀 Thanks to our sponsors: 🔹 Tribooth – Use code TRIPAP200 for $200 off your purchase 🔹 Austrian Audio – Making passion heard
👉 Join the conversation: 🔗 Website: TheProAudioSuite.com 💬 Facebook Group: Pro Audio Suite Facebook Community
🎧 Listen now and take your PASport VO setup to the next level!
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page that is strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode, we're diving deep into the evolution of the Tribooth with the one and only Rick Wasserman from Bookable. He’s not just a co-founder; he's the mastermind behind the design. Rick joins us to spill the beans on Tribooth’s latest innovations—including the Tribooth Transform and a mystery new product, tentatively dubbed "The X."
We cover everything from booth transformations (literally!) to accessibility features for wheelchair users, and even how to set up your mobile VO rig on the go. Plus, there’s talk of Vespa-friendly recording setups, makeshift urinals (yep, that happened), and why Rick’s proudest moment involved a power chair and some serious booth design breakthroughs.
If you’re curious about travel-friendly voice booths, recording from a loveseat, or the art of booth design that fits in a carry-on, this one’s for you!
🎯 Key Takeaways:
- The new Tribooth Transform adapts from standing to desk mode, fits over couches, and is wheelchair accessible.
- A sneak peek into Tribooth “X”—an ultra-lightweight, travel-friendly design that fits in carry-on luggage (hotel blankets sold separately).
- The practical (and hilarious) challenges of booth design, including accidental Foley sessions and Vespa-compatible setups.
💡 Pro Tip: Use the code TRIPAP200 for $200 off your Tribooth purchase!
🔗 Sponsors:
- Tribooth: The ultimate portable VO booth—now with more transformations than a sci-fi blockbuster.
- Austrian Audio: Making Passion Heard.
- Source Elements: Connecting creatives globally. A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page that is strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
The Pro Audio Suite crew takes you inside NAMM 2026! 🎤✨ George catches up with Austrian Audio to discuss their big news—DPA has acquired them! What does this mean for the brand and its legendary mics? Plus, Robert showcases the PASport VO to industry insiders, and we explore the latest gear from Neve, Roswell Audio, Grace Design, and more.
🚀 Key Takeaways: 🎧 Austrian Audio & DPA Merger – What this means for both brands 🎙️ PASport VO at NAMM – Industry reactions and future plans 🔊 New Tech & Gear – The latest from Neve, Shure, Focusrite, and beyond 🤖 AI in Audio – Who’s jumping on the bandwagon (and should we be worried?)
👂 Tune in as we share stories, trends, and exclusive insights straight from the NAMM floor!
🎙 Special thanks to our sponsors:
- Tribooth – Use code TRIPAP200 for $200 off your Tribooth
- Austrian Audio – Making Passion Heard
🔗 Subscribe & Follow: 🌎 Website: TheProAudioSuite.com 📺 YouTube: @proaudiosuitepodcast 📖 Facebook Group: Join Here
#ProAudio #NAMM2026 #AustrianAudio #DPA #VoiceOver #Podcasting #AudioGear #Neumann #Shure #ProAudioSuite #AIinAudio
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page that is strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode, the team dives into the latest updates on the PASportVO – the game-changing audio interface designed for voice actors and podcasters. The units have arrived in Chicago and are being tested, calibrated, and packed for shipping. If you ordered one, your PASportVO is on the way! 🎉
Topics Covered: ✅ PASportVO’s journey from China to Chicago 🚢 ✅ How the testing & calibration process ensures quality 🎛️ ✅ The first batch – who’s getting theirs first? 🎁 ✅ The reality of using an Apollo for VO vs. the PASportVO 🎙️ ✅ The benefits of its transparent compressor and zero-latency monitoring ✅ Why some users are buying TWO units for their setups! ✅ A deep (and hilarious) sidetrack into vinyl, Pink Floyd, and quadrophonic sound 🎶
🔗 Links & Resources: 👉 PASportVO by CEntrance: https://centrance.com/pasportvo/ 👉 Austrian Audio – Making Passion Heard: https://austrian.audio 👉 Tribooth – The Best Vocal Booth for Home & Road: https://tribooth.com (Use code TRIPAP200 for $200 off!)
In the first episode of Series 8, we explore the big news: Austrian Audio has been acquired by DPA. We dig into what this means for audio gear lovers, with our usual tangents on microphones, recording tips, and more. Thanks to our sponsors: Tri-Booth (not Tribush!) and Austrian Audio. Dive in for everything audio professionals need to know in 2025.
Big thanks to our sponsors:
- Austrian Audio – Making passion heard. Check out the Hi-X20 headphones: Austrian Audio Hi-X20
- Tribooth – The portable vocal booth that fits in a suitcase. Use code TRIPAP200 for $200 off!
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
This week on The Pro Audio Suite, we dive into the fascinating—and sometimes frustrating—world of AI noise reduction. From Descript’s Studio Sound to Adobe Podcast’s quick-fix tools, we explore how these AI-driven solutions are shaking up audio post-production.
What works? What doesn’t? And when do these tools cross the line from helpful to downright hallucinating? Join Robbo, George, Robert, and Andrew as they unpack real-world examples of AI audio gone right—and hilariously wrong. Plus, we talk about best practices for using these tools without sacrificing natural sound.
Big thanks to our sponsors:
- Austrian Audio – Making passion heard. Check out the Hi-X20 headphones: Austrian Audio Hi-X20
- Tribooth – The portable vocal booth that fits in a suitcase. Use code TRIPAP200 for $200 off!
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
This week on The Pro Audio Suite, it’s time to crown the winner of our epic mix competition in partnership with Austrian Audio! We’re joined by Kurt Richter, the mastermind behind the Hi-X20 headphones, for an in-depth chat about what makes these cans a game-changer. Kurt spills the beans on Austrian Audio’s design philosophy, the evolution from the Hi-X15 to the Hi-X20, and how pro feedback shaped their signature sound.
Plus, we break down what set our finalists apart and why the winning mix took the top spot. Was it the perfect timing? The blend? Or that touch of magic that made it unforgettable? You’ll have to tune in to find out!
Missed out on the prize? Don’t worry—experience the pro-level sound yourself with a pair of Hi-X20s! 👉 Austrian Audio Hi-X20
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
This week, we’ve got a surprise Black Friday Special for you! Forget our usual Tuesday release; today, we’re diving into the juiciest audio deals and some gold-standard advice for voiceover demos.
From George sharing insider tips on memberships and exclusive discounts at George The Tech, to Robbo breaking down his Black Friday demo deal, it’s a full table of offers, insights, and laughs. Robert also spills the beans on Source Elements' jaw-dropping discounts. If you’ve ever thought about upgrading your home studio setup or refining your VO game, this is the episode you’ve been waiting for.
Plus:
- Robbo shares how his process creates world-class demos that land talent major gigs.
- Learn why listening is the secret sauce to crafting the perfect voiceover demo.
- Behind-the-scenes stories of VO pros, acting challenges, and gear tips galore.
Sponsors:
- Tribooth: $200 off with code TRIPAP200.
- Austrian Audio: Making passion heard with their industry-leading gear.
Hashtags: #ProAudioSuite #BlackFridayDeals #VoiceoverDemo #AudioGearDiscounts #VOProTips
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, we're diving into the top finalists of the Austrian Audio Mix Competition! With the Hi-X20 headphones up for grabs, we put the spotlight on creativity, production quality, and technical brilliance. Join us as we break down the submissions, highlight standout moments, and get ready to send our top picks to Austrian Audio for the final judgment.
Don't forget to check out the latest from our sponsors, TriBooth and Austrian Audio, and grab your exclusive discounts!
Topics Covered:
- Top 10 Finalists for the Mix Competition
- What Makes a Great Mix: Creativity vs. Technical Mastery
- Spotlight on Austrian Audio’s Hi-X20 Headphones: Built for VO Pros
- The Future of Competitions on The Pro Audio Suite
Sponsors: TriBooth: $200 off with code TRIPAP200 Austrian Audio: Hi-X20 – Making Passion Heard
Join the Conversation: 📱 Facebook Group 💬 Website
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
This week on The Pro Audio Suite, we chat about the origins of the TRi Booth, a game-changing portable studio for voiceover pros. George 'The Tech' Whitham breaks down the challenges of creating a booth that balances acoustics, portability, and design. Learn how the TRi Booth came to be, why it uses a triangular design, and the process of optimizing materials for acoustic performance. We also explore the practical implications of using the TRi Booth in hotels and how it handles real-world noise scenarios. Don't miss our discussion on potential rental models and the future of portable recording setups.
Connect With Us:
- Join our Facebook Group
- Visit our Website
- Subscribe on YouTube A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode, Robbo, George, AP, and Robert Marshall take a deep dive into Waves' newest AI-driven plugin: Waves Curves Equator. It’s an innovative EQ that analyzes your audio and creates custom EQ curves based on what it “hears.” We break down its features, test it on Andrew Peters' voiceover, and explore how it could change the way we handle EQ.
Discussion highlights:
- How AI EQ works and its real-world applications
- Robbo’s first impressions using Waves Curves Equator
- Automating EQ for radio imaging and other applications
- Will AI-driven plugins take over more of the audio workflow?
We also explore some fun presets and discuss how AI might shape the future of audio production.
Episode Links:
- Tribooth Discount Code: Use TRIPAP200 for $200 off
- Austrian Audio: Proud sponsor of the show
- Source Elements: Making remote production seamless
Competition Alert! Submit your mix for a chance to win a pair of Austrian Audio Hi-X20 headphones. Whether you're a beginner or a pro, just have fun with it! Full details at www.proaudiosuite.com/win. See the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/kYbc9Dzz2yQ
Show Notes Links:
- Enter the Austrian Audio Hi-X20 Headphone Giveaway
- Download the show stems and submit your mix
Connect With Us:
- Join our Facebook Group
- Visit our Website
- Subscribe on YouTube A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this audio episode, the team dives deep into the latest offering from Austrian Audio—the Hi-X 20s headphones. Discover how these cans stack up against the Hi-X 15s and 55s and why they might be the perfect choice for voice actors, podcasters, and audio engineers. Hear real-world feedback from Robbo’s wife, Tahnae, and explore the key features that make these headphones a must-have for anyone serious about audio production.
Plus, find out how you can enter to win a pair! 🎧
🔗 Giveaway: Enter at theproaudiosuite.com/win
💼 Sponsors:
- Austrian Audio - Making passion heard
- Tribooth - Get $200 off with the code: TRIPAP200
- SourceConnect - Your remote recording solution
👥 Connect with us:
- Website
- Facebook Group
🎙️ Credits:
- Edited by Andrew Peters
- Mixed by Voodoo Radio Imaging
- Technical support & Video Edit: George 'The Tech' Whittam
Keywords:
- Austrian Audio Hi-X 20s
- Voiceover headphones
- Best headphones for podcasting
- Audio engineering headphones
- Pro Audio Suite podcast
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode of the Pro Audio Suite, the team dives into the ever-evolving landscape of AI and voice licensing, exploring the groundbreaking decision by James Earl Jones to license his voice to Disney. What does this mean for voice actors? And where do we draw the line between legal licensing and exploitation? We also discuss recent lawsuits surrounding AI voice replication, the ethical boundaries of using voices without permission, and what these changes could mean for the future of the industry.
The conversation gets heated as Robbo, AP, George "The Tech" Whittam, and Robert Marshall debate whether AI voice replication is an opportunity or a looming threat. With insights from the legal world, current case studies, and expert opinions, this episode is a must-listen for anyone in the audio or voiceover industries.
Want to get involved? We’ve got an exciting Austrian Audio Hi-X20 Headphone Competition running, and it's simple to participate! Download the show’s stems and create your own mix for a chance to win. Head over to theproaudiosuite.com to grab the files and get mixing! 🥳
Topics Covered:
- The legacy and implications of James Earl Jones licensing his voice to Disney
- Recent lawsuits against AI companies for unauthorized voice replication
- How AI is reshaping the voiceover and audio production industries
- Ethical and legal questions around using synthesized voices
- Future trends in AI and voice technology and their impact on artists
Key Quotes:
- “For generations to come, your voice will still be heard. That’s amazing, isn’t it? But it’s kind of weird, actually.” — Robbo
- “I think that if you should absolutely own the rights to whatever you upload into some AI engine...the fact that these companies are enabling theft, it’s bullshit.” — Robert Marshall
- “It’s straight simple, it’s plagiarism. If you quote somebody, you have to give them credit. Sucking in a bunch of information that’s not yours and turning it into code is theft.” — George "The Tech" Whittam
Episode Highlights:
- James Earl Jones’ legacy: How licensing his voice ensures he and his family continue to benefit from its use long after he’s gone.
- Case studies on AI misuse: Real-world examples of AI companies exploiting artists’ voices.
- Legal perspectives on ownership: What do you actually own when it comes to your voice, and how can you protect it in the age of AI?
- Predictions for the future: How AI will continue to shape the landscape of voiceover work and what professionals can do to stay ahead.
Thank You to Our Sponsors:
- Tribooth: The best vocal booth for home or on-the-road voice recording. Use code TRIPAP200 to get $200 off your purchase.
- Austrian Audio: Making passion heard. Enter the competition on our show notes page to win a pair of the brand-new Austrian Audio Hi-X20 headphones.
Show Notes Links:
- Enter the Austrian Audio Hi-X20 Headphone Giveaway
- Download the show stems and submit your mix
- More about James Earl Jones’ Licensing Deal
- Current AI Voice Licensing Lawsuits
Connect With Us:
- Join our Facebook Group
- Visit our Website
- Subscribe on YouTube A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, we’re excited to announce an exclusive Austrian Audio Giveaway as part of our new Audio Mix Competition! Tune in as Robbo, Andrew Peters, George "The Tech" Whittam, and Robert Marshall share the details on how you can win a brand-new pair of the latest Austrian Audio headphones! 🎧
The challenge? Create your own interpretation of a mix based on the provided stems—no matter your skill level, we want you to have a crack! We're not just looking for pros; we welcome everyone, from casual creators to seasoned engineers, to throw on their headphones and get creative.
In this episode, we also chat about the latest trends and products showcased at the IBC Show in Amsterdam, including innovations in wireless audio and Pro Tools' exciting new audio-to-text features. Plus, hear about Source Elements' latest partnership with Dolby and how it’s changing the way we mix for film. 💡
Topics Covered:
- Details on the Austrian Audio Mix Competition
- A sneak peek into Austrian Audio’s new headphones
- Innovations at the IBC Show in Amsterdam
- Pro Tools' new audio-to-text features
- Source Elements’ collaboration with Dolby for the ultimate mix experience
🎁 How to Enter: Visit our show notes to download the audio stems, get creative with your mix, and send it to us! We’ll announce the winner on our social channels. RULES:
Austrian Audio Mix Competition Instructions How to Enter the Competition:
- Download the Stems Click here to download the audio stems you'll be using for the competition. The file includes music, dialogue, and sound effects for you to create your own unique mix.
- Create Your Mix Use any DAW or software of your choice—Audacity, Pro Tools, Logic, etc.—to craft your mix. There are no restrictions on creativity. Add your flair and show us what you’ve got!
- Submit Your Mix Once you’ve finalized your mix, upload it to our competition submission link: Upload Here. Make sure to include your name and email in the file name so we can get in touch if you win.
- Deadline All submissions must be received by [insert deadline date]. Entries submitted after this date will not be considered.
- Judging & Announcement The Pro Audio Suite team, along with a special guest from Austrian Audio, will review all submissions. We’re looking for creativity, balance, and overall mix quality—so let your creativity run wild! 🎧
- Prize The winner will receive a pair of brand-new Austrian Audio headphones! 🎉 The winning mix will be featured on our social channels and discussed in an upcoming episode of The Pro Audio Suite podcast.
Good luck, and happy mixing! 🥳
Sponsors: 🔹 Austrian Audio: Making passion heard.
Hashtags: #AudioMixCompetition #ProAudioSuite #AustrianAudio #MixingTips #IBCAudioTech #ProTools #SourceElements #DolbyAtmos
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In Part 2 of our interview with Jim Edgar on The Pro Audio Suite, we dig even deeper into the world of voiceover setups. Jim walks us through the iterative process of improving your recording space, explains why foam might not be the best solution for sound treatment, and provides expert troubleshooting tips for common voiceover issues like mic placement, echo, and hollow sound.
We also cover the importance of sound engineers and agents being involved in quality control and how to continually refine your space to stay competitive in the industry. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting, there are invaluable takeaways in this episode!
A big thank you to our sponsors:
- Austrian Audio – making passion heard with their high-quality microphones and headphones. Learn more at austrianaudio.com.
- Tri Booth – your go-to for a portable and professional voiceover booth solution. Get $200 off your purchase with the code T-R-I-P-A-P-200 at tribooth.com.
Key Talking Points (for Part 2): * Why foam is often an overrated solution for sound treatment * The iterative process of refining your voiceover space and setup * Common mic placement mistakes and how to fix them * How voiceover agents and engineers should play a bigger role in quality control * Real-life examples of troubleshooting bad audio and improving sound quality * How Austrian Audio Gear can elevate your voiceover recordings * Tri Booth for portable soundproofing solutions
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, we’re joined by Jim Edgar, a seasoned voiceover expert known for his work with Twisted Wave and his extensive experience in the voiceover community. Jim dives into the essentials of setting up a professional home studio, offering valuable insights into audio gear, microphone techniques, and troubleshooting common sound issues. Whether you're new to voice acting or looking to refine your audio setup, this episode covers everything from the importance of room treatment to key tools like Twisted Wave that can streamline your workflow.
Jim also shares personal anecdotes, such as the challenges of learning how to listen critically and tips on how to avoid common mistakes in the recording process. Plus, stick around for a few humorous tangents about bike frames and microphones!
We’d also like to thank our sponsors:
- Austrian Audio, making passion heard with their high-quality microphones and headphones. Check them out at austrian.audio
- Tri Booth, the ultimate portable vocal booth solution for voice actors. Get $200 off your purchase with the code T-R-I-P-A-P-200. Visit tribooth.com for more information.
In Part 2, Jim Edgar returns to dive deeper into advanced techniques for voice actors, from improving room treatment to finding the right microphone placement. We’ll also cover the common mistakes voice actors make and the steps to fix them.
Key Talking Points: * The basics of setting up a professional voiceover studio * How to improve audio quality using simple tools * The role of Twisted Wave in streamlining your recording process * Jim’s advice on choosing the right microphone and gear * Common mistakes voice actors make with room treatment and how to fix them
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In response to a listener question from Barry Burns (aka Big Bazza!), the Pro Audio Suite team breaks down their thoughts on the Rode NT2000 and its use for voiceover work. Whether you’re a voice actor curious about this mic or just a fan of Rode gear, this episode offers some valuable insights and a healthy dose of gear talk.
Topics Covered:
- Initial Impressions of the Rode NT2000: The crew discusses their experience with the Rode NT2000, diving into the build quality, sound characteristics, and versatility of this multi-pattern mic.
- Comparisons to Other Mics: How does the NT2000 stack up against mics like the U87 and the Austrian Audio OC818? George and Andrew give their take on whether the NT2000 is a real contender in the voiceover world.
- Strengths of the NT2000: The team highlights the mic’s variable polar patterns, high-pass filter, and low noise floor, making it a solid choice for versatile studio setups.
- Durability Over Time: With over a decade of use in one Melbourne studio, the team talks about the mic's longevity and how well it holds up compared to other long-term staples in the voiceover industry.
- The NT2000’s Unique Design Features: The discussion covers the adjustable pots on the NT2000 and why, despite their flexibility, they might not be for everyone.
- Should You Buy the Rode NT2000 for Voiceover? Andrew sums up his experience with the NT2000 and answers whether it’s worth the investment or if you should look into alternatives like the Austrian Audio OC818.
Listener Question:
- Barry Burns asked: “I have the Rode NT2000 but can’t find much in the way of evaluations for it. Any thoughts on how it stacks up for voiceover work?”
- Our answer: We break down the pros and cons of the NT2000 in the context of professional voiceover and help Barry (and you) decide if it’s a keeper.
Special Thanks:
- A big shout-out to our sponsors, TriBooth and Austrian Audio, for making this episode possible.
Subscribe and Stay Tuned: Enjoyed the episode? Subscribe to The Pro Audio Suite for more expert insights on microphones, audio production, and voiceover gear reviews. Don’t forget to like, leave a review, and share with your fellow audio pros!
Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, we delve into the intricacies of Match EQ techniques, exploring how to fine-tune the U87 vs. 416 microphones for different environments, and discussing the challenges of ADR in post-production. Whether you're a seasoned audio engineer or a voiceover artist, this episode is packed with valuable insights into the tools and techniques that can elevate your sound. Topics Covered: * TriBooth and U87 vs. 416 Microphone Matching: George shares his latest experience setting up a TriBooth to match a U87 in a booth with a 416. Learn how close you can get using Match EQ and where traditional listening and tweaking still play a crucial role. * ADR Challenges in Post-Production: Robbo and the team discuss the ongoing struggle of matching ADR lines with on-set dialogue, particularly when using different mics and recording setups. Discover the often-overlooked post-production work that ensures seamless audio transitions. * The Importance of Mic Placement and EQ: The team emphasizes why proper mic placement should be your first move before reaching for the EQ. Get the source right to avoid relying on EQ as a crutch and ensure your recordings are as clean as possible. * U87 vs. 416: Regional Differences and Industry Standards: The crew explores the regional preferences for U87 and 416 microphones, comparing the U87's popularity in New York to the 416's dominance in LA. Is the U87 truly the industry standard in Australia, or has the 416 taken over? * The History and Iconic Status of the 416 Mic: A fascinating dive into the history of the 416 microphone, its role in the industry, and why it has become the go-to mic for so many voiceover professionals. * Listener Question: A listener asks about using a ribbon mic for voiceover work in a home studio. Is it time for a new sound to take over from the 416?
Gear Talk: * Austrian Audio OC818: Andrew discusses his favorite mic, the Austrian Audio OC818, and why it hasn’t left his desk since he got it. Is this the perfect mic for his voice? * Pop Filter Woes in Voiceover Studios: A humorous yet important discussion on the state of pop filters in studios, and why a fresh one can make all the difference in your recordings.
Special Thanks: * A big shout-out to our sponsors, TriBooth and Austrian Audio, for their continued support of the show.
Subscribe and Stay Tuned: Enjoyed the episode? Subscribe to The Pro Audio Suite for more expert insights on voiceover microphones, Match EQ tips, and audio production techniques. Don’t forget to like, leave a review, and share with your fellow audio enthusiasts! Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth... https://tribooth.com/ And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear.. https://austrian.audio/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD Join our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast And the FB Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203 For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In Episode 33 of The Pro Audio Suite, the team takes a nostalgic journey through the evolution of Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs). From the early days of DSP and WaveLab to today’s industry standards like Pro Tools and Twisted Wave, our hosts share their personal experiences, favorite tools, and some of the quirkiest DAWs they've come across. Whether you're a seasoned pro or a curious newcomer, this episode is packed with insights, stories, and a few laughs about the DAWs that have shaped the audio production world. Tune in and join the conversation about where DAWs are headed next.
- Introduction: The team welcomes listeners and gives a shout-out to sponsors, Tribooth and Austrian Audio.
- DAW Origins: Robbo shares his first experience with DSP at Triple M in Brisbane, sparking a discussion on early digital mixing consoles.
- Evolution of DAWs: The crew discusses how DAWs have changed from the 90s to now, mentioning early tools like Magix Samplitude, WaveLab, and Cakewalk.
- Modern Favorites: A look at the DAWs the hosts currently use, including Pro Tools, Twisted Wave, and Audition.
- Unexpected Tools: The team talks about some of the more obscure DAWs and editors, like Akon Digital's DAW and RØDE Connect.
- Challenges with New DAWs: The hosts share the challenges of learning new DAWs and the comfort of sticking with familiar tools.
- Final Thoughts: Reflecting on the importance of mastering your tools and the potential future of DAWs.
Sponsors:
- Tribooth: The best vocal booth for home or on-the-road voice recording. Use code TRIPAP200 for $200 off your Tribooth.
- Austrian Audio: Making passion heard.
Credits:
- Hosted by Robert Marshall, Darren "Robbo" Robertson, George "The Tech" Whittam, and Andrew Peters
- Recorded using Source Connect
- Edited by Andrew Peters
- Mixed by Voodoo Radio Imaging
- Tech support by George "The Tech" Whittam
Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic, or just say g'day, drop us a note at theproaudiosuite.com.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, the team takes on a processing challenge. After AP shares a voiceover chain his client used on his voice during a session in Dubai, the crew dives into a comparison of different processing setups. From compression techniques to EQ adjustments, you'll hear how various approaches can make the same voiceover sound dramatically different. Whether you’re a voiceover artist or a podcaster, this episode is packed with insights on refining your audio chain. Special thanks to our sponsors, Tribooth—your ultimate portable vocal booth—and Austrian Audio, where passion is made heard.
Sponsors:
- Tribooth: The best vocal booth for home or on-the-road voice recording. Use code TRIPAP200 for $200 off your Tribooth.
- Austrian Audio: Making passion heard.
Credits:
- Hosted by Robert Marshall, Darren "Robbo" Robertson, George "The Tech" Whittam, and Andrew Peters
- Recorded using Source Connect
- Edited by Andrew Peters
- Mixed by Voodoo Radio Imaging
- Tech support by George "The Tech" Whittam
Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic, or just say g'day, drop us a note at theproaudiosuite.com.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, the team dive into the recent updates to Audacity’s compressor and limiter features. These changes have caused quite a stir, particularly among voiceover artists and podcasters who rely on Audacity for mastering their projects. George "The Tech" Whittam shares his insights on the updates, highlighting what works, what doesn't, and what it all means for your workflow. Plus, we discuss the frustrations that come with software updates and how to navigate them without pulling your hair out. Special thanks to our sponsors, Tribooth, and Austrian Audio, making passion heard.
Sponsors:
- Tribooth: The best vocal booth for home or on-the-road voice recording. Use code TRIPAP200 for $200 off your Tribooth.
- Austrian Audio: Making passion heard.
Credits:
- Hosted by Robert Marshall, Darren "Robbo" Robertson, George "The Tech" Whittam, and Andrew Peters
- Recorded using Source Connect
- Edited by Andrew Peters
- Mixed by Voodoo Radio Imaging
- Tech support by George "The Tech" Whittam
Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic, or just say g'day, drop us a note at theproaudiosuite.com.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode, the Pro Audio Suite team dives deep into the world of USB microphones. Once considered a big no-no for professional audio work, USB mics have come a long way. But are they truly ready to replace traditional XLR setups? Join Robert Marshall, Darren "Robbo" Robertson, George "The Tech" Whittam, and Andrew Peters as they explore the pros and cons of USB mics, discuss technological advancements, and share personal experiences. Special thanks to our sponsors, Tribooth and Austrian Audio, for making this episode possible.
Sponsors:
- Tribooth: The best vocal booth for home or on-the-road voice recording. Use code TRIPAP200 for $200 off your Tribooth.
- Austrian Audio: Making passion heard.
Credits:
- Hosted by Robert Marshall, Darren "Robbo" Robertson, George "The Tech" Whittam, and Andrew Peters
- Recorded using Source Connect
- Edited by Andrew Peters
- Mixed by Voodoo Radio Imaging
- Tech support by George "The Tech" Whittam
Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic, or just say g'day, drop us a note at theproaudiosuite.com.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
The Pro Audio Suite - S7 EP29: Processed Session Audio Welcome back to The Pro Audio Suite! In this episode, we delve into the intricacies of processed session audio and the importance of proper audio handling during recordings. Join Robbo, Robert, George, and AP as they share their experiences and insights on managing audio quality in various recording scenarios. Episode Highlights: * Session with a "Processed" Actor: Robert recounts a session with an actor who claimed to have no processing, but the audio told a different story. * Importance of Proper Gain Staging: Tips on managing preamp and output gain to avoid unnecessary compression and maintain audio integrity. * Challenges of Compression in Voiceover: The team discusses how heavy compression affects natural sound and the listener's experience. * Audio Quality in National Commercials: The state of audio production for television commercials and the shift towards lighter processing. * Mixing Techniques: Debates on mixing into a compressor versus post-mix compression and their impacts on the final audio product. * Client Expectations and Audio Delivery: Navigating client expectations regarding raw and processed audio and the importance of clear communication.
Key Takeaways: * Identifying and addressing hidden processing in recorded audio. * The significance of maintaining proper gain staging during recording sessions. * The effects of heavy compression on voiceover performances and how to achieve a natural sound. * Understanding client terminology and ensuring clear communication about audio expectations. * Practical mixing techniques to enhance audio quality without over-processing.
Join us for an episode filled with expert advice, real-world examples, and lively discussions. Whether you're a seasoned audio professional or just starting out, you'll find valuable insights to improve your recording and mixing techniques. Resources Mentioned: * Tips for Managing Audio Compression * Recommended Gear for Voiceover Recording * Understanding Client Terminology in Audio Production
Connect with Us: * Join our Facebook Group for updates and more tips. * Subscribe to our YouTube channel for Pro Audio Suite Tips and more exclusive content. * Check out our sponsor, Tribooth, for the best vocal booth solutions.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth... https://tribooth.com/ And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear.. https://austrian.audio/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD Join our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast And the FB Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203 For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
The Pro Audio Suite - S7 EP28: Exploring Sound Quality in Modern Audio Production
Welcome back to The Pro Audio Suite! In this episode, we're diving deep into the fascinating world of sound quality and its impact on audio production. Join Robbo, Robert, George, and AP as they explore various aspects of audio fidelity, the significance of audio quality in different mediums, and practical tips for achieving the best possible sound in your projects.
Episode Highlights:
- The Impact of Audio Quality on Believability: Robert discusses a study by the Australian National University and USC exploring how audio quality affects listeners' perception and believability.
- Technology vs. Nostalgia: A debate on why we're often chasing vintage sounds and aesthetics even as technology advances.
- Nature Recordings and Hyper-Realism: An intriguing conversation about creating immersive audio experiences that go beyond natural sounds.
- Challenges in Audiobook Production: Tips and tricks for audiobook narrators and producers, including dealing with plosives, mic technique, and the importance of good audio quality.
- Audio in Different Environments: How listening environments affect audio perception and the importance of adapting sound for various playback scenarios.
- Practical Tips: Recommendations for using headphones, managing audio quality, and achieving a consistent sound during recording sessions.
Key Takeaways:
- The link between audio quality and how much listeners believe and engage with the content.
- Balancing technical accuracy and sensory experience in audio production.
- The importance of good mic technique and consistent performance in audiobook recording.
- Practical solutions for common audio issues, like plosives and uneven mic placement.
- Adapting audio production techniques for different listening environments to maintain clarity and impact.
Join us for this insightful episode packed with expert advice, real-world examples, and a touch of humor. Whether you're an experienced audio engineer or just starting out, you'll find valuable tips to enhance your audio projects.
Resources Mentioned:
- Study on Audio Quality and Believability
- Recommended Microphones for Audiobook Recording
- Nature Sound Apps in Atmos
Connect with Us:
- Join our Facebook Group for updates and more tips.
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel for Pro Audio Suite Tips and more exclusive content.
- Check out our sponsor, Tribooth, for the best vocal booth solutions.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this weeks episode of The Pro Audio Suite, we delve into the world of high-resolution audio and the development of cutting-edge microphones with our special guest, Craig Field. Known for his work at the National Archives of Australia and his intriguing collaboration with Sony, Craig shares the fascinating journey of co-developing a groundbreaking microphone that has revolutionized high-resolution audio recording. Hosts: * Robert Marshall, Source Elements and Someone Audio Post, Chicago * Darren "Robbo" Robertson, Voodoo Radio Imaging, Sydney * George "The Tech" Whittam, LA * Andrew Peters, Voiceover Talent and Home Studio Guy
Special Guest: * Craig Field, National Archives of Australia and co-developer of the Sony microphone
Sponsors: * Tribooth: The best vocal booth for home or on-the-road voice recording. Use code TRIPAP200 for $200 off. * Austrian Audio: Making passion heard.
In This Episode, You’ll Discover: 1. The Story Behind the Sony Microphone: * Craig's journey from owning Elkwood Studio in Sydney to collaborating with Sony. * The development process and challenges of creating a high-resolution microphone. 2. High-Resolution Audio: * The significance of high-resolution audio in different parts of the world, particularly in Japan and Europe. * How high-resolution audio formats like DSD and PCM are utilized and appreciated. 3. Technical Innovations: * The importance of having high-quality microphones to complement advanced A/D converters, digital preamps, and cable technology. * Details about the Sony C-100 microphone and its unique capabilities, including its ability to capture frequencies up to 50kHz. 4. Real-World Applications: * Recording a unique performance on the world's largest piano built by Wayne Stewart, using the Sony microphones. * How high-frequency recording is beneficial for sound effects and Foley work. 5. Microphone Technology: * The significance of anti-vibrational technology in microphones to minimize reverberance within the capsule. * Comparisons with other high-end microphones and the innovative features of the Sony microphones.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth... https://tribooth.com/ And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear.. https://austrian.audio/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD Join our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast And the FB Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203 For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Join us for a deep dive into the fascinating world of audio archiving with special guests Ben Chesterman and Craig Field from the National Archives of Australia. In this two-part series, we explore the intricate processes involved in preserving our audio history, from old vinyl records to modern digital formats. Whether you're a seasoned audio professional or just curious about how our audio heritage is kept safe, this episode is packed with insights and stories that will captivate and inform. Highlights: * Introduction to Ben Chesterman and Craig Field, their roles at the National Archives of Australia, and their backgrounds in music production and post-production. * The remit of the National Archives: handling records from various government agencies including the Department of Defence, ABC, SBS, and more. * The process of archiving: from receiving physical materials to ensuring they are stored in optimal conditions. * Digitizing audio: challenges, techniques, and the importance of maintaining the original format. * The significance of preserving cultural and historical records for future generations.
- Advanced archiving techniques: using lasers to read vinyl grooves and preserving shellac records.
- The importance of creating multiple copies and using cloud storage for long-term preservation.
- Digital preservation challenges: dealing with outdated formats and ensuring accessibility.
- Real-life examples of rare recordings being rescued and digitized.
- The role of archivists in maintaining and updating archives to keep them relevant and accessible.
Sponsors: * Tribooth: The best vocal booth for home or on-the-road voice recording. Use code T-R-I-P-A-P 200 to get $200 off your Tribooth. * Austrian Audio: Making passion heard.
Links and Resources: * National Archives of Australia: Website * Ben Chesterman's LinkedIn: Profile * Craig Field's LinkedIn: Profile * Source Elements: Website * Tribooth: Website * Austrian Audio: Website
Join the Conversation: * Subscribe to the show and join our Facebook group to engage in discussions, suggest topics, or just say g'day. Visit our website for more details.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth... https://tribooth.com/ And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear.. https://austrian.audio/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD Join our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast And the FB Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203 For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, Robbo shares the story of Sumara Meers, who has transformed an old bathroom into a functional voiceover studio. This episode is a testament to the fact that you don't always need the perfect space to build a studio. Robbo discusses Samara’s journey, the challenges she faced, and the creative solutions she employed to make her unique studio work. Listen in for tips on making the most out of unconventional spaces and a subtle reminder that it's the talent and technique, not just the room, that makes great audio. Here are Sumara's pictures
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Description: Welcome to The Pro Audio Suite! In this episode, we chat with Mike Rozette from iZotope about the latest features of their Noise Reduction Suite, RX11. Whether you're a seasoned audio engineer or just starting out, you’ll find valuable insights into making your audio cleaner and more professional. Episode Highlights: * Introduction to iZotope RX11 * New features and improvements * Practical applications for noise reduction * Tips for achieving the best results
Listen to this episode to learn: * How RX11 can enhance your audio projects * Key features that set RX11 apart from previous versions * Real-world examples of RX11 in action
Prefer to watch the video version? Check it out on our YouTube channel here. Connect with Us: * Subscribe to The Pro Audio Suite: [Your preferred podcast platform link] * Follow us on YouTube:
Keywords: iZotope RX11, noise reduction, audio engineering, audio production, noise reduction tips, The Pro Audio Suite, Mike Rozette, audio cleanup #AudioEngineering #NoiseReduction #iZotopeRX11 #TheProAudioSuite #AudioProductionTips A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth... https://tribooth.com/ And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear.. https://austrian.audio/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD Join our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast And the FB Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203 For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, the team dives into the latest updates and features of RX 11 from iZotope. Robbo, Andrew, George, and Robert discuss the enhancements in RX 11, including the updated dialogue isolate feature and the ongoing debate on whether it's worth upgrading. They share personal experiences with RX plugins, talk about the importance of these tools in audio production, and compare them to alternatives like Waves plugins. Tune in to find out if RX 11 is the right fit for your audio editing needs.
Key Points:
-
Introduction:
- Welcoming listeners and sponsors.
- Brief overview of RX 11 and its position in the audio industry.
-
RX 11 Features:
-
Discussion on the new features in RX 11.
- Detailed look at the dialogue isolate tool and its effectiveness.
-
User Experiences:
-
Personal experiences with RX 11 and previous versions.
- Issues with compatibility and performance, particularly with Steinberg's WaveLab.
-
Comparison with Alternatives:
-
Comparing RX 11 with other popular tools like Waves plugins.
- Debate on whether to upgrade based on current needs and budget.
-
Practical Applications:
-
How RX 11 fits into the workflow of voiceover artists and audio engineers.
- Importance of tools like mouth de-click and noise reduction in everyday use.
-
Future of RX:
-
Predictions and hopes for future updates.
- Encouragement for users to stay updated and provide feedback.
-
Closing Remarks:
-
Recap of discussion.
- Shoutouts to sponsors and reminders to subscribe and join the conversation on the Facebook group.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, the team dives into the latest updates and features of Twisted Wave, a popular audio recorder and editor. George shares insights from a recent survey conducted by Twisted Wave's owner, Thomas, revealing what users want most in future updates. The team discusses the potential addition of multi-track capabilities and the complexities of implementing such a feature. They also touch on the importance of non-destructive editing and a history window feature. Join Robbo, Andrew, George, and Robert as they explore how these updates could impact the voiceover and audio production community.
Key Points:
-
Introduction:
- Welcoming listeners and sponsors.
- Brief overview of Twisted Wave and its current status in the audio industry.
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Survey Results:
-
George shares results from Twisted Wave’s user survey.
- Discussion on the most requested features: multi-track capabilities, non-destructive editing, and history window.
-
Multi-Track Capabilities:
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Debate on the practicality and necessity of multi-track functionality for voiceover artists.
- Concerns about complexity and user-friendliness.
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Non-Destructive Editing:
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Importance for voiceover artists and audio editors.
- How it differs from current features in Twisted Wave.
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User Experience:
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Personal experiences and anecdotes using Twisted Wave.
- Comparisons with other DAWs and editors.
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Future of Twisted Wave:
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Predictions and hopes for future updates.
- Encouragement for users to participate in surveys and provide feedback.
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Closing Remarks:
-
Recap of discussion.
- Shoutouts to sponsors and reminders to subscribe and join the conversation on the Facebook group.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, we dive into the results of our recent Facebook group poll on favourite microphones. From the Shure SM7B to the Sennheiser MKH 8060, we discuss the mics you love and why. Robbo, George, AP, and Robert share their insights on the top picks, including some surprising mentions like the Austrian Audio OC18 and the affordable Audio-Technica AT875R. We also touch on some great customer service stories from Sennheiser and explore the nuances of various microphone features and performance. Join us for a passionate discussion about the tools that shape our sound!
Episode Highlights:
- Introduction and shout-outs to our sponsors: Tribooth and Austrian Audio.
- Overview of the Facebook group microphone poll.
- Detailed discussion of popular microphones including the Shure SM7B, Rode NT1A, Neumann TLM103, Audio-Technica AT2020, and the Sennheiser MKH 416.
- Insights into user preferences and experiences with these microphones.
- Special mention of the Austrian Audio OC18 and its popularity among listeners.
- George's recommendation of the Audio-Technica AT875R as an affordable shotgun mic alternative.
- Stories of exceptional customer service from Sennheiser.
- Discussion on the Sennheiser MKH 800 Twin and its advanced features.
- Encouragement for listeners to join the Facebook group and participate in the ongoing conversation. A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#ProAudioSuite #Microphones #AudioEngineering #Podcasting #Voiceover #SoundDesign #AudioProduction #MicReview #ProAudioTips #RecordingGear Y'all ready to be history? Get started. (0:02) Welcome. Hi.
Hi. Hi. Hello, everyone.
(0:05) To the pro audio suite. These guys are professional, they're motivated. (0:09) Thanks to Triboose, the best vocal booths for home or on the road voice recording.
(0:14) And Austrian Audio, making passion heard. (0:17) Introducing Robert Marshall from Source Elements and someone audio post Chicago. (0:22) Darren Robert Robertson from Voodoo Radio Imaging, Sydney.
(0:25) Next to the VO stars, George the Tech Whittem from LA. (0:28) And me, Andrew Pinkers, voiceover talent and home studio guy. (0:32) Line up, man.
Here we go. (0:36) And welcome to another pro audio suite. Thanks to Triboose.
(0:39) Don't forget that code, T-R-I-P-A-P 200 to get $200 off your booth. (0:45) And Austrian Audio, making passion heard. (0:48) We've had a bit of a passionate response to our new Facebook group, (0:52) which is the pro audio suite podcast group.
(0:56) And Rubbo threw up a survey about microphones, (1:00) which one people would like to use and do use and don't use. (1:04) Yeah, I just, I kind of figured a robust discussion about microphones is always well received. (1:10) So I figured I'd start one and it's only a small sample because we've only just started the group.
(1:15) But some of the results sort of had me thinking a bit. (1:18) So basically what I did was I did a poll. (1:20) And I didn't go with my favorites.
(1:23) I just went with the microphones that as a freelance audio engineer, (1:27) when I'm walking into other studios, I come across a lot. (1:30) And I stuck them up there with an option for people to put their own up there as well. (1:34) So the ones I put up were the SM7B, the NT1A, the TLM103, AT2020, 416, of course.
(1:43) And that was about it. (1:44) And then left it open for people to sort of put their own up. (1:48) And the question was, which one's your best mate? (1:51) So what's the microphone that you choose in your studio? (1:55) Now, I've got to be honest, I kind of did figure that the 416 would feature fairly heavily and it has.
(2:02) I mean, the 7B sort of comes in fairly close and the TLM103 are exactly the same in terms of response. (2:11) But then some of the ones in the comments were sort of interesting as well. (2:15) Well, the one I thought was interesting was someone jumped on to Bill.
(2:21) Now I've got to try and get his name right. (2:25) Bill Answa. Is that right? (2:26) Answa.
(2:27) Yeah, I think it's Bill Answa. (2:28) Anyway, sorry, Bill, if I got your name wrong. (2:31) He is using the Austrian audio OC18 into an SSL2.
(2:36) Well, someone's been listening to our podcast. (2:38) And is he using the 4K button? (2:40) He says. (2:41) Yes, he does.
(2:42) Yeah, he goes, yes, indeed. (2:44) Thanks for teaching me that. (2:44) Yeah, and Phil writes on the Lewitt, which doesn't feature fairly.
(2:49) Yeah, we mentioned it on the show, but I don't see it a lot. (2:55) What else was the other one? (2:56) What's the 875R? What's that, a shotgun? (3:00) It's an excellent, excellent bargain shotgun mic. (3:05) Is it? (3:05) Right.
(3:05) It's the one that you recommend, George, isn't it? (3:07) It's so good. (3:08) Like, it's only Achilles heel is that it's not the quietest mic. (3:12) Self-noise is, you know, not as good as a 416.
(3:15) But it's a damn good substitute. (3:18) You know, it sounds similar. (3:20) I have one.
(3:21) So one of these days we'll pull it out and we'll compare it. (3:23) Yeah, I'd love to hear it. (3:25) But it sounds similar.
(3:26) It's not quite as large. (3:28) It's sort of like a short shotgun. (3:30) Is the polar pattern as tight as a 416? (3:32) I would say no.
(3:33) I would definitely say it's not as tight at all. (3:37) It's a more, nowhere near sophisticated mic. (3:40) It doesn't have that very complex line tube interference design.
(3:45) Yeah. (3:45) So anyway, it's a very simple mic, but it just sounds good. (3:49) And they're always under 200 US, 175 maybe.
(3:53) So that one's a... (3:54) 169 B? (3:55) That one's a great value. (3:56) And we've been recommending it a lot to folks who want a stunt mic. (4:00) Well, this is an interesting one from Jeff Berlin.
(4:03) Obviously the obligatory 416. (4:06) But he also has a Bosch or Soundalux U195. (4:10) I don't know that microphone.
(4:12) What do you say? (4:12) I have a Soundalux U99. (4:15) And it is basically a clone of a U67 using an actual EF86 tube. (4:22) And the Soundalux mics became Bach.
(4:25) Yeah, that's right. (4:27) Yeah. (4:28) And they are pretty high-end mics.
(4:30) They got bought by Universal Audio. (4:32) Yeah, that's correct. (4:33) Oh, really? (4:33) Yeah.
(4:33) Wow, that's too bad? (4:35) Is that too bad? (4:36) I don't know. (4:36) I don't know. (4:37) I mean... (4:38) It's kind of weird.
(4:38) I thought they bought Sphere microphones. (4:40) They had to buy all of them microphone companies. (4:42) So I threw all the mics that were in the comments, I think, into the survey.
(4:46) So it's easier to see. (4:49) And it's going to make it easier for people to continue voting. (4:51) But did you see anything that surprised you here? (4:55) Not me.
(4:55) Nothing really. (4:56) I mean, there's certainly plenty of ones that you don't see regularly in professional studios, (5:01) not that that means jack shit. (5:02) Because in a professional studio, you're looking for a workhorse that will do a whole bunch (5:07) of things, I guess, especially in post-production houses, as opposed to music studios.
(5:13) There's just no representation of a PZM mic here. (5:16) Come on. (5:17) There's no crown PZMs? (5:19) Oh, man.
(5:21) Like, turn my wall into the microphone. (5:22) Yeah, that's right. (5:24) The MK4, the Sennheiser, what's an MK4? (5:27) It's like a lower end shotgun.
(5:29) No, actually, no. (5:30) It's their entry-level side address LCD. (5:34) Large diaphragm.
(5:35) Oh, okay. (5:36) Large diaphragm. (5:37) It's like, I mean, I think in character, it's somewhere very similar to a TLM102 or (5:43) 103.
(5:44) It's in that range. (5:45) Is it kind of like the AKG perception? (5:48) Kind of. (5:48) It's like that zone.
(5:50) But I mean, it's not that cheap. (5:51) It's still a $400 mic. (5:54) I think it's more like a two.
(5:56) Oh, it's used. (5:57) Maybe it's used $200. (5:59) Yeah, maybe.
(6:00) I mean, Guitar Center's got them, but maybe those are used. (6:02) But Sweetwater's trying to sell it for $400. (6:05) How much is an AKG perception? (6:07) LDC.
(6:08) I don't know. (6:08) They're quite a bit cheaper, like 200 range. (6:13) So, yeah, the Sennheiser MK4 is not bad at all.
(6:15) There's quite a few people who have those. (6:17) Well, speaking of Sennheiser, just as an aside, Chris McCallum, who we've (6:22) had on the show, he's probably one of Australia's best known location (6:25) recordists, put up a post about his Sennheiser. (6:30) He says, I have an interesting occurrence with a 10 year old Sennheiser (6:35) MKH8060 shotgun mic.
(6:36) One day it stopped working without warning and only issued a static (6:40) frequency. (6:41) I've taken it to Sennheiser's service and they've discovered that they are (6:44) unable to open the mic as the special screws holding the electronics (6:47) inside the barrel are completely seized. (6:49) They say they can see no sign of corrosion, but are unable to open (6:52) the mic, sort of shoring it open.
(6:54) What has surprised me is they have offered to take possession of this (6:57) mic and offer me a brand new one for an exchange of $700. (7:01) These mics now retail for well over $2,300. (7:04) So, I'm very happy with the outcome.
(7:07) So, this is now the second new exchange I've had since the (7:10) original purchase, as there was a recall in the very early serial (7:13) numbers. (7:13) So, it was replaced then as well. (7:15) I can't really fault their response and commitment to their brand.
(7:18) So, hey, that's... (7:18) Did you see my response on that? (7:21) No. (7:22) What's yours? (7:22) What did you say on that? (7:23) But they're charging him... (7:24) I was the original recording of the screws falling out. (7:30) They're basically saying they'll do the repair for $700.
(7:33) So, they're basically giving him a brand new mic for $700, yeah. (7:36) As the repair? (7:37) As the repair, I guess, yeah. (7:39) I'd say yes if it came with a one year warranty.
(7:41) Right. (7:42) At least. (7:42) Or whatever the new warranty is, I guess.
(7:45) It's a bit of a bummer though. (7:47) But yeah. (7:48) I had a similar thing.
(7:49) I actually had a similar thing happen with my 416. (7:52) It was an old one and it was playing up, (7:55) I sent it into Sennheiser and they kind of said, (7:57) look, we can fix it, but it's probably going to cost, (8:00) you know, almost the same price as a... (8:02) Probably about half the cost of a new one. (8:05) And then they... (8:06) Yeah.
(8:07) But then they sort of said, look, you can fix it, (8:09) but we can't guarantee it because it is old (8:11) and there's components could let go. (8:13) Then did me a cracking deal on a new 416. (8:17) Nice.
(8:17) As long as the mic wasn't cracking, that's a good deal. (8:19) Yeah, exactly. (8:20) Well, the first one was, the second one wasn't.
(8:23) Are you making fun of this London accent? (8:25) So, that's 8060 is a step up from the 416 in terms of... (8:28) Yeah, it looks like it. (8:29) Yeah, yeah. (8:30) Better signal response, maybe.
(8:32) Yeah. (8:33) The 8000 series is sort of their... (8:35) That's their new flagship line. (8:38) You know, small diaphragm mics in the head.
(8:40) Did Chris mention it in the episode when we had him on? (8:42) I feel like he did. (8:44) I feel like he's sort of go to mine. (8:46) Yeah, yeah.
(8:46) But see, Chris doesn't have a microphone locker. (8:49) He has a microphone walk-in wardrobe. (8:52) Yes, exactly.
(8:53) That's right. (8:55) Yeah. (8:56) He's the Imelda Marcos of microphones.
(8:59) I think Sennheiser makes a sight address version in that 8000 series. (9:03) It's multi-pattern and it's like $4000, (9:06) but it's supposed to be really excellent. (9:08) You know what I'm talking about? (9:09) 800.
(9:10) Is it the 800? (9:11) Is that what it is? (9:11) It's a really odd little mic. (9:13) It's very small. (9:16) And let's see if I can share.
(9:18) No, it's a multi-pattern. (9:19) It's not the little small tiny ones. (9:21) I know, but it's really small.
(9:23) I mean, I saw it at NAB. (9:25) I was like, oh my God, that thing's tiny. (9:28) I think I saw your video.
(9:29) I'm looking at the MKH 800 Twin. (9:34) This is a new model of microphone they just launched. (9:36) This is a different animal completely from what you're describing.
(9:40) This one's 3200. (9:43) And it is their variable pattern mic where you just simply... (9:48) What's that? (9:49) MKH 800 Twin? (9:51) Yeah, this is it right here. (9:52) I have it on screen, I think.
(9:54) Maybe. (9:54) There it goes. (9:56) There it is.
(9:57) Look at that sexy baby. (9:58) Quite spendy. (9:59) This picture doesn't show... (10:01) Well, you see how small it is by... (10:02) Because you can see the XLR barrel.
(10:05) The tail, it's small. (10:06) It almost looks like a mic port pro, the original one. (10:09) It is like the old KM86.
(10:13) The Neumann KM86, which is a side address, multi-pattern, small diaphragm mic that people go kind of gaga over. (10:21) Well, that's quite a spendy mic, 3200. (10:24) Which is two symmetrical push-pull... (10:28) It's a dual diaphragm.
(10:31) Is it dual output too? (10:33) Like, could we use it with our... (10:34) Yeah, so the way it works is you simply pot up and down the other capsule, and that's how you go. (10:40) So it's like... (10:41) But do you have a separate output of the other capsule so we can run it into our new software that you and I have purchased? (10:47) Right. (10:49) Yeah, it is quite a spendy mic.
(10:53) You know, it's so funny. (10:54) I have video of me interviewing the Sennheiser rep at NAB on YouTube, and someone's like, (10:59) Hey, isn't that Julian Kraus standing right behind him? (11:05) It was Julian Kraus standing behind you. (11:08) It was, it was like I missed an opportunity to chat with him.
(11:11) Oh, I saw it when I saw your video. (11:13) I saw him in the background. (11:14) He was having a look at the mics as well.
(11:15) Is that Julian Kraus? (11:17) I'm like, son of a gun, it is. (11:19) There are so many YouTubers at NAB, of course, you know. (11:22) I saw a couple, they were always like in transit, you know, but I would love to send hello to Julian (11:28) and thank him for his unbelievable commitment to very, very consistent and dry videos about audio interfaces.
(11:38) He's like the equivalent of the Sahara desert for YouTubers. (11:42) It is so freaking dry. (11:43) Yeah, but it's useful.
(11:46) And big. (11:46) You know, we're the polar opposite, really, aren't we? (11:50) Exactly. (11:51) And in fact, on that note, if you do want to vote for one of these microphones or tell us what you have, (11:56) go to your Facebook and or the Facebook, as I saw people call it, and look for the Pro Audio Suite podcast group (12:05) and you'll find the thread down there somewhere.
(12:07) Not the page, the group. (12:08) Yeah, the group. (12:09) We can even pin that, I think.
(12:11) Maybe it might be a way to pin it. (12:12) Well, I will. (12:13) I'll pin it to the top of our Facebook page.
(12:14) Oh, I can do it right now. (12:15) Oh, you can do that. (12:16) There you go.
(12:17) Pin the feature. (12:18) There you go. (12:18) So yes.
(12:19) Done. (12:20) Out. (12:21) Pinned.
(12:24) Pinned. (12:25) So that was fun. (12:27) Is it over? (12:29) The Pro Audio Suite.
(12:30) Thanks to drivers and Austrian Audio, recorded using Sauce Connect, edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Blue Doo Radio Imaging. (12:41) Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group or leave a comment, suggest a topic or just say kiddo. (12:48) Drop us a note at our website
In this week's episode of The Pro Audio Suite, the gang dives deep into the fascinating world of microphones. Join Robbo, AP, George 'The Tech' Whitham, and Robert Marshall as they explore the nuances, pros, and cons of 9 different mics, including the Sennheiser MKH 416, Neumann TLM 67, Neumann TLM 102, Neumann TLM 103, AKG C414, Shure SM7B, Rode NTG5, Sennheiser MD 421, and Electro-Voice RE20.
Whether you're a seasoned audio engineer or just starting out, this discussion is packed with insights that can help you make informed decisions about your mic setup. Tune in to hear the hosts' personal experiences, tips, and a few laughs along the way.
Key Topics Discussed:
- Overview of 9 different microphones
- The unique characteristics of each mic
- Personal anecdotes and experiences with the mics
- Practical tips for choosing the right microphone for various scenarios
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#ProAudioSuite #Microphones #AudioEngineering #Podcasting #Voiceover #SoundDesign #AudioProduction #MicReview #ProAudioTips #RecordingGear
Hosts: * Darren "Robbo" Robertson * Robert Marshall * George "The Tech" Whittam * Andrew Peters
Special Guest: * Matt Calrick (https://www.mattcowlrick.com/)
Sponsors: * Tribooth: The best vocal booths for home or on-the-road voice recording (Code: TRIPAP200 for $200 off). * Austrian Audio: Making passion heard.
Main Topic: Setting Up a Home Studio * Introduction: + The episode kicks off with the hosts introducing themselves and their sponsors. + The main discussion revolves around recommendations for setting up a first home studio for voice-over work. * Key Points: + Building a Booth: Robbo shares how he built a recording booth for his wife in their walk-in wardrobe, using clothing for sound treatment. + Microphone Recommendations: - Sennheiser 416 - NTG5, NTG1, NT1, OC16 - Audio Technica AT875R + Interface Recommendations: - AI1, SSL2, Micport Pro, Steinberg UR series (IXO12, IXO22) + Headphones: - Closed-back models like Audio Technica ATH series and Austrian Audio Hi-X 15 + DAWs and Software: - Twisted Wave recommended for its simplicity and cross-platform capabilities. * Additional Insights: + Importance of a good recording space. + Flexibility and longevity of audio gear. + Importance of connectivity for remote sessions (Zoom, Source Connect). * Conclusion: + Investing in quality gear that can be used both at home and on the road. + Recommendations for a balanced setup: Tribooth, Sennheiser 416, and SSL2.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth... https://tribooth.com/ And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear.. https://austrian.audio/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD Join our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast And the FB Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203 For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
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ProAudioSuite
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HomeStudio
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VoiceOver
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AudioGear
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Podcasting
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Microphone
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AudioInterface
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RecordingBooth
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AudioProduction
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StudioSetup
In this week's episode of The Pro Audio Suite, we've got something right out of left field! Our guest, Matt Cowlrick, an Aussie voice actor living in Canada, has done something pretty remarkable—transforming his Tesla into a rolling recording studio. Yes, you heard that right! Tune in as Matt reveals how he converted his Tesla into an innovative mobile recording space, complete with a built-in mic stand.
Hear about the nuts and bolts of mobile recording setups, from the gear choices to the unique challenges of recording in a car. Matt shares his experience using the Mic Port Pro 2 and a Sennheiser 416, all rigged up to record straight onto his iPhone with Twisted Wave. We dive deep into the acoustic challenges of a car's interior, particularly a Tesla's glass-heavy design, and Matt's creative solutions involving pillows and moving blankets to achieve the best sound.
For those who can't wait to see it in action, Matt has also shared a video tour of his Tesla studio on our website. Check out this link to watch the magic happen: Matt's Tesla Studio Tour
Join us as we explore how necessity drives innovation and how you can apply some of these tricks to your own mobile recording endeavors.
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And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson Y'all ready to be history? Get started. Welcome. Hi.
Hi. Hi. Hello, everyone.
To the pro audio suite. These guys are professional, they're motivated. (0:09) Thanks to Tribooth, the best vocal booths for home or on the road voice recording.
And Austrian Audio, making passion heard. Introducing Robert Marshall from Source Elements and someone audio post Chicago. (0:22) Darren Robert Robertson from Voodoo Radio Imaging.
Sitnik to the VO stars. George the Tech Whittem from LA. And me, Andrew Pinkers, voiceover talent and home studio guy.
(0:37) And welcome to another pro audio suite. Thanks to Tribooth, the golden handcuffs can be removed. And Austrian Audio, making passion heard. (0:44) Today, we have a special guest. Matt Calrich is joining us because Matt and I've been having a little conversation about setting up a rig in your car, which was something I played around with a few weeks ago now. (0:56) But Matt, you've done your thing as well.
What have you done? (0:59) Well, I changed it up from what I've done in the past, which quickly is using the Apollo Solo and a laptop and usually the 416. (1:11) Now for being at home in Canada and not actually, you know, traveling on holiday, I just wanted to have something easy to get going at any given moment, just pull over on the side of the road. (1:25) And so I use the Mic Port Pro 2, still the 416, and recording on the iPhone.
So just really nimble and mobile. (1:36) Are you using Twisted Wave on your mobile? Yes. Yes, until further notice.
(1:43) Yours is very similar to mine because that was my experiment with the iPhone 15 because it's got the USB-C and using the Twisted Wave app. It's fantastic. (1:53) And you can actually use their kind of Twisted Wave Dropbox as well off the iPhone, which is really, really handy.
(2:00) But the only difference between you and I, I think, is that you use the 416 and I've been playing around with the CC8 from Austrian Audio. (2:07) Well, he uses the 416 and you use the 416 sometimes and now. (2:15) And the other big difference is that you have a Tesla, which has a lot of glass.
(2:21) Has that become an issue for you? (2:23) Yeah, well, I'm still still in the early days of, you know, finding my feet with it. (2:27) I only set up this new rig, so to speak, on the weekend, got all the required parts, which was the idea of being able to have a mount in the car that I can just attach the mic and the... (2:43) How did you feel about drilling into your Tesla or is that glued in there? (2:46) I didn't. It's glued.
And I also just kind of drive my Tesla like a piece of shit. So I don't really care. (2:54) I just drive it like a car, so sticking something on the inside.
(2:58) It's not precious. It is no longer precious. It is now a utility vehicle and it's used for what it was designed for.
(3:06) Yeah. I mean, let's be honest, putting double sided adhesive tape on the inside of my Tesla is probably not the worst thing that I've done to it. (3:13) So you're not going to mount a M49 from that thing.
(3:18) Since it's now technically a recording studio, does that mean your car's a tax deduction? (3:21) You say that like I don't already try to claim as much as I can. (3:29) Yeah, that's a good point, Robert. Yeah, I wonder how much else I can squeeze out.
(3:32) Yeah, exactly. My new recording studio just happens to be on four wheels, that's all. (3:36) Yeah, exactly.
(3:37) Hey, if anyone can play it, George, if you can, I don't know. Now would probably be a good time to have a listen to the audio, Matt Sentis. (3:45) I can do playback over here if I... (3:46) Can you? Okay, yeah, cool.
(3:47) Okay, here's me recording in the car on a 416, the Mic Port Pro 2. (3:57) There's a windsock on the mic and there's a pretty significant humming sound, which I'm sure you can hear. (4:08) That's the car. I don't know how to turn it off.
It's an electric car, so that's something to work with. (4:16) But the setup is nice and it's convenient, so now I just have to work on... (4:24) And so here's the treated one. (4:26) But the setup is nice and it's convenient, so now I just have to work on fixing things, like the car sound and the whirring.
(4:40) But I like the concept. I just have to try to get it sounding as good as possible. (4:47) So I'm guessing you were pretty close to the mic there.
(4:50) Yeah, pretty close. And then what I added later was a pillow in one take and then I brought in a moving blanket on the other. (5:06) But I was pretty close to try and offset the carriness.
(5:11) Were you putting the pillow behind you someplace? (5:14) The pillow was wedged. It was two pillows actually, because they were small pillows. (5:18) Wedged in the front screen.
And then the moving blanket I had just draped over me like a villain. (5:31) It was not comfortable, but more for like a testing perspective to see what had changed. (5:37) Do you have one without all that extra stuff? (5:39) That was the first one.
They're remarkably similar. (5:44) You know what makes me laugh though is if this takes off, if this becomes a trend, you'll be able to go to the local mall and realise who's a voice-over artist and who's not because the car of the voice-over artist is going to have blankets and pillows (5:56) and cut those one on the back seat. (5:58) Although they're just living in their car, which is an understatement.
(6:00) Yeah, exactly. (6:02) And a really weird iPhone mount for a stick. (6:05) Yes.
(6:07) It's going to look entirely nefarious. (6:10) I love the gooseneck attached to the ceiling. (6:13) Finding adhesive that would mount that strongly enough to hold the weight of the mic and the mic port and the gooseneck itself.
(6:20) It's a decent amount of weight. (6:23) Do you put the mic port right on the mic port? Do you use a little adapter like we got for like Andrew got? (6:31) Oh no, I just assumed that Andrew's was directly plugged in. (6:36) No, I think the 416 and the 41.6 and the OC8, they're all too thick at the base to fit into the newer mic port.
(6:44) The 41.6 fits and the NTG5 fits. (6:50) And only the OC8. (6:52) The CC8 does not.
(6:53) Sorry, CC8. What a stroke of work. (6:56) And I also have the Rode NTG5, which Andrew and I were talking about when I was in Australia.
(7:02) And so I'd be interested to try that in the same situation. (7:06) I used the NTG5 in the back of my car, the first test I did before the CC8 got here. (7:12) And yeah, it sounded great.
(7:13) You probably get the same result as the 41.6, I would suggest. (7:17) There's a bit more bottom end to it. That's the only thing.
(7:20) I also found the NTG5, it seemed more sensitive than the 416. (7:29) I don't know. (7:30) Oh yeah.
(7:31) It has a much higher output. (7:33) No, because I was in Mexico hanging out with Dustin Eboar. (7:39) And we had my tri-boot there and kind of our gear combined.
(7:43) And we tried both the 41.6 and the NTG5 with exactly the same gear, just switching the mic. (7:53) And it was quite different. (7:55) Yeah, yeah, yeah.
(7:56) That's a huge amount of output on the NTG5. (7:59) Right. (7:59) My NTG5 is at the mailbox waiting to be picked up because they replaced it.
(8:04) Oh wow, that's cool. (8:06) I'm the only one left with one that didn't blow up, I think. (8:09) Mine blew up? (8:10) Yeah, mine didn't blow up.
(8:14) No. (8:15) Don't use it. It won't blow up.
(8:18) I had a sphere mic blow up in Australia. (8:22) Yeah, I took it all the way to Australia thinking how great it was going to be having that mic with me. (8:28) And then I got there and was absolutely perplexed for a while why it wasn't working.
(8:32) And it turned out to be a busted capsule. (8:34) And this was a brand new sphere. (8:35) You know the problem with that, mate.
(8:36) It was actually a northern hemisphere and you're in the southern hemisphere. (8:41) That was the problem. (8:42) Oh my God.
(8:44) You are, I will. (8:47) David Kay traveled with the sphere to Japan, you know. (8:50) And I just thought it was risky because it is a much more fragile mic than any small diaphragm, you know, shotgun or pencil mic, you know.
(8:58) Small diaphragm, shotguns, and pencils are a much, much better travel mic companion. (9:03) Well, the shotguns are made for like, you know, like one of the things about the 416 is go record in the wind. (9:09) Well, in a rainforest.
(9:10) In a rain, right. (9:11) You can take a 46 in a rainforest. (9:14) Right.
(9:14) Because it's working like as a RF microphone instead of directing it off the... (9:20) Yeah. (9:21) Well, as does the NTG-5, you know. (9:23) The NTG-5 is RF? (9:24) Yeah.
(9:25) Really? (9:26) So any mic with an RF design is basically completely impervious to moisture. (9:33) Yeah. (9:34) So that's why they're used.
(9:36) But as for the capsule blowing up, what was the outcome? (9:39) Is that mic still sitting in the box or... (9:43) Yeah, I haven't replaced it yet because replacing it in Australia when it was all happening was just silly business. (9:49) So I've waited until I go back to Canada and then promptly didn't do it. (9:54) It is a secondary sphere because I recently got a new Apollo unit and they threw in one of the new ones for free.
(10:03) And I thought... (10:04) Oh, was it the DX? (10:05) Yeah. (10:06) They threw in the small one? (10:08) Yeah. (10:08) So it's a bit small.
(10:09) How do you find it compares? (10:10) It has less of a capsule working. (10:14) I like the smaller size. (10:17) I mean, it's not hugely noticeable, but yeah, I'm excited to try it.
(10:22) Oh, so the one that you traveled with was this new smaller addition. (10:26) Yeah. (10:27) Yeah.
(10:28) And I have a pretty good travel bag. (10:30) Like, I hear you on the durability of those large diaphragm mics. (10:35) But yeah, I've managed to find this.
(10:39) It's a camera bag and it's got a good hard shell and it's a backpack. (10:44) And to the chagrin of my engineer took an exacto knife and just cut out the foam in the sphere it comes with. (10:56) And I just shoved it in this camera bag and it feels really well protected.
(11:00) But then again, maybe I smashed a capsule when I was traveling and it's not as protected as I thought. (11:07) Oh, any dents? (11:08) No, no dents. (11:10) Is this like the torque? (11:11) I'm expecting them to replace it.
(11:12) Like, it just sounds like vaulty. (11:15) But it'll be interesting because I picked up the different microphones, the ocean way and the main one, I think. (11:22) I did those two.
(11:23) I forget, but... (11:25) The sphere models. (11:25) The sphere models, but I'll just use it with the 818. (11:28) How's that working out? (11:29) I haven't touched it yet.
(11:31) Oh yeah, I haven't even. (11:32) It's just color. (11:33) But I figure it'll just be, you know, like color, you know, even if the sphere mics are somehow accurate.
(11:38) I would imagine. (11:39) I mean, that is something we have not done yet. (11:41) We haven't done an OC818 versus sphere mic sound.
(11:45) You know, how do they sound compared to each other? (11:48) How different is the OC818 through the sphere 47? (11:53) Right. (11:53) Can you swap in an OC818 if you don't have a sphere or you just don't want to bring the sphere because it's so physically large? (12:02) Can you just plug it in, you know? (12:04) It would work with any truly dual output large diaphragm mic, you would think. (12:10) Yeah, because there's a couple others out there.
(12:12) Not that many, but Sennheiser has the new MKH. (12:15) I think it's the Assault at NAB. (12:18) I believe it's called the 800.
(12:20) And it's a dual output mic. (12:22) And then Aladdin has one, and Pearl has one. (12:26) It's becoming a thing.
(12:27) It is. (12:28) I was thinking that when they can get them to the size of something like, you know, an NTG5 and shorter, (12:34) that'll be a huge game changer to have a modeling mic that you can travel with, (12:38) especially if it has the tech that the sphere has where you can kind of mitigate problems with the room in real time with those sets. (12:47) Oh, the sphere has like the reflection filter built in.
(12:50) George can probably explain it better than I can. (12:52) Yeah, I don't get it. (12:54) Oh, yeah.
(12:54) Well, they have a set of these filters in the sphere plug-in itself that are designed to compensate for acoustical flaws. (13:06) With using those reflections. (13:08) Okay, that's what it's for.
(13:09) And so they're just little curves they came up with. (13:14) But they made it very user friendly. (13:16) Instead of having it be a variable knob, you know, (13:19) they just have a whole bunch of like, click on this picture.
(13:22) If it looks kind of like what you're sitting in front of, then try this. (13:26) Which is cool because it's just one less thing to have to think about. (13:31) But the thing is, there's just a setting for booth.
(13:34) Which clearly is not going to work because everybody's booth is a different size. (13:38) Although I'd love to see the EQ curve for the chaotic eyeball. (13:46) Well, I did look at the MKH 800 Twin, it's called, the 800 Twin.
(13:52) And it's a bit spendy at $3,200. (13:55) But if you want a very small two capsule microphone to travel with, that one could fill the bill. (14:01) It is very small.
(14:03) A very old microphone that few people know about is the Neumann KM86. (14:09) It's a small diaphragm or smallish diaphragm. (14:12) But dual-sided, full polar pattern selection.
(14:17) It looks like a tiny U87, I think, kind of thing. (14:22) I believe, if I remember right. (14:24) But it's a small diaphragm, multi-pattern.
(14:24) It looks like a German hand-grinder. That's what it looks like. (14:27) The KM86.
(14:29) But it's a multi-pattern small diaphragm. (14:31) So you could, if someone modded it to have more than one output. (14:34) Well, have you thought about, or even wanting to bother with using... (14:38) Did you say you tried using your Sphere Apollo combo in your Tesla or in your car? (14:44) You've done that now or in the past? (14:46) Not in the Tesla.
(14:49) Yeah, I have taken the Sphere and a Solo. (14:54) And my laptop is the travel rig to Australia. (14:58) You did that in the Ferrari, right? (15:01) Or was it the Lamborghini? I can't remember which one? (15:03) Yeah, the Ferrari has this humming noise thing all the time.
(15:07) I guess it just does that. (15:08) And unfortunately, the people at the dealership didn't like it, (15:11) that I took my gear and just sat in their car and started taking photos. (15:16) I wasn't pretty sure for some reason.
(15:20) Nor the guy whose Tesla I stole this afternoon. (15:26) And glued a mouth-mouth. (15:30) The only thing the guy did is he glued this thing.
Is it attractive? (15:33) I brought him some alcohol swabs. He'll be right. (15:37) I've worked out what the humming noise is in the Tesla.
(15:40) Oh, really? (15:40) It's the Musk hydroponic mode. You've got to turn that off. (15:46) I drove on in the screw mode.
(15:48) I think Robert's on the hydroponic mode right at the moment. (15:51) I am. Hold on.
(15:54) Fantastic. (15:55) Well, I was asking because I rigged it up for David Kay. (15:59) We did the Sphere on a mount arm.
(16:02) I got him this crazy over-engineered cobbled-together arm. (16:06) It's basically, if anybody from lighting knows what a baby arm is. (16:10) But it's basically, you know, it's an arm with a clamp on each end.
(16:14) So one clamp clamps to the steering wheel or a yoke or whatever it is in that car. (16:19) And then the mic mounts to that. (16:21) And it also has a place to mount your phone or tablet to read your script.
(16:26) And that whole thing rigs off your steering wheel with that huge mic. (16:29) And then we put the mic sideways. (16:30) That's what we found worked best was, because it's so large, (16:33) to get the capsule in the ideal spot.
(16:36) We just have it literally sideways. (16:39) And he's running a U67 model. (16:42) Because that's the mic he would typically use at home.
(16:45) And the clients were more happy with it. (16:47) I was amazed. (16:48) I didn't think it was going to work with that.
(16:50) Because we didn't put a pillow or anything up against the windscreen. (16:54) And it worked out. (16:55) And that's a Model X, which is physically larger inside.
(16:58) So that helps. (16:59) I don't know if it's because the windshield is so long. (17:02) Because the windshield is facing down.
(17:05) It's not really facing you. (17:06) It's not going to hit the microphone. (17:07) Exactly.
(17:08) The sound is going to go down to the dash. (17:12) It's directly behind and directly in front of the mic. (17:15) I would think that's the first sort of issue.
(17:19) I guess with my setup that I did most recently in the Tesla, (17:22) I am more like talking across to the passenger seat, (17:26) rather than directly at the windshield. (17:30) So pillows stuffed into the windshield opposite the mic. (17:35) Yeah.
(17:35) That would be one spot. (17:37) And I was thinking of taking some of the tri-booth blankets (17:41) and hanging them from the coat hooks (17:47) or the handlebars on the side (17:50) and seeing how that works out. (17:52) They're quite long though, the tri-booth ones.
(17:55) Yeah, they're big. (17:56) You could nail gun them to the roof. (18:00) Or staple them or something.
(18:02) Super glue. (18:04) 3M will just laugh gleefully as they see me coming. (18:09) Some of these guys send me sticky squares.
(18:12) But it's funny, isn't it? (18:12) How different your environment in the Tesla is to my car, (18:16) which is a smaller car, two doors, tiny in the back. (18:20) And I just squeeze in the back because I've got my glass roof. (18:24) So I don't have to worry about that.
(18:26) How the Vespa setup worked? (18:29) It's hard getting your head under the seat. (18:32) But I'm working on that. (18:35) No glass roof to worry about.
(18:37) Yeah, you're starting with a difficult proposition with the glass ceiling, aren't you? (18:43) It's a killer to begin with. (18:45) So what do you do to the audio after you record raw files? (18:48) And do you just raw record raw files and send? (18:51) Or do you do any cleanup? (18:53) Well, yeah, herein lies the problem that I don't have access to a door. (18:58) It's just Twisted Wave Mobile.
(19:02) But I also tried to think about what I actually wanted this setup to do or to achieve. (19:08) And it really is just for the ants in the pants stuff that people can't wait for, (19:15) and for auditions and quick turnaround jobs. (19:17) But when I'm here in Victoria, and I'm not at my home studio, (19:23) I'm about a 40-minute drive to downtown.
(19:26) And in downtown Victoria, I do have a small commercial studio that I own. (19:32) And it has a StudioBricks in there. (19:34) So it's not too far to get to either one of those.
(19:37) So I didn't want to go overboard with the car rig. (19:43) And if I'm proper traveling, then I'm usually taking the Triboose. (19:47) But also, to be fair, mate, as an engineer, (19:49) I'm guessing Robert would agree with me on this.
(19:51) He said, if you sent me that file, I'd have no issue. (19:55) Sure. (19:55) Yeah, I'd have no problem.
(19:56) Even with that hum, Cevox seemed to take it out pretty well. (20:02) I don't know how much artifact do you got after that. (20:07) It wasn't too artifacty, yeah.
(20:09) The twist of a knob on clarity, that'd be gone. (20:12) So really, that's no issue. (20:13) Yeah, absolutely.
(20:14) That's another good question, because I was talking to a client about Cevox today. (20:18) And I said, you know, Cevox does make it sound really good to you. (20:21) The question I guess I have, really, is does it make it sound good to the engineer? (20:26) And how much time, I mean, Robbo and Robert, (20:28) how much have you heard audio through Cevox that you've received on your end? (20:33) If I've gotten it, I don't know that I've gotten it.
(20:35) I wouldn't know. (20:37) It's pretty transparent. (20:40) It is really transparent.
(20:42) That is the magic of that plugin. (20:44) If you go all the way to the walls, you might start picking up some, you know, go 100%. (20:49) You might pick up some very small artifacts, but it's amazingly transparent.
(20:55) Yeah, and more dynamic outside sounds as well. (21:00) I was recording at my parents' house in Australia, (21:04) and some inconsiderate person was mowing their lawn. (21:10) So like the one of your parents? (21:12) Yeah, one of my parents.
(21:16) And yeah, Cevox really made a pretty good show of the recording, (21:23) even with it kind of like moving around different areas. (21:25) I guess like a mower is still that, you know, lower frequency. (21:31) It's kind of droning.
(21:32) Yeah, and it's a consistent sound that's easier to hear. (21:34) There's not too much doppler with it unless you have like the fancy writing lawn mower. (21:40) There is two laws in life that if you wash your car, it will rain.
(21:44) And if you open a microphone, the neighbors are going to start doing something noisy. (21:48) So, you know, it's two guarantees in life, right? (21:51) That's right. (21:54) Have you ever had anyone pick up? (21:56) Are you putting anything across their audio? (21:58) No, not for a long time.
(22:00) Even running the modeling preamps in the Apollo unit, I keep it all very sparing. (22:08) I just want to get the color and the tone of the preamp and just bring in that difference (22:15) rather than engaging any of the hectic EQ or compression. (22:23) I like to think that I follow a lot of the principles of what you guys say on this show.
(22:27) Just keep it simple, send it on clean, and start with a really good bass. (22:32) Obviously, that's harder to do in the car and when we're traveling, (22:35) but I still just try to... (22:38) When I travel, I want to as closely mirror what I have here as possible. (22:44) Which is tricky.
(22:45) You're not running through like a bunch of boutique outboard gear at home. (22:52) And the preamp is just the Apollo pre, right? (22:56) This is Solo or...? (22:57) That's right, yeah. (22:58) Yeah, I have all Apollo units.
(23:00) I used to have a 6176, the UAD, the numbers are right. (23:07) Yeah, I had that and I ended up selling it because it felt like too many moving parts (23:15) and modeling it in the Apollo unit was so impressive that I felt like I'm going to sell this thing. (23:22) So are you using more than just the mic models? Are you using the preamp models as well? (23:26) Yeah.
(23:27) Actually, at the moment, I'm just using the twin preamp. (23:32) But generally, I will run... (23:35) I'll do a lot of my recording on the sphere and either... (23:41) What's your go-to emulation on the sphere? What sort of default? (23:45) The 416. (23:47) And then I have a couple that I dial into for different types of reads.
(23:53) Like if I'm doing trailer or something grittier. (23:58) You know how they came with some presets from Jordan Reynolds made some and then Brent Allen-Hagel? (24:05) Yeah, I heard that. (24:05) Yeah, I like one that Brent did for trailers and it's actually a combo.
(24:13) I suppose I can switch to it now. (24:17) By the way, how they got onto the preset list of that company, I'm wondering... (24:22) It pulled that off. (24:25) Because I've been dealing with them for so many years and I've never gotten anything like that.
(24:31) That's crazy. (24:32) I'm not jealous. (24:32) No, I'm just very glad that service is available.
(24:35) I would like to see you on that. (24:37) At least he's given away his presets for free. (24:41) Yeah, well, I mean, no props to them.
(24:43) I think it's cool that they're available. (24:46) What's something you're using? (24:48) This is the trailer setting from Brent Allen-Hagel and I don't actually know the proper brands (24:56) because they can't list it, but it's the LD800. (25:01) So that's the Sony? (25:02) But then it's combined with the 47K.
(25:07) So you have 47K caps, I guess, something like that? (25:10) Yeah, the K47, is it? (25:12) K47? (25:13) That's cool. (25:14) So that's what we're hearing now? (25:16) Yeah, that's right. (25:16) And I should be... (25:17) I think I'm printing this.
(25:18) Yeah, yeah. (25:19) Yeah, it riches... (25:20) It riches... (25:21) Richens in Richens? (25:23) That's it. (25:23) Adds more richness.
(25:25) Have you taken the 416-416, put it in the second channel with no preamp or no emulation (25:32) and just put it right next to this one and record the exact same thing? (25:37) I have meant to try that. (25:38) No, I haven't yet. (25:40) But to my ears, my simpleton ears, they are really, really close.
(25:45) And I do have two 416s, obviously the one that's in the car now. (25:52) And I have a sentimental 416, which I'll never sell. (25:58) But I mostly am using the 416 setting on the sphere.
(26:02) And then I have a U87 AI just next to me here. (26:07) And I've hung on to that mostly for workflow purposes. (26:11) I kind of have one mic that is hooked up for, I guess, like quick auditions and quick rip (26:21) and reads.
(26:22) And then I have this sphere that I'm talking to you guys on. (26:26) It's over here with a music stand looking out the window. (26:30) It's just like a nice little zone.
(26:33) Yeah, big creative spaces. (26:35) We're actually talking about our next episode now, aren't we? (26:38) Oh, sorry. (26:38) We're drifting to the next episode.
(26:38) We have. (26:39) I wonder how they do the polar pattern, because if you think about it, the 416 being a shotgun, (26:48) you can really only get that polar pattern from the physical shape. (26:53) And they can recreate any polar pattern with the large diaphragm.
(26:57) But you'll notice a large diaphragm never has a shotgun. (27:01) I mean, you kind of have a hypercardioid. (27:03) Do you find the 416 emulation to be a little bit more forgiving in the movement, like the polar pattern? (27:13) Can you move around the mic and it doesn't sound quite as phasy and weird? (27:16) Yeah.
(27:16) So I've switched now. (27:18) Now I'm on the 416 emulation. (27:21) I just did the click of the mouse.
(27:24) And it's on... (27:25) Which pattern is it on? (27:29) The cool thing with the... (27:31) It's on cardioid, on a cardioid pattern. (27:34) And now it's on a hypercardioid. (27:38) So now I'm talking off axis.
(27:40) And you can hear how it jumps forward, even on the... (27:44) Put it on an omni. (27:45) Put it on an omni? (27:46) Sure thing. (27:47) There you go.
(27:48) Oh, yeah, there we go. (27:49) So that's omni. (27:50) That's an omni 416.
(27:52) Anybody wonder what that sounds like? (27:54) It's a huge curve of a 416 without the... (27:57) I mean, acoustics in the booth are fantastic. (27:59) So even when you're on the omni, it still sounds really... (28:02) It actually sounds nice. (28:03) Like focused.
(28:03) Yeah, right. (28:04) So here's me kind of doing like direct address. (28:08) My mic is above hanging from the roof and from the ceiling.
(28:15) And it's tilted maybe... (28:19) What is that? (28:21) Forty... (28:21) A little over 40 degrees down towards me. (28:24) More vertical than horizontal? (28:27) Or more horizontal? (28:28) More vertical than horizontal, I would say. (28:30) Oh, okay.
(28:32) Interesting. (28:33) Yeah. (28:33) That's a pretty steep angle.
(28:34) Yeah, I've been meaning to play around with it. (28:36) Just to see what different sounds I get out. (28:38) This one is set up partially for... (28:42) Yeah, the way I am at the music stand, (28:44) although I guess I could change it.
(28:46) But then the U87 that I have just over here is... (28:51) That's more horizontal than vertical. (28:54) I think it just shows how the room acoustics are. (28:57) So important.
(28:58) So big. (28:59) Because if you'll notice when you switch through those patterns (29:01) and try different mics, they all sound really good. (29:05) So it just comes down to these shades of mauve.
(29:08) Yeah. (29:09) Yeah, yeah, yeah. (29:10) Who consulted on this booth? (29:11) Who was that? (29:12) Oh, I'm not trying to plug myself.
(29:14) No, I'm plugging you. (29:18) But yeah, that is the point. (29:19) I think it would have been funnier if you dogged it.
(29:22) Yeah, exactly. (29:24) Exactly. (29:25) It's just great hearing a booth that I helped design out of... (29:29) Just hearing it years later or months later, whatever.
(29:32) Just hearing it used in this pair of headphones (29:35) that I'm wearing in this situation (29:36) and going, wow, it sounds good in there. (29:39) That's just so important, everybody. (29:40) Get those acoustics nailed (29:42) and then you can really enjoy the variety of microphones.
(29:48) It's like getting a taste for wine (29:50) and now you can enjoy different kinds of wine. (29:52) And I don't have that. (29:55) I do.
(29:55) I'm not saying I do. (29:57) But once you do, then you can enjoy a ton of...
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In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, brought to you by Tribooth and Austrian Audio, we dive deep into a fascinating discussion about microphones, mixing secrets, and the unexpected virtues of parallel processing in audio production. AP shares a surprising discovery he made with the Austrian AUdio OC 18 and his SSL2 interface, demonstrating how versatile equipment can mimic much pricier setups. The gang also discusses trends in vocal processing, the move away from flat-sounding mics, and the latest hot trends, from hot chicken to air fryers.
Robbo ventures into the realms of advanced compression techniques, exploring how parallel compression (a mixing technique used widely in music circles) can add some punch to your voice recordings. Whether you're a newbie or a seasoned pro, this episode is packed with insights and laughs, offering valuable tips and tricks that could transform your next audio project.
Key Highlights:
- Robbo’s mic discovery and its impact on sound quality.
- Deep dive into parallel processing and its uses beyond drums.
- Advanced compression tactics and settings for optimal sound manipulation.
See Robbo's Parallel VO Compression Examples here:
https://theproaudiosuite.com/season-7-bonus-content#episode-17
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
TPAS April 29 tighter edit, Robbo's mix
[00:00:00] And welcome to another Pro Audio Suite. Thanks to Tribooth, the golden handcuffs can be released as you travel with your Tribooth. And don't forget the code TRIPAP200 to get 200 off your Tribooth. Today we're going to be talking about, well, a few tips that we've learned over the years. probably should kick this off because I, uh, had a, made a discovery, [00:01:00] um, this week. Because I had a session, it was actually late last week, come to think of it. But it was a session I was doing with, uh, in the morning. And in the afternoon, as I just shut down the studio, I got an email saying, Oh, can you redo this line?
And I thought, well, I can't be bothered firing it up again. So what I'll do is I'll use my laptop. through the SSL to out of the booth because I've got a mic in there that goes through there straight to the laptop. Yeah, firing everything up. And I've actually set it up with the 4k button switched in. So which mic is this again?
The OC 18 OC 18. Okay. Got it. Yeah. So, I sent the file off and then I got the reply of the email saying, if you changed your, if you change your settings or something and uh because if you have, I like it better. Can you continue using whatever you're using now? Okay. So, what I I'd realize there's two things at play here.
One was I've been playing around with uh the 41 six and the OC 818 because the [00:02:00] OC 818 was going through the Neve, the 1073, and the 41 six was going through the grace and I just changed them around just for an experiment and I forgot to change them back. So he was getting the 41 six through the name.
So it was a bit more midi full. Yeah, creamy, chocolatey, whatever. Right. Um, but I changed them back the next time I said, I'll send you two files. I'll send you what you like today and I'll send you what you historically liked before. Uh, we've 41 six with the grace. But having said that the OC 18. Through the SSL2 with the 4K button pressed in.
Sounds remarkably like a 41 six through the grace. So they stand in for each other. Extra high end
boost. It's
bizarre. But the thing is, I was kind of thinking, okay, so I see the stuff on these threads on Facebook all the time. Should I get this mic? Should I get that mic? What should I do here? Which one should I get?
And it's always like, get [00:03:00] the, um, you know, the 41 one six and a TLM one oh three. My tip is get an OC 18 and an SLSL two. And then you've got both. You've got a large diaphragm without the 4k pressed in. And then you've got this hyper sort of 41, six sound with the 4k, but it's hard to beat.
Yeah. It's hard to beat the versatility with that setup and well, not, it's not hard to beat it, but it's hard to do it that simply, you know, to have a single push button that essentially changes mics, you know, and then, and then with the button in there and then with the, yeah, with the, with the pattern switch on the OC 18, you have this proximity effect.
Yeah. Changes, you know, you can change, you know, you're, you're good to go. into
hypercardioid and it'd be pretty Yeah. But this thing, this is, this is it.
This is the OC 18 with the 4K button pressed in. And you can hear, like, it's really, really cutting. It does sound like a Well, to me, it sounds I gotta say, I mean I'll bet, I'll bet one of the
problems is you get too much into the [00:04:00] OC 18 because it doesn't have the long tube.
So really, it's like you want to be here, but if you get away from the OC 18 with the same distance that you would be from the 4 41 6 and you put it in hypercardioid and pop in that 4k extra, you know, like mid range, high end. Yeah. And yeah, you'll be, you'll be getting to that cut through anything sound.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
I think we are so accustomed to not a flat sounding mic, right? Like we, the sound of voiceover is not a flat mic. Cause we, we moved away from a flat mic when we left ribbon mics, you know? It's the
same with our food. Everyone wants like overly salted food. Yeah, or spicy.
Dave's hot chicken.
Hot chicken this, hot chicken that. You guys get the hot chicken trend in Australia? Oh, we get everything, yeah. Hot,
hot, hot. The big, the big trend I reckon here, well, probably everywhere in the world is air [00:05:00] fryers at the moment if you're talking food, isn't it? Yeah, yeah, yeah. The air fryer. I got one in my garbage.
I don't want my air fried.
Well, that's cool. So, so that's your kind of, I mean, you know, that's a pretty nice secret weapon. Now, I'm wondering what you would get out of the CC8 if you did the same exact experiment. That could be interesting. I should try that one. For travel. Uh, if you wanted to have a travel,
uh, solution, yeah, but I've got the CC, the CC eight with the CC eight was sounding a lot
like your OC eight one eight when it was in the porta booth.
Wasn't it?
It was in the portabooth. Yeah. In the portabooth and the car in the car and it sounded a lot like the
OC eight one eight, which is like crazy.
Yeah. It's very cool. I like it. You should change your name from Mr. Big balls to Mr. Rigg. I reckon. Okay. Mr. Rigg. Mr.
Is that your
tip? That's my tip. I like, I reckon that should have
been your tip. That, that car one, that was, that still gets me.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's amazing.
And I, I did send that file off to [00:06:00] a guy called Chris Gates, who he's a bit of a fan of the show. He's an audio engineer here in Melbourne and he. I love the guy, but he's always cutting you off. Gatesy. Oh, there
you
can see the Chris
Expander out there.
Shut the gate, the horse is bolted.
Yeah, that's right.
Come on, Robert, give us this. Give us the source. Can I shit?
I was hoping you wouldn't going to call me. Give us a source
connect one.
Yeah, just avoid airports. There's your tip. Traveling too much. I don't, what have I, um, ah, now I'm full screen. No, the pressure's on. I'll tell you what, I'll, I'll
throw one out there and, and, and since I was going to do a plugin one, but listening to AP, um, Because the idea of this was we were going to do one about voiceover that we use every day.[00:07:00]
Um, so there's one that, there's one that I use every day. That's probably a, it's, it's a musical thing, but I, and I don't know how much it's used in voiceover. Um, but a parallel, but a parallel bus on your voiceover. So when, when you're, when you're mixing something with voiceover, you get your, your voiceover set up nicely.
Um, so that it's, it's, sorry, hang on one second. My, this is one of
those things where I have very, very little experience with, which is parallel processing. Yeah. I've done
a lot
of
parallel drum. I
I'm very new to the, to the concept of parallel processing.
So, so basically I'll go back. Cause I thought Pro Tools had stopped.
That's all. Um, uh, I'll go back to the beginning. So mine's more of a musical thing. Mine's something that musicians use a lot. And, and George was, sorry, Robert was saying before, like [00:08:00] drums is a big thing where, where musical mixes will use parallel compression. But the idea is that you get your, your, For me anyway, you get your voiceover set up nicely so it's nicely compressed and sounding with a nice EQ.
But then what you do is you send that track to, it can either be another track or a bus, whatever way you want to work. For me it's a bus because I've usually got layers of voiceover so I just send it to a bus. And on that bus you heavily compress. And you can manipulate ReaCue to whatever you want to do to get it to mix in.
But the idea is that once you've got it set up and you've got that heavy compression going, you then drop that signal down, but then mix it back in so that it's just It's not there up front, but it's just making that voiceover lift and it's giving it that enough kick to punch through the music and sound effects and everything else that's going on.
But because [00:09:00] that original signal is still fairly dynamic, you've got this other compressed one that's mixing in underneath that gives it enough punch to punch through. Does that make sense? I get it, I get it
intellectually, I just, it's one of those like, it's like a tool, that's always been in the toolbox, but I've been afraid to Open it and use it.
I don't know why. I just, I don't have that experience. You are doing
parallel gating right now, except one of your gates is set to nothing. Yeah, that's true.
I am mixing a mix of wet and dry. So, that's essentially what I'm, I guess that's what parallel processing is, right? It's pretty much. Some of the processing, some of the not.
There's, there's those who argue that it's kind of like almost the same thing as just getting the right settings on the, Compressor and I've messed around with it And it seems like you can kind of get the same stuff But I would say that a parallel setup is way easier to dial in I can And you can get like some pretty, especially on drums, where like nothing ever falls too far away, [00:10:00] but it feels like you're never squashing the top.
That's right. And it is just easy to get like, I've really only used it on drums, um, but most compressors these days, most plugins, even like the LA 2A copy of this, that, or the other thing, Almost every plug in manufacturer now puts a blend knob on the end of their compressors, it's so popular. So it used to be this trick, you'd set up the same processing on two channels, and you'd have to get the same latency so that they phase perfectly, and now it's like one knob.
And most, most compressors do this. I mean, I'm used to
parallel processing, quote unquote, of being something we use in, in, when we're dealing with reverb or delay. Because, of course, you need to have Dry, or if it's only reverb, there will be insanity, right? It would be unintelligible. It'd be Nick Cave. So I'm very used to Did you say it'd be Nick Cave?
I said it'd be Nick Cave. Nick Cave is, he's super, super wet. [00:11:00] Right, right. Uh,
reverb. His stuff is, am I right, Andrew? Like
Is it Nick Cave? In what respect do you mean with Nick Cave? He's got a bunch of effects and stuff. Their mixes are like super reverb y. Super wet. Oh, God, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I thought you were making a
joke because it sounds like he's in a cave.
Maybe that's why he's
in a church. You should do a cave
recording, Robert. Um, so, um, yeah, so overly wet would be, uh, would be, uh, too much. So, so that I understand, I understand the concept. And so when we're talking about processing, we either talk about what? Serial or parallel. Is that where the, are that the two versions of Waze?
Technically, yeah, it's like insert
or aux send return is the way I think of it. But that's what's interesting now because a
lot of insert plugins have a blend knob or a dry wet. Now they're really acting more like a parallel processor. Yeah, I
don't, I don't find that quite as effective. And I, Robert said that before, and I would agree with him.
I, I, there's something about the blend. [00:12:00] I think you can be more accurate with, with a, with it coming from another bus. You can, and it's easier to, if you've got a couple of, Plugins in blend mode, um, it's easier if it's on a separate bus, it's actually easier to, you know, if you need to, to ride it a little bit, it's easier to do that too, I suppose.
It's easier to control. Maybe it's easier to automate. It's on a fader, I mean,
it's, it's nice to have it on a hundred millimeter fader than a knob. I'll say that. But unless you're doing a setup where you're doing one heavy and one mild compression. But if you're doing one, like, the reason why I think it's less impressive on the, um, the, the blend knob, because most people set the compressor to not be too heavy.
And then they only blend in a little of the straight, but really if you wanted to do more obvious parallel compression, you would put your compressor at, you know, 10 to one with a low threshold and crush it by 20 [00:13:00] decibels. And then you'd only blend in like 10, 5 percent of that compressed signal, that completely crushed signal.
And the majority of it would be the dry. And then you'd have a natural sound with the, like that benefit of like, it just doesn't go down too far. Um, I'll tell you what I'll do. Do you play around with
frequencies when you, when you're doing this stuff though? Because I, you know, like when you sort of get the stereo split and you're looking for gaps in frequencies where you can put a, you know, an EQ'd voice where it will sit and pop out.
Is that what you're doing with this as well? Especially
in radio imaging, I'll play with the EQ on that squashed parallel bus. Absolutely. Yeah.
And the parallel bus itself will just like seem like you crush it enough, it'll seem like it loses low end. Because that's where like a ton of the energy is. So when the signal comes in and your brain is going like oh, I'm ready for that low end and the compressor goes nope, you're not going to get the volume.
And then you hear the, [00:14:00] so compressors have a, can have an EQ like effect. I'll tell you what I can
do. AP and I just finished a re launch package for a station in Singapore called 1FM. And we did a, we did a monster re launch promo, um, sort of, uh, you know, spruiking that the re launch was coming. And it's got this big operatic music happening underneath it and I've added in, you know, lots of impacts and whooshes and stuff to give it some movement and some, you know, Typical FM Gravitas.
Um, but what I might do is, I'll put up a mix, I'll put a link in this video if you're on YouTube or in the show notes if you're listening to the audio one, I'll put it up on our website. Um, and I'll do a mix, I'll put the full mix and then I'll do a mix without the parallel bus. Uh, Uh, AP's voice and, and you'll just see how, how much it, it's [00:15:00] still there.
You can still hear it, but the, the parallel bus, just when, when something impacts and hits, it's still sitting there. It's still right there in your face. That's the best way
to explain it is to literally, I was going to ask you if you had examples of, of, of where they're being, but that would be a cool idea.
I'll paste that up. Yeah. Yeah.
The, the, the parallel compression thing is much more. Um, kind of known in, in drums, I'd say then using it on voice.
I I'm sort of, it's something I haven't really talked about and I, and I do a podcast, um, on radio imaging with the guys from imaging blueprint who we've had on this show before.
Um, but it's something that we never talk about. And I, and I was kind of interested to know, is it just me that does it on voice or is it, is it, is, is it sort of. I mean, I can't imagine, I don't really use it in, in commercial work, I suppose, unless I kind of, you know, unless you get to that point where you think, shit, this needs a bit more kick, but it's certainly not [00:16:00] on, on everything, but in it, I reckon I can't think of too many imaging projects that I've done.
Done lately that I haven't used a parallel voice bus on, so. Yeah. Well, I'm in the comments. In the comments. If you use it, let me know. Yeah, yeah.
I, I'm much more familiar with the concept of serial compression, in fact. Yeah. I, I don't even know if I still have it. I wish. I hope I do. Um, but I had this awesome, um.
Compressor called the FMR Audio RNC, which stands for Really Nice Compressor. It's like
a little third of a rack space deal, and they're like 200 bucks, but they punch above their weight. I mean, those are from like the early 2000s or something.
Yes, yes, yes. So I used to have one of these and I had this in my mix bus quote unquote on my I used to do production mixing on set on film sets.
So this was on your stereo
master? Is that what you're [00:17:00] saying? Yeah,
I had on my stereo master. That's a mono compressor. Did you have two of them?
I can do stereo. Yep, it's got stereo, it's got two in, two out. Oh shit,
I didn't remember that. Oh yeah, there you go. Cool.
Two in, two out, and a sidechain. Yeah. So, um, so I would run that on my stereo bus, and then I would just press super nice, this button right here.
And, what super nice does, and I think they explain it a bit, a little bit. RNC achieves high performance at a low cost by using a microprocessor to replicate or replace discrete side chain components. Um, so instead of having a lot of discrete parts, right? Resistors, diodes, things that make like an LA 2A.
Amazing. Um, with chunks of software, thereby reducing the component cost. It still processes the main audio and analog, avoiding the problems associated with digital audio conversion. Even the problem of scratchy pots are avoided. No audio flows through the pots. Um, and so, and basically it's using [00:18:00] VCAs.
Internally, right? Yeah. So it's this really interesting design of combining digital and analog, but what was cool about super nice
is the really nice button. Do does it change? So what super nice did
was, um, I did some reading about this while, when I first bought it, so 20 years ago, but what it did was you're, you're sequencing a series of compressors, so, and they're all at different ratios, right?
So you can hit it harder and harder and harder. And it kind of hides the, um, coloring that you get from over compressing, you know, because st Doesn't that sound like a knee staging?
Doesn't that sound like a knee where it, knee, I guess it does sound like a knee.
Yeah. Gets you into
it gradually instead of having just like a, like a point, it curves into the compression eventually where it's like flat.
It's kind of a big complicated way of saying i's like, you do a soft knee.
I mean, uh, I, I [00:19:00] guess. Talking, talking about radio imaging again, but for me, like, I don't have on, on my voice on Andrew's main voice track. If we go back to that promo that you'll hear an example of, um, there's not one compressor.
There's, there's a sequencer plugin. So it comes in and it goes through, uh, uh, the first one is a CLA two way, which basically just takes everything that's sort of too sort of loud. Brings that down. Yeah. Then a bit of EQ and some other processing, but then it'll go through, um, the, um, Oh God, what's it called?
Uh, another waves compressor. Anyway, it goes through that, but then that's got a bit of a faster
compressor maybe.
Uh, yeah. Sometimes I'll use the Renaissance, but the main one I use, I can see. See it, it's, it's, um, I'll put it in the show notes. Um, but it's got a faster attack and, and, and a, and a and a quicker release.
So, yeah. Then that's just dealing with anything that's still a little too [00:20:00] hot and sort of bringing that down. And then in the, on the master bus for the voice where everything comes together, all, all the processing and, and, and the, yeah. parallel bus and everything, there's a bus compressor on there as well.
So, so you sort of, it's the same idea by the sounds of it as what you're talking about, George is, it's not just a compressor, it's a series of compressors that give you a bit more control as you're shaping that, that waveform, I guess. Yeah. Cause I guess the guys, a lot of guys in
music, they use like a 10, 70, uh, 10, um, LA to 1176, 1176.
They'll use them both because they both do different things and they'll stack them together. But they're
serialized. They're one and it's going through one and then it's going through the next.
So I don't know if this is still going on with mastering, but um, at least 10 years ago, mastering engineers were starting to just clip the ADD converter just a little bit and clip this other thing just a little bit [00:21:00] and they weren't even, they were just literally purposely clipping things by half a DB.
Yeah. And that's such a thing now
that there are literally clippers. Yeah. Yeah. There are plugins that are clippers.
Yeah. And, and also I remember the first time that I had anything mastered. So I did this recording on my cassette A track, mixed it down to dat. I was interning at, at what was it called? The classic digital mastering, which was funny because they did a lot of classical music too.
But, um, so it's like, you know, like, They did a free mastering session for this thing. And the guy loads it into sonic solutions and then just, he's like, you know, he finds the peak and he's like, whatever, we're going to bump. Like I was, I hit it perfectly. I was like zero on the debt, you know? He's like, whatever, we're going to raise it up by like three or six.
I'm like, you're going to clip it. And he's like, that's fine. They'll just be loud. That's it. Yeah. Just like, like there was no L one back then. It was just like, no,
there was no maximizer at the top. Yeah. Okay. No, I is [00:22:00] one, um, the com, the compressor I like on ap. The second one, by the way, is the DPR 4 0 2, the blue one with the red LED lights that sort of go vertically.
And you probably don't know it's in the wave. No, that's
one of their newer ones. It's not an emulation or, or is it the b Yeah, it's an emulation.
It is an emulation of hardware. 'cause I used to have a hardware one in a studio I used to work in.
Yeah, it's what's what's the name of that company? bb. It's not BBE, but bb.
Yeah, I think it is. BBE. No, it's not BBE because BBE makes the exciter that's like audio crack and it ruins your mix. I'm just, I'm looking in my audio suite, looking in my audio suite plugins and it doesn't say BBE, DPR, or anything like that. It takes
your
daughter out on a date. Here we go, hang on. Oh, I can't, can I share my screen?
No, I can't. Oh, I think
you can.
Hang on, it's coming up. My poor old Mac's got Pro Tools running and four source connections going and God knows what else. It's [00:23:00] desperately trying to open the plug in. I was trying to show it earlier. Your Mac
is buying fans off Amazon right now. Exactly.
Well, well, well, we were getting onto the tangent of knee, so I just wanted to show you.
Oh, you got
it? Hang on. Hang on. Let me go to that. This could, this could blow everything up, you know. Here we go.
If, if, if the, if the episode suddenly finishes, you'll know why. Andrew,
just hit the end, the end thing. And
if I go present, share screen. Here we go. Share screen. Sharing screen is easiest with two monitors.
Yep. Share screen. And then you have to choose the window or browser tab. Okay, and then window, let's just go here, share. There we go. Can you see that? Yep, it's working. I just have to add it to the show.
Hang on. There you go. There you go. There it is. Ooh,
DPR.
Yeah, that's the name of them. So,
no, no, BSS. Is that the real name?
BSS is, it's not BBE, it's BSS. BSS. There you go. So, so for, [00:24:00] for AP on this, I, I have a, a sort of a bit of a fast, well, a reasonably fast attack, um, and, and a similar release, but, but if you were watching this working for AP 3 dB gain reduction light would be blinking sort of, you know, indiscriminately on and off.
It's not working very hard, but it's just cleaning up those, those things that are a bit higher. Which means that as you, as you work your way down the stack of compressors, you can actually compress a bit harder. Because there's nothing that's catching that's being compressed really hard, you know, so you sort of, you gradually leveling it out, which means that by the time you get to a limiter, you can actually limit really hard, because there's no peaks that are being caught and squashed radically.
It's all sort of being just evenly squashed nicely. So, um, that's the thought process behind that. So I was going to show, uh, go ahead, go Robert.
I was going to say, here's a setting that no one thinks about that I think can [00:25:00] make a big difference with some of the really high end compressors, like the George Massenburg.
Um, you see every compressor probably has an input, a threshold, attack, release, and output, maybe. But you don't see hysteresis on a lot of compressors.
Now you have to explain that now. What does that mean? You've opened that can of worms. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I think it basically has to do with like having two thresholds.
I'll make myself comfortable
for this. Yeah, sit back.
One threshold to trigger the compression, but the other threshold that it has to maybe follow below before it, you know, compresses again. I have to re remember this, because I don't own one with hysteresis. I mean, I see this knob on plugins. I
see, I see Certain plug ins, a compressor will have a hysteresis.
No,
I think logic hysteresis
hysteresis hysteresis. I've never known I'll go with you He hold my beer says [00:26:00] Robert
As he dives into this subject
So it has
two thresholds of essentially a low threshold and a high threshold Right.
I think so. I think it's something like that because because I believe you can also have it In a, the same word, but with, uh, with compressor, with gates, you can have it too. What's the wave
plugin that does that?
Is it the MV one or something that's got a high and a low threshold? It sounds like the
MV one there, there was one that one that Bob, uh, there was one that had a whole bunch of thresholds. It was, was kind of like what the RNC does. Um Mm-Hmm. . That was back in the day and it was that mastering engineer from Florida that put it out.
MB
two, an expensive piece of hardware, I'm assuming. Here
you go. Hang on. I
was a plugin.
Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Hang on. Let me tell me if this is the one you're thinking of. Is that with a high threshold?
Well, that definitely has a high and a low level. [00:27:00] Seems and that's it. Well, it's at a low level. It's sucking it up. Is this an expander and a compressor? It's, yeah, it sort of seems to be both in the one. But that's why I'm wondering whether that's what Robert's talking about. Is that the, is
that what you're thinking of?
Um, if I can find, here, I'll show you a picture of the definite compressor I'm thinking of. Um, because, GML, let's see, I gotta spell it out. This has become
like a really deep dive on compressors, actually. It has, hasn't it? It
really has, yeah. And it's made it nice. I'm looking across here, looking at my 2254 and thinking It doesn't have a history.
It's got a lot of stuff in it. No, it doesn't, but it's got lots of different, um, a couple of different limiter, limiter, limiter recovery, fast attack.
Is that a Neve thing?
Release hysteresis. It has to do with the release timing. So here's, um, if I was to, I will find it. Let's see here. [00:28:00] I'm zoomed in too much.
Okay, so how do I share my screen now? And bottom. Present. Present arms. Share screen.
If Robert disappears, we know why. Share
screen. Share screen. And. I guess we'll just do this. Nope, I'll do that. That'll be easiest. This one,
here we go. So add it to the stage and here it is. Here
we go. Do you, uh, do you, do you see that?
Yep. Yep. And, and if I, uh, zoom in on this thing. So let's see here. View zoom in. How far can we zoom in? It's such a thing. It's called
shortcut. Do you know that? Don't you?
There you, I I just did it. I didn't, I think it was . So you go, um, timing, release, hysteresis. And you notice it has a setting here and a setting there.
And it has to do, so, maybe, in here, let's see, we're going to find So George
Mastenberg is probably one of the most renowned [00:29:00] hardware designers of the And what is that, like a
4, 000 compressor, probably? Yeah, I mean,
everything he made is absolute, you know, money is no object.
I mean,
check this shit
out, Crest, Crest Factor.
Crest Factor. Timing in release histories is to precisely control dynamic features of musical performance when we would arbitrarily use your familiar features such as They don't tell us what it is, they just say it's cool stuff. So Maybe he doesn't really want you to know.
Yeah, probably. Doesn't want to give the game away.
Go and spend 4, 000 and buy one, Robert, and then come back to us. Exactly. I'll expense it. Yeah, I'll expense it, no problem. Source Elements won't mind. You just won a couple of awards, you'll be right.
Well, when you were talking about me, I just wanted to show you this compressor that I probably don't understand how to use, but I've been using for 15 years.
And it's the, it's the Dynamics plugin called AU Dynamics Processor. So this is the plugin that comes on Apple. It's the
Apple plugin. It's the
Apple Dynamics plugin. And the [00:30:00] thing about this plugin is, is it, it doesn't have a ratio. It has a ceiling control. And I still don't understand. So it's like a limiter?
Yeah, that's a limiter thing. Yeah, it's very strange, but the bottom line is when I use it A ceiling
and a threshold can be similar, but if you think of it, if you have infinity to one ratio and a threshold, then your threshold is your ceiling.
Oh, okay. Okay. Now you've confused me, but I'll believe you. If the ratio is infinity to one,
meaning you shall not pass, pass my threshold.
Yeah,
it's brick wall. Then your
threshold is the ceiling.
Right. So this funny little plugin, right? Which, which I've been using for many, many years. It's got attack release and a master output, normal, normal stuff. It's got an expander with a threshold, totally normal. You know, I use this. It's very handy.
You can do a nice, gentle expander. Very, very useful, right? Then you've got the threshold for the compressor [00:31:00] and it has a headroom setting, not a, not a, not a ratio. And then you'll notice it's absolutely A knee, what you call it, a knee style, right? Yeah, that's, yeah, that's, it's a knee, James. And as you approach, as you approach brick wall, right?
Well that's brick wall. Yeah, that's brick wall right there. Right. So it's very weird. I never really understand how to conceptualize the headroom. I love the style
compressor, but it, well, MDT was, yeah, it works great. This is a great way to do compressors. And this is the same way MDT. Yeah, I think MDT was multi-band dynamics.
And you got one of those curves for every single frequency band.
Yeah, well they have a multiband version of this too, where it gets really interesting. Yeah, there you go. But considering that's a freebie, and it just comes on Apple, I mean, it's pretty damn good. What you made there, by the way, is known as a
That thing you made there with the gate and the compressor, it's known as a [00:32:00] compander.
And you'll see that on some, some, uh, like the Yamaha O2, I think, had a compander. It was basically your gate and expander together. Mm
hmm. Mm hmm. Yeah, I think pandas have almost become extinct from you
don't see them. I don't know. That's because not enough of them come anymore and and and Yamaha wants them all back from all the uh all the zoos.
Yeah,
it's that bamboo
diet that they have trouble with. Yeah. [00:33:00] and on that note, I think we should off.
Oh, man. That is definitely the end of that episode. I love how our episodes really do not have an end. They just go, boom. They really don't. It's like
you're walking along, you don't see the glass door that's actually shut in front of you.
Well, actually, there's a podcast I like, and they end the, the way they end it is one of them tricks the other ones into saying goodbye or bye. And so he'll say some sentence and then slip in the word bye. So it fits into the sentence, so it'd be like, So I realized it was very hard to come byyyyyyyy and then they would all say bye.
And that's how they'd end the episode. Because like, nobody knows how to fucking end a damn episode. So you just ramble on, and I'm like, How do we end this fucking thing?
In this special episode of The Pro Audio Suite, join hosts Robbo, Andrew, and George as they dive deep into the latest advancements in remote collaboration technology with Source Connect Four. Joined by special guests Rebecca, Ross, and Vincent from Source Elements, the team discusses the game-changing features and improvements that make Source Connect Four a must-have tool for audio professionals.
The episode kicks off with introductions and sets the stage for an in-depth discussion on Source Connect Four. Celebrating the recent accolades and advancements in remote collaboration with Source Connect Four, the team explores the groundbreaking features, including the Auto Restore/Replace function, which has been improved and made more user-friendly. They also delve into the future integrations with Nexus and other platforms, promising further enhancements for audio professionals.
Discover how Remote Overdub Sync revolutionizes the overdub process, ensuring seamless synchronization in remote recording sessions. Exciting news for iOS users! Learn about the upcoming iOS compatibility for Source Connect Four.
Wrapping up with congratulations and gratitude, the team reflects on the insightful discussion and looks forward to the future of remote collaboration in the audio industry.
Tune in and stay ahead of the game with Source Connect Four, the ultimate solution for remote audio production!
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
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And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
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Summary In this podcast, the Source Elements team celebrates their success and discusses the latest updates to Source Connect 4, including support for Dolby Atmos, improved user interface, and the Restore Replace feature. The software has been redesigned to simplify remote connections and enhance the user experience. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of remote recording technology, making it a necessity in the audio industry. The podcast also explores the potential integration of Source-Connect and Nexus, as well as the benefits of Source-Connect's remote overdub sync system. Finally, the host expresses gratitude to various individuals as the show concludes.
#SourceConnect4 #DolbyAtmos #RemoteCollaboration
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Timestamps (00:00:00) Source Elements Wins NAB Best in Show
(00:01:40) Source Connect 4: Dolby Atmos Support
(00:05:52) Source Connect 4: Improved User Experience
(00:08:36) Recorded Files in Pro Tools
(00:10:08) Port Forwarding Simplified in Source Connect 4
(00:11:10) COVID's Impact on Remote Recording Technology
(00:16:11) Streamlining Remote Audio Engineering
(00:20:03) The Future of Source-Connect and Nexus
(00:22:27) Remote Overdub Sync in Source-Connect
(00:24:27) Farewell and Gratitude
Transcript : Y'all ready? Beat history.
: Get started.
: Welcome.
: Hi. Hi, hi. Hello, everyone to the pro audio suite. These guys are professional. They're motivated.
: Thanks to Tribooth, the best vocal booth for home or on the rote voice recording and austrian audio making passion heard. Introducing Robert Marshall from source elements and someone audio post Chicago, Darren Robbo Robertson from voodoo radio imaging, Sydney tech to the Vo stars, George the tech Wittem from LA and me, Andrew Peters. Voice over talent and home studio line up learner.
: Here we go.
: And welcome to another pro audio suite. Thanks to tributh. Don't forget the code Tripap 200 to get $200 off your tributh. And austrian audio making passion heard. Just imagine a New Zealander, an American, a Canadian, an Australian and a half Englishman walk into a podcast. It's just happened. We have, apart from Robert Marshall, we have Rebecca Wilson, we have Ross and we have Vincent from source elements.
: Ooh, here we are.
: Wonderful.
: An Argentine too.
: Can you talk from our laughter who is here?
: Yeah.
: And welcome to the party in Las Vegas, by the sounds of it.
: Now, we should say the award winning team.
: Yeah, I was going to say there's a bit of a party going on because there's a new trophy in the cupboard. By the sounds of things, there is best in show.
: We're holding it up right now. It's brilliant. Shining blue and it says, nab. Best in show. And it's gonna go under Robert's trophy case.
: Exactly. I don't have a trophy case, but I have a trophy shelf.
: Trophy shelf, yeah.
: So, Phyllis, in best in show for.
: Remote collaboration, remote production. Yes.
: This is the new baby source connect four. Yeah.
: Yes, it does. Atmos, amongst other many cool things, source Connect used to do and more than it does now.
: So go and fill us in on the atmos thing because that's a massive leap forward.
: Yeah. It allows you to have all sort of the raw atmos stream, so not just a rendered mix going across a remote connection, so someone can listen, but instead it gives you the flexibility to send what's called the bed. Then all the objects, these are all separate audio channels, as many as it will be, as many as 128 and the time code. And then most importantly, the metadata that steers all these objects around so that whatever the receiver has, as Atmos does, is it just conforms it. It renders it specifically for their speaker setup. So you could have a stage mixing a film with, say, 20 speakers and a director reviewing that mix in real time over source connect with, say, twelve speakers or even ten speakers. And maybe another person's connected at the same time and they just have headphones. So they're getting it as binaural.
: It takes a lot of the thinking out of the equation, right? You just let the renderer on the remote side deal with the translation. So just lets the host, or the mix host, if you will, put one stream up and have it divvy out to everyone accordingly.
: So everybody's end basically decides what it's. What it wants to hear.
: Exactly.
: Yeah.
: Right.
: Well, no, they'll hear the same thing. They'll just experience it in spatialization differently.
: It'll be optimized for their speaker set up because it'll be coming out of a renderer directly on their side and.
: The spatialization would be compatible from what you hear in binaural or 5.1. It's what someone's hearing in nine 1.6. But just with that lesser detail, I.
: Guess the end goal is sort of like listening parity, which is almost impossible to achieve because everyone's going to have different speakers and configurations. But this is the most optimized version to get closest to that.
: It's not like we're dropping like, you know, one of the voice channels so you only hear one side of the conversation.
: It's the purpose that Atmos was made for so that there'd be one deliverable and then whatever your speaker set up. The person with the really nice speaker setup doesn't have to compromise for the person with the really simple speaker setup.
: And the other way around.
: And the other way around. The other person with a simple setup is not sort of burdened, in a sense, by having something that they can't play because of someone who has a really fancy system. So Atmos is like a deliverable that lets you play back anything from stereo all the way up to, you know, huge speakers arrays and 15 and 20 speakers even at home.
: I think I have kind of an alternate kind of take on this which is basically like a bit of a tangent from that, that angle of it, but it's basically like these. Getting into a really tuned listening environment is a really expensive moment. You only get so many hours in there and the ability that now you could be working on a laptop in headphones through the Dolby Atmos renderer and building a mix towards your big mix session where you're going to actually sit in that room. That's kind of like what I think is at stake. And what's really exciting about this is you could be working on 5.1 before when you were working like in a stereo setting is you weren't able to know that it was going to translate. Exactly. This is kind of, or even at.
: All, you kind of use tools like I had the, the waves thing that lets you take five one and make it binaural and you'd kind of have an idea.
: I think most engineers I know would say they do their best work when like they, the client leaves and they get to work on something by themselves in a bit. So now the ability that you could be working towards this grand big spatial mix in a laptop setting and then transmit that to a listening environment that you can get into or physically get there, that's the real exciting prospect.
: It kind of feels like equity, really like true equity.
: Let's bring it back into more of the realm of our listeners, I guess. And AP and I have been having a bit of a play around with source connect four. Thanks very much to you guys. And the biggest step forward I see is firstly the GUI. You know, it looks so much more SmIc, so much more professional, so much more user friendly. But in terms of operation wise, the biggest step forward is the old queue manager, which now becomes restore replace. In source connect four we were like.
: You know, we've spent 20 years honing technology and then we thought now we need to hone the user experience. It's really an internal focus for all of us.
: Now the queue manager so often was just, people never read the manual. It didn't, it didn't work automatically enough. And then people would just go, what is this thing? I don't know. Shut it down, let's get on with our session. It wasn't something that they thought to ask for because they never had anything like it before.
: It's weird, I've done so many sessions where I've said, are you using Q manager? And I get the answer, no. What's that?
: Yeah, we just have one extra step to go, which is to be reading your session file automatically, your pro tools or logic or other session file, whatever we can. And then you honestly wouldn't have to do anything. And you've got restore happening all the time without needing to configure anything.
: For me, the other awesome one would be for it to work even after I've shut down source connect because there's so many times that you shut it down and you go, oh, I shouldn't have done that, should I?
: But you know, well we have reconnection logic built in now or like a new method where you know, if somebody does shut down, you still got work to do, you can bring it back up and it'll reconnect and it will restart. But we also, you know, if you shut the program down, then it can't do it anymore. That's the same.
: But as far as, like, uploading the data maybe ahead of time or right away so you don't have to wait for the talent or worry if the talent shuts their system down.
: This is maybe the most important thing about source page four. We've redesigned it from scratch, completely rewritten every line of code so that we can add these features that we know everybody wants. So the plan was the very first version on the first day. It's pretty much feature to feature for source connect three because we just need to get it out.
: Right?
: Yeah.
: With doggy connection.
: Okay. All right. Some more extra cool stuff.
: There's a lot of cool stuff to.
: Get you to want to upgrade, but then what you're talking about, like, hey, let's upload, you know, the whole session to the cloud so that the engineer can get it later on. All of that stuff can come now because with built hooks into all of this technology.
: Sure. Well, let's pick through a few of them. AP and I were talking, we were looking at that restore replace page. AP noted the recorded files area and was wondering if that was sort of a hybrid of the old source connect now where you could actually record directly to the cloud. Is that the case, or is that actually looking at my. Well, in my case, my pro tools folder going, these are the files you've recorded so far.
: Exactly. Those are the files that you've recorded in Pro tools. What I would originally say the Qmanager or the auto restore. Auto replace system recognizes as ones that it knows what they are and who they were connected to. And if there's any audio to fix or replace, restore or replace that it can do it. So those are your recorded files. And then the other one you might see in there is the uploads, which are files that maybe someone else recorded that you are uploading data to, to either restore someone else's file or replace data in someone else's file.
: Okay. Because I think AP, you sort of liked the idea of recording in the cloud, didn't you?
: Yeah, that's one of those features you're.
: Technically recording there, and we can make that recording more available. It's actually, I think source connect three had that, but it had some flaws to it. But exporting the connection, if it's not there already, will be there.
: AP has been playing with twisted wave too much. That's the problem I've been playing.
: Yeah, indeed. Just going to ask about port forwarding. How does that change? Or has it changed in source connect four?
: I got this one. How does that change? No more port forwarding is necessary.
: Yeah. Nice.
: Basically.
: We find a way through your connection path and make it work. You don't have to go into your router and figure out anything complicated. You don't have to call us in a panic. You decided to take a vacation, and then you get called for a job. But nothing like that. It's just gonna work.
: So source stream is available. Mac and windows. And port forwarding, especially in the pro version, is available if you want to use it. It does kind of. It's the ideal path for the connection, if it's available. And if you can lay out the red carpet for source connect, it appreciates it, but it's no longer required.
: Only very strict networks and, you know, corporate environments.
: Yeah.
: My question is directed at you, Rebecca, and I'm wondering what hand COVID played in the development of source connect four, the one we're seeing now.
: You know, it's still a complicated thing to process. What happened to the world in 2020? We all changed. It was a one of major cultural shift for them, us as humans. And so, of course, that can only be reflected in technology. And the main thing that changed, I would say, for us, is that we realized we kind of know what we're doing with the Internet, which was really nice to find out. It was really, you know, it wasn't a pleasant situation at all, but it was nice to know that we were able to help. That was really satisfying. If you could have called anything in that situation satisfying. And then it said to us, hey, I think that we have an idea what's gonna be needed the next 1020 years, because we've already been doing it 20 years. You know, Robert and I, the team are all young spring chickens, and.
: And I have a cane.
: We've still got some ideas left. I don't know, maybe just a certain insight that we have from doing this so long. It was like, now the world's ready for us.
: I think what happened in the pandemic is a. All the doubters went, oh, remote really does work. And for us, what we realize is that remote is no longer just like the talent's remote or the client's remote, but remote is everybody's remote, and they all have different roles. And how to put those roles together in the most cohesive way became more what SourceConnect four was about compared to what we thought source connect four was going to be prior to the pandemic.
: If you think about source Connect, like source Connect pre COVID was something that was nice to have, and then when COVID hit, it was something you had to have, and that changed the whole game.
: I thought, well, Andrew, honestly, you and I, you know, we're from the South Pacific, from Australasia. I wouldn't say that source connect was a nice to have. It was kind of a, you know, whether it was source to nature or something else, we had to have something or how on earth we were going to work internationally because plane tickets are expensive and, you know.
: Yeah, that's.
: I think.
: I think so, yeah. But I'm thinking from my point of view, like, as a voice talent, working with studios like you, historically, you just drive it. I go to Melbourne or Sydney or whatever it was for a job. And, you know, you managed to convince people that, you know, you can actually connect with to my studio if I work with someone in Sydney or wherever. But it was kind of a luxury, really. And people would just use local talent, pull up in their car park and go into their booth. But once COVID hit, it was not like that at all. It was a different game.
: I think, especially here in Australia, there was a massive resistance to home studios, to the point where owners of studios would refuse to work with remote voice actors because they figured they were trying to steal their work. So. But COVID sort of put a whole new perspective on that, I guess, really, didn't it?
: Yeah, and there were people. There were people that were actually literally coming out and black banning talent for having a home set up.
: Yeah, that guy's got a home studio. He's stealing my work.
: Prior to, like, up to. Prior to the pandemic, or did that subside at some point?
: Yeah, I think it was. Look, it was. It was softening, but it was still there.
: I think what the pandemic did is kind of shift the focus from the studio to the operator to the engineers at those studios. Right. So I definitely spoke to a lot of people in those places that said they got more work because they were able to do so much of it remotely.
: Well, I know that's a fact for a lot of studios where they were able to, like, have engineers at home and at the studios, or just because clients weren't in, they were able to do just more work. Like, yeah, everybody could be put to work. All you needed was more licenses of whatever it was that you were using, like. Like pro Tools and Source connect and whatnot.
: Yeah.
: The irony of this whole thing. When COVID hit, all of a sudden studios were calling me because they had to get out of their commercial studios and set up at home and asking if I could do tests with them to make sure their source connect was working.
: Wow.
: Right. Or weren't some talent going to your place just to do sessions? Because they were, you know, they couldn't go all the way to the studio, but somehow they could give you COVID.
: Exactly.
: I don't know how the rules were, but I seem to remember you were hosting some talent at your place.
: Yeah, there was a few that came here because they got out of the city and they were living sort of coastal, so they couldn't get in there anyway. And I was asked if people could come here that were living locally, and of course I obliged.
: The amount of tech that was pushed on to pretty much every operator in a remote setting was, I think, probably one of the humbling parts of the pandemic. Right. Because, you know, it was, it was once you have every role get remote, then all of a sudden, like, I know a lot of audio engineers that know nothing about networks. Yeah. You know, like, it's like literally everyone has kind of thrown this wrench of technology and different roles now I got to be it as well as engineering. Well, that's what support was here for.
: Yeah, I mean, I was just thinking like literally a big part of like source connect helping in pandemic was just a huge heavy load of tech support. And it wasn't just getting talent on boarded, but it was almost teaching a lot of people like how to work remotely or how to like not just do a remote ISDN, like to freaking have everybody be remote and lots of people routing. Yes.
: So you know, all that's kind of, I think that's what source connect four represents. I think a lot of the learning of that is how to streamline exist, make the UI, make it make sense for you so you don't really need to think too much. The getting rid of the eye lock and the port forwarding requirements. I don't know if we talked about ilock, that's the thing. We've experienced that probably in huge volumes right at the start of the pandemic.
: What's this?
: What is this Iloc thing?
: I need something physical and I can't.
: Go out and get it.
: You didn't need it physical at the time. Another account? Is it going to cost me anything? No, it's a free account and you know, you can't verify or you can't easily set somebody up because there's just more email verifications for new accounts that are created and God forbid the account that you created in source elements, that same account name is not available in Ilog. So now you have two different account names to remember and like two different passwords and.
: Yeah, and people are losing their passwords because they use one thing for one account, one thing for another account.
: So that's gone.
: No more eyelock.
: Wow, you heard it here first.
: You heard it here, folks. That's right. Exactly.
: Breaking news.
: Bravo did say that he would like the UI to be bigger.
: Bigger, small.
: Can't see shit.
: Smaller the GUI.
: Oh, smaller the GUI.
: It would be nice to be able to scale it like I want to see. I love the size of it as it is for now, but even when you've hit that little four corner box and it squashes down to the sort of send and receive meters and then the menu underneath, for me, it still takes up a lot of space on my screen.
: And you can make it smaller. Yeah, you can grab the corner and push it in.
: We're in the final mile of quality of life improvements. A lot of the stuff that, you know, those sort of smaller bits are just, they're gonna get done in the next couple months and.
: Absolutely, I mean, you've embarked on a massive job. But that was one of the observations that I sort of, I did say to rob, but is I wanna see it big when I'm setting up the session and when I'm getting everybody connected. But once everybody's connected, I've got three screens in front of me, I've got my edit on one, my mix on another, and then my third is dedicated to picture for video. Source connect plugins, meters, all the rest of it to keep them out of the way. So the less space that can take up for me, because I really only need to glance up and see if it's metering. If someone says they can't hear something.
: Can I throw in a future feature that I don't think is a spoiler because I really wanted. Yep, we plan to separate the UI from the engine and you could run it from like another screen or an iPad. And to me that's the sweet spot there, especially for, you know, people who are running, you know, big installations. They can walk away and, you know, oh, source Kinect five is not working and they can look on their phone. Oh yeah, oh, it's working now.
: Right.
: Why should they have to go back.
: To the machine room and what about integration with Nexus?
: I think you're going to definitely see Nexus and source connect integration and just further integration across the whole product line going towards that platform.
: I think because I was telling Robert on a previous episode, it wasn't all that long ago, I had a session where I had a voice talent up in Brisbane somewhere. I had a creative sitting in the airport and two guys in the agency here in Sydney, and then the client was also online from, like, Perth in Western Australia or something like that. And there was another talent in Adelaide and it was this massive session. And if you could have seen my poor old thirst screen with meters and everything else going and all the rest of it, it becomes a logistical nightmare trying to remember where you've put everything and who's on what. So combining that all together would be quite impressive.
: Can't say exactly what you might see, but I think sort of connect and nexus are surely more communication.
: Well, that's actually a really good advancement that you've reminded me that you've, you've put into four. Here is the fact that all your connections appear in the one place. I think that's, that's amazing.
: And they cross connect for you.
: Yeah.
: So they all hear each other without you having to do a thing.
: Right.
: You can pull multiple outputs, everyone record on everyone on a separate track, and.
: You can even give them different inputs.
: Right.
: Right. You can send them different things, but they will all send to each other.
: Yeah.
: Can I make it so that person doesn't send to that person?
: That's the plan for sure. We want to have a more project based style where you could decide what role is everyone playing? What do they hear? What do you hear?
: What do you want them to hear? Who hears what? You can make everyone hear each other in a round circle and you could really play the game of like, tell this story to the next person and when it gets back to you. That is not the story I told.
: Yeah, well, it's. I mean, the way you've set it up now, it's almost a well and truly upsized source connect now, right?
: I'd agree. In a simple sense, it is like source connect three and source connect now. Sort of merging together and becoming each one, giving the best of what they used to do so you get the benefits. Yeah.
: The autorestore replace being like, now you actually truly have an acquisition system that's like, bit accurate, right?
: Yeah, yeah, exactly.
: Never mind the browser, you're not going to get that there.
: We know where every sample and frame is.
: Speaking of frames, we have a system called remote Overdub sync which instead of remote transport sync where you are to deal with latency on a project. If someone is singing or doing ADR, going back to ISDN, the original method is to send timecode into sync. Two timelines on either side. So one chases the other networks, but there's a lot of setup on either side. So the remote overdub sync ideas that you can send to the talent whatever they need to hear and whatever they need to see and they perform if it's ADR and they sing and that performance gets back to you and you record it. And while you're recording it using the remote over dub sync system, you hear it in sync and when you hit stop in your daw, you see the waveform and then a moment later, a couple of seconds later, you see that waveform jump back in time to be where it should have been had there been no latency between you. So you can overdub, really just connect and overdub. You don't have to tell people to load up this timeline and click this button to synchronize.
: No more comments of that doesn't look right to me from the back of the room. When you're recording with the talent, are.
: You thinking or is it going to happen for iOS by any chance?
: Oh yeah.
: Yes.
: I'm a big icad fan. I really love mine. I use it mostly as a music score player to play piano and I would love to use source connect on it and it's definitely happening.
: AP is only asking you because he's trying to create the world's smallest voiceover roadkit. It's a purely selfish motivation.
: I get it.
: He just needs to use a trrs cable. And like, if Andrew just needs to talk to me about how to make things.
: Uh huh. Absolutely. You would have the world's smallest road case. Indeed.
: That's not the only thing that I've got the smallest of, but that's another story for another day. Thank you guys. Thank you Rebecca. Thank you Ross. Thank you Vincent. And of course Robert.
: Congratulations. Congrats.
: Thank you.
: Thanks Andrew. Thanks, Jorge.
: Well, that was fun.
: Is it over?
: The pro audio suite with thanks to Tribu and austrian audio recorded using Source Connect, edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Voodoo Radio Imaging from George the tech Wittem. Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic, or just say g'day. Drop us a note at our website, thepro audiosuite.com.
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AudioTech
Join us for a special live broadcast from the bustling floors of NAB 2024 in Las Vegas! This episode dives deep into the latest trends and technologies shaking up the audio industry. We’re bringing you the inside scoop straight from the heart of the action, featuring:
- Exclusive Interviews: Robert opens the bag in whats in SourceConnect four, which is set to revolutionize how we handle Atmos and multi-channel audio streaming.
- Product Spotlights: Discover cutting-edge products like the new vocal booths that promise unparalleled sound isolation, even on noisy show floors as their VP of Marketing Freddie Gateley joins us for a chat.
- Tech Insights: Learn about the tech that's driving audio innovation, including the latest in virtual set technology that could change film and TV production forever.
- Live Demos: Experience the power of Austrian Audio’s OC 707 microphone, designed to deliver exceptional sound clarity, even in challenging environments.
Whether you're an audio professional or a tech enthusiast, this episode is packed with insights that you won't want to miss!
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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And the FB Group here:
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For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
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Summary In this podcast, George and Robert explore the latest audio technology and trends from the NAB show, including the launch of SourceConnect four, which enables end-to-end Atmos audio streaming. They also discuss the impressive soundproofing capabilities of their trade show booth and the advantages of prefabricated booths over custom-built studios with guest Freddie Galey. The hosts delve into the logistics and costs of shipping vocal booths internationally and highlight Vocal Booth's diverse market applications. Additionally, they share their experience using the Austrian Audio OC 707 microphone for recording on the road and discuss the advancements in virtual production technology showcased at the expo. The conversation also touches on the extravagance of Las Vegas and the use of wireless technology to record podcasts in a crowded convention setting.
#AudioTech #VocalBooths #NABShow2023
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Timestamps (00:00:00) NAB Highlights with George and Robert
(00:00:57) Streaming Atmos Audio with SourceConnect Four
(00:04:35) Soundproofing Magic at the Trade Show
(00:05:57) The Value of Prefab Booths
(00:11:26) Shipping Vocal Booths to Australia
(00:15:12) Vocal Booths: From Testing to Pets
(00:19:00) Building Recording Booths for Any Space
(00:22:12) Recording on the Road with Austrian Audio
(00:24:17) Virtual Production Advancements at NAB Show
(00:28:53) The Excess of Las Vegas
(00:29:55) Wireless Tech Powering Podcasts at Convention
(00:32:24) Wrapping Up and Staying Connected
Transcript : Y'all ready? Beat history. Get started.
: Welcome.
: Hi. Hi. Hi. Hello, everyone, to the pro audio suite.
: These guys are professional.
: They're motivated.
: Thanks to Tribooth, the best vocal booth for home or on the rote. Voice recording and austrian audio making passion heard. Introducing Robert Marshall from source elements. And someone audio post Chicago, Darren Robbo Robertson from Voodoo Radio Imaging, Sydney Tech to the Vo stars, George the tech Wittem from LA, and me, Andrew Peters. Voice over talent and home studio line up.
: Learner. Here we go.
: And welcome to another pro audio suite. Thanks to tributh, it's your freedom. The golden handcuffs. And don't forget the code TripaP 200 to get $200 off yours. And austrian audio making passion heard. Now, lots of things are being heard at NAB as we cross live to George and Robert.
: Yeah. We are here at NAB 2024. Hello, everyone. We're in Vegas, baby.
: What happens in Vegas instead of.
: Well, not today.
: Yeah. I hope the sales keep on going outside of Vegas.
: That's right. But we don't want the money to stay in Vegas. We want it to go with us. We're all here to make money. That's the bottom line, we have to admit.
: It's true. It's very true, actually. We want to show our stuff. That's what we really want to do. And then if it makes money, very.
: Gordon Gekko of you, I must say.
: Yeah, exactly. Very few people leave Vegas.
: I'd be buying everybody and dismantling their companies if I was Gordon Gekko, wouldn't I?
: Yeah, something like that.
: Yeah. Greedy's good. I'm not in on that name, but I'll google it later.
: It's that movie where he's like the Wall street guy, and he just buys other companies and destroys them. And all the union people are like, no. And he's like, fuck you, capitalism.
: Yeah. So we're. I'm here because of vocal booth. Vocal booth.com. We've done a little story about them already and what I've done with them. But we're here. I'm here because I wanted to hang out with them and meet all of their customers and help them make.
: Then it might be the right decision.
: And Robert is, of course, here with source elements, and he's helping to promote the launch of SourceConnect four, which is doing some very impressive stuff.
: Yeah, we got nominated for our best in show award. Specifically, we made source connect four. The upper end version is going to be able to stream Atmos end to end. And that actually doesn't sound like that impressive because it's possible to stream multi channel audio right now. But the difference is source connect four will be able to stream all the bed, all those channels, all the objects which could be up to like hundreds and 128. And the metadata for all those objects so that the receiving side can render that locally for their system on the fly. And then you can do that for up to five connections simultaneously. So you could have a director monitoring an Atmos mix and the stage could be on a 25 speaker system. The director could have a twelve speaker system. The producer could log in from another location and just receive on binaural and maybe the writer logs in and they're at home and they only have five. One. And all those things can be rendered locally for each system so the stage doesn't have to dumb down or render down to the common denominator. Yeah, that was great.
: Mind bending stuff.
: I think we need to add a caveat to that though. You can do all that unless you're on the australian NBN.
: Well if you have Andrew's Internet then all you can do is half a channel.
: That's right. South of Melbourne. Not so great. Sydney. No problem.
: It seems that way, doesn't it?
: Yeah.
: But seriously though, is that dependent on your connection?
: Well yeah, if you're streaming 128 channels of audio we figure on the realistic side you need at least five megs upload. But really each person and it can add up quite a bit. So we're really talking about people with really good pipes. But the intended audio audience for a product like that tends to be mix stage for a feature film. They're sitting on top of a ton of bandwidth. And then on the home side, most people's download, I mean you can get a gig download without even thinking about it.
: Yeah.
: So yeah, it'll take your average podcasters.
: Not going to use it, let's be honest.
: Of course.
: Or you just need George's cell phone that can get a gig from.
: Yeah, we can get on 5g here. I can get 1.2 gigabit download.
: Wow, wow, wow.
: Inside a building.
: I'm moving to the states, so I'm done.
: I think the towers are in the building.
: Yeah, no, there are definitely microcells inside this building. So it's. Anyway, to try to paint the picture. We are in the middle of the heart of the central hall. It's about as central as this show kind of gets. The main stage is about 150ft in front of us, right down the hall, which has tremendous sound levels. There's music playing. There's presenters. It's all kinds of stuff going on and yet we can get away with recording in this noisy environment until, uh oh.
: Bing bong.
: Hello, we have a guest. Until that door opens, you can hear the noise.
: I think we should do that again.
: Yeah, yeah, let's hear that again.
: Before and after without all the talking.
: Over. Take two. Take two.
: Silence.
: Open the door.
: Wow.
: And then close the door.
: That's crazy. That's insane.
: It is really good at a show floor because I've been to plenty of booth demonstrations at shows and it's really a hard, like, this is, this is as bad as it gets. You know, if you were doing a sports thing and who knows what's going on outside. Maybe not NASCAR racing, maybe not Formula one, but who knows, like a football game, you could probably get away with quite a bit with some stuff like this. Especially if it's, you know, off, you know, place in the right place.
: Yeah.
: Well, we've got another folk, another folk here. Yeah. Freddie Galey, which we've spoken to before. You betcha. How you doing, Fred?
: I'm doing awesome.
: He's the reason we're all, at least I'm here. And this is the reason why we have this booth here.
: That's why we have the booth.
: How many years of nab for you now?
: This would be. Oh, when was my first one? In 2012? 2013?
: I think so. So that was after we teamed up because guy was the first one that we.
: Yeah, we were. I just, you know what? My Calvin, our owner, just sent me a photo like a couple days ago and he happened to be the one that we were down there and I said, source elements here is 2015.
: Wow.
: Yeah, it's not been a while.
: And.
: I've been coming to these spottily over the years, but I'm so glad that I came to this one because the, the quality of the, of the people that attend nab are top notch. I mean, these folks are not just creatives, but they're like education directors, station directors, managers, just incredible high level people here and they understand the value of this thing. The first thing I'm always impressed by is when you tell them what this, this is a big booth we're in, what, eight by ten?
: Yeah, this one's an eight by ten platinum plus. Or a double wall with an extra layer of mass loaded vinyl.
: Yeah. And you know, if we were at a music convention, you might tell them the price and a sticker shock might roll over their face, but not at a show like this, because people understand the value of what this thing does.
: What's something like this? Like 15,000? Yeah.
: So the basic one of this one would go out as seen here at an eight by ten. And the platinum double wall, including all the shipping be 23,000 shipped.
: And the shipping is like two, three.
: Grand on the chunk of it.
: It's pretty stiff, but we pay for the shipping, so that's your out the door price.
: That's what I love. These guys price everything shipped in the US, which really takes away any of the mystification of what stuff credit really.
: Costs and, like, parts and materials and someone to build it. You're spending that much money, at least, and then double it for the frustration.
: I've done a lot of custom studio designs and builds with contractors, and it's excruciating.
: Yeah, excruciating.
: Like, I. One of the things I get hard to do so often is, should I build or buy? And the build argument is so strong now more than ever, because construction's so damn expensive. It's very frustrating to deal with contractors. Not that they're bad people.
: They don't understand the details of, like, I even did it now, and my contractor, I said, put these little rubber pads underneath the floor, blah, blah, blah. Do not screw the new subfloor to the old floor. What did they do?
: Yes.
: Thousand screws in it. By the time I got home from work, it's like, it's done now. My floor is coupled, and I didn't want it coupled.
: You can spend gobs of money way more than this thing for something this size, and then have one mistake. One screw goes through his timber, short out the build, and it's ruined.
: You ruin the whole.
: That's a couple. Yeah, yeah.
: One of the things, too, that I've had clients and stuff in the past is they've called us. They were already pretty well down the road with somebody, and then they were like, I'm just gonna see about having some. A prefab. And we came in, they're like, oh, you guys are a third the cost, and you can have it here this month. Yeah, game on. Let's go. And then that was the other big thing for them, too, is they were like, hey, I'm not modifying my real estate, so this is not going to be something I have to try and resell. This pool house with a recording studio in. It's like we just take it each.
: Part of the art, right?
: You have to include that cost, which is once you want to sell it, you've now modified some basement room to something that people don't want, and then you got to put it back, and that'll cost you at least half as much to undo it all.
: Yep. I know. Watching Joe Cipriano's custom built studio I designed 15 years ago essentially be dismantled and destroyed because the people that bought the house don't need it was rather heartbreaking.
: If there's one way to devalue your property, build a studio.
: Unless you're very lucky.
: Yeah. Unless you actually find you're just lowering the pool of people that want to buy your house on resale. Seriously. I had a real estate agent, and I was talking about building my studio and this and that, and I was like, definitely do not get rid of that bathroom. But all in all, I was like, you're devaluing your property by building this huge studio in it. It's like, well, I'm not moving in my case, but if you don't know or you're building, you know, buying an investment house and you might be planning on selling it, building a studio in there will cost you at least as much as a prefab booth. It will cost you more to get rid of it, and you will be frustrated by the whole process, and it will take you longer.
: It's a serious commitment. Yeah.
: What's even wild, too, is that recently, schools have been getting into that, too. I had one school that built an entire second story out of an acoustic floor just to be able to put our booths in on top of that so that they didn't have to later demo all the sheetrock and all the studs and everything. They're like, let's just put 17 big booths up here, make it look like it's all one structure, wood veneered, and wire all the h vac and everything into it. But later, we can just get rid of it.
: Do you know one of the best tricks I've seen? You buy a booth, and then you just build the simplest wall in front of the booth, and the whole thing looks like it's built into the house, and it's only been one wall with one stud and one layer of drywall, and it looks like Joe Cipriano's place, practically.
: Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely.
: So, gents, down there in Australia.
: Yes.
: What do you guys have in mind? What do you want to know?
: I actually have a quick question about the booth you're in, because every Aussie and every Englishman is asking, yeah, it's great. 23 grand in the states. But if I want one down here, what's shipping going to cost me, and I'm Bhop.
: Funny you brought that up.
: 50,000, 100,000 australian. What's the conversion rate is off.
: It fluctuates.
: We've been seeing NAB is very international. So there are Qatar people from Qatar, Dubai, Europe. And you guys, did you ship something overseas not too long ago?
: Well, even just thinking about Australia is just this last year we did University of Sydney down there and we did. I mean, containers full down there and they did a whole room full of booths and stuff. So logistics are the big thing down there. So if it's something going to Sydney or going to a port city, that's not too big of a deal. We have really good air options, we have really good freight options for the ocean options as well. And if we do a full container down there, it's really easy. We can even get that dropped off at the place and then it's almost like having a trailer.
: So we're talking group orders. Maybe get together and do a group order or something, then fill a container.
: Yeah, exactly. You know, we can always use somebody consolidating stuff over there.
: So the shipping, the 23,000 for this booth shipped, that's continuous us states or is that. Yep.
: That's going to be anywhere where we don't have to cross borders. Because then once we do get into, like, Canada, of course, we've got all the tariffs and fees and stuff that has to go in there and somebody has to be grabbing it on the other side. It's usually. It's funny how it's really not sometimes that much more. Sometimes it's like an extra $150 on our freight side to get it over there, but on. And that's if they're taking care of all the tariffs and all the import duties. We can do that. We can act as brokers for people too, though, and make it pretty easy. But again, it just depends on the level of.
: It's a really world market now. I mean, we are doing build outs in the US where the windows and doors come from, China. This is not unusual. This is all happening right now. So things moving between continents is not nearly. Now, I know there was a little problem besides missiles. Yeah. ICB vocal booth. Intercontinental ballistic vocal booth.
: I'm sorry, it just crossed my mind. I don't know what.
: Filters. Filters, yeah. So, yeah, no, it's not unheard of. Would you buy maybe a little one off, four by four? I don't know. It depends on. Because you're sharing a container when you're doing like, one booth. Yeah.
: And we do international crates, and so we can get it priced out just for a crate. The hard thing is that that is even a fluctuating market. So we've seen, all of a sudden it'd be dirt cheap, like, where we can get something down there for $1,200 shipping, but then we'll see it, like, just absolutely spike. Like, of course, we saw weird things during the whole COVID pandemic, like ships that were just sitting out there with stuff rotting on it. So it was just astronomically up and down, so you never really knew. But we do really quick turnarounds on quotes, so that's something that it's all up front, like, you know, order the boot and then find out how much shipping's gonna be once you guys, when somebody's happy with the way that the quote is, they're ready to go ahead and move to the next level. We're on the phone with our logistics.
: Guys and we got it done.
: So AP's just texted me, he'll take a container load, please.
: Right.
: Right away.
: When you're all done with the container, you can just line it with double wall and make a booth out of the container.
: Maybe we should line it with other things to pay for it.
: Yes.
: There you go.
: Exactly. I think this just became evidence.
: Hello, ASIO, if you're listening. Yes.
: Yeah. So what's your biggest market? Is it people like myself, like a voice over talent? Or is it more studios, as in, you know, commercial studios?
: I'm guessing it's broadcasters and production companies.
: Yeah, it's funny. Our biggest market, probably. I mean, if we wanted to talk just dollar wise, it's going to be education and corporate, even testing. So those are the biggest ones that are getting really big boosts. So some of these will be 16 by 32ft and nine or 10ft tall. Some companies, like Medtronics or Philips, respiratronics or something, they'll be doing really big production stuff and want to move all their testing stuff inside because they're in a bigger factory. And so this is something that they can pop up right in a factory, bolt to the floor in there, and have a whole way of stuff coming in and out.
: Bolt it to the floor. You're gonna couple it and then you're gonna get all those vibrations through the.
: Yeah.
: And so again, what they're all about is they don't need an anechoic chamber, but what they need to do is have all that equipment out there and bring it down to a level that's good enough for their testing inside. And so even inside of that big booth will be other booths.
: Oh, wow.
: Yeah. So it's a big crazy thing. But again, to bring a level down to another level and to another level also, we've been doing a whole lot of stuff with Apple and Amazon and stuff too, and their testing departments. And that's just one of the most consistent things that we have.
: And then what stuff do they need?
: A big thing that we designed for them is custom testing enclosures. And so this will be stuff to test all of their small. I don't know what my NDA can let me say, but you all know.
: What Apple devices, that they all know.
: What Apple branded devices about the size of an iPad or the size of generally portable things. Portable. So a lot of stuff in the testing facilities where they'll want to stack up like maybe 15 or 20 of these and have run localizations on all of those and not have them talk to each other. So they don't need like an insane level of isolation, but enough to where they're just not straight talking to each other or maybe even like speaker arrays or weird things on the inside and then even up to that. So, like, booths that are this size that they can go in and then have stuff kind of bounce around even. We do a lot of stuff like in the broadcasting world and stuff like the Nielsen Corporation that the Nielsen ratings and stuff too, where they build living room sets inside of our booth. So they have big 16 by 32 sets.
: Wow.
: And they're all dressed out and they have robotics arms and stuff, but they can build all those living room sets, put all their listening devices in there and then run all the tests around. And they have, like, I can't remember, they run like 32 of their own little tv stations in the back. And so they can broadcast to their own little closed circuit. Not closed circuit, but just a very small power thing and then test how this works across all of their tv stations and what it sounds like in this living room and what sounds like in that living room and if this thing is working and stuff. So again, that's the crazy thing about vocal booth, is that we never know who's gonna call and stuff. So we do get the people that, you know. Yeah, I'm unfortunate.
: I rarely say no.
: It sounds like, you know, yeah, we pretty much say no to very little.
: Do parents ever call and they just wanna put their kids in the booth, actually.
: Okay. So recently I did get a call and somebody wanted one for. They wanted one of our ant boxes that would perfectly fit a dog crate. And so they could put their dog in there because the dog had anxiety issues and he could be put in there. And we have ventilation and everything. And that crate slid right in there. And the dog could sleep in a nice, very quiet environment when they went to work. And then we had later one that somebody bought a three carat diamond for their parrot. So that thing was driving people crazy and the neighbors crazy when they go to work. And so they both. And I don't know. I mean, you don't ask questions.
: Polly's got a booth.
: We just don't say no.
: Back to this. Back to the dog crate one, though. It's school holidays here, so I'll take four of those, please.
: Absolutely.
: And they stack nicely.
: Yeah, yeah. Nice one.
: What, the children or the boots?
: The serial killer. Did the serial killer want an environment to do his thing in?
: A less eating Las Vegas hotel food for too many days in a row.
: Haven't had that customer yet.
: There was somebody who wanted their entire bedroom put in one.
: Oh, wow.
: What were they getting up to in there then, I wonder?
: I don't think.
: I didn't ask, but I don't think it was all about what kind of sound was coming from the inside, but from the outside, so that's okay. They actually, it was one of the writers on Jimmy Fallon's show. And they were like, I get done writing after the last show is done and we get too busy and I might not get home until 08:00 in the morning and done writing, and then I'm in Manhattan and this is a nightmare stuff. So sent a booth, and from our booths, they can all be built from the inside out. They have nice ventilation and everything. So he just built it right into his bedroom and then threw all the bedroom set and everything aside.
: That's very interesting. Your boots can be built from the inside out. You can put the floor in a corner and you're not screwed. You can put it in the corner. You don't have to, like, build it in the middle of the room and then shove it in the corner.
: That's huge.
: I have built enough booths that that's a big deal. Like, I didn't even realize that. That's really.
: That's huge.
: Yeah, we put all the stuff on the inside because so many places you want to maximize your, you know, your. Maximize your space. And so some people will even call, they just have an alcove like that. That's a big thing with corporations stuff, too. They're like, we've been given the area where the printer used to be. And that's our recording studio now. And so, yeah, no problem. As long as you get there from the front, build all the sides, and even with really short ceilings, we can build it right up to within, like, two inches of the ceiling and then slide light in, you know, the ceiling panels so that you don't have to go up and above and lay them down and then put that final wall in there. And that's a.
: That's a really big deal. I mean, building booths is, you know, building your own built in booth is really frustrating, but it's still a task. It was.
: It.
: I mean, it's gonna, like. I'm sure you guys can put this thing together in, what, like, 2 hours or something, but if your first time on this, you're gonna spend the day building this thing.
: Yeah.
: At least the day. How good you are with instructions and how far it is you have to bring the panels or whatever. It just depends on the people and.
: How it's like going to Ikea.
: I was just there yesterday.
: Very heavy Ikea, insulated with Romo.
: Okay.
: So funny enough, Ikea has actually become one of our clients, as last time. And we just sent him one of those little wrenches.
: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
: We seem to have lost our Allen key.
: Yeah, that's right.
: Well, you've got a few leftovers, like.
: Yeah, yeah.
: What do I do with my missed.
: Yeah, yeah, totally.
: On that wall.
: You guys don't mind, I've got. I've got some clients and stuff to see out here, too, but it's great talking to you guys down there. And always a pleasure. So, Freddie, thank you for letting us enjoy.
: Cheers.
: Love having these guys around, and it's been fun.
: Thanks, Freddie. Cheers, man.
: Thanks.
: Cheers.
: Now listen to the door. Here we go.
: Let's hear it again.
: Seriously, it's good.
: That's very good.
: It is good.
: That mic is doing good, too. From the distance, it's picking him up really clearly. It's hard to tell how it really is when you're the speaker.
: Yes.
: But when you turn it on him, it's good.
: For most of you are probably only hearing the show. This is really an audio show today, and we are using the austrian audio OC 707. I promised I would make this my on the road mic.
: It's a tighter polar pattern than the. Than the OC eight, I think. Right?
: I think so. Like, I'm. So we're. Right now, Robert and I are equidistantly across from the mic, and it's still getting both of us. But it's a little more diffuse. Right? It's not as focused.
: It's got a good presence. Like, that's even more presence. I hear that. And that's just rotating the mic, like, 30 degrees or something.
: So very cool. It's definitely not. It's not a wide cardioid. It's a more narrow, maybe almost hyper.
: I think it might be hyper. I don't know, but it's. I think it's doing well.
: Yeah. Well, it's weird, because in this booth, we have other mics. We have some earthwork ethoses, and we have some other gear. But I opted just to go single mic handheld, which sounds old school and weird, but the nice thing about that is I can essentially engineer this. So I'm controlling and mixing manually. This is an old school thing, but I'm literally mixing the three of us. And because we have one mic, we don't worry about fading and crosstalk. We can get away from the glass. That's. This booth has a lot of glass because it's all about showing off. And, yeah, it's working out really well.
: It's funny you should talk about mics, though, because the file I sent to you, that was done in the back of the car with the austrian audio, Cc eight, I sent to one of the engineers at big radio network here. And he said, what mic is it, and where do you record? I told him, CC eight with the mic four pro in the back of my car. And his reply was, nuts. Absolutely nuts. He couldn't believe it.
: Right?
: Yeah.
: So from now on, you're doing all your sessions from your car?
: That's right.
: Yeah, exactly.
: Exactly.
: Well, I gotta say. So I don't know how much time you've had to really see the joint. I've only walked one lap of the central hall briefly, because, honestly, I've had so much to do here, I've not had a chance.
: I mean, I walked one row down, so just the aisle. We got a pretty good boot spot. So we're on, like, a main aisle, but I just got to go all the way down and back. And I did see one thing that was really impressive. So do you know what a video wall is?
: Yeah.
: Like an led screen. It bolts together and is modular.
: Not quite. More like, okay. You used to shoot stuff on green screen. Why shoot on green screen when we already have the whole background shot?
: Oh, yes.
: So now they have this thing. It's a $4,000 box, which is like. This is like million dollar shit. And now it's like $4,000 box. You can build the whole environment virtually. Or if you go through a bigger process, you can shoot it all from multiple angles. It'll stitch together. Then you shoot it with an iPhone or some camera that has the same thing that you use for VR. So wherever you move the camera, the video behind you moves in the exact same way. So you get the same angle. And all the parallax. Not only that, the thing controls all the lights that you set up around it. So if you turn it to a place where you say, this is dark, the lights will go down and.
: Whoa.
: Yeah, well, this is million dollar stuff. Like, I don't know exactly how much the real deal stuff is, but this is like $4,000, I think.
: I remember seeing it here the last four, five, six years ago, and it was extremely, like, science fiction and extremely expensive, and it's. Now it's accessible. So what do they call it? Virtual sets, right.
: Well, it's more than a virtual set, but yes, it's a virtual set, but now it's. I thought they call it a video wall or something, and it just negates the need for. Because a virtual set, you're sitting there just looking at a green screen. But on this thing, the actors, like, running around doing this thing, and they look behind, and if there's a character, they can make eye contact with the screen. They can act and feel it much more than pretending that they're talking to a green screen and imagining what's there. They can focus their eyes in the right places.
: Right? Yeah.
: Well, there's a couple of guys I know here who set up a thing called Dreamscreen, which you can google, and that's the same thing. But they've got massive sets with the whole back of the set is giant video wall. And they've shot a lot of films there. In fact, they were up for Metropolis, the remake of Metropolis, the Fritz Lang film.
: Yeah, it's.
: Oh, wow.
: Except bring your own screen.
: Yeah.
: But they said it will work with projectors, so you can stitch together multiple projectors and fill a, you know, who knows how big of a wall.
: Well, they did a. They did a big thing here. One of the first things they did was a series called fires. It was all about the bushfires drama. And they, of course, could actually, you know, have the. Have the fires actually happening with the actors on set, on the screens. So the actor, even though they had, like, the, you know, the car there was on fire or whatever, they had blah, blah, blah. But they had the screens in the background so the actor felt like they were actually in the middle of a bushfire.
: Whoa.
: Wow.
: Yeah. This is the kind of thing you see at nab. It's all the traditional stuff, like mics, camera booms. Um, but you're seeing way more of this virtual type production. There's. There are apparently 150 different classes here on AI stuff alone, because there's a huge amount of education that comes along with it. We're just. We're just here for the expo. You know, we're here to sell. But there's a huge education component.
: I mean, that's. That's the problem with being an exhibitor, is that you can't do it. You can't see all this stuff. It's like, it takes an nab. You can probably do in a. It'll take you at least two days or three days to really see everything.
: And your feet are gonna kill you.
: Yeah. CES is insane. You'll just shoot yourself when you're done. But as an exhibitor, you get to stand on your feet all day. But you only get to see your own stuff because.
: Yeah, so. So I haven't seen anything too revolutionary. There's another company here that does soundproof windows, which I've known these guys forever called, literally soundproof windows. And they have an entire Conex shipping style container that they've converted into a quiet space so they can show off all their doors and windows. And it is damn impressive. As quiet as it is in here, takes it down another ten to 15 decibels.
: That's. That's like a whole other level.
: That's, you know, that's probably a hundred thousand plus install.
: Yeah. You're not shipping that to a residential place, and you're not building that on your own in a day.
: This thing's on a. This thing's on a flatbed truck. It's trailered in, and they've used it in am show and stuff like that. You know, so it's. I'm staying a whole extra day tomorrow just so I can start seeing things that I haven't been able to see. Yeah.
: Because if you lose weight. No, it's impossible to lose weight here. That's my problem, actually.
: You know, a six dollar order of onion rings at the Westgate is enough to feed like a starving family.
: Yeah. And they don't even talk about the buffets.
: I ate a $30 omelet this morning because that's. It was a buffet. And all I wanted was a damn. Yeah, that's Vegas.
: Right.
: Well, let me tell you. I mean, we just had the Sydney Royal Easter show here, which is like our big carnival of the year, I guess in Sydney, a cup of lemonade was dollar 18.
: What? Oh, my gosh.
: Yeah. $18 for a cup of lemonade?
: Oh, my gosh.
: That's ridiculous.
: Well, the other thing I want to mention is that, you know, again, we've been talking about source elements and their new product. We're using Nexus right now as our communications portal. So we're all communicating real time over Nexus, and we're using source Connect 3.9 because that's the version we have currently installed. Third four just dropped, but we're using that. And the amazing thing is, we're doing all that on my laptop, which is running on a battery I don't even have plugged in. We're using a mic port pro, which is also running on batteries. And we're using a hotspot on a phone connecting all this via wireless to a mobile, you know, a mobile data connection. And we're doing all which.
: That is mind blowing because I've been to so many of these conventions where usually you have to come in with three separate cell phone connections and you do what's called bonding them into one. When you get 100,000 people here with their cell phones, the towers just bog down to a crawl and you have to brute force it with three parallel connections. You're just doing it like a pedestrian turn on my hotspot.
: Yeah, yeah. If you're on Verizon here, you're in good shape. If you're on t mobile, you're pretty well screwed, because Verizon, which I should.
: Mention the source elements booth, is using a Verizon connection, which they were very gracious to provide us with. And we hooked up and it was a gig. And I was like, gigabit.
: Yeah.
: Gigabit connections on wireless.
: Wow.
: So we've been just leveraging all this technology to do shows from here. We've been recording from this booth. I've done. This is my fourth podcast since I've gotten here, and it's just incredible we can pull off these days. And, you know, and by the way.
: Everyone, I like to point out that this, in a show floor that's really loud, is much better than most of the audio I give.
: Yes, indeed.
: This is a true fact. Actually, talking about the amount of bandwidth you've got there. I'm just looking at my hamster, and he's giving me the hairy eyeball saying, give me a break. I'm puffed out.
: Yeah.
: Yeah. So it's been great, guys. So I'm watching a ton of people outside the booth that are, like, circling. They want to come in and they're.
: Going to start huffing and puffing and.
: Like, they're being tutting and rolling their eyes. Is that what's going on?
: We'll put a. Yeah, no, no, no. There's just people that want to come in, so.
: And I need to go huff and huff.
: You do HR puff and stuff.
: Exactly.
: That's right.
: All right, we're out.
: Yes.
: Well, that was fun. Is it over?
: The pro audio suite with thanks to tribers and austrian audio recorded using Source Connect, edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Voodoo Radio Imaging with tech support from George the Tech Wittem. Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic, or just say, g'day. Drop us a note at our website, theproaudiosuite.com.
This week on "The Pro Audio Suite," we're exploring the art of on-the-go recording with AP's road trip setup. Sponsored by Tribooth and Austrian Audio, we delve into how to maintain professional audio quality without the confines of a studio. AP unveils his compact kit, perfect for any travel scenario, including a detailed walkthrough of each component – from the pencil mic nestled in an Austrian Audio headphone bag to the Micport Pro's seamless integration with the iPhone 15. We also dive into mobile recording hacks, the convenience of twisted wave links for file sharing, and even find humour in the legacy of outdated iPhones. Plus, don't miss the unique insights into recording from the backseat of a car and the surprising acoustics it offers. Tune in for a journey through sound, technology, and a few unexpected detours.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
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ProAudioSuite
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MobileRecording
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AudioOnTheGo
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RoadTripRecording
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ProfessionalSound
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TechTalk
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AudioEngineering
This week, the Pro Audio Suite team dives into the sophisticated world of C-suite noise reduction. Discover the secrets to maintaining crystal-clear sound in any professional setting. Plus, we're toying with the idea of a live show featuring you, our beloved listeners. Fancy Andrew making a house call on his Vespa for a special episode? Let us know! Tune in for an episode packed with expert insights, laughter, and maybe, just maybe, a live audience next time.
This week on The Pro Audio Suite, we tackle the intricate world of recording on the go. With the ever-increasing demand for mobility in voiceover work, we dissect the use of shotgun mics in less-than-ideal environments, the golden rule of getting your setup right from the start, and the tempting but perilous path of "fixing it in the mix".
Our conversation veers into the high stakes of recording from the road, dubbed the black belt of audio recording, where knowing your tools inside out is paramount. We scrutinize the effects of overusing plugins like Isotope, Waves Clarity, and Acorn's latest offerings, especially the trade-offs between noise reduction and the dreaded d-reverb, and their impact on audio fidelity.
Moreover, we explore practical strategies for minimizing room reverb without sacrificing the room's aesthetics, leveraging the latest AI and machine learning technologies for a cleaner sound, and the importance of recording a clean, unprocessed track as a safety net.
Join us as we ensure you're equipped to record high-quality audio, no matter where you are.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Turn it
Ecamm Live Recording on 2024-04-01 at 16.24.59 I'll see if we were live.
PAS_S7_EP 12 & 13_C SUITE AND ROAD CASE_APR_2024_FOR EDIT Yeah.
Ecamm Live Recording on 2024-04-01 at 16.24.59 Guys, by the way, as our fans of the show, we love you. If you think having us do a live stream where some of you can join us live. Is a value to you? Would you let us know in the comments? Let us know in the comments. That's all I'm going to say. And secondarily, any promises like Andrew to visit personally, let us know in the comments.
Andrew can come and do the show from your place. Yeah, exactly. And he'll show up on a Vespa. Yeah, exactly. Even better.
This week's Pro Audio Suite episode is a deep dive into Austrian Audio's treasure chest, featuring the OC707, OC818 studio set, CC8, and OC7. Discover the groundbreaking features of these mics and why they might just revolutionize your audio work. Robbo, AP, and Robert share their firsthand experiences, from studio recording and on-the-road versatility to voiceover excellence. It's an unboxing and testing session filled with expert analysis, fun, and a whole lot of audio geekery. Don't miss out on this sonic adventure.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
[00:00:00] And welcome to another Pro Audio Suite thanks to Tribooth. You can see it in the background. Don't forget the code TRIPAP to get 200 off your purchase. Uh, Today we're going to do an unboxing right after this. So, George, you've got yourself a new microphone from Austrian audio Of course, one of our sponsors. Yes, it's Christmas early, extremely early in this case, [00:01:00] because I asked for this microphone a while ago and I wasn't sure if they'd send it to me because it is absolutely not. In the category of podcasting or voiceover. So I didn't think they were going to send it to me, but, they did because maybe they see what I see. And this is what I've got today to show you. And that's the You OC, not yet. OC 707. So this microphone has a lot in common with other mics. You guys are going to see from our unboxings. But this one kind of, to me, is like, I feel like, we should have done this last in a way, because I feel like it's the best of all the others, but all of us are going to tell us why their mic is the best, I think, right? So, OC707 is a small capsule condenser microphone. much like the pencil mic that we're going to see and the mic that, Robert's using. But it's just in the way that it's packaged. It's packaged as a handheld, right? So, why a handheld [00:02:00] vocal mic for voiceover or podcasting? Well, here's my, here was my thought. So, wouldn't it be nice to have a mic with a good internal pop filter? One. it's always there and it's always with you. Two, That's the unboxing part. Two, wouldn't it be nice if the mic had a decent amount of shock mounting internally, so the capsule wouldn't pick up rumble and stuff from wherever it's mounted? Yeah, sounds good, right? Well, that's the whole idea of a high quality handheld studio. Well, it's not studio. It's a live. It's just a handheld yeah. Mm-Hmm. mic, right? This is the whole idea of a mic like this. You're getting the quality of the capsule from their smaller diaphragm mics, but housed in a handheld form factor. So it can handle some handholding, meaning it will not pick up vibration. So if you mounted this to a mic arm or stuck it on a table or clamped it to a bed post or whatever it is you [00:03:00] need to put the mic, you're not going to get much rumble or low frequency noise, right? Another cool thing about the design of this mic, look at that crazy head basket. It actually it's like suspended it's it's sort of similar to my mic here where they have the capsule there, But the back of it accessible. I think that's part of their, um, a name for that tech. Yeah, they do have a name for that design, that design aspect, which I can't recall, But the idea is they're trying to make sure that there's no coloration that occurs because of the capsule being enclosed in any way at the rear. So that's the, the idea that this should give you the best off axis response, it should give you the smoothest off axis response. So before I go further and plug it in. Um, the only feature it has, really, if you call it that, is a switch. It does, uh, technology, Open Acoustics Technology. yeah, and does have a switch. The switch does engage a 120 hertz roll [00:04:00] off at the bottom end. What the slope is, I don't know. It's, I'm guessing it's probably as gentle, like a 6 dB per octave slope. But that is what you get on this mic. So without further ado, I'm going to plug it in, and it made a nice pop. I don't know if you guys heard the pop, did you? Even with the gain all the way down? So I'm going to go ahead and pot this up and let's see if you guys are catching it on your end. One, two, three. Yes, it's definitely coming up. yeah, And we'll pot down our other one. The OC 18. So now I'm on the OC 707. And, uh, tonally, it's very smooth, with what sounds to me like a little bit of a mid range, like, mid range, like, eh, eh, somewhere in the, hank, honk. there's like a little bit of a bump in the honk frequency. And that's, they did say that's by design, they actually said it has a little bit of a fuzz. forwardness at the two to three K range because they feel it [00:05:00] does help bring a vocal, um, out of the, you know, out of the mud, especially for live. guitars going on underneath you, that's gonna help. Yep. Absolutely. So, so if I was going to use this as a stand in for, uh, any of our other mics, my tendency would probably be to smooth that frequency out just to my ears and kind of put a little dip to smooth out that little bit of bump. But other than that, You're probably talking about like what 2 DB DB or so. And that's, what's crazy. You don't think two DB is that big a deal, but it's amazing when you hear, we are so tuned to hear our own voice or really human voice through a microphone. Right. And it's just, we've heard it so much. So there's any anomaly in, you know, in the frequencies, you pick it out really quick, right? But if it was a bass guitar and you added two DB of a certain frequency, it wouldn't be so dreadfully obvious. So, That's always interesting with mics. But anyway, that's the O. C. and whole. have the two mics set up so you can pot between the two, like go from the [00:06:00] 818 to the OC 707? I can do that. It'd be interesting to get like an equal distance and just kind of play around with that. Before you do that, how does it handle off axis stuff? Like if you're a bit off axis, does it get a bit lost? Yeah, we can try that. So, so I'm I'm gripping it, like, kind of like death grip singer grip and you're not hearing any. OK, if I really squeeze it, there's a little, if I move my thumb around, go. Yeah. the amount of handholding you get. But. If you hold it the proper way, as Steve Jobs would say, the correct way to hold the phone, um, by the, by the fingers like this, you get very, very minimal, um, I'm not using any high pass filters. This is right off the mic. So, so in terms of off axis, if I start speaking mic across the microphone now, and now I'm speaking at it at about, now I'm about 90 degrees. Yeah. right? One. And Definitely loses the low end and yeah, and there's the [00:07:00] rear rejection Notice the rear rejection is The rear rejection. 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, in your face, because we 2. Yeah, it has an amazing rear rejection. A bit for it to sort of sound off axis. yeah, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2. 1, 2, 1, then all of a sudden the low end really plummeted and it kind of retained some of the high end for a bit as it so very smooth off axis. And what does that mean to you as a voiceover actor or whatever, podcaster? It means that you can move around the microphone quite a bit. If it's mounted on a stand, for example, and you want to voice act. And you can move around the microphone a fair deal. And the only thing that's going to vary much at all is the volume, right? So as you get further closer, Yeah. it doesn't sound funky as you go off axis. So, All, all in all, I got to say, I'm extremely impressed. doesn't seem huge. Am I wrong about that? You know, if I get in deep, you know, those are, that's where you can really get that proximity effect [00:08:00] Mm And then back out to about, Yeah. Okay. So, so It is there. It is about this far away. 1, 2, 3, 4. So yeah. Excellent sounding handheld mic. Now the sound, the, the, um, the self noise on the mic on paper is not all that impressive at 19, I think it's 19. db um, self noise. I can't hear it But in, in reality, it's like you, yeah. if you have a heater on, if you have anything running in your environment, a fan, a ventilator, Anything you are not going to notice that it would take an absolutely extremely quiet studio. And for reference, the Sennheiser 416 is 16. So it's only 3 DB, theoretically 3 DB noisier and it's just not noticeable in any normal environment. So There you go. sometimes it's about just the sound of the noise. because if the sound of the noise is smooth, even if it's louder, Yes. than like some actual like kind Or, well, I mean, yeah, the tone of the noise, of whatever the white noise [00:09:00] tone is, and it's not very clean. So, there you go. back on the OC818 now, but that's, um, that's the OC707. do like, just kind of put them in the same place and do a quick, like Sure. B. Sure, I will do that. So, we're on the OC818, and they're very much close in alignment right now, and then we will cross crossfade over to the OC707, so you can hear there's a difference in the mid range. end and definitely more high end Right. sure. forward, less warm, less low end, crossfade back to the Seven. uh, the, uh, now we're on the OC818. yes. So yeah, round. of like, absolute purity of tone, the OC818 wins hands down. But if you want to travel and have something super robust for road use that you don't have to worry so much about, and if you want to throw in a nightclub gig while you're out on the road, Bit of karaoke. this is, this is a good choice. All right. [00:10:00] Yeah. That's a very cool mic very It is a nice mic. I do. I think it's basically the same as this bike, And you're going to explain to us why Uh, because it's the same capsule and the head basket looks very similar, but not, I have a feeling this head basket's a little bit bigger probably this one has a little bit more, tighter polar pattern if anything, possibly, but that's hard to know. Um, to show the mic clip. capsule. Sorry. I forgot to show my, my clip. too, which they give you the proper thumbscrew to set the position and lock it so it doesn't move on you. yeah, Anyway, sorry. sorry. Robert. Um, but yeah, I I think it's similar head basket, same, capsule, probably very similar electronics that like it's whatever the headbasket does and whatever else they do to voice it slightly differently. I don't think it's even in the voicing as much as it is in the polar pattern. Cause this is a little bit more of an instrument mic. So I'd expect it to [00:11:00] have maybe a higher degree of, um, You know, like a tighter polar pattern, maybe if Mm hmm. it for drums and things on stage. Um, but really convenient. I mean, I, I sent you guys the unboxing video. So we needed to see that, but it is really convenient in the sense that, um, kind of works in this similar way that a, in an SM seven or other mics work on a boom arm, so it's kind of not in the way in the same way that other mics are on the boom, It kind of nicely, gets in the right spot and doesn't cloud your view of other things. And it has this little pivot to it, which is pretty convenient, the full range of motion is from straight ahead yeah, almost full range. It, when, when you try to go. like, it That's the limit. back up. uh, so it's, Right. that'll limit some positionings, Yeah. but it is like front and back. [00:12:00] Okay. I did honestly wish it wouldn't have, um, just ran into Collided to the body of the mic, Yeah. Yeah. But besides that, I mean, It's It sounds great. I, I, I like the voicing of it. whole line. Yeah, I, I, mm hmm. the, the dynamic version and George, I don't, I think I seen those files, but so here's a dynamic one, which really just looking at it, the only The main thing you notice a difference is just. The darker color. It's kind of an interesting dynamic mic because it gives you these, um, filters and pads, it's active. So a dynamic mic that needs phantom power, and it seems to, um, maybe make it easier on the mic preamp. Um, it hmm. I would say in there with other kind of uh, Hotter Dynamic mics in like the kind of 421 type range where they kind of border a little bit more on kind of sounding condenser ish. Here's your two samples. It's only 11. It's a short sample. Here we [00:13:00] go. Guess which is which. So the second one sounds like the dynamic. Mm hmm. Yeah. And, and, and, yeah, what are the switches on there again? Give me a, rundown of the controls. Yeah. and then a, Um, high pass, a 3 position high pass filter. Three position. Oh, cool. Yeah, off being one of them, but here, let me, let me get you the, hmm. I would say that it'd be 60 and 120 It's probably going to be the same as yours, Yeah. so, I was curious. a 60 or is it 80? 80 and 120 on the Oh, mm hmm. And then the uh, the pad is like I said, 10 DB, if it's a gradual slope, I had a, [00:14:00] at, um, at, um, cutters. We had my labs that had a 400 high pass filter, you 87 I think of 300 or something like that. They're very high. Yeah, but there it's a They're a long slope. super, super gradual. Yeah. it's gradual. Now, that's interesting. So, yeah, I'm wondering if the slopes are set differently on the, on that instrument mic versus the, the pencil mic, you know, it's, they're all using the same basic guts, just in different configurations, They're all in know, same capsule. you know, color pattern a little bit by the acoustics around it, maybe, electronics, that might change the noise. Mm the noise hmm. So, you know, Andrew's mic, I would say, it to also Probably because that basket is so open probably have a more wider, polar pattern, Maybe And little bit more open sound, I would think for what Andrew has, just because it doesn't have the pop filter I mean he does have that, He's a little foam ball on there, but on [00:15:00] it much, yeah. andrew, what's, what, what are your impressions of the, uh, of the, is it CC eight, right? yeah, the CC8, which you also have. I do. I have two. I, like them. you, uh I put this through its paces. Okay, that, that is one of the problems. I'll go to the, Let me He popped it on purpose. of the problems. Is He, no, he was making a point. Yeah, exactly. I was Wizard is never late. He always arrives when he means to, right? Yeah, that's right. That's right. I, I've put this through a lot of tests. I've compared it with the 41. 6. I put it up against the NTG5. Um, I've done It in the Tri booth. I've done it in the Porter booth. I've done it in my booth, used it everywhere. Um, I think Robert, actually, I sent a file to Robert, uh, last week and Robert's response was listening to the NTG5, the 41. 6 and the. CC8, that, the CC8 moves a bit closer to the 41. 6 than the NTG5, thought so. [00:16:00] I think it's, that's what I'm hearing as well. It didn't quite have that, has a little bit more truth in the mid range. It doesn't have that, like kind of. yeah, 416, like thing. that I know it's, like what people like, but it's also technically what makes it so real. exactly. But this one, if you look at the frequency response, it's actually, is, very flat. Yes. and it's got a couple of tiny bumps in the top end to give it a little bit of cut, but it's a very flat mic. I know from other people who have played around with this mic, it takes EQ beautifully. You can really thrash it and it won't let go. So that that's a really good thing and just shows the quality of the microphone. On the downside of the mic, As we've already heard, it does tend to pop, unfortunately, So you've got to be very, very, careful when you're using this thing that you don't sort of pop continually. Um, I wanted to try this because I just [00:17:00] like the form factor of it when you're traveling, that it could be a really good, mic to chuck in a bag use when you're on the road because it is. Small, it's pretty Speaking of road, who makes that shock mount you're using with the mic? Wow. Road, road. So it does, it does not come with any kind of shock mounting of its own. it No, it just comes with a normal mic clip, Right. Same, same, same one is probably, maybe, I think it's probably the same mic clip that I have. Right. probably, let Yeah. in my And so that's the, that's the trade off. Right. So mic clips are interesting because when you first get them and you're trying to put that mic in there, you're like, man, I don't want to snap this mic clip, But the plastic is really strong and it feels like you're putting a lot of pressure in, but not the easiest, like, those things are exactly smaller than the mics and you gotta like, well, the Sennheiser my clip was the same way. I remember the four 16 people. I would just think like, is this going to fit? But that's what, [00:18:00] that's why it doesn't fall out. Yeah. so really. that's what you get is the clip Yeah. and then the foaming that that's all that comes with So do you think if you were to travel with it, you would actually bother to bring along the bigger shock mount for it? Or would you just use the clip? I'll just use the clip? Yeah, because I'm not touching anything, nothing, True. fine. The only other downside was because of having one of these, because I'm trying to make the road case as small as possible, and Right. really attractive. Like if I get a, you know, the old NTG5, You can plug it straight in. in. World's most badass USB mic. Uh That's what you end up with. But this one is too big. it doesn't Okay. The chassis is too thick. Yeah, it's too uh huh. What you might be able to get is a, uh, what would you need? a, um, female to female or male to female, uh, adapter. Like a little Barrel. yeah. It's an extender. They call it a [00:19:00] barrel extender? Yeah, And I bet you that would get you plugged straight in there without a Yeah. would. yeah, Which is essentially the world's shortest mic cable. Off to Yes. what it is. Peters or you could just get your Dremel tool and start filing off and thinning out the back of that OC eight. worth it. Oh, so worth it. Yeah, that'll work. Making it a perm, a permanent attachment to the mic port pro and just like the, well, these work. together. That's the, I guess you could try to widen that channel in the mic port pro, which, which, which is going to be Andrew. I don't think he's going to machine the tail end of his mic. go neither. Yeah. Is you agreed. just pull it apart. Just solder it in, you know, Yeah, there you go. Like, there you go yeah, yeah. But anyway, I, I, I, I really like it. I think it's, um, me, the, the sound of it is, is really good. Um, of you on it, to be honest. I, It sounds great on that. sounds the way a small diaphragm condenser should sound, which is really clean, and really [00:20:00] articulate, and just dead, dead accurate, Yeah, lack of a better word. use like small diaphragm condensers like that on stage for opera singers, Mm hmm. In fact, that's an extremely common use case. You'll often see the ships where they have the little head Yeah. this very skinny long pole. Yeah. that goes down to a floor. stock is like 400. Yes. Yes, it is. expensive mic cable, technically. But yeah. they don't use, uh, they don't use you know when money is no object. They're not using large diaphragm mics. They're using I think the Beatles used up on, uh, the Yeah, on the let it be. Yeah. I Yes. the Beatles ones weren't they? they were using the AKGs. I'm sure. AKG version of that with the, Yeah, yeah, it was Well, you know, Austrian Audio is still a young company. They're not trying to, you know, they're there. You can tell that they're carefully rolling out iterations of the mics. You know, they could eventually make a remote capsule version of [00:21:00] this mic where the capsule is on a cable, you know, and it runs down a long cable and, you know, for extremely small, you know, when you're trying to get the capsule in really tight spaces, or if you want to mount it to a violin or the body of an instrument or whatever, you know, so there's a much more they could do. much about, their capsules and they're, and they're less about, you know, like, I, wonder if they would, I don't see them doing it, but like Would they do a tube mic? Mm hmm. I don't Who knows? in their in their thought process. Like, know, we're just trying to provide very They seem to be looking forward. need a tube for that. You Yeah, they seem to be kind of looking forward and not looking so much backward like traditional design. interested in color for the sake of color. Right. They're like you, you do your color, we'll give you truth. Which I dig that. Yeah. Maybe, Maybe, they will do a C12. Who knows? Who knows? Who knows? They got the [00:22:00] capsule. Robbo, did you get anything new yet? Or is this all about us today? Nah, I got a new toy too, but I mean, you've kind of seen it before, but I thought I'd unbox it anyway. Because it's All right. and this is literally, uh, can I say, this is literally an unboxing. I, I was spoiled. Firstly, can I say, hello to the Aster. Mm. Mm hello to the arsehole who stole my, um, my Hi X 65s while I was at my parents place looking after my mum. uh, they kindly replaced my, uh, my 65s hmm. and gave me a pair of. The 55s. Ooh. that inch in a quarter inch? sound Oh, do they? Okay Yeah, But what I, what they did give me was this, let's look at that. yes Now this, this. literally is an [00:23:00] unboxing, I have to say, because I haven't had a chance to get to it, but it up. And yeah, like you say, use it to tie your cables down and stuff. No, I think I threw that away. Yeah, What were you thinking? I don't know Oh, look in its own little road case and everything. How's that? yeah, yeah, You know when they're, you know when they, uh, they're, in a different price category, when they give you a case, a road case. yeah, Yeah, I know. It's very Mm hmm. um, so yeah, so look, this will probably, to be fair, this will probably be making the trip with me when I have to go into an agency client, who shall not be named, of mine, who doesn't believe in investing in microphones, so this will probably be handy because it will probably be coming with me. [00:24:00] Don't get it stolen from your car. Yeah, it won't be staying in my car by itself. Don't worry. Yeah, yeah, there we go. Certificate of quality. Can everyone oh look at that? yep. So that? was, uh, Oh, this year 30th of the 4th, not individually listened to and signed off. Yeah. And then polar pilot handbook sticker. there we yeah, that's cool Some drugs, cool. um, The cable that goes in the back of it for The The mystery magic weird cable. Yeah. Now, uh, uh, we were talking about these before, we started We didn't, we didn't like them, basically. made the point that it doesn't swivel, which Yes, I hadn't thought about having seen you guys using, yours, but you're right, the fact that it doesn't swivel, You can't, you can't do no, but you can't, You can't do this trick, right? can't rotate the mic in the basket, right? So if that's something you want to do, you [00:25:00] can't do it with that clip. I'm using ironically or interestingly, I'm using the original 414, yeah. 414 clip, yeah, is completely compatible, interestingly enough. So if you have one of those laying around, can use it. and, honestly, those, uh, Austrian audio clips are not cheap. No, I'm, I'm No. I think they're like a hundred bucks. yeah. But, um, a nice clip, it's just like, it doesn't let you rotate, and that's the Right. It's well made, it just, yeah, has that one lack of flexibility. So, I recommend You get the, Triad Orbit It makes a super awesome pivoting ball head mount. Okay. That makes it extremely easy to quickly rotate a mic. Well, it's a ball head, so really, any direction. Um, but, give you, I suppose, Do I, I sound any different, by the way? How do I You sound warmer, Robert. Do I I change my mic? Yeah. Uh in defense of Austrian audio, I think I know why that [00:26:00] shock mount is the way it is. Because if you look at the OC818 and look at the back where you've got, you you can either put a, you know, the Bluetooth dongle or the second Hang on. Here we go. Yes. If it was completely around, you wouldn't be able to put it in there. Cause I can't use the Rycote on the 818 for that Ah, you That is true. There is a little, Yeah. Okay. mind my goofy little pop screen, but there is a little opening in the back right here. that's, that's the reason Right there. give you that same mic clip for the 18 and the other, I was going to other, it to be able to rotate it, you do have, I mean, it's not a shock mount, but you do have option, I guess, yeah. it, Yes, absolutely. I mean, the bottom line is, that, that is Have we done a lot of tests of shockmount to not to shockmount or not to shockmount like in a context of voiceover? don't think there's almost any situation where you'd know if you're using the shockmount or not. Unless you bump into [00:27:00] something. a voice act, if you were voice acting and you were one of those um, and you, let me turn, get off that. If you're one of those people that sort of, you know, threw your hands around and did the whole, ah, you know, blah, blah, blah. And you accidentally. You know, I mean, yeah, okay, It's not Oh, yeah. but if you bumped it or kicked it with your toe or something, it might Yeah, I mean, even with a shock mount, if I bump the arm, Yeah. well, it's hitting the booth too, but yeah, if I bump the arm, you're definitely going to hear it even with a shock mount. So, Hmm. Yeah. but, um, it's nice that they give you, they give you the clip. You have. the option. You have the option. So I'm really excited about that. I'll, Oh man, are you kidding me? Austrian audio has hooked us up. I would like to say. Yeah. uh, firstly, I know they're sponsors and I know we've just scored all this, but firstly, awesome gear, seriously. my, I was, when my headphones were stolen from my car, was [00:28:00] devastated because I'd never used headphones to mix until they sent me those a while ago. And I've fallen in love with them like it was, Yeah. C monitor. I sort of, I mix on my main monitors and then mix down in the crappy little computer speaker that I use. And then I was putting the 65s on and, and they just become a part of my workflow. And when they went, I was devastated. So, um, So, so the fact that, uh, the fact that they've come back and by the way, if you're in Wyong, New South Wales, and some guy's trying to sell you a pair of Austrian audios in the pub, voodoo sound. com. au just drop me a line. Uh, my wife's uncle is actually a bikey. He's a hell's angel. So I'll Oh, he'll take care of you. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, Yeah. He'll get that for you. yeah, yeah. Yeah. I love it. with an Austrian audio mic, Yeah, the before And after interview. you very much. Hey, you know what? I totally forgot, Andrew. I forgot to [00:29:00] play your your CC eight test clip. Should I play that real quick? Oh yeah, Let's So this is, what is this, Five different, a few different takes strung together. There's uh, the first one is the NTG5, second one is the CC8, and the third one is the 41. 6. Oh, cool. Okay. So now we can hear it in context with two other venerable mics. Here we go. Oh, all in the Which booth? Your Steer Home booth. He can do the, same thing Got it. Here you go. Air Arabia City Checkin has landed at City Dagger in Dubai. Drop off bags and get your pass. Visit air arabia com for City Check Dagger in Dubai. Get your pass. Visit air arabia com for detail. Arabia's City Check-in has been at City Center Shi Duga in Dubai. Well, that was interesting because they [00:30:00] all did sound different. NTG5 was hyped. It definitely is Hyped What was the last one? What was the final one? 6. Wow, the, the NTG5 is like the 7506s of microphones. It's like, just like low end, high end, like You know, I, I guess they did that because they wanted to sound totally different from the NTG3. not that it doesn't sound nice, but it is not, it's, I don't think it's flat, No, no, it's not flat. The CC8 is the flat mic. This is this, this is flattest and one right here, right? Yeah, Yeah, that's, that's what a flat, proper, accurate microphone sounds like. the others are not that like, edgy kind of like lost some low end And it definitely had that edginess that yeah, It works on commercials i don't think you're doing your next album with it Let me hear something. you know it just has that like [00:31:00] little snarl to it that I, yeah, yeah, the like the 416. I I, no but no but you can see how it. would slice through a mix more than the other one like yeah, yeah, sure. But I guess, I mean, I, I, I, I, until I've got this sucker, I've been on the NTG5. maybe it's because I've got used to it, but I just listened to that then and went, wow, that's Right. Right. it's compared to the ntg5 it's very thin. Yeah, that's incredible. comcom I mean, I liked hearing the CC 8 in the, in the, in the, context of those two shotgun mics. Cause it just brings draws attention to the fact that those shotgun mics are not accurate. They're not flat. They have a very distinct tone and that tone can be a detriment or it can be exactly what the client wanted. So Yeah. can get lucky and a lot of people are used to that sound. I mean, we're programmed to hear that [00:32:00] 416, 416, um, on human voice. So we've gotten very used to that EQ curve, you know. Hmm. So we're just out of interest, out of the three mics in that shootout, Which one did you prefer? Which one did you find more pleasing? And which one do you think would be perfect for chucking in a road case and taking with you? well, I mean, I'm not mixing it so I could use any of them. Um, my, just straight out of the mic sound, which just sounds the most commercial ready to go on the air, probably the Road, is my opinion. I would agree. wow. I would agree. Can I just say, No. ago, I would have said 416 any day of the week, but I'm hearing that now, it's changed my mind. I think the road has a lot of low end that once you're done mixing, you're going to pitch it. And mean, you're going to cut that out anyway? Yeah. it though, in the first place. No, I know it's just the 416 gives you that just like [00:33:00] push the fader up and you're done kind of thing. Yeah. Yeah. mix and it's not really, when you isolate it, you're like, eugh. But if I take this it just like, Kind of pokes through and it's just does that thing that I think that's what people are going for because I don't think you can accuse the 416 of many things like it is not accurate and it is not pretty sounding Right. it just has this like, it's going to sit in a commercial sounding mix where you want that voice to be heard, going to get heard with less effort than the other mics, little, for you voiceover for you specifically, Andrew, I would go NTG5 for your shotgun. And I would say the 818 for your large diaphragm. They'd be my two picks. Okay. I've, I just want to do one last experiment with this microphone because I we know it's flat. But [00:34:00] if I hit the 4k button on the SSL, has given it more of a, uh, Crunch. Mm hmm. It is like instant 416. almost. Yeah, it's given it that top bump for sure. It's just emphasizing what is there and pulling it that's right. what I'm hearing. Yep. Yeah, interesting. that does something similar from, um, who does it slate digital Mm hmm. air, Mm hmm. you've talked about that one a lot. my. go to for that sort of thing. Absolutely. Just winding it in so it goes, if anyone cares, it goes, on the voice bus and it goes on the final mix bus For Oh, wow. That's where I use it. Mm say, I would say the the CC 8 is the most flexible. if it was a sound and you didn't know, like, you're going to do a hi hat or a voice or this or that, I yeah, CC 8's got the most natural soundstage more of a [00:35:00] desert island mic. Yeah. You could use that CC 8 on literally any instrument. And you'd be fine with Just a little EQ Just call me Human human voice included. I mean, Yep. yeah. yeah. Just gotta be very careful of plosives, Mm hmm discovered. Don't blow yourself up Indeed. I will try not to. Uh, well that winds up another one. Don't forget, Tribooth. They're our sponsor. T R I P A P 200 to get 200 off yours. Just like that one. [00:36:00]
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This week on The Pro Audio Suite, we tackle the intricate world of recording on the go. With the ever-increasing demand for mobility in voiceover work, we dissect the use of shotgun mics in less-than-ideal environments, the golden rule of getting your setup right from the start, and the tempting but perilous path of "fixing it in the mix".
Our conversation veers into the high stakes of recording from the road, dubbed the black belt of audio recording, where knowing your tools inside out is paramount. We scrutinize the effects of overusing plugins like Isotope, Waves Clarity, and Acorn's latest offerings, especially the trade-offs between noise reduction and the dreaded d-reverb, and their impact on audio fidelity.
Moreover, we explore practical strategies for minimizing room reverb without sacrificing the room's aesthetics, leveraging the latest AI and machine learning technologies for a cleaner sound, and the importance of recording a clean, unprocessed track as a safety net.
Join us as we ensure you're equipped to record high-quality audio, no matter where you are.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
And don't forget that code trip to 100 for $200 discount on your tribooth and Austrian audio making passion heard. Now, a different kind of microphone is the shotgun, which is kind of handy if you're in a not-so-perfect situation. But a lot of people are recording and doing voiceovers from places that they probably shouldn't. So do you fix it in the mix or do you get your shit together in the beginning?
: Got to get your shit together in the beginning. Don't think there's any question, really.
: Well, do you want to tell your client that you're not where you should be or do you want to try to hide it? Or do you want to just fess up to it? Because I think that hide it well, then obviously you're going to get really good at whatever it is. Isotope and waves clarity. And there's some new stuff from acorn, I think.
Speaker C: Yeah, that's why I call recording from the road like the black belt of audio recording, because you really have to know all the tools and all the techniques to pull it off and have it still sound as close as possible to a studio recording. It's not easy unless you have a lot of experience.
: If you work any of those things too hard and you're going to hear it, that's the thing. You can hire the best audio engineer in the world, but if you stand in the middle of a bathroom with an open microphone, there's only so much he can clean up before you start hearing the whole it's lost a bit of fidelity thing.
: Well, only the voiceover bodysuit is designed for that.
: Yes, well, that's the thing exactly. I mean, think once the passport Vo is out, that's the next project is the pro audio suite.
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker C: Every plugin that has to do some kind of an algorithm or a digital filter to the audio to remove something causes an artifact at some point, even.
: On a subtle level, it takes a little bit of life and reality away to it, and it approaches more of what is probably eventually going to be known as like an AI sort of sound.
Speaker C: It could be. Yeah, I mean, I'm already used to rx ten voice. Denoise. I know what it sounds like. I'm immediately always turning it down. Someone's like, I use this plugin and I'm like, twelve DB of reduction is too much, man.
: You can always tell when people choke down on the signal too much. And what happens is they start listening to their own stuff and they don't always reference back to the original to see how much you've improved it, because you can overdo it for sure.
: Oh, absolutely.
Speaker C: People apply this stuff blindly. They don't really have a critical ear. And of course, it's harder to even have a critical ear when you're traveling again. Henceforth, the black belt reference. It's a lot harder to get that same sound consistently when you're on the move. True.
: But the thing that does that's noise reduction. But the thing for me that does more damage is d reverb. D reverb is so destructive. Like, just let's call it a quarter turn for whatever you're on. And I reckon you start hearing it.
: And which one is that in particular? Because there's the wavelength, but I don't.
: Know of any that will deal with serious room reverb and do it cleanly.
Speaker C: No, this is the way all these plugins are, guys. The more in your mind you're thinking, I really need this plugin, the worse it's going to sound.
: Yeah, true. And then you run them together, run some noise reduction and dereverb and see what happens. That's just like death.
Speaker C: It's awful sandy grain. And you have to run them in the right sequence, too. If you got to run multiple reduction tools, they have to be running the right way, the right sequence. Agreed. It's not up. There's a television personality here in the States named David Pogue, and we set up his home studio with what was the minimal, I think, treatment you could get away with. Right. It's a decent sized home office, high ceiling. I didn't want it to look like a studio know stuff covering everything. So we did what we could to still have it look like a nice space to be in. In the end, it still had some reverb. And so when I showed him how to use clarity VXD reverb, he was thrilled because we had already dealt with 95% of the reverb. Right. It was already really good, but there was still a tail. You still had some room tail that was there. So then when he used the clarity VX to reverb it sounded amazing, and he was thrilled. And he's like, I use it on everything. I use it on everything now that I do. And that's because we did our due diligence to get as rid of as much of it as possible. And that's how all these plugins that modify the original audio using algorithms and AI, that's how they all have to work. Now, the AI stuff is a whole different kind of a ballgame. So the ability to do it with less artifacts is definitely becoming a thing. That's why I think the clarity VXD reverb is so good because it's based on machine learning. But you still can't have a room with a reverb tail of two or 3 seconds and just make it sound like a dead studio.
: No, I've heard people try, though. That's the thing. Yeah, I've heard people try not happen. Yeah. Just crazy.
: It's funny. Obviously, we all look at social media and you see posts from voice talent in their so called booth, or their part of the room where they record. And that was the thing that I was looking at the other day, and I saw one and thought, God, how the hell does that work? Or are they just getting away with it? I don't know. But then that was why I thought, well, I might as well just set up out here. And I mean, this is not ideal by any means. The only thing I've got really in front of me is a couple of those oralx gobo kind of panels. But I've got a hard desk, I'm on a concrete floor. My actual, all my outboard gear and everything in screens are to my left. And there's no treatment in this room at all.
: Yeah, I mean, you're lucky in the beginning, though, that you were in such a quiet location to begin with. I know the rooms because the right.
: Mic and the right placement, you can get away with the acoustics, you can do a lot, but noise, you're immediately having to use tools that are going to leave their impression on it. I would say that whoever is doing this, until you are so confident with it, figure out how to also record a clean, unprocessed track while you're doing.
: The session, at least.
: Yeah, as clean as you possibly can before you start dialing in noise reduction and dereverbs and stuff.
Speaker C: Absolutely. Yeah.
: Just somehow capture it both processed if you need to deliver it processed, but capture onto your hard drive just your microphone.
: Yeah.
Speaker C: That's what's so cool about this little tula mic. Remember, I did the appearance a few weeks ago from my folks house. A little cute green. I'm holding it. Now, that thing can record through the Bruce free noise reduction algorithm and dry simultaneously to its internal memory or through the USB. So you get both the dry and the noise reduction version of everything you do.
: Wow.
Speaker C: Which is awesome.
: That's cool.
Speaker C: That makes it something I would feel way more comfortable using in the field. Not that it's an amazing mic. I would probably pick a better mic, but still, the idea that was thought of is really brilliant.
: I think Michael's going to have that next week with the Portcaster AI. Isn't it going to have the Deverb and the denoise knob?
Speaker C: I don't know. Is this a scoop? I hadn't heard about that yet. It needs to go in a little.
: Baggie, but yes, it's a scoop.
: Wow.
Speaker C: Okay.
: No, I don't think we're getting the AI chip on our interface, but yeah.
Speaker C: No, we're going purest. The passport po is purest.
: It is. And so it should be. Yeah. So anyway, what's the wash up on this one? Just make sure that you have the best space possible, which we always say.
: And then get as close to perfection as you can. And then use it with some restraint, I guess is the word.
: And consider capturing an unprocessed version just in case.
: And yes, I know, I know that Us audio engineers get this stuff and slap reverb all over it, but it's different.
: That's right. But I've already got reverb on it for you. You don't have to worry about that, bitchambo. Yeah, exactly. And don't use Robert's setup for your voiceovers, whatever you do, for God's sake.
: And on that note, thanks for joining us this week. It's been a great show.
: Thank you, Mr. Letterman.
: Yes, and thank you, road.
: It only took us three years to find these glowing buttons.
: Well, that was fun.
Speaker B: Is it over?
Speaker A: The pro audio suite with thanks to tribut and austrian audio recorded using source Connect, edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Voodoo Radio Imaging with tech support from George the tech Wittam. Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic, or just say, g'day. Drop us a note at our website, theproaudiosuite.com.
This week on the Pro Audio Suite, we've taken a deep dive into the evolving landscape of voiceover auditions, with a particular focus on a new directive from the MEAA suggesting auditions be conducted solely via phone. We debate the potential impacts, from audio quality to AI protections, and whether this levels the playing field or sets the stage for mediocrity.
Our journey didn't stop there; we ventured into discussions about the surprisingly good quality of smartphone mics, particularly the iPhone, and pondered if the consumer really notices or cares about audio fidelity. The conversation naturally flowed into the realms of audio tech history, reminiscing about anti-piracy measures in CDs and the quirky side of recording hacks.
Join us as we explore these topics and more, including:
- The concept of the "mequalizer" in voiceovers.
- Potential implications of recording auditions on smartphones for AI training.
- A look back at anti-piracy efforts, from tape biases to digital watermarking.
- The fun and frustration of navigating tech limitations with creative hacks.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
And don't forget the code trip a P 200. That will get you $200 off your triboof. And of course, austrian audio making passion heard. An email came via our union here in Australia, the MEAA, talking about voiceover auditions. And they want talent to do auditions only on a phone. I can kind of see why they're thinking of that, but the issue I've got is that phones are not that bad. Speaker A: There's too many roadcasters in this conversation. : We got to move away from the default bank in China. Speaker A: So what is the reason, Andrew, did they say? Is it because they think that the crappy quality is going to, well, supposed crappy quality would be my opinion. Going to make people think twice about just using it? : That is correct. It's going to be MP3 from your telephone purposely made bad. : But is it really? Speaker A: I mean we've talked about this on the show before. I mean the iPhone in a micro. Sorry, the microphone in an iPhone is spectacularly good. So what's the point? : Or is it more that the consumer doesn't care anyways? : Meant to be an equalizer so everybody sounds equally mediocre. : The me equalizer is that the Joe. : Meek mediocre, the meequalizer will inherit the voiceover industry. : Or you were saying so that they purposely don't use the audition for the job. : Correct. : Yeah, it's like protection. : I guess it makes sense. I mean, I know in the states people love it when they get their auditions lifted and they don't have to record it again. : Yeah, it happens all the time. : Or you record them anyways and you still use the audition. : Oh, that happens too. So that's fascinating. So did you get a direct answer as to why? Or is it just a mandate don't ask questions? : It kind of came via my agent who's forwarded it from the union. There's also a disclaimer form as well to protect you so that you have to read a disclaimer on your audition saying that my voice cannot be used for AI and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So it's all about AI, but it's kind of like the more I thought about the iPhone thing, particularly iPhone and an iPhone 15, you can get away with using that actually for broadcast, really? : If it's done correctly. Yeah. If you record in a quiet, well tuned environment, you're going to have a very good sounding iPhone recording. Speaker A: Yeah. : A well placed iPhone will sound better than a poorly placed U 87. Speaker A: Absolutely. There you go. Well, so maybe that. Maybe the directive should have been stand on your local street corner and record on your phone. Maybe that should have. : Or just ask Robert. Speaker A: Just listen to the pro audio suite, any episode, just check out Robert and you'll get a good idea of what to do. : You should run the Hoover or the vacuum cleaner while you're doing an. Speaker A: Or you could record in, my know, kids screaming toilets, know all the fun stuff. : There you go. Speaker A: That's right. : Or toilets screaming. Speaker A: Yes. And kids. : Yeah, that's fascinating to me. So what medium are you recording with just to the voice memo app on. : Your phone, I'm assuming. So I used the phone once to muck around with when I bought a rode microphone that plugged into your phone. : Right. : I think I use garageband from memory. I can't remember off the top of my head, but I never record on the phone anyway. But if this is the new directive, I don't really know whether it's going to achieve much because. All right, so someone's not going to use it for the real job, so you're not going to get it stolen. They can still use it for AI. Because if you're training a robot, then doesn't matter what it sounds like. Really? : Good enough to train an AI bot. Speaker A: Yeah. : And then again, the other thing is, of course, send in an audition that sounds like shit. You don't want the person at the other end to go, oh, God, their studio is awful, I won't be using them. Speaker A: Well, this is the thing. Are they going to be told that you're auditioning on your phone or are they just going to get your audition expecting that you're going to be in your booth, in your home? : Well, I don't know. And the other thing is, of course it's a directive here. But I mean, what if I'm auditioning for another country? : Why don't they just take all the auditions and run it through a plugin that makes it sound like crap? : Boy, you could do that as well. : Yeah. Just give it a 4K low pass, be done with it. Speaker A: Yeah. : So just real sounds like a telephone. Speaker A: Yeah. : How about this. Okay, I got it ready. When they post it, they just put a little watermarker in there that goes voice jungle. : Do you remember? This is probably a long, long time ago. But there was a point at one stage they were worried about records being bootlegged and they used to put something. There was some kind of weird frequency. When you tried to record, dub something across, it would have had this weird frequency through it. Speaker A: Oh, really? : Yeah. I think on tapes they tried to do something that would mess with the bias of a tape. : The bias. : You couldn't make a dub of it. And then later in CDs, you found that with the. Remind me of the code spitiff had the Src. There was a setting when you'd master a CD, it would only allow one digital generation to be made and the second digital generation could not be copied. Src or something. What was that called? : Yeah, I don't remember, but yeah, I. Speaker A: Know what you're talking about. : It's a sample bit, like, people would call it sample bit, I think. Speaker A: Yeah. : When you master a CD, you can actually enable a bit that will prevent that disk from being copied. Yeah, I remember that in my recording in like, wavelab or whatever I was using to master or burn the master, you could say, do not make this disk copyable. : And then if you had a professional dat machine, it wouldn't give a crap and it would copy it anyways. Speaker A: Yeah. : Was that connected via AES or via SPDif? : SPDIF or AES, I believe. Well, definitely. No, no. Spdif because Sp Diff carried more metadata than AES, I believe. I don't know that if it was carried over AES, because SPDIF was the. : Consumer protocol and AES was the pro correct protocol. : And then there was another change to it, because then after that, when recordable CDs came out, the music industry wanted its royalties for all the music that was going to get bootlegged. So they made special, more expensive recordable CDs. So that then when you bought a consumer CD recorder, you had to buy these more expensive CDs, like Phillips came out with the 870, and it was a cheap CD recorder, but you could only use these expensive discs. But then everyone figured out that all you had to do was you bought one expensive disc and you put it in the machine and you primed it for record. And then you waited and you just grabbed your fingernails underneath the CD tray and you pulled it out and you switched the disc with a cheap disc and you pushed it in without triggering the closed motor so it didn't notice. Start its cycle up again. Speaker A: Wow. : That's a hack. : And then you could just record on cheap discs and you didn't have to have an expensive recorder, because if not, you were buying like, an HHB or like, a $1,000 CD recorder instead of a $300. Speaker A: Wow. Well, there you go. Wow. Wish I had known that hack all those years ago, but there you go. : And then the other thing that you don't remember on the CD was the pre emphasis bit. That would raise the high end. Right? That's what preemphasis did. It raised the high end a little bit extra. Speaker A: Yeah. : I don't remember why, but I do. : Remember that it had that to compensate for shitty playback systems. : I don't know, because there's the RIA EQ curve on phonographs. : It was almost like. It's like that was pre emphasis. De emphasis. Yeah, scums. That's what they called it. Scms. Serial copy management system. Yeah, they would call it scum because they hated it. That was annoying. : Well, I mean, based on that scum, why don't we have a scum in our daw? So we just hit that when we record. So it sounds great, but no one. Speaker A: Sends it out on CD. Send it. : People are talking about things like this, like trying to find a way to be able to track the media from even where it all goes. So, for instance, if you have a sound effects library, the sound effects can be seen inside of the mix that they are, and then somehow the person gets royalties. I don't know. It's a pretty hard problem to solve. Seems like there's a thousand ways to get around it and only one way to make sure it works. Right? Speaker A: This phone thing, going back to that just for a second, because it's just occurred to me, does it sort of smack of desperation to you that this sort of clutching its straws of sort of like, well, this is the best we can do? Does it feel to you like it does to me that maybe they're just getting desperate with this whole thing? : To me, it smacks of. I didn't know there was that big of a problem with pilfering auditions, that this is necessary. : Yeah, I'm shocked. I mean, I would never have thought of this as a solution, but I would have thought of another way to do it. But this is a super. It's a thing that anybody can do because everybody has a smartphone at this point, and it doesn't fix the fidelity problem necessarily, because you can still record really great sounding files, even more so. : You can now up res stuff. I'm sure this is going to hit for audio, but someone brought me a SD. It was DVD, but it might as well have been a VHs. It just looked like shit compared to all the video that we're used to, right. And took it to AI and it made it look like proper HD. It just interpolated everything, all the missing bits. It just like. I know it would have been here. Here's the nose hair. Speaker A: Yeah. I don't know. I suppose you sort of got to be. These sort of unions and stuff have to be seen to be doing something, but I don't know that they're really doing anything. : I can't see it making any difference. I mean, you've just got to be really careful about who you audition for. They've just got to be trustworthy and they've got to be a signatory of a union so they don't break the law, otherwise they lose their membership to the union. I mean, I can't think of any other way of doing it. There's got to be some kind of way of punishing. But if someone wants to do it, they'll do it anyway. Yeah. : Is it that there's too many desperate voice actors, just desperate to find any kind of work and they just don't care. They just want to get any opportunity to work. So they set themselves up to be. : Ripped off and then next thing you know, they take a gig where they're just, like, reading the dictionary and all of a sudden their voice is cloned, or it's part of a clone that you don't know it's in, and they've just been part of a. Because this is like a big data war is really what it boils down to. And how do you protect your data when your data is just, like, coming off of you like light? Speaker A: Well, I mean, when you think about how many auditions people do every day, how much sort of unused voiceover is actually floating around out there, there must be craploads of it. : So much. Well, did I tell you what we want to do with the echo servers? We don't really want to do this, by the way, so don't worry. But we just thought it'd be funny if we ever just took a recording of all the junk that gets set into echo. Speaker A: Imagine what people check. Yeah. This fucking piece of shit. Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. : God damn it. Speaker A: Why does my mic sound like shit? What's going on? Yeah, all that rubbish. Yeah, that'd be hilarious. You could do a rap song out of it or something. Just sound. : There's like a lot of material there. Speaker A: Absolutely, yeah. The source elements. Twelve inch or something. : Echo roulette. Speaker A: Yeah, there you go. Echo roulette. : Echo blue. Speaker A: You could have fun with that. You could actually tell people. You could sort of have a competition. The person who leaves us the best line for our remix wins a twelve month subscription to Nexus or something. There you go. : That would be a really fun one. I mean, right now it's like we don't run the queue manager because it would just fill up in an hour and then the computer would explode. : Yeah. Speaker A: Interesting. There you go. It's funny, isn't it? I mean, AP and I were talking about subjects we were going to talk about today and I was flicking back through our catalog of shows just looking for ideas and it goes back as far as like 2020. We were talking about AI back then. It's been an overriding sort of shadow over the industry for so long, hasn't it? : But in the last two years it has gotten. Speaker A: It's gotten worse. But you can go back to 2020 and we were talking about it then. It's just been this big black cloud hanging over the industry for so long, hasn't it? It's just weird. : Don't worry, there won't be any industry anymore. So it's all, well, God. Speaker A: Oh, that's reassuring. It's crazy, isn't it? Thanks to George's influence, I've been delving into AI a little bit and, man, some of the stuff just images even conjure me up this image and bang, there it is. It's just crazy. : Thing is, I recognize all those images that you post as being AI generated. Speaker A: I'm sure you do. : It has a very distinct style. It's a signature to it, if you know, you know, I guess is what I'm saying. Most people could care less, but yeah. : It'S a slippery slope that we're sliding on down into the depths of God knows where. No work. Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. : Of the slurp. Speaker A: Yeah. Well, who knows? : Yeah. Splash. Speaker A: Well, that was fun. Speaker C: Is it over? Speaker B: The pro audio suite with thanks to tribooth and austrian audio recorded using source connect, edited by and repeaters and mixed by Voodoo Radio imaging with tech support from George the tech Wittam. Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic, or just say g'day. Drop us a note at our website, theproaudiosuite.com.
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We delve into the legacy of Bob Heil, a titan in the pro audio industry whose influence reverberates through the echoes of rock and roll history. From his early days wielding the organ to revolutionizing live sound with his groundbreaking work alongside legends like The Who and Grateful Dead, Heil's journey is one of innovation, passion, and an indelible mark on music technology. We’re treated to an exclusive clip from a memorable interview, uncovering the story behind the iconic talk box and its role in Peter Frampton’s electrifying performances. Alongside reflections from our hosts and the fond recollections of interactions with Heil, this episode serves as a tribute to a man whose work amplified the soul of music.
- Celebrating the Legacy of Bob Heil: A Look Back at the remarkable career of an audio industry pioneer, from his beginnings as an organ player to his revolutionary contributions to pro audio and live sound.
- Exclusive Insights: Featuring a clip from a 2017 interview with Bob Heil at the NAMM show, shedding light on his history, innovations, and the creation of the iconic talk box.
- The Birth of Rock and Roll Sound: How Bob Heil's innovative sound systems changed the game for artists like The Who and Grateful Dead, setting new standards for live music performances.
- Remembering a Legend: Personal anecdotes and reflections on Bob Heil’s impact, his approach to sound engineering, and his legacy within the music and audio production communities.
- Tribute to a Visionary: Acknowledging Heil's vast contributions, from his early work with organs and sound systems to his influence on modern podcasting and amateur radio.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Summary In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, sponsored by Tribooth and Austrian Audio, the team pays homage to the late Bob Heil, a revered figure in the pro audio industry. Hosted by Robert Marshall, Andrew Peters, George "the tech" Wittam, and Darren Robertson, they reflect on Heil's influential career, from his beginnings playing the organ to revolutionizing the sound systems for rock and roll, particularly for the legendary rock opera "Quadrophenia."
Heil, also a dedicated ham radio operator and a friend of Joe Walsh, leaves behind a remarkable legacy. His prowess is exemplified by his creation of the PR 40 microphone, considered the gold standard in podcast mics due to its distinctive tone.
The episode concludes with a remembrance of Bob Heil's innovation, good-natured enthusiasm, and his considerable contributions to pro-audio technology.
#RockAndRollLegacy #ProAudioInnovators #PR40MicMagic
Timestamps (00:00:00) Introduction - Tribooth Sponsorship
(00:04:34) Bob's Ham Radio and Microphone Endeavors
(00:10:02) Evolution of Microphone Brightness
(00:10:55) Pro Audio Suite Recording Setup
Transcript Speaker A: Y'all ready? Be history.
Speaker B: Get started.
Speaker A: Welcome.
Speaker B: Hi. Hi. Hello, everyone to the pro audio suite.
Speaker C: These guys are professional. They're motivated.
Speaker A: Thanks to Tribooth, the best vocal booth for home or on the road. Voice recordings and austrian audio making passion heard. Introducing Robert Marshall from source elements and someone audio post Chicago, Darren. Robert Robertson from Voodoo Radio Imaging, Sydney, to the Vo stars, George the tech Wittam from LA, and me, Andrew Peters, voiceover talent and home studio guy.
Speaker B: Here we go.
Speaker A: And don't forget the code.
: Trip a P 200. That will get you $200 off your triboof. And austrian audio making passion heard. Unfortunately, someone won't be heard anymore, which is a sad loss to the industry is Bob Heil, who's had an illustrious career kicking off playing the mighty organ and then becoming a pro audio guy. And George, you had the privilege of catching up with him on numerous occasions, I'm gathering.
Speaker C: Yeah, I think more than once. There's just one particular interview from the NAm music trade show here in Anaheim from 2017, where I had a good, long interview, I mean, pretty long for a trade show interview. It was like nine minutes. And he really got a lot into his history. And at the time, I think I was remembering. Let's get onto the topic at hand, you know what I mean? He was giving me a lot of his backstory. And now I look back and I'm like, sure. I'm glad I had that chance. And to really hear it straight from him. I'm sure he's told those stories a thousand times. Right. But it was really cool hearing it from him. I mean, he literally created the sound system and envisioned the sound for quadrophenia.
: Oh, really?
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker C: In fact, I have a clip here I can play from that interview where he talks about the birth of what he called the birth of rock and roll sound. I think that's what he called it. Here, take a listen.
: Just go into the Internet, put in the night. Rock and roll sound was born. It's a true story. It really was the first night. And it was with the Grateful Dead. It's quite a story. They wrote the song trucking about it because they're selling all the gear. Yeah, well, their soundman got confiscated the night before because he wasn't supposed to be out of the state of California. We won't get into that. You can go figure it all out. But they come to St. Louis with no pa, ironically. To where? The Fox theater.
Speaker C: The perfect place.
: Well, there again, the stage manager calls you. You still have all those speakers? And I said, yeah, talk to this guy, handed the telephone to Garcia. And then we hit the front page of billboard because we went on tour with them out of there. And at that time, nobody had ever played through anything like that. I didn't know that. I'm like, this is pretty good, right? Because I had a longevity board that I had gotten and recording board. I had Macintosh amps. It was a big hi fi. That's what I looked and listened. It was beautiful. It wasn't just a loud pa. It was a beautiful sounding pa. That's new.
Speaker C: That was new then.
: Well, because of the pipe work. And I learned to listen. I had to voice and tune that as at the age of 15, we started in harmonically. Nobody realizes about the harmonics that are so important. I learned that as a young kid, and it's carried through everything I do. But then I was on the road. We hit the front page of billboard and everybody was calling us. One of them was the who. We ended up with them for six years. And from there it was humble pie. Jay Giles, on and on and on. But then they took Frampton out. He was a star of humble pie. They took him out as a solo act. And his little gal penny was married in my home when they were 18. She called me shortly after. She said, I need a Christmas present for Peter. And I sent her a talk box. You can write the rest of Peter Frampton's history, and it's well defined. You go to our website.
: Wow. Yeah, I remember the talk box. Frampton comes alive. And that came out. It was like such a feature, and it was so weird. Like, you'd never heard anything like it before. What a story, though.
Speaker C: Yeah. I'd love to get into his brain as to how he actually even came up with that idea. I'm thinking he was hanging a lot with the Grateful Dead when he came.
: Up with that idea. I think I know what you're getting at.
Speaker C: There was some serious psychotropic stuff activity going on there. But, yeah, I mean, the fact that he started. I didn't get that part of the interview, but he started as an organist, so that's a very high level of musicianship required to play an organ. And then he would set up the organs. He would tune the organs.
: He was aware of the organs sound. And those organs have just to know how the PA sounds, because the organ's a big sound. You're aware of loud instruments.
Speaker C: Yeah, with a lot of sources. Every pipe, every thousands of pipes. So, yeah, what an incredible background he had. And the. Then, you know, he's out there selling mics at know, which is. That's one of the neatest reasons to get to go to a nam show, is you did get to know a, you know, and you got to talk to him and interact with, you know, Wes Dooley from AEA microphones. Grew up repairing RCA microphones.
: He's a trip. Wes Dooley is great.
Speaker C: Totally.
: Just another booth at Nam.
Speaker C: Actually, a living historian. Right. And you get to talk to these folks face to face. It's amazing. But, yeah. I met Bob's daughter, who still works for Heil and still goes out to trade shows and does the beat, and she was very nice, and there's just a heck of a legacy there. So he will be missed for sure. And he was a huge ham radio operator. Amateur radio, as they call, playing organ.
: Over the ham radio station like he has his own station. That was just like organ playing, I think, or something.
Speaker C: Yeah, it was over.
: He was also friends because he's actually from. Well, he died in Illinois.
Speaker C: Yeah, he's from St. Louis.
: Right. But he was friends with Thomas Holman.
Speaker C: Wait a minute.
: Thomas Holman started, did the THX protocol.
Speaker C: Oh, he's the th and thx, yeah. Oh, wow.
: And Thomas Holman ended up, I believe, over with connections to Skywalker Sound and another audio luminary or whatever.
Speaker C: So cool. And then Bob also picked up, they picked up Bob to be a host on a podcast called this week in Tech Twit TV, which was the show that influenced me to start my own show 1512 years ago. And he did his own show over there about ham radio. And they did it for quite a long time, actually, until they had to end the show. But they still have his rig that he had built for that show. It's still at the Twitch studios in one corner of the know, a memory of really cool.
Speaker B: Really, really cool.
: The quirkiest thing, I thought, with Bob was his friendship with Joe Walsh, who was also a ham radio.
: Didn't Joe Walsh also use the talk box a bit?
Speaker B: Did he?
Speaker C: He did. He said later in that interview that Joe Walsh really kind of had it mastered. He really clearly, in hearing his interviews and reading his interviews, how he had an extremely. He was extremely tight with Joe. They were best buddies, and they spent a lot of time talking ham amateur radio together.
: Did they go driving in Joe's maserati?
Speaker C: Probably. And it was actually Joe who was experimenting with using the mics that Bob had made for doing amateur radio because.
: For doing studio work.
Speaker C: Yeah. Bob hated the crappy mics. That amateur radio operators were stuck using. So he made a better mic. And then Joe was like, yo, plug this thing into your studio console. And Bob's like, I never would have thought of that. He's like, I'm telling you, it sounds better than an SM 57 or a 58. And he's like, yeah, you're right, it does. And a brand of microphones was born from there. His most well known podcast mic, the one that's kind of the gold standard, is called the PR 40. And it has a distinct tone to it. It has a distinct voice.
: Is it kind of big sounding?
Speaker C: It's big, and it has a lot of cut, like mid range.
: It's like a combo of like an SM seven and a 416 or something.
Speaker C: Kind of almost. It doesn't have the top end of a 416, but it definitely has more of a cut. So if you ever listen to Leo Laporte on this week in tech, or any of the shows that Leo does, you'll hear the distinct sound of that mic. It's not a flat or a hi fi mic, it's a broadcast mic.
: But it's a dynamic sounding mic.
Speaker C: Yes, it's a dynamic mic, and its voicing is designed for being heard. Let's just put it that way.
: Yes.
Speaker C: The PR 30 and the PR 20, to me, sound a little bit smoother. I like the voicing of them better, personally. But the bottom line is Bob tuned his mics by ear. And he said that specifically later in the interview. I wasn't curious about response curves and all this stuff. I would just go by what I thought sounded right. So those mics are tuned by Bob's ear. And the guy had a good ear, but probably by the time he got into his fifty s, sixty s, seventy s, didn't hear everything.
: Did all the mics as he made them throughout the years just get brighter and brighter?
Speaker B: It's a good question.
Speaker C: It's a good question. I mean, I'm sure he wasn't the only one that put his ears on the mics after quite a while. Joking, but yeah, no, it's true. The sound systems I listened to growing up that were often not eqed well, unfortunately, were often helmed by a gentleman of an older generation. Yeah, I was like, no, too much two k and 4k. My ears are bleeding.
: You're accelerating their progression towards mixing.
Speaker B: Like you.
Speaker C: Anyway, rest in peace, Bob, thank you for all your innovation and your good natured enthusiasm. Enthusiasm towards audio, and we really appreciate it.
: Absolutely.
Speaker B: Yeah. Well, that was fun. Is it over?
Speaker A: The pro audio suite with thanks to tribut and austrian audio recorded using source Connect, edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Voodoo Radio imaging with tech support from George the tech Wittam. Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic, or just say good day, drop us a note at our website, theproaudiosuite.com.
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In this week's episode of The Pro Audio Suite, we dive deep into the latest advancements in audio technology that are set to transform the voiceover and podcasting industries. Join us as we discuss the new features of Source Nexus, the differences between its free and paid versions, and how these innovations can significantly improve your recording workflow. Whether you're a seasoned voiceover artist, a budding podcaster, or somewhere in between, this episode is packed with invaluable insights and tips to enhance your audio production game.
Key Highlights:
- Exclusive Discount on TriBooth: Kickstart your episode with a special offer on TriBooth, using the code 'TRIPAP200' for a $200 discount.
- Introducing Source Nexus: Discover the benefits of the latest Source Nexus release, a game-changer for podcasters and voiceover artists looking to streamline their recording and playback processes.
- Free vs. Paid Versions: Learn about the major differences between Source Nexus's free and paid versions, including the unique features and capabilities of each.
- Enhanced Connectivity and Quality: Understand how Source Nexus can revolutionize remote recording sessions, offering high-quality connections and simplifying the playback of recordings without the need for extensive technical knowledge.
- Future Innovations: Get a sneak peek into what's next for Source Nexus, including new features designed to make voiceover booths resemble professional radio studios.
- Navigating Internet Challenges: Gain insights into overcoming common internet connectivity issues that can impact your recording quality, especially for artists based in remote locations.
- The Evolution of Voiceover Sessions: Reflect on how the voiceover industry has evolved over the years and the increasing demands on voice talent to also be audio engineers.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone involved in the audio production industry, providing practical advice, expert opinions, and a look into the future of voiceover and podcasting technologies.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
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AudioProduction Summary In this episode of the podcast, the focus is on the benefits of the New Source Nexus for podcasting and voiceover work. The host reminds listeners of a discount offer for TriBooth, urging them to use the promo code "TripAP200" for $200 off. The guest, Robert, explains how New Source Nexus is particularly advantageous for voice talents who work with clients that do not record them directly but rather use applications like Zoom. He emphasizes that Nexus simplifies the playback process, integrating with various recording applications to handle routing and mix-minus setups, making it user-friendly with its built-in mixer. Nexus is lauded for enhancing recording capabilities, especially for interviews and group conversations, as evidenced by its use during the podcast itself.
Additionally, the episode touches upon the growing demands on voiceover actors, with Andrew Keen pointing out the limitations of expecting high-quality performances when continuously adding more responsibilities. He speculates that voiceover booths could evolve to resemble radio studios, given the expanding skill set required of voice talents.
Listeners are advised that the benefits Robert mentions apply to both the free and paid versions of New Source Nexus, though the paid version offers additional plugins that facilitate easier routing for professional needs.
#TriboothDiscount #SourceNexusPodcasting #VoiceoverTechSolutions
Timestamps (00:00:00) Nexus Benefits for Podcasters
(00:06:18) Evolution of Voiceover Booths
Transcript Speaker A: And if you want to get a discount on your tribooth, don't forget the code. Trip a p 200 and that will get you $200 off. So use the code now. Something new was actually released a few weeks back. Now the new source nexus. My question for you, Robert, how will it benefit someone like myself or someone who does podcasts using Nexus?
Speaker B: I think for talent yourself, the first case would be something like where you have clients that are not recording you directly. Sort of the here's a zoom link, and then we're going to have you record everything and send files to you later. Yes, your clients are hearing you over whatever Zoom can do, and then they're asking you to play back. And it's not easy to set that up. So Nexus for a voice talent would make it very easy for them to play back whatever they're recording into. If it's a DAW like Pro Tools or audition or reaper, or if it's even just some desktop application like Twisted wave, it can do all the routing and the mix minus set up so that you can playback without having to sort of understand as much what you're doing. In a sense, it has the mixer built into it. It's very straight ahead. So that's the first use case podcasting we've got recording. I mean, we're using it right now, but we're improving those features and those are going to accelerate. And certainly just a platform for someone who wants to connect and record an interview or a group conversation. It works out great. Obviously. Here we are.
Speaker A: Is this the free one or is this the paid one that you would need?
Speaker B: You could do it with both technically, but with the free one you're a bit on your own. With the paid one, you get a set of plugins that really makes the routing easy. The paid one, which is $12 a month or it's $132 a year, that one provides all the tools and is where it would be most easily done. But the free one does provide you high quality connection to five people, and everyone hears you in very high quality, and if you want, you can hear them in very high quality, but the routing is a little bit more up to you at that point and not having plugins to help you or applications to help you with the audio routing. So you're more just plugging your microphone in and your headphones out. And if you want to integrate other applications or go through a DAW record through a set of plugins, things like that, then it makes it easier to have the plugins. And especially when it comes back to playing back. So you not only have your microphone feeding into it, but also playback from whatever you're recording. That's where those setups are easier with plugins or external software.
Speaker A: My question is actually what is the major differences between the free one and the paid one? If I pay for it, what do I get?
Speaker B: The paid one? You get the Nexus plugin set, which is Nexus review, which is a plugin that makes it very easy to put on a master fader. Or it's also a standalone application so that you can set up a playback to whatever connection you have and source. Nexus Gateway is the meeting room that you have. It's chrome based and unlike something like Zoom, it has a separate high quality audio broadcast. So you have a client room that has echo cancellation on it and people can have speakers open and a more comfortable environment. But then you as the talent, you can be on headphones sending your audio out in high quality to the participants and whoever they are. So this is a situation where they're not recording you directly because in that case you would be on source connect being recorded by an engineer who's pulling playback and edits in real time. What happens to you, Andrew, is as you've said, you've got stuck doing playback for people and crap, which I've set up for this.
Speaker A: I must admit I have sort of put my foot down on that one and basically say before we start, I'm not supplying playback and I'm sure that's going to come and bite me at some point. But the other question is, you know what my Internet's like here for some peculiar reason it's pretty crap. I mean the speeds are fine.
Speaker B: It's crap.
Speaker A: Yeah. So how taxing on bandwidth is Nexus going to be, particularly the paid one.
Speaker B: Gives you video as well. The free one doesn't have video. So if you choose to use video it's definitely going to tax it more in your case. I don't know what's wrong. You just live in a black hole of Internet. I think it particularly has to do with the peering. Within Australia you have really good speed. But if you do a speed test and you change your server to someplace in Chicago or close to there, then you'll see the true speed that you have from Australia to that distance, not some server that's down the street from be.
Speaker A: I don't know whether it's the modem, I have no idea. It is kind of weird.
Speaker B: I think it might be the peering. That's what I'm trying to say. Who's your Internet service provider, Telstra. Telstra. And when they get traffic that's destined for the United States, they got to put it onto some pipe, and probably ultimately it's a pipe that they don't own. So they're renting out and paying for a chunk of it. Then once they get to America, they have to know ingress into that network. So at some point they're paying somebody. And actually, the reality is, at many points, they're paying people, and the whole public Internet works off of best effort. And really it's least effort that all these companies, it's like if it's at t across the entire connection, they're going to make sure it goes great. When at T has to traffic other traffic from Verizon, at T does it at best effort, which is not to say that they thwart it, but they prioritize their own traffic. So suffice to say there's many peers that go across, and each time, each one of those has to pass the traffic. And if they're doing it slowly, it can make for a rough connection. And if you go international, you're definitely going to run into more peers than if you're just connecting to someone down the street who also has Telstra.
Speaker A: Yeah, that makes sense. But it is slightly frustrating, I have to say. Things don't connect properly. So now you're going to be adding stuff to Nexus. So what's in the pipeline that you can talk about?
Speaker B: Well, we already have shown whatever the right way to say that is at the National association of Music Makers Conference, or NAMM, and we showed an overdub feature which basically allowed a talent to load up an audio file, and then they could perform against it in time, and that whole performance would go out so that the other side could control it, so they could say, hey, let's play and record, and then you just see a takes list. So in a sense, in a voiceover kind of context, you wouldn't always have something to read along with, although you could, you could read along with the music. If they have the music from the spot that you're recording and you want to read the music, you could easily hit play, do a take, and you'd have a takes recorder that you can all play back and they can play back, too. So now, Andrew, they don't even have to ask you for a playback. They can just hit play for themselves on a list of takes. Essentially, it would just provide you a way to organize and kind of deal with those sessions where they don't want to hire an audio engineer and it's still not going to be like someone's going to be cutting things in real time. Here's take three, plus take five. No, but at least you can hear them and they're labeled and they can be downloaded.
Speaker A: I can almost see that voiceover booths are going to turn into, like, radio studios.
Speaker B: It can. I mean, more and more talent are being forced to be engineers in certain situations, and the clients want to make it as simple as connecting in on Zoom. But the problem with Zoom is, well, if you're going to have it work well and easily for everyone, there's going to be echo cancellation on it and it's not going to sound good and someone has to record the takes and it's all like ad hoc. Try to put it together, come up with something that works, complain when it doesn't all work together because there's not a cohesive workflow to it. It uses so many different things.
Speaker C: Yeah, there's way too many things voiced on the shoulders of voiceover actors. It's really annoying. I mean, there are so many things that need to be done for a session to go smoothly. And as soon as you heap another thing on top of the shoulder, on the shoulders of the voice talent, their performance is going to suffer. And that's just science. That's just how the brain works. You cannot keep adding more to someone's plate and expect the same quality of performance.
Speaker B: Not having someone deal with the aspect of the session that you need taken care of. If you try to avoid it, it's going to come up later. If you have someone record takes and then dump them in an engineer's lap, it's going to take that engineer as much time as having been there for the session to organize all that stuff. No matter how organized you give it to them, it's still going to take them time to import it. If you've not taken good notes, they're listening to all of it over again, basically, yeah.
Speaker A: If you take the clock back even 15 years ago, maybe even less, maybe ten years ago, depending on which market you're working in, how sessions have completely changed. I mean, if someone has said 15 years ago, when you're standing in a booth in a professional studio with an engineer setting everything up for you, that you'll be doing all this in the future, you'd be like, you got to be nuts. I'm not doing it. And now all of a sudden, it's like, if you don't do it, you don't work.
Speaker B: Unfortunately, a little bit of that happened early when voice talent began saying, oh, I have a home studio, so call me because I don't cost the fee of taking me to a local studio and paying for the studio. And so voice talent tried to use it as a marketing angle against each other early on, and they never charged for their facilities and they should have.
Speaker A: Yeah, well, that's true, but that horse is well and truly left the stable.
Speaker B: Well, they're depriving themselves of your input if they're going to expect to record it and give you a bunch of takes and then for you to go straight to the final edit because they already listened to it. That's them. They listen to it, not you. So you don't have any perspective. Be like, hey, what about take three? I actually think that one would really work. And if they want that input, you're listening to all of it over again. And there's the rub. It never doesn't happen. You're just skipping the step or you're going to pay for it.
Speaker C: And I'm just excited to see what comes because now there's a new platform built here, essentially infinite extensibility within the limits of whatever the current technology is. There's just so much more that can be done with Nexus now, and there's so many tools that we're going to be asking for as well as looking forward to using. So hang on to your hats. We're looking to see where Nexus goes next, and we're really glad to see that you've been able to bring it to the world. And congratulations.
Speaker B: Thank you.
Speaker A: Well done, Robert.
Summary: This week on The Pro Audio Suite, we dive deep into the heart of Podfest with George 'The Tech' Whittam's firsthand account of 'suitcasing' and the power of networking without a booth. Discover the fascinating world of podcasting - from grassroots communities to the cutting edge of AI and chatbot technologies. Learn how every conversation could turn into a collaboration, and how the future of content creation might just be a chatbot away.
Hosts:
- Robert Marshall, Source Elements & Audio Post Chicago
- Darren 'Robbo' Robertson, Voodoo Radio Imaging, Sydney
- George 'The Tech' Whittam, LA's go-to audio engineer
- Andrew Peters, Voiceover Talent & Home Studio Expert
Special Thanks to Our Sponsors:
- Tribooth - the ultimate vocal booth for recordings at home or on the road
- Austrian Audio - crafting passion into every audio experience
Featured Topics:
- Networking Without a Booth: George's adventures at Podfest, including the art of 'suitcasing' and leveraging community awards and events for networking.
- Podfest Insights: An overview of the Podfest community, ranging from solopreneurs to niche content creators, and the invaluable role of networking apps like Hoova in fostering connections.
- AI and Podcasting: A deep dive into the use of AI and chatbots in content creation, including practical tips for leveraging these technologies to streamline content creation and even author a book.
- The Future of Content and AI: Exploring the intersection of AI, content creation, and the ethical considerations of content ownership and creation.
- Listener Engagement: Inviting listeners to join the conversation on our Facebook group, suggest topics, or simply say hello.
Episode Conclusion: Wrapping up with a look forward to the evolving role of AI in the audio and podcasting industry, and a reminder to subscribe and engage with The Pro Audio Suite community.
#ProAudioSuiteTips #SuitcasingStrategy #PodcastCommunityInsights
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Timestamps (00:00:00) Introduction
(00:00:43) Recap of Podfest Attendance
(00:05:51) Networking at Podcast Conferences
(00:09:20) Corporate Presence at Podcast Movement vs. Podfest
(00:15:19) Legal Challenges with Chatbots
Transcript Speaker A: Y'all ready? Be history.
Speaker B: Get started.
Speaker C: Welcome.
Speaker B: Hi. Hi. Hello, everyone to the pro audio suite.
: These guys are professional. They're motivated.
Speaker C: Thanks to Tribooth, the best vocal booth for home or on the road. Voice recording and austrian audio making passion heard. Introducing Robert Marshall from source elements and someone audio post Chicago, Darren. Robert Robertson from Voodoo Radio Imaging, Sydney. To the Vo stars, George the tech Wittam from LA and me, Andrew Peters. Voiceover talent and home studio guy.
Speaker B: Learn up, learner. Here we go.
: And don't forget the code. Trip a P. That will get you $200 off your triboof. Now, George, you've been whizzing around the country like crazy. You went to Podfest. What were you actually doing at Podfest?
: I was suitcasing. That's what we call it in the.
Speaker A: Business, dealing people's suitcase.
: Suitcasing.
: Suitcasing is when you show up in an event that you didn't sponsor and you start schmoozing and handing out cards and selling your wares.
Speaker B: Yeah.
: You don't have a booth, basically.
: You don't have a booth. Yes. Thanks to Jody Krangle. Thanks, Jody. Jody's was a sponsor this year. She actually got an award. She got a community award from the Podfest event, which was really cool. They also had an award show there. Every community needs an award. So they have their own awards event there. They call them life, I guess they call them like lifetime achievement award type awards. And Dr. Drew was there giving out the awards. He's a famous. He's a tv personality. He's been on numerous shows over the years.
: He's kind of shilling stuff a little bit, isn't he? He's even like diet fed stuff.
: So here's the deal. The podcasting community is an interesting one, right? So it's a mixture of a lot of solopreneurs. Right. Which is why I'm there. I'm a solopreneur. Then you've got a lot of people that have something to say that would not fly on traditional media. Right? Yeah. So extremists own whatever thing it is because it's your podcast. You can say whatever the heck you want. So you have a lot of people. I could saw a lot of people that were wearing don't tread on me shirts.
: Yeah. Like survival. Buy all this food and stockpile it. And here's how to live in a hole for 80 days during the apocalypse.
: So there was a represented. Some people on that community were represented. Then you had a lot of people that are women. Every interest group you can imagine there's somebody at the podcast Podfest because they want to. Either they have a podcast, they want to start, they want to learn about it, or they have one and they want to promote it, or they just want to get better at what they do and more efficient. So that's why they come. And I was spending my time bouncing between the expo hall and some of the different talks that were there, and there were many panels. So what's cool about this conference, which I think sets it apart from every other conference I've ever been to, is they use an app called Hoova, spelled like hoova Hova. And the Hoova app is a community app that lets you know exactly who's at the event, you know exactly who they are. You have their contact info, you can exchange info. It's kind of like the Namshow app on the phone. Did you use the Namshow app?
Speaker B: Yeah.
: I was going to say, this sounds just like the Namshow app, which was kind of annoying.
: Yeah. Just not as crappy. Although the Namshow app got better, but it was terrible for a long time. But so now you have a way to contact every single person at the event. And so I'm looking at the app right now, and it says the total number of attendees was 1869.
: Wow, that's pretty good.
: That's not bad.
: That's good.
: Yeah. So definitely bigger than Vo Atlanta. They would like to be that big, I'm sure. In fact, J. Michael Collins from Vo Atlanta was there actually at Podfest with a booth.
: But what kind of price? I mean, what kind of price? Vo Atlanta is really expensive to attend. So when you're talking about 700 people being at that show, you're still talking about a lot of coin. Was this one, like $100 a ticket, or was this $700 a ticket?
: They do the thing, which a lot of conferences do, which is having a lot of different tiers. So you can start at, like, 200, and you can go up to $1,000. So the $1,000 ticket is a vip, and that's actually the ticket that I had, because Jody, as a sponsor, actually got a companion ticket, and she offered it to me, which was extremely kind. So I went as a vip, which was cool, because I could go to every single happy hour and all the special things where they give out, they have or d'oeuvres, and you can schmooze and stuff. And that was really valuable, because while I was in line for one of these, waiting in line for a drink, I met a voice actor. Sorry. I met a podcaster who runs a show about the chemical industry. And here I'm thinking, okay, that could be the end of the conversation.
: Yes.
: But I didn't let the conversation end. And instead I kind of dug in and said, and I came at it from an absolutely entrepreneurial mindset of like, okay, everybody has a need. Every industry has a need. Is there a need in that space that I can fill? Right. So by the time we got to the front of the line to get our drinks, I had already figured out a niche that I wanted to fill. She said, I'd like to have you on my show. I'd like to share this with my community. Let's work on maybe a package for the people that listen to my show. It was like all this came out of just standing in line.
: Let me make sure I understand this. She's got a show about chemical engineering.
: Chemical industry. Like, she does a show where the audience are people working in the chemical industry.
: And you are co marketing with her.
: Now, if she replies to my email, yes. Okay. So this is the thing. I also realize you go to these shows, these people come. It is an absolute, like schmoozegasm, right? You're meeting hundreds of people, making tons of connections, talking about amazing ideas. And then after that event, it is up to you. You really have to follow up. So one guy, he has a calendly link on his website. So he's like, hey, let's chat. So I immediately made a point with him. And I'll be talking with him as soon as he gets over.
: Yes.
: Yeah. Because that's the other thing that these conferences are for. I mean, that's certainly what I got from freaking Nam.
: Yeah, I got my Covid by hanging out in Venice Beach a little more. Got it over. Got over a couple of weeks ago. So as soon as he's off of his thing, I'm going to be talking about his studio that we are going to build in Dallas. So that turned into another gig, hopefully. He seemed very keen. So for me, on a, b to b level business to business, I had made some really great contacts. And then on a b to c level business to what consumer? I handed out my card to a lot of people. And it was really nice because the vendors that I did know there, which was BSW and sentrance and yellow tech, all know me, or you have great relationships. And they were all willing to keep my cards at their table and I would just circulate the room and every time I stood near the table, someone would walk up and say, what is all this would. And they would often mention me and say, george is the guy that can help you. So it was extremely valuable for me to be there to network and connect with folks. And whether it turns into a true ROI, who knows? You just never know until the deposit comes. But I did make some really good, valuable connections there. I also hopefully endeared them to the point where they will involve me in the production of the show next year so that they will not have super loud PA systems blaring in a very large echoey room, to the point where you can't hear the person presenting or you can't talk to your vendor that you're trying to talk to because the sound system is blasting.
: It's funny because podcasting is all about audio, but at the same time it kind of has this such a broad demographic because everyone is really like, I just want to have the podcast done. I'm not really about the process of podcasting. I just want it to be good.
: Oh, yeah. And there's a lot of networks and producers at these events that want you to sign on with them that will get you ad dollars and do all the marketing for you. And there was quite a few of those companies there, too. But for me it was just learning about the community, who's doing it, who's producing it, how do they do it, what are the issues that they're having in producing it? And what was cool with the Hoover app is I was able to immediately, when there was an issue with the sound and it was too loud, I was able to immediately post something in there and get the attention of one of the organizers who within probably 2030 minutes was asking me, where are you? Let's talk. That's pretty awesome. I really love that. When I was at podcast movement, that was not happening. That was not going to get through to somebody.
: How big is podcast movement compared to this one?
: Physically? It's a bigger space. It was a larger space, more vendors, but I'd think in the actual turnout it probably wasn't all that bigger. But podcast movement attracts more corporate entities. So you had I heart podcasts from iHeart media and iHeartRadio. You had Amazon. You had all these very big brands know there to represent their podcast interests and hopefully find their new big hit show. So that was a very different thing. They were not doing that at Podfest.
: So with these big companies that you're talking about, but they were looking for podcasts to put on their platforms. Is that correct?
: At podcast movement? Yeah, they're there to schmooze with their big sellers, their big shows. They had what you would expect. They had beautiful sets with couches, and they spent some big time money, big.
: Dime to be there.
: And Podfest wasn't like that at all. Podfest felt a lot more like a voiceover convention with a smaller expo hall. And as Jodie told me before, it's much more grassroots and more friendly.
: They both have like an educational thing.
: Tons and tons of education. Like the one gentleman I'm going to work with named Larry Roberts. He had a 30 minutes thing on how to write your next book using Chat GPT, and it was an absolute paint by numbers. This is exactly how I did mine. Just do it like this and you can have a 200 page bound book in about a week, right? I mean, literally.
Speaker B: Wow.
: So I'm like, dude, I want that PDF. And he said, here, scan this QR code, download the pDf, right? So I'm going to use that because I have been gathering my own knowledge with my own custom language model to create my own chat bot. So now I actually have all the content that I would need to make a book. And that's the thing that's kept me from wanting to do a book, because the research and the time to compose a book is eternity in the pre Chat GPT AI era. But now I can very quickly outline a book and write the chapters with the help of a Chat GPT. And the beauty of it is it's my own knowledge I'm not scraping from anybody else. So that was a really cool revelation. So there was a lot to learn there.
: I wonder if we could sort of ingest our podcasts that we've been doing for the last five years, of course, and then write a book from that.
: Absolutely.
: Interesting.
: Yeah, I mean, it is frighteningly simple to do it. I mean, it is crazy easy. I could do it in two days. It just really is bizarrely simple. But you want it to be good, so there's going to be more time involved. You want to read the entire book, right? You want to make sure everything that's being written isn't garbage and you have to make sure it's factual, so there's time involved, but still, yeah, it wouldn't be that hard because we have, what, six or seven years worth of content on YouTube. Yeah, all that content is easily scrapable. You create a sitemap from all that content and you load the sitemap into a chat bot utility and you're done. I mean, that's how easy it is to build a chatbot from any content.
: But where are you getting your initial chat bot from? Like, where's the infant AI Robert that I can go put on the server and start freaking feeding it?
: Like Fargois, oh, what's the service I'm using for that? Wouldn't you like to know?
Speaker A: We would like to know because we'd like to write a book, but yeah.
: I'll do a book.
: But for my, I think if I.
: Was going to do a book, it'd be a coloring in.
Speaker A: Yes, exactly. Dot to dot.
: For my custom chat TPT, I'm using a thing called custom GPT. That's actually what I'm using as a service to build my chat bot. And it's extremely user friendly and they have all the right tools. You have to be a little bit savvy, but you don't have to be knowledgeable about code. You don't have to be knowledgeable about a lot of things because they have a lot of good content on there and how to do it. You have to learn how to write a Persona. Your Persona is literally, how is your chat bot going to talk to people? Is it going to be mean and abusive? You can make it do that if you want. You can have it be abusive and angry. You can have it be overly effusive. You can have it be friendly. You can have it be way too verbose. You can tell it exactly how you want it to behave. So I've been working on my Persona to make sure my chat bot is friendly but still gives very direct information and at the end always plugs my business. That's how it works.
: You should give it a brief, like most of the voiceover briefs that we get, nonsensical sort of garbage that is impossible to understand.
Speaker A: Voice tone should be a little more purple than blue.
: Yeah, it'd be interesting just to make this thing follow you around. Like if you just videotaped every day and this thing ingested one day behind what you were, and then it just, whatever, this conversation here, all of it.
: It'S just like, oh, yeah, no. By the way, there is a little device that you can slap onto your iPhone and it just lives on the back of the phone like a little barnacle. And it does that. It records every single phone conversation and then does a Chat GPT transcription of it.
Speaker A: For what purpose, George?
: It's the ultimate note taking device. I mean, literally every phone call you make is recorded and converted into notes and, you know, it has a mic, so it'll record what's in the room, but it'll also record what's coming out of the. Like. We're all going to have a Persona copy of ourselves. And when we die, that's going to live on in some form or another.
Speaker A: Google.
: That's going to be normal.
Speaker A: That's what that is. That's already exists. You see the crap that it gets thrown at me, that tana and I have talked about in the kitchen?
Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
Speaker A: Listening. It's just crazy.
: Absolutely.
: Yeah.
: I'll tell you the story. This is a really wacko story. This goes back to the 80s. Mick Fleetwood was in Australia, and he came in to do an interview, and he was sitting there with a little cassette recorder, recording everything. And after we'd done the interview, I said, were you just getting a copy of the interview? He said, no, I record everything. Every conversation he has.
Speaker A: Everything.
: So he was an archivist or a librarian type person?
Speaker B: Yeah.
: No, but when he gets home, he said, when I get home, I'd like to sit in the house and listen back to all the cassettes.
Speaker A: He's got time for that.
: And I'm like, fleetwood, I suppose, but I think there were a few things they did in the 70s. It's obviously come back to haunt him, I reckon.
Speaker A: I reckon.
: Absolutely.
: Either that he was just very proud of himself and just really wanted to hear what he had to say.
: It was so bizarre.
: Yeah. In the same way, I'll watch our show occasionally or listen to the show. It's just a different experience to hear back what you were saying on the show, and I might pick up something you said that I didn't notice. You might edit and listen, and it's a different format than the way we did it, but at this point, I'm looking at, and I know we've gone off topic from Podfest to AI again, because this is the way the show goes, but it's like, I want to make sure I have my ip in my chat bot before somebody else does. I can't stop somebody from taking all my YouTube videos and putting it in their chat bot, but at least I can have mine and have it in my.
Speaker B: I think you should be able to.
: Stop somebody from taking all your YouTube videos and putting it in their chat.
: Well, I could go into YouTube tomorrow and just say, these are all unlisted and they're gone.
: No, I know that. But even though you have your stuff up there on a platform where it's basically monetized, and that's one thing that you should be allowed to do, having someone ingest it. It's like, still your ownership. They can ingest it, but they can't turn around a commercial chat bot.
Speaker A: Well, I can.
: Well, yeah, this is why New York Times is suing chat GBT, right? That's literally how the year started out. That news story came out and I was, hmm, I can't afford to sue anybody. That's never going to happen. But the least I could do is at least have my chat bot and at least put it out there before somebody else does and market it. I figured that's the best that I can do. I can't stop anybody from stealing my content. There's unscrupulous people in the voiceover world who would do that for sure. People that are just trying to make a buck and have content on their website. And people do it all the time anyway, just not to the scale of a chat bot. But that's going to be the thing of 2024 is making.
: So what there's going to be, at some point, there's going to be lawyers or just like, for instance, we had a film, a commercial, and the producer was telling us that Ford sued the company. And it was like, why? Well, it turns out it wasn't really Ford. So essentially what they got sued for is the commercial had a cop in it and the cop was sitting in it. Crown Victoria. Because that's like your cliche cop car, right? So next thing you know, Ford gets a letter from some lawyer that just says, I can get you $200,000 signed here, Ford Ce, not CEO, some lower, who knows who signs it. Next thing you know, the lawyer now has Ford behind him and he goes and sues the director or the production company of the car for not getting a license to use their likeness of a car because it's so associated with police, and they extract $200,000 out of them.
Speaker B: Wow.
: So same thing. Some lawyer, some company is going to be there and they're just going to go through and be like, oh, crap. I can tell where this chat Bot has been trained, going to reach out to all the people that trained it.
: We're also going to be replacing the lawyers with AI with a chat bot.
: Yeah, it'll be a chat bot. That's exactly right. There's going to be a chat bot that's going to go see where other chat bots were trained, and then when it catches them, it's going to go send a letter of cease and desist, and you're going to be like, untrain your chat bot, which I don't even know if you can do.
: Oh yeah, yes you can. I can go into mine at any time and just say, take that out of the database and it's gone. I can put an entire YouTube channel in my thing and go, I've done it. I put a whole YouTube channel in my chat bot. I didn't like some of the answers it was giving and I just took it back out.
: Okay, so, so basically you'll get a cease and desist letter like that. Like remove this content from your chat bot.
: That's probably what's going to happen. So you listen to the show and we will dribble on into AI land.
: With no matter what the topic is.
: That'S where we're all going.
: Yes, it is true.
: The next stop is the outro.
Speaker B: Well, that was fun. Is it over?
Speaker C: The pro audio suite with thanks to Triboof and austrian audio recorded using SourceConnect, edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Voodoo Radio Imaging with tech support from George the tech Wittam. Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic, or just say g'day. Drop us a note at our website.
: The pro audio suite.com. Close.
This week, Robbo, Robert, George, and AP dive headfirst into the digital abyss of archiving audio sessions. It's a showdown of practices, preferences, and pure paranoia that none of us want to miss.
We're slicing through the magnetic tape of mystery to answer the burning question: To archive or not to archive? That is the question. Especially for voice actors like AP - is digital hoarding a necessary evil, or just a fast track to a cluttered hard drive? We're peeling back the layers on why every beep, click, and voiceover session might just be worth its weight in digital gold.
Robbo, with his trusty naming convention stolen from his days at Foxtel, shares his vault-like approach to keeping every sonic snippet since Voodoo Sound's inception. That's right, folks - for a mere $25, Robbo will keep your audio safe from the digital gremlins, guaranteeing that not even a rogue magnet could erase your audio masterpiece.
Then there's Robert, with his tech fortress of JBODs and RAID arrays, ensuring not even a single byte goes awry. It's like Fort Knox for soundwaves over there, proving once and for all that redundancy isn't just a good idea; it's the law in the land of post-production.
But wait, there's a twist! Robbo shares a cautionary tale that's straight out of an audio engineer's nightmare - precious recordings lost to the abyss of DAT tape oblivion. A horror story to chill the bones of any audio professional, reminding us all of the fragility of our digital (and not-so-digital) creations.
As for AP? He's the wild card, questioning the very fabric of our digital hoarding habits. But when push comes to shove, even AP can't deny the siren call of a well-placed backup, especially when clients come knocking for that one session from yesteryear.
We also get a deep dive into the eccentricities of backup strategies, from George's cloud-based safety nets to the analog nostalgia of reel-to-reel tapes. It's a journey through time, technology, and the occasional Rod Stewart office painting gig - because, why not?
So, gear up for an episode that's part backup seminar, part group therapy for data hoarders. We're dissecting the digital, analog, and everything in between to keep your audio safe, sound, and ready to resurface at a moment's notice.
Don't miss this electrifying episode of The Pro Audio Suite, where the backups are plentiful, and the stories are even better. Who's backing up this podcast, you ask? Well, let's just hope someone hit record.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
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And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Summary In the latest episode of the pro audio suite, we dive into the world of audio archiving and discuss the various approaches and philosophies toward preserving our work. We're joined by industry professionals including Robert Marshall from source elements and Darren 'Robbo' Robertson from Voodoo Radio Imaging, as well as George 'the tech' Wittam and Andrew Peters, who share their personal strategies and experiences with archiving voiceover projects.
The conversation opens with a discussion about the importance of having a naming convention for files, with insights on the methods adopted from professional entities like Foxtel. Listeners will learn the value of archiving everything, as shared by Robbo, including the practice of charging a backup fee to clients to cover the costs of maintaining archives.
George introduces his once-a-year protocol of transferring data to an archive hard drive, emphasizing how affordable data storage has become. However, he also highlights the importance of staying current with technology to avoid the obsolescence of media, sharing anecdotes about DA 88 tapes and the need to keep track of archival materials.
The episode touches on practical voiceover tips, like not necessitating a workstation at home and utilizing a laptop as a backup plan for voiceover recording. We also cover the worst-case scenarios such as dealing with corrupted audio and the advantages of modern backup solutions.
The discussion moves on to cloud storage, specifically iCloud, and its benefits for voice actors who might otherwise become digital hoarders. The team debates the challenges of booting up from an external drive on modern Mac systems like the M1 or M2, offering insights into the workaround solutions which may require additional purchases.
Listeners are reminded of the great offers from our sponsors, such as Tribooth for the perfect home or on-the-go vocal booth and Austrian Audio's commitment to making passion heard.
The episode comes to a close emphasizing the professional edge of the podcast, all thanks to the contributions of Triboof and Austrian Audio, and the craftsmanship deployed using Source Connect, with post-production by Andrew Peters and mixing by Voodoo Radio Imaging. The audience is invited to subscribe to the show and participate in the conversation via the podcast's Facebook group.
#VoiceOverTechTips #TriBoothTales #ArchivingAudioArt
Timestamps (00:00:00) Introduction: Tributh Vocal Booth
(00:00:42) Archiving Discussion with Robbo
(00:07:34) Talent Experiences with Archiving
(00:13:17) Digital Media Frailties
(00:18:48) Tape Transfers Before Auctions
(00:21:27) Backup Plans in Voiceover Work
(00:27:39) Importance of Redundancy
(00:31:04) Apple Silicon Booting Limitations
(00:35:25) Podcast Credits & Reminder to Subscribe
Transcript Speaker A: Y'all ready? Be history.
Speaker B: Get started.
Speaker C: Welcome.
Speaker B: Hi. Hi. Hello, everyone to the pro audio suite. These guys are professional. They're motivated.
Speaker C: Thanks to tributh, the best vocal booth for home or on the road. Voice recording and austrian audio making passion heard. Introducing Robert Marshall from source elements and someone audio post Chicago, Darren. Robert Robertson from Voodoo Radio Imaging, Sydney. To the Vo stars, George the tech Wittam from LA, and me, Andrew Peters, voiceover talent and home studio guy.
Speaker B: Learn up, learner. Here we go.
: And don't forget the code. Trip a p 200 and that will get you $200 off your tribooth. Now, Robbo and I were having a bit of a chat the other day about archiving, which is something I strangely do, and I don't know why I do it, but I do. But there are different reasons for archiving, and mine is obviously completely different to Robert's. And of course, it's completely different from Robo's. So how much do you archive and how far back do your archives go?
Speaker A: Well, as I said in the conversation yesterday, I actually archive everything. I could pretty much pull out any session I've done since voodoo sound existed, which is fast approaching 20 years. But I do charge a backup fee to my clients, so they pay $25 for the privilege. And, look, to be fair, whether they pay it or not, I do archive it, but it's a built in cost covering for me to be able to go and buy a couple of hard drives every year. But I reckon if you're going to do it, the most important thing for me anyway, is having some sort of naming convention. So I actually pinched mine off Foxtel when I used to freelance there. The channels had a three letter prefix. So I give all my clients or podcasts a three letter prefix, and then I use an underscore, and then it'll be what the thing is, whether it's a program or imaging component or whatever, and then the name of it, and then the month, and then an underscore, and the date the day of that month, and then an underscore in the year, and then usually. Sometimes after that, if it's a revision, I'll do underscore r two, r three, r four. And then each year is on its own hard drive or hard drives. So if I need to go back and find something, I've just got an external hard drive player, shall we call it? I can't think of what you call them, but you just plug your hard drive in and it turns up on your Mac, and I can just go through and find what I need. But, yeah, I've got clients that are sort of expecting me to do that. As you and I were talking about yesterday, I don't know whether maybe voiceover artists are expected to or not, but as I said, I kind of thought it would be nice to be able to.
: I do it only on occasions if there's any chance that they're going to come back and want to do a revision or they're going to lose something, particularly if it's a massive session or something, that I've actually done the edit myself. I'll keep it, because you can bet your life that they're the ones who are going to come back and say, have you still got that thing? Because we've lost it.
Speaker A: Yes.
: It's like, no, I haven't, actually. So I keep all those things, but I was keeping day to day stuff and it was like, what's the point? It's like that stuff's already been on the air and it's off the air, it's gone. So why am I storing that for other people? But, yeah. Interesting. What about you, Robert?
: I have a couple perspectives on this, I guess, from just sort of a mix operation point of view. What we have is what you call, it's a JBOD, just a bunch of drives is what it stands for. And it's controlled with the raid controller. So there's eight drives in this one, and it's not that big, actually. It's only, what is it? Like maybe two terabytes or something? And across all eight drives are all of our jobs that are sort of current, essentially. And the way the JBOD works is that it's an array. And so you can literally lose any one of those eight drives can just completely go to crap and we won't lose any data. You just slide a drive back in there and it heals.
Speaker B: A raid five or a raid six.
: Raid six, actually.
Speaker B: Right.
: So you can lose two out of the eight, I believe, is what we are. And we've had it over the last ten years. When we bought it, we just bought a whole stack of the same hard drives. And we've only had to use like two in the last ten years. So that's like kind of our live job. And then what we do, we would have all of our live jobs on that drive. And then if we ran out of space, we would peel out whatever, we would just go for the jobs that aren't active. So some of these jobs that we have were on that drive and have never been. They just keep on coming back, essentially. So they're always on the active drive. Meanwhile, the people that come in and do one thing and then they're gone, you never see them again. They get moved off, and then we would make two copies of that. And what we've been doing now is like, I'll go home with one and Sean will go home with the other. But however it goes, they're just basically on dead drives, or they're not spinning anymore, they're just sitting on a shelf so we can access those and then what we have. So last for a backup of the main drive. Ray, if the building was to burn down, I was using time machine and then taking a drive home every now and then. But we started using backblaze, which is just a really good service. It's like cheap for the year, and it just backs up. As long as the drive is spinning, they don't charge you. I think by the size, it just has to be an active drive. So that's our off site backup. And then we just have a database, which is really just a spreadsheet where a job comes in. We have like a naming convention, and we name it by the job name and then a job number, and there's a database that has basically every time that job was ever touched. So to us, these are all like a bunch of little rolling snowballs that get bigger and bigger and bigger and jobs come back and they get added to, or they just never go away. And they're always on the active drive. And that's how we do the post operation, the music operation. When I'mixing a band, I just have like a hard drive that sticks around with me for a while and then eventually it gets put on a shelf. And I have a lot of these drives that are sort of just dated. And I've used source zip a lot back in the day when I was low on hard drive space. But the problem is some of these drives are 40 pin ide drives, and I keep around a one firewire case that has a 40 pin. Like I can plug in any one of these hard drives. And then others are SATA. And those are really easy with the USB slots or the USB docking for the SATA drives, but it's looser. I just basically go by date and the client will say, hey, I did something with you, and I'll just go rummaging through my hard drives and hopefully find one from that date. Every now and then you may do two hard drives in a year, but those are my two systems. One is very stringent and good. And the other one is loose.
: So George, do you know any other talent who know archive their sessions?
Speaker B: I think the vast majority barely are functional on a computer that I work with. So they have extremely minimal protocol.
: I know a lot of talent that don't even make a backup to be honest.
Speaker B: Yeah. As far as they're concerned, once they got paid they could care less, it's gone. Some people are more data processing type people like me and they like to keep everything they've recorded. So what I would tell people, which almost never comes up, but my protocol is I have an archive hard drive that I will dump things onto about once a year. So I'm basically clearing space off of my local drive, cloud drives. I use Dropbox, Google Drive and iCloud. So stuff's in different places for different reasons. My business is on Google Drive, right. So every single client folder is on Google Drive at all times. And there's something around a terabyte or so there. And that's not that much because I'm not doing multi track productions or in most cases any video. Right. It's just small numbers of files. But my client media folder is on disk anyway because it's bigger than what's on my disk. But what's on disk is about 250gb and there's roughly 32,000 items in that folder.
: Wow.
Speaker B: And then it's funny, I just have 26 folders, ABCD and so forth. And the biggest folder is the letter C. So statistically there are more people by the name of C and I go by first names, right? So first names with c are the most common. Then s, then j, then a, then D, then m. It's kind of funny, I have all these weird statistics about names because I have 4000 clients. So it's really interesting to see some of the names that are so common.
: I've got stuff. This is how stupid it is. I think I'm actually an order. I've got files here. Like I keep a folder for each client and then every session gets put into the folder, right? I look at some of them and even looking at the folder go, God, I haven't worked with those guys for years. And then you open the folder and look at the date of the sessions. It's like that was like 15 years ago. What the hell am I keeping that for?
Speaker B: It's amazing, right? Well, data is cheap. It's really cheap to store data. I mean it's never been cheaper, so it's kind of like there's no harm in doing it you just have to eventually clear house. You're eventually going to fill your cloud drive or your local drive. So you have to have some kind of protocol to then move things.
: You eventually have to take it into your own domain and not have it up on the cloud.
Speaker B: Right.
: And there's an old thing with data, though, which is you don't have a copy unless you have two copies.
Speaker B: Right. True. This is what I think is interesting. So all these cloud storage scenarios have not changed price or capacity in many years. They're all still $10 for a terabyte or two terabytes. And that hasn't changed in a long time.
: The meaning of a terabyte hasn't changed.
Speaker B: Right. So what they're doing is they're making progressively more money per terabyte over the years. Yes, because their cost of storage is dropping, dropping, dropping year after year, and they're just keeping the price the same.
: But they are continuously having to reinvest. Because another thing about archive and storage is that any. And this is the problem I have. It's like an archive is not a static thing. It must be moved and massaged, and you have to keep it moving with the technology going forward. Because if not, you end up with things like, I've got archives. I mean, I've got analog reel to reel tapes, plenty of those with stuff on them. And I can dig up the deck to play it back. But once you don't have that deck anymore, you just don't have it. And I've got dat backups and exabyte backups. Remember those, robo?
Speaker A: Yeah, I do.
: And CD Roms. And then. How about this one? That happened to me. I did a whole huge. One of the biggest albums I ever did, and I backed it up to a stack of dvds, dvdrs, dvdrs, like four gigs each. Four gigs each, I think. Were they four gigs each? Is that how much they were? I think so, yeah, four.
Speaker A: And then dual layer were eight or something, weren't they?
: Eight, right. Okay. And these were some crappy ones. Within three years, I went to play those things. And basically. Data rot. Yeah, it's gone. That's when you learn the lesson. And so if you don't keep your data moving, you don't know what's going to happen to that physical device that's holding it. And not just what happens to it, but what happens to the ability to even use that type of device or that type of software that reads it.
Speaker A: Here's the interesting thing, right? I dragged out an old laptop case that I used to store all my dats in when I used to sort of freelance. And I always had dats, especially for radio imaging of bits and pieces that I would drag around with me. And I had to pull it out the other day. And this thing's been sitting in my garage, right? So not temperature controlled, not dust controlled, nothing else. There's about 60 dats in this thing. And I've got an old. It's not even on a digital database. It's an old sort of folder that's got like each dat has its own master and all that sort of shit. So I pulled this out, right? This is stuff that I recorded when I was still at AA in Adelaide. So we're talking 1996, right? I dragged this dad out and my trusty portable Sony Walkman, the TCD D 100, dragged that out, put some batteries in, plugged it into my Mac, chucked the dad in, going, there's no way this is going to work. Hit, dialed up the track number, play, bang, spun up to it, played it back. Pristine. Absolutely pristine.
Speaker B: No glitches, no static.
: I've had the same thing happen where the DaP machine has been completely screwed. And then you have to get a new DAP machine, but at least you can get those. But when the dat tapes go, you're kind of sol. Exactly your sol. Maybe you can find a read pass that works, but for the most part, that part of the tape is just like screwed. But that kind of thing happens even with files. I had a road. No, not a road. A zoom road. You'd be happy to know it's a zoom. And it was like a zoom recorder. Recorded the files, full concert, got home to play it. Files, complete silence. And it turns out that basically the zoom didn't like the little SD card. It was too slow, it was too this. And every indication was everything was fine until that file got big enough for the SD card to freak out. So all these mediums, even the new ones, still have their frailties. And I know dats are really known for being frail. Like, look at it wrong and it's never going to play back.
Speaker B: Well, they're really pro media, right? The pro devices that use media like solid state media usually have redundant disks. They all have two slots, whether it's SD or CF or some other high speed. They'll always have a double slot because they have redundancy that's totally pro level. That's for doing like.
: Because if you don't have two copies, you don't have one.
Speaker B: Yeah, that's like when you're doing mission critical. You cannot afford to lose what you're doing. My daughter's a work at.
: Exactly.
: Yes, indeed.
Speaker B: The oldest media I have still in a crate in my parents basement are DA 88 tapes, which were high eight digital tapes, and I don't have a machine anymore. I really don't recall telling my dad it's okay to sell my remaining Tascam Da 88, but apparently he did happen.
: So I was just at La studios, and they still have their PCM 800 in the rack, which is a Sony version of a D 88. I still have eight at's around. And then.
Speaker B: Yeah, I have no idea if those D 88. Some of them will work somewhat don't. I don't have a machine. I don't have any ide drives anymore. Everything's SATA. But one day I pulled up this Corboro box with like, 15 SATA drives, and I realized I could just go to Costco and buy $100 hard drive and literally put that entire box into one hard drive. And I could probably do that. In fact, I think three or four years ago, somebody said, hey, do you have this thing? And I went, I think I do. And I pulled out the archive drive and it wouldn't mount. I was like, okay, this is going to happen.
Speaker A: But here's the other thing, right? And this is the thing that annoys me, and I've made this mistake, is you've got to keep a track of this stuff because you're always trying to sort of downsize your archives, I guess. And this is the classic mistake that I made. For years, I carried around these 15 inch reels of analog tape, right? Stereotape. My first demo of commercials and stuff was on this stuff. And when I finally landed this place called take two, which was my last sort of full time post production gig, they still had a quarter inch machine. And we're talking 2001, 2002. And I thought, right, this is probably the last time I'm going to see one of these. So I transferred it all carefully, professionally onto dats and all that. I had about three dats of stuff. And about two years later, I went looking for them. Do you reckon I've ever seen them again? I've lost them somewhere. But whereas a 25 inch reel. Sorry, a 15 inch reel, that's pretty hard to lose, you know what I mean? So it's like, you got to be careful.
: Yeah, well, it's funny, when I was a kid, this is slightly off topic, but I suppose archiving in a strange way. But during summer holidays, a mate of mine, we used to go and try and get jobs. And his brother was a painter and decorator and he used to get us out, know, doing a bit of labouring for him. And he said, oh, do you guys want to earn some money? It's like, yeah. Yeah. So we jumped in his transit van and we took off down to London and ended up working in a recording studio. And we were painting Rod Stewart's office.
: What, pink.
: And he had above this. I can tell you exactly what color it was. Mission Brown and burnt orange.
: I knew there'd be something like pink or orange. Yeah, there you go.
Speaker B: Brown and orange headphones right here.
: Yes, that's right. Yeah, it was pretty funny. But the recording studio downstairs, they just used to bin all this quarter inch tape, just throw it away. So it was bins full of. My dad was in electronics, so I thought I might just help myself to some of those. I mean, they're throwing them away after all. And it was just seven inch reels. So I just grabbed a whole bunch of seven inch reels out of the bin, took them home and didn't play them for some peculiar reason. We just recorded over the top of them.
Speaker A: Right.
: God knows what was on those tapes.
Speaker B: Can you imagine?
: So check it out. One of the studios that I freelance at one of the gigs they had was transferring before auctioning off these tapes that this janitor got out of a recording studio in New York. It was CBS or something. Turns out it's like the masters or some early tapes from Dylan's first.
Speaker A: Wow.
: So they auctioned them and then in order to prove, like, they had to have one playback, I don't know, they ended up supervising the transfer. But literally, it's, know, these tapes, they were supposed to go through the bulk erase, but not all of them would make it to the bulk erase. And this guy apparently was kind of into folk music and just happened to pull these out. And they just passed around for years and years until finally some grandparent or somebody is like, we're going to auction these.
Speaker A: Do you reckon they stuck them in the microwave before they played them back?
: Well, it's not the microwave. You put them in the dryer, in the dehydrator.
Speaker A: I've heard stories and stories. It was always the microwave for me. We always used to nuke them. And you'd get one playback, but. Yeah, I haven't heard of the dryer.
: But that's getting that tape. Because you ever seen one that does it, that you don't do that to? Yeah, well, it peels like it peels. It's the scariest thing. It goes through that pinch roller. One piece of tape comes into the pinch roller and two pieces of tape come out. One is the original tape. The other one's the oxide that briefly looks like a piece of tape until it crumbles into dust.
Speaker A: Yeah. And the other is the back.
: And you're just like, because it's playing. And you're like, okay, I should just let it play because this is the.
Speaker A: Last playback should have been rolling on this ever. Yeah, it's crazy, isn't it? But going back to the Rod Stewart thing, was it Steve Balby on this show that was talking about. Steve was the bass player for noiseworks and his next band was what was greedy people, electric hippies. And they needed multi track to record their album. So they snuck into the archives and stole a couple of the noise works ones.
: Yeah, they stole some multi track tape from somewhere.
Speaker A: Yeah, it was noiseworks. They went and stole.
: Over some band's archive.
Speaker A: Well, his first bands. Yeah, the previous band, they stole their previous band's multi tracks and used those to record on.
: Okay. At least it was theirs.
: Bad archiving there.
Speaker A: I know. I guess the other thing that this whole subject leads to, and I guess, George, this is more up your alley, is the thing that always terrifies me is if I've got a remote session, I'll set it up the night before and I'll test everything and I'll save it and make sure that I don't really shut anything down. I'll just leave it all working. But the thing that terrifies me as I'm walking back into the room, know what's gone wrong overnight when the computer's gone to sleep? Has something ticked over or something gone wrong? And I'm going to open up the computer and I'm just going to get into this panic that something's not working. Is there anybody out there in voiceover land, George, who has a plan b? Or who's ever thought about having a plan b? Like, okay, so if my main computer, for some reason just cocks it and I can't get a sound out of it, what am I going to, pushing a broom? Yeah, what am I going to do?
Speaker B: I mean, the plan b is most people have a desktop and a laptop, so the laptop is the plan b. That's pretty much it. Home studio voice actors systems are pretty, let's face it, low end. I mean, you don't need a workstation, a $5,006 workstation to do voiceover at home. So you really just need another computer. And for most people, that's going to be the laptop.
: It's the travel rig. Isn't the travel rig the backup rig, too?
Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I've had clients run and grab their travel rig when something completely goes haywire with their Apollo or whatever, and they're panicking, and I'm like, just pull out your MacBook, plug in your Micboard Pro, plug in your 416, and get the job done and move on. And the client will be happy because you're in your studio, which sounds amazing, so don't worry.
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker B: So that's the backup plan for any really true busy professional voice actor.
: When I used to really panic about capturing audio that it wouldn't go wrong, I would actually have two microphones. I worked at two microphones, one going to the main computer and one going to the laptop, and I'd have them both recorded.
Speaker B: Yeah, that's like BBC, remember? Wasn't like the 70s where they would literally duct tape. A second mic was for the television show and one was for the film.
: You would see that many microphones. Exactly.
Speaker B: That's true, because they didn't have distro boxes and splitters and stuff back in those days, I guess. But, yeah, we've never gone to that extent. In the beginning of my career, I did have clients running pro tools that had a DAT backup. That was definitely protocol. Pro Tools was so glitchy.
: Yeah. You would run a dat backup with a dat tape. In fact, the way we ran the DAT backup was that you would record the talent in stereo, and then you'd put the clients on the left side so that you had both sides of the conversation. But the talent was always at least isolated on one channel. If you ever needed just the talent.
Speaker A: There you go.
Speaker B: Yeah, I retired. Dat backups were my clients 15 years ago. But Howard Parker had one. He had a Dat recorder, and he would just hit record every time he'd walk into the booth on the dat and rewind it, because we just didn't know if he'd walk out in a half hour later. And pro Tools had a 61, whatever the hell it is. Buffer.
Speaker A: One of those fun errors that pop up that you got to go google what it means. Yeah.
Speaker B: As a voice actor who's solo working at home in their closet or their booth. And at those times, we didn't necessarily have a second monitor, keyboard, and mouse in the booth. So you don't want to lose a session. You don't lose in a half an hour, an hour or 2 hours narration. That's the worst. The worst ever is when there's a nonsensical glitch during a two hour session and you don't know what's happening. You have no idea. And meanwhile, the audio is basically garbage. It's like static.
: That's why sometimes in a session it is a good idea when you're like, okay, this is good. Stop and record a new file. Because computers like, if something's going to happen, it's more likely to happen to a big file. Back in the day, it wasn't uncommon for a file that was really big to be more likely to get corrupted, essentially.
Speaker B: Well, I have set up a modern equivalent to the DAT backup which is getting like $100 task cam, flash recorder, real basic one. And then plugging an output from their interface or their mixer into that and then saying, listen, you're doing a phone patch. It's a two hour narration. You do not want to lose that work. Just hit record on that thing over there. Now you have a backup. You'll almost never, ever need it. But the one time that you need.
: That freaking backup, if you don't make the backup, you'll need it. If you do make the backup, you won't need.
Speaker B: It's like if you don't bring an umbrella.
: Exactly.
Speaker B: It's going to rain.
: Exactly.
Speaker B: That is an absolutely dirt cheap and extremely simple. You can even have a scarlet two I two. And as long as you're not using monitor speakers plugged into it, you can just use the outputs, put it in direct monitor mode and it'll just send whatever you're saying straight out the back line into your Tascam. Like I'm saying, $100 recorder. The basics, the really basic one. And record.
: Yeah, it might be through like a little 8th inch connection. It might be mono, it might be analog. But you know what? It's going to be something compared to nothing. It'll probably be. No one will even know that it wasn't necessarily a digital copy.
Speaker B: Yeah, it can be a 16 bit 44 or 48 wave. It's fine. I've set this up for a lot of people and when I go to their studios or I talk to them, they almost always say I haven't used it in a long time because they're so used to it being reliable until.
Speaker A: It doesn't work, until the day it falls over. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker B: And that's why I have clients that hire me and I work with them on a membership and like a contract and I check their systems out on a regular basis. Like, I do maintenance. I check. How much drive space do you have? Are you backing up? Is the backup working? Oh, crap. The time machine backup hasn't worked for six months. And you had no idea you filled.
: Your time machine drive. Exactly.
Speaker B: Or you filled your time machine, or whatever it is. It can sometimes just corrupt, get corrupt. What's my time machine right now say? It says cleaning up. I don't know how long it's been saying cleaning up. Maybe for a month. I have no idea. I just clicked on. It says cleaning up. So redundancy is really important for those big jobs that, where you're the engineer.
: Essentially, the thing that starts to separate really pro operation from. It's like if you're there with a backup when someone needs it, and they're like, I didn't even expect you to have it, but you have it, you're delivering, and I think there's.
Speaker B: Yeah, of course. I'm keeping everything I ever do. It's all in the cloud. At any moment, someone will email me and say, my computer crashed, I lost my stacks. I also can't find the email you sent me with the stacks or the email you sent me with the stacks. The links don't work anymore because it was another cloud based system that I don't use anymore. Right. I'm like, no problem. Within, like, ten, I can literally be on my phone, go to Google Drive, put in their name. We would just right click on that thing, and we would get the share link email to the client. I'm like, here's your folder. Here's literally everything I've ever done for you. And they're always grateful, and I never charge for it because I feel like we charge a pretty penny for what we do, and it's just one of those things that's so incredibly simple. It's not like I'm trying to keep online. I'm not trying to keep an online storage of, like, two terabytes for a client. These are not big folders. A big client folder is 2gb.
Speaker A: You got to be careful what you keep, though, too, don't you? Because you can become a bit of a hoarder very quickly. You really can.
Speaker B: Data hoarding, what's the problem? It's digital. Data hoarding is like, I could care less. Again, I'm not dealing in video, and I'm not dealing in big projects. So I can keep thousands of folders, which I do, and I don't care. It's no skin off my back.
Speaker A: See, I used to back up all my video, too. All the videos that came in for tv commercials and stuff and the revisions. And I used to keep every video back, all that up. After a while, I just went, man, this is crazy. So I keep it for, like, it ends up two years now because I basically have two hard drives that I rotate. So when one's full, I'll take it out, stick it aside, get the other one, put it in and erase it and go again. So, I mean, I figure two years is enough.
Speaker B: I feel like for any voice actor, it's an absolute no brainer to use some kind of cloud storage iCloud or Google Drive. ICloud is essentially automatic. The second you put anything into your desktop or your documents folder on any modern Mac, it is in the cloud. It just is. And so it's kind of a dirty trick to get you to upgrade your cloud, because it will fill up very quickly. But if you're not the kind of person that wants to think about another service and pay for another service and shop for one, and then think of a way to just use the dang icloud. It's built in, it's automatic, it's cheap, $10 a month for two terabytes. It'll take you a long time to fill that thing up. Just to me, it's a no brainer. And if you're on windows, there's an equivalent in the Windows side. I just don't know what it is. One drive, I think.
Speaker A: Yeah, I heard you mention time machine before. Can I give a shameless plug to someone who's not a sponsor of the show, but something I've used for years and I love is carbon copy cloner, which is.
: Yes, I love carbon. I use the Jesus out of that.
Speaker B: I used to use it. I don't use it anymore.
Speaker A: Such a good piece of software.
Speaker B: Yeah, no, the beauty of that was you could have a secondary disk that was plugged into the computer that was literally an absolute copy duplicate of your computer. So you could literally have the system drive crap out, hold down, and you.
: Can use that as your targeted backup. I used to point my hard drive at home to the hard drive at work so that it could get onto the back blaze at work.
Speaker B: Oh, wow.
Speaker A: Yeah, wow. There you go.
Speaker B: That's a hack. Well, yeah, I mean, just to have. That was a nice thing. Now, here's the thing. Here's a little gotcha for all us Apple people. If you're on an m one or any of the silicon macs, they can no longer boot with a dead system drive. So if your system drive in any silicon Mac is toast. You cannot boot to an external USB drive.
Speaker A: Oh really?
Speaker B: There you go.
Speaker A: I've got one running. I've got a backup running, so that's no good to me.
Speaker B: If the internal drive system is blown away, it's unaware of any external drive.
Speaker A: Why did they do that?
Speaker B: I don't know. Ask Tim Apple.
: It's Macintosh. That's why they did that.
Speaker B: Yeah, Apple. Apple.
: Because it's the slow progression of your computer into an.
Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, right.
Speaker B: Yeah.
: That's annoying. I mean, I live and die on option. Booting the computer and having like some.
Speaker B: I'll check. I will re verify that. But when the silicon Macs first came out, this was a bonus contention. People were talking. So here's just what the first search result on Google says. If you're using a Mac computer with Apple silicon, your Mac has one or more USB or Thunderbolt ports that have a type c connector. While you're installing macOS on your storage disk, it matters which of these ports you use. Okay, well, that's totally irrelevant. It has nothing to do with the answer I'm looking for. How do you start up your m one or m two from an external drive? There's another thing. It's not easy as it used to be and likely requires that you purchase.
: I mean, you used to be able to boot up a Mac from the network.
Speaker B: Yeah, I'm reading this article from Mac World. I'm just skimming through it. Awesome. I don't want to say something that's untrue, but this is what I recall day one when it came out. This is what somebody said.
Speaker A: That's really annoying.
Speaker B: So yes, you have to have a certain type of drive. Actually, this article mentions Bombich's carbon copy cloner.
Speaker A: So we'll boot from that.
: No, it just mentions carbon to copy your drive probably.
Speaker B: Yeah, they're explaining the entire process. But that external drive has to be formatted in the correct way. Let's say you buy just a random hard drive, like a western digital, and you plug it in and then make that your clone. It will not work.
: You have to be. You always had to make it like guide partition. I think it was something like that. It changed over the years. It used to be even like hfs plus. And then it's.
Speaker B: Yeah, now it's apfs.
: Yes, the container.
Speaker B: Yeah, it's apfs. So I know we're going down a rabbit hole here, but yeah, this is the kind of thing you have to think about if you're really wanting to have redundancy and have a system that can essentially crash and be online within a minute. And for most voice actors, that's going to be just too frustrating and difficult to maintain. And for them just to have another computer that can plug in and go is really the most practical thing to do.
: That is kind of like the ultimate backup.
Speaker A: Yeah, I was going to get rid of my Mbox pro and my 2012 Mac Pro, but I think I might hang on to both of those and they might just be my backup.
Speaker B: Well, if it's easy for you to plug those in and get back, right back to work, then it's worth keeping.
Speaker A: I reckon that's the thing. I might just sit them in the garage, put them away in a box and seal it up and I can just grab them when I need them.
Speaker B: Yeah, sounds good.
: Sounds good to me.
Speaker B: Sounds good to me.
Speaker A: Well, who's backing up this podcast then?
Speaker B: Oh shoot.
Speaker A: Did you hit record?
Speaker B: Well, that was fun. Is it over?
Speaker C: The pro audio suite with thanks to Triboof and austrian audio recorded using source Connect edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Voodoo Radio Imaging with tech support from George the tech Wittam. Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic, or just say good day, drop us a note at our website, theproaudiosuite.com.
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AI is reshaping industries, but how is it affecting audio outside of Voice Replication? This week, we're diving deep into this "can of worms" on the latest episode of the Pro Audio Suite podcast! Join us as we host a riveting discussion with MPA from WAVES as we unpack:
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- Perspectives on the rise of AI voices in media.
- We're not looking for a future where AI spits out a Taylor Swift song on command. Instead, we're all about how AI can serve as the ultimate assistant in the studio, ensuring creativity and passion remain at the heart of production. Don't miss this nuanced conversation on the future of AI in pro audio. 🎵 Be sure to subscribe and join our Facebook community for more insights! #VoiceOverTechTalk #ProAudioSuite #DesignSimplicityInAudio
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Summary In this episode, "The AI Conundrum in Pro Audio," the Pro Audio Suite team, featuring George Wittam, Robert Marshall, Darren 'Robbo' Robertson, and Andrew Peters, grapples with a hot topic shaking the foundations of the audio industry: the impact of Artificial Intelligence on audio plugins. The conversation spirals into a complex exploration, examining the role AI should play as an assistant in the creative process, rather than a replacement. Provocative insights are offered about the future and ethics of AI—such as the danger of AI scraping from AI without recognizing human input, creating potential issues like "patent trolls" in music. The team also touches on the broader implications of AI in society, including its recent prevalence in content creation, from YouTube narrations to social media interactions, questioning the authenticity and credibility of AI-driven content. This episode delves into the massive "can of worms" AI opens, from personal AI chatbots to AI voices possibly infringing on personal identity, spurring a rich discussion on how to navigate the balance between innovation and authenticity in the ever-evolving world of professional audio. Join the thought leaders at Pro Audio Suite to unpack the complexities of AI in the audio realm.
#AIinAudioProduction #PluginInnovations #ProAudioSuitePodcast
Timestamps (00:00:00) AI's Impact on Plugins: Introduction
(00:00:12) Welcome and About Us
(00:00:42) Gomez on AI and Plugins
(00:13:10) Michael Questions AI's Role
(00:19:57) Artists' Use of AI in Mixing
(00:26:04) Public Awareness of AI Tools
(00:31:26) AI Voices on Social Media
(00:33:53) Personal AI Projects
(00:38:39) AI Narration and Voice Borrowing
(00:44:57) Gomez's Favorite T-shirt Color
Transcript Speaker A: We're all talking about AI, but the question is, how will AI affect plugins?
Speaker B: Can of worms.
Speaker A: A can of worms.
Speaker C: A big can of worms. 54324. Let's go.
: Welcome.
Speaker C: Hi. Hi. Hello, everyone to the pro audio suite.
: These guys are professional.
: They're motivated with tech. To the Vo stars, George Wittam, founder of source elements Robert Marshall, international audio engineer Darren Robbo Robertson and global voice Andrew Peters. Thanks to Triboo, austrian audio making passion heard source elements George the tech Wittam and Robbo and AP's international demo. To find out more about us, check the proaudiosuite.com learn up, learner.
Speaker C: Here we go.
Speaker A: So, MPa Gomez.
Speaker C: Actually, gross.
Speaker A: It is based on our prior conversation before we got on air, probably the wriggling out of worms and stuff. It's probably not ideal, really, but yeah. So, Gomez, what do you think? Or how do you see AI and plugins moving forward in the next couple.
Speaker C: Of years without giving anything away? Because obviously I have an inside of you, one of the largest, well, the largest plugin company in the world and the one who created third party plugins because we were the first we have in the past and continue to invest an absolute matzah in AI because the fact it's just not going away. And it's very, very exciting. Some of the things that can be done with AI, one of the things that's really important to us going forward is that we don't take the approach of AI. We're going to do everything for you. You don't have to lift a finger. That's not a direction, as far as we're concerned, that promotes passion in music, passion in what you do and passion and effort and creativity when it comes to how you're building your compositions or your music productions or your soundtracks or your game audio or whatever it is you're working on. There's a reason that we're all in this industry, and 99.9% of it is because we enjoy it. So creating tool that somebody just broke their microphone.
Speaker A: That was Robert.
Speaker B: I think I got a dodgy mic. Cable. Sorry.
Speaker C: Yeah. One of the things that we want to make sure of is that we focus on how can AI be the best assistant for what everybody is doing, not replace what they're doing. It's no fun if you type in, write a country music song in c minor, make it about a guy losing his new electric rivian truck and then a girl coming into his life and making him happy, and suddenly it pumping out a Taylor Swift song, there's no fun in that there's no journey in that there's no ownership in that the experience is gone. So what we're trying to do with AI, and I believe most companies are doing the same thing, is learn and work out all of the ways that AI connected to plugins can be more like jeeves or whatever it is to the robocop, to Iron man, where it's like the assistant that knows everything and is always there, but doesn't necessarily do everything for you. And this comes back to something that's really central with anything to do with artificial intelligence. Whether you're doing something with ChatGBT or Claude from, you know, Gemini Pro, or one of the llamas from Meta or Google, it's already been very confirmed over the last year and a half that if you don't know what you're doing or you don't know what you're talking about, then you can't get the most out of AI. Because AI does have a tendency to work better for people who actually can see and understand and perceive what is correct and what is not correct. When it comes to the outputs, some of you may have heard or may not have heard of this. If you're listening to this AI hallucinations, the AI hallucinations that happened with Chachibt initially, and then with Bard from Google were epically amusing to those of us who were beta testing, but terrifyingly convincing. When you have an AI, write an essay on something that sounds so much like it actually happened, but then when you fact check it, you find the names don't exist, the history dates don't exist, none of it exists, but it gave you roughly what you asked for. But if you don't know the topic, then you don't know that it's wrong.
Speaker A: Correct.
Speaker C: And one of the things that we're on that line of right now when it comes to AI, creativity and plugins, is how do we continue to evolve this technology and large language, large learning models and tensorflows, and all these different wonderful things, so that they assist without creating stuff that's completely in the other direction, and we have to dig ourselves out of a hole. And I think what's going to happen is you're going to end up with plugins that are more like mixing assistance or composition assistance, or sample creation assistance. In fact, there is already one, there's one called, I think it's called synth GBT that you type in. I'm looking for a bell sound, and it will give you a bell sound, like chibla belt or it's still fairly rudimentary, but if you look at how fast things move, it's not going to be long before you can put in. Okay, so I'm after a 16 pomophonic pad that evolves from this cut off.
: Starts in a minor chord, moves into a major chord over the course of blah, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker C: Exactly. I want it in this BPM, and I want it to duck like a pumper, like it's side chained to a kick drum, and have it pump something out. Now, the other problem with all of this that's going to come up the same as it already has done with image generation and text generation, is copyright. Because at this point in time, it's been determined that if something is created by AI, then human being does not have copyright to that. In the music world, that's going to create all kinds of fun and frivolity.
Speaker B: Can you imagine?
Speaker C: Yes, I don't need to imagine. It's already happening. One of the things that we've already done with things like studio verse, which is part of our rack plugin, that studio rack is you can scan your audio, and we will automatically, using AI, suggest a preset chainer for that track of audio that you're putting in. Whether it's a bass guitar or a vocal or a female vocal, will suggest some options for presets. The other thing you can do is you can type in into a new thing that we've got coming out, which is like studio burst for vis. You can create a chain of vis, or type in what you're looking for. And we'll suggest a Vi chain with macros, with automation, with levels, et cetera. That is pretty much created by a mixture of existing technology and AI. And we're finding that it's getting easier. And if we're finding that, then other plugin companies are finding this too. It's getting easier and a lot faster to create these things. The challenge is the easier it gets, the harder it is to create something that's actually going to be a wow factor for somebody that's sitting in their room and working on their music until 04:00 in the morning. You can't just give them AI anymore in anything. It's got to be epically good at helping somebody be a better version of themselves.
Speaker A: Interestingly, I look at this, and you go through all the big evolutions, and we'll use music as an example. But if you think about the things that changed everything, first of all, electricity changed everything, a microphone changed everything, a speaker changed everything. So you got an amplifier, all these different things that everyone's sort of gone. Oh yeah, electricity, electric guitars, microphones, amplifiers, all that kind of stuff. In the old days, if you would stack your instruments based on the volume and have one microphone in a room, then all of a sudden you're micing cabs in a studio and stuff like that. You got multi track instead of one sort of monotrack. All these things have changed. But this is the one that's kind of a bit scary because this is.
Speaker B: The one that takes the personality out of it. I think that's the thing.
Speaker C: That's the risk.
Speaker B: The risk is there that you take the humanity out of it and it just becomes this robotic thing.
Speaker C: There are so many websites already that will let you type in a topic or type in some words and it will pump out a rudimentary rap or pop song for you in some kpop style. And they're all awful.
Speaker B: Somewhat argue they all have anyway. Gomez right, but they're all awful.
Speaker C: But one of the things that needs to be said is these websites and these AI models that are being used are sitting on a server on a huggingface co somewhere that somebody is renting. In some cases it's a 17 or 15 year old boy or girl writing this code in an evening and then asking AI to help it with the front end interface for it and then punching out a website. The fact that it sounds awful is not what we should be paying attention to. The fact that it's so easy to create, that's the part that we need to be alert to, because we need to remind ourselves that this is a very slippery road and we could ruin an entire reason for creating if we let AI take over the job that we love doing. I think, look, I feel like I just did an Obama speech or something.
Speaker B: I'm a bit more on the fence, I guess, because I look at it this way, I think we all needed to start somewhere, right? And if you go back to ask Gomez, we walked into cart prep, me at two SM and you in the days at triple M, and you learned your craft by sitting there and then walking into the studio and eating your ham and egg sandwich while watching Jeff Thomas crank out an amazing promo, right?
Speaker C: Four BK for me.
Speaker B: Well, there you go. That's how we learned our craft. These days, there's less of an opportunity for that. So for me, I can see that AI provides this opportunity for someone who's trying to figure out their craft in terms of, okay, well, these are the basics. These are the rudimentary things you need to understand AI gives someone the opportunity to go and learn that stuff. But I think the trick is that we don't need to. But if you're going to hone your craft, you then need to move on from that. So I can see that AI provides a starting point, if you like, and it maybe makes it easier for someone to understand, whether it be post production or music or whatever you want to talk about, if it gives them a place to start, I think that's a good thing. But I think I do also agree with you that it opens a can of worms, of taking the humanity out of the craft as well. That's fine.
Speaker A: That's the whole thing. Yeah, the whole thing really is. That made music really interesting was human frailty. Like, the amount of records that probably your favorite record, there's probably mistakes all the way through it, and that's what made it appealing. There was something about that that worked, and when you take that out and it's become sterile, it just doesn't feel human anymore.
Speaker C: If you take people like Han Zimmer or to another extreme, Moby or lemon stellar or Frufru or, they all created their own style, and that style wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for them creating what was in their heads at the time. And this is one of the things that, I mean, when I say that if we let AI replace everything, then what will happen is what's already started to happen, to a point where we're finding that AI is skewing the information on the Internet, because AI is starting to already scrape information from AI and not know the difference between human created and AI created. So what we already have is a scenario where, I mean, I currently have access right now to 36 different large llms and tensorflows from all the major companies and some of the smaller ones. So I've got 36 different ais that do things. And one of the things that we've been finding is some of them are already not knowing what's human created and what's AI created. And that's a huge issue, because what it's going to do, especially in things like the audio world and the music world, is it's not going to know when it's ripping somebody off and when it's taking a style that's been scraped legitimately or illegally, and therefore it's going to end up. I mean, things like the court case that Ed Sheeran just went through, which had nothing to do with AI, and had everything to do with a family of somebody saying, oh, you totally ripped this off, whereas he didn't. Those kind of court cases are just going to get more and more prevalent with AI around because of the same reason that visual artists are already suing the major AI companies. It's getting super hard to work out what's the style of somebody and whether that style is worth something in the value, because they created it. If somebody else goes off and creates.
Speaker A: Something different, maybe that's going to be the new income stream for songwriters and creative people. Litigation and winning a court case, that's how you make your money.
Speaker B: Living off their old.
: Some people are going to become the patent trolls of music.
Speaker C: Elon Musk's wife has already done this by the. She's. I can't remember her name. It's something. She's. She's created an AI virtual model of herself, and anybody can create music with her voice, but she earns a percentage of the royalties off that.
Speaker B: Right.
Speaker A: Do you know, that's funny that this is going way off track, but I saw an interview with Dolly Parton and.
Speaker C: Oh, yeah, no talent to talent. You're absolutely right. It is way off track. Yeah.
Speaker A: But it's interesting in the sense what you just said about Elon Musk's life is that she got a call from Colonel Tom Parker saying that Elvis wanted to record, I think it was, I will always love you, or something.
Speaker B: It was, I will always love you.
Speaker A: And he said, but we take a cut, we take 50% of the royalties. And she said, I'm not giving the royalties away to anybody, and said, no. And then I saw her say, I'm glad I didn't get Elvis to do it, because Whitney Houston did a much.
Speaker B: Better job, and I made money on that.
Speaker C: Yeah.
: Well, I think I have a different direction with AI or just music composition in general or style in general. You were talking earlier, Michael, about how these different artists that you named carved out a style, and I think about how those styles are partly shaped by the tools that are available to those artists at that time.
Speaker C: Absolutely. And the people who have come before them. Yeah.
: You look at, I think, of craft work.
Speaker B: Right.
Speaker A: I was about to talk about work. Exactly.
: For that reason, their sound is incredibly sculpted on the technology that was available at that time and their unique style.
Speaker B: Yeah.
: And art of noise. My God. Yeah. So now you've got Hans Zimmer, who arguably has a limitless tool set. Right. I mean, it is. Let's face it, Hans Zimmer's tool set is limitless. You can get anything, afford anything. His only limit, literally is know, if it wasn't for the fact that a film score had a distinct know, that's his only limit. Right? So now the ability to sculpt something that would have been impossible to do by Hans Zimmer within a deadline, he's going to be able to expand that by factor know an order of magnitude by using AI Han Zimmers to help him expand the.
Speaker B: Just.
: I can't even fathom where that goes. Know? But it is interesting.
Speaker C: You know what I'd really like to do? I had this conversation with somebody at, like, 03:00 yesterday morning. I would love it if we could just give. If I was going to give AI all the potential of AI in the music world to one person and say, mess with this and let us know what we can do with it, I would give it to collier. Yeah. Yeah. That kid is nobody else. Just Jacob. Jacob, go off, do your eccentric stuff, work out what we can do with this as humanity, and then come back and we'll decide whether it's actually worth it or not. Because that mean. I don't know how. I didn't know about Chek Collier until about six months ago, but I am obsessed with how much talent, raw talent that guy has.
: Yeah, it's remarkable. I've seen him live three times. I saw him at the.
Speaker C: It's like. But it's like I watched a masterclass with him about how there is no such thing as a wrong note. And it's all about the tonage of how you play the notes. And I've never looked at piano the same since. It's like just this ball of energy that just makes such magic.
: Absolutely.
Speaker C: Yeah.
Speaker B: Here's one thing that interests me, Gomez, and you might or might not be able to answer this, but you work with these guys fairly regularly at the top. So let's talk about Chris Lord Algae and that ilk. Algae. Sorry, excuse me. That's my Aussie Twang. How much of this stuff are they. When I say stuff, I mean AI. How much of this stuff are they using in their mixes? Are they sticking to the old school, or are they sort of going. I can see a few advantages to moving towards this AI sort of thing. So some of it's sneaking in, or are they steadfastly refusing to go that direction?
: Yeah, I mean, some artists are way more into trying the bleeding edge, and others are much more into sticking.
Speaker B: I'm kind of thinking of the Beatles singing into teapots and all that sort of stuff. I mean, for me, it's sort of a progression. But I'm interested from Gomez, if he can answer the question, how much?
Speaker C: So the person I had a conversation with at 04:00 the other morning about Jacob Collier was my man, Eddie Kramer. And Eddie, one of his most famous moments that had nothing to do with Hendrix or Led Zeppelin, recorded the Beatles at Abbey Road because he was the only one available and they wanted to record. And one of the things that Eddie was there for at the beginning was this epic use of, okay, so we have one channel and another channel, and that's it. We've all got, how do we make those work? And he was one of the ones who made it work and turned rock and roll into. He didn't define rock and roll, but he was there as part of the process and as I like to call it, part of the band, in a way. And he's one of the ones who is him and I will talk about AI until the cows come home, because it's exciting for him. He looks at it, he's just turned 80, and he's like, the potential on what we can do with music with this kind of technology, as long as we don't screw it up, it's beyond epic. It's exciting. Now, if we get back to the clas of the world, Chris is really good at choosing what he has on at the time. I mean, on one side, he just mixed the new green Day record, and it's already creating huge waves and hits everywhere it goes. The way he did that was they went back to the roots, and they did it exactly the same way. He recorded the first green day record nearly completely analog SSL console to tape as well as to digital, but with pro tools. It's like they went, okay, so let's go back to the roots and let's do it that way. And he was starting to do that when I was sitting in the studio with him in June of 2022, just before I'd come all the way back to me roots. And he was talking about, it was like, no, we're going to go back to the way it was. And I said, why? And he goes, because it worked. And we've got so into this technology that somewhere we lost the sound of that band and we need to find it again.
Speaker B: Definitely.
Speaker C: Yeah.
Speaker B: Yeah. Imagine recording Led Zeppelin with.
Speaker C: Huh?
Speaker B: Imagine recording Led Zeppelin with AI. Exactly.
Speaker C: Well, the way Eddie and I were talking about it was, I posed the situation to said, what if? What if we could use AI in such a way that, because there are still recordings of Zeppelin and there's recordings that he's working on right now for the Hendrix estate of cassettes of Hendrix nobody's heard before, where there are dropouts. Now, these are not like isotope capable dropouts. These are dropouts for like 20 seconds. But what would it be like if you could say, okay, right, so this is the catalog of this artist. This is the problem we've got. We need to fill this 20 seconds with what they would auto fill.
: I need this piece.
Speaker C: Yeah.
: And then say, do four versions.
Speaker C: It's literally like the. It's like Adobe Photoshop. It's like Dolly. Yeah.
: Extend this image. I need to extend. It needs to be larger, fill in the background.
Speaker C: It's exciting to me. But again, we have to really be careful about number one. Firstly, I can pretty much confirm AI is not going to take over the world. We are not all going to be slaves to it. It's just not going to happen. And if it does, it's not going to happen in our lifetimes. But what we do run the risk of is we run the risk with being too blase with this technology, and we need to be very careful and present about how we want to use it. One of the things which I'm doing right now, and it takes a lot of time, I've never done it before. I'm writing the AI policies for an entire audio software company. And it begins with the word W. I work for them, but I'm writing the entire policy on usage of AI, whether it's sales or product specialists or coding or anything else, the entire policy based and down to ethics of AI. And it's hard because just have Chad GPT do it.
Speaker B: Nice one, George. Cliche one for George.
Speaker C: The problem is, when you're writing an AI policy, you can't get AI to write the damn policy.
: No, because there's no precedents. There aren't books on how to write a policy around an AI. Yeah, I know.
Speaker C: You're absolutely right. But here's the other thing that I think that we need to be aware of here. 80% of the population, if not more, have no idea that chat GBT or bard or Claude or llama from meta or Po or chat GBT pro or chat GBT teams even exists. They haven't got to them yet. We're still in the minuscule percentage of the world who are aware of this. It's like I use AI every day, but I'm using it to get rid of the menial tasks, and I'm using it to help speed up what I do. So I can do it well. But I have to remind myself how many people in the world, regardless of whether we're talking audio world, visual, or whatever else, have no concept yet of AI and even software companies. There was a study done inside of Adobe, and think about how many staff Adobe has, and there was a large chunk of people who were like, what's chatchippy? Wow. It hasn't got to their desk yet. It hasn't got to their office yet. It hasn't been relevant for, and these are people who, they don't necessarily read tech blogs or LinkedIn. They might go home and read a novel. Or I was about to say, these.
: Are people that actually go home, and.
Speaker C: These are people working. And that's the thing. These are people who, yes, they have passions, yes, they have hobies, but they stop. Their work. Stuff stops outside as soon as they get outside. And they haven't heard of it yet. I mean, a lot of them have, but there's a huge amount of people who have never heard of.
Speaker B: Is that a generational thing, Gomez?
Speaker A: I would say it's not generational.
Speaker C: My mom actually asked me to create a chat bot for her that she could use as her assistant, because I just created a company it's about to launch, not just in the last six months. I've created, it's called creative ninjas, and it enables you to choose what kind of assistants you want, and then they'll be in slack WhatsApp teams, et cetera, or on the website. And they are your assistants with the names you chose for them, the personalities you chose from. And she actually went through, and she said, I want you to create one of those for me. So she uses a chat bot AI assistant every day, and she's 85.
: Those are the people that really need that stuff. My short term memory has already been atrophied dramatically by the use of technology, not enhanced by it. So it's only going to get worse.
Speaker C: George, there's a plug in for that.
Speaker B: My short toy memory is being destroyed by 35 years of rock and roll radio. But that's another story. I think that the other thing that sort of comes to mind to me. And if you want to look for the good side of all this, though, there's AI involved, but it's not completely AI. But you look at now and then the Beatles thing that just happened a few months ago. I mean, we wouldn't have that if it wasn't for AI. That's a really sensible use of, like, to resurrect a recording like you were talking about with the Hendrix thing to resurrect a recording like that and then be able to.
Speaker C: And magical. And I feel so blessed that we got the chance to watch that.
Speaker B: I know, yeah.
Speaker A: Interestingly. But then once again, it's the human aspect of that that makes it work.
Speaker B: Well, McCartney and Ringo and George, to a certain extent to humanized it didn't mean we'll never know what John Lennon originally know. God knowing John Lennon, it could have gone anywhere, but they sort of beatilized it. And because they know they knew John intimately, they were able to do that and turn it into something that could have been.
Speaker A: Yeah. Interestingly.
Speaker B: Another number one in 2023. I mean, Jesus, talk about infinite.
Speaker C: Funny.
Speaker A: Talking about like Eddie Kramer being able to grab stuff and fill up gaps, if there's gaps missing, dropouts in tapes and stuff like that. Getting back to the voiceover thing, this is where it could be really interesting if an AI can actually do that. Say for instance, I do a 32nd read. So they've got the read, they got the raw read down. Then the client decides, I'm not happy with those couple of words. I want to change, I want to revise the script. Instead of me being called back in to do a reread or a drop in, they would just use the AI to copy my voice and change that.
Speaker C: Andrew?
: Yeah, I can do that in descript.
Speaker C: We can do that with the script. We can do that with eleven labs. We can do that with revoicer. There are multiple models that you can already do that. And I would love it if they were all used for good and not for evil. But I think that this is one of those times as well. You've just brought up something that's already here, which is an issue to me. I hear so many AI voices now on faceless YouTube videos and TikToks and even some commercials on tv and radio. And I think there's no soul in that and I can tell because I'm human. The problem is a client will pay dramatically less for that. And all they care about is that the message is there. The client of the client, the person who's listening to the ad. I haven't done a survey yet, but I think it'd be interesting. How do people in listener land feel about AI voices and are they as convinced of the message or do they hear the message the same? Because I just don't think it's going to fly.
: I think there needs to be some actual market research. I mean, it's got to be somebody doing it already. But sitting people down, either virtually or in a room and showing them and playing them ads and splitting back and forth between human performers and AI performers and literally just doing the actual work, doing the research and getting people's responses and how they feel when they hear those things.
Speaker C: Eleven labs has just brought in something else, which is speech to. Speech to conversion, which means that if somebody decides, okay, the AI voice wasn't good enough, but I need that voice that I created of Andrew, and I'm going to use the AI version because he's too expensive and I've already got all of this information from him. What I'm going to do is I'm going to read the speech with the right inflections and the right emotion, and then it will turn it into his. That, to me, is something I was like, I just wish they hadn't got to that that quickly.
Speaker B: Do we need to go there?
Speaker C: It's already there.
Speaker B: Yes, but why do we need to go there? Because that's only leading down a dark. That's. That's the thing.
Speaker A: Well, it's like the thing that Simon Murphy did where he got my voice. He trained his AI machine to copy my voice and then had me singing the lumberjack song from Monty Python.
Speaker B: Yeah, but see, that was.
Speaker C: That's a good use of technology.
Speaker A: Not if you heard it.
: Speaking of using technology, I mean, I'm using it. I've made my own Chat GPT, custom GPT of me. And it's freaking awesome. I love it. It's so great. I can sit there and answer 30 to 40 questions on Facebook and Reddit in an hour and I'm a hero. And they're great answers. They're far longer and more verbose and more complete than the answers would be if I had written them. Because I don't feel like typing all that stuff out and I can't remember half of it, and it finds all that information and it references where it came from and it gives them what they want and they're like, thrilled.
Speaker C: You used GBT Pro for that? Like, just created a GBT.
: I am using an app that probably. Well, the app I'm using is GPT for turbo or something on the back end, but it's an app called Custom GPT. Okay. The reason I liked it was because it was an incredibly friendly user interface. I mean, I could understand very quickly. It had very good transparent terms and it had extremely strong language about being anti hallucinating or using anti hallucinating technology, which, if you're going to make a chat bot, based on language model that you are providing of your own sources. It's incredibly important that it not hallucinate, right? I mean, I will not dare put something out for the public to access, which this will be for the public to access and subscribe to. And I would never do that if that information wasn't sourced and sourced of my own content. And that's what this is and it's revolutionary. And I can take that same content now in about a week I could have a book made, hardcover, bound book of that information using cheap BT technology to write the book. I know how to do that. How is that helpful? Well, that could leapfrog me into being able to get a speaking gig at universities and that could get me a speaking gig at a TEDx. All that stuff is all part of the journey of getting these kinds of levels of respect and notoriety. And so that's all on my roadmap now where that was going to be on my roadmap. But maybe in two to five years, now that all that stuff's on my roadmap in two to four months, right. I mean, it's just accelerated my goals.
Speaker B: But to be fair, you've got to have that knowledge in the first place. You can't just do all that.
Speaker C: That's the key. You can't not know what you're doing before you start.
: Absolutely.
Speaker A: Unfortunately, there's plenty of people out there who don't know what they're doing and they still become experts.
Speaker C: Well, this is nothing to do with AI, but it's like, let's not remember anybody out there. If you want to start doing something, start doing it today, because there's plenty of people who are way more irritating than you ever will be who are already doing it and they don't have half the experience you do and they're charging for it, those dicks. So go do what you want to do. Do the things you want to do.
: No, I wanted to make sure that I had ownership over this, even though I know that I can't.
Speaker C: But you don't.
: Well, I know that I can't stop somebody else going out and scraping a lot of that content. Not all of it. Some of it's totally private, but I can't totally stop them. But I wanted to be doing it first and have it branded under my.
Speaker C: Name because that's not what I meant. What I meant was because of the laws. So far, when it comes to AI, it doesn't matter whether nobody's going to stop you putting out a book. Nobody's going to stop you creating any of that. But if the copyright is ever contested, you will lose, not because a lot of the initial knowledge isn't yours, but because of how it was put together.
: No, you have to actually divulge in the book, this was written using AI.
Speaker B: Oh, do you really?
: Oh, yeah, right. You can't publish a book and say it was written by your own intellectual property without AI and falsify that you will lose. Yeah, it's an interesting, well, talking about.
Speaker A: That with credits, like in music credits, all those different credits for film, television, whatever. They talk about having a credit for saying blah, blah, blah done by AI.
Speaker B: Yeah. Well, what if AI narrates a documentary and they borrow the voice from somebody? Do they have to? Is that credit?
Speaker C: Before I forget. So there's this guy, I can send you guys the link afterwards. There's this guy who I just want to sit down and buy a beer for. And he's a coder, but he wrote a language model and he wrote code so that everything he did on his computer for a full day was narrated in documentary style by an AI voice and character of David Attenborough. And this guy went, they, he went so far with making it so accurate that this David Attenborough, like, he's sitting on camera now. He looks like he's confused. He may be trying to work out. It was so exact, it blew my mind, but it was so entertaining. I'll find the link and send it to you. It happened about a month ago and it just showed what's possible. It's like I hadn't even thought about doing something like that. But if he can do that with his daily life, then you could give an AI voice model like that, a bunch of edited footage of the Amazon or skateboarding or anything else and have it write the script and do the voiceover real time for you.
Speaker B: But here's the thing. Gomez, right, let's say he put that on YouTube and he ended up with 5 million views. Okay? He's now making money.
Speaker C: He doesn't earn anything.
Speaker B: No, I get that. And I'm not pointing the finger at this guy, but this is a what if, right? So if he put that on YouTube and he gets 5 million views, all of a sudden he's now making money from David Attenborough.
Speaker C: Yes.
Speaker B: So where's the copyright claim in that? You know what I mean? This is the massive can of worms that gets opened by all this, which.
Speaker C: Is why YouTube will not let him earn money and not even add money from that video.
Speaker B: Right. Okay.
: It's demonetized.
Speaker B: Well, it shouldn't be.
Speaker C: Yeah, this is one of those things that YouTube has been doing really well and Google have been doing really well for years. And I should know because the amount of events I've run for waves, if you so much as a melody or even hit a kick drum that's in a Dua Lippo song or anything else, you will be flagged and you will lose any monetization on that video whatsoever.
Speaker B: Think of dua lipa should be taken down anyway.
Speaker C: With some bands they will actually like Led Zeppelin for example. If you pay more than like think 5 seconds, YouTube are required to mute the video completely. So when it comes to voices, like David Attenborough and the voices. Can you guys hear my dog snoring?
Speaker A: Yes, I just heard your dog snoring.
Speaker B: After last night, he's probably a bit tired, mate.
Speaker C: What a weekend. Good dog. But yeah, it will recognize the vocal pattern and it will automatically say, copyright flag checked. No monetization on this video. And you can do three of those and you can contest it, but your chance of contesting it is pretty much zero.
Speaker A: The scary thing is if someone grabs something out of that David Attenborough voice, talking about something and uses it as like, well, this is what David Attenborough said and boom. And then people start believing it.
Speaker C: Yeah, I can share something which I'm working on, which is not waves working on, it's me working on it. With all the research I've been doing in AI myself. My mother is one of my role models. It's like what she's done in her life is epic. She is past middle 80s, she's never written a book about her life, but I'm starting to get her to put it together. What I've also done is, and it was actually one of the reasons why George I bought this mic was so that I could sit across the table from mum and actually get her to talk about everything. While I've been doing that, I've also created an AI model clone of her voice. And once the book is finished, whether she is alive or not, I'm going to put out the audiobook version of it.
Speaker A: Cool.
Speaker C: That's very cool because I believe that it's a good use of the technology.
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker C: My mum has trained equestrian Olympic teams of the US, the UK. She trained the royal family. Princess Anne used to kind of pick me up as a baby and move me back to our tents at all shows when I got lost.
Speaker B: That's a princess.
Speaker C: It's totally also where I get my hair from 15 all. But it's like she's a legend in that industry. She's never written any of it down, and that's just a shame to me for the world. So I'm using AI to make it possible for me to be able to help write that book and then get AI to do the audiobook version.
Speaker B: Yeah, that's a great idea.
Speaker A: See, I should have been your mother's son, because at least now I look like I should be part of the royal family.
Speaker C: That's one of the weirdest things I've.
: Ever heard anybody say.
Speaker C: One of the weirdest things that's ever happened on this podcast.
Speaker B: Someone rolled the credits. Before this goes any further, I just want to make.
Speaker A: All right, we will wind it up. Thank you, Gomez. But I want to just say a couple of things. One is George in the background there, you've got an Australia sweatshirt, and I think that's from Larissa Gallagher.
Speaker B: Nice.
Speaker C: Indeed I do.
Speaker A: And the other thing is, you're wearing a tributh t shirt with a microphone in the shower.
Speaker B: Hello.
Speaker A: To which we'll never unsee.
Speaker B: Tributh. Thank you very much for your sponsorship.
Speaker A: And also, there you go. Look behind me. I don't know whether you can see it. There's a tributh there, all illuminated. Do not disturb. It says in there.
: Sorry, too late.
Speaker A: Yeah, that's right. It's very disturbing.
Speaker C: No, tributes are great.
: Yeah, sorry, you're already disturbed. Sorry, it's way too late.
Speaker C: It's probably one of the only podcasts that's ever had two tula mics in it at the same time.
Speaker B: There you go.
Speaker C: Get in contact with them.
Speaker A: See if you can get some free shit.
Speaker C: Is that really green, though? Really greenish.
Speaker A: Is it stuck at green or turquoise?
Speaker B: Turquoise or teal?
: This is sea foam.
Speaker B: Sea foam.
Speaker C: I'm sorry.
Speaker A: I call that color North Sea, I reckon.
Speaker C: Or the Atlantis, actually.
: I don't know what this color is.
Speaker B: But anything that's not black isn't cool.
: Anyway, I wanted to get something different.
Speaker C: It's funny, isn't it? All four of us are wearing black t shirts. We're just so old.
Speaker A: Yeah. No, it's because it doesn't look slimmer in black.
Speaker B: That's right.
Speaker A: You can't see the wrinkles.
Speaker B: Very rock and roll. You don't see Angus young wearing sea foam t shirts. Can I just say.
Speaker C: Well, that was fun. Is it over?
: The pro audio suite, with thanks to Tribooth and Austrian Audio recorded using source Connect, edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Voodoo Radio imaging with tech support from George the tech Wittam. Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic, or just say g'day. Drop us a note at our website, theproaudiosuite.com.
This week, we delve into Part Two of our discussion with Michael Goodman of Centrance. We get into the nitty-gritty of the intricacies of creating the PASpport Vo, and the benefits of maintaining simplicity in design by restricting the device to just six knobs, which enhances ease of use for podcasters and voiceovers alike.
#VoiceOverTechTalk #ProAudioSuite #DesignSimplicityInAudio
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Summary In the latest episode of The Pro Audio Suite podcast, we delve into Part Two of our insightful discussion with Michael Goodman. The focus is on the nitty-gritty of audio equipment design, specifically the intricacies of creating the Passport Vo. Goodman highlights the benefits of maintaining simplicity in design by restricting the device to just six knobs, which enhances ease of use for voiceover artists.
The conversation also explores the challenges and considerations in pricing and product functionality, like the decision to enable the Passport Vo to work with external preamps. Goodman provides a candid look at the rapidly evolving landscape of audio interface protocols, such as the impending obsolescence of the lightning jack in favor of USB-C and the limitations of ASIO on Windows.
Listeners will gain unique insights into the manufacturing process, from the adoption of a platform strategy to the precision of creating 3D printed parts. Goodman discusses the shift to new USB chips due to discontinued ones and reveals how smaller manufacturers are playing a key role.
For those interested in the technical aspects of audio equipment production and design choices that impact both the user experience and future compatibility, this episode offers a wealth of knowledge. Tune in to learn from Goodman's expertise and stay informed on the latest in pro audio equipment design.
#VoiceOverTechTalk #ProAudioSuite #DesignSimplicityInAudio
Timestamps (00:00:00) Introduction with George Wittam and Robert Marshall
(00:00:32) George Discusses Design Limitations
(00:05:22) Unique Tools for Voiceover Artists
(00:08:44) Flexibility of the English Channel Passport
(00:11:56) Apple's Lightning Jack Obsolescence
(00:16:23) Challenges with Apple's Developer System
(00:21:36) Michael on the Passport VO Analog Mixer
(00:25:04) Progress on USB Chip Prototyping
(00:28:48) DIY Circuit Board Manufacturing
(00:33:15) Handling Tiny Components on Circuit Boards
(00:35:48) Michael Inquires About Custom Faceplates
(00:38:27) Closing Remarks and Acknowledgments
Transcript Speaker A: Y'all ready? Speaker B: Be history. Speaker A: Get started. Speaker C: Welcome. : Hi. Hi. Speaker A: Hello, everyone to the pro audio suite. These guys are professional. Speaker C: They're motivated with tech. To the Vo stars, George Wittam, founder of source elements Robert Marshall, international audio engineer Darren Robbo Robertson, and global voice Andrew Peters. Thanks to Triboo, austrian audio making passion heard source elements George the tech Wittam and Robbo and AP's international demo. To find out more about us, check ThePro audiosuite.com. And this is part two of our talk with Michael Goodman. In this episode, we pick up where we left off and we talk about the passport Vo. Speaker A: I like the fact that there's a restriction to the design. Like, Michael had to decide what those six knobs could do or not do. And so it wasn't like, oh, let's just add more knobs. Let's just make it bigger. : I did add more knobs in the black cab. It's got nine. Speaker A: Just kind of pushing squeeze nine in there. Yeah, but no, that's the beauty of when we made the passport. We did not add more knobs. We forced ourselves to work within that restricted design space and say, we have six knobs. We need to do everything we need with these six knobs. If there's more than six knobs, how do you expect an actor to understand what the heck the thing is doing as you add more and more? Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, I agree. : See, we should have looked at the black cab when we were asking for stuff. Speaker C: Yeah. Speaker B: I have a funny feeling Michael's answer would have been the same. : I think it's an excellent way of building simplicity into it, and really also, it makes you go through the design process. And I think it was a fun thing with the passport was exactly that. Because at first it was like, so many things. Add another knob, add another knob, and then you have to go through that slightly painful but sharpening process of going, like, we can't only have six knobs. How are you really going to do this? : It's interesting. When I was younger, I geeked out a lot on the japanese culture specifically. I loved their propensity for making small pieces of art. Right. The whole idea with the ice sculpture, art should be ephemeral. It should be there, and it's not there anymore. Right. And then the whole idea with writing a poem on a grain of rice, et cetera. I love compact things. And when we started making hi fi products, we also make some headphone listening products at sentrance. I traveled to Japan a lot, and I attended these hi fi shows, and I noticed how people are focused on completely different priorities there. Because apartments are very small in Japan. And therefore nobody buys a traditional stereo system with big speakers and all that. Everybody essentially listens in headphones in a tiny little spot, usually on a train, on their way to work or back home. So that culture creates a necessity for smaller things. And then for some reason, it just kind of stuck with me. I like when, essentially, when you travel, you don't want to log around a 19 inch rack or even like a 500 series lunchbox thing. That's the way we're trying to make these things small. But getting back to passport vo, the restriction there was basically the same one that was popularized by Henry Ford, who said that you can have your Model T in any color as long as it's black. Yeah. So basically, we have this box, and whatever you want to have must fit. Speaker C: In the box, which was good. And it was an interesting exercise, me being the guinea pig who potentially is going to be the person who uses this. Know, I didn't want it too technical and trying to get the terminology something that people like me would understand. So that was an interesting exercise for all of us as well. Speaker A: There was a lot of pushing and pulling between the Andrew Robert hemispheres of the design team. : There was? Speaker C: Yes, that's right. : Yes. I was wanting to keep it flexible and let it do more things. Be both. The. For instance, I wanted to be the interface that you could take on the road or leave in your control room and run it as your whole studio interface, or have it in your booth. And it could work in any place. And Andrew was like, I just want to travel with this was. Speaker C: It was kind of interesting because we were the polar opposite. So you had Robert on one side, me on the other side, and George and Robbo in the middle. George particularly, trying to make sense of. Speaker A: Our nonsensical and the filter. And I was trying to condense down everything. What they wanted to George was the traffic Michael. So that Michael didn't end up having to be the traffic cop. It got out of control at one point, expand at one point. Remember distinctly, I was like, wait, I was supposed to be protecting my. : I think that was important, giving Michael one point of communication. Because it would have been maddening for him. : Exactly. Well, I have to say, I actually enjoyed the process. I mean, there was a lot of creativity and ideation throughout the whole thing. And if you have. I love ideation myself. So I'm not really necessarily against it, opposed to it, as long as it eventually comes to a solid, well defined feature. Set, which I think we have. So that whole process that worked very well for me. And I do appreciate George coming in as a traffic cop and essentially directing. Speaker B: A lot of that traffic and an architect as well. Can I just say, with all the drawings that he had to do, I. Speaker A: Had fun trying to figure out a way to draw a signal flow diagram, which I'd never really done anything. And I know there's proper nomenclature and symbolism and all sorts of stuff in drawing one. I didn't know that, so I just did my own thing. But it really was cool because it helped me tremendously see it, understand what goes to what. And we revised that signal flow diagram. Oh, jeez, I don't know, seven or eight times, probably. Speaker C: Yeah, probably a lot more. Speaker B: A million times. : I think it was the blend of having the signal flow diagram so you could really see what was exactly going to happen combined with the mockup of the final device so you could get an imagination of how it was really going to work in the field. I think we really came up with something that fits sentrins in the sense that it fits, obviously, the form factor, but it's super flexible and unique. You're not finding this absolutely any other interface. : No, I think it'll continue to be unique because it is so purpose built that other manufacturers will look at it and go, why? Speaker C: That's right, exactly. Speaker B: Because there's nothing else out there that's been purpose built for voiceover artists. I think that was the initial motivation. For years, voiceover artists have had to take stuff that's built for music, for music engineers, and rework it to make it for voiceover. : And it seems like this is such a niche industry that a larger manufacturer might not necessarily see a lot of business potential there. So I think that was a good match between our size being a smaller company and then a market being smaller that we were like, okay, that makes sense. : I think you see that in its price point. Speaker C: Yeah. : Someone who's looking at it really basically goes, I can get a two channel USB interface, two microphones USB interface for $100. : No, this is not that. : If you see that in there, then you're not seeing what this is. Speaker A: Yeah, it's not for you. There's almost like when you set something at a price point, you're trying to give a very clear, I mean, not only you're saying that it's worth it, obviously, but you're making a very clear statement that this is priced for professionals and it's worth every penny to a professional who will understand the value. And we've already had people stand up and say, I believe it. I see what you're saying. And they've blunt down the cash. : And let's be honest, for a working voiceover professional, not everybody, of course, but a lot of those guys can make that much money in 15 seconds. : Pays for itself in one gig. Speaker A: That is true. Speaker C: Exactly. Speaker A: We knew that pricing was going to be tricky, but we also knew that we had a restricted space in which we had to work. We wanted the value to be there. But we also have to make a profit. Michael has to make a profit. We had ideas that would have driven the price even higher quite a bit that we could have implemented, but we didn't want to do that. There's a certain point where we thought, let's keep it under that. : Well, I remember one was how we handled the, and this is actually something I have a question with, with the English Channel, we wanted to make the passport flexible enough to use an external preamp instead of the built in one. And I know that was important to Andrew. And one of the things I find with the English Channel is that when you come out line level XLR and you go into the courtcaster, turning the courtcaster down is not enough. You got to pad the other stages beforehand to get it because you're kind of feeding a mic pre into a mic pre. And I remember that was one of the things where we had to accept that we were going to go through that chip, if I remember right, and we didn't get a pure bypass of. Speaker A: The mic because that was going to raise the parts count and the cost in other ways. And it was such a, the switching, it was something where it was going to add cost to make a very small percentage of users. : It would not have made a difference to most users. Speaker C: But even based on that, I have to say that if you look at the new Neumann interface, how much is that thing? : Like one, $200, right? Speaker C: No, more than that. It will be like over 2000 us. : 18, from what I understand. : 18, yeah. I'm sorry. And it doesn't do as much as the. Speaker C: And also when you're talking about having, bypassing the internal preamp, it doesn't. : Oh, really? Speaker C: It doesn't. Like, nowhere on that new Neumann interface can you bypass a preamp. Speaker A: Fascinating. : I would wonder if that's a subject of pride. We give you the best preamp in the land. Why would you want to bypass that? Speaker B: I would suggest that would be the case, yeah. Speaker A: Well, the irony is that they sell a preamp like they sell a very expensive preamp. Outboard preamp. So you would think that they would have that. : Do you want to know what device that is? It's the reincarnation, it's the perennial. It's like a locust that comes out of the ground every eight years. And the last one that emerged out of the ground was the mini me. Speaker A: The mini me from Apigee. : The apigee mini me. Yeah. Badass preamp. Badass converter. Speaker A: Yeah. And soft clipping. : It had that limiter but really expensive interface that's just going to. I'm expensive. I'm going to be the best kind of thing is what it's trying to be, but it's not flexible. : Mini me is not a convincing name. Speaker A: If that movie hadn't come, I'm sure. : When that movie came true, but really, the mini me, it wants to be the original ad 1000, which I have several of those. And those are great. : Yeah. Speaker A: But they don't use Firewire or USB. Right. : The mini me, I believe, is USB. Speaker A: Are you sure? I don't think so. : I'm pretty sure it runs as USB and a separate pre, but I don't. Speaker A: Think it has any protocol. See, that's the thing. As soon as you add a protocol to the unit, like a USB protocol, a firewall protocol, you're now dating your product. It is now locked in time. It's now going to be obsolete at some point. Speaker C: Correct. Speaker A: Like this happened. Firewire. Actually, Firewire just became officially obsolete with, I think, Ventura, if you have a Firewire device. : So even if you have like a firewired, a thunderbolt adapter, it doesn't matter. Speaker A: They dropped off the protocol. It's gone. Poof. : Well, the lightning jack is about to go the way of the dodo. Speaker A: Yes, that's right. : Really? : Because of Europe. Speaker A: That's a whole other can of worms. Right, Michael? Because I know you spent a long time dealing with the lightning port and the. What is it called? Made for Apple MFA? : Mfi. Mfi. Made for iPhone. Speaker A: Right. Made for iPhone. And wasn't that like a major stumbling block to getting the first mixer face built and designed? : Correct. We started down that path in our hi fi devices because we wanted to make these headphone amplifiers that plugged into the phone because a lot of people started moving their music collection onto the phone and using the phone as the playback device. And then that kind of translated into recording products as well. So Apple decided to keep that walled garden ecosystem all to themselves. And then as a manufacturer, making a peripheral device, a product that would interface with the Apple iPhone, iPad, et cetera. You had to go through a lengthy bureaucratic process to establish yourself as a registered developer, essentially in the MFI ecosystem. And they policed that hard to the point. I mean, it got ridiculous. So the lightning jack actually is quite sophisticated. There's a chip inside and that chip has a serial number, a laser etched serial number inside. So every lightning jack in the world has a unique serial number. Believe it or not, this information is less relevant now. But it used to be relevant before. So what had happened is if there was a cable, a lightning cable, lightning to USB, that was not made per spec, any cable that you made as an MFI manufacturer had to be certified by an Apple approved lab and it had to do all the things that a lightning cable had to do. : It was very annoying when they started. : They enforced it all the time. And then what they ended up doing is there's been a plethora of chinese cables that were not approved. So Apple was able, because they actually had control over the chips inside of the lightning checks, they were able to remotely disable cables. Speaker A: Wow. : And then we still get these calls. It's like, man, I plug this lightning to USB cable into your product and it doesn't pass audio. It's your product. No, it's the cable. That cable just hasn't paid the fee. And by the way, you had to pay the fee to Apple. If you were MFI developer, the manufacturer of that cable either didn't pass the test or didn't pay the fee or whatever and their cable had been remotely disabled, which is bizarre. But that went on for a while and after a while we were know we're too small to be able to deal with this because there were like constant updates. : So then you just have to get your own interface adapter so you couldn't plug straight into the phone anymore. You had to have some stupid dongle so Apple could get their fee. : They got their fee one way or another. But now, thanks to Europe, it's just going to be USBC and the whole lightning adapter is no more. Speaker A: Oh, so let me ask you, this is the MFI certification, whatever you want to call it. Is that now dead because of USBC or is it still in there somewhere? : There is no special communication happening anymore because USBC is supposed to be generic. You had to announce yourself and you had to be in the database and that's how they tracked you essentially. But now there is no communication there. And then, so now it's just like a Windows machine. You plug a peripheral, a USB peripheral into a Windows machine. And if it's a generic peripheral, it pulls up a generic driver and knows what to do, knows how to work with it. With Mac, it's been like that forever. And they've written great drivers, a lot better than Windows. So that any audio interface, you plug it into a Mac, it works right away. Speaker A: Yeah, as long as it's core. What do they call it? Compliant or core audio compliant? : Core audio. Core. Audio compliant, right, exactly. : And then. So it's going to be exactly like that with the iPhone and iPads. Been like that with the iPad for about a year now. So just one less hurdle to jump over, which that's progress. Yes. And that's good, because we had this conversation the other day when you were coaching me on how to make the proper connections here, and I was pulling my hair out, trying to get things working, and I realized that it works in this environment, not in that environment and all that. Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. Honestly, when I was writing that, I went down the rabbit on the developer page of Apple. Right. To understand better how the system works. And there was like seven distinctly different and unique modes of operation. : Because it's trying to make all these decisions for you. It's like, can we interrupt this phone call? Can we interrupt this movie? Speaker A: Right, right. Oh, my gosh, it is so complicated. : It is pretty annoying. Speaker A: It's all complicated on the developer side so that you, the user, don't have to think about it, but they make those decisions for you. And that's what runs us into trouble as pros. I wish, again, because of iPhone 15 Pro and the new chipset, maybe this is going to change. But yeah, I wish we could really control our devices and say, I want to use this as the input. I want to use that as the output. I want to send this over here. : On the Windows side, there is this protocol that's been around for a while called ASIO. ASIO is the one that is direct to device. It was developed that way a long time ago. : It was made by Steinberg. : Yeah. And that would not be interrupted if you're playing a YouTube video or phone call comes in. Your session continues to be solid. Nowadays. : The problem with ASIO is that it can't share very well. : The whole point of it is that you shouldn't share. It should be like point to point, indestructible. You know what I mean? : On the macOS, it's got it with core audio where it shares it just fluidly yet. And the only thing that you have to make sure of which is the same with any situation is you just keep. If I'm sharing it, we have to agree on what sample rate we're going to be at. The device can't be at more than. Speaker A: One sample rate, but there's still weird stuff on the Apple side. Where is the volume up and down button on the keyboard going to change the output level of my device? : Exactly. Speaker A: I don't know. Is the gain, input gain setting on Mac OS going to be effective on the input level? : Or would that be if that device is set as the output in system preferences, then your knob becomes a control if that device is controllable. Not all devices are controllable. And you'll see that some of them, if you select them as the output, the slider becomes grayed out. Speaker A: But who decides that? The manufacturer of the device, the writer of the driver or the Mac audio. : Stack or whatever, that's the device. : In reality, it's everything. It's a little bit of both. So some decisions Apple has to make, some decision manufacturer tries to make, but then Apple could reverse those decisions at their own volition. Anytime you have a competition between a whole bunch of sound sources, like phone movie playing, another movie playing in this other window, and then your audio thing, the system has to decide what's the priority, which of these programs really has to be streamed and which other ones have to be muted, or do you want to just mix everything together? Which is kind of madness, right? Speaker A: Yeah. IPhone does some weird stuff like, I know we're going down a rabbit hole. : It's very useful. It's like the way a Nexus device works. They're like patch cables. And if you send two devices to go out the same patch cable, it just mixes everything together. The Wasopi Windows driver is a little bit more flexible and a little bit more core audio like than mixes. : It mixes everything, and they worked hard on doing that. Here's a problem, because it has to mix so many different streams, again, from these movies and radio stations and everything else that you could be listening to and watching at the same time in the same Windows computer. What they do is they have to align the sample rates from all these different sources. The process of aligning the sample rates results in a delay in latency. So that's completely inapplicable to music recording. Robbie would know about that. And then, so if you're watching a movie and the sound comes in 30 milliseconds later, you don't know it. It doesn't matter if you're recording music and sound comes back 30 milliseconds later, it ruins the take. : So I wonder if the latency in Wasapi is similar to the latency in core audio. Because anything that's native, every audio engineer knows it's more. : It's a lot more. In Wasapi, core audio is just very well tuned. : It's like Wasapi and fast. It's like Wasapi and ASIO combined in a way. : Wasapi generally introduces delay, and it introduces a lot of convenience at the price of the delay, whereas ASIO is as little delay as you can have. So essentially, the delay through the computer is about two milliseconds each way, and then the rest of it is the interface. But it's point to point. There are no decisions to make, so there's no pausing to think whether we should do it this way or that way. That's the beauty of ASIO, and core audio is very much like that. Speaker A: Since we're talking about Windows a little bit, is it too early for you to tell us, Michael, when you connect the passport Vo with its two USB buses or two USB interfaces to a pc, is the best choice for the user, in most cases going to be, what do they call it? Mme or Windows classic wave driver or direct sound. What's going to be the optimal setting? Do you think? : Wasapi usually is the best if you know what you're doing and you're not sending several different streams into your interface? Speaker A: Right, right. And you won't be, because with this design, each USB bus is basically a simple two in, two out. Exactly interface. Right. So the hardware, all that mixing that we try to do with software, and sometimes not very successfully, is being handled in the analog domain or internally inside the unit. : Right. Speaker A: So we don't have to even worry about that anymore. : That was a very smart idea or path. : That's the beauty of it. No drivers? No, yes. Nothing to. That's the goal. : Yeah. You could have two separate applications running at the same time. One could be sharing applications such as source connect. The other one can be a recording application such as DAW, local DAW. Speaker A: And then Adobe audition is a popular choice on Windows. : Those applications could actually meet inside of the device, inside of passport Vo, and not really conflict with each other as they would be if you were trying to mix inside the machine. : This is why we did it, because on Windows, this ability to have two applications use the same device at the same time can cause huge tech support issues. Huge. And one approach is to basically have someone like George help you out and figure it out. Going into drivers and turning them off of exclusive mode and things like that. And then crossing your fingers that it works. Speaker A: No, I have. Mike McConaughey will do that. I won't touch that stuff anymore on Windows. : Or just do it this way and dedicate one interface to one application, the other interface to the other, and then do all your cross patching and your blending and the analog domain with. : That's unique. Nobody else does that, right. Speaker A: And that internally. Michael, just to make that really clear, it's an analog signal path, that's all. It's staying completely analog? : Yes. It's an analog mixer which has two inputs which happen to be digital streams from the computer. Speaker A: But they've been converted from digital to. : Analog to analog and become analog. Mixing in analog introduces zero latency. It's that old technology. We're going back to the british invasion. And it's seamless, essentially. There are no conflicts when you're mixing an analog. Speaker A: Yeah, no sample rates to coordinate. : George? It's a bit like when you use the Bering interface to plug externally back. Speaker A: Into someone else's problem solver. : It's that, but it's all in the box with knobs and switches to control it. Instead of like, you could have your. Speaker A: Doll running at 24, 96, maybe 24 bit 96. And you can have your zoom or source connect running at whatever the heck the client wants, sample rate it needs to be. And they will not step on each other's toes at all. You don't have to worry about that. : Yeah, that's completely transparent in the analog domain. So I think that was a brilliant move. Speaker A: I can't wait. That's such a cool thing. : Hey, listen, I can't wait either. So a small development on that front. I know everybody wants to know status. As mentioned before, we have three separate paths here. And we're about to choose one with regards to the actual USB chip. So I've laid out all of the analog circuitry. It's already done. So all that mixing that we've just talked about, that's all already in the design. Speaker A: Cool. : It's designed and it's waiting to be prototyped. I am pausing and not sending this to prototyping because there's one additional block that needs to be finalized. And that block is the USB portion of the design. Actually, there's two USB portions of the design because, as we just said, there's two USB ports and there's two different computers that you could connect this thing to at the same time. And then it would then blend between the signals from those two computers. So for the USB chip that goes inside of there, the two USB chips, we learned recently, unfortunately, that the chip that we've been using for like twelve years or so is now out of production. And the manufacturer does have a newer version, but it's larger and more expensive. But larger part is more important here because, yes, we do have that small box and it just wouldn't fit. So we started a big search for another chip. We found a manufacturer in Taiwan, which is a smaller manufacturer, and it makes a chip that is smaller also. And that seems to fit the bill. But we wanted to make sure that we kind of wanted to vet them. Speaker A: Yeah, you don't just slap any random chip in there and hope for the. : You know, it's like a couple of guys in an office. Are you going to be around next year? So I have a friend in Taiwan who visited them yesterday and sent me a lengthy email. Anyway, so he visited them. He lives in neighboring cities. It's an hour drive for him, not that big a deal. So he popped over and he had a meeting and he said it was a very pleasant conversation. Taiwan is where they make all of the chips pretty much in the world these days. So they use a couple of foundries. Foundries. A plant that makes chips. And then, so they use two very reputable suppliers for that. And everything is well tested. I was like, do they test these things? How's the reliability? Do they have any large customers? Turns out this company is not well known in America, in the west yet, but they are known in China, and they're shipping significant volume into China. So I think there's the reason to believe that it's going to be a reliable supplier. And so my friend there in Taiwan who actually works for large contract manufacturers, like, yeah, you should go ahead and work with them. Not a problem. I don't see a problem. Speaker A: Milestone moment right here, folks. : Just happened to yesterday, as a matter of fact. So we're like, oh, okay, well, then, thank you. So we're not concerned about their longevity and all that. So there was also a third path, which was there's still a stock available of the old chip that's gone out of production and we can put that in there. But that would just kind of be a step backwards, putting something in the product that you know is not going to be made anymore. : Are there any features on the new chip? Like, it goes up to 384. : It does. : Does your taxes. : It does do your taxes. That would be important. But the 384, I think less so I'm joking, of course, because who needs 384 in real life? Audiophiles love their 384. Except there's no content to play. But you got to buy your DAC. : It's the album of mouse farts. : To each his own. Speaker C: Yeah. Speaker A: One other thing I want to touch on before we wrap it is I also know that you have invested in a rapid prototype, or what would you call it, a prototyping. : You can make your own boards now. : Right? It's a pick and place machine. That's the official name. Speaker A: Pick and place. Got you. : Yeah. Electronic components these days don't go through little holes in the side of the pc board. Instead, they're planar. Yeah. They're just put on the surface. And some of these components are smaller than 1 mm by 1 mm. They're really tiny. Speaker A: Yeah. : And then it used to be ten years ago that they're larger. Maybe three, four, 5 can actually use tweezers and just put them on the board yourself. It'd take forever, but you could do it right. And then you'd put this whole board with all these components that you just very carefully put on the board, and you would put it inside of an oven and heat it up for about ten minutes. There'd be a particular heat profile, and that would solidify all of the solder and then connect all the components together. And after you had a board for prototyping, that was a thing to do. Nowadays, components are so small that even if you have a magnifying glass, if you partied the night before, your hand is not as steady anymore. So therefore, assembling these things. And I'm not saying that people should not party, but it kind of puts a cramping your style anyway. So this automated pick and place machine that we have now does that for you. It's a robot, and it just kind of like, has a tiny little suction cup at the end of a needle. So it just moves over the hand, moves over to where you have your components on a reel. They're in a bobbin. This is reel. And it just picks one up by applying a little bit of suction, kind of sucks it out of the reel and then moves it to an appropriate place on the board and just kind of releases gently. And it can handle things that a human hand cannot handle. So from that standpoint, it's a huge benefit. And it actually does it fast, and it doesn't party the night before, from what I know, it doesn't ask for. : Raises and it doesn't. : Yeah. Speaker A: So I have so many questions. I mean, I'm dying to see one of these working in action. I'm sure I could probably find it on YouTube. But how long does it take to populate a board that would go inside the mixer face or pork? : About ten minutes at this point. Speaker A: Wow. : Whereas if you do it by hand, you're probably, like, at it for a couple of hours. Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. Yeah. : And you're developing cramps. : When does it get to the point where it's like, just by order? When does it get to the point where you can make your board, you can assemble your board, you've got a 3d printer. Because I really like the case for the english channel. A lot of manufacturing is like, okay, we're going to make a product, and then there you have 60,000 of some plastic thing, and then maybe they sell, maybe they don't, and you just have a lot of extra waste and they're done. Here's like making these things as needed, right? : 3D printing. Yeah, we make everything for order, and we've been sheepish about it for a while until we got to the point where we figured out how to make it look good and also make it reliable so it doesn't break. So these 3D printed parts at this point are completely usable. I mean, they're not toys anymore. They're functional pieces of mechanical design. And we love that because we can change colors. You can get the tray, the commander console, we call it, for the english channel. You can get it in lime, lemon, red, blue, white, black, whatever, gray. And this is so easy for us to do otherwise we would have to order thousands of each color and then store them somewhere. And now we just have these reels of filament, which is this just essentially plastic out of which everything's being made, and then we can make them to order. So that's really great. And then as far as how long does it take? Well, the box that we make everything in is still aluminum. So that box, fortunately for us, we make a lot of different products inside that same box. So we can order it by a boatload from the manufacturer because there is a minimum order quantity. But we figured that we will go through the entire order because we will put different products in that same box, and that way we can afford to buy a whole bunch at once. Speaker A: So one more board thing is amazing. So after you've dropped tiny, tiny little components over this little board, so is that the point where it goes into the oven? And how do you keep the little tiny, tiny, tiny pieces from moving around. : You squeeze paste, solder, solder paste, the official name. You squeeze a layer of this gooey. It's just like toothpaste, but it's dark gray. And it has the property that when you heat it up, it solidifies and it becomes metal. But basically you get a stencil, which is this thin metal plate. Steel plate, very thin, less than a millimeter. And then holes for the components are laser cut inside of that steel plate. And then you put that steel plate over the board, line it up correctly, and then you use a squeegee to essentially squeeze that paste over the stencil. And then where the stencil has the holes, the paste drops through the holes onto the pc board and then forms the tiny little squares in appropriate places. Then they're a little sticky, just like toothpaste. And then when a component drops onto these two squares, for example, if component has two pins, right, it kind of gets stuck in the paste and it doesn't move. And then you can handle the board. I mean, you don't want to throw the board because the components will fly off. But if you carefully handle it and carefully move it into the oven, then the components will not move. And then what actually happens in the oven is a beautiful thing due to surface tension. Essentially, the components, once they heat up, they line up because the tiny little solder bolts. So essentially you have liquid metal at that point. If you remember the movie terminator, there was this other terminator guy that was essentially made out of liquid metal, and he could reassemble himself at all points. Remember that? Speaker A: Oh, yeah. : T two. Yeah, that's liquid tension is like when liquid gets together, it just kind of just forms this one thing wants to make a ball. Wants to make a ball. And that is what allows these tiny little components to get soldered to the pads in a very even sort of glowing pattern where all the solder gets utilized and none of it is left around because it all kind of tenses up and kind of sucks into one bowl in each little pad. Speaker A: That's cool, man. Thanks for describing that. That's really neat. : Michael, I actually had one quick question with the faces. Can you cut your own faces right now? : When you say faces, what are you referring to? : Like, all your pieces are made out of the same metal, sort of two pieces of metal. : Oh, I understand. : And right now, they always have the same four outside screw holes to hold them together. But then on the top of it, there's different holes for different knobs. And what I'm asking is, do you need to make seven holes in this one, three slots for a different switch. And you're able to do that all at your place now. I mean, could you theoretically just. : No, we still do it at a supplier, but. Good question. Yes. So the official term for this is platform strategy, is when you can make a lot of different things out of one thing. Another official term, if you want to keep going with the MBA speak. Design for postponement is what we're using here, if you want to be official about it, which means that you can make the decision on what the heck it is that you're building at the very last step. Right. Which also allows 3d printing is the same thing. You postpone the differentiation of the product, and then you can actually choose what you're building the day when you ship that thing. Right. Toyota has pioneered that in the 80s where with the whole just in time strategy and all that, because they were able to reduce the amount of stuff that they held at their warehouses, which were huge anyway. So what happens with these products is, on top of the product is this plastic overlay. It's actually a sticky sticker. Yeah, it's a thick sticker made out of polycarbonate. It's a polycarbonate overlay with an adhesive backing that we very carefully lay in this existing hole. And then that sticker we print. And then, fortunately, we have a supplier who doesn't want us to print thousands of them. They can print 100 at a time. And then those stickers themselves are not that expensive. And therefore we can get 100 stickers of each product and then essentially put the sticker on the product. The day we assemble the product and the day we ship it to the customer, which allows us to be a lot more flexible than a traditional manufacturing plant. : So then if you have the ability to drill your own holes and slots at some point, whatever CNC machine that. : Is, we have that. Speaker B: There you go. Speaker C: You do. : I haven't let you into the warehouse yet. You should come back. : I'd love to. Speaker C: Yeah, he's on his way. Speaker B: He's leaving now. : And on that note, as Andrew would say, yes. Speaker A: Well, that was fun. : Is it over? Speaker C: The pro audio suite with thanks to Tribut and austrian audio recorded using source Connect, edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Robo. Got your own audio issues? Just ask robo.com tech support from George Thetech Wittam. Don't forget to subscribe to the go and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic, or just say, g'day. Drop us a note at our websiteprodiosuite.com.
This week, we deep dive into the English Channel from Centrance. Special guest Michael Goodman chats about how it came about, the many unique setups and creative uses of the English Channel by voice artists and content creators alike. Plus, we explore its features, and with Robbo, Robert and Michael all using one for the show, there's plenty of tips and tools to help you get the most out of this impressive piece of kit, or inspire you to go check one out for yourself.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Summary In this episode of the Pro Audio Suite, our hosts—George Wittam, Robert Marshall, Darren 'Robbo' Robertson, and Andrew Peters—offer an insightful review of Centrance products, particularly focusing on the English Channel. The team is joined by special guest Michael Goodman from Centrance, who sheds light on the technology behind these innovative audio solutions.
Listeners will gain an understanding of the technical nuances of the English Channel, such as its British EQ, clean modern circuitry, and wide frequency response, which altogether emulate the classic analog console experience with a distinct English style. In an in-depth discussion, the panel explores the creative uses of the product, and Goodman explains the motivation behind its unique design, such as the five db gain jump between products which correlates with a price difference.
Moreover, the episode delves into the features of the Portcaster and SoBox, highlighting how these devices can send audio to multiple recorders, and allowing one device to control another for an expanded multichannel setup. The challenges and eccentricities of integrating these tech solutions into a working studio setup are candidly discussed, including some unconventional methods they would normally not recommend to voiceover actors.
To cap it off, the show offers a quick preview of the next episode where Michael Goodman will return to discuss the Passport Vo, making it a must-listen for audio professionals looking to enhance their tech arsenal and push the boundaries of their creative workflow.
#ProAudioSuite #VoiceoverTech #CentranceSolutions
Timestamps (00:00:00) Introduction to Pro Audio Suite
(00:00:52) Centrance's English Channel Review
(00:07:07) Comparison: Jasmine Preamp and Portcaster
(00:09:01) English Channel as a Portable Voice Recorder
(00:13:16) Modern Breakthroughs in EQ Circuitry
(00:15:29) Features of the English Channel Parametric EQ
(00:19:15) Instamano: The Mono Blend Knob for Instagram
(00:25:40) Portcaster's Monitoring and Output Capabilities
(00:28:28) SoBox: Link Switches Explained
Transcript Speaker A: Y'all ready? Be history. Speaker B: Get started. Speaker C: Welcome. : Hi. Speaker C: Hi. : Hello, everyone to the pro audio suite. : These guys are professional. Speaker C: They're motivated with tech. To the Vo stars, George Wittam, founder of source elements Robert Marshall, international audio engineer Darren Robbo Robertson and global voice Andrew Peters. Thanks to Triboo, austrian audio making passion heard source elements George the tech Wittam and Robbo and AP's international demo. To find out more about us, check theproaudiosuite.com line up. Speaker B: Learner. Here we go. : And don't forget the code. Trip a P 200. That will get you $200 off your tribooth. Now, I should say, before we start the show, a disclaimer. What you are about to listen to is what we would not advise voiceover actors to do. That's all I'm going to say. Speaker A: Do as I say, not as I do. : Yeah, exactly. We have a special guest today from Centrance, Michael Goodman. G'day, Michael. Speaker B: Hello, gentlemen. Pleasure to be here. : It's lovely to have you. Now, today's review is about sentrance itself, but also the English Channel. And I know two of the people are using english channels as we speak. And one has done some funky little setup to his laptop. And that, of course. : But Robert, I just kind of like that setup where I use the TRRs cable going into the laptop. I just like it because it's wrong. One of the things, actually, two things that I ran into and, Michael, maybe you can explain to me a little bit. But I found that when I use the English Channel with the xlrs going across the top, when you get into the portcaster, you're hitting the mic preamp with an amplified signal. And you end up having to not use as much gain on the mic preamp over on the soapbox as you want. Because even with the pads turned down. And I think I ended up using the pad in the English Channel as well to try to pad it back down so I could get into the meat of the soapbox in terms of processing, the compressor especially, and the deesser as well. So anyways, what I did is I have the mic going in the xlr going out and over into the english channel. And then I have an XLR cable going out which feeds into the. Whatever, the second ring of a tip ring ring sleeve jack. And that goes into my Mac. And then out of my Mac is the tip ring sleeve. The normal stereo output of that jack. And that goes to a female connector. And I take the output of that. I have an 8th inch to 8th inch or an aux cable. I take the output of that and I plug it into the 34 input of the port caster. And I also take another 8th inch cable, aux cable, and I go line out of the English Channel and into the phone TRRs input of the portcaster as well. And that's how I monitor my own voice. So I have two knobs on the Portcaster. I do not have a USB going into the computer, just a USB going into the power headphones 34 being fed in, which is the computer return and my microphone coming in through the TRRS channel two input. So I have the three four knob for you guys, and I have the channel two knob for my own headphones. And voila. Fully processed microphone with EQ using the built in Macintosh input and output through a TRRS cable. Doesn't sound too bad, does it? Speaker B: Well, first of all, I have to hand it to you. You get the prize for the most creative, innovative use of this technology. And it still sounds good. Speaker A: Can I just say, also the most convoluted. Speaker B: Seriously, I guess it is a statement about the universality of this thing, because I hadn't thought about that use. Normally, what we'd recommend everybody to use is the english channel takes a microphone on the input and gives you a USB output that you plug into your computer. It does have really high quality inlook to digital and digital converters inside. So we believe it's better than the converters inside of a typical computer such as a Mac or PC. And therefore you'll get more audio file sound quality that way. But look, I mean, there's so many Gazintas and Gazawtas in that thing, you can probably slice it many different ways. : Well, here's where I came up with that setup. And I decided to do this setup because I wanted to use the soapbox and the full processing, and I wanted to do something different as well. But where I first came up with that setup, and I think it works really well, is with the Jasmine mic pre, because then it's the same thing. You have the XLR feeding out and then you have the computer just return back to the line input and the Jasmine mic pre itself. The headphone already blends your headphones, your input, your mic input with the headphones. So you don't need the second Aux cable that I'm using here. But it's certainly a great way to literally use the Jasmine mic pre with a computer. If you just want to get the Jasmine mic pre. Speaker B: That's actually true. And to be honest with you, we have received feedback about the Jasmine mic pre. One thing that it sorely lacks, apparently according to some users, is a USB audio interface. People are like, why don't you just put a USB jack that actually does audio on that thing, not just power. So then the Jasmine preamp basically turns into a micport Pro with a line level input and a mixer so that you can bring some music into your program or just listen to a backing track and sing along with it or play along with it, something like that. It really just becomes a mic port Pro at that point. With a slightly better preamp? : I don't think so. It becomes like a focus, right? Blue ISA one where it has a Q mix input or a return channel so you can monitor in low latency what comes out of your daw. Speaker B: If it had a USB audio interface, then it would be exactly like those things. : No, the focusrite ISA desktop is not an audio interface. It has no USB. But it's a preamp with two return channels so you can monitor low latency out of your daw. There's not a ton of mic preamps that do it, but the Jasmine does it too, and it's a super useful feature even without the USB interface. Speaker B: In developing the English Channel, we had to face a couple of decision points, because originally it was actually four devices. It was the Jasmine preamp followed by the dynamics box, followed by the EQ, the black cab, and followed by the audio interface, which is the podcaster. But four devices that just looked like a lot in front of you just looked way too complex. So a couple of voiceover actors heard about that and they're like, can you please put the preamp inside of the soapbox? So that's what we did, and thereby we made jasmine preamp pretty much obsolete in our product line. It's a foster child. Sad to say. : I liked it. So the preamp is the same in the jasmine as the soapbox? Speaker B: Yes. : Can I ask what's the preamp in the passport? Speaker B: The preamp is the same all across, so we call it the jasmine preamp. It's a custom designed discrete transistor preamp with a dual stage. : But the courtcaster doesn't have a Jasper. Speaker B: Cordcaster is portcaster with a very small modification. It's basically the same as Portcaster. : So it is a Jasmine preamp in that one as well? Speaker B: Yes, everywhere is the same preamp. : So basically all your preamps are the jasmine. Speaker B: What differs between products is the amount of gain available. So jasmine preamp, if you need the possible theoretical lowest noise, somehow it's different somehow. : Even though it's a jasmine preamp. It's a better jasmine preamp. Speaker B: Yeah. So we monkey with the gain inside the unit. : Wow. Because the Micport Pro that's got, I think it's 65 db gain. Speaker B: Is that 65? And then soapbox has 70 and the Jasmine preamp standalone has 74. 75. : Wow. Speaker B: There's like a five db jump and then there's a corresponding price difference. : I haven't got one, but I know that generously you're going to send one for a review. The Micport Pro, and I know it's been around for a long time, but this is the latest version of it that you've got, which has been around for how long now, the New York. Speaker B: One, the latest Micport Pro has been around since. I want to say that 2018, the. : First Micport Pro was what, 2008? Speaker B: 2009. Eight. You're right. Eight. : I still miss my original. : Well, someone's got it now. They're enjoying it. Speaker A: Hello. : And probably got your laptop as well. : He's got both the laptops. He got a bag full of stuff. Speaker A: Might not be a he. Come on, let's not get sexist here. : Yeah. : Someone who identifies as a thief. Speaker B: Yes, exactly. : I identify as a thief. Speaker A: Yes, indeed. : Now, Michael, with the english channel, who were you looking at when you were designing this? What was your market? Speaker B: The mirror? Speaker A: Before you answer that, I actually want to take you one step back inside your twisted mind. Speaker B: I appreciate that. Speaker A: Where did you come up with the idea for this? Speaker B: So the name of the product, the English Channel. : I'm curious about the name. Speaker B: The name, obviously, is it uses British Egyu and everything else from a channel stripper on a british console, analog console. And therefore it's called the English Channel. So it's a channel from a british console. Now, you can argue that british consoles have been responsible for one of the most prolific periods in the history of the music industry, where in the 70s, early eighty s, a lot of really cool music was produced. I'm not saying that today music is bad, not at all. All music matters, obviously, but I just happen to like a lot of music that was made in the late 70s anyway, so that's the name. And it's sort of kind of a nod to that era. A lot of our customers who buy the English Channel are from that era. They have experience with analog technology, and to them that feels good. Now, how did the product come about? There's really two ways to think about it. First of all, we couldn't get any digital chips during the COVID and so we couldn't build the Micport Pro and podcaster mixerface, all those other things. And I was sitting on a very short lounge chair at a hotel in Mexico, last vacation before COVID And I was kind of anticipating that they were going to hit some trouble. And then I said to myself, we should design some analog products because digital does not look good in the nearest future. And so that's how the analog channel came about. More of a business necessity than anything else. But then as it started to appear to materialize, I was practicing with it. And about that time, I started really recording YouTube videos for the sentrance YouTube channel on a weekly basis. It's a job. And because I traveled a lot, I ended up taking the english channel with me wherever I went. Like, for example, two weeks ago, I was in Indonesia at a trade show, and I had the English Channel, and I did some streams from the trade show floor, which sounded just like what we sound like right now. And I could get rid of the noise in the trade show floor was loud and all that. So I started realizing that this is actually a very cool product for a traveling content creator, because, again, as I said, I was looking at the mirror jokingly, but I happen to be a traveling content creator because I have this job of making videos for our YouTube channel and then podcasts, things like that. I did have a podcaster before, and podcaster obviously came out first, and that's great for doing podcasts, interviews. I know George uses it for that as well, but it doesn't have way to enhance your voice and then also get rid of the noise. Everybody who's starting out in the voice arts at first has to come against this fear of hearing their own voice, because we never know how our voice sounds like when it's recorded right until we have a lot of practice. And then, so I also had a fear of listening to my own voice. And I thought, I probably want a little bit more bass, maybe a little bit less treble here in this area. I kind of sound more confident if I do some of the enhancements. And then, so what this thing allows me to do is honestly develop confidence in public speaking, believe it or not, which is kind of like not the intended use of the product, but it gives me that ability to feel better about myself, which is an unintended psychological consequence of a technological product. : I have a question about the Eq. Is there anything, particularly on the technical side, that makes it a British Eq? I know that sometimes I found that the bandwidths can be pretty wide, and therefore, in that sense, sort of makes it a little bit more english in style, just the wider. I mean, they do get pretty. If I crank mine up here and I put it all the way on the left for the queue, you can kind of hear it. And it's pretty tight, but it doesn't sound like I'm sweeping a sine wave. And on the wide side, it's so wide, you can barely hear me sweeping that at all. Speaker B: It is pretty wide. I mean, it's almost like a surgical instrument. If you put it to 0.4 and is just a shelf almost. At the other extreme, the frequency response of that thing is quite wide. I don't have the spec sheet in front of me, but I wouldn't be surprised if it goes up to almost 100 khz. So it's very wide. It uses modern circuitry. I mean, this is not the circuitry from the course. There's been a lot of breakthroughs in analog technology since then, so that's why it's quiet and it allows us to do some tricks. It doesn't have transformers. So some of the Rupert neve technology color. Yeah, he loved his transformers. And they gave you that bass. They gave you that strange kind of phasing sound. I mean, a lot of people prefer that. And there are manufacturers of audio interfaces. There's one right here in Chicago that loves transformers as well. And those guys, we've had a shootout, and it was very interesting because I brought some of our gear to their studio, and then they had some of their interfaces, and we had an interface shootout. And the results of the shootout were inconclusive in that they loved theirs and I loved mine. : Did they want to do a black lion edition of the sentence? Speaker A: Yeah, of course. Speaker B: No, they hated our stuff because we didn't have transformers in it. And I was like, you guys, this doesn't sound natural. What goes in is not what goes out. And they're like, yeah, that's exactly the point. So different styles. : So talking about that, though, if you're talking about late 70s, early 80s when you were designing the English Channel, what sort of preamps were you thinking about? It sounds like you weren't thinking about Neve. You were thinking about maybe API. Speaker B: We wouldn't necessarily want know, copy somebody else's design, so that wouldn't be prudent for a lot of reasons, one of which just personal pride. We wanted to have our stuff. So you could argue that the whole concept of the british invasion and the british consul and all that is largely a psychological construct than any particular style of circuitry. Design. : It's not an homage to any. Like, this isn't a V 72 club. Speaker B: I wouldn't want to do that. There's so many people that say, oh, we make a microphone and it's the best U 87 this side of U 87, whatever. And that is a great marketing strategy for some people, but we decided not to do that. Like, okay, this is the Neve 1998, right? But in a different chassis. No, not at all. This is a sentence product that it is completely from ground up sentence. And then any marketing reference to Great Britain is an homage rather than any specific lift of any circuitry. : I don't think I can think of any smaller three band, fully parametric EQ on the market at all than this. Speaker A: No. Speaker B: You can find these graphic eqs and pedals a lot. : It's smaller than a 500 series module. It's like half the size. Speaker B: Exactly. I didn't have one either. : But find a three band parametric that's this small and it's XLR that's fully balanced. Speaker B: You should try it on some instruments. It's pretty cool. You should also try. So, box on a snare. I was blown away. Speaker A: Really? : Compressor is really good. Speaker B: Yeah, it's pretty nice. I have a video up on our website where I actually go through a history of the sound of the snare drum by turning the compressor knob on the soapbox. So without compression, it's essentially the 60s. With medium compression, it becomes the gated snare starts to come in, and then if you compress all the way. If you turn the knob all the way to the right, then it becomes the. Becomes the gated compressed snare. With the additional. Speaker A: I was going to say, you'd have to be winding the gate up as well. Right in the will. : Say, if I can make a request for the soapbox too, that the gate is an expander, that'd be my only request. Speaker B: So it doesn't pump as much or you can make it not pump as much. : So it slides down to its. Whatever range -60 or minus, even infinity. But it never just goes there, it always has a slope. It opens more gradually and closes more gradually. Because I don't know if I can do it. But you can kind of even sometimes you can hear someone breathe in, you can hear it take their breath and like, chop. Speaker B: It's pretty drastic. It's just basically on off. And it was designed to be that way. And it took a while to get the timing just right so that it covers the majority of applications. Obviously, we didn't have the space for a couple more knobs seems pretty quick. That was the point. So if you really use the gate, then it becomes pumpy. So it can be like that. : Yeah, well, I found a good way around that is to use the blend. Speaker B: The dry wet control. That's pretty much your answer. : Yeah, it effectively changes the amount. So it always leaves a little bit. And it doesn't sound quite as, like, cut. : It's like the range control. I like that. That mix of the dry wet will give you. Speaker B: That is a poor man's expander, if you wish. Speaker A: No, it's a sentence expander. : Yeah, that's what it is. Speaker B: The trick is old. The trick is not our invention. : So tell us about the instant mono. I think that's another one that it's kind of a unique thing that you don't find that behavior on all interfaces. Speaker B: The insta in Instant Instamano actually stands for Instagram. And we put that in portcaster. And what we've learned is that Instagram, originally, they may have changed that now, but originally it was mono. So therefore, if you connect a stereo usb audio interface to Instagram to do a live stream, then the left channel will go through and everybody will hear whatever's on the left channel, but the right channel will essentially be lost. So a musician who, let's say, is a guitar player and a singer at the same time. So a singer songwriter, they would plug the guitar into one channel and the voice, the vocal microphone into the other channel, and then only one of those things would come through. And that was extremely frustrating. We had an earlier product called Mixerface, where there was no blend, no stereo blend. It just two channels come in, two channels go out. : I've got a mixer, right? Speaker B: The older one didn't have that blend knob. Now, since COVID and since that whole idea of streaming from home came about, we learned that this is not good. And then that Instamano is essentially a mono switch for mono blend knob for Instagram, which essentially unifies or combines your microphone and your guitar that you plug into channels one and two and then sends that to Instagram. And then your fans hear both things. That's really what it's for. Now, why is it a blend knob and not a switch? Because I had a hole I needed to plug with a potentiometer, and it kind of felt good. : How does it work exactly? All the way left. Right goes all the way to left is all the way left. Speaker B: Yes. So when you turn it counterclockwise, which is to the left, you are printing. Mono printing. When I say printing, I mean, is sending a mono signal into Instagram. So, in your usb stream. : But what's it doing electrically? Is it bringing the right side fully over to the left side? Is that what it is? Speaker B: It's creating a monomix. So it takes 50% of the left and 50% of the right. It combines them together and creates a mono mix. And then it sends that mono mix to the left channel and that same exact mono mix to the right channel. That's the proper way of doing it. : So what happens if you have it 50 50, like straight up at 12:00 now what's. Speaker B: So then it's in between mono and stereo. And I am still trying to figure out a good use case for that. : Well, it's like faking headphones for stereo. If you want a little left right bleed. Speaker B: Yeah. : At the 12:00 position, it basically takes. Left is 100% left plus 50% right, and right is 100% right plus 50% left. Is that what's happening? Speaker B: It becomes 50 of, let's say 50 of each? Yeah. So it's slightly less than stereo. So now I have to correct myself. I said that I'm struggling to come up with a use case. I'm not. Because we make two microphones that you can plug into podcaster. These are tiny little mics that are housed inside the XLR shells. And then they are angled so that when you plug them into channels one and two over the podcaster, you form a xy stereo pair. And then at that point, portcaster becomes a stereo field recorder with two mics. And then you can record concert, a band, whatever, or sounds of nature, animals. We have people recording all kinds of things. Creeks, mountain creeks. And then. So there, what you can do is you can record in, like, full stereo. But sometimes if you're way too close to the source, the full stereo might actually sound uncomfortable. So in that case, you might want to reduce the width of the stereo perspective slightly. And that's where the mono stereo blend ability to kind of grow gradually between the two comes into play. Because I've stuck this actually big sewer in California about a year ago, and I recorded the sound of the mountain creek because I thought it would be cool. And I stuck the portcaster on a rock right next to gurgling water. Right. And I realized that the two microphones recorded completely different sounds from water hitting the rocks. And it actually sound like way too much stereo. So I had to blend it down a little bit, and then it was a little bit more listenable. That makes sense. : I can't think of one product that has that. George, can you think of any other product that has that? : It's one of those majorly missing features of almost every other standard stereo interface. Like if you look at a scarlet two I two, people try using a scarlet two I two all the time to do things like this. And then they get frustrated when one person's voice is in the left and the other one's in the right. And that's not what they need. What they needed was a mixer, but they're using interface and they just don't conceptually understand what the difference is. : That is a unique feature. That pan move someone to the left or right is a very unique feature to these sentence interfaces. And you don't see the input pan on any device. What you do see is the ganged stereo monitor pan on almost all devices. So two places where sentrance has been unique. The Instamano knob. I can't think of any interface that does that unless it has a full mixer. The other thing that's unique is technically the original mixer face is the only interface I know of that has a separate left right usb versus input play. : It's unique too. Absolutely. Speaker B: Yeah. And then that use case it was useful for, and it was designed for, is when you have a guitar in one end, your voice in the other end, and you might want to listen to a little bit of a background track. And that gives you a blend between the guitar and the voice in the headphones. It essentially affects the headphones. Right. So you can keep your levels where you want them with the two level knobs, but you can adjust your headphone mix with those two other knobs, but. : You could affect the blend. You could blend in more of your input than your output. But when you played back, your mix was different because it wasn't really. Yes. Speaker B: This was for monitoring only. : Totally. So what then is interesting also is the original mixer face. And I'm not sure if this one has, but the original mixer face at least also uniquely had a mono switch for the output. So you could at least hear the two centered. You weren't recording them centered, but it has a mono switch. And is that in the portcaster or does that switch go away? Speaker B: It's still everywhere. And I have to say it confuses a lot of people, including famous youtubers. We won't name names, but essentially this thing was designed to be so flexible, it's useful. We possibly overloaded it for an average user. So I have customers who are tweaks and they love it. Because they can use in so many different ways. But for example, the mono stereo monitor switch allows you to print in stereo, but listen in mono. Right. Whereas the mono stereo blend knob, you're listening to whatever you're recording. So if you're blending with the mono stereo knob, you're actually printing mono, which is an important distinction. : And again, I can't think of any interfaces to do this. Most interfaces don't give you these types of choices. They're just features you can't find on a focus. Right. Or something like that. Speaker B: That's more for videography, things like that. So there's also a third. There's a line output on the podcaster. And then that allows you to record to essentially three places. So you can use the podcaster to send your audio to three separate recorders, one being the internal SD card recorder, one being the USB whatever it is that you're recording to or streaming live to. Right. And then the third one, the line out goes out to the camera. So that's for video applications. And then you can record audio onto the camera as well. : Can I give you a total feature for that? Speaker B: Go. : Okay, so you're recording stereo audio onto the internal card of the Portcaster? Speaker B: In this case, yes. : And then you had the line output stereo technically going into the camera. Right. So put a timecode generator in this thing, record three channels of Timecode onto the Portcaster and then drop one channel of Timecode. Speaker B: It's been brought up so far we've dealt with people who do shorter things and they just jam sync it. Where? I don't know what the current thinking, current wisdom is, but about 20 minutes of content recorded, it doesn't yet drift yet far enough. : But it's a lot of work still. It's still a lot of work to go find it. Like timecode just lines it up for you. You don't have to go. Speaker B: Yeah. After about an hour, it starts becoming a problem. But so far, I don't think we've dealt with anybody who's using these for very long periods of time. It's a voiceover artist who's recording for 30 seconds or if it's a youtuber. Then again, it's not a long thing. Speaker A: On the soapbox, Michael, on the bottom of the soapbox, and I think I've figured this out, there are three link switches for each of the processing, for the gate, for the compressor, and for the Deesser. Can you tell us what they do? Speaker B: We wanted SoBox to be extendable to multichannel situations. So, for example, for stereo or for multichannel recording. What you can do is you can actually line up several of these soapboxes and you can have one of them control the others in a linked situation. So in a stereo program, that's important because you don't want the two channel, the left and right channel to pump differently. You want them to sort of be in sync. And what those switches do is they allow you to choose. There are two jacks there called smart link. One is the link in and the other one is link out. So you can actually control one soapbox with another soapbox, and one became the master and the other one became the non master. : But that's not like the slave of a compressor that's just controlling the same knob. It's setting the two knobs at the same position. Speaker A: Right. : There's still two parallel monocompressors. Speaker B: No, if you switch the switch to the remote, then the knob becomes useless on that unit that is in the remote mode. Essentially, it will only listen to what the other unit tells it to do. : Right. And what is the other unit telling it? Is it telling it where to set exactly so they. Speaker B: Because it's a control signal, it's like. : Working on a VCA kind of thing. Speaker B: You can have one soapbox control another soapbox. : Is the VCA controlling the gain reduction or is it controlling the position of that knob? Speaker B: The position of the knob controls the VCA unless you flip the switch, put it in remote, and then a remote signal controls the VCA. And the knob essentially sits there doing nothing. You can rotate the knob on the slave unit and it would not do anything because the slave unit would be listening to the signal from the master unit. Speaker A: Okay, so how are we linking those together? : Is that the USB connection, the little 8th inch connectors. Speaker B: Trrs. We're having an arc here. TRrs comes back. : Is it trrs or just trs? Speaker B: Trrs. : Are you using the whole TRRs cable for the VCA? Speaker B: Yes, because there's three things that we can control. Gate, compressor, and Deesser. Speaker A: There you go. : All three are on one link. You don't need three links. One wire, one wire gets you linked. Speaker A: That's the smart link. : That's cool. Speaker A: Yeah, right. : So much innovation in these things. It's great, man. : Wow. Speaker A: There you go. Very cool. : That's part one of our chat with Michael Goodman from centrance, talking about the English Channel. Next episode, we have Michael back to talk about the Passport Vo, the collaboration between this podcast and centrance. Catch you next time. : Well, that was fun. Speaker C: Is it over the pro audio suite with thanks to Triboof and austrian audio recorded using source Connect, edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Robbo. Got your own audio issues? Just ask robo.com tech support from George the tech don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic, or just say g'day. Drop us a note at our websiteprodiosuite.com.
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We went off on such a tangent this week I figured what better way to come up with a description than to let AI do it, so after feeding it the transcript this is what it came up with..
In this episode of the Pro Audio Suite, the hosts dive into a wide-ranging discussion covering the impact of AI on voiceover work, the intricacies of voice licensing in the digital age, and the challenges of maintaining digital identity and content integrity. From concerns about AI-generated voices and the protection of voice actors' rights to the potential theft of intellectual property and the evolving landscape of digital transactions, the hosts explore the multifaceted aspects of the audio industry and beyond. As the conversation takes unexpected turns, they touch on topics like the future of cash, online security, and the unique dynamics of holiday seasons in different parts of the world. Buckle up for a lively and insightful conversation that meanders through various aspects of the modern audio landscape and its broader implications.
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Transcript Speaker A: Y'all ready be history, get started welcome.,Speaker B: Hi. Hi.,Speaker C: Y'all ready be history, get started welcome.,Speaker B: Hi. Hi. Hello, everyone to the pro audio suite.,: These guys are professional. They're motivated with tech. To the Vo stars, George Wittam, founder of Source elements Robert Marshall, international audio engineer Darren Robbo Robertson and global voice Andrew Peters. Thanks to Triboo, austrian audio making passion heard source elements George the tech wisdom and Robo and AP's international demo. To find out more about us, check Thepro audiosuite.,Speaker B: Com line up learner. Here we go.,Speaker C: And of course, don't forget the code. Trip a p two hundred and that will get you two hundred dollars off your tribooth. Now, we're going to talk microphones today because there's one thing I don't think we've ever discussed, or not in depth anyway. Is RF on a shotgun mic? Now I'm assuming rf is radio frequency, but for anybody like me, what does it actually really mean? And should it be something that we consider when we're buying a shotgun mic?,Speaker A: You mean the fact that the microphone uses what they call an RF technology? Is that what you're referring? Sure. I'm sure Robert would know more about the details without me having to google it. I read about RF microphones for a few times and I think one of the side effects of a mic being RF technology, which by the way, has nothing to do with transmitting a radio signal, right. It's the ability for the microphone to reject noise. I don't know if I've ever heard of a four hundred and sixteen, for example, which is using this RF technology as having an issue. Picking up radio frequency noise. If anybody else has heard of that, if you've had a mic, a four hundred and sixteen picking up RFI, let me know. But one of the advantages of that technology is it's very highly immune to humidity.,Speaker C: Yeah, that's what I heard.,Speaker A: And why that exactly is, is definitely beyond my pay grade.,Speaker C: Isn't it something to do with the way inside the microphone? Each part talks to itself, like talks to each other. It uses like a radio frequency inside the microphone to communicate with itself. That's my vague recollection of what it actually is.,Speaker A: That is certainly plausible. I just wish I was more understanding of the technology.,: So we're talking about it rejecting radio frequencies, is that what you're saying? Like a shielded cable would reject?,Speaker C: Yeah, I think that's what it does. And if anyone's listening, we should do what everybody else does on their YouTube things. Leave us a comment in the comments section.,Speaker A: Can I do story time and read it to you?,Speaker C: Yes, do story time. Oh, I'm sitting comfortably, George.,: But read it in your best bedtime story voice, George.,Speaker A: Okay, yeah, well it would have to be in a german accent.,Speaker C: I'm not going to do that.,Speaker A: A bedtime german accent?,: No, that's scary.,Speaker C: That's really scary actually.,Speaker A: But there is a whole white paper from Senheiser and it's written by Manfred Hibbing and it's Sennheiser's professor. MkH condenser microphone sorry everybody, I'm sorry, but basically what it says is that high rf frequency solves a problem. So when the replacement of electronic valves by transistors commenced at the end of the fifty s, this change was also under consideration for condenser microphones. Reduced size, low supply voltages and lower power consumption were regarded as great benefits as well as being able to use simpler microphone cables. However, there was a basic problem. Direct replacement of the valve by a transistor was not possible due to the mismatch between the high impedance of the condenser capsule and the low input impedance of the transistor. Hence, for optimal matching, the capsule impedance needed to be drastically reduced. And then they go on to explain the impedance of capsules, et cetera, et cetera. So down to the next paragraph. How does RF microphone technology actually work? The principle is simple. After all that.,Speaker C: Yeah, sure it is.,Speaker A: Sound waves deflect the diaphragm of the condenser capsule and change the capacitance between the diaphragm and the nearby back electrode, or backplate. Contrary to the more common low frequency AF condenser method, the capacitance variations are not converted directly into audio signals, but modulate a high frequency radio frequency signal generated by an oscillator inside the microphone. This signal is then immediately demodulated inside the microphone, thus recreating the audio signal, but with a very low source impedance that is well suited for driving a transistor amplifier. Thusly, an RF condenser microphone is basically comprised of a transmitter and a receiver that are directly wired together. The RF signal is therefore kept inside the microphone only the audio signal is supplied to its output just like all other microphones. So yeah, what you were saying was pretty much usual for me.,Speaker C: What happened?,Speaker A: He picked it up through osmosis somewhere along the way.,Speaker C: That's right.,: Can I just say, Robert would make that a lot.,Speaker C: Yes.,Speaker A: Yeah, sure. The thing with humidity, and here's a little paragraph about this, there is no other important benefit of the RF principle for practical use, the low electrical impedance of the capsule provides outstanding immunity against detrimental effects due to humidity, because even then, the leak resistance is very much larger than the capsule impedance. Thus, Mkh microphones, which I understand, all of those, all Mkh mics are RF mics. They're well suited for outdoor use. So this is why mkh mics, no matter whether they are the mkh four one five, forty one six, and I'm paraphrasing here, or any of the mkh stuff like the mkh forty. There's the eight thousand series, right? They have the eighty third. Eighty, twenty, eighty, thirty, eighty, forty, fifty, eighty, sixty. They have a whole new line. All of them are using this technology. And the reason for why it still persists to this day is it's excellent outside and thereby it's also excellent in a sweaty, hot, muggy voiceover booth.,Speaker C: If it's four x three x six. Yes, indeed.,Speaker A: Especially if it's four x three x six. Absolutely.,: Yeah.,Speaker C: Talk about that outdoors, though, because this was something else where I got stuck in the rabbit hole that I mentioned before we started recording. Then there was a discussion about using shotgun mics inside. Now, this is basically for drama and stuff like that. So a boom op using a mic where they wouldn't use a shotgun inside, they would use a pencil. Small diaphragm, pencil condenser.,Speaker A: Yeah.,Speaker C: Now, if that's the case, if you're a field audio guy, why would you not use a pencil condenser as a voiceover person inside?,Speaker A: I don't know. I did have a pair, and I still do have a pair of pencil condensers, the classic octava mics that are so popular. And I used to use them to try to do field recordings. And I didn't know that much about mics at the time. And I would get the dreaded, we sometimes call it motorboating. It was like this.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: Fluttering sound. And I didn't know why it was happening. I just knew it would happen. And it would always happen if I was outdoors and sometimes I was like, in a really humid environment and it would get really bad. And I was like, oh, no, the mic's bad. And then I'd bring the mic home and I'd pull it out of the box later and would be perfectly fine.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: So because with af microphones or audio frequency condensers, because they store a charge on a high impedance capsule, it's easy for that charge to find a way and leak across the insulation by riding on water molecules which cause those motorboat or crackling effects. So I don't know. I mean, I think it's just another added benefit of an RF mic is that you're just never going to have that problem. But Neumann, large diaphragm condenser mics where you have two diaphragms extremely close to each other, even if it's a cardioid, there's still two. There's the diaphragm in the front that takes the sound wave and then there's one on the back that picks up the signal, creating the changes in capacitance, blah, blah, blah. And those are so close together that water molecules actually transmit the electricity.,: Yeah.,Speaker C: It's amazing.,Speaker A: And create the static.,: Yeah.,Speaker C: Do you know anybody who does use any pencil Mic for doing voiceover in their. I do.,Speaker A: I know people that use the eighty series or the eight thousand series, but those are MKh mics. So I believe all the eight thousand series Mkh mics are also rf.,Speaker C: Is that the eighty fifty?,Speaker A: Is that like the eighty fifty? The eighty twenty, eighty thirty are tiny little stubby capsules. I mean, they're mini because I guess they have the most condensed electronics and boy, are they expensive.,: Yes.,Speaker A: This is a stereo set. So I'm looking at two thousand eight hundred for a stereo set.,Speaker C: Don't look at the chefs then.,Speaker A: Yeah, I know. Chef takes to another level, right?,Speaker C: Yes.,Speaker A: But yeah, the MKH forty is going to be about one thousand four hundred us. So if somebody's comparing mics and they look at this minuscule, laughably small mic and then they think, why would I ever use that over a four hundred and sixteen? Well, that's because it doesn't have the negative effects of a shotgun microphone.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: Doesn't have any of the negatives. It doesn't have the negatives in terms of off axis phase problems.,: Yes.,Speaker A: You get a way more accurate pattern as you go off axis. Right. So that's one reason it's certainly very nice to work with, because it's so small.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: So it's never going to get in the way. But they're going to be extremely pop sensitive. Right. Because the capsule is right there at the grille. It's right in the front. Like any pencil mic. They work great on voice, but they pop like a mofo. Yeah, they pop really bad. So you have to have good mic technique and maybe a good pop screen. But they are quite an upgrade. Some really have found them to be quite an upgrade. Like an eighty forty from a forty one six.,Speaker C: Yeah.,Speaker A: I would go with the eighty fifty because that's a super cardioid. That would be my choice if I was going this direction.,Speaker C: Yeah, it's interesting. It's funny with shotguns and we were talking about this also before we jumped on because the road kit I set my daughter up with for her travels, I gave her the NTG three and we were just doing some testing a few hours ago just to make sure.,Speaker A: That is an RF mic too.,Speaker C: I believe it is an RF mic, but also it's quite bottom end.,Speaker A: It's eqed very differently. It is a very different tone from.,Speaker C: The forty one six, which I think for location is perfect because the further you get away from the source, the sound source, the thinner the audio gets. But if they've got that sort of hype bottom end, it actually keeps some of that in there in the sound, which is great for that kind of work. But it also sounds really good on a female voice. I mean, she sounds great on that ntG three. But when I put it up in front of me, I had one for a while, mud central. It just didn't work.,Speaker A: Muddy?,Speaker C: Oh yeah, it wasn't good.,Speaker A: You lose articulation. It doesn't have a crisp attack. It's very, yeah. There's another mic that's really popular because of its price point and that's the Cinco d two. Have you heard of that one?,Speaker C: No.,Speaker A: Very cheap shotgun mic. And of course it looks a lot like a forty one six. Of course, same color, same shape, same size, same everything. So of course it gets sold all over the Amazons and stuff as a cheap forty one six. But it sounds nothing at all like a forty one six. Nothing at all. Yeah, it's a very flat mic. Very flat, very dull. So when somebody sends me that sample, I know immediately I'm going to have to help the top end. And when I do that, up comes the noise. And that's the other problem with small diaphragm mics. Making a small diaphragm pencil or shotgun mic sound as low noise as a large diaphragm mic is no small feat. No, it's very difficult to do. So. That's another problem. You're never going to get a small capsule mic to be as quiet from a self noise perspective as you will a large diaphragm mic, even a cheaper diaphragm. Well, let's look at the rode nt one four or so db self noise. You're never ever going to find a small diaphragm mic with that kind of a measurement.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: What's funny is I'm reading the specs right now from the Senheiser mkh. Eighty fifty. They don't even quote the self noise.,Speaker C: Interesting.,Speaker A: Which to me is a way of saying it ain't so great, but it doesn't matter. This is a location mic. You're going to use it outside so it doesn't need to be that quiet.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: But still, it's a one thousand four hundred dollars mic and they don't quote the spec. So I find that kind of fascinating.,Speaker C: Yeah, but if you're buying a shotgun, and I know we've banged on about this before, but I still reckon the best value, the best bang for buck in any shotgun mic is the NTG five from road.,Speaker A: Yeah, it sounds once they got over there they had some growing pains with that. They did. We definitely had a few people with some issues and it seems that that has been sorted because I haven't heard of any of those kind of complaints of noise or whatever for well over a year now. It's been more than a year or two.,: I was a victim of one of those. The first one they sent me I had problems with, but sent it back and got a brand new one and haven't had any problems with it since. Full credit to road all.,Speaker A: I never ever had a problem replacing a mic.,: Yeah, and full credit to road. All I sent back was the actual mic and I got a whole new, whole new kit when they sent me back the new one. Typical of road.,Speaker A: Really.,Speaker C: So you got a nice little shock mount for your forty one sixes?,: Yeah, I've now got two of their shock mounts, which is kind of nice.,Speaker A: Well those are cool, man. If you were to go buy those pistol grip shock mounts with the rycoat style Lyre mount and everything, those are going to be one hundred dollars plus easily.,Speaker C: Easily.,Speaker A: And then the windscreen and everything else. I mean it's like one hundred and fifty dollars kit plus the mic.,: Yeah.,: And I do like it. It's standard fare in my room here. That or the austrian audio one or.,Speaker C: The other of the two. Yeah.,Speaker A: Mine pretty much lives permanently in my kit for going on the road and traveling. I have a pelican hard case and the ten TG five lives in there. It's just always there, ready to go.,: Yeah. Well, you know what I need to figure out now, thinking about that is cutting the foam in the road kit for my english channel so that the NTG five fits in there and then I've got it all in one case that's what I need to figure out.,Speaker A: Oh yeah. It seemed that there was enough space in there to squeeze in a shotgun mic.,: Absolutely. Just pick up the bag and away you go.,Speaker A: That'd be a sick kit, wouldn't it? Oh, man.,Speaker C: Fantastic.,Speaker A: I did actually dig around and I went on the recording hacks website, which is a great database of microphones recordinghacks. Com. And while it's missing mics here and there for sure, it does have pretty much all the Neumans and Sennheisers and the bigger brands and stuff. And I found the eighty fifty and they actually do list a self noise rating of thirteen DBA weighted. So the Sennheiser four hundred and sixteen is like sixteen, I believe. Okay, so they managed to shave three db of the self noise.,Speaker C: I think the NTG three is about the same. About twelve or thirteen from memory.,Speaker A: Yeah. That's good. I mean, it's going to be hard to find a lower value than that. I haven't seen. I mean, maybe Sheps has something quieter. Possibly. I haven't looked, but. S-C-H-O-E-P-P-S. Is that how you spell.,: Am I thinking of the engineer or the. Is it double P?,Speaker A: Well, yeah, it's confusing because you have the mic called sheps.,: Yes.,Speaker A: And you have the engineer, and I.,: Can'T remember whether it's double P for the engineer or double P for the mic. One of them has two.,Speaker A: I guess I kez guessed it right. It's S-C-H-O-E-P-S. So the CMC five, which is one of the quintessential chefs shotgun mics, is. It's got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen. Different capsule options.,: Wow.,Speaker C: Bloody hell.,: Wow.,Speaker A: They have this huge array of capsules that thread onto the body depending on what you're doing. So let's look at a cardioid. Let's look at a super cardioid, the mk forty one. It does not list a noise spec.,: Right?,Speaker A: There's no noise spec listed anywhere. There.,Speaker C: Kind of old school, isn't. It's like the old cmv microphones from Neumann back in the. Would have been thirty s. Forty s where you got the bottle. And instead of having a switch to go from cardioid figure eight to omni or whatever, you unscrewed the capsule and put new capsule on the top.,Speaker A: Yeah. Right. Yeah. Well, actually my mkhs. Sorry, my octavus. Same deal. I have three capsules per mic, but that whole kit with two mics and all the capsules costs less than one of these capsules.,Speaker C: Yes.,Speaker A: You start realizing the difference in cost is pretty stark. I mean, they said the capsules are anywhere from eight hundred dollars to one thousand four hundred dollars for one capsule.,: Yeah.,Speaker C: I do like the idea of the ships. The shotgun, that's blue. I mean if you had that in the booth and as soon as you see that color, you go, oh, okay, somebody's serious.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: Have you ever seen their v four u model? It has a blue bottle and then the grille has this very cool deco style grille. It's very cool looking. Look it up sometime for you. And it's a neat looking mic and it has a quirky thing. It's that the capsule has a slightly hinged head so you can tilt the capsule forward and back a little bit. Like ten degrees, twenty degrees.,Speaker C: Oh God, that looks good.,Speaker A: But it's a cool looking mic.,Speaker C: That is very tasty. Yeah, don't Google Robbie, you'll get blow your machine up.,: Well, I'm doing it on my iPad, but it's saying there's some problem with the website and I can't get on there. So I don't know what's going on.,Speaker A: V four U is three thousand dollars retail. And then it has a pretty flat response curve. I mean it has a small presence rise at four k, which is typical, but it's only like two or to three db rise. So it's pretty flat.,Speaker C: That is insane.,Speaker A: I remember trying it at one of the nams or whatever and being like, wow, that's a cool sounding mic.,Speaker C: It looks really neat, very tasty.,Speaker A: Oh, that's how much it costs.,Speaker C: Okay. Yeah, I might get one in the next lifetime. Yeah, I was in Tokyo and I saw a dunhill store and I went in there and they had these linen bucket hats and caps and stuff. I thought, wow, they're really cool. And I was looking at the price and tried on the bucket hat and it's like, yeah, I'll get that. So I said, yeah, I'll take this one. I said, actually, I might even get the cap as well. And the guy's looking at me going, no, you don't need the cap as well. Just take this hat. That's all you need. I'm like really doing yourself out of a sale here.,: Okay, whatever.,Speaker C: So I bought the thing and I'm walking back to the hotel and then I'm doing the calculation in my head and thinking I just got a bargain of thirty five dollars. I sort of went, hang on a minute. I got the digital point in the wrong spot.,Speaker A: I just paid three off of zero.,Speaker C: Three hundred and fifty bucks for a bucket hat?,: Yeah, right.,Speaker C: Dear, oh dear, oh dear. Anyway, yeah, well, that was fun.,Speaker B: Is it over?,: The pro audio suite with thanks to tribut and austrian audio recorded using source Connect, edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Robo. Got your own audio issues? Just askrobo. Com tech support from George the tech don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic, or just say g'day. Drop us a note at our websiteproudiosuite. Com.
RF noise rejection is a pretty complicated thing. We try to make sense of it...
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Summary In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, professional audio experts George Wittam, Robert Marshall, Darren Robertson, and Andrew Peters explore the concept of RF technology in microphones and its benefits like noise rejection and immunity to humidity. They consider whether RF technology should factor into buying decisions when it comes to shotgun mics. The team also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different types of mics including small diaphragm and pencil condenser mics. They share their top pick for the best value shotgun mic—the NTG 5 from Road—and discuss the impressive feats of engineering that go into manufacturing low noise mics. Lastly, they discuss the stark cost differences between mic capsules and complete kits before considering the features of the V4U model.
#ProAudioSuite #ShotgunMicTechnology #RFMicrophone Timestamps (00:00:00) Introduction (00:00:44) RF Microphone Technology (00:07:04) Shotgun Mics for VO (00:12:42) Small vs Large Mic Models (00:17:55) Mic Capsules & Their Uses Transcript Speaker A: Y'all ready be history, get started welcome.,Speaker B: Hi. Hi.,Speaker C: Y'all ready be history, get started welcome.,Speaker B: Hi. Hi. Hello, everyone to the pro audio suite.,: These guys are professional. They're motivated with tech. To the Vo stars, George Wittam, founder of Source elements Robert Marshall, international audio engineer Darren Robbo Robertson and global voice Andrew Peters. Thanks to Triboo, austrian audio making passion heard source elements George the tech wisdom and Robo and AP's international demo. To find out more about us, check Thepro audiosuite.,Speaker B: Com line up learner. Here we go.,Speaker C: And of course, don't forget the code. Trip a p two hundred and that will get you two hundred dollars off your tribooth. Now, we're going to talk microphones today because there's one thing I don't think we've ever discussed, or not in depth anyway. Is RF on a shotgun mic? Now I'm assuming rf is radio frequency, but for anybody like me, what does it actually really mean? And should it be something that we consider when we're buying a shotgun mic?,Speaker A: You mean the fact that the microphone uses what they call an RF technology? Is that what you're referring? Sure. I'm sure Robert would know more about the details without me having to google it. I read about RF microphones for a few times and I think one of the side effects of a mic being RF technology, which by the way, has nothing to do with transmitting a radio signal, right. It's the ability for the microphone to reject noise. I don't know if I've ever heard of a four hundred and sixteen, for example, which is using this RF technology as having an issue. Picking up radio frequency noise. If anybody else has heard of that, if you've had a mic, a four hundred and sixteen picking up RFI, let me know. But one of the advantages of that technology is it's very highly immune to humidity.,Speaker C: Yeah, that's what I heard.,Speaker A: And why that exactly is, is definitely beyond my pay grade.,Speaker C: Isn't it something to do with the way inside the microphone? Each part talks to itself, like talks to each other. It uses like a radio frequency inside the microphone to communicate with itself. That's my vague recollection of what it actually is.,Speaker A: That is certainly plausible. I just wish I was more understanding of the technology.,: So we're talking about it rejecting radio frequencies, is that what you're saying? Like a shielded cable would reject?,Speaker C: Yeah, I think that's what it does. And if anyone's listening, we should do what everybody else does on their YouTube things. Leave us a comment in the comments section.,Speaker A: Can I do story time and read it to you?,Speaker C: Yes, do story time. Oh, I'm sitting comfortably, George.,: But read it in your best bedtime story voice, George.,Speaker A: Okay, yeah, well it would have to be in a german accent.,Speaker C: I'm not going to do that.,Speaker A: A bedtime german accent?,: No, that's scary.,Speaker C: That's really scary actually.,Speaker A: But there is a whole white paper from Senheiser and it's written by Manfred Hibbing and it's Sennheiser's professor. MkH condenser microphone sorry everybody, I'm sorry, but basically what it says is that high rf frequency solves a problem. So when the replacement of electronic valves by transistors commenced at the end of the fifty s, this change was also under consideration for condenser microphones. Reduced size, low supply voltages and lower power consumption were regarded as great benefits as well as being able to use simpler microphone cables. However, there was a basic problem. Direct replacement of the valve by a transistor was not possible due to the mismatch between the high impedance of the condenser capsule and the low input impedance of the transistor. Hence, for optimal matching, the capsule impedance needed to be drastically reduced. And then they go on to explain the impedance of capsules, et cetera, et cetera. So down to the next paragraph. How does RF microphone technology actually work? The principle is simple. After all that.,Speaker C: Yeah, sure it is.,Speaker A: Sound waves deflect the diaphragm of the condenser capsule and change the capacitance between the diaphragm and the nearby back electrode, or backplate. Contrary to the more common low frequency AF condenser method, the capacitance variations are not converted directly into audio signals, but modulate a high frequency radio frequency signal generated by an oscillator inside the microphone. This signal is then immediately demodulated inside the microphone, thus recreating the audio signal, but with a very low source impedance that is well suited for driving a transistor amplifier. Thusly, an RF condenser microphone is basically comprised of a transmitter and a receiver that are directly wired together. The RF signal is therefore kept inside the microphone only the audio signal is supplied to its output just like all other microphones. So yeah, what you were saying was pretty much usual for me.,Speaker C: What happened?,Speaker A: He picked it up through osmosis somewhere along the way.,Speaker C: That's right.,: Can I just say, Robert would make that a lot.,Speaker C: Yes.,Speaker A: Yeah, sure. The thing with humidity, and here's a little paragraph about this, there is no other important benefit of the RF principle for practical use, the low electrical impedance of the capsule provides outstanding immunity against detrimental effects due to humidity, because even then, the leak resistance is very much larger than the capsule impedance. Thus, Mkh microphones, which I understand, all of those, all Mkh mics are RF mics. They're well suited for outdoor use. So this is why mkh mics, no matter whether they are the mkh four one five, forty one six, and I'm paraphrasing here, or any of the mkh stuff like the mkh forty. There's the eight thousand series, right? They have the eighty third. Eighty, twenty, eighty, thirty, eighty, forty, fifty, eighty, sixty. They have a whole new line. All of them are using this technology. And the reason for why it still persists to this day is it's excellent outside and thereby it's also excellent in a sweaty, hot, muggy voiceover booth.,Speaker C: If it's four x three x six. Yes, indeed.,Speaker A: Especially if it's four x three x six. Absolutely.,: Yeah.,Speaker C: Talk about that outdoors, though, because this was something else where I got stuck in the rabbit hole that I mentioned before we started recording. Then there was a discussion about using shotgun mics inside. Now, this is basically for drama and stuff like that. So a boom op using a mic where they wouldn't use a shotgun inside, they would use a pencil. Small diaphragm, pencil condenser.,Speaker A: Yeah.,Speaker C: Now, if that's the case, if you're a field audio guy, why would you not use a pencil condenser as a voiceover person inside?,Speaker A: I don't know. I did have a pair, and I still do have a pair of pencil condensers, the classic octava mics that are so popular. And I used to use them to try to do field recordings. And I didn't know that much about mics at the time. And I would get the dreaded, we sometimes call it motorboating. It was like this.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: Fluttering sound. And I didn't know why it was happening. I just knew it would happen. And it would always happen if I was outdoors and sometimes I was like, in a really humid environment and it would get really bad. And I was like, oh, no, the mic's bad. And then I'd bring the mic home and I'd pull it out of the box later and would be perfectly fine.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: So because with af microphones or audio frequency condensers, because they store a charge on a high impedance capsule, it's easy for that charge to find a way and leak across the insulation by riding on water molecules which cause those motorboat or crackling effects. So I don't know. I mean, I think it's just another added benefit of an RF mic is that you're just never going to have that problem. But Neumann, large diaphragm condenser mics where you have two diaphragms extremely close to each other, even if it's a cardioid, there's still two. There's the diaphragm in the front that takes the sound wave and then there's one on the back that picks up the signal, creating the changes in capacitance, blah, blah, blah. And those are so close together that water molecules actually transmit the electricity.,: Yeah.,Speaker C: It's amazing.,Speaker A: And create the static.,: Yeah.,Speaker C: Do you know anybody who does use any pencil Mic for doing voiceover in their. I do.,Speaker A: I know people that use the eighty series or the eight thousand series, but those are MKh mics. So I believe all the eight thousand series Mkh mics are also rf.,Speaker C: Is that the eighty fifty?,Speaker A: Is that like the eighty fifty? The eighty twenty, eighty thirty are tiny little stubby capsules. I mean, they're mini because I guess they have the most condensed electronics and boy, are they expensive.,: Yes.,Speaker A: This is a stereo set. So I'm looking at two thousand eight hundred for a stereo set.,Speaker C: Don't look at the chefs then.,Speaker A: Yeah, I know. Chef takes to another level, right?,Speaker C: Yes.,Speaker A: But yeah, the MKH forty is going to be about one thousand four hundred us. So if somebody's comparing mics and they look at this minuscule, laughably small mic and then they think, why would I ever use that over a four hundred and sixteen? Well, that's because it doesn't have the negative effects of a shotgun microphone.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: Doesn't have any of the negatives. It doesn't have the negatives in terms of off axis phase problems.,: Yes.,Speaker A: You get a way more accurate pattern as you go off axis. Right. So that's one reason it's certainly very nice to work with, because it's so small.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: So it's never going to get in the way. But they're going to be extremely pop sensitive. Right. Because the capsule is right there at the grille. It's right in the front. Like any pencil mic. They work great on voice, but they pop like a mofo. Yeah, they pop really bad. So you have to have good mic technique and maybe a good pop screen. But they are quite an upgrade. Some really have found them to be quite an upgrade. Like an eighty forty from a forty one six.,Speaker C: Yeah.,Speaker A: I would go with the eighty fifty because that's a super cardioid. That would be my choice if I was going this direction.,Speaker C: Yeah, it's interesting. It's funny with shotguns and we were talking about this also before we jumped on because the road kit I set my daughter up with for her travels, I gave her the NTG three and we were just doing some testing a few hours ago just to make sure.,Speaker A: That is an RF mic too.,Speaker C: I believe it is an RF mic, but also it's quite bottom end.,Speaker A: It's eqed very differently. It is a very different tone from.,Speaker C: The forty one six, which I think for location is perfect because the further you get away from the source, the sound source, the thinner the audio gets. But if they've got that sort of hype bottom end, it actually keeps some of that in there in the sound, which is great for that kind of work. But it also sounds really good on a female voice. I mean, she sounds great on that ntG three. But when I put it up in front of me, I had one for a while, mud central. It just didn't work.,Speaker A: Muddy?,Speaker C: Oh yeah, it wasn't good.,Speaker A: You lose articulation. It doesn't have a crisp attack. It's very, yeah. There's another mic that's really popular because of its price point and that's the Cinco d two. Have you heard of that one?,Speaker C: No.,Speaker A: Very cheap shotgun mic. And of course it looks a lot like a forty one six. Of course, same color, same shape, same size, same everything. So of course it gets sold all over the Amazons and stuff as a cheap forty one six. But it sounds nothing at all like a forty one six. Nothing at all. Yeah, it's a very flat mic. Very flat, very dull. So when somebody sends me that sample, I know immediately I'm going to have to help the top end. And when I do that, up comes the noise. And that's the other problem with small diaphragm mics. Making a small diaphragm pencil or shotgun mic sound as low noise as a large diaphragm mic is no small feat. No, it's very difficult to do. So. That's another problem. You're never going to get a small capsule mic to be as quiet from a self noise perspective as you will a large diaphragm mic, even a cheaper diaphragm. Well, let's look at the rode nt one four or so db self noise. You're never ever going to find a small diaphragm mic with that kind of a measurement.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: What's funny is I'm reading the specs right now from the Senheiser mkh. Eighty fifty. They don't even quote the self noise.,Speaker C: Interesting.,Speaker A: Which to me is a way of saying it ain't so great, but it doesn't matter. This is a location mic. You're going to use it outside so it doesn't need to be that quiet.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: But still, it's a one thousand four hundred dollars mic and they don't quote the spec. So I find that kind of fascinating.,Speaker C: Yeah, but if you're buying a shotgun, and I know we've banged on about this before, but I still reckon the best value, the best bang for buck in any shotgun mic is the NTG five from road.,Speaker A: Yeah, it sounds once they got over there they had some growing pains with that. They did. We definitely had a few people with some issues and it seems that that has been sorted because I haven't heard of any of those kind of complaints of noise or whatever for well over a year now. It's been more than a year or two.,: I was a victim of one of those. The first one they sent me I had problems with, but sent it back and got a brand new one and haven't had any problems with it since. Full credit to road all.,Speaker A: I never ever had a problem replacing a mic.,: Yeah, and full credit to road. All I sent back was the actual mic and I got a whole new, whole new kit when they sent me back the new one. Typical of road.,Speaker A: Really.,Speaker C: So you got a nice little shock mount for your forty one sixes?,: Yeah, I've now got two of their shock mounts, which is kind of nice.,Speaker A: Well those are cool, man. If you were to go buy those pistol grip shock mounts with the rycoat style Lyre mount and everything, those are going to be one hundred dollars plus easily.,Speaker C: Easily.,Speaker A: And then the windscreen and everything else. I mean it's like one hundred and fifty dollars kit plus the mic.,: Yeah.,: And I do like it. It's standard fare in my room here. That or the austrian audio one or.,Speaker C: The other of the two. Yeah.,Speaker A: Mine pretty much lives permanently in my kit for going on the road and traveling. I have a pelican hard case and the ten TG five lives in there. It's just always there, ready to go.,: Yeah. Well, you know what I need to figure out now, thinking about that is cutting the foam in the road kit for my english channel so that the NTG five fits in there and then I've got it all in one case that's what I need to figure out.,Speaker A: Oh yeah. It seemed that there was enough space in there to squeeze in a shotgun mic.,: Absolutely. Just pick up the bag and away you go.,Speaker A: That'd be a sick kit, wouldn't it? Oh, man.,Speaker C: Fantastic.,Speaker A: I did actually dig around and I went on the recording hacks website, which is a great database of microphones recordinghacks. Com. And while it's missing mics here and there for sure, it does have pretty much all the Neumans and Sennheisers and the bigger brands and stuff. And I found the eighty fifty and they actually do list a self noise rating of thirteen DBA weighted. So the Sennheiser four hundred and sixteen is like sixteen, I believe. Okay, so they managed to shave three db of the self noise.,Speaker C: I think the NTG three is about the same. About twelve or thirteen from memory.,Speaker A: Yeah. That's good. I mean, it's going to be hard to find a lower value than that. I haven't seen. I mean, maybe Sheps has something quieter. Possibly. I haven't looked, but. S-C-H-O-E-P-P-S. Is that how you spell.,: Am I thinking of the engineer or the. Is it double P?,Speaker A: Well, yeah, it's confusing because you have the mic called sheps.,: Yes.,Speaker A: And you have the engineer, and I.,: Can'T remember whether it's double P for the engineer or double P for the mic. One of them has two.,Speaker A: I guess I kez guessed it right. It's S-C-H-O-E-P-S. So the CMC five, which is one of the quintessential chefs shotgun mics, is. It's got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen. Different capsule options.,: Wow.,Speaker C: Bloody hell.,: Wow.,Speaker A: They have this huge array of capsules that thread onto the body depending on what you're doing. So let's look at a cardioid. Let's look at a super cardioid, the mk forty one. It does not list a noise spec.,: Right?,Speaker A: There's no noise spec listed anywhere. There.,Speaker C: Kind of old school, isn't. It's like the old cmv microphones from Neumann back in the. Would have been thirty s. Forty s where you got the bottle. And instead of having a switch to go from cardioid figure eight to omni or whatever, you unscrewed the capsule and put new capsule on the top.,Speaker A: Yeah. Right. Yeah. Well, actually my mkhs. Sorry, my octavus. Same deal. I have three capsules per mic, but that whole kit with two mics and all the capsules costs less than one of these capsules.,Speaker C: Yes.,Speaker A: You start realizing the difference in cost is pretty stark. I mean, they said the capsules are anywhere from eight hundred dollars to one thousand four hundred dollars for one capsule.,: Yeah.,Speaker C: I do like the idea of the ships. The shotgun, that's blue. I mean if you had that in the booth and as soon as you see that color, you go, oh, okay, somebody's serious.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: Have you ever seen their v four u model? It has a blue bottle and then the grille has this very cool deco style grille. It's very cool looking. Look it up sometime for you. And it's a neat looking mic and it has a quirky thing. It's that the capsule has a slightly hinged head so you can tilt the capsule forward and back a little bit. Like ten degrees, twenty degrees.,Speaker C: Oh God, that looks good.,Speaker A: But it's a cool looking mic.,Speaker C: That is very tasty. Yeah, don't Google Robbie, you'll get blow your machine up.,: Well, I'm doing it on my iPad, but it's saying there's some problem with the website and I can't get on there. So I don't know what's going on.,Speaker A: V four U is three thousand dollars retail. And then it has a pretty flat response curve. I mean it has a small presence rise at four k, which is typical, but it's only like two or to three db rise. So it's pretty flat.,Speaker C: That is insane.,Speaker A: I remember trying it at one of the nams or whatever and being like, wow, that's a cool sounding mic.,Speaker C: It looks really neat, very tasty.,Speaker A: Oh, that's how much it costs.,Speaker C: Okay. Yeah, I might get one in the next lifetime. Yeah, I was in Tokyo and I saw a dunhill store and I went in there and they had these linen bucket hats and caps and stuff. I thought, wow, they're really cool. And I was looking at the price and tried on the bucket hat and it's like, yeah, I'll get that. So I said, yeah, I'll take this one. I said, actually, I might even get the cap as well. And the guy's looking at me going, no, you don't need the cap as well. Just take this hat. That's all you need. I'm like really doing yourself out of a sale here.,: Okay, whatever.,Speaker C: So I bought the thing and I'm walking back to the hotel and then I'm doing the calculation in my head and thinking I just got a bargain of thirty five dollars. I sort of went, hang on a minute. I got the digital point in the wrong spot.,Speaker A: I just paid three off of zero.,Speaker C: Three hundred and fifty bucks for a bucket hat?,: Yeah, right.,Speaker C: Dear, oh dear, oh dear. Anyway, yeah, well, that was fun.,Speaker B: Is it over?,: The pro audio suite with thanks to tribut and austrian audio recorded using source Connect, edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Robo. Got your own audio issues? Just askrobo. Com tech support from George the tech don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic, or just say g'day. Drop us a note at our websiteproudiosuite. Com.
The English Channel is a set of three, premium-quality Signal Processing Devices, designed to help you sound your best, anywhere. Quickly shape your vocal sound making it ready for live streaming or recording. The English Channel includes SoapBox, a Studio Mic Pre, Gate, Compressor and De-Esser, and BlackCab™, a Parametric EQ with Sonic Enhancer. Rounding out the channel strip is PortCaster R4S, a Streaming USB-C Audio Interface with an SD Card Recorder. These tools use proven technology found in British recording consoles, hence the name. A full complement of vintage, tone-shaping goodness, The English Channel features sweet, warm-sounding "old-school analog processing". This means immediate adjustments and instant monitoring over headphones. No menus, no wasted time. Reach for the control and make the adjustment without taking your eyes off the action. Robbo has been sent one from the guys at Centrance and opens the box with George and AP..
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Summary In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, hosts George Wittam, Robert Marshall, Darren Robbo Robertson, and Andrew Peters unbox the English Channel, an audio studio in a box. This piece of technology is described as having three sections: a preamp, a filter, and an inbuilt compressor, which work together to produce a unique mix. Additionally, discussions highlight the Portcaster Vo Vo, a tool favored by content creators for its ability to switch from mono to stereo. The final product, Passport VO, an item with an inbuilt card recorder that can record and playback without clipping, is introduced and admired for its sturdy metal casing and ease of use for those with a basic understanding of audio. The hosts conclude with news of limited availability for the first batch of the technology and the upcoming guest appearance from Michael at Sentrance.
#ProAudioUnboxing #EnglishChannelAudioStudio #PodcastTechTalks Timestamps (00:00:00) Show Introduction (00:00:46) Audio Studio in a Box (00:05:27) Unit Power and USB Input (00:10:12) Portcaster XLM 103 Analysis (00:16:00) Passport VO Microphone Switch (00:23:47) Michael's Experience with Sentrance (00:28:47) Difficulty Quoting Dates (00:31:35) Conclusion & Final Thoughts Transcript Speaker A: And here we are again with another show. And we have another unboxing, something very special. And Robo's a very lucky boy.,Speaker B: Welcome.,Speaker C: Hi. Hi. Hello, everyone to the pro audio suite.,Speaker B: These guys are professional and motivated with tech. To the VO stars, George Wittam, founder of Source Element Robert Marshall, international audio engineer Darren Robbo Robertson and global voice Andrew Peters. Thanks to Triboo, Austrian audio making passion heard source elements George the Tech Wittam and Robbo and AP's international demo. To find out more about us, check ThePro Audiosuite.com.,: What you got, Robo?,Speaker C: I've got a little black box of magic.,: What did you get that I didn't get way down under before you'd ship it across the country. What the heck?,Speaker C: Very early Christmas present. And it's very cool. Can you see the black box? It's like a flight recorder. That was my first impression. It was like, whoa, what's this?,: It's very cool. Nice little kit. So what's this thing called?,Speaker C: And it's rock solid. It's called the English Channel. It's an audio studio in a box, effectively. So if we crack it open, there's this piece of magic inside. And I'm guessing that we can all.,: See that there's three separate units, is what I'm seeing.,Speaker C: Yeah. So there's three of Sentrance's units. All. Well, they're not linked together at the moment because you need to do that with these XLRs and USB connectors at the bottom. But it's very simple. Gotcha. Which we'll talk through in a minute. Effectively, you've got your pre and effects. So in the soapbox is your gain and your high pass, low pass filter, all that sort of stuff. There's a gate.,: So the soapbox is the preamp.,Speaker C: The soapbox is your preamp. So your mic goes into here and then it joins it. Daisy chains across the top to the others. But in the soapbox. Yeah, there's your high and your lowest pass filters, your 48 and your pad. And then you've got your gain, obviously, and a dry, wet mix for your effects, which we'll get to in a sec, including the gate, which is here, and a Deesser. And also the option to check to select the frequency the DS is working on, which I think is the bit of magic. You've also got an inbuilt compressor, which obviously is using a preset knee and ratio and all that sort of stuff. But from testing it out with AP the other week when it turned up, it's actually, not too bad. Used in moderation, and also when used in conjunction with the mix knob. So wet is full on wet. For those who are not sure what a mix knob is, full on wet is everything working at its capacity. But then when you use the mix knob and you start bringing it back towards dry, that processed effect is being mixed with the original signal coming in from the microphone.,: Interesting, because that is not a knob that most people are going to have in their signal chain. Like you have a single rack piece of gear. Let's say it's a channel strip. I'm thinking of a DBX 286. I know he's thinking of that piece of gear a lot when he developed a soapbox. The signal goes left to right, it goes preamp, then it goes through each thing in that sequence, and then it comes out the other end and it's all wet. You can't blend it. Here you have a blend, which gives you an interesting level of creativity in terms of controlling all that.,Speaker C: That's right. So even if you find that you've got to wind up the compression a bit more to get whatever the desired effect is you're looking for, you can still manage that, micromanage that by sort of then playing with your mix to get it just right, which is kind of clever. So I'm really impressed with that. I thought that.,: So that first box of soapbox has a preamp.,Speaker C: Yeah, has your preamp.,: It has a high pass filter.,Speaker C: High pass and low pass.,: Actually, no, just high pass.,Speaker C: Just a high pass. And then something called High Z. Oh.,: High Z would be for a guitar. Yeah, because it's got a high Z combo.,Speaker C: That's right. Well, that's the other thing, actually. Yeah. You can use this as a DI, but we'll get to that, I guess.,: And then it's got 2 meters. Is one an input meter and one an output meter? Yeah.,Speaker C: So one's an input meter and one's an out. But it's also showing you. Well. Yeah, so you can see your compression working, basically. You can sort of see what's coming in and what's going out when you're dialing in your compressor, which is kind of nice.,: Got it. And what are the three little lights across the top? Looks like? There's three LEDs.,Speaker C: So that's just showing you when your gate's working, when your gates kicking in and out. Then your compressor. Your compressor and your DS are working.,: XLR mail output. Is that right? Is there a dial on the back?,Speaker C: There's a switch there. There's your on off switch? I'm back here. Yes. So that's just your brightness of those lights back there that you can see.,: Okay.,Speaker C: So you can sort of make those a bit brighter or a bit duller.,: Oh that's cool.,Speaker C: Yeah, very cool. So then using the XLRs we then daisy chain from the soapbox into the black cab, which is his EQ.,: Does it come with cute little XLR?,Speaker C: It does actually. In fact we should have gone through that first in here. He's thought of everything. Can I just say, he's really switched on with this. You've got your little short XLRs in here which is very cool. So if we were putting this together we would be sort of daisy chaining from there to there like that, which is kind of cool. And then from there to the port caster. So you've got two of those all packed away and in nice little padded pouches too. Can I just say? And then in the other one, which is also very nice, we have the USBC connectors because the power also daisy chains. So the power comes into the soapbox and then using these USBs you can daisy chain to each of the other boxes. And he also gives you two USB C's for the power in and also one to go back to your computer interface, whatever it is you're using as well.,: Okay, so each one of these units needs power and they each have a USB input for power. But you don't need to have three power supplies then.,Speaker C: No. So you just use the shorter USBCs that he's provided like those XLRs and just daisy chain through each one. He's also given the long ones as well. But the nice thing that I think is really clever is if you haven't got USBC. He's also included the adapters for normal USB which is sort of nice.,: Nice.,Speaker C: So he's thought of everything.,: Not everybody does that product where I actually opened up a sound devices mix pre three for a client a couple of weeks ago. It's not a cheap unit, 600 $700 unit and there was no adapter and I was dead in the water until I went and got the right.,Speaker C: And isn't that the frustrating part? You get this cool piece of equipment like this land on your desk and you're like oh shit, I got to wait till I can get to it.,: Cost here so little for a manufacturer to throw those adapters, give you that extra thing and it's nice. I'm really glad he thinks of that.,Speaker C: Yeah, I was really impressed. Into the black cab is the next little box and you've got high mids and lows.,: Three band sweep.,Speaker C: Three bands, sweethearts, sweepable. They actually sound quite nice. And then again, up the top, you've got your high pass air, which is, I would presume, extra high. And you've got a pad and you've got a bypass as well. So if you don't want to put your EQ in there, listen up, voiceover artists, you can bypass that.,: Is there a hard bypass?,Speaker C: Yeah, that's his switch. Switch, yeah, it's a switch. And that's the other thing that he included in here, which I have to say, these switches are all sort of recessed into the top. But he includes one of those little metal things he used. The SIM card tool. Yeah, he includes one of those. So you can get in there and you don't have to use your pen or whatever else you can get in there with that and switch them on and off as well, Michael.,: So if you do want to bypass it on the fly, it's not something where it's just a button. You do have to kind of. You got to use the little pick to.,Speaker C: You do switch that? Yeah, you do. Or a toothpick or a pen or whatever, a paperclip, whatever you can get your hands on.,: Yeah.,Speaker C: So that's kind of nice. I think the only thing that I missed on here was a low shelf and a high shelf for me. These are all your sort of curves as opposed to an actual shelf.,: They're all bells.,Speaker C: Yeah, but again, bell shaped. That's right. Yeah, I said curve. But you get my point. Exactly. But I guess realistically, if you were doing a voice, you probably wouldn't be using the EQ section anyway. Well, I hope you wouldn't be.,Speaker A: Well, the other thing is, I don't think it's not targeted for someone like me. That's overkill and stuff on there. I would never use.,Speaker C: Yeah, true.,: Where I would see it being useful if somebody had it would be for making a small correction. So if you don't have quite the right mic, there's a lot of people that have a Neumann TLM 103 that shouldn't have one. And that mic is very upper. It's got a big upper shelf on it. I mean, it has quite a bit of a sibilance peak. And there's a lot of women who are being told to use that mic for some reason, or their friends have one and they go buy that mic and it's just really sibilant. So to be able to go in there and then smooth out that shelf with an EQ and just leave it, set it and forget it would be pretty sweet. That's where I could see the EQ coming into play. Or if you're in a small booth and the low end is not quite well controlled, you haven't done a good job of eqing the room or you did your best and it's still boomy. Having a little way to sculpt the low end would be helpful.,Speaker C: I told you George would know.,: Yeah.,Speaker C: Yes.,: So the soapbox.,Speaker C: The black cab middle one. Yep, the black cab.,: The black cab. And then it goes into the.,Speaker C: Really, for the content creators out there, this is the really sexy and useful part of this thing, is you obviously have your mic that you've plugged in down onto the soapbox. You have that come in here and that's been through your processing chain, but in sort of shades of the passport Vo. You can also plug in your phone to here.,: I happen to have a Portcaster pro, by the way, and I love it.,Speaker C: Yeah.,: When I do it is awesome because of that phone patch functionality, the onboard recording, I mean, I'm using it for me. I'm using it as a field recorder for DOing field reporting, doing video interviews where I want to capture the audio in super high quality. I also used it in the video we did a while ago where we were at the. Actually, I don't think we did it for our show, but I did some videos recently that I posted@Vocalbooth.com, where I was inside the vocal booth. And in the video, if you happen to see it, you'll see me holding something in my hand. And that's the Portcaster. Yeah.,Speaker C: Right. Yeah, I saw it.,: To get a super high quality recording right off of the microphones we were using in the. Yeah, that's.,Speaker C: And when we see the rest of it, the question would be, why wouldn't you? Because you also got another mic input that can come into there. You've got a mono stereo blend. Now, I didn't play with this, George, because. So maybe you can give me a bit more. You could be a bit clearer about my understanding, and maybe I've got it wrong. But if you have two mics, does the mono stereo split them? Is that what I'm doing? If it's in mono, I'm hearing them both in both ears. But if I wind up the stereo, is it putting one in one ear and one in the other? Is that what I'm doing?,: Yeah, it's an interesting design choice. I mean that Michael did it. Because when it's in mono, it's just a mono mix of left and right. Everything comes down the middle. As you turn towards stereo, it now starts to separate them into a stereo channel.,Speaker C: So it's like a pan.,: And that's kind of unusual. Usually you either have mono or you have stereo. And here you have a knob. So you have anywhere from Mono to stereo.,Speaker C: Does that affect what's going out? Does that affect my output from here? Or is it only what I'm listening to?,: So that affects what goes to the line output. So if you're plugging it into a phone or a camera, and I believe it also affects what goes to the USB output that goes to the computer.,Speaker C: Because if you were doing a line.,: I think it affects all three, the recording, the line out and the USB.,Speaker C: Because if you were doing a live broadcast or something with this thing, that would make sense. Because me being me, I like to pan our show so that everybody's got their own little space. If you were doing a live broadcast, you could do that with here as well, I guess.,: Yeah. Or if you just want to have full separation of your two mic channels. Full left pan. Right, full left and right pan. You just turn that all the way to the right. And now your mic two is on channel two.,Speaker C: There you go. And you've got your separation. If you want to do it in post later on or whatever. Yeah, very nice.,: And I like that because the really basic interfaces, like the Scarlets and SSL Two s and the like, there is no option. Channel one is track one left. Channel two is track two right, period. So now you get a mixer where you can actually blend them and set them the way you want.,Speaker C: Yeah, very cool.,Speaker A: That's nice.,Speaker C: That's good. Your auxiliaries, there's two of. So you've got your mix of those down here. And then obviously volume, which is your monitoring. And what I missed up the top, which is also kind of nice, is you've got a limiter on both the XLR inputs, actually. I also think you can also put that limiter across your phone, by the looks of it, as well.,: Yeah, you know what? That's a darn good question. I don't know if the limiter circuit includes the phone patch function or if it's only for the preamp. I never saw the diagram and I haven't tested it. I have used all those functions, but I didn't notice whether the.,Speaker C: I'm presuming that it might affect the phone because it's on the same sort of eyesight level as that switch between the microphone and the phone. So might not.,: Yeah, we'd have to look at a signal flow diagram. When we designed the passport VO, that was a huge part of our time was spent scrutinizing, tweaking and adjusting the signal flow diagram to figure out where the switch is, where the knob is, where is each single piece in the signal flow as it goes. Know I'll take my opportunity to use this product here to promote our product. The reason we created Passport VO is because as feature riches of what this thing is that Robo is holding here, because this does things ours isn't going to, you know, three fully sweepable EQ bands Deesser things like that. But the reason we made the passport was there are really nuanced, interesting things we wanted to do with the signal path. We wanted to be able to have a separate return from the computer and have that be recordable or send that back to the headphones or whatever.,Speaker C: Right.,: So that was a huge part of the design. So it would be interesting to see. I'm sure Michael will say, oh, no, of course, I did it this way because this makes the most sense.,Speaker C: That's right. Given the attention to detail with everything else that's in this packet, it wouldn't surprise me that the limiter was across both of. So then the rest of the power of this beast is on the bottom down here for me, which is. And again, you'll probably expand more on what I've been able to play with in the short amount of time I've had it. But you have an inbuilt card recorder, right? So the micro SD, so you can record, you can play back off that. And I presume that only plays back to your headphones and not out the USB would be my guess.,: That does sound correct to me. There are things I use my unit for that I've done with it and I've never tried playing and then recording USB and seeing if it comes out. I don't think that it does that.,Speaker C: It would be very cool if it did. It would be very cool. I'd be well chuffed with Michael if he thought of that. But, yeah, maybe not. So then you've got the power daisy chain over that side and then the USB on the other side is your output back to your computer. 48 volts, obviously, monitoring in stereo mono, and a high and low output selector. What am I thinking of, George?,: What's the word? Oh, yeah, that's the line output pad switch. So if you're plugging this into a line level signal recorder. Let's say you plug it into, I don't know, some cameras and some devices can take a line level and other cameras can only take mic level. So having that switch means that if you plug this into your handicam, your DSLR, whatever your camera is, as long as you have it on low, you won't clip the input of the camera and distort the hell out of the audio.,Speaker C: Yeah, right.,: How many times have you seen like some low budget video production or TV where the audio is completely over modulated because they're shoving a mixer signal into their camera input, which is a mic input.,Speaker C: Yeah, exactly.,: It's designed to take this mic, plug that with an adapter to an 8th inch jack and plug it into the camera. That's what it's for.,Speaker C: Exactly. Yeah.,: So this can output either level without clipping.,Speaker A: So who do you think this is targeting? Robo?,: Yeah, that's a great question.,Speaker C: Who do I think it's targeting? I think definitely sort of content creators at home who maybe don't want to invest in a door or an expensive door or plugins or whatever, just want to be able to record and edit and spit it out. So it gives them the flexibility to add some of those features that are in here, the compression and the gating and all that sort of stuff. The thing that occurred to me after 35 years in radio is that outside broadcasting for radio, this thing would be perfect because you can plug your announcer mic in. You've got a guest mic should you need it. And you could use the phone return, or you could use the auxiliary input to monitor what's happening in the studio. So you can hear your music, you can hear the commercials, you can hear the callers coming in. But you could be sitting outside your local.,: Can be the return from the studio. Exactly.,Speaker C: You could be sitting outside your local store who's having a promotion that day doing your radio broadcast with basically just this and a laptop with a source connect connection. Hello.,: To me is the killer app for this thing. Is using it for Field broadcast?,Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely.,: Awesome. For field broadcast. Absolutely. I also see it being accompanying a musician when they're traveling. They might want to run their guitar rig through this, or they might want to capture their stage kit, or they might want to use it in the room, their hotel room, to do jamming or practicing or laying down tracks or there's a lot of interesting ways to use it. I certainly don't see the typical voice actor using a full blown channel strip or an EQ like that. Probably not typically, if you happen to be a producer or engineer and you know how to fine tune that stuff, then maybe. Or if you got one and you had me or Robert or Robo tuning it for you, like, all right, let's add a little bit more of the low know, which I do that occasionally. I talk people through on Zoom or whatever, and I explain how to adjust everything. Source connect is really the best because you can hear the absolute detail. And then I can have somebody adjust the knobs on their unit. That's where this thing could be really killer.,Speaker C: It really is. Well, it's actually more than that. It's a three, four channel console in a box, really, because you got your mic input and then you've got your couple of other line inputs and all that sort of stuff that you can play around with as well. So it's basically a tiny console in a box, really.,: I meant to ask you, I know the Portcaster is USB power or battery power. The other two units require power, correct?,Speaker C: Yeah, they both require power, which comes from that daisy chaining sort of thing.,: Right.,Speaker C: And then the other cool thing, just as an aside, and I guess, for whatever reason, let's say I was going to record somewhere, and all I needed was the podcaster. When you flip these things over, you can unscrew them, and you don't need a screwdriver or anything. You can unscrew them and you can.,: Just take the one you bolted to the tree.,Speaker C: That's right. So you can just. Okay, I need the port caster, but I don't need anything else. So I'm just going to take that, throw that in my bag with a microphone, and I'm off. And my phone or whatever. He's thought of everything. I'm so impressed. It's very cool and very clever.,Speaker A: And what's the build quality?,Speaker C: It's really heavy. It's chunky. It's sturdy. These are all metal, the cases, by the feel of them.,: How do the Pot knobs feel? Do they have a nice.,Speaker C: And they're really comfortable to use. And they're not stiff. Stiff, but they're not so loose that you could just bump them, which is kind of nice, given that you'll be sort of moving it around a bit, I would imagine, and all that sort of stuff you can sort of almost set and forget. Like, you could do your setting before you left home. You might have to tweak it a little bit when you get somewhere. But I would imagine if you put it in the case and close the lid, you could arrive where you wanted to get to and it would still be set to where you were without being. Having been.,: Is this your first time hands on with sentrance equipment?,Speaker C: Yeah. I'd never heard of Sentrance until we started talking to them about the passport.,: I take it for granted because I've been dealing with or using Sentrance gear since 2009.,Speaker C: Yeah, right. Well, there you go.,: I'm really accustomed to the build quality and what they are. So it's cool that you're finally getting your hands on one because you're basically feeling by holding the podcaster you're going to feel exactly what the passport is going to feel like.,Speaker C: Man, I'll be sharing the love down here. I'll be honest with you. This thing is incredible. To finish off what else is in the bag. Which sort of just again, goes to show how much thought's gone into this.,: Thinking of everything. Yeah.,Speaker C: I mean he sent, this is now it's Us and he can't cover all countries. But there's your little plug which you can see, which is a US plug, but it's got your two USB connections for your power if you need that.,: But that's just a standard power supply for USB, right?,Speaker C: That's right, exactly.,: You've got a power adapter, a local power adapter in Australia of course.,Speaker C: And he can't do one.,: The power plug in Australia, are they unique to Australia or are they in common with parts of Asia?,Speaker C: Yeah, no, they're pretty much unique to here. So we've got three pin plugs. We've got an earth as well.,: Everything has an earth ground. Right.,Speaker C: Yeah. Without we've got. So we've got the positIve, negative Earth. We've got three pins. Yeah.,: It's crazy.,Speaker C: In the.,: US you can still buy lots of things without the Earth ground.,Speaker C: Yeah.,Speaker A: Well this USB charger for Mac.,Speaker C: Yeah.,: That's extremely similar to a US one. It's just that the two pins are on slant. Yeah, the US is just parallel. Yeah, almost the same.,Speaker A: But normally I plug so. And I won't unplug anything because I'll probably turn something off.,: That'll be a bad sign. Don't unplug stuff while you're on this.,Speaker C: That's right. These are the bits that we always joke about that you'll never read but everything's. And I wanted to point this out.,: Only manuals for all of them.,Speaker C: Only because it sort of dumbs it. It's not dumbing it down, but it's so well explained that anybody who sort of has a general understanding of audio will be able to still sort of pick these things up and go, okay, I know what I need to do. They're clearly laid out. Everything's marked, everything's labeled nicely.,: Yeah, it's analog gear. It's got a USB, but it's analog. So each knob has a job. It's labeled what the knob does. So how much manual do you need when it's that straight versus something where it's like 15 layers of menus? I was setting up that mix pre three for my client. I was like, oh, my God, I need to open the manual, dude. I can't figure this thing out. To save my life, I had to watch YouTube videos and even to pass a signal to the Mac through the USB port. It was not intuitive whatsoever because it's all hidden inside little. The screen on that machine is like size of a post.,Speaker C: Yeah.,Speaker A: Stamps.,: I don't know, bigger than a poacher stamp, but it's like this big. And so you're, like, touching the little. So having everything. A knob and a switch for one job, man, that's the dream. That's why I'm so excited about the passport.,Speaker C: Yeah.,: So straightforward. No more firmware. Annoying stuff.,Speaker C: No more.,Speaker A: So we must be getting close, actually. How close are we to the passport video?,: Well, Michael has been giving us updates from time to know. I get emails. I don't know if you guys get emails, but I certainly get emails once or so, maybe a week, from somebody who's getting curious what's going on. There's still a projection of early spring, late winter, early spring, so March, April. It's such a moving target that it just doesn't feel right to quote any dates and times as soon as you do. It's the Elon Musk syndrome.,Speaker C: Yeah.,: Everything is, like, coming right? And you're like, hey, we've been waiting six years for this whole self fulfilled driving car thing, and they didn't hear you.,Speaker C: We're going to tell our advertisers to fuck off. Is that what we're going to do?,: I watched that whole interview. That was very interesting.,Speaker C: It was, isn't it?,: Yeah. So I'm always like, of the under promise, over deliver thing, but at the end of the day, it's going to come out when it's ready. And people don't like to hear that because we've had 87 eightyat of you have invested in that unit now at this point.,Speaker C: Yeah.,: So we have a lot of people obviously vested in this.,Speaker C: It'll be worth the wait.,: But it's worth the wait. And it is definitely coming. Until we have had one in our hands to actually test a prototype, we won't be able to give you any definitive yes when it's coming. And it's funny if you look on the buy page on the actual store@centrens.com. We have a 4.8 star review. Six reviews. Six people are so excited.,Speaker C: Haven't even had.,: They've already given it a review.,Speaker C: They even got it. Yeah, there you go.,: Trust us, folks, it doesn't exist quite yet, but there are still some, believe it or not, available. There's twelve of the initial batch still available to buy. So when they do ship, you get it, you'll be able to get on that first batch. So stay tuned. We're all excited. And trust us, as soon as we have our unit in hand, just like Robo does, we'll be definitely be sharing it with you guys.,Speaker A: Indeed.,Speaker C: Indeed.,Speaker A: Now, we haven't made any reference to the fact you're wearing a Santa hat, George.,: Why would I be wearing a Santa hat anyway?,Speaker C: He's having a home classic.,: I put it on earlier, I did a video and I thought, I'll just leave it on.,Speaker C: Why not?,: You can't tell because it's too bright. But the lights are twinkling. There you go. Yeah.,Speaker C: We got a four star rating. And you got a four star Santa cap. I was going to say, and if.,: You'Re really good, I'll give you a five star.,Speaker A: That's funny. We've had a five star general. Now we've got a five star Santa. You may have noticed one thing that I obviously have been feeling a bit jealous about. Robo's hair, so.,: Robo.,Speaker C: I even had a haircut yesterday. Look at that.,: Mine is longer than ever. I've really let this thing go crazy seeing how long I can tolerate it, if I can make it through the end of the year.,Speaker C: So listen, guys, just before we wrap this thing up, just to bring this all together, I don't know whether I've told you guys, but we've got Michael from Sentrance coming on to do a video episode with us in a couple of weeks. To walk me through that, we're going to plug it in and have a play with it. So that should be a bit of an in depth dive. He might even make you look silly for once, George. I try, but I can never succeed. Maybe Michael will.,Speaker B: Leave a comment, suggest a topic, or just say good day, drop us a note at our website, theproaudiosuite.com.
Last week AP unboxed the new Mi Creatore set from Austrian Audio, this week we are putting it through it's paces. While its name implies that it might not be up to the rigours of professional voice over work, our tests might convince you otherwise...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Summary In this episode of Pro Audio Suite, we explore the audio capabilities of the Tributh vocal booth and Austrian audio equipment. On offer is a $200 discount code for listeners, invigorating discussions on the mastery of mic technique, a review of the sound quality of an Austrian Audio microphone, and the fantastic audio benefits of using a cardioid and hypercardioid pickup. Our panel pointed out the similar sound quality Austrian audio provides across varying price points, the possibilities of using the equipment in a stereo pair setting, and the pros of using a heavy-weighted stand. The episode concluded with an appreciation for the Pro Audio mic's simplicity, without any DSP, and its excellent headphone amplifier. This might just be an addition to your audio equipment wish list!
#ProAudioInsights #MicTechniques #AustrianAudioReview Timestamps (00:00:00) Introduction to Tributh & Austrian Audio (00:01:01) Sample of Austrian Microphone (00:02:30) Cardioid Vs. Hypercardioid (00:04:46) User Feedback Request (00:08:31) Integrating Multiple USB Mics (00:11:53) Pro Audio Weight Material & Origin Transcript Speaker A: Y'all ready?,Speaker B: Be history.,Speaker C: Get started.,Speaker B: Welcome.,Speaker C: Hi. Hi. Hello, everyone, to the Pro Audio Suite.,Speaker A: These guys are professional, they're motivated.,Speaker B: Thanks to Tributh, the best vocal booth for home or on the road. Voice recording and Austrian audio making passion heard. Introducing Robert Marshall from source elements and someone audio post Chicago. Darren robert Robertson from Voodoo Radio Imaging. Sydney to the Vo stars. George the tech Wittam from La.,: And me.,Speaker B: Andrew Peters, voiceover talent and home, studio Guy.,Speaker C: Learn up, learner. Here we go.,: And don't forget the code trip a P 200. That will get you $200 off your purchase of the fabulous Triboof and Austrian Audio Making Passion Heard. And George.,Speaker A: GeorgeThe, tech TPAs for your discount codes and on over. If you need help.,: We all need help. I desperately need it, I'm told.,: Now, talking of Austrian audio, though, we did an unboxing on camera. That was last week. But anyway, this week we're giving you a sample of what it sounds like. And I keep popping. That's really naughty. This is the my creator. This is what the microphone sounds like. Any thoughts, chaps?,Speaker A: So this is just absolute, because right now mine's a bit hyped. I'm going through my 8118 and I'm definitely hyping it up quite a bit more than probably is necessary. So I'm going to flatten mine because I want to have a really good comparison. Okay. This is the eight one eight with no processing. Totally flat.,: Okay.,Speaker A: And let me hear you again.,: I'm on an unprocessed OC 16 then for a comparison, too.,: There you go.,Speaker A: Got it?,: Oh, yeah. And I've got a feeling I know it's like it's a bit of a weird test because different voices, but my feeling is listening in the headphones to both of you two. This one is closer to the OC 16 than the eight one eight.,: That was my first thought, the first time I heard you on it. Was it's very close to the 16?,: Yeah.,Speaker A: I'm looking to see what pattern I'm into because you guys would be on cardioid. I may not be. So I'm going to check mine.,: When you guys keep talking this one, because I'm pretty sure see, I keep popping.,: There's no professional on the other end of the microphone. That's the problem.,: Yeah, that's right.,: There's also no pop shield.,: If you've got shit mic technique, get a pop guard.,Speaker A: All right, well, now I'm on cardioid, which sounds a bit more natural. I was on a hyper before.,: It does, but it's not as hyped. It's not quite as 4160 sound.,Speaker A: Well, here's the thing. Like on the A one eight, when you're in cardioid, it's a true single capsule cardioid pickup. So you're actually only using the front capsule. So this would be more similar to you guys, because now I'm actually using a single capsule. When I go to hyper, the rear capsule comes into play and that's being mixed in out of phase to create that hypercardioid. So it definitely changes the way you sound on the mic.,: Did you flick it across it in.,: While I was talking, didn't you?,: Yes, it's the opposite to what you were telling. What I was hearing was the opposite to what you said, Robbo, because I think in hypercardioid there's more top end.,Speaker A: In static, it might be a more scooped sound, like more bass and more treble.,: Yeah, maybe that's.,: Yeah, could be.,: Maybe that's.,Speaker A: And this is more mid forward. Yeah, this sounds more mid forward to me.,: Yeah.,: But to me it's not as sort of hyped as this 16 or the creator that AP is on.,Speaker A: And we're hearing your mic, Robo, flat or are you still going through a change?,: No. I'm sending to you guys on source. Connect unprocessed. So I do have some processing in Pro Tools, but you guys aren't hearing that?,Speaker A: Yeah, for sure. It definitely sounds more hype.,: Let me turn it off. Hang on, maybe you are. Let me turn it off.,Speaker A: Hang on.,: Does that make a difference? Hello.,: Oh, yeah.,Speaker A: You sounded a bit like I was pretty hyped sounding earlier. When I turn this on, you get that extra sizzly top end. Yeah, I'll turn that off. And now I'm flat.,: Okay, so now we're all flat. Some kind of a noise gate going on there because all of a sudden I can hear.,: I did have a gate on.,Speaker A: Oh, yeah, me, too.,: Yes, I should have a gate on.,Speaker A: This will be an interesting post mix. You have to decide, Robbo, now, whether you process it in post or leave it. Totally.,: Well, that's the thing. I think I might just have to leave it.,Speaker A: Perhaps disclaimer this episode is raw.,: Is raw. Absolutely.,Speaker A: Just some limiting for the master.,: We're going bareback, but don't Google that.,: Isn't it interesting, though, that and we talked about this in the preview when AP was unboxing. It that Austrian audio have taken the time to make sure that all their products have a pretty similar sort of sound, regardless of price point, even, really, isn't it?,: Yeah.,Speaker A: The voicing of the capsules.,: Yeah.,: I mean, when you can say that an eight one eight, which is what, $1,500 or something, would that be right?,: I don't know. US?,Speaker A: About 1200.,: Yeah. So one $200 US. And you can say that it's reasonably close to the My creator, which is whatever we said that was 100 and something. Yeah, it's crazy, isn't it?,: I'd be curious how this would sound. As I mentioned, when we're doing the unboxing in not a perfect environment. I mean, I've got to say that I'm sitting right next to a laptop computer screens. There's nothing in here that's diffusing any sound whatsoever except my buff head. But apart from that, there's nothing else. So it's not ideal, but I'm kind of thinking of more of a tight sort of environment where you're trying to obviously control some kind of ambient noise in a room that's pretty lively if you're traveling. How this would take to that, that's what I'd be interested in. And the other thing is how it takes to EQ as well. Could be an interesting one.,: So the other thing, though, is that, I mean, this is effectively also a stereo pair, right?,: Yeah.,: Because it comes with the stereo pair.,: Yeah.,: So it'd be interesting to hear it with that open.,: Well, imagine if you were doing here's an example. If you were a voice that did animation.,: Yeah.,: You could space these two mics out by maybe 18 inches or something, and then you've got one capturing the loud source and one if you could actually split them because they can be stereo. So I guess you do, you just monitor left for the one and right track for the other one. And then if you did start overloading the mic that's closest to you, you've got the backup behind you.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: There's a lot of clever ways to use it when there's two separate mic capsules versus a mic that has a stereo mode. Like the ever popular The Yeti from Blue has that multi pattern switch where you can go from omni to cardioid to stereo to figure eight.,: Right.,Speaker A: Well, the mic like this, you have way more flexibility. You can make an XY pair, you can make a Blum line, I think, whatever it's called. You can adjust how you want to use those two mics. Like, you could literally put up a stereo XY pair in front of a string quartet or something and record that.,: But you could even fake it with if you had the two like, instead of doing XY, you just reverse one, stick it basically so the capsule is almost touching each other right. And get some kind of weird omni going. I don't know how that would work.,Speaker A: Yeah, that should work. It's two hemispherical patterns connected in the center. You might have some phasing issues at the center, but yeah, it's more flexible to have two separate microphones to manipulate and do. You can just do so much more.,: Yeah.,: I'm just curious how this microphone actually does sound to the people listening. I mean, if you're listening to it and you like it, just leave a comment down below the notes and stuff. But what I'm hearing is very pleasing, actually. And I'm quite surprised because I did think being a USB mic, that there was going to be inherent issues. The price point, I thought, was going to be an issue for it as well. But I can't really hear anything now.,Speaker A: Roblo, now, I'm not trying to make more work for you, but I'm going to propose something, is that we leave part of the show unprocessed and then you process the remainder of the show the way you normally would. So we can hear what it sounds like raw, and we can hear what we all sound like through your production.,: Through the magic of podcasting. Let's move to the processed show now.,Speaker A: Exactly.,: The point I was going to make was that as a podcaster, if you were a podcaster and you were on, I don't know, let's just pick out a yeti, or you had a chaonica eyeball or something that you were sort of using and you wanted to up your game audio wise.,: I mean, step one, tick hello for.,: 100 and whatever bucks we were just talking about, you've got a new mic.,: That'S automatically going to do that.,: Yeah.,: And it's got an interface built in, so you're set that's it exactly.,Speaker A: I like that. Oftentimes we'll kind of shy away from a USB mic for anybody that's producing content, because it's just a mic. So if you want to add a second person or you want to interview somebody else on site, in physical person, it's not as easy to integrate multiple USB mics, but here you just have that second mic and you've got a two mic system and away you go. It's a clever way, it's sort of an analog, old school way of doing it, but the simplicity of it, I think, is the key here.,: Well, the other thing, too, thinking about.,: That without thinking too deeply, but hearing.,: You say that, and it occurs to me that even if you had more than two people, with some clever placement of those two mics, you could almost.,: Mic up maybe three or four people.,Speaker A: Well, yeah, you could have two and two.,: Yeah, that's right, exactly.,: If you had three, you could have the host on his own and then with some clever mic placement, you could place the other one so that you.,: Were picking up two.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: It all comes down to the room. The room has to be good.,: Yeah, absolutely.,: If you were in a concert hall or something, you probably wouldn't want to yeah.,: But you can also get lav mics. I think they're doing a lav mic as well. That goes with know, that kind of podcasting and all that kind of it's. It's really clever. Here's a thing, I always watch Bandru do this.,Speaker A: Podcastage. Is it podcast age or podcastage?,: Podcastage. It sounds like sort of being tied up and pod hostage, kind of, yeah. I'm being held hostage, so I'm going to tap on the desk. He always does that. So tapping on the desk and this is not ideal, as I said.,Speaker A: No, I mean, I can hear that you're tapping on the desk, but there's absolutely no thumping or rumbling or anything.,: No, it's not actually in the mic stand.,: Oh, now you can hear it now on the stand.,Speaker A: I'm getting it.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: And what stand are you using? Are you using that?,: The gravity?,: Yeah.,Speaker A: So that thing actually is helping a lot to isolate the mic from your desk.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: See, what helps a lot is mass, right. Weight.,: Yes.,Speaker A: So if you have that mic on a very lightweight stand, like a little folding tripod, it probably wouldn't do as well. But putting on a very heavy weighted stand on rubber like that, that's a pretty good package.,: Yeah, yeah, I think it works.,: A I will. I'll stick the link to that mic.,: Stand you're talking about in the show notes.,: The gravity. Yeah, it's a German design. I don't know where it's made. Probably China, but it's certainly designed and engineered.,: It's made out of heavy steel.,Speaker A: Chances are it's coming out of China.,: Yeah.,: Where's the steel from? Oh, I'd say probably a hole in the ground in Australia. But anyway, that's another story.,Speaker A: Another story.,: Yeah. But the conclusion for me of this mic is just bloody good. It sounds fantastic.,: I have no issues with it.,: I like it.,: Absolutely.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: No issues at all. It sounds like you it sounds like you unmested with.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: Because we've all heard the USB mics. We've tried a lot of things, and some of the other companies are trying to be really clever with lots of onboard processing DSP, and sometimes those settings are on by default. You don't even know it. So now you're already mucking up the audio without even realizing it. And these guys are going on a more purest way, just like we're not going to muck with it. There's no DSP. It's just this is the way our mic sounds. This is the way it sounds. And that is a very familiar sound, which is a very good thing. That's what we want to hear.,: Yeah, great.,: And also, if anyone's interested, the headphone amplifier is extremely good, so that's a plus.,: Yeah, very nice.,Speaker A: So we figured out the knob is a multifunction knob that controls your headphone level and the monitor blend or mix or balance, as they call it.,: Okay.,: So the mix between you and me. Okay, very good.,: Well, there you go.,: Austrian audience, well done.,: Something else to add to the shopping list.,Speaker A: Christmas needing to just add it to their shipping list and send one to.,: The rest of us.,: Well, that was fun.,Speaker C: Is it over?,Speaker B: The Pro Audio suite with thanks to Triboof and Austrian audio recorded using Source Connect edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Voodoo Radio Imaging with tech support from George the Tech Wittam don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic or just say G'day. Drop us a note at our website. The Pro Audio weight.
The Austrian Audio MiCreator is a new type of creative tool. Equal parts high-quality condenser microphone and simple audio interface with USB-C ® connectivity, MiCreator gives you the flexibility to create what you want—how you want. Just plug in and start recording in top-notch audio quality instantly. Or expand your setup using MiCreator’s additional input to achieve stereo recordings, record an additional sound source, and more. And whether you’re recording at home or on the go, you can create with confidence thanks to MiCreator’s ultra-durable metal housing.
Catch the video version here: https://youtu.be/vJBR0tBBUaw
AP got his hands on one and we figured we'd share his early Christmas day unboxing it as our first video episode...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Summary In this episode of Pro Audio Suite, our hosts George Wittam, Robert Marshall, Darren Robert Robertson, and Andrew Peters unbox Austrian Audio's new Creator Studio. They humorously discuss their first impressions, visual appeal, and play around with its innovative features. The product, a comprehensive home recording solution, impresses them with its sleek design, changeable magnetic panels, dual microphone system for stereo recording, and high audio quality. Furthermore, they touch on Austrian Audio's partnership with Passport VR, presenting the Pro Audio Suite version of the headset that boasts stunning sound quality. The episode is packed with enjoyable conversation, honest opinions, and valuable insights into the latest in audio technology. Don't forget to subscribe and join their Facebook group.
#AustrianAudioUnboxing #ProAudioSuitePodcast #HomeRecordingSetup Timestamps (00:00:00) Introduction (00:00:52) New Audio Tech from Austria (00:01:22) Austrian Audio's Home Recording Innovation (00:03:59) Microphone Customization (00:06:30) Mic Functionalities (00:10:25) Austrian Audio's High-Quality Mic (00:14:58) Passport Vo Mic Modes (00:19:24) Praise for Austrian Audio Transcript Speaker A: We have something special inside this box which we're about to reveal. Stick around, 54321.,Speaker B: Let's go.,Speaker A: Welcome.,Speaker C: Hi. Hi. Hello, everyone, to the Pro Audio Suite.,: These guys are professional.,Speaker B: They're motivated with tech. To the vo stars George Wittam, founder of Source Element Robert Marshall, international audio engineer Darren Robert Robertson and global voice Andrew Peters. Thanks to Tribooth, Austrian Audio making passion heard source elements george the tech Wittam and Robbo and AP's, international demo. To find out more about us, check theproaudiosuite.com line up, Leonard.,Speaker C: Here we go.,Speaker A: And welcome to another Pro Audio suite, this time on camera, thanks to Tributh. Don't forget the code. Trip a P 200, $200 off your tribooth and Austrian Audio making passion heard. Now we're about to divulge something new from Austria.,: Cracking into a box.,: It's not even Christmas yet.,Speaker A: I know. This is it.,: I can hear the bells.,Speaker A: Well, you see, I have my Santa beard on.,: He's got the ho ho ho beard. I'm not talking about the white beard.,Speaker A: At least he gets three hoes every year. I'm lucky to get one.,: What's in the box?,Speaker A: What's in the box?,: Come on, show us the box first. What's it say on the front, Mr. Peters?,Speaker A: It says my Creator Studio.,: Nice. This is the Austrian audio. This is the new now, I've actually.,Speaker A: Had a play with this. And you've actually heard this robber? You heard what it sounded like?,: I have.,Speaker A: And so did you guys hear did.,: You get a blind listen?,Speaker C: Yes.,: Like, you did have a blind listen.,: It was one of those conversations. What mic am I on?,: Oh, I love that.,: I love and Robert was on some crappy audio technical thing.,Speaker A: But then he says to me I said, what am I? And he goes, Is that a microtech Gaffel? I'm like, no, it's a USB mic.,: He's like, holy shit. Not yeah.,Speaker A: So, anyway, so it comes with USBC comes with the does it come with two cables? Yeah, it comes with the TRS and jack. And that's for what is that? Well, that's a di on the end of that cable. That's just an unbalanced jack and a TRRS. So if you want to di into the microphone, you can use that. So di your guitar.,: So, wait a minute.,: Is that an output cable or an input?,Speaker A: An input cable.,: An input cable, yeah. We should actually mention that this is sort of Austrian Audio's nod to home recording, sort of, isn't it, really?,Speaker A: Absolutely.,: So it's not just a microphone? No, it's a microphone and an audio interface.,Speaker C: Correct. Yeah.,Speaker A: So, anyway, so you got that so unbalanced into a TRRS, into the back of the mic.,: Your normal USB, that quarter inch unbalanced, would go into a guitar or a keyboard or some instrument. Got it.,Speaker A: It's really cool. They also chuck in this, which I thought was really good because when you look at the bottom of the mic, you know when they got the small I don't know what it is in Imperial, but when you got the smaller thread in the mic, I thought, oh, that's going to be great. Trying to get that onto a stand. Standard mic stand.,: Call it quarter 20. Is that the camera standard in the US? Yeah.,Speaker A: Well, it's not actually. Is it camera? I'm not sure. Anyway.,: Is it really small or like the middle?,Speaker A: No, it's kind of like yeah, that's quarter 20. But they chuck that in an adapter, which I thought was really cool, because.,: When I looked at it so it goes from quarter 20 to five eight, which is the US imperial, whatever you call it. Microphone stand.,Speaker A: We call it Imperial, but I don't know whether imperial. Imperial.,: Yeah. We are the Imperialists. I always forget that.,Speaker A: Exactly. Now, inside we're being reminded that more.,: But that's another story. Anyway. Yeah. So what else is in that?,Speaker A: Well, this is kind of cool. You get the two magnetic panels, so if you want to change it from black to red, you can.,: What do they do?,Speaker A: Sorry?,: What did they change?,Speaker A: I'll show you. I'll show you in a moment when I get the mic out. Also your standard, like that thing you.,: Never read, that thing you throw in the bin.,Speaker A: If all else goes wrong, then maybe you'll look at that at some point.,: I have a huge bin full. You know what I use those for? It's the archive of all the crap I have bought in the last ten years in one box.,Speaker A: Well, I can tell you what these would have been used for years ago. Would have been perfect filters, but business cards, not doing the good old days. Anyway, you can't put those in your pool filter.,: Don't be silly.,Speaker A: I wouldn't be surprised what's in there. So here it is. That's the Austrian audio. My creator. And I can tell you, you would say it has some heft nice. Okay, but if you don't like the.,: Black keeps it simple, doesn't it?,Speaker C: Yeah.,Speaker A: If you don't like the black, you just go, now it's red.,: Nice. You could do they think of everything, don't they?,Speaker A: Same on the back. Chuck that on there. That one doesn't want to go on. Oh, yeah, it's on.,: See, that would go well in your booth with the red lights.,Speaker C: AP.,Speaker A: It's just perfect. It's my colors in here. Red and black.,: That's pretty cute.,Speaker A: So that's cool. But this microphone now, I don't know technically how it all works, but it's got on the front, it's got high, low and mute. Now, I do know the mute is when you're either using the other microphone that you can attach to this, or if you're using a di oh, I see what I did wrong. You take those ones off.,: That's why I didn't oh, I see, the replaceable guy.,Speaker C: Yeah.,Speaker A: But I think that this mute is for if you're running a di. I think that's how it works.,: Okay, so that mutes the di.,Speaker A: Is that what you I think it allows you to monitor, like, if you use something in the back here, you've got the in out and you've got the out. Now the out from here would either be your headphones or you run this other lead. In fact, that's the point. Where is the other lead? I'm sure there's supposed to be another one that goes out of here and into the other microphone. If you have the two and speaking.,: That will be with the other microphone, I would presume.,Speaker A: I'm guessing it makes sense. I've not opened this box, so I don't know.,: So it's not one box, it's two.,Speaker A: Two boxes.,: It's a double unboxing.,Speaker A: Double unboxing. Top that. Oh, yeah.,: There you go.,: Unboxings for the price.,Speaker A: Yeah, the leads are in there. Okay, that makes sense. So let me just get this one out.,: So what's the idea here? Do we have a two mic system?,Speaker A: Yeah. So you can run it as a stereo mic. So you can say you want to do like an acoustic guitar or something and sing. You can actually one mic on or you could do two mics on the guitar. If you're just doing that, like, you've.,: Got a vocal ensemble that you need to record. You can do it in stereo. You can put one left and one.,Speaker A: Right, but also, like, even for what we mean if you're doing interviews yeah. So then you have the if I.,: Was doing, like once I recorded a podcast down at Bondi Beach, so I can imagine I would have lapel mics on the guests and then have one of those on a couple of stands just recording Ambience in the background, even.,Speaker C: Yeah.,Speaker A: So that's the second part of the.,: Stereo, which okay, so that's the primary and secondary.,Speaker A: Yeah.,: Mic. That's the secondary.,Speaker A: So it has a link and an out. So if you're connecting the first mic to this one, you go into the link with the TRRS, whatever it is in there, and then your out becomes your headphone out. So it actually bypasses the headphone out of the main mic and then takes it into this one.,: Whoa, that's pretty clever.,: That's cool.,Speaker A: Yes, that's the other one. This is if you get the studio set, you don't have to buy them both.,: Yeah. This is the full studio set. Or you can get just the main mic as a single.,Speaker A: But I can tell you the quality and for the money, I don't know what they retail it. I haven't looked.,: I shall check.,Speaker A: But the quality of them is like it's really weighty.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: Now I don't know whether they just.,: Yeah, well, what I heard of it, it sounds brilliant. I mean, we'll obviously do a test in another episode, but from what I heard of it for 30 seconds or so earlier today, it sounds awesome.,Speaker C: Yeah.,Speaker A: So you get another couple of cables in here. What are they? Okay. Oh, you got an adapter. Okay. So you can run that into maybe a mini jack into that, and then split that into the back of the other one.,: That could be a lavalier.,Speaker A: That could be for the lav.,Speaker C: Yeah.,: So the whole system set, which is what you have there, apparently, which has the master mic, the secondary mic, the color change panels, 1232 audio cables and a USB. And I'm seeing something else you didn't mention. It looks like there's a stereo bar. Did that come with your kit, too?,Speaker A: No, I haven't seen one.,: Okay. Because on the website, it actually also has a stereo bar. Hang up this whole thing on there, maybe because you have a preview package. Yeah, they didn't have the full retail kit, but the retail kit also has a nice zippered case. Everything goes into and a stereo bar, too.,Speaker A: Okay, that makes sense.,: And that whole thing is 299 us.,Speaker A: That's crazy.,: It's a good price, isn't it?,Speaker A: For what you get, honestly, and what it sounds like. I mean, look, I didn't listen to it until about half an hour ago when we set them up, and I just was talking to Robbo and Robert and to me, it sounded really good.,: Well, for me, the sound of it is on par with the 16 that I'm on, to be honest. It sounds brilliant.,Speaker A: Yeah, it does, actually, because I was thinking, like, even for what voiceover guys do when you're on the road, just chuck that in your bag. Yeah.,: Nothing in what you were doing when you were talking on that before when I was listening, there's nothing in there that you would make you go, there's no way I'm using that for a voiceover.,Speaker A: And it also doesn't need a shock mount because I don't know where you can see this, but it's actually suspended in rubber.,: Wow. Yeah. See, that's cool.,Speaker C: Yeah.,: They suspended the capsule. That's right.,Speaker A: And you can also it's really nice, swivel the capsule to whatever you want to do.,: I know they're a sponsor of the show and people are going to go, yeah, you're only saying that because but I'm sorry, I'd say this anyway. These Austrian audio guys, they're so on the ball with this stuff.,Speaker A: I agree.,: When companies that make high quality products step into this creator space, they are now competing on price. Right. So they have to cut corners. But the thing is that the miniaturization of electronics, the quality of the capsules and the electronics are so good that they can cut all those corners, add more features and still have sound quality that rivals their studio mic. And that's the craziest part of all, because I can't wait to actually hear it and test it out.,: Yeah, like I said, I was listening on Source Connect now when I was listening to Andrew, and he'd only just thrown it up. So it probably wasn't in perfect position either for him.,Speaker A: Terrible, actually.,: And it sounded brilliant. I mean, it sounded like this. Yeah.,: I decided, in solidarity, to throw I had my other mic up. Of course, I just brought up the Austrian audio. I felt left out, but yeah. So what do you perceive you might find this good for? Do you think you could do some take it on the road with you, or what do you think you might do with it?,Speaker A: Absolutely. I mean, that could be well, that's it.,: That fits in your Vespa, right?,Speaker A: Does fit in the vespa. You're reading my mind, George. You're reading my mind as you, um san Diego nice guys.,: You know, you've just come up with a new test for the show now, every time we test new gear, is it is it Vesper worthy?,Speaker A: It is vesper worthy. I mean, you think about, like, I chuck the road case on the Vespa when I go on these tours, and this would be perfect because I don't have to worry about an interface. There's your microphone, everything. Just one cable and a mic stand. Boom.,Speaker C: Yeah.,: So little nitpicky stuff. And maybe we won't know these answers until you've used it for a while. Does it have a no latency monitor? So for headphone use, you can hear yourself.,Speaker A: There was no latency when I was monitoring at the back. The other thing that was really interesting.,: You plug your headphones directly into the mic.,Speaker C: Yeah.,: And then to hear yourself, is that the knob? Is that what that big knob?,Speaker A: Two stage knob. I don't know what else it does, but when I had it and it.,: Was showing, you click on the knob and it changes modes.,Speaker C: Yeah.,: The other one might be gain from the other mic coming.,Speaker A: I think one is gain and one is monitoring.,: Is there a gain knob on that second mic?,Speaker A: No.,: So I wonder whether that's it coming in there.,Speaker C: Yeah.,Speaker A: So it would be this will be operating everything, I'm guessing.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: But the other thing I thought was really interesting, I don't know what the gain is on this microphone itself, but the headphone gain was really loud, right?,: Oh, really? Yeah. Did you get good levels in your can in your head?,Speaker A: I had to turn it down. It was too hot coming from you.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: But yeah, it was very loud.,: Wow. Cool.,Speaker A: Yeah.,: I'm really looking forward to you doing a test with that now. I really want to hear it, put it through its paces.,Speaker A: Well, it'd be interesting to see what it sounds like in a not so well, in fact, we heard it in a not great environment because I was sitting right in front of the computer screens. But, I mean, if you're on the road and you're doing the so called pillow fort or something, which is not ideal, particularly for a microphone like this, which is. Would that be a large diaphragm? I guess it is, yeah.,: I've been looking through the manual documents, and there's a document called my Creator Faceplate Customizing.,Speaker C: Yeah.,: Wow.,Speaker A: So that means you can have your own design. Yes.,: I saw that they give you EPS, Adobe Illustrator files, PDF, and so you can literally have your own Faceplate design to your spec.,: And they will make it for you, I guess.,: Yeah. They give you all the ability to customize.,Speaker A: You've given me an idea.,: I know what you're going to say. I'm with you.,Speaker A: What am I going to say? Vespa?,: You say, I can see us making.,Speaker A: Our own well, actually, I was thinking about me then, but yeah, you're right. Well, they're both thinking about us and me and whatever. That's not a bad idea, actually.,Speaker C: Yeah.,Speaker A: Maybe we should talk to Austrian Audio about the Pro Audio suite version of.,: The that's right, absolutely. To team up with the sentence Passport VR.,Speaker A: Well, you don't need it because it's got an interface in it.,: It is a two for one, isn't it? So that knobs functionality is twofold, as you discovered. One mode, it's gain for the mic, and the other mode it's headphone.,Speaker A: Yeah.,: So I wonder what controls the gain from the secondary mic then.,Speaker A: I wonder where that I think that probably does as well. Let me go back to the other mic.,: The switch on the front, if there is a three way switch for the microphone gain, if this is at the lowest mute position, the visible red marking on the switch signals that the mic is muted on the input side. This is a so called hardware mute. Regardless of any other mute in any other program, your mic is muted, which is very important. That's why in the Passport Vo, we have a hardware mute button.,: The swear button. That's right.,: Yes, exactly. So it has the swear button in the form of that little switch. However, this only applies to the signal from the internal microphone. Anything connected to the other input jack is not needed.,: From the back of the room, he's still going to hear get.,Speaker A: Yeah.,: And then it has a low and a high gain mode. So I suppose you have to experiment and figure out which of those positions you want to use.,Speaker A: I think I had it on high gain, but I would imagine if it's a super loud source, like in front of a guitar cab or something, and you're going to pull it down to low.,: Yeah. Very cool.,Speaker A: But it's great. And it's hard to actually I know, watching on camera and stuff, but it's hard to explain how solid this thing feels.,: Well, you can see it. It looks pretty solid.,Speaker C: Yeah.,: So I'm guessing it's it must have a steel chassis.,Speaker C: Yeah.,: So the outer the ring around the mic and the ring a ring around the chassis and the ring around the mic, I suppose are probably steel as opposed to aluminum.,Speaker A: Oh, yeah.,: Imagine how flimsy it would be if it was just plastic, too.,Speaker A: It's funny because the panels behind those fake panels that you can change is actually plastic behind there, but the actual front, the surround, all this kind of stuff, and all this is metal.,: Nice. You wouldn't want to drop it if it was only plastic or something. Flimsy absolutely. You'd be in trouble.,: So it also does have an internal pop shield over that cap.,Speaker C: Yeah.,: And it says if that's not sufficient because you have poor mic technique doesn't say that, but they have the OCP eight, which is an Austrian audio pop screen that you can add on to.,Speaker A: Oh, so it fits over the top of this cage here.,: I guess. So they don't show a picture, but it's in the manual.,Speaker A: I'm curious. I would like to know what that capsule is in there, though.,: Yeah, well, you never really know because let's say it's the same as the OC 16 capsule. Theoretically, it wouldn't be a great thing for them, maybe to advertise that, because then you're saying, well, you can get that capsule in a $200 mic. Yeah, $400 mic. But there are different mics for different use cases.,Speaker A: But I think the OC 16 has the same capsule as the OC 18. And the eight one eight, it's just the electronics and the assembly are different. The electronics, they've trimmed quite a bit of that down. And also the OC 16 is made in China.,: And this is also probably made in China.,Speaker A: Yeah, definitely.,: Kit yeah, right. Again, it's price point. They're having to create product at a creator competitive price point, which is fair enough. Think about who they're competing against. They're competing against the likes of the Yeti, the Blue Yeti, and that's $100 to $200, depending on the model and stuff. So, yeah, that's what they got to do. But I have no doubt that if they're going to put their name to something like this, it's going to have the sound quality you expect. Yeah, we'll do some more testing.,Speaker A: Sounded great. I mean, I think it's fantastic. I'll muck around with it more and we'll do an audio podcast using it, so anyone watching this can listen and check it out. But, yeah, I reckon it sounds good. Austrian Audio, you've done it again.,: Win a winner.,Speaker A: Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Which makes me hungry.,Speaker C: Well, that was fun.,: Is it over?,Speaker B: The Pro Audio suite with thanks to Triboof and Austrian audio recorded using Source Connect edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Voodoo Radio Imaging with tech support from George the Tech Wittam don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic or just say G'day. Drop us a note at our website. Theproaudiosuite.com.
WAVES director of training and development Michael Pearson Adams (Gomez to his Aussie mates) joins us in part 2 of a chat about plugins for Voice Actors.
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, we dive into part two of our discussion with Michael Pearson and Adams Gomez. We kick off by tackling the prevalent issue of hearing loss, exploring how it affects professional audio and the struggles people face in finding headphones that suit their hearing capabilities. Pearson expresses his ambition to build a chain for monitoring, specifically for those with hearing loss. We also delve into audio tools like the C Four Multiband Compressor and F Six Dynamic EQ, discussing their features, capabilities, and best applications. The conversation emphasizes the importance of tailoring preset tools to individual preferences, supporting efficiency in producing quality and personalized sound._QMARK
#HearingLossSolutions #ProAudioSuite #TechForHearingLoss
Timestamps * (00:00:00) Intro: The Pro Audio Suite * (00:00:39) Building Hearing Loss Monitor * (00:07:36) Volume & Monitors in Mixing * (00:11:29) Multiband Compressor vs. Dynamic EQ * (00:12:12) Development of C Four Plugin * (00:14:01) The F Six: Parametric EQ & Music Dynamics * (00:17:16) Discussing Presets * (00:22:10) Quality of Presets * (00:28:24) Podcast Recording Technique: Source Connect & Voodoo Radio Imaging
Transcript Speaker A: Y'all ready? Be history.
Speaker B: Get started.
Speaker C: Welcome.
Speaker A: Hi.
Speaker C: Hi.
Speaker A: Hello, everyone to the Pro audio suite.
Speaker C: These guys are professional and motivated with tech. To the VO stars, George Wittam, founder of Source Elements Robert Marshall, international audio engineer Darren Robbo Robertson and global voice Andrew Peters. Thanks to Triboo, Austrian audio making passion heard source elements George the tech Wittam and Robbo and AP's international demo. To find out more about us, check ThePro Audiosuite.com line up.
Speaker A: Learner. Here we go.
: And don't forget the code.
Speaker C: Trip a P 200.
: That will get you $200 off your Tribooth. Now, this is part two of our conversation we had with Michael Pearson, Adams Gomez, if you like, from waves. This week's discussion kicks off in a different place. We're talking about hearing loss.
Speaker B: I don't know. I don't want to take this off the rails too far, but something that's come up in the last couple of weeks, more than once. So it seems to be. Well, I wouldn't say maybe it's a coincidence, but maybe it's just the sign of the times and the fact that my clients are all getting older, but people are having a hard time finding headphones that work well for them anymore because of hearing loss. The topic came up. One person asked me about having their hearing aids tuned for professional audio. Another person asked me about just choosing headphones that are better for their hearing. And nothing that they tried worked well, probably because they have severe hearing loss.
: I was going to say Friday, but normally ice cream, right?
Speaker B: So what I'm getting at is I've been starting to want to build a chain for monitoring, specifically, especially for those with some hearing loss. And I'm wondering what other tool set you think might be useful. Like, if I was going to build a studio rack for a monitoring chain, is it just EQ or. I'm actually looking at compression and EQ together, because if you've lost some hearing in a certain band and you boost the bejesus out of that band, that could be bad too, right?
Speaker A: Two syllables. F sIx.
Speaker B: F six. Okay.
Speaker A: F six.
: Six.
Speaker A: Floating bands of multiband equalizing compression gives you the ability to choose the threshold on each and every one of them, move them around, and actually decide how each of those bands is compressed or expanded based on the reaction of the voice coming into it. To me, that would be the best starting place for you to create a chain like that would be that plugin.
Speaker B: Because it's obviously the only person that can decide if it sounds right is the listener. Like the person that has a lot. So the way I would have to do it would be to log in remote source, connect in remote into their screen, load the plugin, put it into a chain, and then just hide everything.
Speaker A: And give them the macros and name the macros appropriately.
Speaker B: Yeah, well, yeah, that would be the end result. Exactly. But to have that ability for them to sculpt the sound of their own headphones in a way they never could before, this sounds like the right tool to attack that. I want to start looking into building those chains for people because hearing loss is an issue.
Speaker A: There is a risk there as well. And I talk about this in a completely different way for this than I would if this was music. So, for example, in the music world, we have the lowest latency, as in zero latency vocal tuning, plugin, wavestune, and Wavestune live. And there's always been a lot of stigma about, oh, you can't have tuning. It's like one of the best things a tuner can do, if it's used properly, is give the singer confidence. Not fix them, but give them confidence. So if it's on in the monsters, it gives them confidence to remember that they are good and they can do a great job. And that in itself, that confidence minimizes any sharp or flat notes because they're not nervous. Now, on the other end of that spectrum, George, is in a voiceover world, the first thing that comes to my mind as a concern by creating a chain that lets them hear it properly is making sure that they're not hearing. To use an analogy, to make sure that they don't think they're in a Porsche when they're in a VW, as far as other equipment, because audio processing can make you sound amazing, but it also could hide multiple issues with the track that you're recording if what they're monitoring isn't what's being sent to the client.
Speaker B: I would never recommend someone who has loss of hearing loss unless they are an actual engineer with years of training. I would never suggest that they go into this thinking that they're going to fix their own monitoring themselves without the ears of another engineer or an engineer with good hearing or trusted hearing that can make a judgment, help judge them on where those settings should be. I know they could dig themselves into a heck of a big hole. It cannot be a replacement for everything else that we talk about. Proper acoustics, noise, floor mic technique, et cetera, et cetera, et know.
: Well, usually with hearing loss, it's the upper frequencies that go first. So my idea would be to talk to Yamaha and get them to build headphones that sound like NS ten s.
Speaker B: Well, the headphones that you have, you're still using the Austrian Audio 55s, right? The X 55s, yeah. Remember when I reviewed those with you and I thought they were too mid range forward? Right. I didn't like the way they sounded. Yeah, correct. But for you, they were a great match. Right? Yeah, that's the thing. And so headphones are, again, extremely subjective, but it can be a maddening process to try out a lot of different headphones. Like this client of mine.
: What was the headphone that rang out your ear from the inside? And then I tried your curve. How did that work?
Speaker B: They were really uncomfortable. Yeah, really? They had in ear plugs that plugged into the inside of your. Like, they literally went into your ears. And then they had a surround cup that went around the outside of the ear.
: It was a little.
Speaker A: That sounds horrible.
: They sound like my in ear, like.
Speaker B: The one they're called Noritones or Nora something. I can't remember what they were called. I returned them. But the idea there being that, yeah, you can make corrections to a point and then eventually your hearing loss is going to be too poor.
: Well, also, you can't correct it when you can't hear at some point.
Speaker B: Right.
: So just cranking it up, you just end up with feedback through your hearing.
Speaker B: That is true, yeah. Well, I mean, my friend is an optometrist or optimist. My friend is an audiologist. And they said the danger is if you do continue to boost, let's say four K, two K, whatever the frequency band, you're still subjecting that SPL on the eardrum or more, you're continuing to cause damage. So it's a tricky situation. But thanks for the F Six recommendation. I'll look at.
Speaker A: So there's a couple of things about that while we're talking about it. I just want to mention briefly, for all you lovely people out there, quick analogy. On my phone, I have a setting on my phone, just in the basic phone settings that limits the loudness that is allowed in my headphones on my phone. And I can change it to whatever DB I want. And I have it set fairly conservatively because I value my tool. That makes me money, my ears. But then on top of that, I also have a pair of very large monitors here in the studio that I have a mark on the output knob on the audio interface that I do not go above because at that point I know that I'm damaging my hearing. So my advice is always get used to listening as low as possible, because you can, and this is something that Jeff Thomas told me Robbo, years ago when I was his student, was if you can hear everything at a low volume, then it'll sound great loud. If you hear everything when it's loud, you won't hear everything at a low volume.
: You do have to stay at the right place when you're mixing within the Fletcher Munson curve to make sure that you're know if you're listening too low and you don't ever check it out up there for just a moment. And I'm not talking about hearing damage level, but you'll just lose the bass in the high end. It's just sort of the way the ear at lower levels loses the outer extremities first.
: I think like anythinG, though, I think checking your mix on different monitors. I mean, I always check at different volume levels. I mean, different levels. Yeah. The dim button is regularly used for me. I'll listen to it in a pass and then I'll dim it and switch monitors and have a listen that way and just flick around. I mean, you could muck around with a mix forever, I guess. But I think they're the two essential things is volume and different monitors.
: I'm constantly surprised when I think back when I was living in Sydney and in excess had Rhino Studios, rhinoceros, and I was there for. They were recording. I think I was there for Kick and X. I can't remember. No, it was definitely kick.
Speaker A: It was kick, yeah.
: So I was in there for Kick and I remember sitting there when they were recording and stuff and it was.
Speaker A: Chris Thomas English showing our.
: Know and then someone, oh, we're just doing a playback of one of the songs I think was going to be the single. I can't remember. Come and listen. So we're into another room to listen to the playback. It was so fucking loud. I don't even know what the song was. I have no idea. I don't know what they were hearing because I couldn't hear anything.
: It's probably what you need. The first single was it?
: Probably.
: I hate it when people, when you're in a room and it's really loud and you're just like, I don't want to be in here and you got to get out. But not. You really shouldn't go above 80 or you should keep that at maybe the top average.
Speaker B: Average. Yeah, maybe peaks of 90 to 100, maybe. It is amazing. The iPhone has the ability now to monitor your surroundings. And it will actually. Or the watch, I think, more so. And that's almost like a reason to get the watch. I keep trying to not buy the damn freaking Apple Watch. I'm like, I don't want another addictive gadget, but the fact that it does monitoring the noise levels around your environment and lets you know, yo, you were in an unsafe noise level environment, just so you very.
Speaker A: That's cool.
Speaker B: It's a really good idea. I mean, it's almost a reason to get one of those things.
: Tipto can't hear what you're hearing in your headphones, unfortunately.
Speaker B: No, it can't do anything for headphones. No, you're absolutely right. Absolutely right.
: I wanted to ask a question a little bit more if Gomez is here. So I love the C Four, and I use it like an EQ, and I use it like a compressor, and it's my deesser, and it's just like, whatever the hell you want it to be. And the F Six is kind of a dynamic EQ. The C Four is a multiband compressor. You see how the different frequency bands work, essentially, like, you're able to tune the F six more precisely. That is very true. But what are the other kind of differences between, say, a multiband compressor and a dynamic EQ?
Speaker B: Oh, boy.
: What uses.
: Wow, that's a can of worms.
Speaker B: This I want to hear.
Speaker A: Okay, so firstly, let's talk about the C Four, right. The C Four was a plugin that we developed, not for studios, but we developed it for live. And it kind of was a mixture of. Okay, so let's deal with something that gives you compression, expansion, bit of limiting dynamic EQ, normal EQ, and then has this one floating band, which we honestly didn't think anybody would use. And then everybody lost their shit over the floating band of the C Four. Sorry, not the C Four. So when we updated it, when we went to the C Six, we put the floating band in because people are.
: Like, that's so funny. Do you know what? I lost my shit over in the C Six? What was the individual key per band? That's so awesome. It's like, automatically duck it. But you don't have to duck the whole music. You can just sort of carve out some frequencies for the voice, and it doesn't sunk the music, like, fell out of nowhere.
Speaker A: Well, the beautiful thing about it is it lets you apply per band, compression, expansion, upward expansion, and to a point, dynamic EQ. This was a tool that, again, is still very much a broadcast person and live person tool. And we found a lot of studio people, not all studio people. I'm not going to generalize, but we found a lot of them were like, we just can'T work out the use case for this.
: Deesser. Yeah. Why have a Deesser when you can just have a multiband compressor with little compression on the high end?
Speaker A: Because it's not the way you're thinking with your broadcast and your post production hat on. Not your music production hat on. So now let's go to one of my favorite products, the F Six. The F Six is literally, okay, so everybody loved the floating bands in the C Six, so let's just give them six floating bands. What we did was we took our best code of parametric EQ and let you boost, cut, define change the thresholds, cues, everything on it, so that your EQ basically flows with the music dynamics. And it's not just a static boost or a static cut. One of the best things that you can do with the F Six is go, okay. Right. So use it as an EQ if you want, but then if you actually, then choose. Okay, cool. So on this one I'm going to make this a mid or a sides processing channel, and on this one I'm going to use this one with an external side chain. So you can have all of these things going on. And every single one can have a different side chain if you want to.
: The F Six has a separate side chain for each band.
Speaker A: Yes.
: Very sick. I kind of think of one of the differences as being the multiband approach where you have the filters that are always going to trade off with the next frequency band. Sort of keeps you in line, keeps you more flat, and you're kind of doing more general sculpting. Whereas the F Six being you got bandwidth, you can overlap things, you can poke a hole in this and not in that.
Speaker A: I use it for poking a hole in the mix all the time.
: I'd say that it's much more possible to get lost in the F Six and it's possible to, obviously with the C four you can do crazy stuff as well, but just that nature where the bands don't overlap and you're always dealing with sort of an equal amount across the board.
Speaker A: Having the crossovers and the visualization of the crossovers between these plugins has helped people a lot, but I actually find more people in user land for us get confused when they're talking to me about, okay, so talk me through the C Four. And this comes down to development and research and design as well. It's like C Four, I find, confuses people on getting the best out of it. Way more in 2023 than the F Six. The F Six, they look at and go, oh, okay, cool. All right. I understand it because we made it feel and look more like an EQ than compression, but it's both.
Speaker B: Yeah. I really like the design of that. I'm going to start exploring it more. I've played around some others, and this one looks more powerful and more flexible. And to be able to set up a deesser that's really precision and de harsher and do all that dynamically, that's very compelling. I can set that up in a chain.
Speaker A: Yeah. I love this plugin. I really do.
: It's the go to plugin in my template, to be honest with you.
Speaker A: Thank you.
: Oh, really?
Speaker A: Thank you.
: Hey, I want to throw one at you, and you could maybe dispel a bit of an argument that I've had with a few people. I want to talk about presets for a minute, because the presets that come with wave stuff are usually very good. There's no arguing with that. But I come across two schools of thought. I come across the people who basically go, I love the such and such preset on this plugin. So I put the plugin on the track and I turn it on and now don't really play with it. My argument would be that, yes, it's a great preset and it sounds good, but it's designed around someone else's voice. A different instrument. A different sounding instrument. Whatever the case may be, it's always going to need some tweaking. Would you agree?
Speaker A: Firstly, when we're talking about presets, I feel like this year, well, actually, in the last two or three years, we've kind of moved across a big bump of discussion, and we've gone from presets are bad, it's like it's cheating and all this kind of crap to presets are great. Thank God these software companies put so many of them in. Let me just take you through for a second. So everybody knows how these presets come about and how much time goes into them. So one of the first things that happens is the product manager and the team at Waves, or whichever other company I'm going to guess they do roughly the same. Clearly not as good, because we're awesome, but it's like the person who knows the plugin best is usually the product manager. And so a lot of those initial presets will come from the product manager, because the average plugin he's in charge of it through development. And that could be up to five years sometimes of living with that tool and working through development, QA testing, beta testing, going back, fixing things back into it again. So you get to know this tool intimately, and through that, you get to create presets because of your intimate knowledge of that specific plugin. But then what we do is we have an artist relations department run by a mate of mine by the name of Gitai. Barack and Gitai will take these software tools, these plugins, and he'll reach out to all of our artists that are waves endorsed to artists, everybody from like the Chris Lord Algis, Tony Maseratis, Eddie Kramer's, through to Manny Marrican and Andrew Shepp's and all the others, Armin Van Buren, Dead Mouse, anybody that's. But he will reach out to the ones that are relevant for the kind of person that will use this specific plugin, and we then ask them to create their own presets. And that's where you end up with the categories of different artists names in those plugins. So in that case, yes, you are dealing with that person working on presets in their room. So if it says Andrew Shepps, it's done in the ceiling space of his cottage in Worcestershire. It's a lovely sounding space. He's got really nice setup. He's got PMCs. The room sounds amazing. That's where those presets come from. And a lot of people will say, well, it's Andrew Scheff's preset. Must be amazing. Yes. For him. For you, it's a starting point. It's a starting point. Take that great starting point from that dude with a lot of experience, and then save as your name and tweak the hell out of it so that it works perfectly for you. They are a starting point. They are a shortcut. They save you hours upon hours of working out how to get what somebody else has already done for you.
Speaker B: Yeah, I tell my clients that, get my custom presets made, this is a starting point. You can use this happily for many years, and some do that clients come back five, six, seven years still using that preset you made or that stack or whatever. I'm like, really? I wasn't a very good engineer back then, but whatever. If you're booking, that's great. But, yeah, I tell people, if you're only going to do one thing, get one preset that's eqed to you, everything's dialed into you, and now you have an awesome stepping off point. To copy or make a duplicate from and go crazy. Now you can always return to home and get back to a starting point that works well. So these presets that you guys have designed.
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker B: They're not custom to tuned EQ or whatever exactly to that, to your voice, but you're knowing that the parameters and the ranges of the parameters and such are in musical or tasteful know.
: Yes, perfect. I couldn't put that better myself. I'm going to use that on my next Facebook argument, George.
Speaker A: So we create these presets, and by.
Speaker B: The way, let me say, Michael, not everybody does good presets. I can tell you a very big company whose daw I use, and their presets are horrendous. So you guys really do put in the effort. Sorry, go ahead.
Speaker A: We really do. But what we try and do is we try and make sure that we're giving people a starting point that saves them time. And also take into account presets are there to give you an idea of what the potential power of the plugin is. So a preset might not, if you go through the presets, it might not be what you're after right now, but if you use the preset browser and just flick through them, you're going to find that, oh, my God, it can do that. Fantastic. Save that for later. I save presets that I want to get back to with my initials and that way I can go through them and I can type in MPA and it brings up and it goes, okay, cool, I need to get back and mess with that one or that one or that idea.
: It's funny, isn't it? We talk about presets and things, but it's also choices of microphones and preamps as well. I was doing a session this morning and I said, what do you want? You want me to use a large diaphragm mic with 1073 or do you want me to use 41 six with a grace? And they're like, oh, 41 six with a grace. So it's kind of like an analog preset, if that makes any sense.
Speaker B: Yeah, as long as you know what you used. Like, if you have to come back to that project again, if you've got more than one chain, you do have to do the extra documentation as a voice actor to make sure that.
: Do you know what, though? You don't, George. Because that bloody 41 six, there's no way you're going to miss that one.
Speaker B: Well, no, that mic is distinctive, but, yeah, no, the more chains you have to remember and preset and store the little bit more of a responsibility. You're going to have to keep track of that later down the road. You got to pick up that a year later. Having two distinct options is smart. Having 17 variations, maybe too much to keep track of.
: Sorry about that.
Speaker B: To have this mic and preamp as a combo you use, I have clients that have two mics, two preamps, or three mics, two preamps. What do they want to do? Well, they want to hear every combination of those three mics and those two. I'm like, no, you don't. You don't need to hear and use all three combos of every permutation. Once you have two chains or three chains maybe, that are like, go to. Just go to it.
: You just find things that you like that work, that are convenient, like, they technically work together, they sonically work together, they're packaged right.
Speaker B: There's gear. FOMO, man. It's FOMO. People are like, there's something new, there's something new. What can I make it better? I'm like, I get it.
Speaker A: And this is kind of why, obviously, we've talked about creative access subscriptions from waves before. One of the beautiful things about a subscription is if yoU're on, say, for example, the essential, you've got 110 plugins that you can mess with. And then rather than actually buying them, if you decide, no, I don't need those plugins, then cancel the subscription and go and buy two or three of them instead. It's totally up to you.
Speaker B: Like a mega demo. Yeah, pretty much the ultimate demo of every plugin. Yeah.
Speaker A: There is a very good argument for having an overwhelming amount of tools and finding that it degrades your work because you can't think about what to use at the time. A perfect example is, and I'll take this back to, this is 2008. 2008, I get a phone call from a mate of mine, Brian Gold, who owns a post production studio house in Detroit. Detroit.
: I know him very well. He's a great guy.
Speaker A: Yeah. And he rings me and he goes, mate, we need Mercury bundle for all the rooms. I'm like, I'm happy to help. How many rooms you got right now? And he goes, 13. So he had 13 rooms at Gold Sound. At that point in time. He had just put in decommands, icon consoles, plus HD, six protools.
: Was this when the Mercury Bundle had the TDM pricing? And then the native get.
Speaker A: Don't spoil my story. And Brian says to me, he goes, so I'm going to need mercury bundles for all those, I said, mate, for that I will personally fly in, install them all, give you a huge hug, and then get you drunk. So Brian then drops the bill on this, which is at that time, TDM Mercury was $13,450 each. And he bought 13 of them. And then he rang me and said, give me another one. I'm going to have a floating one. So there's 14 times 13,000. You do the math. So I go into the studios, and by this time, I'd known him and his team for a while. Lovely people. Brian's still a really good friend of mine, and I go in and I install all these mercury bundles and I go, okay, I'm going to come back in three months. I come back in three months. These guys, after I've taken them through all of these plugins before, they were still using the four plugins that they were used to, that they'd been using for the last two or three years. So there is a point where you have to look at this and go, okay, how many tools do I need and which ones am I going to use? And is too many degrading my work or improving my work?
: You're going to use the ones that give you the sound you want, the sound that you want, and the sound that you like.
Speaker A: Yeah.
: Okay, so I get one plugin, and the plugin would be Gomez Avox.
Speaker A: That's it. Arvox. It's one of the most epically simple and productive plugins you can buy for a simpleton.
: I want to go simple.
Speaker A: Well, that was fun. Is it over?
Speaker C: The Pro audio suite with thanks to Tribut and Austrian audio Recorded using Source Connect, edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Voodoo Radio Imaging with tech support from George the Tech Wittam. Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic, or just say, good day. Drop us a note at our website, theproaudiosuite.com.
Summary In the upcoming episode of the Pro Audio Suite, we delve into the importance of audio safety and how to safeguard your hearing. We discuss personal hacks, such as limiting headphone loudness on your phone and having set volume limits on studio monitors, to prevent potential hearing damage. The discussion emphasizes the value of our ears as our main tool in the world of audio production. Tune in to this enlightening episode on your favourite podcast platform, courtesy of Tribooth and Austrian Audio.
#ProAudioSuite #SoundSafety #ProtectYourHearing Timestamps (00:00:00) Pro Audio Suite Preview Transcript Speaker A: Coming up. Coming up next, the.,: Pro audio suite.,Speaker A: Sneak peek. I have a setting on my phone, just in the basic phone settings that limits the loudness that is allowed in my headphones on my phone. And I can change it to whatever DB I want. And I have it set fairly, can conservatively, because I value my tool that makes me money, my ears. But then on top of that, I also have a pair of very large monitors here in the studio that I have a mark on the output knob on the audio interface that I do not go above because at that point I know that I'm damaging my hearing. The Pro audio suite, thanks to Tribus and Austrian audio.,: Listen now on your favorite.,Speaker A: Podcast provider.
WAVES director of training and develpment Michael Pearson Adams (Gomez to his Aussie mates) joins us in part 1 of a chat about plugins for Voice Actors.
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Summary In this episode of the Pro Audio Suite, we introduce our special guest MPA, also known as Gomez from Waves. We deep dive into the realm of audio plugins, focusing on user-friendly options for the less technically inclined. Gomez explains how these streamlined plugins can simplify tasks, such as noise reduction and reverb clean-up, in audio recordings. However, the debate ensues on the importance of pre-recording room preparations and the potential overuse of reduction plugins. The discussion also touches on the advancements in AI technology for handling audio issues, the concept of "best edit," and the niche specificities of various plugins like Clarity DXD Reverb and Dereverb Pro. Use code Trip200 to get $200 off your Tribooth.
#AudioEngineeringSimplified #ProPluginInsights #KeepingItSimple Timestamps (00:00:00) Introduction with George Wittam and Robert Marshall (00:00:38) Discussing Noise Reduction Plugins with MPA Gomez (00:08:38) Mastering Extreme Editing (00:15:50) The Art of Invisible Editing (00:16:48) Exploring Plugin Niches Transcript Speaker A: Y'all ready? Be history.,Speaker B: Get started.,Speaker C: Welcome.,Speaker B: Hi. Hi. Hello, everyone to the pro audio suite.,: These guys are professional.,Speaker C: They're motivated with tech. To the VO stars, George Wittam, founder of Source Elements Robert Marshall, international audio engineer Darren Robbo Robertson and global voice Andrew Peters. Thanks to Triboo, Austrian audio making passion heard source elements George the tech Wittam and Robbo and AP's international demo. To find out more about us, check ThePro Audiosuite.com line up.,Speaker B: Learner. Here we go.,: And don't forget the code. Trip 200 to get $200 off your Tribooth. Now, we have a special guest today, MPA, known to us as Gomez from waves, is here to talk about some simple, let's put it this way, plugins for people like myself. A simpleton when it comes to audio engine. Simple people. Exactly.,: Right brain, folks. Right brain. Not simple, just right brain.,: Yes, exactly.,Speaker A: And I guess that's where the premise for this episode came from, really, was about keeping it simple. Because I was reading a Facebook post from a guy who was proclaiming the fact that he'd sort of been doing a session in a hotel room and hadn't bothered to build the pillow fort or do anything to negate the sound of the room, and then recorded his session and then used some sort of noise reduction plugin, like clarity, like whatever, like RX, to clean it up. And my first thought was, well, you're making the plugin work harder than it needs to, and that means that you're going to end up with artifacts in the audio that you want to keep because you've got this thing working so hard. Whereas I would prefer to hear, as an engineer, I would prefer to hear that you've done what you can to negate the room and then used a noise reduction plugin. If you feel it is absolutely necessary to just clean up what little artifacts are left, because there's less chance of that doing any sort of damage to the audio that I want to use. But then also, for voiceover artists and people who aren't techie, the words ratio attack time release time threshold mean nothing. So how do you use these plugins? And I guess the reason for getting you on, Michael, was to sort of, you know, what can they do?,: The thing with Pillowforts, from a pro point of view, and an advisory point of view, is people can actually go way over the top with those to the point that it degrades the sound more is not better. And I say the same thing to somebody. It's like when I'm advising them. And they say, well, we've been recording the voiceovers in the clothes closet. And I'm like, okay. And the result, they're like, well, it sounds really muffled and horrible and dead. There's no higher or mid or high frequencies. And I'm like, okay, so the first thing I want you to tell me is, is that cupboard filled with coats? If it's filled with things like coats and nothing else, then you're basically killing your sound. If it's filled with things, that is a variety of different kinds of cloth and material, you've got a much better chance of it just stopping audio dead rather than absorbing it. You don't want everything absorbed. You want it not bouncing around the room. The other one that I always love is when somebody goes, yeah, well, I put pillows and stuff around me. And I said, well, where in the room are you? This is next to the window. I said, you mean that floor to ceiling window in most hotels? Yeah, that's the one. It's a beautiful view. I wanted to see the view. It's like, well, the view is killing.,: You right now, bouncing off the window.,: Yeah. So there are varying levels of problem that need to be looked at. And that's literally one of the first things that we do when we're helping somebody is go, not only tell me that, yes, you're doing a pillow for this, I want to know what kind of clothes are in those closet. Not in a creepy way, but are we talking heavy winter coats? Are we talking big felt coats? Are we talking dresses, jeans? What are we talking about? How high?,: But at some point, do you solve the problem acoustically so much that you don't need a waves product? Or at what point is it like, okay, well, I can't actually bring in, or maybe I don't even want to go through the extent of flipping the mattress up on its side to put it along a wall.,: Flipping a mattress, as far as I'm concerned, just says more like you're worried about an assassin. So nearly every single masterclass I do with my waves hat on, I spend as much time telling people about the fact that I want you to use as few plugins as you possibly can to making sure that you're just not overdoing things. And it's one of the biggest problems is that people throw plugins on with way too much kind of ease and breeze without actually really thinking about it sometimes. And that also degrades. So you have to really decide, is this plugin going to fix something? Or am I just putting it on because I've heard it helps.,: You don't hear it helps, but you heard it helps.,Speaker A: Yeah. But the other thing is, too, Gomez, is that you should exhaust all your options in terms of getting a clean recording before you even put a plug in.,Speaker B: Yeah.,: Right.,Speaker A: To just open up the mic in the middle of the room and then go, oh, well, I'll just chuck a plugin on. In some cases, you're going to have to work that plugin so hard to get it cleaned up that it's to the detriment of the audio. Whereas if you've done everything, you.,: Absolutely.,Speaker A: And then you only need a tiny bit of plugin to get that tiny last few artifacts out of there, then that's a much better way of approaching it.,Speaker B: Right.,: There's also the positioning in a locality, too, of your face and your mouth to the microphone, even when you're in a. You know, if you're. If you're in a room that's really kind of echoey, entirely like a normal hotel room or anything that's got wooden floors, like this room, for example. I have no plugins on this because I didn't have time to put any on. But the simple reality is the closer you get to the microphone, the more chance that you've got of mitigating some of those issues without putting anything on it at all, and then you've got more of a chance of, okay, so what do I need to put on here? Clarity VXD Reverb or clarity XVX D Reverb Pro are definitely plugins that I wave a flag for the amount of effort, the amount of years, and the amount of time that we put into them. And people shouldn't buy them or try them just because somebody said years. There's just as many things out there that sound amazing, that somebody created in a month. But we did that. There's so many samples that we fed into this AI, like hundreds of thousands. And because of that, the result is it really works. But again, like any plugin, you can't overdo it. So my best suggestion with a plugin like Clarity VX de Reverb in a hotel room or an office or somewhere where you are, that is not your ideal place, or the place that you know is take it all the way to the extreme and then pull it back.,: Just a quick question for you. So if I was in a position where I couldn't actually manage the room that well, I've done everything I possibly can to control whatever artifacts, particularly reverb in a hotel room or whatever. If I use clarity VX de Reverb, is it destructive? So when I'm sending the file off to an engineer, can they?,: That depends on your routing. What platform are you using it in? How would you be setting it up?,: Well, I'm just saying if I give it too much, is it going to.,Speaker A: Do damage to the audio? Yes, it will do damage to the audio. Like anything over compressed, over noise reduction, overuse of noise reduction. You can even over EQ. Really?,: Yeah, definitely.,Speaker A: Anything like that because you're fucking with the audio. So you're changing the audio. Yes. It's, as Gomez said, hundreds of thousands of samples. But if you make it work too hard, it's got no choice but to start eating into the audio you want to keep. I would presume Gomez is.,: Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Which is why I say take it all the way to the extreme and then work your way back.,: Yeah.,: And by the way, I give that advice for pretty much every plugin. It's like if you really want to know how to use subtracted EQ, go to the extreme and then move your way back. Same with compression and everything else, but with something like an aipowered de rumor, which is effectively what clarity DXD Reverb is. It cleans up the noise and the reverb in the room. You are going to get to a point where you're basically saying, okay, I've taken it out of automatic mode and I'm just going to get what it gives me on extreme and it's going to kill your audio file. However, I will tell you that it's very hard to do that in clarity. Any of the clarity plugins, because way back when we released vocal rider. Remember vocal rider?,Speaker A: I use vocal rider all the time.,: Okay, so Vocal rider was one of the first plugins that we ever designed and developed that was focused specifically on identifying the frequency range and spectrum of a human voice. So if you put vocal rider on like a drum, it's not going to work as well as a human voice. It's not even going to know what to do with it. You put it on a guitar, same deal. It's not going to know what to do with it. This is also why we then released bass rider. And then we focused that on the spectrum and frequencies for bass. Now, going back to vocal rider, that was our first jump into that field of, okay, so we want this to only understand what's going on with the human voice. Now, let's move forward to 2021, 2022, when we released Clarity VX this is very much designed around the human voice, and we've actually created it in such a way that it's hard to really mess it up. But depending on how much noise you've got and how bad the room is, especially on the pro version of the plugin, where there's more to tweak. Yeah. You can over dig yourself into a hole with the simple one with just a big knob in the middle and a couple of small switches. It's really hard to mess it up.,: Can I ask you, when does it go from being reverb to being resonance? Or maybe early reflections? Right. Because there's a certain point where Reverb is the artifacts or the room itself. When it gets to a certain size, maybe less than, I don't know, six by 8ft or something, reverb no longer is the same problem anymore. Now you're dealing with, like, pressure zones and early reflections. Are we getting to the point yet with AI where we can start actually dealing with that stuff too? Because you sound like you're in a tube. You sound like you're in a box problem. Are we getting to the point where we can fix that too?,: I figured that's part of the room, part of the reverb.,: It is part of the room. And dereverb it totally is. We can fix that.,: That's awesome.,: Yeah.,: Because that's much more complex than just a reverb tail.,: Well, that's always been the problem. Most other, there's been various de reverb plugins out there. And to be honest, what I used to use before clarity came out with a dereverb is you just take a waves C four and you put it all the way on expand, and you can tweak each frequency band and you can kind of sit on the tail. And none of the other products out there could get rid of the early reflections, which were really the telltale sign of you being in a small space, right? Essentially, yeah.,: There's a lot you could do with clarity VX, just the noise fixing plugins. But with de Reverb, we went all the way. And it's down to the little nuances of reflections as well as the big tails and everything else. It's like we want to make you sound like you're in a room that has no reflections. And that's one of the reasons why one of the controls you have is basically controlling the presence of the plugin. And it kind of takes your voice and makes sure that you're telling the plugin. Okay. So now that we've cleaned up that noise. I want you to take my voice and focus more exactly on that. And then the plugin will go, okay, right, so now you're in a cleaner room and you've got the ability to take your voice and put it right out front. So the other thing that you can do is you can basically choose which neural network you want to use. So if you're doing spoken voice, pick one for spoken voice. If you're singing, then use that neural network. You can choose whether you want stereo or whether you want mono. So if it's just a voiceover and that's it, then you can actually tell it, okay, I'm just dealing with mono single here. And it's going to work in a different way, but it will clean it up really nicely for you.,: It's funny, though, because it is quite subjective. Because I do remember I was away in April, and I obviously had to work while I was away in some pretty weird environments. And I sent a file to Robert. And I sent the same file. In fact, I think I sent it to all three of you, George and Robbo. I got feedback from Robbo and I said, would you use that? He said, yeah, I'd use that. And I got one back from Robert saying I wouldn't be happy if I received that. So to me, that is a sign of the whole thing being a bit subjective as well. Some people have no problem with it, and some people have a major problem with.,Speaker A: Audio is subjective, I guess, in its own, in and of itself. Audio is subjective, I suppose.,: Yeah. But the question, of course, is. So if that's the case, would I use it for Robo? No. Would I use it for Robert? Probably.,: It also depends on your listening environment. I mean, I can tell you that if I'm listening to something in this room, in this home studio, through my speakers, then it's going to sound different to if I'm in British Columbia at EA Sports in their mastering studio, and the same voiceover would sound probably completely different because they're listening to. There I'd be listening through PMCs, and here I'm listening through Adams.,: They're in a very expensive room, I would guess.,: Yeah. EA Sports has, I think, about 28 rooms right now.,: I heard the video game industry is doing okay. Like there's a budget these days.,: Their audio rooms are insane. You know, when a company like EA Sports stops calling itself a headquarters and calls itself a campus.,Speaker A: Welcome to the Voodoo Sound campus. Can I just say too, by the.,: Way.,: Campus is a road.,Speaker A: Yeah, campus is a row of tense. Let's have a look at something else. Speaking of games, say I'm a voiceover artist and I've just finished recording an hour or so of gaming voiceover and I look at the file and I think, oh, shit, that's a little dynamic. And for whatever reason, God knows why, but I feel like I should put some compression on it. But the word ratio to mean means nothing and attack and release time. What's a good one for that?,: Something really transparent and relatively hard to screw it up too badly.,: Yeah, well, everything. You want everything to be the best edit that you never heard. If somebody is listening to something and going, oh, there's a plugin on that, then you failed. It's as simple as that. So the term the best edit I never heard is one of my favorites.,Speaker A: I use it all the time. I stole it off.,: You did, didn't you? Yeah, I did, yeah. So now that I've said that, I forgot what you asked Rob.,Speaker A: So something like, I mean, my thought would be Avox, but you guys also have all the one Knob series and all that sort of stuff for someone, a compressor in the hands of somebody who knows nothing about what they're doing but needs to put a tiny bit of compression on something.,: What's a good one in that case? Yes. Rvox. So in studio rack I have a chain that I save and it's just my voiceover chain for this specific microphone. And the first plugin on it is clarity VX de reverb. The second one is Avox and the third one is one knob brighter.,Speaker A: Such a good plugin.,: Which one, sorry, let me say it in another.,Speaker A: Move back to Australia.,: There you go, one knob brighter.,: Brighter.,Speaker A: One knob brighter is such a good plugin and I think we've talked about this before, but Slate digital do a similar one, fresh air, but they're both equally good and I guess, I suppose, like clarity and all the other noise reduction plugins, each seems to have their own sort of niche that they work best in, I suppose. I think one knob brighter on voice is awesome, but Fresh air on it across a mix for me, just gives it that little extra bit of sheen.,: Oh, absolutely. And fresh air is. I nearly look at fresh air as something that's more comparative to something from us that would not be anything to do with restoration or eqing of any kind. There's a plugin which I'm trying to remember the name of and good God, I can't remember it for my life now, but it lets you adjust the width of each of your frequency groups, like low, mid high, mid high, lets you monitor them or stereo them. And I embarrassed that the product name has gone out of my head. But yeah, that's the one that I usually compare more to, to the air one from those guys.,: When do you make the leaps from clarity VXD Reverb to dereverb Pro?,: Realistically, if you're not producing the audio yourself, then from my perspective, clarity DXD Reverb is totally good for you. That's kind of what you need, right? Yeah. If, however, you are taking on and you're doing post production and you're dealing with everything that's coming in from multiple voices, multiple places, and you've got a multi track in front of you and you're dealing with that on a day to day basis, then that's when pro comes in because that's where you have the ability to control the tail more so you can smooth out the tail. You've got independent knob rather than just a simple fader for presence. You've got something that we call a strength multiplier. You've got the ability to go into every single part of the frequencies and choose which ones you really want the plugin working on and which ones you don't.,: Is that that EQ curve looking thing across the middle?,: That's the one of the graph? Yeah. The one that says strength and frequency.,: Right.,: So effectively that's exactly it. To strengthen frequency, it's like, okay, rather than just a knob, what we did was go, okay, right. So we're dealing this for the seasoned post production guy or somebody of that ilk going, okay, so this is where that room is. Let me focus all that and bring out. I don't want much of the strength on that part, but I do over here between three and eight K, it's very tweaky. Oh, it is. Very now.,: But if you were trying to match, like, if you had five different sources and you wanted them to sound like they're literally in the same space, sounds like the level of tweakability you would want to have.,: Absolutely. But if you're a voiceover or you're somebody that's doing your own stuff and you're doing it, or you're doing a podcast and you've got a guest coming in and they're on their MacBook Pro microphone and they're sitting in a kitchen on a tiled floor with a window behind them. And that's the kind of thing where honestly, just use the normal one with the one big knob in the middle. It's like a lot of plugins. You can get yourself into a hole really quickly unless you've got the expertise to be able to deal with it. Which is also why we released two versions of these. One of them is a quick fix, and by Quick Fix, I do not mean degraded quality at all. It's exactly the same neural engines, but it gives you less tweakability so that there's less risk of you messing it up yourself. And then you've got Pro, which has more tweakability, plus a limiter built in, plus width control, plus tail smoothing, plus the ability to get more neural networks and an analysis of both mono and stereo. It gives you a lot.,: Yeah, that was just part one of our chat with Michael Pearson Adams or Gomez, if you like, from waves. We'll be back next week for a continuation of this conversation, and we're also tapping into something which is kind of topical as we age, because some of us are doing that. We'll be talking about hearing loss and how best to manage it when you do this for a living. So join us next week. More chats about hearing, more chats about plugins, and more chats with Michael Pearson Adams from Waves. See you next week.,Speaker B: Well, that was fun. Is it over?,Speaker C: The Pro audio suite with thanks to Tribut and Austria and audio recorded using Source Connect, edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Voodoo Radio Imaging with tech support from George the tech Wittam. Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic, or just say g'day. Drop us a note at our website, theproaudiosuite.com.
WAVES director of training and development Michael Pearson Adams (Gomez to his Aussie mates) joins us in part 1 of a chat about plugins for Voice Actors. We delve into the common pitfall of overusing plugins in audio editing. Through a masterclass, listeners are advised to be judicious with the use of plugins, as indiscriminate use often leads to the degradation of sound quality. The aim is to help listeners focus on necessity, and understand if a plugin truly addresses a need or if it is being added merely based on hearsay. Tune into this enlightening discussion on any major podcast platform.
#ProAudioTips #PluginProblems #MasterClassInsight
Timestamps * (00:00:00) Sneak Peek
Transcript Speaker A: Coming up. Coming up next, the pro audio Suite sneak peek. In nearly every single masterclass I do with my waves hat on, I spend as much time telling people that I want you to use as few plugins as possible to make sure that you're just not overdoing things. And one of the biggest problems is that people throw plugins on with way too much ease and breeze without actually thinking about it sometimes. And that also degrades. So you have to really decide, is this plugin going to fix something, or am I just putting it on? Because I've heard that it helps. Now, who am the Pro audio suite? Thanks to Tripoos and Austrian audio. Listen now on your favourite podcast provider.
They sound great, look incredible, and have a distinct sound that makes them unique. But how should you look after your Tube/Valve mic? From keeping dust out of the capsule to preventing it from overheating, what's the best way to care your your investment?
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Summary In this episode of the Pro Audio Suite, hosts Robert Marshall, Darren Robertson, George the tech Wittam and Andrew Peters dive into an intriguing discussion about unique microphone handling techniques and the associated benefits. They answer a listener's question on why some people hang their microphones upside down - a technique often linked to protecting the microphone from overheating and avoiding dust accumulation on the capsule. They also introduce a discount code "trip a P 200" to get $200 off your Tribooth, recommended as the best vocal booth for home or on the road. Additionally, the team humorously integrates tire chat, sponsored by Canadian Tire, into their discussion. Don't forget to join the conversation on their Facebook group.
#ProAudioSuite #MicrophoneTips #TriboothDiscount Timestamps (00:00:00) Welcome to Pro Audio Suite (00:00:45) Hanging Microphones Upside Down (00:05:39) Trivia: The White Michelin Man Transcript Speaker A: Y'all ready be history.,Speaker B: Get started.,Speaker A: Welcome.,Speaker B: Hi. Hi. Hello, everyone, to the Pro Audio Suite. These guys are professional. They're motivated.,Speaker A: Thanks to Tributh, the best vocal booth for home or on the road. Voice recording and Austrian audio making passion heard. Introducing Robert Marshall from source elements and someone audio post Chicago. Darren robert Robertson from Voodoo Radio Imaging. Sydney to the Vo stars. George the tech Wittam from La. And me, Andrew Peters, voiceover talent and home studio guy learner.,Speaker B: Here we go.,Speaker C: Welcome to another Pro audio suite. Don't forget, if you would like to get $200 off your tribooth, use the code trip a P 200. We had a question sent to us about microphone position particularly. Why would you hang your microphone upside down?,Speaker B: The answer is pretty obvious, if you think about it.,: To get to run all the blood out of it.,Speaker B: Yeah, that's right.,Speaker C: Yeah.,: So you can record Pink, who's famous for singing on stage, hanging upside down.,Speaker B: There you go. There's another good answer to dry it out. Well, there's that as well. That's right. Yeah, exactly.,Speaker C: Or you could record like Brian Wilson in a beanbag.,: I think the new thing with microphone should kind of be like how gangsters will hold the gun sideways. I think we do the gangster style sideways microphone.,Speaker B: Right.,Speaker C: But here's another reason, a serious one. And this is a fine example of a microphone that should be hung upside down. This is the Microtech Gafel M 92.1s, featuring the original M seven capsule. And inside is a valve, or for our American friends, a tube, the EF 86 tube, which, of course, generates heat. And what does heat do? It rises. Rises, affecting the capsule. But if you hang it upside down, it goes out the bottom.,: The heat avoids the capsule.,Speaker B: And we have a wiener.,: And there's another reason. And also it gets it out of the way of the script and all that stuff.,Speaker B: Yeah. And it looks cooler, too, I reckon.,: Yeah. Those are the practical reasons for voice actors.,Speaker C: The other reason you hang your mic upside down is dust as well. So you don't get dust inside the.,Speaker B: That'S a good one. Keep the dust off the capsule, probably. Yeah, absolutely.,: And you should turn the phantom off because a polarized capsule will attract dust.,: Oh, see, I've been trying to think of good reasons to tell people to turn off phantom. I usually tell people, don't worry, just leave it on.,: I'm pretty sure a polarized capsule will attract polarized dust.,Speaker B: There's the two schools of camp. There's the school that says, Leave it on because turning on and off all the time is crap. And there's the school that says Turn it off. Because for all the reasons we've just mentioned yeah.,: I think you should therefore just turn it on to, like, 24 volts phantom when you're gone.,Speaker B: You think so? Half?,: No, you're taking me seriously.,Speaker B: Are you standing by that robert, are you going to pay all the police pay because you my mic claims? Because I want nothing to do with that.,Speaker C: No, not absolutely. But I always turn everything off anyway.,Speaker B: When I yeah, I turn off it. I put my computer to sleep, but I turn everything else off. Yeah, absolutely. I think it's the best way. I mean, God knows what's going to happen.,: Sometimes if you leave stuff turned on and the right thunderstorm comes by, kaboom. But if it's turned off, it might not quite get hit as hard.,Speaker C: That's one thing well, I bet people don't have because I've got the what do you call it, the CyberPower thing. So if we do get a major surge, it blocks it.,Speaker B: Yeah, I've got surge protection stuff on mine. But I always come back to my grandmother, because if I was talking to my grandmother when I was living in a state, when I was working in radio and there was a storm coming, she'd say, oh, I better get off the phone, there's a big storm coming. Okay, right on and see you later down the phone. She made me paranoid.,: Especially if it was like the cordless phones you had at your house back in the day when cordless phones first came out and they had the big antenna. And there used to be this guy that would walk around the block and he's like, this is so great. Because it was 900. Could go a good distance farther than WiFi. But yeah, if you're walking around with a big antenna coming off like.,Speaker C: The umbrella.,Speaker B: So if you hang your mobile phone upside down, do you still get struck by lightning?,Speaker C: No, and don't hold me to that.,: Yes. Are you sticking with that one, Rob?,Speaker B: I didn't know that. I want that court case either.,Speaker C: No way.,Speaker B: Right.,: How about we make a pair of headphones that are purely metal band made to wear in the rain?,Speaker B: There you go. Put them inside the voiceover bodysuit. Yeah.,Speaker C: With a large antenna. Like a lightning rod.,Speaker B: Yeah, lightning rod for the voiceover bodysuit. There we go.,: They can have little pokey things that get a really good contact on your temple so that when the lightning hits.,Speaker B: It just goes like, oh, look at George. There we go. George has got the metal band on his headphones. Look at that. They're cool.,: I like, George, that's too bad.,Speaker C: You know what you could do, though, just to if you wore the metal headphone and you put a lightning rod sticking out the top, then you run a wire from each side down your body and then connects to a metal plate on the bottom of your shoe. By right, you should be earthed and you should be okay in a lightning storm.,: Right. You're doing the same thing as you do to a whole house.,: Yeah.,: And we might need to do this for the voiceover bodysuit. What's it called? The lightning rod. Isn't that what you install?,Speaker B: You know what it's called, Robert? It's called the self charging device.,: The voiceover bodysuit is so goddamn soundproof that you can use it in a lightning storm.,Speaker B: There you go.,: But you need the additional add on option of these.,Speaker C: The optional lightning rollers.,Speaker B: Just gets sillier and sillier. We got to do it one day. We got to come up with a prototype.,: Didn't you send a picture the other.,Speaker B: Day, the Michelin Man? The original Michelin Man. Yeah.,: Do you know why the Michelin Man was white? Was wrapped in white tires?,Speaker B: I didn't know that either until I saw that. I know what you're going to say, so I'm not going to answer that.,: See if anyone natural rubber back in the day was white.,Speaker B: Yeah, they're white.,Speaker C: Of course they used to be white.,Speaker B: Natural rubber is white until they started dyeing it black. That's why the Michelin man's white. Always wondered that.,Speaker C: Now I know because my grandfather was a chauffeur back in the 1920s. And the car he used to drive, I can't even remember what make it was now because it was so long ago since I've seen any photographs. But that had white rubber tires, which, being a chauffeur would have been a bitch because he had to clean them all the time.,: Clean them all the time, absolutely. I'm sure that's why tires are black now.,Speaker C: Yeah.,Speaker B: Was that where white walls came from? Because the tires were white? But then we were driving on the black bitumen road, so the rubber became black on the bottom. The sides were still white, maybe.,: Yeah, probably.,Speaker C: I think when they make white walls, they actually take the black off and it's white underneath.,: I think that's how they do it.,Speaker B: There you go.,: Yeah, they wanted that white look. They wanted that classic, like a tuxedo for cars.,Speaker C: Imagine if you had white tires and you did a burnout. It confused the shit out of people behind you. They go, what the hell is a lane marking here? What am I supposed to do?,: Yeah, all of a sudden, people are like, driving in your direction. If you did a big spinning burnout, they're like, oh, over here.,Speaker A: Oh, shit.,: Check it out online. There are some red tires, some blue tires, just so that when you do burnouts, it leaves crazy colors on the street.,: Yeah, you could get like a red, white and blue tire and then you could be very patriotic about your burnouts.,Speaker C: Yes, you could. You could.,Speaker B: You have to change the name of the show now. The Pro Audio Suite and Tire Chat.,: Yeah, just general brain spillage sponsored by Canadian Tire.,Speaker B: Well, that was fun. Is it over?,Speaker A: The Pro Audio suite with thanks to Triboof and Austrian audio recorded using Source Connect edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Voodoo Radio Imaging with tech support from George the Tech Wittam don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic or just say G'day. Drop us a note at our website theproudiosuite.com.
Source-Nexus I/O is a plugin and virtual driver system that upgrades your workstation with a versatile audio input-output routing solution, tailored and customizable for streaming audio seamlessly from both DAWs and Desktop applications. It Automatically connects to Source-Nexus Review for effortless streaming.
This week's episode is the soundtrack to a walk-through of the new interface we recorded with Robert. It's an in-depth look at a game-changing software you can't afford to miss if remote sessions are a part of your day-to-day business...
You can see the video on our YouTube channel.
https://youtu.be/G9u8j2pmAcs
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode of Pro Audio Suite, the team introduces Robert Marshall from Source Elements and discusses the company's new communications platform for media professionals, Nexus. This platform enhances remote work by enabling content creators and voiceover artists to bring audio directly into a standalone app, and set up online review sessions with clients. Nexus also simplifies audio routing, making it easy to use, even for non-technical users. The platform, priced at $11.95 per month, promises a lot of value and utility for users. In future iterations, Nexus plans to provide more improvements and functionalities, making it an affordable, powerful tool for media professionals.
#ProAudioSuite #SourceNexus #HomeStudioSolution
Timestamps * (00:00:00) Welcome & Sponsor Shoutout * (00:00:53) Intro to Source Connect * (00:07:56) Discussing Buffer Setting * (00:14:41) Nexus Tech Support History * (00:20:23) Source Connect for Video Editing * (00:26:16) Pro Tools I o Routing Issues * (00:28:41) Source Connect Pricing * (00:30:59) Broadcast vs Communication Users
Transcript Speaker A: Y'all ready to be history?
Speaker B: Get started.
Speaker C: Welcome.
Speaker B: Hi, hi. Hello, everyone, to the Pro Audio Suite. These guys are professional, they're motivated.
Speaker C: Thanks to Tributh, the best vocal booth for home or on the road voice recording and Austrian audio making passion heard. Introducing Robert Marshall from source elements. And someone audio post chicago Darren, robert Robertson from Voodoo Radio Imaging, sydney to the Vo stars, george, the tech Wittam from La. And me, Andrew Peters, voiceover talent and home studio guy.
Speaker A: Line up.
Speaker B: Here we go.
Speaker C: And welcome to another Pro Audio Suite. Don't forget the code trip a P 200 to get $200 off your tribooth.
: And don't forget Georgeth tech TPAs for your deals.
Speaker C: Man indeed, indeed, indeed. And don't forget demosthework.com. Anyway, that's enough plugs now we're talking.
Speaker A: About Source elements.com today.
Speaker C: This is a first for us, the first time we've been seen on camera, which sorry about that. It's the way it goes.
Speaker A: No, scary.
: Oh, crap, I forgot I should need to stop picking my nose now.
Speaker C: As long as that's all you're picking.
Speaker A: Yes, that's got your balls. Whatever you do.
Speaker C: So this is the new source nexus.
Speaker B: Robert yeah, we just released this and really something that I guess if a lot of our crowd are voice talent, at least initially here, this is kind of showing more of the client side or our new version of a client side application kind of shooting down the middle. We had originally made Source Live, which has a really high powered server assisted video streaming system and it can have a lot of, I think up to 20. We tested up to 26, 25 or 30 people. We just ran out of people to test with. But it shouldn't have any limits on the number of connections. So the idea here was to take Nexus, which has started to become sort of a slightly more commoditized concept. Nexus going way back how many years ago? I'm not sure, but it feels like probably at least ten, maybe a little bit more, maybe 13 years ago or so. Nexus comes out and really sets this genre for how to construct post sessions so that you can have your talent coming in on Source Connect. You can have your clients in on various meeting platforms, you can have a remote connection. Nexus was also used for bringing in sound effects, feeds and other monitorings of other types of things, things that you would normally patch into a patch bay in the hardware world. This is now all starting to happen application and Nexus is this patching center, as the name implies. But that capability has been slightly commoditized. You have all kinds of things like even UA and Apollo has our virtual drivers built into the interfaces and interfaces are coming out with loopback connections and blah, blah, blah. So here we are innovating and saying, what was Nexus originally used for? And a lot of it was used for integrating these communications platforms and we thought let's make a communications platform that's a little bit more built for media professionals. And on this side, the initial sort of intent is for review and approval. So you can imagine either you've got clients on the gateway here and they are meeting and then there's a talent connected and the engineer can patch all this together using Nexus actually. And they would have a session where talent's connected in on source connect and the clients are all here on a meeting platform. And so here's sort of a meeting platform that's more designed for media professionals and specifically like a review and approval workflow. Here's kind of what it looks like a little bit. One of the first things with Nexus is it has now a plugin dedicated for it that does a lot of this template setup. People used to have these crazy templates for Pro Tools and now if you oops, what I should do is share my screen. So here's Robert's Screen. So the first thing that Nexus has besides this meeting room looks pretty similar to a lot of things but here's one big difference. There's a plugin that's included with it. And the plugin has, as you can see, my talkback coming in here has the input from the mix. So I can hear the mix actually right here. The mix is also sent to the broadcast input, which we'll talk about in a split second. And then here's the chat return. So if someone says hello, we will see this meter bounce.
Speaker A: Hello.
Speaker B: There you go. So that's how I hear. And this takes care of all the mix minus and all the routing that people would have to do in one drop of a plugin on the master fader. Yeah, you don't have to change your session structure. You don't have to mix to a bus. So you can separate the people from what you're listening to and make them mix minus. Essentially, this does it for you. And so here's this broadcast input. But over here in the gateway, I've got this broadcast section. So now I can send my mix separate from my communications input, which is not something you get to do with zoom, et cetera, et cetera, all the other ones. So here's a high quality stereo communications feed without having to have problems with my talkback conflated within it and those kinds of things. So now you guys might notice that if I just literally go over here and this might be loud. Here's a rock tune in this session and then as easy as that is it's a good level right I put it down to -20 because we have to blend it with this stuff and.
: Coming back to me in full stereo. Like high fidelity.
Speaker B: Yeah, high fidelity, full stereo.
Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B: That's the whole point. But really it's like I don't want you looking at my screen because there's too much stuff there. And whatnot what you really want to see is this. So if I jump back out and I share my window, you can't see what I'm doing because I'm not sharing it, but I'm basically sharing again. But this time, instead of doing entire screen, I'm picking window. I'm picking that Pro Tools video window. So now we can play this spot that we using as a little ADR demo. And right now that's more stuff to talk about later, the remote ADR workflows, but here's just a review and approval thing. And so a lot of voice sessions are not synced to picture. You're just, hey, read it three times. All right, I'll cut that in and you see it happening. And essentially, here's the core of that session. I can have a talent connected. I can bring the talent in through here, actually through a new plugin, but I can't really talk about that. But the classic connection where you have Source Connect and a plugin on an Aux track. So here you can see I'm receiving from source connect. This is the original Nexus plugin. And so there's from Source Connect, and that's popping over to my record track over here. And then an Aux send from receive of Nexus. And I can send the chat over to the talent.
Speaker A: So you don't have your talent on Nexus then? Is that what you're saying?
Speaker B: You don't want to? Because then you have all right, everyone mute their mics or you don't have separation, essentially. So what you have is you can have the talent join Nexus. And one of the first we plan on kind of rolling out updates rapidly. And one of the ones that's up on the dock is a no audio button, meaning not just mute your microphone, but mute the whole output. So then the talent can be here. The talent can look at the picture, see the clients and record. And within the realms of that latency, you can even record sort of with pictures as long as the engineer slides it back. And it happens a lot over these remote systems. You just kind of deal with the latency a little.
: Can I ask you about the buffer setting? I now see in my window? It says off no buffer right now.
Speaker B: Yeah, right. Another thing. So stuff you can't do in zoom oh, the broadcast, which is really high quality, is giving me a little bit of trouble. You can add some buffering on your side. So maybe that connection is going to be a little bit more latent, but it's going to have a stronger connection because as you know how it goes with all of these Chrome type things, it's all up to the way Chrome really decides to treat the audio. And Chrome loves to drive latencies as low as possible and just say, screw it, I'm going to stretch audio and mask all kinds of stuff and quite frankly, make up more audio than I'm actually broadcasting just to kind of make communications work. And if it is high quality, that's nice, but it's not my goal. My goal is just communications. Just by adding to that buffer, at least we can protect that audio stream a little bit and make sure that clients aren't hearing. So, for instance, the way I do it, when I send my talent to the clients, I'm sending them through the broadcast input so they hear that voice record from the talent in really high quality. Whereas we're over here the chat. Even though there is a broadcast option on the chat, you don't really need it. And that way you also have echo cancellation built into here and you're optimizing the way things are. You're not all eggs and all echo canceled. Good enough for a lawyer's meeting or the other side, something like Source Connect now was where it's just like wide open, pure audio, but then you have feedback issues. This is kind of trying to blend. You got clients who are used to the business meeting. You've got Vo talent and playback that needs to be high quality. Put all that together in the right.
: Way, that's always challenging a lot of things. It's an all or nothing proposition. It's either Zoom equality or everybody's in a high quality and it's just you introduce new problems, especially the client is not prepared for that.
Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of stuff that's like for people that aren't initiated in this stuff, it's easy for us to say stuff, but we do this day in and day out. At least I do.
: Obviously, we always have headphones at the ready.
Speaker B: Yeah, we're actually getting it pretty good on the iPhone and iOS devices, and those have their own challenges. We have a warning right away that says, like, if you're going to use this for communications, we can't really give you as high quality broadcast audio. So there's another thing that's unique to this is there's a mode to it where you can just join it for the broadcast audio, which is a case where maybe you do want to have a sidecar zoom meeting. Some of the issues with a sidecar zoom meeting with a high quality broadcast on the site is now Zoom is unaware of its echo cancellation. So the high quality audio broadcast echoes through everyone's connections because it doesn't think that that's part of its initial input output. It doesn't catch it in its algorithm as well as when it's all integrated into one platform. But yeah, you can join this and just use it for the broadcast, or you can use it for the meeting, but when you use it on the iPhone, if you just want to use it for the broadcast, you'll get high quality. But if you use it for communications and the broadcast, the broadcast unfortunately gets stepped on. And I'm sure you've seen some of that happen even when you just get a phone call. As soon as the iPhone thinks it's in a communications mode. It's like it's doing that good enough for communications, make it intelligible kind of thing. But still there's people that might be driving. You might have a producer who's just really they just want to make sure the session is flowing well. They're not listening to it in the same way that the writer and the art directors are, for example, worrying about what time is it and are we going to have to pay somebody overtime if this goes any longer? Yeah, but that's pretty much it. The idea is it's trying to be really simple about it as well.
Speaker A: It's very cool. I mean, as you say, it takes zoom out of the equation, which is the best bit. Plus, as you say, we're listening to the talent in broadcast quality as well, which for me as an engineer is a big thing. I don't want to have to listen.
Speaker B: And in any session you do, you can remote heise it in just like one drop of a plugin. You don't even have to think about it. So one of the unique things about the review plugin here is that you can bring your talk back in from any input in the whole computers. Right now I'm using same as system, which is picking up this road NTUSB actually. So same as the system setting or picking it up directly. And that can be my Talkback input, which is on a trigger with a slash key. Or if you're on a Pro Tools HDX or HD native system, when Pro Tools launches, your audio interface is exclusively owned by Pro Tools. And if your Talkback mic is going to that audio interface, how do you get it in there? Here you go. You pick it up on the side chain.
Speaker A: Nice. That's clever.
Speaker B: I like that you tell this thing. So say my input is I don't know, it wouldn't be one of these buses, but I don't even have a hardware input. Yeah, so in this case but then you just pick your input there and then here you'd say use key input. That covers all the HD native and anybody else with an exclusively run hardware audio system. There's a few others out there. I'm trying to think of what they are, but maybe like a Fairlight, for example, and that CC one card that they have and things like that can make use of that input. Actually, come to think of it, I'm not too sure Fairlight has gotten around to putting side chain inputs on their plugins yet. That's a different issue. They could sure use it. Because I remember I did a tech support thing the other day for a Fairlight person and what I ended up doing is making an Aux channel, dropping a Nexus plugin and picking up making the Aux channel the input for his talkback mic and then just sending it off to a virtual device like Nexus 23 24. So then over here on the review plugin. I just went over and picked up Nexus A 24 or whatever and got his talk back into the system, even.
Speaker A: Though, yeah, that's clever.
Speaker B: It took an extra channel. It'd be nice if fairly put in a side chain on their plugins. And I forget what other exclusive systems there are, but there are some plenty, I believe.
Speaker A: Well, it's very cool, mate. You must be pleased with it.
Speaker B: Oh, yeah. I mean, it's funny how it's exactly a year. We went to AES last year and showed a prototype of this and we put the prototype together in like the month or two before AES, I think. And it was like that kind of thing where you make 80% of the progress. We had a review plugin that looked a lot like this stuff was functional. And then the whole last year has been spent like the details.
Speaker A: So was the idea, I mean, Nexus One, shall we call it the original Nexus? For me, it's no secret I've talked about it on this show a million times. I love it. Looking at this and watching you use it now was the idea to take something that was really useful, but probably you needed to have a bit of a tech understanding and make it a bit more user friendly. Is that what you were trying to do?
Speaker B: So we would find things like this. You'd get someone and they'd buy Nexus at that time. It's like 295 at the time. But they'd be on the phone with one of our tech support people for another 45 minutes an hour. We're building a template for them. It's kind of expensive, honestly. And this isn't everybody, but there's like a certain level of users I just need to do this thing and well, what you need to do is kind of complicated. That's fine. Can you show me? And then you show them and then next thing you know, when they get stuck or something, they're back at it. And originally Nexus didn't even include live tech support. Try to simplify because some of these people, george, I know you know this syndrome where people get set up with something that is barely at their capacity to remember, especially if you're setting it up for them. Because it's a different thing when you brew something up in your head. But if someone's just like, Here you go, whiz, bang, boom. And then you're like, oh, fuck, I got to get off the phone. See you later. Have a good day, sir. And it worked. I don't even want to close my computer. So the idea was this first one is just to take that whole kind of set up and distill it into here. I mean, here's your classic mix minus is what this is.
: Just because someone's a talented engineer, mixer, whatever, it doesn't mean they necessarily are trained and know how to build some of the really routing and stuff.
Speaker B: Those are different I know exactly how that is. I mean, that's kind of how I got my start. Like, I was a sound designer and mixer at Cutters, and there's sort of operators I was always involved with even. What equipment are we going to buy? How are we going to set up? How can we be more efficient, are we going to do our storage? I mean, there's so many aspects.
: You were like engineer, technician, really.
Speaker B: I was a little bit of like the I didn't do all the soldering because there was also like a whole department of full text. But I was like the liaison and I would define and get my hands very dirty doing the stuff for the audio department because you're also an audio department in a company that was originally a video company. So the video texts are videotechs and they can do what you want, but they don't know the same stuff. They know exactly how to run an Avid and premiere and all those things. And then audio is kind of a weird thing. So, yeah, it came out from you're setting stuff up and then here we are making the stuff that we trying to simplify these things.
Speaker A: So I guess the important point to make here too, especially for content creators or for voiceover artists, is all this techie stuff in the background. Especially if you're a voiceover artist, that's not your responsibility, that's the engineer's responsibility. All you need to do if you're a voiceover artist is dial into the Engineer on your usual source connect connection. Yeah, but dial into the audio engineer on your usual source connect connection and bang, you're in. But if you need to run sessions or if you want that connectivity, then you've got all this in Nexus as well. Right?
Speaker B: So first thing I was going to say is there's engineers that they just want to walk into work, go, where's my talkback mountain? Where's the mic pre for the talent? Where do I search my sound effects? And I just want to run that way. Yeah, they're not worried about like, am I on the latest version of this and that and what do I have? They're more of the artist type of engineer and not so much of the tech kind of engineer. And they're doing a lot of great work, but they're just not into it as much. And so a lot of those people, as you said, sometimes especially is what's happening these days is people are going freelance a lot. And a lot of those people had the support of a big team in a post house like that. And now they're freelance and they're leaning on either companies and people like George or some of our tech support. And so the idea is to simplify this, but here's something that a voice talent could do with this. Imagine you have clients that think, and I'm going to say think that they can save money and time by having the Voice Talent record themselves and then just throwing a bunch of audio takes and poorly, poorly noted stuff at Audio Engineer to say just put it together. And somehow that's going to save 1 hour of an Audio Engineer's time by making them edit stuff after the fact. And Robbo, you and I both know that they will get more of what they want quicker for less money if they just do a supervised session with an engineer on the line. Nonetheless, it happens to a lot of Voice talent. Andrew knows this and they are like, can you play that back for me?
Speaker A: Yes.
Speaker B: Now, as a Voice Talent, all you got to probably I think this is stereo only. We should modify this for mono, but you could just make a master fader in your daw and chuck this on it. And now you can do playback without thinking about it. You just play it back. You're broadcasting your mic. You want to do a playback, especially if you use the push to talk. You can mute your microphone. So the playback is nice and clean for them, but they're probably not recording you anyway, so they just want to hear it and decide if. So this could be useful for a talent who just needs to have a very simple playback system. And one of the things also that's going to come out pretty soon is a standalone version of this plugin because it's also useful for video editors. They want to share their video edit screen and what they're working on with clients in exactly the same way we are in Pro Tools. But the video editing systems don't have quite the same idea of always a live ongoing mixer. So in this case, you would just use Nexus to bring the audio directly into the standalone app. The audio from your system essentially like a copy of your audio from the system. And then you can have your Talkback mic selected directly. And now someone running Final Cut or Premiere can easily set up a review session with their clients so they can work remotely as well.
Speaker A: Cool.
Speaker B: So it does have a couple of applications. There some other fun stuff. You hit the Talkback button and it dims things. So for example, if you can talk over it, when you're like right over here, this happens and that happens and it dims the mix. And you can just decide what you want to dim just by selecting here what gets dimmed when you dim.
Speaker A: Nice.
Speaker B: If you do need to run with Zoom or something like that, there's some preferences here. You can send your Talk back to your broadcast input. Like I said, Zoom can't differentiate these things. So that way you could use this with a Zoom type setup or whatever. Just a traditional meeting.
: Google meet, right? Microsoft.
Speaker B: This is a funny setting. Normally this is off and we take away the master fader for the engineers. So that they don't end up turning their whole mix down and printing it. But if they do want to have their control of their mix of their own level, then they can turn that preference on and have is that just.
Speaker A: For if what you're sending. So that's effectively what I'm sending out my mix bus, is that right?
Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. So if you were to somehow move this fader and then mix everything down yeah, it's down. You might bounce down at like negative something bad.
Speaker A: But if you're recording and things are a bit hot, at least you can trim it a touch, right?
Speaker B: Right. If you want, you can turn this on and you can control your monitor mix a little bit easier without having to change your master fader. But when you mix down, you want to either make sure you put this puppy at zero you can type the numbers in here, by the way, too, or you can do the preference and just turn it off. So there is no way, there's no fader. It's gone.
Speaker A: See, the thing for me is in Pro Tools, and you might correct me if I'm wrong here, but when I have a session and I save memory locations, right? So I'll create a new session. I'll create a record section as a location memory, and I'll tell it to remember the tracks that I'm viewing and the zoom and all that sort of stuff, and the mute and the mute and all that sort of stuff. And then I'll create another section which might be Mix, and then I'll have other tracks. So when I slip through and when I go to each memory location, it's muting and unmuting master faders. So on my record section, my record master fader, I would have this Source Connect plugin on it. But then when I went to my next one, if I was doing the mix and I opened up that memory, it would be a different master bus, which wouldn't have that on there. So that would negate that forgetting to turn it off. Right.
Speaker B: It's like the old SSL boards that would have, like I forget what the modes are called, but like mix down mode and tracking mode, and it would do a whole bunch of switch arounds to deal with queuing and things like that. Yeah, you're kind of like switching your mixer into different modes depending on what you're doing it's one of the favorite.
: Things with Twistawave is being able to hide the little volume slider on the bar at the top because people will slide that thing down. Don't even realize why it's so quiet. Start recording at a higher level or doing all kinds of weird stuff. No, that's just your playback, dude. So I love that. I can hide it, make it disappear. Yeah, you can't touch it anymore.
Speaker A: Opening a hole.
Speaker B: That's why we put this here, because it's just like we were trying to make this thing the idea a lot with this was to reduce tech support and try to which ironically is the.
: Idea of the Passport Vo is to also reduce support, which is I'm actually frankly a little concerned about.
Speaker B: It was kind of funny when Andrew and I talked about doing this episode, he's like, and then all you need, you need this and Passport Vo. And I was like, with this, you just kind of need a basic two out interface. Like you could just do a road AI one.
Speaker A: See, if you buy the Passport Vo, you don't have to pay $15 a month either. See, there you go.
Speaker B: That's true. How many months is that at like $600? The Passport Vo is a piece of hardware and it's beautiful in its own right. And even though it does cover a playback workflow, there's many differences. I'm personally not worried about it.
Speaker C: The thing we sort of don't touch on, which is something that's kind of more common than it was pre COVID, is once because I lived remotely for seven years before a mate of mine who's an audio engineer moved here as well. And when he decided to move here, it was like, thank God for that. At least I've got some kind of support. So things go wrong in here, at least I can give him a call. He'll just pop around and fix it for me. So all these things that make life a lot easier and technically support you in a kind of roundabout fashion are perfect for people like myself or Pip the audio engineer, just so we don't have to sort of go, shit, I've got no one around here to fix anything.
Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, honestly, I like it too, even though I know what to set up. It's like couple tunnel or however you say that. Having to set up sessions and do things and do all your routing when it is nice. Oh, I started this little thing. I wasn't planning on doing a review, but now someone wants to hear it. Hold on, put the plugin on there and you're not changing things. And so it's just convenient even if you know what you're doing, it's like, why work harder?
Speaker A: Look, I can't tell you the amount of times Nexus has saved my ass since I've had know just that fact of being able to get stuff out of the box, out of the software, out of the software, where you kind of think, holy shit, how am I going to get this out of here and into there? Nexus is usually the answer.
Speaker B: I'll give you the craziest thing I solved with Nexus. One time this guy was desperate and he had some problem with his audio interface. I forget he had like an input and an output device and he couldn't use the same device for input and output, but one device was only running at one sample rate and basically end result is you couldn't get these. Two things to aggregate together and work as a single device for Pro Tools. So he ended up with Pro Tools kind of like me right here, where he's got no input. I think right now with my Pro Tools interface, if we go to my I O setups, you get in these weird situations, no inputs.
Speaker A: Wow. Yeah, look at that. That's crazy.
Speaker B: Got nothing, right?
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker B: But you're like, I need some inputs. So you just drop a Nexus plugin on a bunch of aux channels and like, hey, inputs.
Speaker A: Yeah, that's clever.
Speaker B: And I just sidewired his whole Pro Tools system.
Speaker A: There you go.
: Sometimes the Pro Tools I o routing is confoundingly frustrating. I mean, I've tried to set it up for people. I feel like every time I try to customize the I get, I confuse myself.
Speaker B: Half the problem with the Pro Tools I O is that you're all good, and then you get a session from somebody else, and then your I O set up is cluttered with a bunch of other shit from somebody else. You're like, yeah, what are these things? I never created them. Can I delete them? And then if you really get into it, sometimes Pro Tools picks the wrong output. You can have many differently named things going out, the same physical output, so you're hearing everything where you want. Then you're like, I don't need this output. And proto's like that's being used in the session. Make sure that you don't screw yourself, because if you delete that output, then who knows? Yeah, it is interesting. Nexus kind of puts all that routing just on the top level, and for some people, it's a little bit easier.
: To see, I think, so it makes more sense to me, that's for sure.
Speaker A: So give us the sell, Robert. What's the sell, mate? How much a month?
Speaker B: We are trying to make this very affordable. So the idea is that what other people would spend in, say, a streaming service and a high quality streaming service I won't name any names, and they're cobbling together different services to make things. Our Nexus is right now, and we hope to keep, at this point, 1195 a month. And we're just going to add to it.
: That's cheaper than my Netflix subscription, man.
Speaker A: Yeah, it is pretty cheap, I'll be honest.
Speaker B: It's cheaper than, like, middle. I don't know the Zoom pricing exactly, but I believe at least one of the lower tiers of Zoom is like, $20 a month, I think. Does that sound right?
: Cheaper than Zoom pro.
Speaker B: Yeah. And then with Zoom, you got to add other services. So really, with Zoom, you're looking at at least $30.
Speaker A: Well, with Zoom, you still got to have Source Connect, right? And all that sort of stuff. And at least with this, with the broadcast setting, you can get away without that for a while.
Speaker B: You yeah. I mean, with this, you might still have Source Connect, but you might not need a separate broadcaster. Some of these users are often trying to put things together in more affordable ways or I don't know. This is designed to be a lot of bang for the buck and we're going to add a lot to it and a lot of very specific industry type workflows built within so that you can get your job done easier.
Speaker A: What about podcasters and video creators and all that sort of stuff?
Speaker B: Right now there's the record button, right, that we're actually using, but I'm not sure exactly how it's going to be presented, like, which overall tiers. But yeah, the ability just to hit record and then collect all those files easily. It's not going to be the direct to Daw workflow that maybe a higher end podcast might use, but for a simple, I just want to collect files and send them to the engineer who's going to edit them together. And never give that engineer bad files, by the way, people. It's very rude.
Speaker A: Jesus. Take your own advice for once.
Speaker B: Will.
: Pot calling the catalog.
Speaker A: I was going to say absolutely. Do as I say, not as I do.
Speaker B: That's right, exactly.
: Robert, let me ask you this. So from you're in this case, what would they call you? The host of the session?
Speaker B: Yeah, I'm the host. It's my room.
: Does the host get to see the settings on the guests? So as a host, do you know that a guest is using broadcast versus communication?
Speaker B: Yeah, which we're not using right now. You would see the HQ there, I think. Got you. Yeah. There's going to be some of that stuff. We plan to have like a button where you can see what the bit rates are of the connections and things like that. But right now this is 1.0. That's right.
Speaker A: This is the beginning. Absolutely.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker C: But it's funny because I've talked to you about the client of mine in Dubai, the studio there that I do a lot of work with. I've been talking about this, and they're super, super keen. And that's why they want to get this as part of their workflow because it just tightens everything up, everything's in one place for them, which is good for them and bloody good for me.
Speaker B: Yeah, exactly.
: I was confusion about should I mute this or mute that? Should I unmute this? You don't want to be listening to this, but only be listening to.
Speaker B: Yeah. Andrew, for you, you're recording in Twisted Wave, and so when they ask you for playback, you have to play back at a twisted Wave, right?
Speaker C: Well, no, because I usually use the bigger machine and not the one I'm using here. So it's wavelab. Same thing, though. But I just don't play back.
Speaker B: Right, you just don't play back. No. In a later iteration, when we get the standalone version of this, you'll be able to just pipe wavelab right through it as your system output and then you can do playbacks.
Speaker A: That's opening a whole nother can of worms.
Speaker B: This is feeding the animals at the zoo.
Speaker C: Correct. It's like, I know I can, but should I? This is the question.
Speaker A: But at least you've got the option, though. You can make the moral decision, but at least you've got the option there. You might be recording a podcast and you might want to play something back or something. But in a voice session you might go, well, listen, you might take the stance to, well, you're not paying me to be an audio engineer, so no, I don't play back. Not that you would tell them that.
Speaker B: It's creatives. It's like, imagine you've got an art director and a writer and they're just like, what song do we want on the spot? What about this one? What about that one? And they're playing stuff over the cell phones before it's like, here, you could just be like sharing what's on my desktop. Check out this song. I don't know. I like this one. They're just playing each other's itunes library at each yeah.
Speaker A: Well, there's the other thing you could do, too. You could almost with Nexus, if you can get an analog line into whatever it is you're using and you can plug your phone in. You could plug a phone call in through this as well, too, couldn't you? You could have someone listening on the phone.
Speaker B: I don't know that one day you don't actually. Maybe you can order this and order a phone number.
Speaker A: Yeah, well, there you go. I just think the amount of times that I've had sessions where the client's been on holidays or the creative has been stuck in the airport and I've had someone on a phone as well and you can still throw them into this mix.
Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, the way I throw people on a phone call into my session right now is I'll use even like FaceTime is a really easy one. You can get a phone call on FaceTime and FaceTime shows up on the Mac and Skype if you buy a phone number from them. The nice thing about FaceTime is, like, everyone has a phone in their computer just by the nature of it. So that's like one way to just.
Speaker A: Make Nexus your input and your output of that. Absolutely right.
Speaker B: Exactly.
Speaker A: Yeah. Very cool indeed. Well done, sir.
Speaker B: Thank you.
: Bravo.
Speaker B: We are proud. And if anybody has questions, source elements.com, check it out.
Speaker C: Indeed. Check it out.
Speaker B: Well, that was fun. Is it over?
Speaker C: The Pro Audio suite with thanks to Tribut and Austrian audio recorded using Source Connect edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Voodoo Radio Imaging with tech support from George the Tech Wittam don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic or just say G'day. Drop us a note at our website. Theproudiosuite.com.
https://youtu.be/G9u8j2pmAcs
YES they are our sponsors, BUT they also make great gear. Point in case this week is their new MiCreator range for Content Creators. We take a look at what's on offer.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode of Pro Audio Suite, we discuss the latest products from Austrian Audio - the 'my creator studio', 'my creator satellite' and 'my creator Ylav'. We explore how these products are catering to the rapidly growing creator category that includes podcasting, vlogging, and songwriting, effectively replacing the conventional home studio. We noted Austrian Audio's strategic move into this space given their impressive engineering track record. Upcoming in the podcast, we will be testing an ISO booth to gauge its isolating efficiency. We also discuss the difficulty in finding unbiased reviews for new products and how important transparency is when recommending products. We mention our pleasant surprise at Austrian Audio's enthusiasm to join us as a sponsor, further expanding the opportunities for our listeners to gain insights into their products. Be sure to subscribe to our show and join the conversation on our Facebook group.
#ProAudioSuite #AustrianAudio #CreatorRevolution
Timestamps * (00:00:00) Welcome & Introductions * (00:00:40) Austrian Audio Studio Release * (00:07:33) ISO Booth Arrival * (00:09:32) Michael's Shipment Delay * (00:13:45) Trustworthy Product Reviews * (00:18:43) Sponsorship Discussion * (00:23:55) Podcast Production Details
Transcript Speaker A: Y'all ready be history.
Speaker B: Get started.
Speaker A: Welcome.
Speaker B: Hi. Hi. Hello, everyone, to the Pro Audio Suite.
Speaker A: These guys are professional and motivated with tech. To the Vo stars George Wittam, founder of Source Elements Robert Marshall, international audio engineer Darren Robbo Robertson and global voice Andrew Peters. Thanks to Triboo austrian audio making passion heard. Source elements. George the tech. Wittam and robbo and AP's. International demo. To find out more about us, check thepro audiosuite.com.
Speaker B: Learn up learner. Here we go.
Speaker C: And don't forget the password. Trip a P 200 to get $200 off your Triboof. Now, talking of product, one of our sponsors, apart from Triboof is Austrian Audio. And Austrian Audio have been busy lately and just released some new product, which is my creator studio, my creator satellite and my creator Ylav, which is an interesting thing for Austrian Audio. I didn't think they would get into this or particularly the Mylav thing. I didn't see them going that way. But what do you think, just a first look at this product from Austrian Audio.
Speaker B: Well, I would say they are reading the tea leaves, as you could say, and it's just they have to have a product in this category. The creator category is a massive category. It kind of encompasses podcasting, Vlogging, songwriting. If you make content, you're a creator. And so this is like we are creators today because we're making a podcast. So this is who they need to reach out to. It's no longer the home musician or the home studio. It's the creator. This is the category that's replacing the quote unquote home studio. And so they're entering that market. And if their engineering track record so far is any indication, because this is new and none of us have one, I think they'll nail it. They haven't really missed a beat on anything they released so far, and I think they need to be very careful to make sure that brand stays gold. It's really concerning when companies release something half baked or just not quite up to par, even though it's at a lower price point. So obviously it's not going to be made in Austria in the same lab as the OC eight one eight. Right.
: It's interesting. It's got one knob. I wonder if it's like that one thing where we couldn't figure out how to use it because the interface was like two buttons and everything happened.
Speaker B: Yeah, well, I'm looking at it closely on screen and I don't have the software again, but it's got a three position switch on the face of the body of the mic itself and it's got high low mute. So that leads me to believe that it's just a very simple two position gain switch.
: Yeah, but it talks about low latency monitoring, so it's got some stuff going on as a creator. It talks about low latency monitoring without any trouble.
Speaker B: Yeah, well, it's got a volume balance knob, which I would say probably is that. So it's a volume control and it's a blend control, assuming that's what Bal means.
Speaker C: Unless it could actually be when you plug into the micreator studio, you plug in the micreator satellite to create a stereo mic. Maybe that switch actually doubles as that to get a blend between left and right. I don't know right.
Speaker B: Don't know yet. Don't know yet.
: I'm looking for a manual.
Speaker B: It's got a nice engineering industrial design. Not sexy, just kind of utilitarian looking. A square ish rectangular body and then the microphone capsule on top, which kind of has that cool retro look where the capsule is suspended inside a rim. And it's a nice looking design if it holds up to the abuse of what creators do, which is, to be completely frank, not take care of their gear. In a lot of cases, you just chuck things in your bag. I'll talk about another one of our friends rode, right?
Speaker C: Yes.
Speaker B: One thing I love about my rode wireless mics, the little wireless mes I have the cheapy ones is they're so light and so basic that I can just kind of I mean, I stick them in a little bag. And throw them in my gear bag. And they're so inconspicuous and they're so simple to operate that when I do need to use them as long as the battery is charged. And that's important. But as long as they got a charge on them, they're just so easy to deploy. Like within 30 seconds, I had it plugged into my iPhone. I launched the Road, I think they call it Capture road capture app. And I'm capturing my mic on my camera, the mic on my talent, and both cameras, the front and the rear. And I'm automatically shooting video and audio.
: Is that all down to three files? Does it give you them separately or how does it do it?
Speaker B: Yeah. So what it's doing and I would like to control this, but I can't. So what it does is it makes two video files and then each video file has a two track audio to go with it. So each video has both the microphones on ISO tracks. So what I do is when I bring why does it make two videos.
: Like front and back or what?
Speaker B: I can set it up to do that. Yeah. So you'll see a video I'm going to release soon, which is the interview of the owner of Vocalbooth.com. And I use that feature. So you'll see a video of me and him talking to each other. I'm behind it, he's in front of it, and you'll see it's just switching between the two of us. I'm using software to do this switch back and forth. And all I had to do was actually isolate the two audio tracks so I could get a better mix because I ended up having both audio tracks on both shots. So I had to kind of isolate them so you didn't have doubles, right, if that makes any sense. But this reminds me of that kind of, like, creator's tool, simple USBC plug and go. Looking at the back of the microphone now, I'm actually finally saw the rear of it. There's a few more functions, a few more jacks.
: Well, the plug in the satellite mic is one.
Speaker C: Yeah, that'll be the out. And then you get to the satellite mic, and then it's got an input and an output. And I'm assuming that what you do there is you get the headphone monitoring will come from the out, from the satellite, I guess, yeah.
Speaker B: I mean, I look at this as Austrian audio saying, those road systems are cute, but we make good mics. So let's do the same idea. Forget at the wireless mics. This is really more for musician creators. So let's be able to have two mics, but all plugged into one USB.
: This is a little bit of a RODECaster, I think it does.
Speaker B: It's a little bit of a road type. Yeah.
: Because it's recording both the lavalier mic and the close up mic, I guess.
Speaker B: The lav or the satellite mic, which.
: Looks like I think it records both.
Speaker B: Yeah. The satellite mic looks like just another of the same capsule, just without the rest of the brains. It's just a little it's got a TRRS microphone cable, and it goes to the slave. It's like a master slave. We don't use that anymore, do we, the terms anymore? But it's kind of like there's the primary secondary, or whatever you want to call it.
Speaker C: That's really interesting. Interesting product. We'll try and get our hands on something, at least one or two of those, just to check them out. Also, in the next few weeks, someone is sending me an ISO booth. I think you've done a demo on.
Speaker B: Those sending you an ISO booth. So if they're sending it to you and it's for isolation, that already makes me concerned that it's not going to be very good at Isolating.
Speaker C: Well, you know the big thing, you stick your head inside the ISO booth.
: Yeah. The gray one that makes you want to vomit once you're in there for.
Speaker C: A while, probably we'll find out when I get it, but it's going to be shipped to me in the next week or so.
: Brush your teeth.
Speaker C: Yes.
Speaker B: Are we divulging who this is yet? Are we going to wait until you've used it and then you're going to.
Speaker C: Mention we'll wait till I've used it. I just want to check it out.
: Isn't it Isovox?
Speaker C: Isovox, yeah.
: Yes.
Speaker B: They're going to send you their new.
Speaker C: Cheaper one, the Isovox Two, I think it's called.
Speaker B: Oh, they're going to send you Isovox Two.
Speaker C: Yeah.
Speaker B: Okay.
: Aren't those things like, $800?
Speaker B: I did a video review of that. How long ago? Five years ago. They're going to send you one of those?
Speaker C: Yeah, I think you did the Isovox one, is that correct?
Speaker B: I did the isovox two. I have the video loaded right now on my screen.
Speaker C: Wow. Yeah, because the distributor that brings in Austrian audio into Australia have got them.
: Yeah. The isovox two is like $1,000.
Speaker C: So it's just going to come down for a week. I'll play with it and then we'll use it on one of the upcoming episodes and see what we think. Also an update on the passport vo. I've seen a bit of correspondence flicking backwards and forwards, mainly to you, George. How's it?
Speaker B: Well, you know, the bottom line being I think Mike is being very transparent, but this is the truth is that he had a backlog of product to ship because of a part supply issue. So that really took the energy away from our product for a few months that we thought he would have been working on our product. So that means that our product is still in essentially, it's in design phase. We were the Envisionaries Envisionaries the vision visionaries for what we wanted, but it comes down to actual circuit design, and that is what it takes to get this thing really built. And so Michael is in that stage. He's in the circuit design stage. We were hoping this would have happened three months ago. It didn't, because he's been trying to basically relaunch and redeliver or deliver a whole bunch of their products because of a USB chip problem.
Speaker C: Yeah.
Speaker B: And so they had to literally redesign the boards for four products, get them back into production, get them delivered and shipped. So they've done that. So now if you do want to go buy a micport pro Three, they're actually shipping. They're no longer on preorder, as they've been for quite a while, as well as the mixer face and the portcaster and things like that.
Speaker C: And the English Channel, I think, is number one.
Speaker B: Yeah. Well, there's another one that's the English Channel, which I hear a little birdie said that we might have something to test out at some point.
Speaker C: I think one is being shipped to Robo. I know that. I'm pretty sure that's happening, so that could be interesting.
Speaker B: The English Channel is a fully analog piece, right?
: Is it a preamp and EQ or.
Speaker C: Just a preamp and limiter compressor? Preamp, I think it's got everything. Basically, there's a channel strip I got.
Speaker B: To double check because they also have this soapbox, and there's a little bit of an overlap in terms of what does what, so I'm double checking that right now. But the Channel well, the English Channel.
: Is but he only sent one to Robbo, right? He didn't send them out all over the place.
Speaker B: I don't know. I thought he asked for my address, but I could be wrong. Yeah, but the English Channel, he didn't.
: Ask for mine, as far as I know.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker C: Oh, mine.
Speaker B: Tim's fighting words. The English Channel includes a studio mic, pre dynamics processor with gate compressor and DeEsser and parametric EQ with sonic enhancer and a streaming USB audio interface with SD card recorder. So it's essentially it's a little mini rack of three products. That's the English Channel.
Speaker C: Yeah.
: I didn't realize English Channel had a recorder on it.
Speaker B: Well, it's the soapbox, the black cab and the portcaster. Yeah.
Speaker C: All in one or linked together?
Speaker B: Well, yeah, all combined in a cool little rack that they all lock into and connect together to make it feel like one product.
: I think it's all those together. Oh, is he sending you the whole string?
Speaker C: Holy shit.
Speaker B: I don't know, but that would be pretty slamming. I was the most interested in testing the soapbox because that's kind of like a DBX 286.
: I think the Preamp is the most interesting one if it's a decent external preamp.
Speaker C: Yeah.
Speaker B: Well, the soapbox is the preamp. The Black Cab is a five band spectral processor.
: It's an EQ five band. It's a three wait, hold on.
Speaker B: Well, they call it a five band.
: Black Cab is just a three. I'm looking at it right now. It's a three band parametric q gain.
Speaker B: And it must have a high shelf and a low shelf.
: Oh, yeah, it does.
Speaker B: No, it's got HDF. Yeah, it's got a pad that makes it five bands. And then there's the podcaster, is the recorder side of the whole thing.
Speaker C: Yeah. It's interesting with sentrance because I've sort of been scouting around as well because I got an email from Michael that sort of inspired me to go down a rabbit hole on the Google. And I found some really interesting reviews, particularly on MixerFace, that was written by Sound on Sound magazine. And anyone that knows Sound on Sound knows they're pretty an authority. And they're good.
: Yeah.
Speaker B: Beyond reproach, would you say?
Speaker C: I would say pretty well beyond reproach. Yeah. And they rave about Sentrin's products, so that was quite nice to read.
Speaker B: Good to see. Yeah, I know a lot of the reviews. I mean, it's probably more likely to find a pretty honest review in these traditional print magazines than I would say you're going to find on a YouTube channel these days. I know that YouTubers are being forced to divulge that the product was sent to them, but that is part of the whole. Those that want to give the most impartial reviews tend to be the ones that actually go buy the products. Right. And so it's getting increasingly difficult to find reviews of brand new products that were not gifted to the reviewers.
: I can tell you that I bought the Mixer.
Speaker C: Bo Weaver. He's got a mixer face from memory as well, isn't he? Did he get one?
Speaker B: He may. I don't recall particularly, but I think so. I think he's always been an early adopter. Whenever something new came out that was portable, he was all over it.
Speaker C: Yeah.
Speaker B: So I'm sure he had one. Yeah.
Speaker C: Well, if that's the case, then I should put my hand up and say, I bought my OC eight one eight.
: Yes, you did.
Speaker C: Yes.
: That's what started the whole thing.
Speaker C: It was because I just bought the thing and loved it. That was the beginning of getting into bed, so to speak, with them.
Speaker B: I bought my Rode wireless. Mics.
Speaker C: Good work.
Speaker B: It's about the cheapest thing they make.
: But I bought my Rode Wireless Mics, but I didn't buy this guy, which I do like. I have to be honest, I think the NTG Five has been quite a good mic.
Speaker C: Yeah.
Speaker B: Now, we're on a new topic, but when I recommend product, I do try to defulge that I know or I have some kind of a relationship with that vendor. I do try to say that if it makes sense in the context, but it's proving your integrity. If you're listening to us right now, honestly, and you don't know who we are, first of all, Google us, okay? And second of all, we all have worked in this industry a really long time. We have very large client bases of trusted people. And if we're going to shill a product that was given to us by these vendors, we're going to use them, you're going to hear them, and you're going to get our god's honest thought about those products, period. There is no reason we're not going to go out of business because we told you something didn't sound good. It ain't going to happen. Like, we're just going to keep right on chugging whether we like something or not. So we're always going to be very straightforward with what works and what doesn't, you know what I mean?
Speaker C: But the thing is, if it's something good, you want to share that information with people. I mean, I know the Austrian audio, particularly the OC 8118. I know quite a few people have bought them on my recommendation and love them. So it's not they've bought them and just going on, great, thanks for that. I've just shelled out some cash and.
: You haven't gotten any commission or anything for that?
Speaker B: No, really?
: In fact, we should talk about that.
Speaker C: Yes, indeed.
Speaker B: No, we don't. We get product, we get to use it. We get to use it in the real world. We get to do our shows with the products. You hear us using the products, we talk about them. That benefits them, the vendor or the manufacturer, that benefits us because we get to use the stuff and talk about it with authority. And it benefits hopefully, you guys, too, because you're going to hear us say what we like, what we don't like, and what works, what doesn't, and that kind of thing. So hopefully everybody wins and they find that there's some integrity. There's going to be people out there who say, well, screw those guys, they got that thing for free. I've immediately written them off as an authority on that product or impartial reviewer, and that's fine. What are you going to do?
Speaker C: Yeah. And we do get stuff for free, and we're quite happy to disclose that we're not going to lie to anybody about the product just because we got it for free. I mean, if it's free and it's junk, we'll say it's junk. Like the product. The Austrian audio thing. When I approached them to come on as a sponsor, I was expecting a big no. But no, they were happy to listen to the podcast and were happy to get involved.
Speaker B: Going back, do you remember why you approached them? What caught their attention to you?
Speaker C: Well, first of all, I had been reading about these microphones coming out and I was actually the barbecue at a friend's place, and the guy who is the distributor for Austrian Audio now had told me some time ago that he said, I've got something special up my sleeve that's coming out. We're going to be distributing this new microphone. And I'd forgotten all about that. And I saw him at the barbecue and I said, oh, Mark, I've seen this great new mic. It looks fantastic. It's called the Austrian Audio. OC. Eight one eight. He goes, Mate, that's the one we're bringing in. I went, Holy shit, you're kidding. Looks great. He goes, It's fantastic. And then they did a bit of a launch just when COVID had kicked off, unfortunately, and I went to this.
Speaker B: I'm familiar with that problem. Yeah.
Speaker C: God. And it was all the product launched.
Speaker B: Exactly like three months before the friggin Pandemic. We're trying to sell a portable product whenever traveling.
Speaker C: Then I went to this function that Group Technologies here in Australia are put on. So they had Austrian Audio down there, they had a whole bunch of other products they bring into Australia from Europe and all over the place. And I met Martin, who's the CEO of Austrian Audio. He was there just talking to people and demonstrating product. And so I had a good chat with him and he was telling me about how Austrian Audio happened and what the capsule they put into the OC eight. One eight was actually from all the R and D they were doing at AKG, trying to replicate the C Twelve. And it's all the stuff about microphones that they got from famous people just to try and get some kind of sonic signature from the C Twelve that they could base their new OC 8118 on. So that was when I first got it. And I bought one and just loved it and kind of went from there, really. So I was talking to the guys here and I said, it'd be really nice if they became a sponsor. Would they be interested? And it's like, Talk to Walter in Austria and see what he says. So I did.
Speaker B: And they said, you did it the old fashioned way.
Speaker C: Old fashioned way? I didn't use a pen and paper to write a letter.
Speaker B: No, but you had a relationship, you made a connection, you had a relationship, you just reached out and that's how it works. Whereas a lot of influencers, it doesn't work that way at all. The influencers just getting inundated with emails from the marketing departments of all these different products saying review our product please. And that's not at all what happened and how things work around here. Partly because we're kind of in terms of the internet of personalities, we're small potatoes. We do not have 20, 5100 and 3 million followers. It ain't going to happen. So there's not that motivation for companies to get these products into our hands. Like bandru?
Speaker C: Yeah.
Speaker B: From podcastage and those guys nor do we want to be in that position either. Those guys, it's a grind for them. I've talked to Mike Delgadio, the booth junkie and other guys like them and it's a grind for them. They just oh get I have four more of these things to get reviewed in the next know or whatever. It becomes just sort of a grind. And we're not in that position either, which I'm really grateful for that we don't have to. It's just not part of how we do things and how we make money. We just get product, we talk about it, use it and then we just do our thing.
Speaker C: Yeah, and we're not just a product reviewer either. I mean, we're more not at all brainstrust.
Speaker B: If this is your first time listening to us, go back a year or two.
Speaker C: Yeah, that's right. Yeah. It's more of a brains trust and a place where people can listen in and just use us as a resource to get some information about anything they might want to do in their home studio, including buying an Austrian Audio microphone.
Speaker B: I've gotten some really good anecdotal just literally a man on the street. People I meet at events. Great compliments about the that's well that's know I really enjoy your shows that you podcast. Pro Audio Suite podcast, you know, it resonates with people. I am told about this show I showed up to Joseph Brando's promo masterclass and three different people at lunch there were like, hey, I love that's. Great. People are hearing really they really enjoy it and it resonates with them and there's some value that they're getting from the show.
Speaker C: Well, I do know that there's quite a few dealers in Chicago that resonates with them as well.
: Definitely.
Speaker B: Well that was fun. Is it over?
Speaker A: The Pro Audio suite with thanks to Tribut and Austrian audio recorded using Source Connect edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Voodoo Radio Imaging with tech support from George the Tech Wittam don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic or just say g'day. Drop us a note at our website. Theproaudiosuite.com.
Like it or not AI is here, and it will only get better. Where does that leave Voice Artists, Podcasters and Content Creators who currently have no protections in terms of owning their voice?
Tim Friedlander is an award-winning, voice actor, studio owner, advocate, and educator. Tim is also the Founder and President of NAVA, The National Association of Voice Actors as well as co-owner and editor of The Voice Over Resource Guide. His work with NAVA puts him at the coal face of negotiations with the likes of voices.com and the AI seeding debate. We have him on the show this week to give us an insight into where we might be headed in terms of a compromise, what protections we might be able to put in place, and most troublingly the short amount of time we have to get it done before it may effectively be too late.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Summary In this episode of Pro Audio Suite, we explore the controversial topic of AI voices with special guest Tim Friedlander. Voices.com has reportedly promised not to use people's voices from their database without permission, but the potential misuse of audition files by clients remains a concern. We discuss the fairness of voice synthesis, highlighting Nava's call for consent and compensation for voice actors. Listeners will gain insight into the problematic quality of AI voice samples and the potential threat to new voice actors as AI begins to replace human voices in certain sectors. We also delve into the future role of agents as potential AI voice libraries, and the necessity for clear licensing fee structures and strong protections before the end of the year to prevent misuse.
#VoiceAIControversy #FairVoicesCampaign #FutureOfVoiceActing Timestamps (00:00:00) Introduction (00:00:43) Voices.com's Promise (00:03:31) Copyright Laws and AI Voices (00:11:50) Review of AI Voice Samples (00:12:59) Risks of Recorded Audio (00:14:25) Dangers of AI (00:19:57) AI Replacing Human Voices (00:23:26) AI's Impact on Visual Artists Transcript Speaker A: Y'all ready be history.,Speaker B: Get started.,Speaker A: Welcome.,Speaker B: Hi. Hi. Hello, everyone, to the Pro Audio Suite.,Speaker A: These guys are professional and motivated with tech. To the Vo stars George Wittam, founder of Source Elements Robert Marshall, international audio engineer Darren Robbo Robertson and global voice Andrew Peters. Thanks to Triboo Austrian audio making passion heard. Source elements. George the tech. Wittam and robbo and AP's. International demo. To find out more about us, check thepro audiosuite.com.,Speaker B: Learn up learner. Here we go.,Speaker C: And welcome. And don't forget, if you want to get a discount of $200 off your Tribooth trip, 200 is the code you need now, this week. Very topical. Of course, this AI thing will just not go away. And I know that there was a conversation about that place. I don't even like saying it. Anyway, I will say it. Voices.com supposedly have promised not to farm out people's voices from their database. Tim Friedlander has been involved in this and has written an article, which is what I saw. And Tim is joining us. G'day Tim.,: Hello. Hello. I'm here.,Speaker C: So what's the backstory to this and how did you get involved?,: The backstory to the AI voices.com thing goes back to about May when Davidcirellianvoices.com announced that they were releasing Voices AI and for the voice acting community, that was a huge concern, basically for the main part being that many people have been uploading audio to their website through their website for 20 years. So theoretically, Voices.com or either of these sites has 20 years of very high quality data and audio that they could use to synthesize our voices. So through Nava, which is association that I run along with Karen Guilfrey and a board of directors, we reached out to David and Stephanie and had a week of conversations with them to get the assurance that they had never been uploading or using or doing anything with auditions or files that have been uploaded through their website. And out of that came our Fair Voices campaign or the Fair Voices pledge that we launched. And we reached out to the other online casting sites, six other sites, to get the same assurances from them and also to make sure that they had changed their terms of service. So Voices.com at the time changed their terms of service to very explicitly say they would not be using any audio files uploaded through their site for machine learning or synthesized or synthesizing voices.,Speaker C: Was that backdated or is that from that point onward?,: The terms of service were from that point onward, but they publicly at the time and in various blog posts and other written areas have said that they have never used audio files for that. The caveat being is that once the audio files are uploaded and sent to a client, it's possible that the client then could take those audition files and use them. We don't know and haven't seen any companies per se who we know are doing that but over the last ten or so years, a lot of these companies have been working in the AI TTS sphere and very potentially could have been using that audio for training. We haven't seen it yet explicitly that we know of, but the inability to track our audio files and to know where the audio goes once we've emailed it out or uploaded through a website makes that a real possibility.,: So to give this some perspective, is there any sort of copyright law or anything in place at the moment that protects someone from having their voice turned into an AI voice without their permission?,: That's a great question. Short answer is no. We've been working with the Copyright Office. I gave a presentation to the FTC last week at a roundtable. I've spoken with multiple lawyers and people across the country and across the world. We're working with a group in Europe to help with the EU AI act. Most actors, voice actors, we give away our files as a work for hire, and the understanding is that that audio will be used for this very specific project. Unfortunately, that also basically gives the person we've given the audio file to the copyright and the ability to do whatever they want to with that. We're currently looking at the possibility that since most voice actors record from home, if from like a music perspective, we could theoretically be the owners of the master files, because a lot of times there's no contracts that are signed. But that's an early we're in the early stages of of exploring that. But there are copyright law does not currently protect the voice actor. It protects the copyright holder, which 99% of the time is the company who hired us. Wow. The only other thing we could fall back on is right, right of publicity. But those laws are only really in California and New York, where the strongest laws and then there's possibly biometric and privacy laws, but those really are only strongest in Illinois and Texas of all places, privacy rights.,Speaker C: So is there a way of know? We've talked about this before having some kind of fingerprint of, your know, if anybody uses your voice, it's quite obvious it's yours because it shows some kind of a fingerprint in the waveform, potentially. I don't know how that would work, but there must be someone who's got.,: Something nobody does currently that we know of. I've spoken with people at DARPA and at NASA. We are currently working. We've gone very deep in this conversation to try and figure out a way to do this, what we can do. And actually, I'm working on this with another company that I started about three years ago to create voice prints that we can then use to match a human voice to a synthetic voice and also to match a human voice to a human voice to say that they're the same person. You could theoretically, if we can get that software in place lock down a voice. So if somebody tries to upload it to a synthetic voice site, it would be locked and would be flagged as basically essentially DRM for voice is what we're trying to do. But the only thing really that you could do that might stay is some kind of spread spectrum watermarking that you could do within that. But it'd have to be embedded so deeply in there that you could rip this into Pro Tools or rip it into something else right. And transfer it between audio files or different Daws and strip out. If it's frequency, then it's very easy to pull out frequencies. Most of the stuff that's out there watermarking is pretty easy to bypass currently.,Speaker C: Well, you just have to get clarity or something and it's gone.,: Yeah, exactly. Yeah.,: So what's the compromise future from your perspective then? Would it be a point where Darren Robertson is selling his voice sample disc to AI people? Or would you rather not see AI at all?,: I'm a musician primarily. I was in Seattle in the was on the cusp of playing live and really exploring music when napster and everything hit. And from a consumer perspective, that was one of the most eye opening things that I'd ever seen. The ability to now have access to a massive amount of audio that I'd never heard before. Not anti technology by any means and definitely not anti AI. I've worked with a synthetic voice company. I have know people who are working with synthetic voice companies. The issue right now is that a lot of the foundational models, a lot of the foundations of these AI generative engines, synthetic voice engines are built on somebody's data and more than likely they are being built on the literal voices of voice actors. So we become the foundation of a lot of these models. What Nava has been asking for is consent, control and compensation. And it's the same thing that all artists are asking for, musicians are asking for, models are asking for, is if you're going to take my data and what makes the essence of me. My voice or my image, or the way I walk or the way that I speak, the cadence that I have, the way that I stand. All of those things are very personal to all of us individually. And that data is basically being turned into data, right. What makes us is being turned into data and put into these synthetic voice engines or these synthetic generative engines or generative AI to produce images and videos and photos and voices that are based on real humans and sound like and look like real humans. So we try to find consent, control and compensation for those and really consent to say yes or no. You can make a synthesized version of my voice.,Speaker C: So if we're talking about AI voices, we're not going to stop. It's already out. I mean, the thing's going to happen.,: They're out there. Yes, correct.,Speaker C: How do you perceive we control. It?,: The only thing that we can currently do right now. And this is part of what this discussion at the FTC came up with last week, is really, I think, from a consumer perspective, a consumer safety perspective, I think that there is so much danger in disinformation and false. Information and just absolute lies that are out there that can now be easily replicated and put into a video or an audio or something that is not very easily detectable. It's almost impossible to tell a synthetic voice from a human voice that are done well. It's hard to tell a synthetic image from a factual image. The laws and regulations currently our laws and legislation, I think, is currently the only thing that we can really do on a broad scale to help stem the tide of the damage that's been done already. And going forward, we have to have very clear contracts and agreements in place that either do or do not allow for the use of somebody's voice to be used in a synthetic voice or generative. AI. That's partially what the WGA and SAG afterstrikes are about. AI is the top of that list of things that are concerns, and it's a top concern for anybody who is in the arts right now that creates anything that any of that could be put into a synthetic engine of some kind and have a new creation made out of that. We just came out of a pandemic where we relied on artists, on musicians and filmmakers and actors and voice artists. And the first thing we do out of that pandemic is try and replace those people. That's really essentially what's happening. There is some accessibility. There are places that there is an argument to be made for doing things that a human couldn't generate. But when it's done to replace somebody, when it's done just to save money, that's where the concern comes in. And we know that money, those savings, are not going to be passed along to the consumer. A video game is not going to be cheaper for somebody to buy because it has synthetic voices. A movie is not going to be cheaper at the movie theater because it's synthetically generated. So they cut out the people. They cut out the people who actually make this work, and then that money just goes to the company that gets to save that money at the expense of everybody.,: Why would voices.com say the quiet part out loud? They're a bit like Uber basically going like, hi, please work for us. Make us money, and then we're going to put all of our money into figuring out how to make driverless cars so we don't need you see bitches.,Speaker C: Yeah, exactly.,: They did. I don't know if anybody saw the news last week, but David Cicearelli is out and Morgan Stanley is it morgan Stanley who was the venture capital whoever gave them the money, they replaced him at the top. My guess is that they either went all in on AI and it's not paying off, or they weren't seeing this is all purely speculation. This is just what we can have for conjecture in this place. So I know nothing for fact, but they invested a massive amount of money in them, what, $18,000,015 to $18,000,000.07 years ago. And if they went all in on AI, I don't know if anybody's heard.,: They lost all of it.,: Yeah, they lost all of it. Has anybody actually have you guys heard their AI? The voices AI their samples. They're terrible.,: Never heard it.,: They're terrible. They are terrible. But they were done with consent, control and compensation.,: Is it better or worse than voicealo?,: I haven't heard that one. But most of what I deal with, I deal with Eleven Labs and Play HT are the two that I use most often, for example, for samples in that. And both of those are phenomenal. They are really good. And voices. AI is nowhere. It sounds about ten years old, the technology, from what I heard, and some of the voice actors who had their voices synthesized, who participated in this are not happy with how that voice sounds.,Speaker C: Yeah, I was going to say, just to lighten up a bit, there's an old gag that could actually be modernized and you can ask the question, how many voiceover artists does it take to change a light bulb? And the answer is none. You get an AI to do it.,: That was a drummer joke.,Speaker C: I know we can update it.,: It.,: Just hasn't happened quite yet.,: I was going to say. Yeah, exactly. I've heard that one before somewhere. So the thing that occurs to me though, Tim, is it's great that we're protecting voice actors and all that sort of stuff, but obviously there's a crapload more voice samples out there. I mean, how many podcasts are there out there? And YouTube content creators and all the rest of it? All these places they could go mining for voices.,: How do we protect know? Currently we can't currently there is no protection for Know. This goes into Know, we talk about this being more it's with anybody who has recorded audio is at risk. And that voice actors just happen to be the ones who make a living off of our recorded voice most of the time, but doesn't mean that others aren't making a living off of what they have on the podcast and YouTube. And even those who are just hobbyists at this, who just have a little bit of recorded audio, some twitch stream. I can currently record all the audio off this and make a synthetic voice of anybody on this conversation right now, as can anybody who's listening to it.,Speaker B: Right.,: And it's easy.,: What work does it really kill, truly kill? Like in the short term? I can see it taking out a crapload of elearning and other things like that.,: It takes that out that's any of the stuff that is purely factual, a lot of times talk about factual stuff where I just need information read. A lot of that stuff gets taken out right away, which if you can license your voice to that, then you can still have a career as a voice actor. One of the things that I think is the dangerous part of this, and this goes for any of the arts, is that a lot of these places that are going to be replaced first are where a lot of voice actors, a lot of artists learn. This is how you cut your teeth and you come up through the industry. You do the free jobs, you do the cheap jobs, you do the entry level jobs. Those entry level jobs go away right away because it's cheaper. But a lot of the times it's better. Unfortunately, it is better. The audio quality of a voice actor who's just starting out, who is using a USB mic in their living room with hardwood floors and the refrigerator running and the AC is going to be at risk for sure, and I think rightfully so.,: I'll give you another one, is the company that doesn't hire anybody, right. And they just see the AI voices as it's better than having Mary Jo read it because it's going to take her a long time and whatever. And so just type it into the system. And there's our video. It's our instruction video on how to use our garden hose absolutely or something. And yeah, it's going to take out I don't see it initially taking out real voice acting, but I agree, just like conveying voice, it's just going to plenty of AI voices I'd rather hear.,: Instead of the president of the auto.,: Workers union, for example. One of the things that we've seen, I think, that's been most hopeful in this is that those who work with voice actors already or don't want to replace voice actors, those people who are already working in the creative sphere, who are the producers, who are the directors, they're the people they say, I would never replace a voice actor. But it's all of those people who don't who have just need a voice actor for this one time, need a voice actor for this one training video, this one thing here that they would go to a friend or a referral or wherever it might be, to the online casting site and cast somebody who's new. They're not going to do that anymore. And we're not going to see it's very hard to tangibly find the damage to this because we're not seeing auditions going out where they're saying we're going to audition a human versus an AI. And the AI gets the job. They're just not even going to bother to do the auditions in the first place. And we're never even going to know if it was a synthetic voice. So this is partially why, again, laws and legislation. There's a Senate bill out that NAV is endorsing senate Bill 26 91, which is a labeling act of 2023, which is going to require all anything AI generated to be labeled marked same thing as you would with food. I think consumers have a right to know if what they're taking in is synthetic or human, whether it's emotional, spiritual, food. We have a right to know what we're interacting with. I think.,: I want to know when I'm in the Matrix personally.,: Right, exactly. Yeah, you want to know you're in the Matrix.,: I'm sure it puts to bed a lot of political issues. Mean, you know, imagine sitting there listening to a radio broadcast of Joe Biden declaring war on Russia when it's actually not really you know, there's all sorts of issues that this raises.,: Well, that as well, but also it raises the possibility of doubt. And the Donald Trump tape from years ago, if he could say, well, I never said that that's a synthetic voice, and prove that it's not my synthetic voice. Prove I actually said that. Right, so you're running into proving to both sides of that and we're coming into election.,: All sorts of possibilities raised, considering some of the possible candidates, right?,: Yes, absolutely.,Speaker C: Is there a way of a voice actor to say, okay, I'm going to actually upload to say someplace where you can license a voice from you actually give them all the information of your voice and then there's a license fee. If people want to grab it and use it for something, then they pay you a license fee the same as you would do with library music.,: Absolutely. I've been pushing that example for a while. I think that one of the ways that both Europe with the GDPR and with FTC are approaching this is that we don't need to make new laws or new regulations. We just need to enforce the ones that exist and put this into use. The precedent, I think the precedent of music licensing can directly go into voice. You have a licensing fee, you have a usage fee, you have a generation fee. If you generate new content from this, then I get paid a certain amount for the generation. There's companies out there that do that. Vocal ID veritone was one of the earlier ones that did that. And there's a licensing fee that they have in place for that. And the actors who do that have the consent to know where their voice goes. We're working with a TTS company who reached out to us and we're helping them with this exact same thing of helping to license their deployments so that the voice actor knows where their voice is being used, but also get paid for the original creation of that model and then know where the voice goes from there. There's lots of possibilities. The one possibility that unfortunately, none of those things really exist right now. The only possibilities happen is people just can upload your voice anywhere they want to create a synthetic voice and use it. And there's nothing really stopping anybody, even the AI sites. Right now, all you have to do is click a button that says, yes, I have the right to upload this voice.,: And at what point do you stop?,: I mean, at what point do you stop anybody?,: If you blend two people's voices or three people's, at a certain point, you're.,: Like, it's becomes you know I mean, that's what Siri Alexa, Google voice, those are, you know, they're all blended voices, multiple people put in together and to create a new voice. So now you have to get into now you're talking about songwriting splits, right? Now you're going to talk about splits and points on a song, right? So I've got three voices. We all get an equal split of the usage of that voice, or does it not become an issue because it doesn't sound like anybody? Therefore, there's no conflict. Voice actors, you're also going to run into conflict. Right? What if my human voice is doing Pepsi? My synthetic voice can't do Coca Cola. And if it does, who's going to be held responsible for or or a voice that just sounds like me? At what point how do you draw the line there? How do you even know this voice sounds a lot like me? Is it my voice or is it not my voice? It's a voice that sounds a lot like me. Do I get into conflict because of the similarity?,: It's just like this actors are impersonated. It has to be like, all voices are synthesized, right?,: Yeah, exactly.,: From a synthetic voice saying that all voices are synthesized, including this voice.,: Yeah. Right.,Speaker C: But can you see, like, if you look into the future of the role of the agent, will the agent all of a sudden become a library of voices that can potentially be used for AI? Would that be the shift?,: I have honestly have no idea. I think there's going to be a we're already starting to see a split of human only no AI, and then those who are willing to have a conversation with it and explore it. I'm not by any means advocating to replace humans with AI voices, but we also know that this technology has been around for years, right? And it's been being built for the last 20 years, ten years solidly for synthetic voices. It's here, and we can just pretend that it's not going to have an impact and hope that it doesn't have an impact. Or we can go directly to these companies, which is what we've been doing. I've been speaking with the CEOs of these companies to try and talk with them about great, this is why voice actors are concerned. This is why artists in general are concerned. But this is what we're concerned about. And we know you have a lot of money. Eleven Labs just they're worth $100 million, or they got an investment of $100 million a month ago or so. Right. They have the money to pay the voice actors fairly for the foundation. And if they can license that, the better audio they have, the better foundational model they can create. So if those voice actors who want to do that have the right to say yes, it's the right to say yes as much as it is the right to say no. You should have the right to say yes if you want to. I think.,Speaker C: I reckon there's going to be a scramble with voice actors all trying to get themselves uploaded onto one of these business sites so they can be licensed out.,: Yeah, some of them have. Right now, there's really no clear understanding of what that licensing fee would be. We've seen similar jobs on the casting sites that on one job is paying $500, on the next job it's paying $20,000. And they don't appear to be any different. We just don't have enough a lot of people who are casting don't have enough information to know about where those files are going to be used. Voice actors don't know really enough about how they're going to be used either to know what to ask, and agents don't know what to ask either. Like just so many unknowns out there about what to even ask to come up with what a fair usage would be. Because there's so many potentially so many uses out there that we can't even comprehend right now that we can't even imagine of that they could be used for. So it's really hard to tell. That generation is kind of what we're looking at as kind of a generation fee is what we're kind of really interested in.,Speaker C: Well, it's going to be interesting to watch how this all unfolds, but it's.,: A massive can of worms, isn't it?,Speaker C: It is incredible.,: It is a massive can of worms. Yeah. Visual artists are being hit massively, obviously, right now. They're some of the most hard hit because those images are so distinctive and the styles are so distinct that when they come out that it's obvious it was trained on those authors. There's two lawsuits against multiple lawsuits against AI companies right now from authors who have had their books ingested into these and used as foundational models to train these things. And the thing is, once it's trained, you can't untrain it.,: Well, AP, was it? You saying that there's a film in the Cam with starring James Dean?,Speaker C: Yeah, that's what I'm told is sitting there waiting to go. So James Dean is going to be a co star of a New know you've used motion capture. So they've got an actor that actually can walk and move like James Dean. They've just done a motion capture and then they built James Dean over the top of his skeleton, so to speak. And if that thing becomes a hit, you can see they're going to drag them all out.,: Right.,: And then Elvis really isn't dead.,: Yeah, right, exactly. We talk about that for vo. Like speech to speech, too.,: Well, that's the thing. How would you license that, Tim?,: It's performed know the James Dean performed by so and so. You want to give the motion capture person the credit for it. Like speech to could I could know. Karen Guilford vice president uses example a lot, which is she could narrate audacity of Hope and then put Barack Obama's voice over it. So it would be the voice of Barack Obama performed by Karen Guilfrey.,: Right.,: So as read by Barack Obama performed by Corn Griffin. Yeah. As puppetry.,Speaker B: Yeah.,Speaker C: If I was the ad agency for 711, I would actually get an AI of Elvis and have him in a 711. And finally, it's true.,: Slurpee in one hand, donut in the other. Is that what you're saying?,: When does Elvis become public domain?,: A long time. Long time. It's a space to watch, isn't it? It really is.,Speaker C: And the space will be filled by AI.,: Yeah, it's interesting. And I think we've got three months left. I think we have about three months before something dramatically so you think there.,: Is a time frame on this? Because I was actually sitting here thinking, god, how long will this take to sort? But you're saying you think there might be a time frame on it?,: I think we have, if anything, any legitimate and strong protections need to be in place before the end of the year. By the end of the year, it's going to be too late for us to have any kind of protection. The technology is moving too quickly. It's exponential. And it's going to be beyond our control or potentially beyond the control of those who actually are running the systems. At one point, without fully taking your entire system offline and destroying your models, it could potentially get to the point where there is no control, there is no ability to consent, there is no ability to even know whose voice is being used. They're just a multitude of generic voices that one company gets paid when you use their voice, but nobody has any idea who the human behind it is or where the content came from anymore.,: Watch this space, people.,Speaker C: Yes, indeed. Indeed. Exactly. By the way, this is actually really not me. I'm on holiday.,: This is my not hard to do.,Speaker B: Well, that was fun. Is it over?,Speaker A: The Pro Audio suite with thanks to Tribut and Austrian audio recorded using Source Connect edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Voodoo Radio Imaging with tech support from George the Tech Wittam don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic or just say g'day. Drop us a note at our website. Theproudiosuite.com.
Like it or not AI is here, and it will only get better. Where does that leave Voice Artists, Podcasters and Content Creators who currently have no protections in terms of owning their voice?
Tim Frielander is an award winning, voice actor, studio owner, advocate, and educator. Tim is also the Founder and President of NAVA, The National Association of Voice Actors as well as co-owner and editor of The Voice Over Resource Guide. His work with NAVA puts him at the coal face of negotiations with the like of voices.com and the AI seeding debate. We have him on the show next week to give us an insight into where we might be headed in terms of a compromise, what protections we might be able to put in place, and most troublininly the short amount of time we have to get it done before it may effectively be too late.
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Summary In this episode of the Pro Audio Suite, we explore the intriguing topic of copyright laws around AI voice impersonation. We discuss the current legal state, revealing that there are no protections yet in place against turning someone's voice into an AI replica without their consent. We highlight our collaborative efforts with a European group aimed at contributing to the EU AI act. This episode brings to light the challenges faced by voice actors who, despite providing their work for specific projects, unknowingly hand over the copyright and potential misuse to the receiver. Tune in to the Pro Audio Suite, brought to you by Tripoos and Austrian Audio, on your preferred podcast platform to delve deeper into this complex and evolving issue.
#VoiceAI #CopyrightLaw #ProAudioSuite Timestamps (00:00:00) Copyright Law & AI (00:01:01) Pro Audio Suite Transcript Speaker A: Coming up. Coming up.,Speaker B: Next, the Pro Audio Suite.,: Sneak peek.,Speaker A: So to give this some perspective, is there any sort of copyright law or anything in place at the moment that protects someone from having their voice turned into an AI voice without their permission?,Speaker B: That's a great question. Short answer is no. We've been working with the Cop office. I gave a presentation to the FTC last week at a roundtable. I've spoken with multiple lawyers and people across the country and across the world. We're working with a group in Europe to help with the EU AI act. Most actors, voice actors, we give away our files as a work for hire, and the understanding is that that audio will be used for this very specific big project. Unfortunately, that also basically gives the person we've given the audio file to the copyright and the ability to do whatever they want to with that.,: The Pro audio.,Speaker B: Suite. Thanks to Tripoos.,: And Austrian audio. Listen now on your favorite.,Speaker B: Podcast provider.
Like phono cartridges, headphones and loudspeakers, the microphone is a transducer – in other words, an energy converter. So it should stand to reason that they all sound the same right? Well we all know that's not the case. So what colours the sound? And how can we use these "tweaks" to our advantage in the studio..
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Summary In this episode of Pro Audio Suite, George Wittam, Robert Marshall, and Darren Robbo Robertson explore the complex dynamics of microphones. The team deliberates on how mic's are each individually tuned by their manufacturers to produce a unique sound, and the way this sound is received is subjective to each person. They discuss how modern condenser mics are so similar to one another and the importance lies not so much in finding the right mic for a specific voice, but rather the right mic for a particular situation. They emphasize the value of a flat mic which can be customized through EQ, and argue against choosing a microphone based on its prestigious model. They also discuss combos that work well together like the coupling of a 41 six and a neve like preamp. Listen in to gain more insight into the world of professional audio. To connect with the hosts and find out more, visit theproudiosuite.com.
#ProAudioSuite #FindingTheRightMic #AudioEngineeringInsights Timestamps [00:00:00] Introducing the Pro Audio Suite Team [00:00:35] How Microphone Sounds Differ Based on User Perceptions [00:05:20] The Versatility of Flat Mics and Helpful Recording Tips [00:09:04] Choosing the Right Microphone: Mics vs Preamps and Selling Opportunities Transcript Speaker A: Y'all ready be history.,Speaker B: Get started.,Speaker C: Welcome.,Speaker B: Hi. Hi. Hello everyone, to the Pro Audio Suite.,: These guys are professional.,Speaker C: They're motivated with tech. To the Vo stars George Wittam, founder of Source Elements Robert Marshall, international audio engineer Darren Robbo Robertson and global voice Andrew Peters. Thanks to Triboo austrian audio making passion heard source elements. George the Tech Wittam and Robbo and AP's international demo. To find out more about us, check theproudiosuite.com welcome to another Pro Audio Suite.,Speaker A: Now, this week I saw on a very large voiceover forum a question about someone wanted to buy a microphone and wanted to get a microphone that suited their voice. And another conversation happened when I was doing a session with Adrenaline in Vegas and we talked about U. Everybody expects you to have that because that's the industry standard. But the point was that if I had a U 87 and Adrenaline's got a U 87, they would sound completely different because they're in different environments.,: Yeah. This is where things get really interesting, right? What is it that makes a mic sound the way it sounds? Right. There's a lot of factors, right? There's the capsule, there's the electronics, there's other factors. There's the actual designer. A mic is tuned to sound a certain way. It's tuned by the manufacturer, it's tuned by the designer. They make an aesthetic judgment right, of how that mic should sound. How a mic should sound to that person is a unique subjective thing. That's why vintage microphones especially are so varied. And this is why I think modern condenser mics are so non varied. They're all way more like each other because the commonalities are. So they're just table stakes now of what a modern condenser mic sounds like. And that could be because of a couple of mics, could be because of a 41 six, could be because of a U 87. But whatever it is, there are sounds that of mics, there are voices of mics that are now considered like a reference point. And everything that's different is now just considered a vintage sound or a different sound. There are variations, the word colored, color, there's coloration.,Speaker A: Exactly.,: The thing is funny though, is like, we don't want a non colored mic, right? If we wanted a non colored mic, we would be using dead flat omni mics or something, right. But we all kind of agree that's not exactly what we want the sound of our voices to sound like either. Right.,: We want the boost and like the hyper reality thing. And a mic can bring that focus. But I kind of think the difference isn't so much like the right mic for the right voice. I think much more that it's the right mic for the right situation.,: Yeah. And situation, the space, the context, like.,: The space for you to deal with the microphone if you're traveling, like your whole situation and all the appropriate stuff.,: The background noise, is it going to be an outdoor setting.,: One mics sound better than the other. But if this one's better at cutting out noise or focusing better in a tight booth, then this one the pros outweigh the cons. Then every now and then you get that weird thing that happens where something like the 416, which was, sorry, the 40 116, where something like the 4116 was designed to reject noise and be a mic for a specific purpose which might have some compromises. And then over time, people find that they actually like the compromises for the effect. And there we come back to the word color and the color and the sound that it has. And so you have something like the 41 Six that has that cut, which was really a byproduct away of its initial design to reject noise and record just the voice and made it a less ideal microphone in a true I'm flat kind of respect and more here I am for the situation.,: Yeah. It's not a quote unquote musical mic. It's a utility mic that makes voice rise above or cut that Robert mentioned. That is what makes that mic character work for many voiceover scenarios. But maybe isn't the best mic for a voiceover where it's not a voiceover, it's an audiobook. There is no music, there are no effects. It's a voice and a vacuum that isn't you don't necessarily want a mic that cuts. So it is a little bit of that. There's also mics that I will hear on a voiceover's, voice that I don't just subjectively, I don't like the way they sound. I don't like the choices of how that mic is voiced. I don't like the EQ. Again, sometimes they call it a vintage sound. Right. And some of those quote unquote vintage sounding mics to me are subjectively. Not what I would want. Will they work? Yeah. Can I EQ it later? Sure. And we've said on the show before, the flatter the mic is, the better you can EQ it, the better you can get the sound you want.,: You're not fighting someone else's EQ. The way I think of it, if someone gave you a nice flat piece of metal and basically said, give me a curve, you'd have a pretty easy time doing it because you'd have one thing to create. If someone gave you a big curved up piece of metal and said, give me a smooth curve, you'd have trouble making a smooth curve out of it because the thing's already curvy in a different way.,: That's a good analogy. Yeah. If that metal had several little bumps and bends in it and they said, make it a perfect smooth curve. What a pain. How much work you have to put into that thing to get that piece to yeah. I don't know. The science of it is it's not a science. It's completely subjective. You can chase the perfect mic for your entire life, Andrew.,Speaker A: Yes, you can.,: Is that a problem.,: I think you can play to certain mics and use them in different ways. It's not like Bob Dylan with harmonicas, but if you're doing a certain type of read, really, you can get more out of a 41 six than some other mic that doesn't have that same proximity in that focus or something at the same time. If you're going for a really smooth pillowy kind of thing, maybe an 87, but probably not a 41 six.,Speaker A: But I wonder, if you were just if you could only have one mic to do everything, would it be a 41 six, OC eight, one eight? An OC eight one eight, and then you can do everything. But it's funny, this discussion the other day, though, where it said if you actually put in the gear you have in your home studio and you had 41 six, u, 87 Avalon, everyone would go, oh, yeah, well, they're professional, they got all the right gear. Right, but it might be all the wrong gear because it might not work in their situation.,: Yeah, exactly. I would say, really, if it's really a valuable pursuit for you, it's just something you've always wanted to do. Maybe you've been in this for ten plus years. It might be worth it for you to invest in a modeling mic. Because now you get to have the fun, the pleasure, the pain, whatever, of trying out a humongous variety of microphones and trying them. Now, here's the thing. Do not record these models of mics to impress yourself. You will end up picking the sparkliest, shiniest, prettiest sounding microphone, I'm guaranteeing you that, and that is not necessarily what you want. So you may want to do that exercise and then send that recording to somebody else, a trusted producer, engineer George the tech, offers mic check. We will evaluate and rank a whole bunch of mic samples and we will tell you subjectively, or I would say subjectively, what is the best of the top, maybe the top three for your voice, ranked from best to worst. So that's what you want to have. Don't try to impress yourself. Unless you are a producer and you spend your days producing and you've heard a lot of voiceovers and a lot of different contexts, I would not try to evaluate yourself. I think that's a tricky spot to get yourself into.,Speaker A: Well, interestingly, out of the choice I did for a session the other day, I offered the OC eight one eight through the Neve and I offered the 40 116 through a Grace and they went with the 4116 through the Grace and loved it.,: And this was an industrial yeah, it.,Speaker A: Was actually a training industrial film medical thing.,: Did you read it all in a vacuum or did you hear the music that they were going to put behind it?,Speaker A: No, I didn't hear it, it was all in the vacuum.,: Yeah, but I can see why it's funny, because after you get like a long form thing, in a way, you probably end up wanting the smoother mic after a while.,Speaker A: It certainly has something and depending on the voice, it certainly brings things out in a voice that could be quite appealing.,: Yeah. It's also the combination, because I don't know if you spent the extra energy to do the other combination, the neve.,: And the little bit of too many variables, but.,: A neve is a colored preamp. A Grace is an uncolored preamp, so that combination of color and uncolored could be a pro and a con, depending on what you're doing, too. So you may have found out that the 41 six neve was the best combination. Yeah, it's hard to say when you're changing multiple variables, it's just a matter of luck and opinion. They're going to say, you gave me two choices, I picked choice B in that case was what really worked out well. So, yeah, I think some people find the coupling of a 41 six and a neve like preamp is a good combo.,: I think it was the 41 six. It was the 41 six with the Grace, wasn't it?,Speaker A: Yeah, and it sounds great. I mean, it must admit, it does actually sound really good.,: Sure, it's clean and just on a dime. I imagine it'd be pretty similar to like a John Hardy and a 41.,Speaker A: Six, which is yeah, or a millennia.,: Or millennia, yeah, millennia especially.,Speaker A: Yeah. But it's got that there's something about it that the combination of the 40 116 and the Grace just has this kind of and it's a really weird term, but kind of a 3D thing going on, if that makes any sense.,: That is one of those audio terms. It's funny.,: Yeah, it is a funny audience term. I don't know how to describe things as 3D yet, but I'm working on it.,: They pop out.,Speaker A: So, anyway, the conclusion is there isn't one. Really?,: You're not going to like our answer.,: The right mic for the voice in the right situation, in the right time, in the right place.,: Yeah, I think the bottom line, there is no right mic for the voice, because the voice is not in a vacuum. It's working in a context of a space and of a production script. A script, a style. Yeah, right.,Speaker A: Oh, on that note all right, anyone want to buy some mics? I've got plenty.,Speaker B: Well, that was fun. Is it over?,Speaker C: The Pro Audio suite with thanks to Triboof and Austrian audio recorded using Source Connect edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Voodoo Radio Imaging with tech support from George the Tech Wittam don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic or just say G'day. Drop us a note at our website. Theproaudiosuite.com.
For close to 30 years voicebooth.com have been creating booths for Voice Artists, Vocalists, training facilities, law enforcement and more. Anywhere you can think of that a voice (or amp for that matter) has needed to be recorded, you'll find a vocal boot that's done the job.
Recently, George hooked up with the guys to talk tweaking the booths for VO, and while he was at it, took the opportunity to grab Freddie Gateley, their VP Sales and Marketing for an interview...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
and welcome to another Pro Audio Suite. Today we're a bit remote because George is up in Oregon looking@vocalbooth.com he's there with Freddie Gaitley and they've been working together on something. Some secret sauce, let's say. What's happening, George?
Speaker B: Well, you know, at first I thought it was kind of be secret for a while. Freddie's like, hey, man, we're ready to go. We're ready to talk about this, right?
Speaker C: We're nimble.
Speaker B: How are you doing today, man?
Speaker C: I'm doing great, George.
Speaker B: We've had an interesting couple of days here. Freddie brought me up to meet up with the whole team here. There's 13 guys that work here@vocalbooth.com, and I've gotten to work and collaborate with the whole team.
: Is guy still there?
Speaker C: Oh, Guy. We put Guy out to pasture a few years ago. So he's enjoying his grandchildren.
: Did you take him out behind the barn?
Speaker C: We haven't not quite that far. But he's enjoying his grandchildren and enjoying retirement.
: All right. Yeah, we liked working with Guy.
Speaker C: Yeah, Guy's a great dude.
Speaker B: Yeah. So the journey begins where you guys know me. I've been working with all the products that are out there. Right. I've dealt with all the booths. I know what works, what doesn't. I have my own opinion about the pros and cons of all the different products. That was three or four months ago. I reached out to really nobody, just, hey, vocal booth.
Speaker C: Put it out there.
Speaker B: I put it out there and I said, you guys be interested in collaborating or just chatting with me about what could be done to your booths to make them go to that extra mile, that extra 20% or that last bit that will make it go from good to great acoustically. And Freddie answered my call. He had a zoom meeting with me really quickly. We had a great chat and flash forward a couple months later, here we are.
Speaker C: Here we are inside of one of these vocal booths that's all treated out. And George the tech approved.
Speaker B: Yeah, we're in a four x six vocal booth. The ceiling is just under maybe just under 7ft. And typically the vocalbooth dot coms are treated with well, you tell us a little bit about the design of these booths and how they've been built and the philosophy behind them over the last 20 or so years.
Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. So we service a whole bunch of different markets. Of course, people call up that are looking to do the voiceover thing. Voice acting, long form, short form narrations. And then music and then testing or big facilities, education, industrial projects. There's all secret industrial projects that we can't talk about.
: Do you have, like, defense contracts? Like, you have to sign in?
Speaker C: I can't confirm or deny. We might have some boots in Guantanamo Bay, we might not. I don't know. There's a lot of companies. We waterproof it. We don't ask. What you're going to do inside your Vocal booth is your business and the CIA's business. Yeah, which is everybody's business. We never know exactly who's going to come in. So we offer all kinds of different levels of isolation, different layers of treatment. What we tried to do is kind of have a one shot fits most type of situation with, like, our Gold Series. So we offer nearly floor to ceiling pyramid, acoustic foam, silent ventilation, over 200 different sizes of booths, custom heights, anything that somebody might really need for their specific recording purposes. And then we can also scale up or down for the amount of isolation that they're going to need. So if it's just something in a really quiet room, we can go with something like a Silver Series. Normal office environment is going to be like a single wall Gold Series. Then we go up to, like, a platinum, which is our double wall. And then we've even got another platinum plus, which we start to put in layers of mass loaded vinyl and do a lot of crazy testing and things like those in those booths for really stringent use cases.
Speaker B: More industrial, maybe. Yeah. So I got to know their product. I mean, I've been in and I've helped move and I've listened to and I've tuned all these booths.
: I think you and I have a history with Vocalbooth.com just being here in the US. Andrew, I'm pretty sure you've never been in a specific Vocal booth.com.
Speaker B: Booth?
Speaker A: No, I've been in the quiet one.
: Okay.
Speaker A: The one with the quiet name.
Speaker C: Yeah, right.
: The name which we shall not say.
Speaker A: Correct. Yes.
: Right. Because I've owned one, which I guess I should admit I sold for a profit.
Speaker C: Outstanding. That's what we do, too. That works out.
Speaker A: Yes.
Speaker B: You're on the same page.
: Right. To me, what Vocalbooth.com is is very effective, especially for the price point and good finish. It's like a good looking booth, I guess. We won't talk specifically about others, but it's just like, obviously they hold their value plus.
Speaker B: I can say what attracted me to their product. The first time, rather accidentally, I guess, is I was at a client's house and she had a I think it was a four x no, it might have been a four x six. And I was in the room setting up gear and tuning it and listening to the record, and I was like, let's do a test now with the ventilation on. And she said it's on. And I said, really? And she said, yeah. And then I reached up to the vent and put my hand up, and I was like, oh, it is on. And I was really amazed and impressed with the attention to the ventilation that was being paid, because that is where everybody else is falling short, like, very much so is ventilation. They're either running too many fans, too quick, or too slowly or not enough, or you know what it is? They don't run a big enough duct. These guys are running a six inch duct. And does that start in the Gold series?
Speaker C: Yeah. In the Gold Series. Right now, the Silver series used to have it, but the Gold series and the Silver series kind of alert a little bit. And now we have a brand new Silver that's out there. It's got a little bit less airflow, but in doing a little bit less airflow, we can go down to a smaller vent, but more of like an integrated system. We've also changed the price point and stuff to be very approachable.
Speaker B: The silver is brand new. They just launched a new version of it. And the ventilation is 100% integrated into the ceiling. It's a very simple but elegant solution. And there's some lighting in the ceiling, too. Very cool. But their bigger ones go with this bigger duct. And so bigger duct means slower airflow, more volume, but slower. That means quieter. And it's just a much quieter solution than everybody else. So that was always impressive to me. But really, at the end of the day, when I emailed them, they were open to talk to me. First of all, have a dialogue, we chatted. I could just tell by the vibe that we were kind of getting along on the same page. They're in Bend, Oregon, which is like, to me, a dream outdoor place to go. I've always wanted to go. So all these things came together and they're like, why don't you come up? We'll try out some things. We're going to start making some panels to test out. And I had no idea how quickly they could not only come up with ideas, but get them made. I would say, hey, we need to put one of these of this size in here. Carl would say, all right, go make me know. Or he would CAD something up and draw it up. And within an hour or two, we would have essentially a finished prototype that we could immediately start testing.
Speaker C: We tried to be real nimble with everything that we're doing here.
Speaker B: It was really neat.
: What was the original background of Vocal Booth? Wasn't it? You guys were building houses or parts of I forget what it was.
Speaker C: Yeah, actually, Vocalbooth.com started as so many businesses start in a garage. And Calvin Mann, who's the founder here, he started in his mother's garage. He was living there for a while and needed a place to record to keep doing some singing and songwriting and then built kind of a little four x four booth and then put an add online in 1997 and actually got a hit and a sale and then went, oh, my gosh. Now I got to really build one of these for somebody else. And are they even going to like it? And the funny thing is, he took off to deliver it himself to somebody over in I think it was new Jersey. And so he loaded up the u haul truck, the spray glue and the wood, and he was literally finishing the booth as he went across country and doing that in the back of the u haul. Got it to the guy, put it together. The guy was stoked. I still see him at NAB. He comes up every year and then shows me. He's like, hey, I got number one pictures and stuff. And he's been cranking with that thing for over 20 years. So then he came back and started a business and started really working at it. And then for the last 20 years, we're just always, always looking for a way to push it forward, like, whether it be finding better fans, because new fan technology is coming out all the time, so we're always staying ahead of that stuff. New acoustic materials, a better building process, more options, something that just performs better. And that's where, where, when george came up and kind of, you know, do you guys want to know what's wrong with all your well, yeah, of course.
Speaker B: This is not news that is taken that well by everybody.
: George had tourette.
Speaker B: It's not taken as well. I mean, it's not that they'll say, f off, but they just will be like, okay, that's nice. Thank you for being a fan of our product and bye bye. But they were like, no, let's chat. Let's see what you have, what you're talking about. And then what's been really fun is being here physically on site, watching them come up with a product, putting them into play and letting them hear the difference, and they're like, whoa, there's not a subtle difference. They can immediately hear it. And it's been a fun discovery for me as well, because we've used some products I'm familiar with, as well as some other products, substrates and materials that I haven't spent much time working with and discovered some things. It was as much a learning process and like an r and d process for me personally as it was for creating something for them. So that's what's made it super cool. And now we're standing in and one of the key mics we used for all of our tests was a TLM 103. Freddie has one. We also used the rode nt one fifth gen. He also has one of those. And we used an NTG five because we wanted to have a shotgun as well. So we did extensive recording. I've probably spent three or 4 hours setting up different scenarios, different combinations of materials, and different microphones. I recorded all these files, logged it all, and I've got all the tests to prove it. So we can actually hear what these are doing.
Speaker A: And I bet yeah, I bet the microphone that was least successful would have been the NTG Five fifth gen.
Speaker B: I wouldn't say that's the way to no, I wouldn't say that's true. I would say when comparing those three mics, which I did the most, I was the least impressed with my final output with the NTG five. I liked the sound of the Nt one and the TLM pretty closely, equally, very similarly. And I mean, you know me, I'm big on mic placement. We all are. We always talk about proximity. We talk about being in the sweet spot. We talk about a fist and a thumb or a shock pinky thumb. Right. Right now we are in a four x six booth. We are minimum, I would say, 14 inches away from the mic. We're standing on either side of the mic, facing inward, so we're not close to this mic at all. And I don't know what you guys are picking up on your end. What do you think of the overall tonal balance? Does it sound colored? Does it sound natural? What do you hear?
: It sounds pretty not overly weighted on either frequencies, but really no presence of any bumps and there's no bounces, essentially.
Speaker B: And there's not really a bounce sound.
Speaker A: Which mic are you on now, out of interest?
Speaker B: We're on the TLM 103. Yeah. Okay. And I liked using this mic because I always consider this to be the torture test mic for a small booth unforgiving. Every time I get a recording with a 103 and a small, I'm like, oh boy, here we go. And so when Freddie said, I got one of those, I was like, that's we're going to focus on that. And when he also just happened to have the Nt one as well, I said, well, that's a great one to test as well because it's the more affordable entry mic. It's still an excellent mic, just the price point. And so it was just a no brainer to do all our tests with.
Speaker C: Those two mics and kind of looking back at when we decided to work together, too. I mean, that's really been our culture and our philosophy on everything, is keep learning, keep moving forward. We're willing to have a conversation with just about anybody, even you, George. It's worked out, though. So it's been, you know, in having a booth that, for instance, the Platinum series, we don't force anybody into studio foam on those ones. It comes with basically just walls that are completely covered in like, an acoustic felt. And then we'll talk to somebody, if they're very much just starting out and they have no idea about how they're going to dress their booth out or something, then, yeah, a good snapshot is saying, okay, let's just get you a bunch of foam in that booth and then you figure it out. When I talk to professionals, somebody who's moving up to having to have that booth, that is, like George would say, the quiet on demand booth, then we'll go ahead and make up like an acoustic package for them. Or we'll just say, hey, listen, you get your booth. We're just going to make it completely covered in the felt. We'll take care of the isolation part, but you will have to work with somebody to get that tuned out to your voice, to your microphone, to whatever that you are doing. So being able to have something kind of right out of the gate that we could do, we can send out somebody confidently and know that this is like George is saying, this is most of the way down the road to being professional, being usable right out of the box. That's really what encouraged us to get together with George and get this thing produced.
Speaker B: I mean, this is what I've wanted from any booth manufacturer to do. Right. I wasn't at all picky about necessarily which company it was. I just wanted somebody to pay attention. And when they were so willing to listen and pay attention and try something and then put their money where their mouth is, bring me up here, Freddie. Put me up in his personal short term rental know, so I had a place to stay. They've been feeding know, it's been a nice experience, right? But they took that chance and that risk to try something, experiment. And the results speak for themselves right now. So we have a room that we've just made improvements by simply placing two new panels on the two walls. So it's sort of like a corner we've created with the new panels as well as bolstering the ceiling with a much heavier, thicker panel. So it's like a deeper ceiling cloud on the ceiling. So there's three new panels in here. Grand total is less than two x four. Two x three ish and three ish by four five on the ceiling, something like that. But the difference was dramatic. It was a dramatic improvement. It was just really a big deal.
Speaker A: Where was the difference out of interest.
Speaker B: So for me, the difference is in two main areas. One of them is just the general mid range. There was still a little bit of mid range ring that you would get in this room, especially if you got too far away from the mic. Like, if you're in the sweet spot of the mic, you were fine. If you wanted to relax, get back off the mic. And this is really a big thing for video game producers and engineers that are always acting the actor to stand back from the mic, give us some more space. That's where these booths, they don't hold up well. It gets very boxy. There's too much resonance because the two inch foam on the walls can't control much energy below roughly 1000 Hz. After that, they don't do that much. So what we've done is we've now focused treatment that's broadband and now can work much below 1000. It even goes deep enough that it seems to deal with down to at least as low as my voice will go, which is roughly 80. It flattens that out. And the back of a TLM 103 is going to be sensitive at low end. Right. Because when you have low end, it's going to be essentially an omni mic, right. Like cardioid only matters for mid to high frequencies. Right.
Speaker C: Robert?
: Generally, microphones, even omni mics are more directional, often in more one direction, and then as the frequencies go down, they become truly omni.
Speaker B: Yeah. So these mics are the back of them is always a big problem. They're going to pick up any buildup. We've killed that low end buildup with these panels. And so it changes the character of the mic to something way more linear. Like you were saying, it sounds more linear, it's not boomy, and it has just a more natural tone. And so that was the goal. The goal was to do that, but then the next goal was to make it so vocal. Booth sales guys and everybody can just say, here's the package. We know that if you do this, we have not the numbers to prove it, we have the tests to prove it. Right. We did a lot of recording so that it's hard to back this stuff up with science, I should say. With numbers.
Speaker C: With numbers, yeah.
Speaker B: With specs, it's just very hard to back it up. But when you literally record somebody and play it back, it's an obvious improvement.
Speaker C: And that's always really been a big thing for us, is like, I mean, somebody needs to get their booth and be stoked with it. I mean, that's the beginning of our next sale. Our future sales is really the person who's getting the booth needs to be happy. It needs to do what they expect it to do, and it needs to be just like a valuable piece of their studio and of their career. I got to say, we weren't completely ignorant to who you were, and I'd followed you online and stuff for a long time, too. We all were familiar with your videos. I think we may have met briefly once at NAB or something, too, but never really got to have. And a lot of my clients and stuff, too did go and they worked with George. And so I would hear know, oh, George got this booth and he loved it, or George got this booth and he had to do some things to it and now we really love, you know, we kind of knew what was going on there when we developed these panels and stuff. After a few of our zoom calls and trading back and forth some emails, everybody kind of looked at it and went, well, is that really going to I don't know, who is this guy and is this going to work? And then we installed them, we got them up there and then everybody walked by them and then went, whoa, whoa. Like even just out in the factory went, wow, these panels are crazy. And then so it became grabbing everybody from around the factory and going, oh, you guys got to check this out, look at what this thing is doing and stuff. So everybody was super on board and really excited to put together a few booths and to get some testing going and to invite George down. And we're really thrilled with the product that we have to offer.
Speaker B: And I'll say one more thing. Another thing was a client had recently gotten one and he couldn't say more about the customer service experience, how helpful you guys were. I had more than one person tell me how you really seem to get it like what's important, what the priorities are. You listen to their needs, very attentively. And that was, to me important. That was really mean. You know, we're all about service. George the Tech is all about service. We're all about working with performers.
Speaker C: Right.
Speaker B: And you guys do that all day. Yeah.
: So the George the Tech vocal booth option, what if I have a vocal booth and I'd like to upgrade it? Is it possible to just buy the option and self install or I don't know, or what's required?
Speaker C: You bet you so that's really a good question. And when we were looking at designing something like this, it had to, number one, be extremely easy to install. So we've come up with a way that you'll see that's very easy to install and depending on what height you're at, too, it doesn't require any tools and you can just get it dialed into your space, your height, your microphone. So it's not even just like it's pretty much a one size fits all because it's so adjustable.
Speaker B: Right.
Speaker C: And then the way that we've been building our booths for probably about the last five or six years, we could retrofit any gold series very easily with no extra tools or anything. They just call up. We could absolutely fit it right in.
Speaker B: You don't have to screw anything into the wall. No, not at all.
Speaker C: And then if we did our platinum series, any of our platinum series would be ready to go for that one. So again, like modularity and upgradability, it's all there in the value. No forced into any kind of a new booth and no planned obsolescence for what we've been doing.
Speaker B: And these products would obviously work in other products as well. I mean, they would work. The principle is going to be the same. It works particularly well in this booth because the walls are already treated with a two inch thick pyramid foam. So what we're installing is actually over top of the existing foam. So you're getting this hybrid of material, and it ends up adding up to more than almost six inches thick. And that's another reason it's so incredibly effective.
: What's the inside space? That's kind of residual left over? It's six inches thick times two, because you got two walls, so you're losing almost a foot.
Speaker B: Yeah. So, like, looking directly in front of me, I got my hand on one of the panels, and that's really directly behind our mic. It's like eight inches behind the mic right now. And then to my left on the shorter wall, we're facing the wide wall. On the shorter wall is the other panel, and they're horizontal, not vertical, and they're centered right on the mic. So equidistant top and bottom, above and below the mic. So you're focusing all of that treatment where it needs to be right on the mic itself. And that's why I think it works so exceptionally well. And then the panel on the ceiling is of a similar well, essentially same design, and we're both about 6ft. And so that panel, even though it hangs down four inches, is still a good six to seven inches above our heads right now. So it doesn't feel claustrophobic or cramped. It still has a decent feeling. And that panel on the ceiling takes care of the pressure zones. I've been giving them, like, a crash course on some of the acoustic properties of spaces and chambers and dealing with pressure zones and room modes and all this stuff, because that's what it comes down to. But we don't have to all understand the science of it. It's just cool to visualize and show them on a computer, like, okay, here's where these areas are, and here's what we need to do.
Speaker C: And it's been so cool to talk to somebody who has a practical understanding of that. Because I can't tell you how many times over the years we get a call from somebody who they have no idea what they're talking about. But they've read all these buzzwords or they're trying to get something for tech. Told them that they need to get this.
Speaker B: Yeah, they're hung up on some they're.
Speaker C: Hung up on stats. They're hung up on some things. It's like, in the end of the day, what does it really mean? And that's also, like, even just how we explain to some clients. They'll say, how much isolation? What's the NTC rating? What is the STC rating of your booth? And you're like, well, what are you dealing with? Let's just start right there.
Speaker B: What's your source?
Speaker C: And then showing them some videos from some clients and being like, here's a guy with some construction right outside his room. Or a leaf blower, like the nemesis of the voiceover world. It's like, oh, these people are they got leaf blowers out there. And then they walk inside their booth, and it's good to go. So that kind of real world application and also, that's really a big thing of like, you're talking about our customer service and the way that we conduct our sales is we do just see ourselves as consultants. All of our sales guys are going to have teachers hearts and we never go for the kill. I mean, it's not just about selling a booth. It's about creating a long term client. And that's worked out really wonderful for us.
Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, the whole thing about all this is it really is a dark art, the whole treatment and acoustics in a booth. Half the time, if you build your own booth, you either get lucky or you don't get lucky. But I guess with your one you don't have to worry about tossing the coin and hoping you get lucky.
Speaker B: Because the idea is with this improvement, there's a very predictable good. We know this works and it's just on my own. I haven't had the time and space tools, resources to do this type of experimenting. Like I could have done it over the period of time. But the fact that I could stay here for a couple days, focus on this, have people making things for me, let's make some of those boom done. It's just been an awesome experience and really a great learning process too.
Speaker A: So what about shipping? If you're not in America, what's the furthest afield?
Speaker C: Yeah, no, we do a lot all over the world. We do a lot of things even for know, Amazon, intel and, you know, there's things will be in Dubai, all over India. We just sent out stuff from Japan and Singapore. We do a lot to Australia. We used to do a lot more to the UK. We did lose a UK distributor out there about six, seven years ago, just to kind of an unfortunate accident. But we can ship anywhere. Yeah, we ship all over the world. We do international freight. We are confident with being able to be the importer as well for people. So we do are able to do that. We can go ocean freight, we can go air freight, and we can get usually a pretty darn good competitive rate even with doing that.
Speaker A: Do you have distributors in each of these zones that you're talking about?
Speaker C: No, we don't. Anybody can call up vocalbooth.com and talk to an international sales specialist anytime. And we'll just work directly with you and then see it all the way through the process as well. So things are getting ready for shipments here. We'll start talking to what's it going to go through once it gets through customs. We'll try to get ahead of all that process, get them all the paperwork that they need, and then we can even see them all the way through, even taking care of the clients duties and customs so that they don't have to have another intermediary in between.
Speaker B: That's what is so great. I mean, their willingness to deal with logistics, not. Every company wants to deal with that logistics, or if they do, they do it poorly. Their handling of the logistics. And that painful part is another reason to look at these guys when you're looking at products, because it really makes the difference. Having somebody to deal with all that stuff is very frustrating at times, especially customs and port and the last mile delivery and all that stuff. It's a lot to deal with. So you guys doing that in house is really great.
Speaker C: Absolutely. And it doesn't stop there. As soon as we get it in and we actually get it there, we tell people that sometimes we can't always control the very last mile of a booth like that. Something might show up. You'll have to tell people, hey, worst case scenario, a giant truck is going to show up in front of your house with a driver who may or may not speak the same language and might be frustrated and have no idea what's going on. Don't worry, that's completely normal. Just call me right away and we'll show them a little video. We'll video chat with the person and we'll help you over that one. And then once they get the pieces in there too, don't hesitate. Just give us a quick call, quick text. We can take care of something on FaceTime, even on a Saturday. And just we want you to be able to get that booth up and.
Speaker B: Get you guys aren't that frustrated, so big and so busy that you can't make the time to do that.
Speaker A: It's very individual work, which is really important. There's another product that I was having a look at, your website, that fascinated me as well, which was the let me think.
Speaker B: I know what it is.
Speaker A: You're guessing me, aren't you? Yeah, I know what it is.
Speaker B: The vo one.
Speaker A: Yeah, that looks really interesting.
Speaker C: Yeah, the vo one. It first came out of a trip to NAB where we had our booths set up at our space. And we always had like a 20 x 20 space with several booths, but we were like, I don't think anybody knows what's in these booths. We look like another something. These could be meeting rooms or anything. So I asked Carl, our production manager, I said, hey, can you whip me up a mockup of what would be an inside corner of a booth so I can put it on the outside? I can hang up some micro phones, some guitars. It'll be pretty colors, pretty cool. It's just a cutaway.
Speaker B: Exactly.
Speaker C: And people can kind of get the idea before they even go inside the booth of what it is. And we had people coming up and saying, okay, yeah, that's great that you do the booth, but could I get just this? Because I just have an office and I just need this. I'm not ready to come into an entire room. I don't care. I love the way this sounds. And then they'd walk inside and it was a pyramid studio foam that was just kind of a wedge. And they'd walk up there, and even in that show environment, all of a sudden they go, whoa, the sound changes right here. This is amazing. My voice sounds better and everything. And you're like, oh, yeah, this is going to be a product that we're going to figure out and stuff.
Speaker B: How long has it been shipping now?
Speaker C: We did that right in I believe it was in 2020 that we started that. And that was the other thing, too, is that there's so many people were going home and needing to record from home. And the other thing is we'd always looked at, how could we possibly get away from that giant freight truck that's going to show up and create all kinds of confusion? Is there any way we can get something upsable? So we kept looking at going from those big panels that were just a mockup to finally we have this foam core and this way of putting this thing together where it just velcros together, but then it gets very rigid. It works really well. It still has, like, you would say that vocal booth sexiness to it. It has a functionality and it sounds really good. And so that's really where that one was born. We had a local guy here who's in a rock band. He was not touring at the moment. He was like, hey, do you have something I could pop up in my studio right now to do vocals? Because I don't really need a four, but I'm like, there's another client, we need to talk to him. So we got one over to him really quickly. That was Christian Martucci, and he does Stone Sour and Corey Taylor. And so in his home studio, we popped one up, he started doing his vocals, and he said immediately he was recording with an SM Seven, b all of his vocals in there. And all of a sudden he went, oh, dang. I was able to bring my nice microphones back out. Yeah, I didn't realize how much this SM Seven sucked until I was able to get my Neumann back out and start doing these vocals.
Speaker B: Mic is part of the equation. It's kind of like acoustics is to photograph. Acoustics are to the microphone as lighting is to the camera. And you can use the good camera when you got the good lighting. And you can use the great mics when you have the good acoustics. Yeah.
Speaker C: So that's been a great product. Again, we say it doesn't provide isolation, but if you got a quiet spot, you can pop this up anywhere. It's helped a lot of people get going on voiceover, or even, I think, Mark Preston. When his house got trashed by the hurricane, he called me up because he has been a long term vocal booth client. And he was like, oh, man. I went in there and my vocal booth is molded. I'm going to have to get a new one, and my whole house is I'm going to have to get all new gear. It's a mess. And so I said, oh, where are you right now? He's like, I'm at a hotel. And I said, I'm going to send you a vo one. So popped him one over there and he was like, popped it right on up in his hotel room and just was able to keep working and keep going. Something that's only about 80 pounds and folds down into four Ups boxes. And right now we're shipping those all across the US. At no charge. And then we can even ship them into Canada as well.
Speaker B: Cool.
Speaker A: Yeah, they look really good.
Speaker C: Thank you.
Speaker A: Very nice. Funny you should mention Mark Preston. I've been communicating with him over the last day or so.
Speaker C: Yeah, mark's great. He's really built up his community over there. Just a real nice, safe place, I think also for people trying to learn a place where they're not getting hawked wares all the time. I appreciate he'll call me out every now and then on one of his groups and say, you know, I think Freddie could answer this and stuff. So I kind of wait for the invitation. But it's always a nice being able to jump in and give somebody some practical advice. And sometimes that advice is like you said, hey, just jump in your closet and get started.
Speaker B: Get going.
Speaker C: You don't need an $8,000 booth to begin with. You're just starting out. Get your training, get your stuff, and then kind of figure out what you need past there.
Speaker B: Yeah. When you give the right advice, when you create trust, then people will keep coming back to you.
Speaker C: That's important.
Speaker B: That's the key. Yeah, that must be our issue. Hey, Freddie. It was awesome. I'm glad you could cop into this booth with me.
Speaker C: Yeah, thanks for inviting me.
Speaker B: Chat with my pals around the world.
Speaker C: No, it's really great to introduce you.
Speaker B: But Andrew is in Melbourne, Australia.
Speaker C: Excellent.
Speaker B: Sorry, Robbo is not here. Robo is in Sydney. Okay, great.
Speaker C: Yeah, we just did a really big thing down there to University of Sydney. Lots of multiple diamond series boots and stuff.
Speaker B: Very cool.
Speaker C: You can see that on the gallery section of our website. And they have a very cool setup.
Speaker B: Nice. And then Robba Marshall in Chicago. So, yeah, we wrap the globe when we do this show.
Speaker C: Wonderful.
Speaker B: Finding the time to do it is the hard part. Yeah.
Speaker C: Well, great.
Speaker B: Exactly.
Speaker C: It's wonderful to be a part of it. And nice to chat with you guys. I appreciate it.
The Sennheiser 416 has become an industry-standard tool. Being a “shotgun” mic (or in tech terms a super-cardioid) the microphone is extremely sensitive in a very narrow field. For this reason, it is often used on film sets where the mic needs to be a little farther away from the actor’s mouth (so it’s not in the frame), and the production team wants to capture the actor’s voice without capturing background noise in the room. These qualities also make it extremely versatile for use in home voiceover studios!
But who first decided a Shotgun would be great for Voice Over, and why is it now an industry standard?
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Summary In this episode of the Pro Audio Suite, hosts George Wittam, Robert Marshall, Darren Robbo Robertson, and Andrew Peters take a deep dive into all things related to professional audio equipment. The discussion covers the technicalities of the legendary 41 six microphone, its proximity effect, and how its placement profoundly influences the output. Renowned rock and roll voiceover artist Steve Britton's microphone technique is highlighted, including how he utilizes the aggressive nature of the mic to enhance his voice. The hosts also discuss other microphones such as the eight one eight, the SM Seven, and the 4116, comparing their various characteristics and potential uses. Additionally, they touch upon potential changes in the industry due to the advent of AI voices. The podcast concludes with advice for individuals dealing with their own audio issues, encouraging listeners to explore and make the most out of their equipment like iPhone mic, acknowledging how surprisingly good it can sound when used correctly. Check out theproaudiosuite.com for more information and use the code Trip a P 200 for $200 off your tribooth.
#ProAudioSuite #VoiceoverTechTips #TriboothDiscounts
Timestamps * [00:00:00] Intro: Welcome to Pro Audio Suite * [00:00:30] Exploring the Proximity Effect of 41 Six * [00:03:33] Voiceover Pioneer: Ernie Anderson's 41 Six Influence * [00:07:44] Microphone Showdown: 416 Vs. SM Seven * [00:12:16] Unraveling the Versatility of Eight One Eight * [00:17:56] Mic Recommendation: Small Diaphragm Shep * [00:23:19] Debunking the Myth: Foam on 41 Six * [00:25:32] The History of Headset Mics * [00:30:25] AI Voice Realm: A Threat or a Boon?
Transcript Speaker A: Y'all ready be history.
Speaker B: Get started.
Speaker C: Welcome.
Speaker B: Hi. Hi. Hello, everyone, to the Pro Audio Suite.
Speaker C: These guys are professional and motivated with tech. To the Vo stars George Wittam, founder of Source Elements Robert Marshall, international audio engineer Darren Robbo Robertson and global voice Andrew Peters. Thanks to Triboo, Austrian audio making passion heard. Source elements. George the tech. Wittam and robbo and AP. International demo. To find out more about us, check thepro audiosuite.com line up learner.
Speaker B: Here we go.
Speaker C: And don't forget the code. Trip a P 200 that will give you $200 off your tribooth. Now, I've been playing around with the proximity effect of the 41 six, the legendary 41 six, and I've never really set it up to shoot straight down the barrel.
Speaker B: So what's your default placement?
Speaker C: Usually slightly off to the side.
Speaker B: Okay. So still relatively level, but just coming pointing at you a little bit off to the side.
Speaker C: Yeah. And pointing down. So pointing down but slightly side.
Speaker B: Got it.
Speaker C: This way is still pointing down, targeting the mouth, but going full it straight at it. And I did one read like that, then I followed it up with one slightly to the side, and then I followed that up with an eight. One eight. But I know we've talked about the proximity effects of the 41 six, but I actually couldn't believe the difference. It shocked me that it was so bright and it's how I remember the 41 six sounding.
Speaker B: So what you're saying is like, you've kind of detuned the mic, you've detuned it to calm down. What makes the mic so aggressive? By using that placement and then when.
Speaker C: I put it back holy crap.
Speaker B: Oh, yeah, that's what that mic?
Speaker A: Well, it's interesting because there's a guy who AP and I know and have both worked with a guy called Steve Britton, who's sort of the big know, rock and roll voiceover guy, and he actually uses it to his advantage because he's not so hyped. His natural voice is not so sort of steeped in those sort of high mids and highs. So he actually gets right up on it. The best way I can describe it is he pretty much swallows the thing when he does a voiceover and uses it to his advantage because it sort of obviously accentuates that part of his voice that isn't really there naturally. The only deficit is that from an engineer's point of view, that as soon as you touch anything in the highs, it just blows up. You've got to be so careful around up there with him when you're sort of mixing him.
Speaker C: Well, the strange thing about his voice is you think you're going to have to play with all the lows because it's such a big, deep voice, but as soon as you touch anything, the highs just go mental.
Speaker A: Well, yeah, and that's the way you've got to work with Steve's voice, is rather than sort of additive EQ, it's subtractive you've really just got to sort of balance it by taking away some of that deeper stuff that's there in bucket loads. And just leave the top alone, otherwise it will just destroy itself. I've seen people with three DS's on a track trying to get rid of it once they've started sort of trying to get that typical radio cut through, which is the biggest mistake. And as soon as you say start again, but don't touch the highs, just cut some lows, they go, yeah.
: Okay.
Speaker C: So my question is with the 41 Six, it was the guy who was the voice of The Love Boat. Was he the first guy to use the 41 Six for Ernie Anderson?
Speaker B: I don't know if he was the first, but he was certainly the most well known for it.
: I thought Don LaFontaine made it really popular.
Speaker B: Well, Ernie is the one who's caught on camera using that mic on video and other things, where he's in the studio at ABC and he's literally doing know.
: And I got to imagine someone just did it because, like, here's a mic. It's the one that the freaking news guy uses. But here you go. Say the word.
Speaker C: The story I heard was not like I think he was a bit paranoid and he didn't like being in the booth because he thought people were talking about him.
Speaker B: Right.
Speaker C: And so he wanted to sit out in the control area.
Speaker B: That's right.
Speaker C: And he couldn't use a normal large diaphragm, couldn't use a U eight seven.
Speaker B: Out there, every damn thing.
Speaker C: So one of the guys on the floor came up with the idea of using the 41 Six. That's what I heard.
: Why don't you use this razor blade to record your voice?
Speaker B: Yeah, it's probably a 415 or whatever they had at the time.
: Yeah, probably a T powered 415 at the time. Yeah, I got a couple of those. Those sound a little bit different than the four.
Speaker B: Little bit less distorted.
Speaker C: Yeah, exactly.
Speaker B: That sound, for whatever reason, better, for worse, it's become the character of what a voiceover sound sounds like. Like when you listen to a voice recorded with a close up mic, I think we've gotten incredibly tuned what that sound is. It's become what was the word you used? Robo? Standard, but something else.
Speaker A: Yeah, I did, didn't I? I used a big word printed benchmarked. It's a benchmark.
Speaker B: Benchmark, yeah. Kind of a benchmark, yes. So I've been hearing that mic with my clients and promo people for so long. So when I hear another mic, right, upside of it, if it's an accurate mic with very little color, such as the OC 8118, it sounds well, it sounds like this here. Here's a 41 six of Andrew and then the eight one eight. So this is what a non accurate mic and then an accurate mic sounds like side by side. And then you did it in two different placements, right?
Speaker C: Yeah. I did that was because of our discussion a couple of weeks back, where we were talking about placement with the 41 Six, which I'd never I thought, yeah, well, whatever.
: Andrew, where do you like the 416?
Speaker C: You'd be surprised where'd you like that. He's got a dark brown voice. No, he hasn't.
Speaker A: Well, if they say that your voice is chocolatey, you can tell them why.
Speaker C: Yes. Getting a bit messy now, is it?
Speaker A: Yes, indeed.
Speaker C: I always had the 40 116, sort of like facing down, but to the slightly to the side. So I'm sort of almost not quite side addressing, but you know what I mean? That's how I had it and I got used to that sound. And then after our discussion, I thought, I wonder if the proximity, I wonder what it really is like. So I moved the mic and went basically pointing straight at me, but slightly downwards towards my mouth, and I couldn't believe the difference. It was just like two different mic. It was two different mics and it was the old get a toothpick and stick it in your eardrum kind of sound that you get with the 41 Six.
: Yeah, which is the other reason why I think engineers like it, because you get a voice recorded on that and it's just going to cut through everything and you don't have to do a lot more to it. It just sort of has this pre processing that works for a lot of that in your face advertising.
Speaker B: The Hamburger Helper of microphones.
: Yeah, it's just like in your face advertising. Right there, done.
Speaker B: Here's what it sounded like. Here's the samples. I got them right here.
Speaker C: The MercedesBenz GLE SUV is the complete package. The MercedesBenz GLE SUV is the complete package. The MercedesBenz GLE SUV is the complete package. So that's first one was straight down the barrel, second one to the side, and the third one was the eight one eight.
: And you can hear it, it just gets less and less edgy, less and less. It does.
Speaker A: The interesting thing about the 4116, and I guess its impact on the industry, is it's been copied a few times, probably, or tried to be copied. But I'm on an NTG five right now and it's probably the closest, I reckon, that I've heard.
: I don't know. The NTG five has got more bass. I'm on an NTG five, too. I think the NTG five is a warmer mic. Yes, it does have that shotgunny in your face thing, but it's a little bit actually bigger sounding, but it's not necessarily more cuddy. I think this the eight one eight. You could take it and EQ it to do what the 416 does.
Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
: Pick up more room. But the 416 is just sort of like there it is, it's going to.
Speaker A: Put done for you.
: It's a cut.
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker B: I'm so used to the way that bright cut condenser mic sounds that I add EQ to my own mic because I want it to sound more like that bright, condenser mic sound. Right. Now I'm talking into the Earthworks Ethos, which is a very flat mic. And if I cut my what is it, ten khz? Six DB shelf, basically. It's not a shelf, but it looks like one. Then it sounds like this. Right, and it still sounds good. It just doesn't have that top end, that bright sizzle.
: I think the extreme difference would be go from a 416 to an SM Seven.
Speaker B: Yeah, well, the SM Seven has like this kind of this mid range thing that I've never been a big fan of the way that sounds.
Speaker A: For voiceover.
Speaker B: Yeah, for voiceover.
: Do you like the PL 20? The Re 20 better than the SM seven.
Speaker B: Yeah. Personally, radio voice, the PL 20 is the Re 20 without that big basket on it, the front, right.
: No, I cannot tell you the difference between them, actually. I believe they are the exact same, just years difference.
Speaker B: Oh, got you.
: For this year to this year. They made the Re 20 and then they I think the PL 20 was before the Re 20 got you. Yeah. No, I think that as powerful and big of a mic. And no matter how much Rush Limbo wanted to gold plate his, I think the SM Seven beat the PL 20 in overall installations since the Pandemic, at least. It's like, holy cow. Did they get the SM Seven out there on podcast?
Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B: I don't know who they have to thank for it, but Joe Rogan is probably high up on the list because he's been YouTubing his podcast for quite a few years now.
: I mean, there's an ad campaign that I've never seen an ad for an SM Seven. That's marketing.
Speaker B: Yeah, that's right.
: Yeah, you need it. And I didn't even tell you.
Speaker B: I mean, I just installed a podcast studio and the mic was not chosen because that's the best mic. It was chosen because that mic was seen on another podcast. Yes, exactly. Because the owner is and the 416.
: Has got that, too. And so it's like, yeah, the SM Seven, you can abuse it. And it's going to be pretty consistent and whatever dark and warm. And it has that thing for radio where it's not going to pick up. It's just going to seem to pick up the voice and not the other stuff. Right. Like the 416 has got the cut.
Speaker C: Yeah, the SM seven. SM Seven b basically eat the things anyway, and they're built like a tank, which is perfect.
: Yeah. You can abuse the whole mic and you won't hear. I mean, I don't know how Howard Stern gets away with abusing his Neumann condenser the way he does and you never hear it.
Speaker C: Can you explain that one's?
Speaker B: Still a mystery.
: It's like it should just be like.
Speaker B: This kind of shit all over the.
Speaker A: Place because it's not connected, I'm sure of it.
Speaker C: I don't think it's connected. It's a fucking prop, isn't it?
: It's a prop, yeah.
Speaker B: Now this sounds more like an SM seven B, doesn't it? This is that it does a little.
: Darker fatter, a little bit less top.
Speaker B: End, a little bit more mid bump around one k, couple of DB. Now it's like an SM seven. I could go to the low frequency and boost up the bottom end. Now, they would sound even maybe a little bit more.
: So in the spirit of don't send us a processed voice. Stop using 416s because they sound too processed already.
Speaker B: Yeah, stop using them altogether.
Speaker C: But it's kind of weird, isn't it? We're like, we get a large diaphragm mic or something and then we try and EQ it up to sound like a four one six. Just use the 41 six and be done with it.
Speaker B: Really? I've caught myself doing that where somebody's like, okay, here's a sample of my 41 six, here's a sample of my TLM 103, can you make me a stack for each of these two mics? And over the time I'm just like, okay, I'm not going to touch the EQ at all on the 41 six.
: Yeah. And then you're going to make their tail on 103 sound like a 41 six.
Speaker B: What, did you resist the urge? I used to, I used to, but I resist the urge and now what I'm doing is I'm mostly just going to do corrective EQ.
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker B: When there's like a harshness, a nasal, some resonance in the booth, then that's it.
: I think with the TLM you could give it a little bit more of a glassy sound and not so much of an upper mid, but a way airy high frequency kind of airy boost and make it nice and it'll still have some sort of I wouldn't call it cut, but presence, literally. But it'll be different than the 416, which has that frequency that every speaker has. It's like four k, eight k all packed in there. It's like your worst speaker on earth plays back those frequencies, for sure.
Speaker A: Yeah, no doubt, yeah. Well, and the eight one eight, well, it's the polar opposite, isn't it?
: I think eight one eight is like the TLM. You could just give it like a glassy airy sound, you're not cornered into the sound of the four six. I think the eight one eight could be more of a chameleon than the 416. The 416 does its thing and that is it.
Speaker C: Yeah. It's a one trick pony, that's for sure.
Speaker B: It's a one trick pony, but the way you manipulate it is by placement.
Speaker C: Yeah, well, that became obvious. Yeah, absolutely. It did sound like two different microphones just by moving it.
Speaker B: I mean, the first time I saw.
: A 42 different voice actors sometimes, yeah.
Speaker B: The first time I saw a 40 116 in an audiobook production facility, I.
Speaker A: Was like, yeah, that seems like for.
: A long term thing, it's like that's a harsh mic to be listening to 8 hours of the same person. You'd want nice pillowy mic?
Speaker B: Yeah. So I don't know what post they were doing on the audio. I'm sure they were doing some EQ.
: It's like listening to classical music on NS Ten s? Yes.
Speaker A: I was going to say you'd be pulling the earbuds out halfway through mowing the lawn. You'd be going, Jesus, my ears are bleeding.
Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely.
: Well, maybe it's good for the lawnmower. You're mowing the lawn. It's like I can hear 4K.
Speaker A: I've got Ebays in to stop going deaf, but I'm going deaf anyway.
: Yeah.
Speaker B: Here's a little test. Tell me what this is.
Speaker C: The MercedesBenz GLE SUV is the complete package.
: That is either the 416 straight on, I think, or maybe to the side.
Speaker B: All that was was the eight one eight with a shelf high shelf on it. It was an eight DB shelf starting at seven.
: Wow, that's a shitload. That's a lot of DB.
Speaker B: It's so funny. I opened up the Au filter plugin, which is like a really simple four band EQ. And the setting I had last loaded, wasn't that's what it was? It was just like an ATP shelf at seven k. Wow. I was like, all right, let's see what that sounds like. That's what that sounds like.
: Sounds like so the 416 is boost at. Boost at.
Speaker B: But if you ran that EQ on the 416, well, you would get this.
Speaker C: The MercedesBenz GLE make it stop.
: D 416.
Speaker A: Try selling a MercedesBenz with that sound. Yeah, exactly. Oh, my goodness.
Speaker B: Off brand, for sure. Yeah, but it's weird, there's a lot of commercial work getting booked, especially female voice stuff. That is really bright.
: Yeah, it is. I used to say a lot of the times, depending on the 414, some females didn't work as well with a 414 because their voices were already kind of airy and then you get that really top end mic on it. Yeah. And it's like they overcompensate and sometimes like a U 87 worked better because just sort of try to pick up some of those lower mids.
Speaker B: I used to recommend the Rode NTG three all the time for women because it was a very dark, flat and warm mic and so it worked really to their advantage a lot of times, in fact.
Speaker C: That's funny you say that, because that's the mic I got for Somerset for Interg three, because it just did not sharp and nasty.
Speaker B: So, yeah, it's funny, when you have a good mic that gets all the information with no distortion, you can really EQ it. And when you have a mic that is pre filtered, pre EQed and arguably has some degree of distortion, it's much.
: Harder to correct it like anything with audio, it's easy to work with a blank slate compared to trying to uncompress.
Speaker B: Oh, boy.
: It's impossible or unds.
Speaker B: Right?
: Or UN crazy 416 EQ something. Because no matter what you do, the fix that you apply will create other harms, and you'll just end up with Swiss cheese in the end. So these broader, flatter, big diaphragm mics or what's interesting is, I think, to get a really accurate voice, I've not seen anybody try to record voice with, say, like a Km 184. And sometimes you see a lot of the opera singers what's an opera singer set up, like, a nice small diaphragm away from the singer?
Speaker B: Yeah. Distant placement.
: Distant, right. And then you get that just like that is what it is. There's no proximity. And I'll bet you for some people's voice, maybe something like a really pure small diaphragm condenser would be pretty interesting. That's why I was curious about those rode TF. Mics.
Speaker B: Yeah, TFI.
: Those look pretty high end small diaphragm condenser. And I bet you those would probably.
Speaker B: Wait, didn't one of you guys get the small diaphragm Austrian audio?
Speaker C: Yeah, robert's got them.
: I got the OC eight. I got the OC eight. And those are good. I was going to say, I don't think they're sheps killers. They're closer to 184s. They're not sheps, but they're much closer to like honestly, they're much closer to, like, 450 ones. They're a little bit less full and very good for symbols, but not necessarily the whole I think a really good small diaphragm mic like a shep would be amazing on the right person's voice. But you'd have to have the right booth, right? There's no way, you know, you can.
Speaker B: Get a chef's headset microphone. I actually demoed it once. $2,400 headset mic. It was an ultrasound headphone. $600 headphone with a chef.
: And the microphone is like a pencil. It's like a pencil, yeah, it was pretty big, actually.
Speaker B: It had a big windscreen. It was for sports casting. It had a big gooseneck on it. And it was like this ridiculous contraption that I was able to get a demo of one time, and I used it. It's on YouTube somewhere. $2,400 headset. Headset mic.
: Chefs and BNKS. Man, not cheap mic.
Speaker B: No compromises.
: Yeah, they are good, though, definitely. I mean, Neumann's, too, but those are like, chefs. Doesn't even try to make a 103. They're like, you're going to make $1,000 microphone. Ha. We'll make a $7,000 microphone. Our cheapest mic is $2,000.
Speaker C: I would love to, at some point, find out how the 41 six did become so prevalent.
: Honestly, I always hurdles, don LaFontaine. I remember I was shocked when I found out, like, really? 416?
Speaker B: Just for the record, it was not the mic that was in this booth when I met him. Like, I never saw him using that booth.
: The 416 was not the mic that Don LaFontaine used, not when I met him.
Speaker B: I mean, I worked with him in 2005, but he'd already been recording for 20 years by that point.
: Andrew, when did the 416 become all the rage, because when I started in 1998, it was like, u, people are using shotguns, but I'm just an early engineer who's like, shotguns are colored. You only use them because you have to because you have mitigating circumstances. Why would you ever use a shotgun in a perfectly clean booth? And I start working on higher end commercials, and you start finding these voice talent who are using it. And actually, come to think of it, cutters. We had VIP 50s until, like, the early 2000s VIP, and then we got these Mylabs. Okay, very interesting mic. Rectangular diaphragm. So the skinny side of the rectangle is supposed to give you the best of a small diaphragm mic, and the long side of the rectangle is supposed to give you the best of a large diaphragm mic.
Speaker B: Far out.
: But they were good. We even had some voicemail go like, what's that mic? Like, I need your setup. And one guy bought one. But by the early 2000s, we put 416s in all the booths, and eventually that was just the mic. Like, the VIP 50s got pushed to the side, and everyone who walked in just got recorded on a 416 by default. And that's by 2005. I feel like we were just all 416. So Andrew, I don't know. When do you feel like the 416 took over?
Speaker C: Because I was in radio until 97, so I didn't really see any commercial studios because everything was done in the radio station. So there was from memory, I don't remember seeing any shotguns in any radio stations. It was usually SM seven.
: You still don't true. You still don't see shotguns in radio stations.
Speaker C: Well, you do here now. You do see them in the production areas.
Speaker B: Really?
Speaker C: Absolutely. They're all 41 sixes in the production areas of radio stations. So the first time I saw a 41 Six would have been probably late ninety s ninety seven. Ninety eight, I guess.
: So that's when it started taking over, in, like, late 90s, early 2000s.
Speaker C: Yeah. And then they became everywhere. And a funny story, actually, because I had to do a job when I was in La. So I had to find a studio. So I went to La Sound.
Speaker B: And.
Speaker C: Of course, they had the 41 Six there. But I was talking to I won't mention the person's name because he's pretty high profile and might get the shits with me, but I was talking about the 40 116 with this person and about the foamy, and he said, no one in this country would ever have the foamy on their 41 six. It just doesn't happen here. I don't know why you guys do that. That's ridiculous. That's crazy. Never seen it before.
: Well, usually you just put the normal you put the normal steadman screen windscreen in front of it.
Speaker C: Yeah, I sent him a photograph. There's me in the booth, La Sound with the foamy on the 41 six. So they definitely had the foamy on.
Speaker A: Well, there you go. I always use the foamy. I used to, because there's plenty of people who didn't know how to use the mic, used to get up all over it and just make it.
: Here's a funny one. Even Harlan Hogan's vo one A was based on an older MSL. Model. Was it based on or was it just an older MXL model?
Speaker B: No one will really know except him. But they say it's, I think, a 1006 or something.
: It's a 1006.
Speaker B: And I have two of those and they sound amazing.
: I got several.
Speaker B: A really fucking good cheap mic. It's a really good cheap mic.
: It was the first $100 large diaphragm mic I bought for me, too. And then I won't say who in Australia modify one.
Speaker C: Yes, I know who that is. Yeah, we'll leave that bit out.
Speaker B: So the chef's headset is the HSC four VXP. It's the model number, if you want to look it up, and very unique mic. And the capsule on it is what probably you're more interested in. And they make different versions, so they have a strong proximity compensation model so you can get it, like, designed to actually compensate for proximity effect. Which is interesting because, again, Sports, they want the boom right up in front of their mouth to reject background.
: Let's start let's start putting, like, parabolic mics in the booth.
Speaker B: I know you talked about that. That would be crazy. Well, the capsule, which is funny, I'm looking at an ad for the mic and they don't mention the capsule, but I think I did in my video. I have a video on YouTube from years ago. If you just search for Widows World episode 90 Headset Mic Roundup, you'll find this video. And I actually try out a bunch.
: Of the Kip Winger headset mic roundup.
Speaker B: I mean, I was trying from really cheap crappy stuff all the way up to the ships and everything.
: The stuff that you start out with the mics that only pick up S's.
Speaker B: Right, or have no low end response period, they just roll off below 200 something.
: If you des them, they go silent.
Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. Well, there's just been a tradition of bad sounding headset mics for so many years.
: Sure has. I mean, do you remember that audio technica that I was playing around with? Is it the really cheap one headset mic? I think it might have been a dynamic and it didn't even have the headset. It's just a head warning mic. But it didn't even have headsets.
Speaker B: I use those in many aerobics or fitness studios where budget was an issue because they could be destroyed and it wasn't a huge loss. But, yeah, those are classics. But audio Tending, it just came up with a headset mic. That where they graphed basically an at 2020 capsule onto a headset boom. And it's like a $200 headphone with a 2020 capsule. And it's pretty freaking bad. I mean, it's pretty good. Again, comparing it to what else is out there, it's pretty good, but it's.
: Still well, that's the reality. Honestly, if someone gave me a voiceover recorder on a cell phone, I'd get it on the yeah, you find a way and I'd find a way, and I'd freaking bass synthesize some stuff and make it sound as good as it can go. And unfortunately, with a lot of clients, they're like, okay, sounds good. I understand the words. Sounds like a commercial to me. But we know there's a huge difference between all that stuff. I don't know. I still don't like it. But I've had a couple of voices. Now I've run into the tiny, basically rode video microphone, USB video mic.
Speaker B: Go two.
: Yeah, it's like your pinky.
Speaker B: That's probably because I've recommended it to a bunch of people.
: You can blame me for that one. Yeah, it's like it's okay.
Speaker B: It's $100 mic.
: Yeah. The flaws are exposed much quicker and the escape routes are smaller.
Speaker B: It's probably marginally better than the phone mic in the iPhone. Just it's a shotgun, so it's a little bit more directional. Yeah. At the end of the day, I'm blown away with, when you use the iPhone mic correctly, how good it actually can sound. It's crazy.
: Yeah. And especially if they start putting, like, arrays of microphones in there and doing.
Speaker B: Beam forming, they're doing I don't know which vert well, they're already doing that. I mean, you don't realize it, but they are doing that. They use three capsules and it's a beam.
: Oh, the microphone and the iPhone is a beam.
Speaker B: They have been for quite a while. I even had an LG phone. It was like a V 40 or something. It was probably six years ago. And I could steer the microphone pickup pattern front to back, depending on who using the little slider on the screen. And I could say, make it pick up the guy in front of me and then make it pick me up, and I could go back and forth. So that's been around in cell phones for a while. But anyway, I had a lot of fun doing interviews with the new rode wireless kit with the wireless me, because the rode capture app on the phone will shoot both cameras. So I'm shooting a video of me and shooting a video of the guest. And they have a mic and I have a mic. So when I'm done, I have two videos and two audio tracks to manipulate and post. And it's amazing how good of a production you can make from that, really?
: From your pocket.
Speaker B: It's crazy. Yeah. I posted a couple interviews.
Speaker C: Was that the one with the woman from Heil? Yeah, I saw that.
: This is why we're all out of business.
Speaker C: I thought you'd actually done some naughty shots, but I didn't realize you were actually live with your bits to camera as well.
: What's going. On with the AI voice realm? Has that calmed down or are people still freaking out on AI taking over?
Speaker C: I haven't seen much like it's less.
: A little bit less discussed recently?
Speaker C: I haven't seen much at all.
Speaker A: What microphone do you use on an AI voice?
: How many drummers does it take to change the light bulb? I'll tell you the same number of voiceovers it takes to read a book.
Speaker A: None.
: Because you just get an AI to do it.
Speaker B: Well, that was fun. Is it over?
Speaker C: The Pro audio suite with thanks to Tribut and Austrian audio recorded using Source Connect, edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Robbo Got your own audio issues? Just askrobo.com. Tech support from George thetech Wittam. Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic or just say good day. Drop us a note at our website proaudiosuite.com.
The Sennheiser 416 has become an industry-standard tool. Being a “shotgun” mic (or in tech terms a super-cardioid) the microphone is really sensitive in a very narrow space, in a line extending straight out from the tip. For this reason, it is often used on film sets where the mic needs to be a little farther away from the actor’s mouth (so it’s not in the frame), and the production team wants to capture the actor’s voice without capturing background noise in the room. These qualities also make it extremely versatile for use in home voiceover studios!
But who first decided a Shotgun would be great for Voice Over, and why is it now an industry standard?
Find out on next week's episode of the Pro Audio Suite.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
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Join our Facebook page here:
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Summary In this episode of Pro Audio Suite, we delve into an intriguing story about a paranoid voiceover artist who disliked using the booth, even in a professional setting. His preference to sit in the control area led to an unconventional solution - using a 41 six instead of the customary large diaphragm U87 microphones. This switch, made by one of the floor guys, not only satisfied the artist but also resulted in a unique sound that rapidly became the benchmark for what a voiceover should sound like. Don't miss this intriguing tale about breaking norms and setting new standards in the audio world, only on Pro Audio Suite.
#ProAudioSuite #VoiceoverEvolution #BenchmarkSound
Timestamps * [00:00:00] Sneak Peek into the Pro Audio Suite * [00:00:11] Innovative idea from the Brainstorming Floor * [00:00:22] Emergence of 416 Sound * [00:00:33] The Character of Voiceover Sound Revealed
Transcript Speaker A: It's coming up. Coming up next, the Pro Audio Suite sneak peek. The story I heard was not like, I think he was a bit paranoid and he didn't like being in the booth because he thought people were talking about him. Right. And so he wanted to sit out in the control area. That's right. And he couldn't use a normal large diaphragm. Couldn't use a U 87 out there. Yeah. Every damn thing. So one of the guys on on the floor came up with the idea of using the 41 six. That's what I heard. Why don't you use this razor blade to record your voiceover? Yeah, it was probably a 415 or whatever they had at the time. Yeah, probably a T powered 415 at the time. Yeah. So that sound, for whatever reason, better, for worse, it's become the character of what a voiceover sounds like. It's become the word used. Robo, it's a benchmark. Benchmark, yeah. The Pro audio suite. Thanks to Triboos and Austrian audio. Listen now on your favorite podcast provider.
If you don't know who Marc Scott is, you should. The VOpreneur is helping Voice Artists around the world navigate the nightmare that is marketing your Voice!
This week, we have him on the show to talk about everything from emailing leads to the Red Socks...
Find out more about him and his great services here:
https://www.vopreneur.com/
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
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Join our Facebook page here:
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For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Summary On this episode of Pro Audio Suite, voiceover and marketing coach Mark Scott is featured. Mark shares how he started his career in marketing out of necessity to make it in the voiceover industry. Now, he helps other voiceover artists navigate their own marketing journey. Covering a range of topics from social media strategy, dealing with rejection, the power of micro habits, and avoiding distractions, Mark provides valuable insights on how to set yourself apart in a saturated market. He also emphasizes the importance of continually bringing in new prospects to maintain success. The episode also dives into his experimentation with affiliate marketing and his innovative use of national days for promotional sales. He shares his approach to gifting clients, stressing the importance of showing appreciation. The discussion also touches on techniques for enhancing creativity, a crucial skill for both voiceover work and marketing.
#VoiceoverMarketingGuru #ProAudioSuitePodcast #MarketingInAudioIndustry Timestamps [00:00:00] Pro Audio Suite Introduction [00:00:39] Guest Introduction - Marketing Guru Mark Scott [00:01:27] Mark Scott's Journey to Voiceover Marketing [00:03:21] The Challenge of Offline Marketing for Voiceover Artists [00:08:49] Pros and Cons of Social Media in Marketing [00:10:37] Cultural Influences in Marketing Strategies [00:11:42] The Power of 'No' in Building Relationships [00:13:55] The Impact of Micro Habits on Growth [00:17:05] Distraction - The Enemy of Marketing [00:20:56] Tailored Marketing Advice for Voiceover Artist Andrew [00:28:49] Mark's Recent Marketing Endeavors [00:31:48] The Danger of Complacency in Successful Businesses [00:33:04] The Art of Gifting in Business Relationships [00:34:27] Capitalizing on Unconventional Sales Opportunities [00:36:36] Sparking Creativity for Social Media Content [00:42:30] Pro Audio Suite Closing Remarks Transcript Speaker A: Y'all ready be history.,Speaker B: Get started.,Speaker C: Welcome.,Speaker B: Hi. Hi.,: Hello, everyone, to the Pro Audio Suite. These guys are professional. They're motivated with tech.,Speaker C: To the Vo stars George Wittam, founder of Source Elements Robert Marshall, international audio engineer Darren Robbo Robertson and global voice Andrew Peters. Thanks to Triboo Austrian audio making passion heard. Source elements. George the tech. Wittam and robbo and AP's. International demo. To find out more about us, check thepro audiosuite.com line up.,Speaker B: Learner. Here we go.,Speaker C: And don't forget the code. Trip a P 200 to get $200 off your tribooth. This week we have a guest. He hasn't as many kids as Robbo, not as cute as Robert, not as smart as George, but he's one of us, and that counts for something. Would you please welcome the marketing guru, Mark Scott. How you doing?,Speaker B: Mark, I see what you did there. I totally caught what you did. Somebody's been listening to my podcast and playing off my opener.,Speaker A: Who would do that?,Speaker C: Exactly.,Speaker A: Really?,: Cheeky monkey.,Speaker B: Look at you guys doing your research.,Speaker A: I appreciate know we go out of our way. We do work hard.,Speaker C: We do indeed.,: Don't speak for yourself. I just show up.,Speaker C: Actually, I was lying before. I'm the same. Yeah. So the question I have to get the ball rolling. How did you sort of end up being like the voiceover marketing guru?,Speaker B: Because I needed to make money in voiceover, and I had to figure out how to do it. I'm one of those voice actors, show of hands, who's been ceremoniously, dumped from their radio career, right. And defaulted into voiceover. And I wasn't making any money when I first started in Voiceover, and I was like, I know I can do this. I know there's a way to make money. Casting sites will only take me so far. And so I started figuring out, at first by accident and then with a little bit greater intention, how to actually market myself. And I remember I read a book that Gary Vee wrote. Everybody knows Gary Vee in the marketing space and in that book, Gary Vee said, you should write a blog. And so I thought, all right, well, if Gary Vee says I should write a blog, I should write a blog. But I didn't know what to blog about. So I just started blogging about all of the marketing stuff that I was learning while I was on this journey. And I guess the end result of that was people thought that I was a marketing guru. And so I just roll with it.,Speaker A: Is that how you see yourself?,Speaker B: I mean, now I do see myself as a voice actor and a marketing coach for voice actors. And even though that was never the original intention, voiceover was obviously the original intention. The coaching thing was just one of those things where I guess you get to a point where the market kind of dictates it when you start getting a lot of people emailing you saying, can you help me with this? Or do you offer coaching? Or I got invited to speak at a couple of conferences and I was like, man, maybe there's something to this, maybe I should roll with this. And I think the best part of it is that it helps to keep me sharp. I can't get complacent because I'm helping other people and having to stay on top of what's going on and having to pay attention. And so that keeps me sharp too.,Speaker A: Because marketing yourself is a hell of a job, isn't it? It takes a lot of time.,Speaker B: It is.,Speaker A: Is that something that you sort of, as part of your coaching, you're teaching people, is how to best use their time as well, to fit all this stuff in, to run a database and to do prospecting and to send emails and are you sort of helping them with their time on that as well?,Speaker B: Well, I mean, the thing that I always joke about is people ask me, how many marketing emails should I be sending? And my response is what you're really asking me is what is the minimum amount of marketing that I can do and still get away with it? Because this is not what voice actors want to do. Right. They sign up to be in the booth and do the recording, but the reality is, if you're not in the booth and you're not doing the recording, it's probably because you're not doing the marketing. So it takes time. Yes, but for me, it's like, what else am I going to do if I'm not recording? I might as well be spending my day making new connections, getting in front of new people, so that I can open the door to do more recording down the road. Right?,: It's probably better than obsessing on whether you have the best microphone for voiceover.,Speaker B: Yeah, I think so.,: It's much better use of your time, I can tell you.,Speaker A: Yeah, because marketing is something that I mean, I'm basing my assumptions here on the Australian market, but 20 years ago, a voiceover artist marketing themselves was unheard of because you had an agent and they pretty much did all that for you. So it's only a sort of recent thing. Do you find that maybe that's part of the issue is that voiceover artists in general have only just recently been thrown into this situation and they're madly trying to figure it out without really anyone to sort of base their marketing strategy on or whatever. Do you find that maybe we're all a bit new to this?,Speaker B: It might be an oversimplification, but I think looking out at the macro level, I think there's probably three different classes of voice actors. There's the voiceover veterans who were around in the glory days of voiceover when it was all agents and in studio, and your agents did everything for you and they brought you in studio and obviously the industry still exists like that in certain areas, but not in a lot of areas anymore. Then there was a group of voice actors who kind of came in during what I call the glory days of online casting. And so for them it meant signing up for a Pay to Play membership, submitting auditions on Pay to Play and maybe they had an agent or two as well. And for voice actors that have come in, we'll say the COVID era voice actors, the glory days of online casting are over. It's not really a sustainable way to build a full time business. Obviously the agent model has shifted a ton and so I think those voice actors are more in tune with the fact that marketing is how this gets done. And I think that voice, like, I came in the glory days of online casting and I was in denial for a while, but when I started seeing things change on the Pay to Play, I knew, okay, I got to figure out a better way. And I don't happen to live in a New York or in La or a Chicago where the full agent model may still work for some people. And so I do think that for a lot of voice actors, they're creatives. They operate from the creative side of their brain. They want to be in the booth doing creative things. And marketing, I think, comes from the other side of the brain and so it's not a natural fit and that's why they don't think about it initially, it's why they don't necessarily want to do it. Can't blame them for that either. But it opened up the door for somebody like me to be able to come in and help them with it because I'm actually not a creative. So I operate from the business side of my brain first.,Speaker C: Yeah, it's interesting though, because winding the clock back, I remember when I like, you finished my radio career and moved to Melbourne 25 years ago. I got into voiceover, got an agent and I was sort of started working, but it was a slow thing. And I walked into a studio one day and I remember sitting and waiting to go in. They had no idea who I was, they just had a name on a piece of paper that I was coming in to do a voice. But I watched the way they communicated with the talent that was leaving and it was like, hey, see you Matt, blah, blah, blah, whatever. It was all like face to face. They knew each other, so I thought there's got to be a way of shortcutting this so I can actually become visible to them as opposed to just being a name on a piece of paper. So I went out and found a photographer and I got a whole bunch of shots taken. And the brief was there were certain colors that I wanted to do, but I wanted to make it look like I was releasing an album on a CD. And I was the singer, so I was the artist on the front cover, which I did. And so I produced all these videos, which in those days was VHS for on camera stuff. I did a bunch of CDs with this picture on it and it was an immediate shortcut because I just did every studio, went to every studio, dropped these kits off with my demo and all that kind of stuff, and it was amazing. When I walked in, they knew who I was because on their desk was my photograph on the CD and everybody else just had their name and a contact number.,Speaker B: Yeah, I was going to say at that point in time, probably nobody else was doing that. So it makes it so much easier for you to stand out. Right. That's how you get noticed.,Speaker C: Yeah. And it worked. It was like, it was an immediate shortcut. I probably saved about six months of traipsing around the studios.,Speaker B: Yeah, for sure.,Speaker A: Is there an online equivalent of that today, do you reckon, Mark, or is it just a slow slog?,Speaker B: I mean, social media is I wouldn't call it a shortcut. Can you get lucky on social media if you find the right audience or hit the right niche or do the right thing? Of course, I've seen many voice actors who have gone viral on TikTok or on YouTube or on Instagram, and that has led to opportunities. I wouldn't say that it's necessarily the norm for it to happen quickly, but I do think that if you use some of those tools consistently, over time, you start to build a following, you start to get recognition and people start to notice who you are and pay a little bit more attention.,: Yeah. I can tell you from someone who's started his business at the beginning of social media, it's been a very long slog because you do just spend time building up the brand and the name recognition and establishing yourself as an authority on the subject of something. So, yeah, it's a way to do it. It's definitely not the fastest, I would say.,Speaker B: Yeah, I would say now, I don't know that I would release the VHS, but I would say that there's a full circle coming around. Like I've had some success doing things like postcards because everybody else is doing email and inbox and social media and nobody's sending anything through the mail anymore. And so that's one of the ways that you stand out. So walking into a studio today and dropping off a package, nobody's doing that again now because everybody's doing email and social media, so there might be a full circle opportunity to kind of jump the line a little bit in that regard.,Speaker A: Will that be the next episode of your podcast, Mark?,Speaker B: Yeah, maybe I'll bring you guys on the show and we'll talk through that one.,Speaker C: As far as countries are concerned, do you find the attitude towards marketing changes depending on which country you're marketing yourself into?,Speaker B: I don't know if the attitude changes as much. I think maybe the platforms change a little bit. Like for example, I've got some clients in South America who don't do email at all. Everything happens on WhatsApp. And so if you're emailing them and they're not responding to you, that's why. Because they don't actually operate on their inbox, they operate out of WhatsApp. And so that's a little bit different. I think the whole North American 24/7 hustle culture, I don't think that necessarily plays the same way in certain European markets where they actually take time off and leave the office and end their workday. And so if you're dropping marketing emails in their inbox at eight or 09:00 at night or whatever, I don't know that that necessarily lands. So I think there's little things, little nuances maybe from country to country, region to region. But at the end of the day, we're all trying to accomplish the same thing. We want people to hear our voice and if our demos are great, then hopefully that does the selling for us.,Speaker A: Yeah, well, talking about email, I've heard you mention a couple of times that no hearing no is actually a good thing. Do you want to explain that to people who maybe haven't heard you talk about this before?,Speaker B: I think that when we're sending out our marketing emails, obviously we want everybody to say yes and we want everybody to hire us and we want every email that we send to be a potential opportunity. And so when we get that rejection, our natural instinct is to take it as know, I might not be any good or maybe my demos aren't good enough or maybe my studio stinks, I need to call George. Whatever. Right. We start to go into all of this negative spiral of everything that's wrong with us when the reality is maybe they don't use voice actors or maybe they've already got a full roster or maybe there's just nothing that fits your voice or whatever. Right. There's 1000 reasons why they don't need you. Only one of those reasons is they didn't like you. But by them just telling you no straight up now, you know, so you don't have to put any more effort into building a relationship with that person going forward. And so much of marketing is building relationships. I would rather devote my time, my effort, my energy to building relationships with people who are potentially going to hire me than spending it on somebody who was never going to hire me in the first place. So the sooner they tell me no, I'm not interested, the better it is for me in that regard because I can devote more time to better prospects.,: Yeah, kind of the same thing as like unsubscribes. Like whenever I send out an email campaign, there's a certain percentages of unsubscribes, maybe a half a percent, but I used to be like, oh man, people don't want to hear it. And it's like, no, that's good. Now you've weeded it down. Now the ones that are left are the ones that really do want to hear from you. And that lets you know people that's true from you, because they're telling you they don't want to hear from you. It's not a bad thing.,Speaker B: When I started building my email list, I took it so personal. Like, I wanted to call up every person who unsubscribed and be like, did I say something wrong? I'm so sorry. Right? You don't want that rejection, right? But now the unsubscribe is a gift in that sense, because now you know that's somebody who was never going to work with you anyway, so focus your attention somewhere else.,Speaker A: I want to take a bit of an off ramp here and head in a different direction, just for a second, because you and I have one thing in common that I know of and we're a bit of a fan of a book called Atomic Habits from a gentleman who I've been lucky enough to interview for an hour or so. A guy called James clear. And his book talks about how micro habits can actually change our lives. Just little things that we do every day that become a habit, can actually change our business, our family life, anything that you want to change, really. And I was wondering if you, in your time of reading James's book and sort of thinking about the things that he's spoken about, if you might have like three habits or so that a voiceover artist should get into in terms of their marketing if they want to become more successful.,Speaker B: One of the things that I talk about all the time with email marketing is send ten emails a day, which is not a big number when you break it down. Ten emails a day, that's not a big number. That's something that realistically, you could probably do in about an hour. It doesn't seem like a lot ultimately, but if you do that five days a week, you just sent 50 emails. And if you do that consistently for a year, that's 2500 emails. And if you get a ten or 15% response rate, that's 200 and 5275 prospects that are now in your database. After a year of just sending ten emails a day, like just focusing on one simple, small task that's an hour out of your day at most, but can create an exponential growth opportunity for you if you do it consistently for a year. And so I think the same applies to social media, though, too, right? Like if you post once a week or twice a week, but you just do it consistently, you get into that habit of doing it consistently, not sharing an update when you've got an update and then falling off for 30 days and then coming back. And now you got to start all over again with the algorithm, and you've got to retrain the algorithm, right? I think some of those simple little things that you can break down into daily tasks that you can accomplish in 10 minutes, 15 minutes, an hour to send those emails or whatever, it does make a big difference, and it's important. I work with voice actors. There's a group of voice actors that I coach for an entire year. Every year, I build out a mastermind group, and in December, we meet. I meet with each of one of them one on one, and we set the big goals for the entire year. Like, when I get to the end of the next year, these are the things that I want to accomplish. And then the next step from that is breaking it down into, okay, what does that look like over individual quarters? What does that look like over a month to month basis? And then, what does that look like on a day to day basis? So that you don't just focus on the great big overarching goal for the entire year, but you're breaking that down into more bite sized pieces, right? It's the whole idea of eating the elephant one bite at a time. And I think that's the concept, basically, of the micro habits. And that's why I love that book. I think everybody should read that book.,Speaker A: It's a ripper, isn't it?,Speaker B: It really is.,Speaker A: What do you think's the biggest enemy of doing? Easy to for me, it's so easy. If I'm getting on to do my socials, it's so easily to get distracted and go, oh, look what my mate Sean posted last week. And look at this, look at that. Do you reckon distraction is an enemy of our marketing?,Speaker B: 100%. There was a study that came out, and I know I'm going to get the numbers wrong, but it was something like, for every time that we allow ourselves to get taken off focus, it takes, like, 26 minutes to get back on track or something like that, right? And so one of the things that I say with social media, and I teach this to voice actors, like, okay, you're going to use LinkedIn because you think that that's a really good platform for you based on the type of work that you want to get. One of the things that you got to do on LinkedIn, if you really want to gain traction, is you've got to be consistent. Okay, what does that look like? And I say set a ten minute block in your calendar every morning and use an alarm. And when that alarm goes off after 10 minutes, get off. Because social media is designed for the endless scroll, right? Like, they've literally engineered these sites to keep us there as long as humanly possible. And so you have to be intentional about getting off and moving on to the next task. Otherwise it is 2 hours later and you're still flipping through reels on Instagram or whatever. And so I think you've got to be very careful about stuff like that.,: Yeah, I had to come up with a hack for me, I am one of those keep many tabs open in Chrome, people, all the things I use to run my business, all the different software websites, everything is like tabs, right? So what I do now is I check Facebook and then I close the just that one little thing keeps it from looking at me and taunting me to click on it because it's just not there. And that's my little hack.,Speaker A: James Clee would be proud of you mate. That's an atomic habit.,Speaker B: So often during the day my phone is not in my office because it's too easy, right? It's too easy. Apple lets you set up the custom focuses in the operating system and so I can set a custom focus that the only people that can text me or get a call through to me during certain times of the day. When I'm in that focus is like my wife and my kids, right? Everybody else can wait at that point because I don't want one ping on your phone. One notification is never just let me just check that one text or let me just answer that one email. It's always 25 minutes later and checked the weather and checked the stock market and went on Twitter and had to look at Instagram or whatever, right? And so it's too easy to lose the time.,Speaker A: Is that a thing for you if you've got that set up on your phone? Does that mean that there's a time of the day, I guess given outside of voiceover sessions and stuff but is there a particular time of the day that you do this sort of work?,Speaker B: When it is available in my schedule because my days are very unpredictable but I try to leave certain parts. Like you can't schedule a session with me before 11:00 a.m. So the first couple of hours of the morning, that's time when I can really just focus on my business and you can't schedule a session with me after 04:00 in the afternoon and so there might be an hour or two after 04:00 where I'm focused and that's where I'm going to do my things. But then if I have spare time in a day where somebody hasn't booked me for whatever reason, phone goes into the focus and it lets me settle in to do whatever the task is that I need to do. 30 minutes of deep focused work is so much more productive than 2 hours of periodic distracted work in between checking socials and text messages and getting yourself into a.,Speaker A: So let's let's, let's get a little bit micro on know, let's take Andrew as an example. Andrew's got an agent here in Australia. He's got an agent in the States. He does work that he drums up himself out of Singapore and Dubai. What should a media strategy for someone like Andrew, and I'm not asking you to give him a freebie here, but in general terms, what sort of things should Andrew be thinking about if he's going to go out there now and market himself and drum up some more work?,Speaker B: What kind of work is Andrew looking for?,Speaker C: That's a very good question.,Speaker B: Probably particular genre.,Speaker C: I'm just kind of thinking the things that I probably do mainly, which is promo work, TV promos, radio imaging.,Speaker B: Then.,Speaker C: I do quite a lot of mainly commercials, long form stuff. So I do like everything really. But I guess the main thing is what I'm booked for is the imaging or promo and also the soft sell sort of luxury product kind of voice.,Speaker B: So one of the things that I think you could be doing is looking at you got a great voice, you got that you sound like a TV promo documentary.,Speaker A: God, don't strike his ego anymore, please.,Speaker C: Oh, come on, someone's got two.,Speaker B: You have the kind of voice that people will sit and listen to on TikTok. You do. And I think there's one of two things that you could do. I think that you could either just do it straight and record yourself reading promos imaging, stuff like that, make some videos in the studio of you doing that as just a way to demonstrate, but also give people the opportunity to hear your voice. Or I think there's an opportunity to go in a completely different direction. The person I'm thinking of in particular is Christopher Tester. He's a voice actor out of the UK who is a classically trained British RP theater actor. And he goes on TikTok and reads monologues know, plays and historic books, different things like that, right? And he's created this whole niche with videos that constantly are going viral, but then people are also constantly writing him and saying, hey, do this one next, or do this one next, which keeps the audience coming back, keeps them watching, keeps the videos going viral. But it was a demonstration of his acting ability and so people end up booking him for voiceover work specifically because of that, because they're seeing his acting abilities. So I think if you could come up with a fun way to do some social media content that highlights your voice but demonstrates your skill, I think that's one of the things that could be done in a relatively short amount of time every day, dedicate 30 minutes to it. Making videos for social media doesn't need to be a complex task anymore. If you've got an iPhone or whatever, you've already got a superior camera and you've got a studio, so you've got great audio, so that's really easy. And I think that would be one thing that I would be looking at. And then the other thing is, I would set a target for myself of I'm going to connect with whatever it is, five radio station program directors every day. And maybe that's going to be through LinkedIn, or maybe that's going to be through email, but it's just getting yourself in front of a few new people every day, and that number is going to change. Right. For a successful working, six figure talent who doesn't have a lot of time, right? They can contact 2025 people a week and just keep some new, fresh people in the pipeline. For the voice actor who doesn't have a whole lot of work right now and is still trying to build their business, you're going to contact ten or 20 people a day and work at filling up and creating that pipeline. But those are two things that I think that you could do to open up some opportunities for yourself. And that one's okay. That's okay. It's on the house.,Speaker A: There you go. And I'll be expecting to see the first video tomorrow. Andrew? Yes.,Speaker C: I wonder what I'll do on TikTok. I dread to think we're going to.,Speaker B: Premier it with the podcast episode.,Speaker A: So you know what's interesting in hearing you talk about that, Mark, is that how niched our marketing needs to get. Then? If we're aiming for a TikTok audience, do we really need to niche it down to, okay, I'm going to do it about acting, or I'm going to do it, or is there any scope anymore for just that I'm a voiceover actor and I can pretty much do everything? Or do we need to niche all our marketing down?,Speaker B: I think that it's possible to do a niche that has absolutely nothing to do with voiceover whatsoever. If it is a niche that you have a skill in or a passion in, and you can connect with an audience in. The best example of that is Stefan Johnson. So he's an American voice actor who does food reviews on TikTok, and they're hilarious, irreverent, fun. And the guy's got I don't even know at this point, he's probably got ten or 11 million followers on TikTok. Every video he does, I think, goes viral. That pretty much is the way it works. Now, he is not talking about voiceover. He's just talking about food and snacks and fast food and doing his reviews, who's got the best burger, who's got the best pizza, whatever. But because he reaches such a broad audience, so many people are watching his videos, it's inevitable that somewhere in that audience of millions of people are people who make buying decisions about voiceover for whatever, from the local video production company to the executive producer at a cable network or whatever. And so that has opened up a door for him for tons of voiceover opportunity. And so I think sometimes we limit ourselves by getting too focused on the voiceover box and thinking we have to. Be in the voiceover box. And so is there something that you can talk about, that you are passionate about, that you love, that you have a skill for, that you have an education for? Whatever? Is there a way that you could create content around that that highlights your voice still or highlights your narration skill or your acting skill or whatever? Doesn't specifically have to do with voiceover, but I think the two tie themselves together eventually.,Speaker A: Now people out there are going to go, it's all right for you, Mark, you've been doing this for a while now, you've got it down pat. I'm just a lowly little voiceover artist sitting in my home studio. I have no idea where to start. Would your advice be just bite the bullet and start?,Speaker B: Yeah. Because your first video is not going to be your best video. The first email that you send is not going to be the best email that you send. The first social media, a post that you create is not going to be the best, but you've got to get the first one out of the way to get to the next one, which is going to be a little better. And the one after that, it's going to be a little better. Honestly, if I go back to, let's say, 2008 910, somewhere in there, when I first started doing a little bit of email marketing, it is honestly an act of God that I ever booked a voiceover at all because I can go back and look at some of those early emails and be like, what the heck? I didn't have a clue what I.,Speaker C: Was doing, but I was just exactly.,Speaker B: Doing it and then learning as I went, getting incrementally better. And that's what opens up the door to more opportunity down the road. And so, yeah, I think it's really easy to get perfection paralysis, right? I've got to have everything lined up before I got to have the perfect camera, the perfect audio, the perfect studio, the perfect backdrop before I can make my first video. Or I've got to have the exact formula worked out for the ultimate marketing email before I can ever send the first marketing email. And we let that become a crutch or an excuse that keeps us from just doing the thing when the reality is it's just like voiceover. My guess is, and you guys could probably attest to this your first time in the booth and your hundredth time in the booth, I'm hoping on the hundredth time you were better, you get in your reps and you get better over time.,Speaker A: Yeah. So, George, I know you're deep in marketing. George, the tech at the moment, is there anything you reckon Mark could I'm.,: Writing virtual postcards on a website right now.,Speaker A: You're deeply engrossed in this interview then, George, I can see.,Speaker C: Yeah. But I'm thinking that that postcard idea is an absolute cracker.,: Yeah. I mean, I just received a postcard from a consultant who's doing some financial consulting for me, like a financial planner type person. And I was like, oh, I haven't gotten a handwritten thank you card in the mail in a really long time. In this case, it looks legitimately. Like, she legitimately handwrote this card and sent it to me.,Speaker B: Yes.,: And I thought, man, if she's got time to do that, I mean, we have time to do that now. My handwriting sucks. It just does. And I could pay my assistant to write these cards, which I might consider doing. And there's also these websites where you can do, quote unquote, handwritten postcards and send them out and they mail them for you and they print them and they do all that stuff. So it's something I'm considering trying in those postcards, having a little coupon code for a please come back. But I have been in absolute, hardcore, full court press marketing mode for the last three months. For George, the tech, you say when you're not working, you need to be marketing. And sales really slumped in the summer this year for us. And I was like, okay, I can either get really frustrated and figure out ways to just start cutting costs and slowing things down or really just go for it hardcore. With in my case, the thing I've been really ramping up is affiliate marketing. And that's been where I've been focusing my energy. And I've got some great advisors around me. I talk to my own marketing and strategist person almost every single week. And I need that accountability, someone to follow up with me, someone to tell me, hey, we had that meeting and I told you to do all this stuff, so go do it. Because it's an insane undertaking to run this business, keep everything functional still, keep my clients happy and on time and keep all the marketing and the biz dev all going. And that's what I've been doing the last few months, actually. I started to realize I'm actually kind of enjoying doing more biz dev. And the shift of my time, of my day is it's legitimately shifted. I don't do as much billable time as I used to, but we have other people doing more billable time and that's awesome.,Speaker B: It brings up a whole other point, though, that I think is important to consider, and that is there comes a point when you've been doing your marketing and it has paid off and business is going really well and you're busy and you're in the booth consistently or you're doing studio builds consistently, or whatever it is that your thing is that you're doing consistently. And what's the very first thing that often gets cut from the schedule? It's the marketing.,: Yeah, the marketing.,Speaker B: And then complacency sets in, right, complacency sets in because you've built a successful business. I've got a successful business, everything's running, firing on all cylinders. But one thing that this industry will teach you over and over again is that clients don't last forever. And so if you are not constantly bringing new people into the mix, then you don't have anyone to replace those clients that ultimately fall away. And so complacency is one of the most dangerous things for any voice actor or business owner for that matter, who's built a successful business. Because it's really easy to work to get there and then when you get there, to relax and enjoy it. And that doesn't mean that you can't relax and enjoy it. Obviously, I don't market the same way now that I did when I was building a full time business, but it's important that I never just stop, that there's always something new coming into the pipeline.,: Yeah, well, the thing that always happens at the end of the year is everybody wants to get out their holiday cards and all that stuff, right? And holiday gifts. And the problem with the holidays is it's too damn busy to do all that stuff, right. Like by the time you're thinking about it's time to be doing my holiday stuff. Now work is like firing all cylinders. You're really cooking. And that seems to happen almost every year for me. And how do you decide and again, not expecting extremely specific answer, but how do you decide about gifting? Because I know some folks and actors and myself included, some of your clients spent more with you than others this year or over the last five years. Is it a very simple mathematics? You just look and say, okay, someone spent more than X, I'm going to give them X? Is that kind of how you look at it?,Speaker B: Honestly, it's something that I don't do a ton of. And one of the reasons why is because there are so many potential pitfalls. And I mean, I guess it depends on where you're working. I do a lot of work for corporate, right? It's a lot of corporate and Elearning and stuff. So it's a lot of corporations. There's a lot of rules around gifting and you can actually get yourself into trouble doing that. And so it's not something that I do a lot of, but I do always make sure I make a point of sending thank you cards or letting them know that I appreciate them and all of that sort of stuff. I do think that there's something to be said for that. I was going to mention too, you got me thinking because you mentioned about the holidays and it's such a busy time and everybody's doing marketing over Christmas and New Year's or Cyber Monday, Black Friday, blah, blah, blah. One of the most successful sales that I ever ran for my coaching was on Groundhogs Day. I ran a Groundhogs Day sale because who the heck runs a Groundhogs Day sale? And so when every other voiceover organization is running a July 4 sale or a Labor Day sale or a Black Friday sale or whatever, I was like, I'm going to do a Groundhog Day sale and see how that goes. And I had no competition on that day. And so that's a little bit outside of the box when you're thinking about so can you look? There's a national day for everything. George and Uncle Roy post them every day. There's a national day for everything. You need to find a national day for something that is related to audio, sound, studio, microphone, whatever. And let that be your big marketing push day when nobody else is thinking about it or nobody else is doing it. Own that day instead of trying to compete with all the noise on a Black Friday or a Cyber Monday or whatever.,Speaker A: Don't talk about Uncle Roy around. AP. He's got huge marketing issues with Uncle Roy.,: But yeah, I mean that whole top of mind, that Uncle Roy thing, that whole top of mind thing that Uncle Roy does with that finding literally a reason to every single day post something, it's a smart idea, it's top of mind.,Speaker B: And now he's associated with it, right?,Speaker A: Yeah, he's that guy.,Speaker B: So you got to find your thing that you get associated with by default. Find that holiday, find that thing and make that the George the Tech day, the George the Tech event.,Speaker A: So we're sort of making our own Black Friday, is that the deal?,Speaker B: Yeah, I think that there's something to be said for that and it doesn't mean you ignore all of those other opportunities. But doing something special on a day that has some sort of relevance or significance but nobody else is doing it, it is one of the ways that you can potentially stand out.,: Love it.,Speaker A: So just quickly, just to sort of wind this up. Creativity is a big part of what we do in our work, obviously being voiceover artists and audio engineers and George doing what he does and that obviously needs to be reflected in our marketing. Is there any rituals or any sort of thing you do around creativity to sort of spark ideas in terms of what you might post on social media or what you might say in an email? Or do you just open up a blank email and hope the words come out?,Speaker B: Yeah, I spend ungodly amounts of time staring at a blank iPad pro with an Apple pencil in my hand waiting for the idea to hit so that I can write it down because it doesn't come. Believe it or not, that creative side doesn't always come naturally to me. But one of the things that I have gotten so much better at over the years and George, this could specifically apply to what you're doing. I am paying so much more attention to what my audience is talking about. So I have a Facebook group with 6000 plus voice actors in it. And the questions that they're asking in that group, the things that they're complaining about, the pain points that they're very obviously struggling with, every single one of those becomes a seed for a video, a podcast topic, a social media post, a course that I might eventually create. And so I've gotten to a point now and this is one of the perks of building that kind of network and that kind of following is that they don't realize it maybe necessarily, but they are feeding me my content ideas. And George, I know you could do the same thing. All you have to do is spend 5 minutes in a Facebook group and see there's a dozen people a day complaining about tech this, tech that, this problem that problem, whatever. Every one of those is a potential piece of content that you could create, whether it's a video, an audio piece of content, a Facebook post, a blog article, whatever. It's all content that is right there being handed to you specifically addressing the things that your audience is struggling with. And so that's one of the things that I do is just I survey my network a lot. What are you struggling with? Or if you could have one podcast interview that you would absolutely love to hear that would change your business, who would the guest be or what would the topic be? And I throw out surveys like that and that helps me to come up with ideas. And then when all else fails, I go sit in the backyard by the fire and enjoy the peace and quiet and hope that if I can clear my head enough and quiet myself enough, a brilliant idea will strike.,Speaker A: They do eventually though, don't they? That's the thing. It's true. I know there's some science behind this, but it actually is those moments when your brain's not actively thinking about the next email or the next social post that the ideas actually come.,Speaker B: Long walk always have a way to.,: Write things down or do a voice memo in the shower. In fact, I have an Amazon Echo Dot.,Speaker A: There's no camera in there that hangs.,: On the wall right over the doorway. And if I'm like in the shower, I can say hey yo Jimbo, remind me to do this while I'm in the middle of the shower because I.,Speaker B: Don'T want to miss. That so true.,Speaker A: Yep, yep, that's right. Well, I think it was AP will probably correct me on this, but I think it was either Start Me Up or Brown Sugar that Keith Richards wrote literally in his sleep. Keith Richards sleeps with a cassette deck next to his bed. And in the middle of the night, if he has an idea, he wakes up and he sings it into his tape recorder. But whichever song it was, it was one of their massive hits anyway, he woke up the next morning and he didn't remember waking up during the night, but he looked at this cassette deck and the cassette had been obviously played. It was halfway through the cassette and he played it back and it was Start Me Up, Brown Sugar. Whichever one it was, it was there. And so he literally wrote it in his sleep.,Speaker C: Yeah, I do remember the stories. I think it was a reel to reel and the tape running out woke him up.,Speaker A: Was it something like that?,Speaker C: Spooled off? Yeah. And he's sort of like, what the hell was that running for? I don't remember starting played it back.,Speaker A: And there was the song Crazy.,Speaker C: Just crazy.,Speaker A: Our brain is an amazing thing.,Speaker B: It's one of the reasons why I have so many issues with sleep, because, honestly, that is one of the few times in the day where my brain is completely quiet when I'm in bed at night. And so a lot of my best ideas hit about three or 330 in the morning, and I can't be upset about it because they're my best ideas, but at the same time, it's like.,: I wish this would come during the day.,Speaker A: Well, I've had a similar thing because AP and I have just started doing demos together and writing scripts for those falls to me. And, yeah, I'm sort of finding that I'll sort of jump into bed and I'll start dozing off to sleep, and then I'm awake and dashing out of the room with my iPhone and dictating a script idea that's just comes into my head, into the phone. So, yeah, I think we're all the same.,: Absolutely.,Speaker B: Yes.,Speaker A: Well, mate, this has been a whole lot of fun. Thank you so much for your time.,Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. It's been fun. Thank you.,Speaker A: If people want to find out more about you, and you've got some amazing courses and bits and pieces up for offer, and obviously the podcast as well, what's the best place for people to go? To find out more about the Mark Scott Experience, shall we call it?,Speaker B: Funnily enough, that was actually the name of an old radio show. Now it is Vopreneur.com. That old Mark Scott experience facebook page might still exist somewhere. I'm not sure if that ever came offline, but, yeah, the website is Vopepreneur.com.,Speaker A: As soon as we're done here, I'm going to Google that.,Speaker B: Shit.,Speaker A: I was going to say something and now it's gone out of my head.,Speaker C: It'll come to you at three in the morning?,Speaker A: Yeah, it'll come to me in the morning. I'll give you a call, let you know.,Speaker B: All right.,Speaker A: Best of luck with the Red Sox. I hope they get better for you, mate.,Speaker B: Well, I mean, there's nowhere to go when you're at the bottom but up, right?,Speaker C: This is true.,Speaker B: Well, that was fun. Is it over?,Speaker C: The Pro audio suite with thanks to Tribut and Austrian audio recorded using Source Connect, edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Robbo Got your own audio issues? Just askrovo.com with tech support from George the tech Wittam. Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic or just say G'day. Drop us a note at our websiteproaudiosuite.com.
If you don't know who Marc Scott is, you should. The VOpreneur is helping Voice Artists around the world navigate the nightmare that is marketing your Voice!
Next week, we have him on the show to talk about everything from emailing leads to the Red Socks...
Find out more about him and his great services here:
https://www.vopreneur.com/
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Summary In the upcoming episode of the Pro Audio Suite, we will explore alternative strategies to stand out in a crowded digital world. Discussed solutions include utilizing traditional marketing approaches, such as sending postcards instead of emails, as evidenced by Mark's success with them. In the modern setup, where everyone is focused on digital platforms, physical mail or personal delivery might be an excellent opportunity to stand out. Stay tuned for this fascinating episode where we also consider exploring this topic on Mark's podcast. The episode is brought to you by Tripus and Austrian Audio.
#ProAudioSuite #SnailMailMarketing #StandOutStrategies Timestamps [00:00:00] Pro Audio Suite Sneak Peek [00:00:30] Success with Postcard Marketing [00:01:00] Future Podcast Episode with Mark Transcript Speaker A: It's. Coming up. Coming up next, the Pro Audio Suite sneak peek. I've had some success doing things like postcards because everybody else is doing email and inbox and social media and nobody's sending anything through the mail anymore. And so that's one of the ways that you stand out. So walking into a studio today and dropping off a package, no, nobody's doing that again now because everybody's doing email and social media. So there might be a full circle opportunity to kind of jump the line a little bit in that regard. Will that be the next episode of your podcast, Mark? Yeah, maybe I'll bring you guys on the show and we'll talk through that one. The Pro audio suite. Thanks to Tripus and Austrian audio. Listen now on your favorite podcast provider.
It started with just a select few, then it grew in popularity to become a trend, and these days, guys like our very own George "the Tech" Whittam are installing home studios at a rate of knots while others create their own acoustically treated paradise in the basement. So what's next? What does the future hold, and can we ever recoup the costs by charging our clients to use them??
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
In this episode of the Pro Audio Suite, the team delves into the upcoming Nexus from Source Elements, a plugin that effectively routes audio, virtual audio interfaces in and out of Pro Tools. The team also discusses novel features such as the Dim operation and incorporates talkback functionalities. The emerging future of voice-over artists working directly from one room, rather than traditional booths was examined, suggesting industry shifts. There is discussion on the need for talent to show their value in order to increase pricing, given the significant investments made in equipment and learning audio engineering. Other elements discussed included the limitations of the iPad in a pro audio production workflow, the strategic placement of preamps, and the anticipation of the passport and Nexus release. The episode rounds off with a nod towards their future plans to incorporate higher levels of control.
#ProAudioSuite #SourceElementsNexus #VoiceoverTech
Timestamps * [00:00:00] Intro - Meet the Pro Audio Suite Hosts * [00:00:52] Discussing Nexus: The Innovation in Audio Routing * [00:08:38] Efficiency of Nexus on Channels * [00:09:13] The Future of Voice Over Workstations * [00:12:05] Charging Reality in Voiceover Industry * [00:15:19] Value of Remote Studios and its Impact on Pricing * [00:22:18] Investment Expectations in Preamps, compressors and Microphones * [00:28:04] Nexus Router's Flexibility in Sound Production * [00:32:40] The Role of iPads in Pro Audio Production * [00:37:16] The Controversy of the Preamp's Location * [00:42:02] A Light-hearted Detour from Nexus Talks * [00:42:20] Anticipating the Launch of Passport & Nexus * [00:44:40] Pro Audio Suite's Collaboration with Tribut & Austrian audio, and a Mention of George Wittam’s Tech Support Services.
Transcript Speaker A: Y'all ready? Be history.
Speaker B: Get started.
Speaker C: Welcome.
Speaker B: Hi. Hi. Hello, everyone, to the Pro Audio Suite. These guys are professional.
Speaker C: They're motivated with tech. To the Vo stars George Wittam, founder of Source Elements Robert Marshall, international audio engineer Darren Robbo Robertson and global voice Andrew Peters. Thanks to Triboo, Austrian audio making passion heard. Source elements. George the tech. Wittam and robbo and AP's. International demo. To find out more about us, check thepro audiosuite.com line up.
Speaker B: Learner. Here we go.
Speaker C: Welcome to another Pro audio suite. Don't forget, if you do want to buy a Tribooth, the code is tripap 200 to get $200 off your purchase. If you'd like to leave a comment, by the way, on your favorite platform, please do so. It's good for our analytics, and we might drive a bit more traffic, which is always handy. Now, something that may be out as we speak or maybe about to be released, is the new Nexus from Source Elements. You've definitely had a look at it, George. I think you've had a look at it, Robert. And Robert knows all about it because it's his baby.
Speaker A: How much do you know, Robert?
: Let's be honest, I'm clueless. Yeah.
Speaker C: No, that's me. That's my Robert.
: I know it all, but really, don't I'm just like yeah.
Speaker A: Can I just say, before you dive into it, it's a very sexy beast. Seriously, it's very clever.
Speaker C: You've had a look around the whole thing, haven't you?
Speaker A: I have. I've sort of had a play with it. But, I mean, Robert's going to explain it the best, so we should leave it to him to run through the list of features.
: I like hearing what kind of mess other people make out of it.
Speaker A: Well, you know, what inspires me the most, and I think is going to be the most useful for our listeners, I think, is simple things like the Dim operation, the fact that it actually just drops your mic level.
: Drops the levels. Yep.
Speaker A: And all that sort of stuff.
: A lot simpler than a Dugan mixer.
Speaker A: The gateway from a studio point of view, from me looking at that gateway, everything's all in the box. I've got video, I've got everything there. But, I mean, you should explain it all.
: Yeah. So basically, Nexus started out, oh, God, how many years ago? 2007? I don't know. But I was like, wouldn't it be nice if you could route audio, virtual audio interfaces in and out of Pro Tools? And it was like, we made that, and it was kind of a hit. And what it was primarily used for was to interface the client side of a remote voiceover session, or just a remote client side. So think of it as Source Connect was the remote connection for voice talent into an engineer setup, who then also has remote clients. And Nexus was used to empower things like zoom and hangouts. But we all know that all of those have their various issues for instance, one of them is if you're broadcasting and you've got talkback going over zoom, there's very different goals of the talkback versus the broadcast that you want to have your clients listen to, so the talkback can have echo cancellation on it. And actually that helps because many times your clients don't have headphones, but your broadcast, you don't want it to be impeded by the echo cancellation and things like this. So what Nexus is, is it still represents to me that sort of client side connection. But now we're completing more of it. Instead of saying, oh, just like throw Nexus at Zoom, or throw Nexus at whatever it is that your clients are using Microsoft teams, here's a gateway for it that does what you need as a professional audio and video person for collaborating with your clients. Instead of trying to pound Zoom into a hole.
Speaker B: Here's how it was described ten years ago, you sent an email out sourcenexis is an audio application router. Record remote voiceover from Source Connect directly into Final Cut or Media Composer playback itunes to Pro Tools, even patch Pro Tools to and from Nuendo all at the same time. Route any audio application in and out of Pro Tools, even if that application does not have any plugin support.
Speaker A: There you go.
Speaker B: That was December 2013.
: So that's like a very broad, broad strike explanation. Sort of like it's round and so it rolls, but this is a wheel for a car. So yeah, the rolling part of it is well, it pretty much is a router that was put in the Daw so that you could route external interfaces in and out and do things like that. And the primary thing that it got used a lot for was those client side connections.
Speaker C: So how would it work for someone like me? What benefit would I get out of Nexus?
Speaker B: So the talent side, what do they say?
: I think the same thing. So just like you've got Source Connect and you're running with studios and engineers and it has that rock solid queued up connection that's going to pick up every bit. Even if the internet does its thing, as you know, voice talent are being forced to take up much more and more of the burden and you have the situation where, hey, can I get playback? So one of the things that Nexus has is it's now a suite, by the way. It's not just the plugin. So there's the original Nexus IO, which is sort of like just the raw plugin. You have to know what you want to do with it. You have to build your own template for it. Nexus Review is a Nexus plugin that now has several ins and outs going into it and out of it. So it brings your talk back over to the gateway, which is our web meeting room. It gets the gateway back into your connection so that you hear it in your headphones and it plays your playback to the connection and everybody. And it does all that without you having to even think about what the word Mix Minus is or if it even exists. Because it's done all in one plugin. So what used to need two, three Nexus plugins and a talkback plugin is now Nexus Review. Okay, straight, just drop that plugin on your master fader, your setup is complete.
Speaker C: So when you do playback, it actually mutes everything else. So you don't get obviously well, it.
: Doesn'T in this iteration, but there's going to be all kinds of stuff that starts to happen within the suite, within its sort of capabilities. And I think that right now, the first thing you would say is it just makes playback easy. Your question specifically, Andrew, which is like, why would a voice talent want this? It makes playback easy because really, in that sense, you're just like the engineer at that point. You're recording stuff and you're playing it back. That's kind of like what? So this just makes that setup way less daunting because all you really have to do is and also we're going to probably come out with that as a standalone app as well. So if you're using something like Twisted Wave, you can just route Twisted Wave into the Nexus review app and same thing, you don't have to be on a daw. It doesn't have to be a plugin, but it does your Mix Minus and your talkback Twisted Wave. Actually, here's a question about twisted wave. Do you have the option to monitor live through it?
Speaker B: It does have a monitor mode that you can turn on, of course with a little bit of latency, but it does have that capability, right?
: So you might want to do that. And funny enough, if it does create a latency with yourself, there's a handy mute button so you can mute it and you don't have to listen to it, but at least your clients can hear you monitoring through Twisted Wave. So there's little individual situations that might come.
Speaker B: What would be the benefit though? Like if you don't have to monitor yourself in Twisted Wave, what would be the benefit of turning that on?
: Well, the reason why is that you're either going to direct your microphone live into Nexus Review, but then if you want playback, you're going to route your Daw into Nexus Review. And if you call Twisted Wave a Daw, then you want to route Twisted Wave into it.
Speaker B: Okay, so you set the output in your Twisted Wave output setting to the Nexus review plugin input.
: Yes. Not the input of well, in this case it would be the input of the application, not the gotcha gotcha, because in the Daw sense, the input is taken care of. It's like whatever channel you throw it on, the input is implicit.
Speaker B: Right.
: And then that same ability for all you video editors out there and things like that, the review set up and integrating my talkback with a talkback button if I want all of that is just like done, whatever, I have to set up a template in Pro Tools or I have to have a mixer. All the different things that people do.
Speaker B: To be able to passport vo.
Speaker C: Yes. Nicely sliding there.
Speaker B: Right. So just to get a little bit deeper. So I'm in Twisted Wave. I'm the actor. I've recorded myself. I hit stop, I hit play to hear playback. I want to hear the playback and I want it to also send to Nexus. If I set the output of Twisted Wave to Nexus, will I myself on the local side hear the playback also or will it be shunting the audio.
: To you would hear the playback and so there is a fader for you.
Speaker B: Oh, Nexus handles that for you.
: Nexus has a fader with the mute on it that you could mute that if you want.
Speaker B: Nice. So that solves that problem. Beautiful. Right.
Speaker C: The question I've got though is it seems that we as voice over people are going to end up sitting in one room with microphones and screens and computers in there with us. So the booth is pretty well fast becoming redundant.
: Well, it might be that radio style booth.
Speaker A: Yeah. Do you just have it in your booth? That's right, that would be my yes.
Speaker C: What I mean but it's become like a radio.
Speaker A: I think that's going to happen anyway. I kind of think that for me, this thing's sort of ahead of the game because I can see that coming, I really can. The more and more I even had two sessions in the last couple of weeks canceled because the creative guys just jumped online with the voice and did it themselves. They didn't need an engineer.
: We do see a lot of that. It's like the phone patch may have gone away, but the direct to client session and where it comes up and it's really funny because clients don't really save time when they do this. They think they do, but they don't. So they say, hey, let's not book a studio to record the talent. Let's pay the talent the same amount of money and make them record it and complain at them if it didn't work out the way we wanted, by the way. So now we have the talent recording everything and inevitably, no one keeps good notes. And even if someone does keep good notes, you don't know how well the talent is cutting up the files. And it's very easy if you've ever been in a session sometimes to get your take numbering off from what you're writing down and what's actually happening in a computer, especially if you as the talent, you're busy trying to do other things, like read the script and not look at the computer screen. On what file number Twisted Wave is on. And so inevitably, someone has to put humpty Dumpty back together again after the talent has recorded everything. And that's going to take just as much time as just recording the session with an engineer online who can cut everything up and do it for you. And that way the talent only reads what they need to. They're not reading a bunch of speculative takes because no one knows if A is going to edit back to take 65 or whatever. You can just hear it. You got it. Great. And it fits because we timed it out.
Speaker A: You just touched exactly on the problem that came from one of these sessions the other day. And this was a well known agency, a global agency, that they did one of these sessions where they just recorded it with whoever it was locally and they were on the phone, but the creative rings me and goes, yeah, kind of. I'm really happy with this. But we did some takes. I asked the talent to do this, but of course, with no labels, no notes, no nothing, I've got to go through every single take and go to him. Is it this one? No, that's not it. What about this? No, that's not it. No, it's more like this. Oh, hang on. Okay, well, is it this one? No, it's not that. It's like if I was doing the session in Pro Tools, it would be labeled. I'd have a page full of notes as well. This edits to this, blah, blah, blah, and it's done. But it took, like half an hour to find one take for this guy.
Speaker B: The pennywise found it is pennywise pound foolish.
: But the other problem is that what happens is that they're all working off of flat bids, right? 1 hour for the talent. They know what their residuals are. They bid these things out. And it's really hard to get these agencies to necessarily do just, hey, we want to be creative and throw paint on the wall and pay by the hour to throw paint on the wall. Instead, they do I don't know if you've seen that. It's that thing where the guy says, like, hi, we'd like to do an advert and we want to research sound effects and do all this stuff and try two different music takes and this and that. So 1 hour. And the person in the studio is like, I think it's going to take longer than that. And then the person at the agency is like, no, we know our stuff. We know exactly what we want. We're not indecisive at all. We only need 1 hour. And then you're like, okay, now you're stuck making a commercial in 1 hour that you know is going to take longer. So even though the agency basically saddles the talent with recording the takes, they never actually face the consequences of their actions because the bid happens. Then they audition, and it's like they've already at that point with the bid, taking out the voice record. We'll just give you takes.
Speaker C: Yeah. You get what you pay for. And if you don't pay him, you.
Speaker B: Don'T get much, and you're going to pay later.
Speaker A: It's pay now, pay later. Sooner or later, you're going to pay for it.
: I really think this was that moment when the voiceover industry, they all decided that they were going to try to eat each other's lunch. And at some point, it became like, my booth doesn't cost a thing. My setup and knowledge of my booth and what to do through blood and sweat and tears, paying me figured out and literal money that is free too.
Speaker B: Right?
: And all that stuff never should have been free. It should have been, okay, I'm whatever. $400 an hour, and, oh, you want to use my studio even if it's $50 an hour?
Speaker B: Yeah, there should be a rate attached. I totally agree. As voice actors who wanted to be providing a service and I can name names, but I don't need to who are very early on in the home studio timeline. Right. Like literally FedExing Dat tapes. Right. They wanted to be a service provider. They wanted to be ahead of the curve and create a business niche for themselves. In the meantime, they were creating a problem for the fact that home studios would eventually become the norm, and nobody was getting compensated for operating a studio and engineering a session.
: It's like when you have something unique, you charge more for it. So if you're a voice talent and because you're available at home, you are available, like, instantaneously, you don't need to have a limo drive you around La. That's a perk. And it might be a perk for you, but it's also a perk for your clients. But it became part of the add in, like, a long time ago. This was in the early 2000s. This was in the days of ISDN that this happened.
Speaker B: It was literally when I got into the business. Yeah. I was just being told, people need this help. And I didn't know anything about the business model. I didn't know Jack squad about who got paid what, how, what you didn't get paid for. I just was there to solve problems. So I had no idea that this was going on till much later.
: Yeah, but here we are. Talent put a lot of time, effort, money, emotion into building their setup and learning this basically some aspect of the craft of audio engineering, essentially. Maybe not the whole thing, but there's.
Speaker B: Like I mean, tell me this. Would there be a value I know this is off topic, but would there be a value when a talent or an agent invoices that even if the bottom line is identical, that you literally add in a line that's engineering services, so it literally shows up and they see, oh, we're paying for this. Would there be some efficacy to this? It's kind of like restaurants starting to charge a service fee or a kitchen love fee or whatever. There's been a lot of blowback to this because some people really just raise your prices and other people are like, I like the transparency. So it's kind of confusing.
: I think that if you want to, you effectively want to raise your price. And the only way you're going to be able to raise your price is by showing your value. And so in that sense, you almost need to because to the point that it happens on the flip side. So not just our like there's three layers to it. It used to be that the talent went to the studio and so there's two studios and there was a lot of meat on the bone for a whole industry. Right? There was an engineer in a studio in La. There was an engineer in a studio in New York. There was a voice talent in La. Yeah, there was five creatives over in New York. It was all happening real time. And At T was like just digging into the pie, too. And now it's like the first thing that happens is voice talent or the auditions come in and they know must have ISDN or source connect, essentially, and read between the lines. And what's happening over on the bid side is there's no money for a remote studio. Only talent with home studio need apply. And George, how many times have you seen talent that have done the Voice Tracks West? Or I know a place that knows what pay out of pocket.
Speaker B: I tell people do it all the time.
: Voice tracks west is I'm like, if.
Speaker B: You don't do these sessions that often, spending $10,000 on a soundproof booth is a massive waste of money.
: Yeah. And Voice Tracks has got a tight operation. It's not like decked out in oak panels, like all the big working facility. Boom. It's like, here's a room, here's a setup. You need an engineer to set you up. We don't have staff to sit there and babysit you the whole time, but what are you going to do? That's all you need. I don't know what they charge, but I have a feeling it's pretty affordable enough.
Speaker B: They do what we call talent friendly rates, right?
: And it's a great idea. So you get those auditions that are basically like, bring your own studio iOS. And then the next level is like, you know what, we're not even going to hire an engineer to record it like we just talked about, right?
Speaker B: It's a weird position. I've always felt weird being in the position of enabling, essentially because I'm enabling the talent buyers to charge low rates for engineering or not budget for it. And I'm enabling the talent to meet that need. At the same time, there's the plus.
: That you have your talent that can go live where they want to. And there's many talent that would if charging for their studio would be a deterrent to them having the lifestyle that they want. They want all their sessions to be in house. The reason to give it away is not just because they're trying to get an edge over some other talent, but also because they're trying to direct their life the way they want it to be. And being called into a freaking city every other day for an hour session and you got to drive 2 hours is crazy. And so it makes sense.
Speaker B: And let's face it, as a voice actor, you can't live the lifestyle that you would like to live and be in. Those days are mostly gone. That you can live that lifestyle and have a nice home and have all this space and blah, blah, blah and live in the city, like live in Los Angeles or Lake. Like that's unbelievably expensive.
: Right. And you don't have to anymore.
Speaker C: Anyways, getting back to the rate thing, though, there is a way of doing it because on my invoices I show, studio and edit and then whatever the fee is and it's usually zero zero, but you can actually put in there. Voiceover blah, blah, blah. That rate goes in studio, edit X dollars and then you can give them a discount, which actually is equivalent to the studio rate. That way the client sees that there is a fee involved in that, but you've just done them a favor and not charged them for it.
Speaker B: I think that's very smart. I will invoice people for a $0 item just so they know they're getting it. The problem with like a flat rate.
: Or just write the real price down and say the discount that you're getting.
Speaker B: Yeah. I'll say this is $100 thing, I'm throwing it in at $0. But you need to know that it has a value attached.
Speaker A: Yeah, everything we do has a value attached because it's our time.
Speaker B: Right? Yeah. But it needs to be literally spelled out for them on black and black and white, I think.
Speaker A: Agreed.
Speaker C: But the stupid thing is I was talking to in fact, Robbo and I were talking yesterday about equipment and stuff in the studio and believe that's the stupid thing. Well, it's the stupid thing in my case because it's ridiculous. I mean, I don't need any of this stuff, really. But I was sitting here the other day, like, adding up how much the dollar value of the stuff I've got in here in preamps compressors and microphones is just completely insane.
: It's ridiculous. It is, yes.
Speaker C: It's fun though.
: Okay. It is. People putting wings on their back of their Honda Civic.
Speaker C: Yeah, thanks.
: I hate to say it, but it's like we are kind of doing some.
Speaker B: Of that even does that you can buy a Civic with three exhaust type tips coming on the back.
Speaker C: Exactly. Yeah. Get yourself the type r boom. Look out.
: Yeah, but sometimes we're just like, OOH, that thing's going to make us faster and improve my zero to 60 time that neve preamp or whatever, and I think that we get caught up. I mean, God knows I've spent a lot of money on audio gear.
Speaker C: Oh, you have? You're worse than me, actually.
: I need, like, the nose spray that breaks the addiction, whatever.
Speaker B: But Robert's business model is a different one. His service is his studio and his skill with his know. So I feel like a service provider that's providing that type of a studio service. There's an expectation of a certain investment in that equipment and keeping it up.
Speaker A: To date and keeping it serviced and.
Speaker C: Keeping it's funny, though, because I did send a file off to one of the audio production guys in one of the radio networks here because he was looking at buying Austrian audio microphones for their studios, which he did.
Speaker A: Salesmen.
Speaker C: But he said, oh, can you send me something? You got a sample of the eight one eight? And I went, yeah, sure. So I sent him just a cold read, eight one eight through the neve. He just come back going I said, what do you think? He goes, oh, my God, I'm buying one.
Speaker A: Nice.
: It's so funny. The subtle stuff is really there, but it's great when either someone is completely doing the same drugs that you're doing or actually is truly hearing the same thing that you're hearing. There is this like, wow, that really is better. And at the same time, someone walks in who doesn't understand much about audio and goes like, what's the difference?
Speaker B: You really get me. You really see me.
Speaker C: It was really funny. It's like a guy that both Robbo and I know is also an audio guy. This is years and years and years ago. He got a voice track sent. It was a cold read from a studio in Melbourne. And he called me up and he said, do you know what microphones or what microphone they use down at this studio? And I said, no, I don't, actually. He said, man, you got to find out. It sounds unbelievable. So I went down there and I was in there doing a job, and before I got in there, I said, what mics are you using, by the way? He goes, oh, what was the session? I told him, it's like, oh, yeah, we've just bought a new U 47, the Telefunkin U 47. When they first reissued the thing, I'm like, okay, so I think they were selling for close to 20,000 Australian dollars at the time. So 15 14,000 us. I'm guessing. Sounded very nice.
Speaker A: You would want to I didn't know.
Speaker B: They reissued that mic.
Speaker C: Yeah, the telephone U 47.
Speaker B: Yeah. I never knew there was a reissue of that mic.
: Yeah, that thing's been, like, homages to.
Speaker B: No, I know, but I mean, it's literally in Neumann. Like, they did just the U 67.
: Like, five years ago. It's telefunken, but telefunken is not the Telefunkin that Telefunken was, right?
Speaker C: Correct. Yeah.
: Telefunkin is like some company in Connecticut. Telefunk is really a European funky funkin.
Speaker C: It was kind of weird though, because a lot of the Neumans that were re badged for America, so like Frank Sinatra's U 47 was actually badged, I think, as a Telefunken.
: Right. So they were really U 47s. They were really Neumanns. Right. And then they were rebadged as Telefunken. And then the same thing happens with the AKG C Twelve because Telefunken was an importing company. They would commission things to be made or they would just say, hey, I'll buy a bunch of those.
Speaker C: And there were tons of companies doing that, particularly in America, where they rebadged microphones under different brands that were made primarily by AKG or Neumann.
: It's kind of like rebadging Chinese stuff in a way, happens. It's like happening again. You see the same product and it's like, oh, they just put a different name on it and called it their amplifier.
Speaker C: So you're going to white label Nexus and set it off under different brands.
: There's all kinds of discussions and things that pop up and then sometimes just like fizzle out. But one thing for sure, I think, is that at least on some version of the Gateway, one of the talked about features is to customize it so you can make it like Andrew's Shopahor.
Speaker A: Well, one thing I wanted to touch on and something that's not in the demo though, but something you were showing me after we finished recording a couple of weeks ago is the router. Can you tell us about that? Because that's a game changer, right?
: It's not going to release on the first. It might actually I don't know, but right now it's a little bit behind. It would be one of those things that certainly would take. It would be one of the things that takes longer to get out, but it's pretty much done. And it's just a desktop router. So you can set up a lot of this stuff or the rest of the stuff that you want to customize on your desktop routing, for example, if you wanted just to have something that routed. One of the things that happens with Pro Tools in particular is once you close your session, you lose all your routing. So if you're not putting all your work into one session or working on one thing and you have to open up different files while you have a group of people online and connected, when you close Pro Tools, you lose communication and possibly even different parts of those connections, depending on what platforms are on. They might lose their connections too, because some of those connections go through you. So router gives you the opportunity to be able to set up sort of like a desktop route. Similar in a way, George, to what a lot of people that you have do with the Apollo Mixer.
Speaker B: Yeah, I was going. To mention that. Right, exactly. But being on a not you're now hardware agnostic, you can be on anything.
Speaker A: Because the killer for that, for me, is that is exactly what you're saying, is that whole thing of, like, you're halfway through a session and the creative goes, hey, last time we did this, we did blah, blah. Can you go to the old Pro Tools session? And you got to do that whole embarrassing listen, yeah, I can do that, but you're going to lose me for a second here, guys. Okay, I'll be back in a minute. And you hear the way you go.
: That whole thing changed the way I work. I have Pro Tool sessions with hundreds and possibly, I don't know, thousands of spots. Whole years of campaigns, just boom, one after the you do them all on one timeline thing of like, oh yeah, one big ass timeline. Really?
Speaker B: They're not just clips in the clip viewer?
: No, it's basically what ProTools lacks is any sort of like have you ever worked in Media Composer?
Speaker B: A little bit.
: Okay, so Media Composer, you can have sessions well, you have a bin. Yeah. Pro Tools user have been wanting folders within their bin for the last 20 years, and they still have yet to get them. Different issue, but even more so, the edit and the mixer in Pro Tools are joined at the hip. But there's many aspects of your mixer that are not part of your edit. They're just part of your studio.
Speaker B: Sort of like there's a utility mixer.
: This is a utility, this is your external. What used to be in a lot of early setups were like people that would have like a Mackie mixer off to the side and then they'd add Pro Tools. And what was going in and out of the Mackie mixer was like microphones and headphone feeds and connection to the tape dock probably back. Um, and so the mixer still had routing capability and some of that's daunting. And really what you need is just like a couple straight ahead patches and maybe a volume control. And that's really what Nexus router lets you do. It has an advanced mode where you can just sort of draw whatever you want from A to B and then that way you can even have different setups that you can load and save and close and open up a different setup, or you can make one massive.
Speaker B: Setup forward to it. Because I'm looking forward to being more hardware agnostic and less attached to something like the Apollo in general and kind of endorsing that kind of mentality of being a little bit less attached to that system. So this will be something that'll be nice to set up for more people who do want that extra level of sophistication absolutely.
: Yeah, it'll make it like if they have little special things that they need to do, even something like a talkback mic when they're outside or playback from some other device if they want to plug their phone in or have some other app.
Speaker B: Let me ask you this. This is definitely going down a rabit hole in terms of features, but can you imagine that ever being on a touch screen interface like an iPad or having a controller?
: I could definitely imagine. We've already got other levels of control that we're planning on, which are, I think, pretty exciting.
Speaker B: You guys were talking earlier about things are moving towards the actor having to have really a full production suite in their booth, right?
Speaker C: Yeah.
Speaker B: It sucks, though. I mean, people don't want the day.
: That someone asks an actor to not only record for them, but can you please play back picture while you record? When that happens, then it's like you're really throwing a lot at Cipriano.
Speaker B: I mean, he does stuff when he.
: Has to, but some people can do that. It wouldn't be that hard.
Speaker B: He paid me to set up Pro Tools to do it.
: Right.
Speaker B: Yeah. So it would be lovely for someone who really still wants to have a feeling of I have a mic, I have a headphone, I have my script. But not having to have keyboard, monitor, mouse, that whole rig in there too and just have somewhat innocuous iPad or even if you're reading off the iPad, you can just do the four finger swipe and switch over to the mix.
: The hardest thing becomes, I still think the iPad is a tough environment. There's been a lot of actors have been like, can I just do this all on the iPad?
Speaker B: Yeah. No, there's a bit of a stay in your lane. The iPad has a lane to stay in. To me, it still has no place in a Pro audio production workflow except as a controller or a script reader.
: Yeah, it works well as a controller.
Speaker B: I've got my V controller controller and a script reader. That's what it's for. To me. It's not a pro audio. Despite the power of the thing, the hardware, the fact that it's got Thunderbolt now in the Pro model, iPad Pro, it's still just not the tool for the job. So use it what it's for, and that's what it's good for. So I would endorse having that in there just to control the Nexus monitoring and the other stuff.
: Do a lot of talent. Really avoid and not want some really.
Speaker B: Do avoid it as long as they can. They really despise doing that.
Speaker C: I'm one.
Speaker B: Yeah. It's because of the distraction. Because this is the right brain, left brain, actor, engineer, conundrum. You can't do both at the same time. I don't care who the hell you are, you can't do them both equally well. One is always suffering at the hands of the other. So the actor that really but what.
: Does an actor need in the booth? Truly? They need to be able to record takes, and they need to be able to play back.
Speaker B: Mean, some people like, I'll call you out, Bo Weaver, I've known you so long. He hits record, he walks into the booth. He records all of his sessions. He walks out of the booth and he sits down and he edits all the sessions. Like done. That's his workflow. Now. How often is he directed? Very rarely. Record and send. But yeah, that's what he likes. He likes to have the two separate church and state.
Speaker C: Well, I'm exactly the same. I have the same workflow as Bo because a lot of my stuff is not directed. So I do exactly the same thing. I go in there, record, come back and come out of here and edit and send.
: Yeah, but how many times you go back and forth?
Speaker C: I save each file separately. So if I'm doing like 430 2nd spots for somebody, then I'll record a couple of takes or two or three takes.
: How do you know you're in time? Are you timing yourself?
Speaker C: I do a timer first. I will sit there and I'll time one with the stopwatch first read. So I know ballpark where I'm at. By the time you deep breath, you lose a couple of seconds. So if I'm doing like one, that's got to be 27 seconds and I come in at 27, then I know I've got 2 seconds up my sleeve so I can take more time with it. Once you've been doing this for that's the thing.
: You guys have like atomic clocks built in. I can't tell you how many times I've had a talent and I'm like, can you take half a second off that? And they take half a second off that.
Speaker B: It's like, wow, bo had an iPad one for years. He may still have it just to run the timer period. He's like, It's a great timer. It doesn't make a click.
: I have an iPad one that I use for my eight faders approach. Yeah. So there's some minimal amount of control that's necessary. They at least need a door handle, probably. Do they want a mic mute?
Speaker B: Yeah, I'm sure they would. Most people would like to have that, I would think. Yeah, it's pretty embarrassing when you got.
Speaker C: A horrible client down the line and mic mute's. Very handy.
Speaker B: Horrible client or bad cheese.
Speaker C: Yeah.
: How do you find the foot switches.
Speaker C: For I reckon a foot switch would be great.
Speaker A: You need one of those AP. You need a foot switch.
Speaker C: Yes, I need a foot switch. Foot switch is great. I love it. Trouble is, I probably tread on it by accident.
Speaker B: Well, the Whirlwind PPD or whatever, they have a foot switch on off switch.
: The ones that don't break phantom power so that they don't pop, they just sort of short out.
Speaker C: And it's also like I wouldn't want I mean, the idea is fantastic. I think it's fun, but I hate too much stuff between the microphone and the preamp.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker C: Well, there's that one more thing that can go wobbly on you.
Speaker B: Not to go completely off base here again, but I was talking earlier about what I saw podcast movement, and I saw the boss answer to the RODECaster pro because Roland's had and Roland too. Boss is like their musician wing of Roland or like the guitar pedal.
: I don't know about that.
Speaker B: Right.
: So they had boss is the guitar wing and Roland and Roland is the keyboard wing, but they've crossed areas. Like mainly Roland has made guitar synths and the other view is that Roland is the high end and then Boss is the middle.
Speaker B: Right? So I'm looking at their things and going, okay, here's another RODECaster. What's on the back? A foot pedals plug. I was like, Whoa, that's cool. What can you do with that? He's like, whatever you want. For the gamers, you can do anything you want. I was like, Well, I can see that being cool because the mixer is outside on your desk and you run a foot pedal in your booth and now you have a way to cut your mic, or it could be a way to hit record and then punch a marker when you click it again. There's a lot you could do with.
: That, so whatever you want. The foot pedal can send like USB.
Speaker B: Messages, as far as I can tell. I don't know how flexible it is, but it's pretty flexible. There's also air tools or AirTurn I think that's called AirTurn. And now other companies are getting into it where you can get Bluetooth pedals that go in your booth to control certain functions. So there's more you can do with foot pedals, which is kind of neat, but if I'm not wearing headphones and I don't know, my mic is truly off, I would never trust anything wireless.
: So what about the preamp? I mean, the preamp should be in the booth or not, because even if you wanted to be really theoretical about it, your best signal would be by running the shortest mic line and getting it up to the preamp right line.
Speaker B: If you're running, then sending it 20 foot runs, that's different, it's negligible.
: But having the preamp in the booth to be able to set it is a different thing, right? Isn't that necessary?
Speaker B: Yes and no. I mean, some people do. I'd say most people that have a booth that don't have the equipment in the booth don't have the preamp in the booth, but it's less convenient.
: And so they're just recording conservatively and going like, I'll just hit minus twelve, I got plenty of bits, I put.
Speaker B: Plenty of Avalon 737s in booth. And I just told people, like, this thing's a radiator, so it's going to get nice and toasty in here. If you really need to have this in here, I get it, but be my last choice. What, to put in the booth?
Speaker C: Well, that's what I'm thinking. The more gear I was going to say about that exactly that most people's home studio booths are quite small, and you start piling gear in there, it's going to be like a furnace.
Speaker B: Yeah. Gets hot in there quick. So the less the better. Even modern computer monitors are pretty low power, but they still make heat. They still radiate heat. Everything makes heat. So the less in there, the better. Yeah. It's going to be interesting when the passport Vo comes out, how people choose to use it. Whether they're going to have it in booth or outside of the booth, you can go either place. And the thing you're going to miss out on it not being in booth is that mic switch. Mic mute. That's why I think the majority are going to use it in the booth. So what we'll be testing I think so, too, how far we can run it on USB to the computer. So we'll be doing some testing around that whole workflow as well.
Speaker C: Yeah, I can see the value in having the Passport Vo in the booth for sure. Maybe you're doing a zoom session or whatever. You can use that second interface to run either your phone or iPad or whatever, that you can run the zoom session.
Speaker B: That's where I could see it being really useful, having the iPad in the booth for phone patch, zoom, blah, blah, blah, communications.
Speaker C: Absolutely.
Speaker B: And having that run into it and just that would be a really easy way to facilitate those sessions. Boy.
: Well, in a way, you can have it. Sorry, you can cut all that out.
Speaker B: We're really off topic now.
Speaker C: This was about Nexus and I don't know where the hell we've gone.
Speaker A: Oh, man, we've gone all over the place, let me tell you. This is tangent.
Speaker C: I'm just waiting to see the Mad.
Speaker A: Hatter pop out from behind the door somewhere. Editing nightmare. That is the Pro audio suite.
Speaker B: Yeah. Wrap this one up.
: I'll bring it together. What comes out first, the passport or Nexus?
Speaker B: Nexus.
Speaker C: Nexus.
Speaker A: Nexus.
: Probably.
Speaker A: Right?
Speaker B: Well, we'll see, because these are both but we don't know. Neither of them want to divulge a release date until it's certain because people don't. We've all learned that produced product to under Promise Over Deliver is really the best policy.
: You can't give a product a C section.
Speaker B: Right.
Speaker A: What we can promise about the passport, though, is that when it does come out, it's going to be killer.
Speaker B: It's going to be killer. We're going to make sure of it, because by the time anybody receives one in the mailbox, we have already hammered on it and proven without a shadow of a doubt that it will do what we said it's going to do. When you get one, it's going to be fully tested and vetted before that.
: Yeah, I'm excited because I think you see all these USB interfaces coming out constantly and no one has one that does these.
Speaker B: They're all playing out of a different playbook. Like, I got into a whole conversation on Facebook about this one person's. POV is clearly the future is firmware, software, everything. And I said, I don't think it's that clear. I said, Because we're developing the exact opposite. And his response was, I think that's not a good idea. And my response was, I think it's a very good idea because look at all the products that have come and gone and what products you can still plug into your Mac or your PC that still work 15 years later. And the Micport Pro First Gen is one of those products. You just plug it in and it works. So that's the philosophy. We're just carrying that forward.
Speaker A: My old trusty two rack sitting here right next to me. How old is that now? Jesus.
Speaker C: 15 years.
Speaker A: Have to be something like that. Still keeps going.
: A two, not even an three two rack.
Speaker A: Yes, exactly.
Speaker B: Yeah. Wow.
: I have some ones in my garage.
Speaker A: No, I don't need the double o one.
Speaker C: What are they doing in the garage?
Speaker A: Yes, exactly. Why are you using them, Robert?
Speaker B: Unlike you, he's using his ramps to hold up his Porsche 920.
Speaker C: The Pro audio suite with thanks to Tribut and Austrian audio recorded using Source Connect, edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Robo Got your own audio issues? Just askrobo.com tech support from George, the tech Wittam. Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, end, suggest a topic, or just say good day. Drop us a note at our website proaudiosuite.com
The Mackie DLZ Creator is out, and after taking some cues from Rode, they have a pretty good piece of kit on their hands. George had a chance to catch up with its creator at "Podfest 23", so took the opportunity to record a chat about some of the more interesting features and some of the ideas that sparked its creation.
See it here:
https://mackie.com/intl/products/livestreaming-podcasting/dlz/dlz_creator.html
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Summary In this episode of Pro Audio Suite, the team invites listeners to take advantage of a $200 off tribooth offer and encourages likes and ratings. Key part of the episode is George Wittam's experience at Podcast Movement in Denver, where he met Matthew Heron, the product manager and designer of the Mackie DLZ, a digital podcast mixer. Heron discusses the user-friendly and versatile features of the mixer, including three distinct user modes (beginner, intermediate, professional), auto mix functionality, full dynamic processing, and more. Despite its similarities with the RODECaster model, the Mackie DLZ showcases its unique design ideology. This episode also ponders on what additions Rode might introduce in their firmware updates. The mixer’s integrability into an AV media production suite and its future updatable platform are other highlighted features. The team ends the podcast with anticipation of discovering the significance behind the three letters in 'DLZ'.
#ProAudioSuite #PodcastTech #RoadcasterInsights Timestamps [00:00:00] Pro Audio Suite: Introductions and Special Offer Code [00:01:08] Exclusive Interview: Matthew Heron and Mackie's DLZ at the Denver Podcast Movement [00:02:58] Exploring the Multifunctional DLZ Digital Podcast Mixer [00:05:21] The DLZ Advantage: Auto Mix Features and User Guidance [00:08:52] DLZ’s Promote Channel View and Dynamic Processing Capabilities [00:11:17] Comparing the DLZ with the RODECaster Model [00:12:22] The RODECaster Pro Two: Master Fader and Dedicated Automix [00:19:49] DLZ in Home Studio: Setting up a Monitor Mix [00:23:22] Exploring the DLZ’s Specifications and Inclusions [00:25:15] The DLZ as a Future Updateable Device [00:26:36] Final Words and Outro: Stay Ahead of the Game [00:26:52] Closing Thanks and Provide Tech Support Invitation Transcript Speaker A: Y'all ready be history.,Speaker B: Get started.,Speaker C: Welcome.,Speaker B: Hi.,: Hi.,Speaker B: Hello, everyone, to the Pro Audio Suite. These guys are professional and motivated with tech.,Speaker C: To the Vo stars George Wittam, founder of Source Elements Robert Marshall, international audio engineer Darren Robbo Robertson and global voice Andrew Peters. Thanks to Triboo Austrian audio making passion heard. Source elements. George the tech. Wittam and robbo and AP's. International demo. To find out more about us, check thepro audiosuite.com line up.,: Learner.,Speaker B: Here we go.,Speaker C: Welcome to another Pro audio suite. Don't forget, if you want to get yourself a tribooth, use the code tripap 200 and you'll get $200 off your tribooth.,Speaker A: And don't forget, also yes, we need some likes and ratings and comments.,Speaker C: Yes, tell us how much you love us.,Speaker B: Give us where's the best place to do that?,Speaker A: Well, I'll tell you what, look in the show notes and I'll stick a link there. That's the best way.,Speaker B: Okay, got it.,Speaker C: Or just give us a comment on your favorite platform. Wherever you listen.,Speaker B: Exactly.,Speaker C: That'd be very handy. Now, George, a couple of weeks ago you were in Denver, colorado, I should say Nanu. Nanu. But that's boulder, very cryptic. Human this morning. And you were at the podcast movement.,Speaker B: Yes, I was.,Speaker C: And you bumped into someone over there. But before we get to the interview you did with the product manager of the new Mackie DLZ creator, you had a bit of a look at that and we're looking at it now. It looks very Roadcaster to me.,Speaker B: Yeah, well, everything that's followed since the roadcaster has looked very RODECaster because they literally invented a category.,Speaker A: Talk about setting a design standard. Good on your road there, you yeah.,Speaker B: Yeah, they're the big dogs still. I mean, for sure. I was at Podcast Movement in Denver, and I was there partially supported and sponsored by BSW, the dealer, Pro Audio dealer here in the US. And they brought along a rep from Road to be with the booth. So I was hanging out with Road and BSW, and of course, there were other vendors there as well, including Mackie. So I had a moment to sit down or stand and take a little interview in with Matthew Heron. He's actually the product manager. And what's really cool is he's not just a sales guy, he is the designer of the DLZ.,Speaker A: Oh, wow.,Speaker B: So you'll hear him explain when and why the thing came to be, and he gets into a bit of detail. He talks very fast because there's a lot to cover in the short amount of time. But, yeah, it's a very impressive piece of kit, as we like to say.,Speaker A: Well, let's have a listen.,: Hey, everybody. It's George, the tech at Podcast Movement. And I've made my way finally over to Mackie and we're getting an interview here with Matthew before it gets too noisy in here and he's going to show us his baby. What do we got?,: Matthew well, we're here today. We've got the brand new DLZ creator. We launched this back in May and we've been working on this thing for about two and a half years. So that's what I kind of a lot of people learned how to make sourdough over COVID and I decided to design a mixer. We're here with it and we're really excited about this. I think there's definitely some highlights. Obviously this is a digital podcast mixer. You can use it for live sound, but it's really designed for podcast use, case streamers folks that are creating content, right? Mackie's been behind the content creator since 1989 only it used to be grunge, long hair and flannel. But today it's podcasters, it's unboxing toys, right? It's things like that. That's what people want to do. And so what we're trying to do is democratize audio, make it easier no matter what your experience level. So how we've done that is we've put three distinct user modes in one product and what this effectively does is allows you to work however comfortable you are. If you're brand new, you've never done anything. We have an easy mode that hides almost every parameter from you and allows you to just kind of have a preset based workflow because it's very easy to load which microphone you're using right now. We also have an enhanced mode. This is very similar to other products you'll see in market. There's a lot of competitors out there, but it's going to be the feature set that a lot of folks are comfortable with. If you're coming from a RODECaster, for example, in pants, mode is going to be very comfortable for you. And then finally we have a Pro mode and what that does is that kind of goes back into Mackie's. Our back end Master Fader is a really good example of a pro product that we put out for many years. But we wanted to have all the features that you imagine. So just to jump into easy mode fairly quickly, I'll just kind of show you the channel view. We made it as easy as we possibly can. You're loading a preset for the channel. We've got our Em 99 B microphones. So you can just pick the microphone you're using and load it right up. We also have the SM Seven B and many other a little bit more generic microphone as well. Right? Plenty of choices, right? The easy customer could then label the channel. Right, we want to change the color. Let's make it blue. Let's go ahead and put a little person in there, right? We can do that. That changes the color. Yeah, there's a Scribble strip as well, so we can label it as well. So we can call this one Joe, for example. This is Joe's Mic. I'm doing it upside down so I'm a little slower than I'd normally be, but it's Joe's Mic and it's a digital product and I'll be quite honest I've worked on analog consoles, and I love board tape. It's kind of a fun, tactile thing. But I'll be honest, if you have a digital console, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to label it digitally, right. Put in the name, color, icon, that sort of thing. And that's really been true for Mackie since the DL products.,: Tell us about Auto Mix, because that is something that really stands out.,: Yeah, let's do it. Yeah. So if you are brand new, right, we can help you set up the channel very easily. But we also have auto mix. What this really does is allows you to do it's kind of based on Dugan style gain sharing, right? So each microphone, if there's no signal present, it doesn't get any gain. But if there is signal present, it gets all the gain. And what this does is this helps it helps reduce feedback from other microphones because they're not live. It helps reduce noise because those other microphones aren't live at that point in time.,Speaker A: Right.,: So really, it just helps clean up the whole system. Another huge benefit is when people talk over one another. Now, you could ride the faders, and that's something that you can do, and a lot of people do do. But if you don't want to do that, this is a really great feature. You can just have everybody set to medium and you're all sharing gain. So if you talk over one another, it'll reduce the overall volume and you can hear everybody as opposed to everyone talking over one another.,: For me, that's important because I host a show and I'm the sound engineer. So riding the faders and being engaged in a conversation, you can't really do it well. The Auto Mix clears up cross talk between channels. We use condensers, so it really cleans up a mix. When you have Auto Mix set up.,: Yeah, it's really helpful. And we've actually gone one step further, and we actually added in these priorities. And what that does is it allows you to set priority. So you're talking about being the host. As the host, you could set your priority to high. And what that will do is that will allow you to be the loudest no matter what. So if you're running a political podcast and, you know, the people might talk over one another or they might get a little argumentative, you can always set yourself to just one level higher. And what that will do is that way you can come in and go, hey, guys, we got to take a commercial break, or what have you. You can kind of help control the conversation a little bit more easily, a.,: Little bit like ducking.,: Sort of similar to that framework. Yeah. But when you combine it with the Auto Mix yeah. It becomes very powerful. Like I said, that's our easy mode. And one step further on, the easy mode, which is kind of cool, is we have this setup assistant. This will literally walk the customer through everything you need to do to get the mixer set up. Tells you to push up the channel faders. We know that if you've been in the audio industry for a long time, you have to push up the channel faders to get audio to pass through the mixer. That's not in apparently obvious to a brand new user. Why do I have to push those up? Well, you need to and so we tell the user to do that. We have them plug in their headphones. We then pipe audio to the headphones and allow you to turn up each headphone to whatever level feels most comfortable. And I'll be honest, I got my start in tech support. So we built tech support in headphone help, right?,: We were saying before, the reason this product is so good is because you came from support. You understand we're all the issues are and you designed it right in, right.,: So we put in a lot of places where people do have pain points. We hope to eliminate those pain points. Same thing with the microphones. We help you set up the microphones, tell you where to plug in the microphones. We go ahead and say, hey, here's your microphone. One, you can kind of select the microphone by picture also, so if you know what your microphone looks like, you can kind of get going. Also, we have automatic gain setting. So for each one of the microphones you don't need to know how to set gain. You can press listen and set for me. And depending on how far you are from the microphone, how strong your voice is, how much gain your microphone really needs, we will go ahead and automatically set that on the back end. The mixer is smart enough to do that for you. Also, again, microphone help. Aren't you not hearing anything? Try some of these suggestions.,: That's great. They're going to learn a lot. I bet if they want to, they'll learn a lot about engineering from going through all that.,: Absolutely.,: Going to be familiar with all the functions and the inputs and they'll learn terminology and stuff.,: Yeah, awesome. Yeah. And then like I said, in Promote, we'll jump straight to promote. And obviously in Promote, I'm going to go ahead and turn off set up assistant right now. But in promote it's in the no holds barred, right? So we go into a channel view. You have full dynamic processing. You have access to 48 volts fan power, independent delay and reverb sends pan control. Also, we hide pan from our beginning users because they're only going to hurt themselves with it. And again, full EQ, full gate, full compressor, DeEsser, all the stuff that you would expect in a full dynamic digital mixer like this without any limitations. Now, the other really cool thing about it, we took a lot of time to figure this out, but all of this is nondestructive. So what's really cool is a pro. If you have this product, if you have multiple users that have different experience levels, everyone can benefit from the same product. A pro can jump in, set up all the channels, get it all absolutely dialed in with all of the processing, switch it over into easy mode, hand it off to their brand new user, and that brand new user will get access to all that cool processing, but it's been hidden from them so they don't get lost. And it's completely nondestructive.,: I can tell somebody to get this.,: Yes.,: I can set up all that stuff in pro mode. It's locked away in easy mode and they can't mess anything up.,: Exactly. And it hides it all from them. And the cool thing is, too, is you can load them a preset specifically for their voice and name it, and then they can just load that preset. So it's really, really flexible in those situations. And like I said, whether you're growing with a mixer, you're brand new and you want to grow to become a pro, or if you have a situation where this is going to be put in a studio and the studio is going to be used by both pros and people that have no idea, it's really a lot more flexible. And what it does is it helps avoid what I call smear. And so a lot of times you see consoles in this category, and what they'll do is they'll be kind of easy, sort of easy to use, but they're not quite easy enough for someone who has no idea what they're doing. And then a pro will get in there and they'll say, well, yeah, I have those controls, but they're kind of clunky or they're difficult to use. And so what we really try to do is make it happy for both users. And what that means is actually separating out those user modes into two distinct interfaces.,: Yeah, it's a beautiful product. I'm looking forward to banging on it a little bit and giving you some tests and trying it out in the real world. And congratulations on the launch. It's a beautiful product. Thanks so much. We'll talk again another time when we have less background noise. Maybe we can do sort of a from home zoom session together and really talk a little deeper about product design. I think that'd be a lot of fun.,: I think that'd be great.,Speaker B: All right.,: I really enjoy it.,: Thank you.,Speaker A: So, without knowing too much about this thing, George, as we mentioned before the interview there, it is very much a roadcaster I won't say ripoff, but very much based on the RODECaster model. Right?,Speaker B: Yeah. He was very clear that this was something that he had seen, they had seen, the whole industry saw. And so it was time that Mackie throw their hat in the ring and he spent the majority of the pandemic developing it. So when it came out it came out recently, I think it came out after the RODECaster Pro Two because it did just release like in the last couple of weeks. And so it feels even more like the RODECaster Pro Two, as you could imagine. But they still threw at it some of the Mackie kind of design ideology, which is, I mean, obviously the road is designed to be easy, but these guys took it to another level of being easy, I think. Well, the first thing that really wanted to be friendly yeah, well, the first.,Speaker A: Thing that strikes me and the first thing I said to you when we were talking about this before the show is it's got a master fader, which is interesting in and of itself.,Speaker B: I know it does.,Speaker A: Yeah.,Speaker B: Right. So whereas Rhode chose to condense the thing down a little bit smaller and lose things like a master fader, mackie, I think, wouldn't dare lose that fader. And I should have asked him about it, but I didn't think to. But he didn't dare lose it because it's an audio mixer in the world of Mackie, like, you always have a master fader.,Speaker A: Yeah, well, if you don't have one, you're going to create one anyway. You're going to dedicate one to being a master fader. It's somewhere along the way, surely.,Speaker B: Probably, yeah. That is one of the things that Rhode clearly chose to leave out because they felt like it's not needed for what people are using it for. But Mackie chose to leave in but what Mackie did, which she explained really know in the audio, was that it really is a tool that will suit total newbies and beginners to professionals. And the way they do it is by having three different types of user experiences beginner or easy, sort of a medium or moderate. And then the full on Pro. We didn't look at the moderate version. He kind of gave me a good overview of the beginner version and the pro version. But the beginner version, it literally has a wizard and it walks you through very much a step by step process of how to get your show set up on the mixer, even to the point of setting levels for you and all that stuff.,Speaker A: So these are just different softwares in the same box? Or are these completely different products, though, like the beginner, the intermediate and the professional?,Speaker B: In the world of firmware, it's all software, right? Basically whatever you want to show on that screen is what the experience is going to be. Right. So they have the easy mode and then I think when you first power the unit on default, it's going to start in easy mode. So it has a very simplified interface. It doesn't get into notch filters and thresholds. It's very simplified. It has a ton of presets for different microphones. It will set the gain for each of your microphone sources by listening to the source and then setting the gain for you. And then it gets you started very easily. And then it also has a dedicated automix, which he talked about. It's the Dugan Automix, which is very much a trademark kind of patented system. But they're not using in the branding and in the design. They're not infringing theoretically on any patents because it's their own algorithm that they're doing. But they've created an automix method where you can prioritize on three different levels, each of it the inputs. Right. So if you want to be priority, you make yourself high. You can make your guests medium priority and you could make like an audience mic or, I don't know, a sound effects channel or some other things be low. So it will keep things from stepping on each other and it'll keep your mix cleaner. And that is a function that the RODECaster Pro Two does not have, is the auto mix. So it doesn't mean they couldn't add it later because it is firmware.,Speaker A: They will now.,Speaker C: Absolutely.,Speaker B: Yeah. Well, I think what's going to be really interesting is watching what Rode adds to the RODECaster Pro Two's firmware to be on more of a parody with what the Mackie is doing, it's inevitable. Right. So it's going to be a very interesting thing to watch happen. But it was cool to talk to the real guy, the guy who worked on the design and maybe one day we'll get him on the show. He said I talked to him after, he said he would love to come on another interview and get more into the geeky nuts and bolts of the design.,Speaker C: Yeah, interesting.,Speaker A: Absolutely.,Speaker C: Because I'm kind of curious as to where they've come at this from, whether they came at it like road have where they've just gone, okay, straight into podcasting or has Mackie come going, okay, we can tap into podcasting, but we're also looking know the normal kind of audio studio kind of thing as yeah, yeah.,Speaker B: Well, Mackie, clearly they want to be in podcasting without abandoning. So yeah, it definitely has a feeling of you could pull this out and do a live show with it and you'd have mostly what you need to do that. It doesn't have nearly the number of outputs like a live mixer does. It doesn't have all the auctions.,Speaker A: So can I use those faders to control my door?,Speaker B: I don't know. I didn't get into that level. I literally had an eight minute presentation.,Speaker A: Yeah, right.,Speaker B: So I didn't have the time to dig deep into it. There was so much to see at the show for me that I would have sat there and played with it for an hour. I just had too much networking to do. I didn't want to squander that time, but I would have gotten more into it. But yeah, I hope to eventually get my hands on one and put it into its paces. And if I had had one for the studio I did most recently, I probably would have used it because the auto mix I think is a useful tool. Then again, I think automix is extremely important for live streaming, live mix, but not at all important for a podcast because in a podcast you want to capture everything flat and raw and then do all of that in post.,Speaker A: Unless you're not going to mix it in post. Then that auto mix thing would actually be completely would be very powerful, wouldn't it? If you were the type of person who just wanted to do a two track edit and didn't want to worry about having to balance a mix and all that sort of stuff.,Speaker B: That would be that's what we do. Yeah. On VOBs, that's what we do. We do a live to drive so it mixes baked and if I blow the mix, then it's know it sucks. In fact, we did an appearance, I did VOBs from the trade show Floor. So I was on the panel when we had on Elaine Clark and then we interviewed Ryan from Road on the show. And in post, Dan had kind of a mess on his hands because the noise floor was so high. It was so annoying for me that I was riding the Gain. I was riding the level going to Dan. So what he hears in the mix is kind of a mess because the room tone is changing constantly as I'm turning the mics up and down. Right. So he very cleverly took some room tone and laid that over the entire mix okay. To clean it up because he said it was really distracting. He said, did you use a gate? I said, no, that's called human gate. Just riding my Gain because it got ungodly noisy in that space. And it was one of the most reverberant, horribly echoey convention experiences I've ever had. It was absolutely terrible.,Speaker C: I always find that really quite bizarre that you're actually selling basically audio stuff in this case and you're in an environment that just doesn't showcase it very well at all.,Speaker A: What are you going to do?,Speaker B: It just shows how much of a lack of understanding of what is needed for a good experience by the attendants or the customers from the owners of that building. And the owners of that building are Marriott, you may have heard of them.,Speaker C: Yeah.,Speaker A: Can I take you back a step? You said if you had have known about this you would have put this in a build that you did recently with the auto mix thing. Would you use that if you were setting this up for someone in a home studio? Would you use that to manage their feed from the client studio to sort of keep a decent mix in their headphones, to keep them down lower if that's what they wanted or up higher.,Speaker B: Or whatever you could yeah. It never would have occurred me to use it in that way. But you certainly could set up a monitor mix for your headphones using the auto mix so that you don't get blown out of your cans. Your voice is kind of over top of whatever's coming back at you.,: A lot of singers like to sing into a compressor, and sometimes you don't necessarily track it with that, you just have it there. It's kind of like singing into some reverb. It's the same thing as that guy that likes to sit there with the volume knob, David. He could just buy a compressor and maybe not get culpal tunnel syndrome.,Speaker B: One of these days. I'll set that up for him. He still has that Affliction muscle memory thing going.,Speaker A: Yeah.,Speaker B: But yeah, it's definitely a matter of changing the way you hear everything in the headphones and controlling the experience for the performer. And that would be a clever way to do it, actually. Yeah.,: Mackie's late to the game, but coming out with something pretty good.,Speaker B: Yeah. Waited and watched what Road did and then just like, all start. Let's start from scratch. Seeing the success of this thing and go all the way through the end and see what we build. And that's what they did. It's like an $800 retail unit, so it's a little bit more expensive. It's sort of like the RODECaster pro. Two baquito mach plus.,Speaker A: Let's see what the first thing Robert notices is when he looks at the picture. Let's see, what the first thing jumping.,Speaker C: Online to have a look at it.,Speaker A: See if he picks up one. I pick what's it called? The DLC creator. Tell me what the first thing is that pops in your head when you just look at it. There's something on there that made me go, Is that a blah?,Speaker C: And I'm only saying Z because I know it's American.,: It's the Deals.,Speaker A: Deals creator.,: So basically, Robo thought, is this an eight fader unit for my pro tool system with a touchscreen?,Speaker A: No, there's something on there that's not on the RODECaster.,: A master fader.,Speaker A: There you go. First cap off the rank.,: Just like me.,Speaker A: Rip off the master fader.,: But they did pretty much rip them off. Pretty much.,Speaker A: That's the second part of the conversation.,: Buttons on the bottom, buttons on the top, side by side. Colorful buttons on the right. OOH, you get two more faders. You get a master fader, you get some knobs that you don't have. Are those knobs digital encoder knobs.,Speaker B: Right. So, like, we're on the roadcaster. The knobs have really a one trick.,: And how much is a RODECaster, too?,Speaker B: Like 699. And here, I can buy this one for 679-0679.,: They're discounted it's retail 800.,Speaker B: So it's a very tough customer in terms of competition. It's physically bigger. It's not going to fit on. Everybody's workstation, that's for sure. But that touch screen is extremely compelling. It's the size of like an iPad mini.,Speaker A: Wow.,Speaker B: Very large, easy to use, and very good looking screen. The knobs on the side of the screen that are assignable make the knobs infinitely more flexible.,Speaker C: Out of interest, what preamps are they using there? Is it their onyx? Are they onyx?,: They're vlzs for the DLZ?,Speaker B: Yo, yo, yo. That's a darn good question. I don't recall him saying that they are onyx. I don't know, and I don't think that's probably even possible.,: Maybe they're the exerges or what the hell does Behringer call their onyxes? We took a few letters and rearranged them preamps.,Speaker B: I think it's kind of Mackie's turn to rip off or knock off another brand after being knocked off by Barranger for the last ten years.,Speaker A: Yeah, it says four onyx 80 microphone preamps. Yeah. Onyx 80s onyx eighty s. Okay.,: Does that mean 80 decibel? You'll use disabilities?,Speaker B: Close to it. I think, yeah, I think he said it's around 74, 75 DB of gain. Wow.,: For all your SM, seven b's.,Speaker B: It's another product out there in the midst and time will tell to see how it holds.,: Do you get the backpack with it? Does it come with the slick carrying case?,Speaker B: You doubt it?,: It looks like it does. I mean, maybe you have to pay extra for that, but it looks like it's got a nice little bag to it.,Speaker B: Yeah, it'd be a nice idea if it did. I'm sure they'll sell it to you, but yeah, I think that really stood out from the interview from Matthew was that he came from years in customer service. And I think when you have a product that was designed from somebody that comes from customer service, they understand what all the questions are going to be because they know the client, they know the user differently than somebody that just designs a product to meet a price point and have a certain fill a skew. We really got to make an X, right?,: I must ask, what is the ethernet for?,Speaker B: It is a future updatable platform feature device. I was told inside scoop of what it will do. I don't think I can tell you, but right now it's just firmware updates like the RODECaster Pro two. It's the ethernet only for software.,: Might it do anything that I'm thinking about?,Speaker B: If you can think of three letters that indicate sending information into another space or time, then yes. That's what you're thinking of? Yes. Anyway, yeah, it's a future I think they're going to release by the time you guys hear this. Maybe they've already released a firmware update for the ethernet port, but I know it's coming. And it will be infinitely more like integratable into a current three letters.,: Beginning with an A?,Speaker B: No, but it'll integrate into an AV media production suite or facility. More slickly seamlessly.,Speaker C: I'm still trying to think what the three letters are.,Speaker A: Well, I don't think we can say that, can we?,: Three?,Speaker C: Yeah, I'm wondering what they are.,Speaker B: Three letters.,Speaker C: Three letters.,Speaker B: Three letters.,Speaker C: This is like a cryptic quizzing on the weekend.,Speaker B: I know letters.,: I'm going to have to think about that one.,Speaker B: I'll tell you offline.,Speaker C: All right, let's finish this show because it's killing me already. Let's go. All right, we're out. See it. What are the three letters?,: Yeah, just end the show so we can find out and that's our out.,Speaker B: That's a good one.,Speaker C: I've had enough of this show. I just want to know what the three letters are.,: Well, that was fun. Is it over?,Speaker C: The Pro audio suite with thanks to Tribute and Austrian audio recorded using Source Connect, edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Robo Got your own audio issues? 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The Mackie DLZ Creator is out, and after taking some cues from Rode, they have a pretty good piece of kit on their hands. George had a chance to catch up with its creator at "Podfest 23", so took the opportunity to record a chat about some of the more interesting features and some of the ideas that sparked its creation.
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
rode #rodemicrophones Summary In the upcoming episode of the Pro Audio Suite, the hosts reveal their game-changing automix method which allows priorities on three different levels. Depending on how you want your mix, you can set the priority higher for yourself, medium for your guests, and lower for sound effects or any other input. This method doesn't allow overstepping on each mix, ensuring a cleaner end product. The podcast also compares its functionality with RODECaster Pro Two, emphasizing the lack of such an automix function in the latter. However, optimism remains that it could be added later. The episode concludes with a heartfelt thanks to Triboos and Austrian audio, inviting listeners to tune in on their preferred podcast provider.
#ProAudioSuite #AutomixMethod #CleanAudioMix Timestamps [00:00:00] Overview: Pro Audio Suite's Automix Method [00:00:41] Partnerships: Triboos & Austrian Audio Announcement Transcript Speaker A: Coming up. Coming up next, the.,: Pro Audio Suite sneak peek.,Speaker A: They've created an automix method where you can prioritize on three different levels. Each of it the inputs, right? So if you want to be priority, you make yourself high. You can make your guests medium priority, and you could make like an audience mic or, I don't know, a sound effect, x channel or some other things below. So it will keep things from stepping on each other and it'll keep your mix cleaner. And that is a function that the RODECaster Pro Two does not have, is the auto mix. So it doesn't mean they couldn't add it later, because it is they will now. Absolutely.,: The Pro audio suite.,Speaker A: Thanks to Triboos.,: And Austrian audio. Listen now on your.,Speaker A: Favorite podcast provider.
Perhaps it's a quirk in your 416 that sits perfectly with your voice. Is it an anomaly in your room that adds that special something to your voice, or is it where you position the mic that just has you humming?
A signature sound isn't essential, but most engineers have one (achieved through compression and eq admittedly). There's no reason your home studio can't have one too. "As long as it sounds good, it is good" as the saying goes...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
Summary
In this episode of Pro Audio Suite, industry professionals George Wittam, Robert Marshall, Andrew Peters, and Darren Robbo Robertson, discuss crucial aspects of audio engineering. The show offers valuable insights into microphone usage, including a unique story about an unusual microphone that became a signature sound for its user despite initial concerns over its broken state. The hosts stress the personal nature of microphone choice while exploring factors that affect sound quality, from room attributes to mic placement. They specifically mention the unique attributes of the U 87 cardioid and 818 microphones. They also promote a deal on Tribooth using the code PAP 200 and recommend their audio services. Geological technical support and ongoing discussions are available through a dedicated Facebook group. For more information about Pro Audio Suite's hosts and their services, listeners can visit theproaudiosuite.com.
#ProAudioTips #UniqueMicrophoneSounds #TechTalkWithProAudioSuite
Timestamps
[00:00:00] Intro: Meet the Pro Audio Suite Team
[00:00:30] Special Offer: Discounted Tribooth & Personalized Demo
[00:01:11] Segment: George Talks About Unique Mic Problems
[00:02:50] Tips: Importance of Room & Mic Placement
[00:09:48] Mic Review: The Magic of U 87 Cardioid
[00:14:50] Comparison: Eight One Eight vs Neumann TLM 170 R
[00:19:22] Closing: Thanks and Invitation to Join our Community
Transcript
Speaker A: Y'all ready?,Speaker B: Be history.,Speaker C: Get started.,: Welcome.,Speaker C: Hi. Hi. Hello, everyone, to the Pro Audio Suite.,: These guys are professional and motivated with tech. To the Vo stars George Wittam, founder of Source Elements Robert Marshall, international audio engineer Darren Robbo Robertson and global voice Andrew Peters. Thanks to Triboo Austrian audio making passion heard. Source elements. George the tech. Wittam and robbo and AP's. International demo. To find out more about us, check thepro audiosuite.com.,Speaker C: Learn up. Learner. Here we go.,Speaker A: Here you go. Ready?,: Welcome to another Pro audio suite. We're your guests, Robo, Andrew and George. And I'm Robert. And you can get a good deal on a tribooth with PAP 200. And you should have Andrew and Robbo do your demo, by the way, and let's get on with it.,: Okay. It's actually trip 200, but yeah, nice work there, Robert. You missed your calling there.,Speaker B: I tell you what, jesus, you were.,: Looking so good there for a minute and you just fell at the bloody.,Speaker B: I think your job's safe, AP.,: Yeah, you call this a job? Really high binded. Now, George, you were telling us about an experience, once again at one voice with somebody who had a microphone that people were complaining about being broken, but it's kind of become his sound. What was the story?,Speaker A: Yeah, he told me that and again, I haven't heard this mic yet, so I would like to hear it at some point. I told him, hey, give me the audio and I should give him credit. I think maybe I shouldn't. Yeah, no, I should give him credit. It was Chad Fisher and he's worked with me in the past. I think he just finished building a studio, too, that looked pretty impressive. But he said that he's got a 416 or 41 six. That is sounding odd. According to folks that he has sent the audio to that know the mic. He has said that they were concerned that maybe something is up with that mic. And I said, did you buy it used? Was it damaged? Was it counterfeit? All those things could be true. He said, no, I bought it from one of the big companies. The big companies. And I said fascinating. Well, you could certainly reach out to them and ask them to give you another one and exchange it. Or you could look at this as a unique experience and realize that this is the mic that you're booking on and that people like the sound and you may not want to muck with it. So I said, literally, just engrave your initials in that thing. And this is your mic. It's your unique sound. And if you want to get another one because you want to have a proper one or whatever, a regular one, go for it. But this is a unique mic for you. Don't mess with it. Does anybody else have a mic with a quirk or character that they choose to keep using that you know?,: Yeah, well, I was going to say I won't mention the name because I don't want us to get sued or anything. But we've talked about this off air quite a lot. But a very famous American record producer has an AKG C Twelve an original C Twelve which was sent to AKG for testing when they were building the capsule which has now become the Austrian Audio Capsule, the CKR Twelve. Anyway, this famous record producer's C Twelve, which he absolutely loved, he loved used it on everything, was actually broken, but he had no idea that it was broken. He just loved the sound of this broken microphone.,Speaker B: That's the beauty of audio, though, isn't it, is that beauty is in the ear of the beholder. And if he loved the sound that that mic made, it doesn't make him any less or anything else. Just a sound he liked. And that was his sound. So good on him.,: I reckon if it sounds good, it is good, right?,: It is, exactly. Because nothing sounds the same and it's funny. People go, oh well, I've got a U 67 and blah, blah, blah. It's like does it sound like any other U 67? Probably not. I doubt it very much.,Speaker B: I don't know whether George has any experience with this, but I've had sessions with people who've said, pick your amazing multi thousand dollar mic, it could be any of them. They go, I've got a such and such, and you hear them in the room that they're in or where they've got it placed or whatever, and it sounds like shit. Well, I'd rather, to be quite honest have you got a four one six.,: That we can just thing is the room yeah, exactly. That's classic.,: Yeah, the room is key, but also it's like what complements your voice?,Speaker B: What defines your sound.,: And if you're.,: Working it's true, a mic is a very personal choice.,Speaker A: The room is key, but the mic placement is key. And it depends a lot on the kind of mic. I do find that the shotgun mic, 40 116 especially, is tricky to get the placement really awesome and the mic will change its sound quite a lot based on placement. Whereas a large diaphragm condenser cardioid mic will not change nearly as drastically based on the placement. It will certainly increase proximity effect if you get too close, but you can move quite a bit, side to side, up and down without a huge change.,: In the sound, without falling in different places of the pickup pattern. Absolutely. I mean, that's one of the things about a 41 six is you have to stay consistently in front of it because it drops I mean, that's the whole point is it drops off significantly as you get to the side. But the problem is that that's not linear, it's colored, it's different when you get it doesn't drop off evenly.,Speaker A: Yeah. And it has this weird pickup nodes on the sides of the mic. If you look at the pickup pattern.,: Or in the back, if you look.,Speaker A: At the pickup pattern, polar pattern, I should say diagram, you'll see it looks almost like a sword because it's long in the top, short has a tail on the bottom and these little things that stick out on the side. So it's definitely an OD pickup pattern.,: Out of interest. So if you're setting up a 41 six, if you imagine the talent standing in front of the microphone, where do you actually place the mic and what area of the person do you point the mic at?,: The nose, just above the plosive line.,Speaker A: I mean, the tip of the mic is right above the plosive line, but where is it aiming?,: Yeah, at the mouth, basically. But just keep the diaphragm away from the gush of air from the plosives.,: Because I've been to so many different studios where the 41 six is pretty well everywhere anyway in this business and there is no consistency with the way the engineers set up the mic.,Speaker B: Well, see, every engineer's got his own sound, too. Every engineer's got his own preference for where the MIC's aiming and all that sort of stuff.,: It kind of depends on where you are. If you're in a horrible sounding booth, then just get into it and try to nullify the booth compared to the ratio of your voice. And then you can just EQ out the proximity effect because the 40 116, being a shotgun, has quite a big proximity effect to it.,Speaker A: It's still a different it's still not quite the big proximity effect, though you're going to get from a large diaphragm cardioid because you can get so much closer to the capsule.,: Well, because the capsule is way up the microphone in the 416 yeah.,Speaker A: It's not near the tip. It's up halfway up the tube of the mic.,: Right. If you were able to virtually get your mouth there, then the proximity effect would probably be insane.,Speaker A: Oh, for sure. Well, if you use a Harvard cardioid or cardioid version of that mic, which would be the I guess they didn't make one, but the newer series, the MKH no, the is it called the MKH 80 series 80208 030-804-0805.,: It's probably like MKH 20. Maybe one of those might be similar to the yeah.,Speaker A: Or Neumann 184 or any one of those pencil mics. The proximity effect is massive, but you just have to be really careful not to pop the mic because the capsule is right there, really easy to pop.,: There is no filter. There's nothing there at all.,: Sounds a bit like you and I, Robert. No filter.,: Tourette's. Tourette's, Mike.,: Yeah, but it's funny, the 41 six, I've had them directly in front of me pointing, as you said, above the sort of forehead kind of thing, pointing to the mouth. I've had them pointing to the chest, I've had them coming in from the side, all sorts of different pointing to the chest.,: Chest, yeah.,Speaker B: Wow.,: I've seen people who do the side thing and the sort of nose thing. If you want to thin it out, you just kind of get it away from the mouth and a little bit more on the head and they'll get a little bit brighter for you. But I've not seen the chest.,: Yeah, that was years ago. I remember someone pointing and they had it set up in front of me and it was like basically probably about almost a foot away from my head and pointing down past my face.,: Excuse me, pointing at your chest?,: Yeah, my laundry is done. Yeah, pointing at my chest must have been so woofy. It was certainly bassy, that's for sure.,: I mean, that's the problem that you have when you have, like, a lavalier mic that's too far under the chin and you lose all the top, all the high end. You have to kind of clip a lavalier mic a little bit lower down, so you get some because if not, the chin creates an acoustic shadow of the s's. And the other detail.,Speaker A: I was in a booth today, one of my clients whose studio designed, and he has a 41 six and a U 87. And he says sometimes I'll go to the U 87 because I just kind of get mic fatigue working on a 41 six all the time because of its tiny sweet spot and all this stuff. And I said, hey, by the way, he's like, but sometimes I use that mic and I hear a little bit too much reflection off the console below and display next to the mic, et cetera, et cetera. And I said, well, do you know about the secret microphone that's inside of U 87? He's like and I said, Flick the little switch on the front to figure eight. And he tried it and he was.,: Like, Whoa, drop everything from the holy cow, that's crazy.,Speaker A: I said, now stand on the side and talk into it. And it was like he was blown away. I said, yeah, this is an entirely different mic and a different sound from the U 87 cardioid or the 41 six. Really, it's a third mic you already had, you just didn't know and try it out and experiment.,: It's a much softer sound with a bigger proximity.,Speaker A: It's more ribbon like, dare I say.,: I mean, the ribbon mics really cancel out the side because the problem with what do you call it, the figure eight on the U 87 is it's two capsules and they are a little bit apart, right? So they don't cancel out at all frequencies. But you get a ribbon mic, that thing is infinitely thin and it really does just vanish to the side.,Speaker A: But I'll tell you, you don't need it to fully vanish to be an advantage. If you have anything reflective below or to the side, it will pretty well kill that. It's great. It just focuses the sound. I was like, Check this out. And he was like, Whoa, that's really cool.,: You've seen those diagrams where they go through the polar patterns and you can see them continuous because people think of polar patterns as being discreet. But really polar patterns are a continuum from omni to cardioid. And then it goes to figure eight. And in there like your hypercardioid is kind of between a figure eight and a cardioid, for example, I think. And that's why the hypercardioid's got the node in the back. And so it's not like a good tube mic. If you've played with a good tube mic, the polar pattern is a continuous knob.,Speaker A: That's right, yeah.,: And some of the better pencil mics are offered in what they call the wide cardioid.,Speaker A: Oh, yeah.,: And those are very natural sounding. They kind of have the naturalness of more close to the naturalness of an omni with still some focus, some proximity effect. A little bit. Yeah. You can't avoid it, but yeah, it's like polar patterns are not one, two, three, there's an infinite number between the.,: Omni and but the thing I actually talk about polar patterns and stuff like that. If you have the OC eight, one eight and you get the dongle that patches into the back, even better. Yeah.,: You can play with the polar patterns on a frequency basis with that polar pattern.,: Well, you're talking about pretty cool. The other part when you've used the two XLRs but this is if you.,: Use the two capsules.,: Yeah, but if you use the dongle, the bluetooth dongle and use the app on your phone, it's not just like clicking from one pattern to another, you're just sliding from one pattern to another.,: Right.,: So you can do a mix of so I'm talking about yeah, which is.,: What I'm talking about. But even better, you can record both of them and then in your daw after the fact, you can play with the polar pattern after you record yeah.,: But that's if you're using the two USBs not USBs, yes, the two XLRs.,: And then you have to use the plugin afterwards.,: But the plugin different plugin. If you get the bluetooth dongle that goes in the back of the mic, then you get a plugin that goes on your phone and it just gives you the polar pattern.,: That's what it is.,: The idea is that if the MIC's up on a boom pole, instead of bringing the thing backwards and forwards, you can do it from your phone.,: So the advantage of that multi frequency polar pattern designer is you could have a booth with a problematic low end, and especially in a corner. Maybe it's the only corner that you can put the mic where you have enough space, but you can treat the low frequency with, say, a figure eight. Get the mic so it rejects the weird bounce back to the side. And then in the upper frequencies, you can open them up to a cardioid or a wide cardioid where it sounds more natural, gives you a little bit more space to move about without having such a critical sweet spot on the microphone. And you can kind of have the benefits of a figure eight where you need it, have the benefits of a cardioid and a wide cardioid where you need them, and really play around with the polar pattern to fit your exact need, instead of just having one polar pattern across the whole spectrum. And then you have to deal with the nonlinearities where you don't want them to be.,: It'd be good if you could actually use that thing post or pre print, so you could actually set and forget if you got a trouble. Oh, you can do it. I've never tried it.,: Well, you can just record both capsules and then you can put the plugin on there and design it away. So if you're always recording both, in fact, you could even do it where you could automate the plugin. So on certain words, if you go really low, you could even change the where were we parameters if you were really going crazy. But yeah, you can definitely put that plugin on a post process. But to do that and make use of it, you have to record both capsules separately.,: Correct.,: You have to use the two XLRs. But that's the whole point of that Mike, is that it is literally that flexible.,: Yeah. I still like the app, though, that I find really handy. Instead of clicking from one pattern to another, you can actually just slide across an infinite amount of mixtures of everything.,: Like the old classic tube mics.,: Exactly. Yeah, exactly.,: You say it's a great mic when you look at the price point.,Speaker B: Well, absolutely. And also we're talking about your distinctive sound. That polar pattern thing sort of gives you the chance to make as well, doesn't it?,Speaker A: Really?,: That's right, indeed.,Speaker A: If you use the Polar designer Bluetooth tool, then it's locked into that fifth setting. It has a magic fifth setting that becomes your pattern.,: You can set it yeah, it's in.,Speaker A: The firmware, which is great.,: Does it do it by the frequencies, too, or is it just by the so you have to use the plugin to get the frequency per frequency. That'd be amazing if you could bake it in there. And then you just have your own microphone, your sound, but still like what I was going to say, the price point of the eight one eight. And you look at it compared to like a U 87.,Speaker A: Actually, a better mic to compare it to is actually the Neumann TLM 170 R. And I mentioned that one because that one's come up a little bit more often. One of my clients bought one a while ago and she hasn't used it yet. And she said, I bought it because Disney uses it and she does a lot of Disney. So I said I was wondering why. So I looked at the frequency response of the 170 R and I saw it was definitely a lot more of a flat response. It's much flatter. And so they want that really just uncolored sound. But that's a multi pattern with more choices. The U 87 just has the classic figure eight omni and card. This one's got more inter, it's got hyper cardioid and a few other things. And it's not a bargain mic.,: 123456 no use. That thing is $2,000. It's more money used than the eight one eight.,Speaker A: It's still quite spendy on the Neumann in the Neumann lineup. And the only thing that competes from Neumann on price would be the 107, I think is what it's called TLM 107.,: But that's a single pattern.,Speaker A: I think that's the multi pattern one. They have a TLM series or is it a 104?,: The 107 is around at least used. It's around 1300 or $1,200.,Speaker A: That's a multi pattern, though, right? I don't see yeah, that's the multi pattern. It's got a funky little digital control joystick on it. It's really OD on the back of the mic.,: Is that how it does its it's.,Speaker A: Actually a multifunction joystick and that controls the pad high pass and polar pattern by flicking the stick around. And I'd say in terms of quality, it's somewhere in the 103 to 100 and it actually might be more like the 102 in terms of what capsule it uses and stuff. So, yeah, that's the only thing that's in any way similar to the 12345 pattern.,: It's about the same price point as an eight one eight, but a little more.,Speaker A: It's a bit more.,: Yeah, it's $200 more or so.,: Yeah.,Speaker A: So bang for the buck. That eight one eight is still it's outstanding. Outstanding.,: Yeah. It really is a killer mic.,Speaker B: I'm just looking at the Ma one. I don't know if you guys have ever seen that. It looks like a butt plug.,: Have you been using those again?,: Yeah, sorry. We can stop him talking out of his eyes.,: Sorry.,Speaker B: It was the first thing that came into my mind.,: There's the out.,: Yeah.,Speaker C: Well, that was fun. Is it over?,: The Pro audio suite with thanks to Tribut and Austrian audio recorded using Source Connect, edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Robo Got your own audio issues? Just ask robo.com with tech support from.,Speaker C: George, the tech Wittam.,: Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic or just say G'day. Drop us a note at our website, theproudiosuite.com.
Perhaps it's a quirk in your 416 that sits perfectly with your voice. Is it an anomaly in your room that adds that special something to your voice, or is it where you position the mic that just has you humming?
A signature sound isn't essential, but most engineers have one (achieved through compression and eq admittedly). There's no reason your home studio can't have one too. "As long as it sounds good, it is good" as the saying goes...
Waves have just announced some big changes to its licencing structure. What does it mean for you and how does it compare to other software that might be in your studio?
https://www.waves.com/support/using-waves-plugins-on-multiple-computers
PLUS, Robbo reviews the SSL bundle. Try it free for a month and see for yourself...
https://www.solidstatelogic.com/products/ssl-complete-bundle-subscription
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
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Join our Facebook page here:
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
Summary
In this episode of the Pro Audio Suite, hosts George Wittam, Robert Marshall, Darren Robbo Robertson, and Andrew Peters discuss the latest events and updates in professional audio technology.
A significant highlight of the episode is Source Elements' win at the One Voice Service Provider award for the second time. This is followed by discussions on software licensing structures, especially about plugins by Waves and Twisted Wave. George Wittam offers insights into ethical business strategies and effective marketing. Further, Robbo shares his intriguing experience with the SSL bundle and emphasizes its unique features. Finally, the episode reflects on the importance of imperfections in audio production for an authentic sound output. The Pro Audio Suite also acknowledges its sponsors, Tri-Booth and Austrian audio, and tech support from George Wittam. Enjoy and engage in further discussions on their Facebook group. Don't forget to subscribe!
#ProAudioSuite #TechPodcast #OneVoiceAward
Timestamps
[00:00:00] Intro: Meet the Talent & Special Offers
[00:01:01] One Voice Service Provider Award: Personal Insight
[00:03:04] Waves Announcement: New Subscription System
[00:05:25] Twisted Wave’s Policy: More Freedom for Users
[00:11:02] Excellent Marketing?: A Case Study on George
[00:13:22] Robbo’s Experience: Navigating the SSL Bundle
[00:20:11] SSL Plugins’ Uniqueness: The Beauty of Imperfection
[00:22:29] Ends Credits: Thanks & Reminders
Transcript
Speaker A: Y'all ready be history.,Speaker B: Get started., Speaker C: Welcome., Speaker B: Hi. Hi. Hello, everyone, to the Pro Audio Suite.,: These guys are professional and motivated. To the Vo stars George Wittam, founder of Source Elements Robert Marshall, international audio engineer Darren Robbo Robertson and global voice Andrew Peters. Thanks to Tri-Booth Austrian audio making passion heard. Source elements. George, the tech. Wittam and Robbo and AP's International demo. To find out more about us, check the pro audiosuite.com. Speaker B: Line Up Ladies. Here we go., Speaker C: And welcome to another Pro Audio Suite. Don't forget, if you do want to buy a Triboof, use the code trip a P 200 to get $200 off your Triboof. Also Rombo and AP's international demos. We are offering a 30% discount. Just go to thepro audiosuite.com, and have a look at the link, which is up in the top, which says Robo and AP's International Demos. Click on that and drop us a line if you're interested. Also, while we're recording, you, George, are in Dallas at One Voice, and somebody won an award that you saw. Who would that have been?,: Well, not only did I see I was another candidate for the award. Another nominee., Speaker A: Oh, were you really? We're surrounded by brilliance.,: I'm sorry, man., Speaker C: And the nominations are there's two One.,: Voice nominees right here in the room. One of them won. Yeah. So there was a category called they did it Last Year as well, called Service Provider. And they make it very clear it's voted on by the public. And nominations are, I think, nominated also by the public, or at least the judges. So, yeah, I got nominated and my friend Uncle Roy did, and a whole bunch of other people that I know were nominated and Source Elements. So last year Source Elements took it, and this year they did, too, because they do good service.,Speaker C: There you go.,: They do good service and they do it all around the world.,: Thank you.,: Which is a lot of people.,Speaker C: Indeed. Yes, indeed. Indeed. Well, congratulations, Robert.,: In a way, I'd like to fuse the discomfort of me or Uncle Roy winning it's because we're buddies.,: You guys would have to sit at the same table.,: It's awkward. We're buddies and we do the same business. It just feels weird. It just feels weird. So anyway, congrats Source Elements, and maybe we'll see you next year.,Speaker B: Cool.,: Well, awesome.,Speaker C: I think the key actually, George the key is just don't turn up and you'll win an award.,: Yeah, well, it didn't work last year.,: Let me see. Do I have it here?,: The best speech, actually, was a woman who said, I thank myself.,Speaker A: Oh, really?,: Because it was a self submitted it was a self book on the gig. It was not through an agent. So she said, I thank myself.,Speaker A: There you go.,Speaker C: Well, that was a good nice.,Speaker B: Absolutely.,Speaker A: Yeah.,Speaker C: Now, we should be thanking Waves, actually, because Waves have just announced that you can use their plugins if you pay your subscription, I guess it is, on.,: Two computers without having to beg them for it because you could do it before by begging them and they would let you use it on two computers. But now it's official.,: Yeah, they would always let you do it on two computers if you maintained your whoop. Actually, that was one of the benefits of maintaining the whoop. But it is interesting. In the email, it very explicitly says this is for the same operator.,Speaker C: Here comes your takeaway.,: They're using the same exact business model as Adobe does, where the activation is good on two machines. If you log into a third machine on Adobe, it will tell you you're on a third machine and you must disable another machine and or it disables all of them and then you just start reactivating again. I can't remember which one it is.,Speaker A: But it tells you. Yeah, it tells me anyway.,: Yeah.,Speaker C: Which is really handy because as I've said many times before, I don't know anybody that actually works on one computer. We all have at least two devices that we work on. So it makes perfect sense to be able to do that. And it's funny because I don't know whether Twisted Wave you can use at one license on two computers. I'm pretty sure. Steinberg you can't.,: So, Twisted Wave, before the new subscription plan, it was unlimited. And I know that because I've used it on unlimited computers, technically. I mean, every computer I've ever owned has had a license.,: Just drop your license.,: I don't remember or recall reading any stipulation on the site about numbers of computers per user. So they may still be holding on to that same policy. I don't know. I would have to look that up.,Speaker C: Yeah, because it is very handy.,: I mean, it's interesting because it is like a potential leak of licenses for them. But at the same time, to police it, you have to make that into the licensing structure. Especially for Twisted Wave. They are doing their own. We're basically licensing through Ilock so we don't have to build it and we just live within the structure that they provide.,Speaker C: Which leads me to the next bit, because when you jumped online, George, we were having quite a deep discussion about the pros and cons of the eye lock.,: I was literally saying I was looking forward to the day where I could open my house, start my car, like you name it, with my eye lock.,: Well, once you're in an ecosystem, you want everything to be in that ecosystem.,: Whatever that yeah, my keychain would be so simplified.,Speaker C: It would be just one it would.,: Be nice if it was also a pass key as well. So it had the password manager for all of your stuff.,Speaker A: That would be nice.,: Yeah, it's really interesting. If I lock was supposed to get into that and then you could have a hardware dongle for your pass parents. My parents would actually relate to that. That's funny.,: Yeah. It's so much easier than saying, okay, use this authenticator app on your phone that you installed just to use this one thing and open that app up and then authenticate off of that. It's a lot for the user.,: The two factor authentication sometimes is annoying, and I'm trying to get all my two factor over to Google Off, but I have some that's through my text, some that's through the email, some that's through Google Off.,: I mean, it's difficult for us. I mean, imagine what it's like for know the know the regular user. Or Andrew.,: Or Andrew.,: It's very challenging. Well, I just checked on Twisted Wave FAQ. Can I install Twisted Wave on more than one Mac? Yes. According to Twistwave's license, you're allowed to install Twist Wave Mac on as many computers as you want, as long as you are the main user. It says the main user of the license. So that would mean to me that you could have an assistant or an editor or an engineer working with you sharing that license. That's what I interpret that as to say.,Speaker A: But anyway, okay, so Voodoo Sound bought Twisted Wave, and Mrs. Voodoo Sound was using Twisted Wave upstairs in the voice booth for her own voiceover company. Even though you could technically say that Voodoo Sound is at this premises, is that this is where it gets interesting, doesn't it? And you can get yourself in trouble.,: It's two simultaneous uses for it's, like being, very strictly speaking, even though it's one household, it is two uses on two jobs. And I think the intention is that you as a person cannot be duplicated, and so you should be using your license once, regardless of where you are. Here's the way Waves phrase it. Starting November 1, we will add a second license to all active creative Access subscriptions, allowing subscribers to use their plugins on separate computers without having to move licenses between devices. The second license is for use by the owner of the main product license only.,: Yeah, I think that's what Thomas's and.,: They do state it. And it's an honor system is what it is.,: He's just not getting as quite as a fine tooth. He didn't have an attorney rewrite it for him. It's just him trying and I'll speak for Thomas when I say this, so you have to verify with him is really he's going again by a bit of an honor system, which he's known for that anyway, like for many, many years. He didn't enforce really anything with the license.,: Did he do anything else or did he only do Twisted Wave?,: I only know him as doing Twisted Wave, period. And then he branched out to the iOS version and then the online version, and then the Windows version.,: His whole living. He feeds all twelve of his kids through Twisted Wave?,Speaker A: Yes.,: Well, he's got four platforms he's supporting now. So it's a lot to support and keep running and debugging.,: I mean, it's impressive because he had a pretty permissive licensing thing and he's a one man show. It's amazing actually, assuming he does not have some other second gig and that this isn't just like a side hustle, it's actually impressive.,: My understanding is he doesn't have a side hustle.,Speaker C: No, it's definitely not taking up enough.,: Time that he just can't do other things. Maybe he got the Mac version to a point where it was running so well that he thought, well, it's time, let's get the Windows version built. So the Windows version is fully released and it supports stacks just like the Mac version. You got to bring BYO plugins because there's not a single free plugin on a Windows machine. So you start right out of the gate by having to get plugins. Right? That's a big difference right there. But I have a few plugins of my own that I prefer to use that are totally free for those who really need to set it all up. And one of them is because of Robo himself, said have you ever used Melda Productions plugins? And I was like, Nope. And I have installed and used them and for the free bundle that they have is pretty darn feature rich.,Speaker A: There's some kick ass stuff in there, isn't there?,: Pretty darn good. Yeah, exactly. So I have used the melba. EQ. I haven't used much else from them, but it did a fine job for some folks. But I've really been enjoying being able to support that cross platform at last without having to run an actual Windows PC to make a stack. As long as I build that stack using VST plugins on my Mac, it will load those plugins and everything on the PC, which is nice.,Speaker A: Yeah, that's cool.,: Yeah.,Speaker C: Back to Thomas though. If you meet the guy, which I'm sure one day he will jump on a silver bird and head to North America at some point depending how much money he makes out of Twisted Wave. But you can tell like you meet the guy, you know, when you meet someone, you know they're just a really honest character and incredibly intelligent, obviously. And that's thomas. That's the guy.,: If he starts showing up at conferences and sponsoring, we'll know.,Speaker C: Exactly.,: As far as I can tell, he has spent absolutely $0 on marketing.,Speaker A: But it's a good product and good products market themselves sometimes, don't they? Let's be honest.,: That's what I'm saying. Can you please tell that to our department of marketing?,: Well, I mean, honestly, I never had a marketing budget until the last year or so. And now that George the tech is a team of people, marketing is becoming much more of a real thing. Like I really need to get the marketing machine running. So when you start hearing George LATEC on different places and different platforms and you start getting tired of hearing that name then it means I'm doing the right thing. So that means my marketing is working.,Speaker C: There was a thing that we used to talk about in radio and when you're at the point of hearing a song, if you work in a radio station that is driving you insane because you're just overloading on that song, you usually find that it's just starting to get some traction with the listener.,: The regular listener. Yeah, the listener in the real world.,: So as soon as we're sick of George, that's when George really hit it. That's when George changes his name to Uncle George.,Speaker C: No.,: Can't be.,Speaker A: Uncle George.,: My dad's Uncle George, Uncle George.,Speaker C: But the whole uncle thing. Yeah. All I can think of when you say uncle anyone is some old bloke in a pair of shorts that are too tight with one knacker hanging out the side. That's what it sounds.,: You got to work on that for your Uncle Roy.,: I'm just not letting my daughter call.,Speaker A: Yeah.,Speaker C: Now speaking plugins robbo, you've been mucking around with the SSL bundle?,Speaker A: Yeah, I downloaded it because I'd had the Slate Digital bundle and I sort of got to the point where there was only a couple of things that I really sort of liked and continued using being a couple of compressors, the gray compressor, fresh air, which is free anyway, and a couple of other things. So I actually let that go. And talking of budgets, I sort of realized, hey, I've got X amount of dollars a month free. What other bundles are out there to sort of rent and have a play with? And so I downloaded the SSL one which I've been playing with for a couple of months now. And can I just say, there's not a dog in there. It's so good. There's so much stuff that's sort of really nice to play with. I mean, compressors and EQS go without saying. There's some other stuff like they've they've done some instrument specific stuff. They've done, like a drum strip and a guitar strip. The vocal strip I kind of like, I guess. I mean, it's not a dog, but I don't really use it a lot. The drum strip I use all the time. The guitar strip, I don't really do a lot with guitars, so I don't have much to do with that. But the other stuff that's really good is they call it the flex verb, which is their reverb and the X delay, which is also really cool. So, yeah, there's a bunch of stuff in there that's really worth playing around with. And I guess when the time comes and I sort of get sick of it, what will I keep? I would definitely keep the reverb. The DSR is very nice. Their limiter, which they call X limit, has been the final plugin on my mastering chain now since I downloaded it because it's particularly sweet is it like a brick wall? Yeah, it's a brick wall.,: Brick wall limiter?,Speaker A: Brick wall limiter, yes. And it's just seamless, though. You get it set up right, you just don't hear it working at all. And it gives everything that sort of nice punch, obviously, that you look for from a limiter I'm really enjoying based.,: On some other model or something from their own.,Speaker A: There's a whole bunch of models of stuff. There's two bus compressors, a couple of channel strips, bus Compressor Six, I think they call it, and the Bus Compressor.,Speaker B: Two.,Speaker A: Channel Strip Two. But look, they've got a 30 day free trial, so you can have your first month on them. So definitely worth downloading and having a play with.,: You have to give them the credit card.,Speaker A: Give them the credit card. So you got to put a date in your diary if you want to cancel it. I think I'll probably have it for another couple of months. Well, until something else pops up, probably, I'll just hang on to it because, as I say, I do set aside some money to play around with new plugins each month, and that's what I've landed on at the moment. So until something else crops up that I want to try, that's where it will stay.,Speaker C: It's funny with the SSL plugins, though, because when I bought the SSL Two, it came with these plugins. I thought it was in perpetuity, but of course it was not. So there was a whole bunch of stuff like a channel strip and a flex verb and vocal strip xCOMP, there was an EQ, XEQ, X phase, et cetera, and X valve comp.,Speaker A: Sounds like you've got the same bundle.,Speaker C: Yeah, but the thing is, I can't use any of them.,: Why not?,Speaker A: You can't physically use them or they won't work on your machine.,Speaker C: I don't think I can use them because I think from memory, it was like it was just a trial.,Speaker A: Yeah, well, you would have got the 30 day free trial of this.,Speaker C: Possibly, yeah. In fact, I just clicked on it, it says all visible licenses expired.,Speaker A: There you go. Yeah.,: I've been also using the Plugin Alliance stuff, and the main reason why I got Plugin Alliance was because having a HDX card and Waves stopped doing HDX plugins, which are the DSP chip on the Pro Tools cards. So the only ones that you could really get the low latency on was Plugin Alliance. And I have to say, they have a lot of really good stuff, especially their channel strip emulations of various consoles. They have like an API and a Neve and an SSL, and like every generation of SSL and every generation of or a few generations of Neves and the Focus, right, and the AMIC 90, 98, they have a pretty broad range of plugins and they're all easily the same similar quality as the Wave stuff. I have to say, some people I think actually think better, but it's really hard to know when, like, oh, this emulation is better than that emulation. And you're sitting there going like, I've never touched the real thing.,Speaker C: Yes, exactly.,: I have no idea. Really? They sound good.,Speaker C: Well, that's true, though, because everyone that's got these buying plugins guarantee that 95%, if not more, have never actually used the real thing.,Speaker A: Oh, sure, yeah, totally.,Speaker C: So it's like you could basically sell them anything.,: You just use the same EQ algorithm in all of them. Yeah, exactly.,Speaker A: But you would have had to work in a lot of rooms for anyone to have done that. Or be a Chris Lord Algie or someone like that who mixes in different rooms. The average schlopp like you and me, who works in a studio for a few years and then moves to a different job. You certainly wouldn't have played with all of them.,Speaker C: And then half the gear that you were probably using, that was actually the original piece of equipment that they were emulating was probably broken anyway or just getting tired.,Speaker A: Well, that was part of the charm, though.,: That's my good friend Jim Reeves, who mixed a lot of stuff I mean, like, free ride and all kinds of stuff back in the day. And he was joking, but I don't think so much. He was basically saying, like, all these kids, they love the sound of analog. They're in love with the sound of a tape deck that hasn't been aligned in three weeks and its heads are worn out. That's what they think of analog, because that's what we were working on in the studios. There were cranking sessions out left and right. The decks were not necessarily aligned every single time. There was a lot of yeah.,: What people miss is the imperfections of analog. Yeah. They don't miss improperly recorded audio. They just miss the imperfections and the distortion. I mean, the thing that makes a neve preamp sound like a neve or whatever is not that's right. It's accurate. It's that it's not accurate.,: You can say the same thing for a 416.,Speaker C: Yeah, sorry.,: 41 six. That's the distortion that makes it that edge.,: It's the color, it's the EQ curve, it's the way it sounds compressed. All those things is what makes the mic work.,Speaker C: It's funny. I'm sure that we've all been down this track before, but when it's your turn to clean the heads on the reel to reel and you realize that no one has cleaned them for so long, you got the cotton bud, and it's like it's black. You go like what?,: You go through, like, ten swabs. You're like, really?,Speaker A: What do you mean, your turn? It was my job every friggin morning.,: That's exactly what Jim was saying.,Speaker C: Yeah, well, I tell you what. In the studios, the on air studios, no one did it.,Speaker A: I can imagine. Too busy smoking a joint to clean the heads.,Speaker C: Yeah, that's right.,: Blowing the smoke right onto the head.,Speaker A: Yeah, that's right.,Speaker C: And through the mic capsules and everything.,Speaker A: Sitting there smoking a siggy while you got the razor blade and the splicing block out. Yeah, totally.,Speaker C: Exactly. But that's true, though. It's the imperfection that everyone tries to emulate. But the thing is, the imperfection was different on every single unit.,: Well, that's where it's funny, because literally one of the patented things, or whatever that plugin alliance has is this thing called I can't remember it, but basically, when you throw down the plugins, if you throw down 20 SSL plugins on your daw, all 20 will be different.,Speaker C: Oh, really?,: Because no channel in real life, no channel on that board is identical.,Speaker C: Yeah, exactly.,: You all knew that there's like some channels that had the red tape on it and some had the they have the same thing where they vary the performance of the plugins themselves so that you get that same chaotic variation across your daw.,Speaker C: Yeah, because I mean, if you're looking at a huge console, there's all sorts of things coming to play. One of the main things probably is heat.,: Well, like, the channel is closer to the power supply on. Correct. Like, I have a four channel mic preamp and the channel closest to the power supply is a little bit noisier than the other two.,Speaker C: Yeah, exactly. Well, there you go. Plugins.,Speaker A: Hey, plug in, baby.,: Yeah, plugins.,: Plug me in, baby.,Speaker B: Well, that was fun. Is it over?,: The Pro audio suite with thanks to Tribut and Austrian audio recorded using Source Connect, edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Robo Got your own audio issues? Just askrobo.com tech support from George thetech Wittam. Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic or just say g'day. Drop us a note at our website.,Speaker B: The Pro audio suite.com.
Summary
In this week's Pro Audio Suite podcast edition, we explore the concept of maintaining your "WUP" and its benefits. We then take a deep dive into the details, such as the explicit operator restrictions outlined in the emails. Tune in today on your favourite podcast provider.
#ProAudioSuite #TriboosTech #AustrianAudio
Timestamps
[00:00:00] Maintaining Two Computers: WUP Insights
[00:00:20] The Intriguing Pro Audio Suite: A Must-Listen To
Transcript
Speaker C: Coming up., Speaker B: Coming up., Speaker C: Next, the Pro Audio Suite.,: Sneak peek., Speaker A: They would always let you do it.,Speaker B: On two computers if you maintained your whoop. Actually, that was one of the benefits of maintaining the whoop. But it is interesting. In the email, it very explicitly says this is for the same operator. Here comes your takeaway., Speaker C: Now. My the., Speaker B: Pro audio suite., Speaker C: Thanks to Triboos., Speaker B: And Austrian audio. Listen now on your.,: Favorite podcast provider.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
Memo Sauceda was the winner of our Centrance PASport VO competition winner. He picked up a free Demo created by Robbo and AP. This week we reveal the audio, and discuss the process that has Memo shouting Robbo and AP' praises...
Find out more about Memo here..
https://memo-rable.com/
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
Konos (no we'd never heard of the either) have released a compact 80-element high-fidelity, high sensitivity microphone. It promises adjustable directivity and optional real-time noise filtering to capture the clearest sound at a distance, even in the most challenging sonic conditions.
At US$5000 we were never going to get our hands on one, but we've been through the website to give you an insight into what is an intriguing development in microphones.
https://www.konos-sound.com/product
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
With 80 elements, Konos promises a high-fidelity, high-sensitivity array with adjustable directivity and optional real-time noise filtering to capture the clearest sound at a distance, even in the most challenging sonic conditions. At $5000 we don't have our hands on one, but we read between the lines to see if this mic has anything up its sleeve...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
George, Robbo and Andrew discuss the gear that once was a "must have"but these days is on the scrap heap. What do you do with them? And what about that old Mac? Does it have any value?
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
Next week on the show, George, Robbo and Andrew discuss the gear that once was a "must have"but these days is on the scrap heap. What do you do with them? And what about that old Mac? Does it have any value?
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
Reaper, Twisted Wave, AUdition, Audacity, Pro Tools.... The list is endless, and there are many reasons you may prefer any one (or all) of them. But if you simply want to record and edit your voice overs, which one rules the roost and why.
As usual, we deep dive into each one, and leave you with a bunch of tips and tricks that you may or may not know about,, that can help your work flow...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
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For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
Robert asked, "what are the 3 essential things you need to do your job?". We thought it was a great question, and when you put your mind to it, the reasons we spend thousands of dollars on large amounts of gear seemed a little less clear...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
OK, so we've been on about it for a while now, but it is a big issue facing our industry. In fact, a radio station in Melbourne Australia has just announced that its new Afternoon (Drive) News reader will be an AI voice...
So, how good is it, and will it pass listener scrutiny? We cloned AP's voice to find out...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
MPA joins us for a general chat and some big news..
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
Self-noise is the signal the microphone produces of itself, even when no sound source is present, and it's a topic we've never really gotten into on the show. So this week, we held our breath (to reduce noise) and took a deep dive into the subject.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
We put the new USB/XLR dual output mic from Rode through its paces...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
Building/Buying sound absorption panels is all well and good (as well as important) but what about the damage caused by hanging them? Screws in the wall, adhesive that tears the plaster when you pull it down, and the hassle of having to paint walls and fill holes when you move.
Robbo is a renter and recently had to move, leaving him considering how he could avoid a couple of days of handyman work to bring the studio walls back to their original condition, and adding a new coat of paint. After some investigation, he found a solution, and this week, the team discuss its merits.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
A few weeks ago we broke the news that AP was being replaced by one of his clients by an AI voice. It seems something we have fobbed off as "yeah some time in the future it will be a thing", but it seems it's already here.
Robbo came across a piece of AI on youtube that will have you questioning how long it will be before the "underdog" becomes the norm...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
AP recently did a lap of Europe with the family and was (predictably) working his but off while on the road.
We thought it might be interesting to compare his reads recorded whist away and compare them to the results he gets from his home studio, and then pull apart his sound!
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
For the past few weeks we've been tellin you about the new, made for VO, mic interface we have designed with the great people at Centrance.
Conceived during the recording of an episode of the Pro Audio Suite, inspired by your feedback, and argued about, sweated over, and tinkered with by 4 VO industry vets and one Studio gear creator, the PASport VO is now a reality! And you can order yours NOW!
We have a limited run of 100 that we can sell, and we're almost there, so we're looking for your help to get us over the line. Jump on and grand yours now, OR share the love, and let others in our industry know about this game-changing piece of kit.
https://centrance.com/store/PASportVO-p543860783
or on the Pro Audio Suite website theproaudiosuite.com/
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
The war has officially begun. The first casualties of the VO AI war have occurred, and it's not Audio Books...
Keep an ear out, as we will be launching it shortly with a limited run of 100, and a fairly juicy prize for one lucky VO artist who opts in!
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
SSL has released a firmware upgrade for the popular SSL 2 & 2+ interfaces, but as George is installing the upgrade on AP's machine we make a discovery that is worth sharing.
We've created a survey so you can leave your mark on what will be a one-of-a-kind mic interface designed specifically for Voice Artists. We're hoping to release it later this year, and would love your thoughts on what you like and don't like about your current rig, so we can ensure the design has as wide appeal as possible. Follow the link and let us know your thoughts now. Find it on our website...
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
OK, it's here... Go get it!
Conceived during the recording of an episode of the Pro Audio Suite, inspired by your feedback, and argued about, sweated over, and tinkered with by 4 VO industry vets and one Studio gear creator, the PASport VO is now a reality! And you can order yours NOW!
We have a limited run of 100 that we can sell, and if you order yours in the first 14 days, you'll be in the running to win a bunch of the good stuff!
The first 20 orders receive a FREE travel case, while ALL orders between now and April 25 will also go into the draw to win one of These three great prizes...
1/2 an hour with George to tweak or perfect your setup, presets custom-made for you and your setup, and access to 3 of his exclusive webinars..
1/2 with Robert to set up your Source Connect, get help on your workflow of any other tech issues you might want to talk about.
A brand new Voice Over Demo, Written, Recorded, and produced with Robbo and AP...
And remember, the sooner you buy your PASport VO the more entries you get! So go grab yours NOW
https://centrance.com/store/PASportVO-p543860783
or on the Pro Audio Suite website theproaudiosuite.com/
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
VO Atlanta has wrapped up again for another year, and George was there wearing THREE hats, representing George the Tach, Trip Booth, AND The Pro Audio Suites' new interface, the PAS Port PRO. Built by Centrance, but conceptualized by The Pro Audio Suite and YOU. It's the first-ever interface designed exclusively for Voice Artists...
Keep an ear out, as we will be launching it shortly with a limited run of 100, and a fairly juicy prize for one lucky VO artist who opts in!
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
The Pro Audio Suite is putting our reputations where our mouths are and creating (in conjunction with one of the great Interface manufacturers) a brand-new interface designed specifically for Voice Actors. Simple, easy to use with all the features you would expect and need.
We've created a survey so you can leave your mark on what will be a one-of-a-kind mic interface designed specifically for Voice Artists. We're hoping to release it later this year, and would love your thoughts on what you like and don't like about your current rig, so we can ensure the design has as wide appeal as possible. Follow the link and let us know your thoughts now. Find it on our website...
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
They're the list of expectations if you want to work with a specific company. Usually quoting certain types of mics and file parameters for your audio.
Recently George came across the Netflix deliverables list, and we're scratching our heads!!
We've also created a survey so you can leave your mark on what will be a one-of-a-kind mic interface designed specifically for Voice Artists. We're hoping to release it later this year, and would love your thoughts on what you like and don't like about your current rig, so we can ensure the design has as wide appeal as possible. Follow the link and let us know your thoughts now. Find it on our website...
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
Can you use a headset to record long form Voice Over work? The advantages are numerous, but there are also a few traps... We discuss them both.
We've also created a survey so you can leave your mark on what will be a one-of-a-kind mic interface designed specifically for Voice Artists. We're hoping to release it later this year, and would love your thoughts on what you like and don't like about your current rig, so we can ensure the design has as wide appeal as possible. Follow the link and let us know your thoughts now. Find it on our website...
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
RODE has just released the NT1 5th Generation Large-Diaphragm Cardioid Condenser XLR/USB Microphone. It fuses the classic sound signature of the legendary RODE NT1 with cutting-edge, next-generation technology. It features RODE’s groundbreaking Dual Connect output, offering both XLR and USB connectivity for connecting to an audio interface, mixer or console, and other audio equipment, or directly to a computer for plug-and-play recording. It features a professional-grade audio interface built in, with RODE’s ultra-low-noise, high-gain Revolution Preamp, high-resolution (up to 192kHz) A/D conversion, and advanced digital signal processing for recording pristine, studio-quality audio. It also features a 32-bit float digital output for recording everything from a whisper to the loudest drummer with no chance of clipping* and no need to set complex gain controls. These revolutionary features complement the warm silky character, extended frequency response, extremely low self-noise, and high SPL handling that the NT1 is renowned for, making the NT1 5th Generation the ultimate studio microphone for a wide variety of recording applications.
Whilst we wait to get our hands on one to test, we discuss its possible uses, strengths and weaknesses.
We've also created a survey so you can leave your mark on what will be a one-of-a-kind mic interface designed specifically for Voice Artists. We're hoping to release it later this year, and would love your thoughts on what you like and don't like about your current rig, so we can ensure the design has as wide appeal as possible. Follow the link and let us know your thoughts now. Find it on our website...
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
A few weeks ago we did a review of the Rode NT-USB+, a very impressive USB mic from Rode. During the conversation, the guys wondered how it might hold up to the processing required to get a voice track to "cut" in a broadcast mix, and then the inevitable "on-air processing" at the transmitter.
Well whilst we can't simulate a transmitter we CAN do a broadcast mix... The results?? Well, you'll have to listen for those...
We're working on building the perfect interface exclusively for VO artists, we're fairly certain we have it nailed, but we also want to hear from you, the "working everyday" voice actors who are cursing your current interface whilst wishing for something better.
SO... we've created a survey so you can leave your mark on what will be a one-of-a-kind product that we're hoping to release late this year. Follow the link and let us know your thoughts now. Find it on our website...
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
We're working on building the perfect interface exclusively for VO artists, we're fairly certain we have it nailed, but we also want to hear from you, the "working everyday" voice actors who are cursing your current interface whilst wishing for something better.
SO... we've created a survey so you can leave your mark on what will be a one-of-a-kind product that we're hoping to release late this year. Follow the link and let us know your thoughts now..
Click Here to go to survey
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
Last year we had WAVES guru Michael "Gomez" Adams on the show to talk about their new noise reduction plugin called "Clarity". In a moment of madness, Robbo suggested that we should try recording something on a plane and seeing what Clarity could do with it.... Well... Pro Audio Suite listener and friend of the show George Nowik took us up on the offer, and recorded some dialogue on a flight across the Mid West of the US, and dent it to Robbo.
Finally this week, we got around to putting the show together, and it became more than just a chat about clarity. If you use noise reduction on the road or in your home setup, you wanna hear this one!!!
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
It's always a dilemma, you're gear is humming along nicely, everything is doing what it should, and then along comes an email asking you to update the firmware for security/any other reason and....BANG. Noting is ever the same!
So should you ALWAYS update your firmware? ANd if not, then when? Who does it best, and who is on Georges's hit list?
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
OK, so it's redundant technology, right? That ISDN box that served you so well for all those years is now just a door stop or boat anchor. Well, that's not EXACTLY true. Here's why...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
What if you could create the perfect interface for VO artists? What would it have? What wouldn't it have? And what would it look like? This week George, Robert, AP, and Robbo discuss the possibilities...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
USB mics have come a long way, and Røde has been a major player in their development.
They recently released the USB+, and we were lucky enough to receive one each to put through its paces. The results are noteworthy. Hear for yourself. To help you make up your own mind we have left George's mic unprocessed so you can hear the results for yourself.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
#rode #rodemicrophones
Yep, they're a sponsor of this podcast! Let me get that out of the way first off. BUT... They are also making some of the most groundbreaking (and in my humble opinion) some of the best Microphones and Headphones on the market today.
Austrian Audio recently released a new entry-level Mic, the OC16, so we took the opportunity to put it up against its stable mates the OC18 and OC818 to see how it stacks up...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
As an Audio Engineer, I'm constantly puzzled as to why ZOOM has any place in the recording process. Crap sound, no chance of ever syncing pictures with audio, and to top it off they expect me to pay a premium for a lousy service...
Well, Robbo has found an alternative, that delivers all the above and more...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
We had a letter from a listener asking about recording Audio Books and our thoughts on using an NTG 5 v an AT 1. Having had vast experience with both, the guys took a deep dive into the why's and wherefore's of both...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Whilst it's true you can't use source connect on your 4 or 5G device, it seems you CAN still use a hotspot to use the same networks for your source connect session.
When we spoke with Richie from Studious the other week about APs new studio computer, he mentioned that he had figured out a way to make it work. Once we had talked Robert down from a jealousy frenzy, we decided to record an episode and get Richie to lay out his workaround.
Is he on a winner according to one of Source Elements' founders and chief techs? Well, you'll have to listen to find out!!
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
One is possibly one of the most used studio interfaces on the planet. The other is strangely one of the most popular ways to connect to record Professional voiceovers outside of Hollywood. The problem is getting them to play nicely together is not as easy as you might think. Whilst Robbo is convinced the easiest solution and most professional is a copy of NEXUS, George has come up with a neat little workaround that gets you where you need to be to use both at their highest potential without the cost of extra software...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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And the FB Group here:
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For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
So after more than a week of angst, AP has finally got himself a MAC studio that almost sounds better than he does,(and is a shitload easier to deal with)!!! How did he turn it around?? Find out here!!
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
As we spoke about in the last episode, AP has taken the plunge and is swapping out his PC for a Mac. He ran into more than a few issues...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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And the FB Group here:
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For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
AP has taken the plunge and is planning on swapping out his PC for a Mac, opening up a massive can of worms! We discuss the implications..
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favour and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
What's the best way to measure the level of your audio? Is there a better metering standard to use over others? What sort of level should your audio be delivered at? The lads discuss all this and more in detail..
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favour and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
AKG used a brass capsule in their famous c414, but later turned to nylon as their preferred material, whilst today Austrian Audio is using ceramic in their capsules. So which sounds better, the team did their darnedest to compare the two..
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favour and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
IOS is the operating system for Apple smartphones and iPads. More and more consumer demand is pushing audio developers to come up with Apps that allow them to record on these devices. But many are resisting. Why?
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favour and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
So turns out (imagine that) that we're not the only Voice Over centric Podcast on the planet.
When we got an email from Leah and Nic at the VO social podcast out of the UK, asking if we'd be interested in a crossover episode we couldn't resist. Turns out we had a lot in common, and the girls are also spruiking their diary for the coming year that's full of a bunch of useful tips tricks n tools to get you sounding (and working) better!
Grab your copy of the planner here:
https://www.thevosocial.com/the-voiceover-career-planner
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favour and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
We've all had those sessions. You know, the ones where the client not only wants to direct the reads but also tell you how to use not only your voice but the mic and your gear as well.
Thing is, if there's an Engineer in the middle, that's sorta their call, after all, they're the ones who have to fix it if it ain't right at mix time. So how do you handle sticky situations like this?
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favor and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
The Auralex website says that the MAX-Wall™ "is a portable, acoustic treatment system with excellent broadband absorption, and a fairly high degree of isolation, by virtue of the thickness and density of the panels. Its NRC rating is 1.05, it comes in three primary colours, and is available in a variety of sizes. The patented, modular, interlocking design, allows for adjustable panel height and a gap-free enclosure that offers seemingly endless configuration possibilities. Each panel is 48" wide and 20″ tall, with a thickness of 4″.
What do our panel think? We let them loose on the topic...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favor and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
At around $4000 USD, the Avalon VT737 promises "a new standard to high-end audio, taking your sound to places you never thought possible and giving you precise creative control".
But do you need the box? How does Universal Audio's software version of this studio masterpiece stack up against the real thing? We aimed to find out!!!
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favor and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
When you think about Mic stands, you probably think "ahhh what's the difference!", in fact, nothing could be further from the truth! Inspired by our chat last week about SHock Mounts, we take a look at Mic Stands, and what you should think about!
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favor and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
A microphone shock mount isolates a microphone from mechanically transmitted noise. The system is very simple: a shock mount (usually an elastic suspension device) absorbs the shock of physical movement of the microphone stand or movement caused by sound waves.
When Robert discovered one that seemed to be a "hard" mount, we were intrigued, and a deep dive into shock mounts followed...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favor and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Using our experience from all sides of the mic and Studio we outline the PERFECT way to approach your next Audition. From the read to processing and deliverables. If you want to win more work, don't miss this one...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favor and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Room Size, The AMOUNT of attenuation, Mic Location, Room Location and all the other stuff you think about when building a voice booth is important, but when doing the math, there is ONE part of the equation we often forget about. What is it? Find out here...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favor and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
On the road recording and a little bit of advice when dealing with a Zoom session thrown in!!
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favor and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
When George's record days clashed for both VOBS and The Pro Audio Suite we decided "what the hell, let's do em together!". The result is a whole lotta fun, along with the usual great takeaways.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favor and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Hi pass filters have their place and can be useful when there's a need, but not all filters are made the same. When should you use them, and when should you stay away?
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favor and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
We got a listener question this week. David Gadow asked about his Pre. Should he keep it, get rid of it or... Blow it up!!
Hopefully, we helped him make the right call for him!
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favour and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Like them or loathe them, Zoom sessions are more than likely here to stay if you have any sort of home studio. So the question becomes when you do your session, should you start your camera too? After all, it's your home, surely you deserve some privacy.
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favour and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Source-Nexus Pro is an audio application router for AAX, VST and Audio Units hosts: Record remote voiceover from Source-Connect directly in Final Cut or Media Composer, playback iTunes to Pro Tools, patch Pro Tools to and from Nuendo, Logic, Reaper and more. All at the same time! The possibilities are endless as it opens an entirely new world for application integration with Pro audio users and their studio environment. You can now "patch-in" any software such as phone applications, metering, encoders, decoders, external processors, other audio workstations, video editors, and even a web page!
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favour and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
Robbo recently received a pair of Austrian Audio HiX65 open-back headphones. While he wasn't convinced at first he's now a convert to mixing (or at least checking a mix) in an enclosed environment. In this episode we discuss the possible pit falls and overwhelming positives that can come from using headphones for at least part of your mix.. A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favour and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth... https://tribooth.com/ And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear.. https://austrian.audio/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD Join our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast And the FB Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203 For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson
We've all been there! The first time you have to put together a collection of your reads to come up with the mythical demo!!
What's more important? Read or Quality? Should you pay someone to do it for you? What about the order of reads? Does that matter?
In this episode Robbo, AP, George and Robert dive in and give you their unique perspectives on the best way to get the right results...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favour and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
We've all been there! The first time you have to put together a collection of your reads to come up with the mythical demo!!
What's more important? Read or Quality? Should you pay someone to do it for you? What about the order of reads? Does that matter?
In this episode Robbo, AP, George and Robert dive in and give you their unique perspectives on the best way to get the right results...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favour and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
Broken Chord composes and designs music and sound for theatre, film, and dance. If you've ever wondered how audio works behind the scenes of a major on-stage production, this is for you! A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favour and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth... https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
A little silly, but AP wondered if there was a "uniform" for voice artists. We all got on the bandwagon and well... If you know and love the show, you'll know where this is going...
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favour and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert and AP sent you"...
As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
In a studio situation, about 50% relative humidity is considered ideal for gear and instruments and comfortable for humans. 40% relative humidity is ideal for storing magnetic tapes. But how do you maintain that in a small home studio?
And what about dust? It's the nemesis of ALL gear, computers, Pre's, you name it. So what can you do about that, whilst maintaining a space that's as quiet as possible?
This week, the team take a stab at answering these questions, and, as usual, a little bit more!!
A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a favour and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert and AP sent you"...
As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..
https://austrian.audio/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
Following the closure of the AKG offices in Vienna, a bunch of Ex-Employees set out to create something new, challenging, and respectful to their heritage, and Austrian Audio was born.
They may be relatively new, but the skill, knowledge, and tradition live on at Austrian Audio, backed by over 350 years of cumulative engineering experience. The product is quite simply stunning, and this week we unbox a few of their products to take a closer look (and listen)...
P.S. They're also the newest sponsors of our show..
A big shout out to our other sponsors, Tri Booth. As a part of their generous support of our show, they're offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
Graphics cards have unrivalled computing power, networkability and scalability that has, until now, been a pipe dream for audio applications. However, a groundbreaking new company in the Audio Processing lane has managed to harness its power, and accelerate audio manipulation for audio producers, voice over artists and music producers alike, without the need for expensive, walled-garden DSP hardware.
Jonathon Rowden joins us from the hub of this new business and gives us the lowdown..
A big shout out to our sponsors Tri Booth. As a part of their generous support of our show, they're offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
Getting the best out of your room should be your priority no matter where you land on the Voice Over Tree. However the price of professional help can be prohibitive, so what can you do for just a few bucks that will drastically change up the quality of the recordings you're delivering?
Here's the picture of AP's "outer booth" we talk about!
A big shout out to our sponsors Tri Booth. As a part of their generous support of our show, they're offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
We got a question from a listener that was so 'left field' we felt challenged to answer it!
A big shout out to our sponsors Tri Booth. As a part of their generous support of our show, they're offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
There are a few things that we've had our eye on for a while. This week we take 'em for a road test...
AP's in the Tri Booth in Byron Bay, Robbo has a hold of the New Presonus Go (their answer to Rode's AI1), Robert has his hands on a Rodecaster, and George... well... you'll have to listen to find out!
A big shout out to our sponsors Tri Booth. As a part of their generous support of our show, they're offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
WAVES have made a big move into the Noise Reduction market with two new products, Clarity VX and Clarity VX Pro.
AEx Radio buddy of Robbo & AP and Friend of the show Michael Pearson Adams (better known as Gomez), joins us to geek out over the AI that's gone into the software, talk about its features and breakdown the difference between the two versions.
A big shout out to our sponsors Tri Booth. As a part of their generous support of our show, they're offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
The RD4 from Centrance is a new Portable Mixer, Recorder and USB-C Audio Interface for Voice over and other recordings. George got his hands on one to review, and we put it through its paces... A big shout out to our sponsors Tri Booth. As a part of their generous support of our show, they're offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
Zoom has released the F3, a 2 channel recorder aimed at the videographer or VO artist who are required to record things with a large dynamic range. It also implies that setting correct levels is a thing of the past...
But Robert has a few issues, surprise surprise, but what's the consensus?
See what you think here..
https://australianmusician.com.au/zoom-f3-professional-field-recorder/
A big shout out to our sponsors Tri Booth. As a part of their generous support of our show, they're offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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And the FB Group here:
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For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
Pip Atherstone-Reid is the owner of WIndmill Audio in Melbourne. He posed a few Source Connect questions to Andrew, who in turn decided to turn it into a show. If you've got some of your own, let us know...
A big shout out to our sponsors Tri Booth. As a part of their generous support of our show, they're offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
Universal Audio has come out swinging, taking a swipe at Sure's podcasting (and Broadcast) favourite the SM7. The SD-1 is clearly designed to be as close as it can to the original thing. But does it hold up?
A big shout out to our sponsors Tri Booth. As a part of their generous support of our show, they're offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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And the FB Group here:
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For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
George has his hands on a "Yellowtec Puc2 Mic LEA" and we dive into the Self Levelling abilities of this revolutionary Pre...
You can investigate more yourself here..
https://shop.yellowtec.com/collections/puc2/products/puc2-mic-lea
A big shout out to our sponsors Tri Booth. As a part of their generous support of our show, they're offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
John Davenport (a regular listener to the show) got in touch with us and posed a question that's well worth considering the next time you are upgrading your studio...
A big shout out t our sponsors Tri Booth. As a part of their generous support of our show, they're offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
What started out as a discussion about the best way to format your audition, became a bit of an insight into how the other end approach Auditioning the Auditions. What makes the studio or casting director turn off? What might be the technical differences between getting and NOT getting the job, even if you DO have the best read? And why do Robbo and Robert disagree on one very big point?
A big shout out t our sponsors Tri Booth. As a part of their generous support of our show, they're offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
You spend a small fortune on your mic and your pre, but what about that piece of shielded metal that connects the two. Does the price make a difference? Is making your own necessarily better than buying one? If you buy one what should you look for?
This weeks show deep dives into the world of cables, hopefully, we shed some light on what and what NOT to do!!
A big shout out t our sponsors Tri Booth. As a part of their generous support of our show, they're offering $200 off a brand new booth when you use the code PAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...
https://tribooth.com/
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
We have heard a few horror stories recently of clients insisting that voice-over artists have a particular piece of gear/software in their studio, regardless of whether or not it is necessary.
Should a client dictate what you have in your room? Where do you draw the line?
We get into the nitty-gritty and tell a few tales along the way!
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
.
So the other day we get this excitied email from George. "I've got a topic for the show, let's play 'Guess the mic'"!!
He went on to tell us about his client who had just purchased a mic that was under $500, but that we would never guess what it was. While we did manage to guess, it certainly wasn't the mic that ANYONE expected. Can you guess what it was??
We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
.
Sometimes the hardest thing to get your head around when you're contemplating building a home studio is just WHERE to put it? In the house, or a dedicated space somewhere else. Do you BUILD a Space or use an existing one? We had an email from a long time listener towards the end of last year regarding this, so we decided to turn it into an episode.
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
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“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
.
Towards the end of last year, Source Elements launched online training courses for their Source Connect Standard, Source Connect Pro and Source Connect Pro X products.
Andrew, George and Robbo have taken the Source Connect Standard course and compared notes on things they had learned, what they thought of the course and more.
Plus, in their usual way got sidetracked onto online courses that AREN'T particularly as trustworthy as others.
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
.
If you haven't heard of Mary Lynn Wissner, you had better get Googling. She's at the top of the heap of Voice Casting Agents in the US, and this week she's back on the Pro Audio Suite.
She's back to make some noise about something she's been hearing in too many Auditions lately and it's something that makes her reach for the "NEXT" button every time. Plus she spills the beans on a relative treasure trove of things that keep her interest going and make her more likely to stamp your file with a "YES"...
If you're casting for a big job any time soon, or if you just want to convert more AUditions to paying jobs, this episode is a MUST!
With the Black Friday sales recently done for another year, we compare purchases and discuss how we might set them up and use them in our day to day workflow.
Plus in our usual way, we go down a whole other rabbit hole on a bunch of other subjects...
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
.
With the Black Friday sales recently done for another year, we compare purchases and discuss how we might set them up and use them in our day to day workflow.
Plus in our usual way, we go down a whole other rabbit hole on a bunch of other subjects...
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
If Audio interfaces are on your Christmas list, here's a thought-starter for Santa....
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
It's the age-old argument, and this week we do our best to settle it once and for all... Do you agree with our conclusion?
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
According to Wikipedia, Room modes are the collection of resonances that exist in a room when the room is excited by an acoustic source such as a loudspeaker. Most rooms have their fundamental resonances in the 20 Hz to 200 Hz region, each frequency being related to one or more of the room's dimensions or a divisor thereof. These resonances affect the low-frequency low-mid-frequency response of a sound system in the room and are one of the biggest obstacles to accurate sound reproduction.
In this episode, we use AP's new Tri Booth to show examples and talk about ways of dealing with these pesky frequencies...
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Microphone placement is critically important to acoustic quality during live performances and recordings. Microphone placement alone contributes to around 20% of the overall sound while the person, instrument, setting, and microphone choice contributes to around 50%, 20%, and 10% of the overall sound respectively.
In this episode, we take a look at different ways to get it right..
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
More than a USB microphone, Revelator features compressors and EQs modelled on world-class analogue processors. An independent reverb bus lets you add just the right amount of shimmer to your sound, and two stereo loopback channels make it easy to add backing tracks and more. Revelator is the ultimate microphone for streaming and for recording solo musicians. This week we take a closer look...
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
SO after a week from hell, Robbo reflected on some of what he had put a VO buddy of his through in terms of late scripts and "extra" sessions. Whilst his mate was happy to oblige, what happens when you don't have a relationship with the artist, and you are asking for more than was originally agreed to. Where do you draw the line?
Find Paul on LinkedIn.. https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-pittioni-73058b3b/?originalSubdomain=au
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The blurb on the website promises the following when it comes to the Tri-Booth..
"The Tri-Booth is ideal for recording artists who need an affordable professional home/mobile studio for auditions and broadcast. You provide the mic, interface, computer, a quiet space and the talent, we provide the rest. The entire unit packs down into its large duffel bag for storage or light travel."
But does it stack up? AP has his hands on one and does this weeks episode from inside as George, Robert and Robbo dissect what they're hearing...
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
SO... Monitoring... Active and Passive... What's the difference? What's the best/most cost-effective way to go? This week a question about powered speakers leads us down a rabbit hole on all things monitoring.
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
This week we answer a question about Phantom Power. SHould it stay on?
True to form we manage to cover the whole gamut of the Phantom Power ins and outs...
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
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For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
We wring our hands and tap our fingers when it comes to making a decision on the Mic we are about to spend a large chunk of cash on for our studio. But when it comes to the Mic Pre, we sometimes don't spend as much time procrastinating.
Truth is, a pre can colour the sound of your audio more than the mic. In this episode, we check out a few pre's and the way they taint the mics "clean" sound. We talk about how to set one up, and what you should be listening for when shopping for your next one..
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Mp3, it's a contentious file format. Some believe (radio stations mostly) that it can be used as a professional format, while others assert that it's only a delivery format.
This week we take a look at mp3. What is it? How does it work, and exactly what information is lost when it "compresses" the audio... We also discuss when it's appropriate to use it, and when you should most likely stick to a more lossless format.
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Robbo recently received a file from a "Talent" that was full of digital clicking and popping. It's one of those things that can happen in the digital domain from time to time, and it can also be hard to track down.
In this episode Robbo, Robert and AP chat about some of the more common causes and what you can do to avoid/rescue the situation.
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The UN recently warned that Stabilizing the climate will require strong, rapid, and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and reaching net-zero CO2 emissions. They also added that if we can not achieve some of these goals in the next 5 years, reducing the impacts of our changing climate may be irreversible.
So this week we ask, what can the Audio fraternity do to assist the cause?
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Everyone wants a great sounding room, but no one wants to spend more on a studio than they need to. So where's the balance?
CJ Ringwall sent us a video of his setup after listening to our recent episode with Nick O'Rourke and Christa Lewis. It's a room that he built himself, and is justifiably proud of. With George sidelined for a week, Robert, Robbo and AP took the opportunity to discuss how the "biggest and most expensive" ain't always the benchmark when building a room.
See CJ's video here..
https://www.facebook.com/CarlRingwall/videos/224575853011645
And Listen to the ep with Nick and Christa here..
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/podcast/episode/2a61f867/how-to-build-the-perfect-home-studio
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
AP makes no secret of the fact that he loves his OC818 from Austrian Audio, and I have to agree that it is a beautiful match to his warm tones. But at $1200 USD it's not exactly a bargain.
So what about its little brother the OC18 ($850)? Not quite as many bells and whistles, but is it even in the same league? AP has one in his hot little hands so we aim to find out.
Also while we were on all things Austrian Audio, we thought we'd throw him in a pair of their new HI-X65's open-back headphones and see what he thought...
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
If you've ever built a studio at home, you know that it's not as easy as it seems. There are so many expenses, and (to be honest) choices to be made.
In this episode, we talk to two hard-working Voice Actors who have great home setups, and deep dive into whats worked for them, what hasn't, and what they could probably have done without.
What follows is a fairly definitive "How To" episode for what to do right and what not to do when you're planning and building a new room or rooms.
Nicks booth:
Christa's Room:
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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And the FB Group here:
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For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
AT & T has just announced they will be closing their ISDN network from June 1 2023, and many other major players are already winding down services. Australia has already lost their network and the UK closes in the next few years.
Given the ISDN is the lifeblood of a home studio, what's the next big thing? And more importantly what are your choices? In this episode, Robert, George, Robbo and Andrew take a look at what's out there and what's coming. George even gives you the lowdown on how to build your own "ISDN" box with a mac mini. And Robert explains why your ISDN box may struggle to connect already!
If you rely on your ISDN box to make a living, don't miss this one!
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
So you've got a script that involves a bit of close mic work and some really brash and loud dialogue. How should you tame those nasty peaks but at the same time maintain a good level for the softer bits without compression?
Plus we dive into the mailbag, and things get very silly...
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn hopefully help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here.. https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
There are a bunch of them out there, clones of some of your favourite mics. You can buy them online as a kit or straight from the designer. But do they stack up to the real deal, and are they worth the $? This week we take a look!
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
In the Southern Hemisphere, it's that time of year, flu season. While he hasn't got COVID, AP does have the dreaded Flu, and his voice is paying the price. But it could be allergies, a simple cold, you name it. Snotty and sinusy, it sounds like there's a bunch of cotton wool balls shoved up your nose. Is there anything you can do to save it, or is it just a case of suck it up and get on with it?
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The mic chart! If you're looking for a new mic (or even your first) the one thing that might point you in the direction of a mic or two that's worth auditioning for your voice is the frequency response chart. But what do they show? How do you know what sound that will translate to when you get behind it? And what should you be looking for in the first place?
This week, George, Robert and AP take a look at the ins and outs (or should that be ups and downs?) of mic charts, and try to arm you with the knowledge that will get you shopping for just the right gear!
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
There seemed to be some confusion on a recent Social Media post regarding the upgrade path for Source Connect on PC. Given that Source Elements are mothballing some of the older versions (15 years or older) of their popular software, some users are needing to upgrade to the current version.
Given that 3.9 is not available for PC, and version 4 is just around the corner, there has been some confusion amongst PC users as to how they should upgrade.
Robert took the opportunity to straighten it all out and set the record straight...
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
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And the FB Group here:
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For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Every week we use audio terms and technical phrases that can go over some people's heads. Especially if you're new, or just not so technically minded. So this week, thanks to a letter from Bob Leedom, we take a look at a few of the more common ones and what they mean.
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The Acousta LE03 is a high-resolution audio interface designed and made in Austria by Innovative Audio. What’s impressive is that the two Mic inputs are built with high-quality ADCs (Analog-to-digital converters) with a dynamic range of 160dB from noise floor to full scale. Meanwhile, the monitoring is courtesy of a Class-D headphone driver and high-quality DAC (Digital to Analog converter), so the sound you monitor is more accurate than ever.
It's ideal for Voice Artists and producers who want a high-quality audio interface that they can take on the road, all the way up to the engineer who wants a second audio interface, making use of its high-quality analog-to-digital converters.
This week Robert and Robbo unpack the LE03 and talk through some of the features. At $1700 odd USD, it's not going to be for everyone, but if you're looking for a small, portable interface with all the Big studio specs, this may well be for you... Either way, it's definitely a piece of kit you're gonna want to know about..
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Interfaces are super easy to use, but mixers give you more flexibility when it comes to routing audio around your studio. So what's best, in what circumstances? This week we investigate your options...
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Everyone has their preference for headphones. Open, closed, in ears, and some you may never have heard of. We opened this episode with the intent of discussing just Open v Closed, but in the usual Pro Audio Suite tradition, the conversation ends up a lot deeper...
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
From treatment on the walls to computer monitors, iPads, and more. What is necessary and what is optional in your booth if you really want to be prepared for what may come at you from the other end of the line during a session?
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
So you jump in the booth at home, and with the client on the line, lay down a bunch of takes. Then, down the line, you hear them say, "we haven't been recording here, could you cut takes 2 and 6 together, with the third paragraph from take 12?"...
Is this a reasonable request? After all, you're just the voice guy, right? Of what about playback in general. Is that something that's reasonably expected of you, or should they have the facility to playback their own audio?
Well, this week we bounce it around and come up with our own answers. See if you agree...
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Diffusion and Absobtion. Both completely legitimate ways to treat your room and booth, but which one is better, and most importantly, which one should you be using?
This week, Robbo, George, Robert, and AP break down the ins and outs of each technique and chat about how and where you may want to use them. Plus ways to achieve both on a budget..
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
We all love the smell of a new car, but did you know it's actually a nasty gas that creates that new car whiff?? Well, it's the same with studio foam, and if that's not enough, what those same particles of foam can do if they get into your lungs as they degrade is even scarier.
This week we take a look around a typical recording studio and sniff out the potential health hazards..
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
In the early 1920s, Drs. Walter H. Schottky and Erwin Gerlach co-invented the first ribbon microphone. By turning the ribbon circuit in the opposite direction, they also invented the first ribbon loudspeaker.
This week we take a look at how far this technology has come in terms of fidelity and reliability.
Andrew has got his hands on the Sure KSM353, and George pulls out an old "Lip Mic" for a listen. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Glass, Robbo takes the Ribbon Tweeters in Adam Audio's A7x studio monitors for a run.
Here are the details:
Coles Lip Mic..
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/356414-REG/Coles_Microphones_4104B_4104B_Lip_Microphone.html
Sure KSM353:
https://www.shure.com/en-US/products/microphones/ksm353
Adam Audio A7x:
https://www.adam-audio.com/en/ax-series/a7x/
Thanks for the gear to play with in this episode go to:
Jandz (SM7b and KSM 353):
https://www.jands.com.au/
Federal Audio (A7x):
https://federalaudio.com.au/
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Just a few weeks ago on the show, we broached the subject of VOICE AI and the legal predicament it presents in terms of protecting your voice.
Well, it didn't take long for things to come to a head. Just this week (May 2021) Canadian Voice Actor Bev Standing launched legal action against global Social Media giant Tik Tok, claiming they have used sound files that she recorded for another job without her permission and without compensation to create an artificial voice that can be used on their site for virtually any purpose.
To get you the inside scoop on the background to this case, and talk about the ramifications any decisions may have on the future of this industry, we got hold of Bev's lawyer (and Voice Actor in his own right) Robert Sciglimpaglia for a chat.
Here's the link to the "Go Fund Me" page set up by fellow Voice artist Maria Pendolino:
https://gofund.me/c1dbbf20
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Thanks to your feedback on our recent poll, we've begun planning more episodes that feature gear, gear setups, and room tuning tips n tricks.
The first cab off the rank is this week's episode. We asked each of our panel members to come up with something new that they have been playing with over the past few weeks. And what we got was a great diversity of NEWNESS...
George looks at some software for your RODE USB Mini, Robbo shines the light on a plugin from OEK SOUND, AP has a brand new mic to play with, and Robert talks NEXUS for WIndows and reviews the ACOUSTA LE3 mic interface. A pocket-sized Mic Pre with a rack-sized sound. Plus just for good measure, George finishes off with some noise reduction software that seems to have the goods, and Robert has a great alternative to running large spools of audio cable through the walls of your house....
Here are the links:
Soothe 2:
https://oeksound.com/plugins/soothe2/
RODE Connect:
https://www.rode.com/software/rode-connect
Sure SM7b
https://www.jands.com.au/brands/shure/shure-microphones/sm-series/microphone-dynamic-lo-z-broadcast-voice-over-cardioid-switchable-response
Source Nexus
https://www.source-elements.com/products/source-nexus/
Acousta LE 3
https://en.acousta.at/
Bertom De Noiser
https://www.bertomaudio.com/denoiser.html
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here.
@rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD
Join our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast
And the FB Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203
For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website
https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
They're thought of as "The Dark Side" of Audio, long hours behind the mic for some, and hours of painstaking editing on the other side of the glass. This week we speak with Simone Feiler (Brisbane Audio Books Owner/Engineer) and Scott Brick, Audio Book Voice Artist with a stack of credentials.
We take a dive down the rabbit hole of questions about this little know artform and have a few laughs along the way. Don't miss the little surprise stashed away at the end...
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
"The NT-USB Mini brings the pristine sound quality of RØDE’s world-class studio mics to a compact, easy-to-use USB microphone. Designed to deliver crystal-clear, professional-quality audio direct to a computer or tablet, it’s the perfect microphone for gamers, podcasters, musicians, streamers, and content creators who want to be heard in full definition.''
That's what RODE have to say about their mini USB mic on their website. But are they right?? Robbo, George, and AP get to business finding out!
Other than some light compression and the mastering chain, no other processing has been added to AP's recording straight off the USB Mini...
You can see more about the mic (and the rest of RODE's goodies) here..
https://www.rode.com/microphones/usb/nt-usb-mini
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
In past episodes, we have discussed the broader consequences of Voice Over AI.
Bob Bergen talked about the union's position, Tony Bellette discussed the repercussions of selling your voice, and on more than one occasion we have had a discussion around 'owning your voice". And for us, that's what a lot of this comes down to. Can you OWN your voice? What rights do you have, and can anyone just make a sample and use it for their own purposes?
Well this week, we get some definitive answers! Stuart Green is an Australian Trade Mark lawyer, and he joins us to give us the lowdown on most of the above. TBH some of his answers sound a warning bell for both the industry and its workers! DON'T MISS THIS!!
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
If you follow our show, you will absolutely know who Bill Drescher is. 50 Years behind the console at studios like Sound City, A & M and many others make him a household name in the Music Biz.
In Part two of our interview with Bill, we look back at the later part of his career, and Charles Manson, Drum Mic Setups, His Vocal Chain setup, tips and tricks, and a whole lot more... The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
If you follow our show, you will absolutely know who Bill Drescher is. 50 Years behind the console at studios like Sound City, A & M and many others make him a household name in the Music Biz.
In Part One of our interview with Bill, we look back at the early years of his career. The building of the Sound City legend, his production/engineering work with the likes of Neil Young, Barry Manilow, Rick Springfield, INXS, and (believe it or not) Evil Knievel. We also touch on some great stories from the early years of an amazing career... The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Last week we featured Brad Newman (upper-level CRM owner and founder)and spoke in broad terms about marketing for Media people. This week we get down to the nitty-gritty of what to post and when...
Find out more about Brad below..
Brad's VoiceOver website.. bradnewman.com/
Voice Actor website hosting .. voiceactorwebsites.com/services/web-hosting/
Upper-Level CRM.. upperlevelcrm.com/
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Brad Newmann is a "Jack of all trades". He's a voice artist, post-production studio owner, and also heads up a marketing company aimed at voice-over and audio peeps...
This week Brad joins us to talk about Marketing for the Voice Over industry. What are we doing wrong, what are the ways of getting it right?? And everything in-between.
Oh and don't worry we couldn't let him go without geeking out over gear and studios for a little while as well!
Find out more about Brad below..
Brad's VoiceOver website.. bradnewman.com/
Voice Actor website hosting .. voiceactorwebsites.com/services/web-hosting/
Upper-Level CRM.. upperlevelcrm.com/
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
FLAC is an audio coding format for lossless compression of digital audio. But should you use it as a delivery format for your clients? Is it really lossless? We dive into the topic...
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Imaging Blueprint has released some audio plugins designed for radio imaging and created with radio producers & voiceovers in mind.
The suite of plugins in ‘The Construction Series’ comprises the Construction Compressor, Construction Limiter, and Construction EQ. We asked the boys to take a minute and jump on the show to give us the lowdown behind their conception, construction and uses!!
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
AI voice farmers are actively recruiting unsuspecting voice talent to be the guinea pigs for their Voice Emulation software that they are rolling out. While a nice check upfront may pay this months rent, and put some petrol in the car, what are the ongoing consequences that they DON'T tell you about. Robbo and AP are joined by Aussie Voice Over Industry veteran (and all-round nice guy) Tony Bellette to discuss the pitfalls of handing your signature sound over to someone else... The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Legendary Pioneer of the Audio Recording biz Rupert Neve passed away recently, so in tribute to the man and his work, we decided to get hold of a couple of Musicians/Engineers who had worked on his gear, and pick their brains about what made them so great. Bill Drescher was one of the Engineers at the legendary Sound City studios and has recorded on a bunch of other Neve consoles. And Graeme Buzz Bidstrup is an Australian musician, songwriter, and music producer. Both have a love affair with Neve consoles, and Buzz actually owned one of his own for many years. If you love Neve gear, or if you just love great-sounding audio, this is an episode you don't want to miss.. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Dan Brumm rejoins us for this week's quick bite, as we get into a conversation around a Superbowl Ad from the other week, in particular the mix. Did they mix it like that on purpose? Was there "client issues" to contend with? Or was the voice not processed enough by the voice talent?
## RANT ALERT ##
This show may well be remembered not so much for the content (although you NEED to hear it) but for Robbo's Rant. We hit a sensitive spot, and Robbo lets em have it with both guns blazing!! Is he right? We want to know your thoughts..
Here's a link to the spot we are talking about..
https://www.usatoday.com/videos/sports/Ad-Meter/2021/02/08/t-mobiles-super-bowl-ad-star-studded-flag-football-game/4431632001/
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
For over 12 years Dann Brumm has been voicing content for Australian and International markets.
For the last 2, he's been Voicing "Uncle Stripe" on "Bluey" an Australian Cartoon series that features the adventures of an Australian Blue Heeler Cattle Dog puppy as she has fun with her family and friends. He is also the series Sound designer and Mixer.
It is aired all over the globe, and is the most-watched program in the history of ABC iview, with series one surpassing 241 million program plays since its launch in 2018.
In this week's show, we get to know Dann, his background, a how he got his start in Audio and how that Audio Gig turned into a career in voice-over.
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
When it comes to voicing animated characters for TV and Film, there's not much Bob Bergen hasn't done. He is the current voice of the animated character Porky Pig and has also voiced Marvin the Martian, Tweety, Sylvester Jr., and Speedy Gonzales.
He's been the voice of Luke Skywalker in countless video games, has had Character roles in Toy Story 2, Space Jam, Finding Nemo, Antz, as well as parts in many...many more feature films.
This week we sat down with Bob to talk about his plan to change the SAG/AFTRA model to better reflect today's voiceover landscape. It's currently a complicated web of red tape and outdated systems, and Bob is on the campaign trail to not only change all that but open it up to a wider membership base.
We deep dive into the issues that brought about his opinion that things need to change, and chat about his proposal to bring this White Elephant kicking and screaming into the current day!
You can also sign his petition here!
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
"You get what you pay for" is the old adage my mother always threw at me when I was a kid. And back then it was probably very true. But is it applicable today? And more importantly (to this podcast anyway) does it apply to Audio gear? Robbo, AP, George... Discuss!!
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Been away over the Christmas/New Year break? Frustrated with your travel set up? Well, this week we answer all your questions about the what and more importantly "how" to get the best sound from your portable voice over studio.. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Toward the end of last year, we had a listener send us an email asking what we considered to be the best mic for voice over use under $100 USD. After much deliberation, and it should be said conflicting opinions, we have come up with our list here. See what you think.. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Hot on the back of last weeks conversation around the way things might look in 2021, we take a look at what's coming our way gear-wise...Who loves shopping on Sweetwater?? The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The devil (aka 2020) is gone. But what does the new year hold in store?? The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
There is a quote from Hunter S. Thompson that says... “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”
You could argue he was actually taking a look back at 2020, so this week, and to wrap up the year... we did.. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Your voice is your own right?
Or is it?
In this weeks episode, we investigate the voice synthesis software that is already out there. How are they generating these voices? Is voice farming really a thing? Who can you trust, and where can you turn if you believe you're being ripped off?
Bobby Owsinski joins us for this peek into the future (which is already here). But are we ready for it legally and ethically?
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
It's Murphy's Law. You've got the big session (voice-over or STudio) and you go to boot up/set up and something doesn't work. Or worse still, you finish the job, and your hard drive packs it in... What's your plan B?
In this week's quick bite, we discuss the myriad of ways you can protect your most valuable asset... YOUR WORK... Don't lose that job because something chose the exact moment you were meant to be working to pack it in... Robbo, Andrew, George and Robert share their back up plans for everything from Power Supply, to DAW to interfaces and Data...
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Source-RTL is a very simple RTS-enabled (Remote Transport Sync) application that allows for remote Voice Recording to picture. This in itself is nothing new, but when you consider that the Talents end requires nothing more than a Source Connect connection, and a computer screen, the innovations become more obvious.
In this episode, Rober Marshall details how it works, and runs through both the Voice Talent and Engineers workflows. If you're anything like me, you'll be fascinated by the possibilities and the groundbreaking technology...
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
When we finished our chat with Des last week we were talking off-air about great broadcast mics. And the Sure SM7b raised its head. Des is a huge fan, so we figured while we had him we would record a quick bit on this versatile mic. What we got was an in-depth look at why Des loves this mic (and rightfully so) and as is our usual way, we strayed onto the topic of digital radio, and how to tune a radio station. These last two topics may sound useless to you, but next time you want to understand what your room sounds like in the real world, these are some tips and tricks that will get you there!! The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
When you talk about pedigree, Des Decean is the antipathies when it comes to building Radio studios...
Des is one of Australia’s most qualified and respected engineers. He has been instrumental in the introduction and launch of Digital Radio in Australia, and back in 1980, Des was the very first employee of Austereo when commercial FM radio was first launched in Australia.
As chief engineer, Des built SA FM in Adelaide into one of Australia’s first FM stations. He was a member of the Acquisition Team when Austereo acquired Fox, B105, 2DAY FM and the Triple M network. With the merger of the Triple M and Austereo networks, Des project managed the simultaneous relocation of Triple M Adelaide, Triple M Melbourne and 2DAY FM Sydney studios.
In 1988, Des was appointed to the first Ministerial Committee on Digital Radio as the representative for Commercial Radio Australia and he was inducted into the Australian Radio Hall of Fame in 2009.
So when we wanted to do a show on Room ratios, and building challenging rooms in general, where did we turn? Where else...
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Colin Day is a UK Audio Engineer, and (along with his wife) a successful VO artist. This week we received a question from Colin asking about recording and processing female voice overs. So considering we still had Gomez from WAVES on the line, we thought what better time to cover off the topic... The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Steve Balbi has been in the music biz for a long time and played at the highest level. Success in his homeland of Australia with 80s juggernaut "Noiseworks", international success with "The Electric Hippies", and now a new solo album that he recorded in his bedroom. All this led us to Steve, and given the fact he's just completed the build of his first home studio, we had to catch up and talk about recording at home in general. Just wait till you hear how he devised himself an amp room, then ask yourself, what noises do I want to hide in my studio, and where could I stick them? Find out more about Steve here And download the album here And Don't forget your T-SHirt here The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Gomez (AKA Michael Pearson-Adams or MPA) is the Director of Training and Development at Waves. An old friend of Robbo's (And The Show) he's given us the first look at Waves latest offering. And it's an episode that turns into a WAVES Masterclass on some of their biggest and most popular sellers. With the entire panel wading in with their favourites and some inside scoops on uses and setups, you're bound to have a notepad full of new ideas from this ep...
Find out more about Waves v12 here...
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
What's the best practice when it comes to delivering your completed audio. What levels? ANd what delivery platform. We're joined by Brisvegas Voice Over veteran Sharyn Doolan as we dive into the subject, and come up with some fairly unanimous findings... You can find out more about Sharyn here... The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The SSL 2 is here, and AP couldn't resist the temptation to get his hands on one. In this episode, we dive deep into SSL's foray into USB interfaces. And in our ears anyway, it's a winner. For the tech nerds, here's the manufacturer's blurb...
SSL 2 is more than just an audio interface, it's the centre of your new Solid State Logic studio. Class-leading mic preamps, Legacy 4K analogue enhancement, studio-quality monitoring and the incredible SSL Production Pack software bundle. SSL have been designing cutting-edge mixing consoles and processing tools for the world's finest recording studios for over four decades. Now you get all that hit-making know-how in your own personal studio.
The SSL 2 features SSL's class leading mic preamps, with the best noise performance (-130.5 dB EIN) and a huge gain range of 62dB! The secret sauce for sonic magic comes in the form of SSL's Legacy 4K analogue enhancement, an all-analogue enhancement effect, inspired by the character of the legendary 4000-series console. On top of that you also receive the SSL production pack, which includes an exclusive collection of the industry's finest DAWs, Virtual Instruments, Plug-ins, Samples and Loops. On the hardware side, the SSL 2 gives you studio-grade monitor outputs, a high-current output headphone amp, AKM converters, Alps pots and Neutrik connectors. The SSL 2 is also USB bus-powered for greater convenience.
Features * 2-In / 2-Out USB Audio Interface * 2 x SSL-designed microphone preamps with unrivalled noise performance and gain range for a USB-powered device * Legacy 4K - analogue colour enhancement for any input source, inspired by classic SSL consoles * Professional, high-current grade headphone output, with plenty of power * 24-bit / 192 kHz AD/DA AKM Converters - capture and hear all the detail of your creations * Easy-to-use Monitor Mix Control for critical low-latency monitoring tasks * Balanced monitor outputs, with stunning dynamic range * USB 2.0, bus-powered audio interface for Mac/PC - no power supply required
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
It's out, and it comes with a bunch of "sexy" updates. In this episode, George, Robbo and Andrew talk through the new stuff that's gonna rock your world. Don't miss out, and download it now!! The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
We love your feedback on the show itself, and comments and questions you send us through Facebook and the website. So whilst we have answered most of these privately, we figured if there's one person asking the question, law of averages says there's a bunch more out there who have the same question, so we figured we'd answer them on the show. Thanks to all those who have been in touch, we love hearing your thoughts on the show. Keep em coming. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
It's a skill no matter what side of the glass you are on Directing (or taking direction) is something you need to work at. In this quick bite, we get into the nitty-gritty of it. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
If I told you Alistair Lee loves to drive cars, rebuild engines, play a number of different instruments, and turn his own home studio with a client list that would be the envy of most, you'd probably have a picture in your head of a wildly successful guy, living life to the full! And you'd be, right! But would you believe he's blind? Well he is and in this episode, we dig deep into his background, how he manages to do all he does, and chat with his studio designer Richie
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
If I told you Alistair Lee loves to drive cars, rebuild engines, play a number of different instruments, and turn his own home studio with a client list that would be the envy of most, you'd probably have a picture in your head of a wildly successful guy, living life to the full! And you'd be, right! But would you believe he's blind? Well, he is and in this episode, we dig deep into his background, how he manages to do all he does, and chat with his studio designer Richie Allum and Michael Williams.
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Bobby Owsinski is an American audio engineer, producer, musician, public speaker and author based in Los Angeles, California.
His books include the Recording Engineer's Handbook, The Studio Builders Handbook, deconstructed hits and many others.
This week he joins us to talk about all things audio. From bit rates to recording chains and moe. It's a fascinating chat that will have you taking page after page of notes..
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The U87. No doubt it's a great Mic, but why do some agents and clients insist that talent get one for their home studio setup. There are many variables that can affect its performance, and in this episode, (with the assistance of the great Bobby Owsinski)
we debunk some myths and attempt to provide some sort of answer as to WHY some people believe this is the ONLY real VO mic... The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
In this episode, we are joined by one of the most experienced voice over casting directors Mary Lynn Wissner. Mary Lynn’s career started as an actor working on camera but soon shifted to an agency working with the legendary Don Pitts. 30 years ago almost to the day, Mary Lynn set up her own business ‘Voices Voice Casting’ which soon became the go-to for many major clients in commercial, film and animation.
In part two of our interview, we discuss the changes that have happened over the last 30 years, AI, home studios, opinion v science, demos, the BS factor and what the business may look like post-Covid.
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
In this episode, we are joined by one of the most experienced voice over casting directors Mary Lynn Wissner. Mary Lynn’s career started as an actor working on camera but soon shifted to an agency working with the legendary Don Pitts. 30 years ago almost to the day, Mary Lynn set up her own business ‘Voices Voice Casting’ which soon became the go-to for many major clients in commercial, film and animation.
We cover a lot of ground in this interview from Orson Wells, casting pre-internet, audio quality to budgets and adlib.
T he Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Not quite a "Desert Island Mic" episode/ We take a look at Mics in each category, Large/Small Diaphram, Condenser Ribbon, and Shotgun, and pick our favorites. If you're just setting up your home studio, or are thinking about having a cull of some of the Mics on your shelves, this is a not to be missed episode. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Like it or not, AI voices are here to stay, and we're only just seeing the beginning of their potential. But what will be the initial impact of these services as word begins to spread of their existence? And who will possibly even benefit from them? The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Engineered and manufactured in Austria, The OC818 is Austrian Audio’s premier, professional, large-diaphragm microphone. Its high sensitivity, low self-noise, and ability to handle everything from a whisper to extreme SPLs make it the most advanced microphone for studio, broadcast and live applications. AP goy his hands on one and in this episode we test it out and play with the endless possibilities related with a dual polar mic... Find out more for yourself here... The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Jeff Berlin started a career in radio by patching cassette machines into each other and recording fake interviews with his teachers at school. Next, he was recording weekly specials on the Big Y’s store PA system. He started in radio as a rock DJ on WAAF but spent more time in the production studio than the air studio. He then went to Kiss 108 in Boston where he spent a couple of decades pioneering new imaging tricks and generally wreaking havoc in between the songs. Today he serves as a full-time radio imaging voice for over 100 amazing stations, where he continues to wreak havoc. Every day. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
He's voiced the trailers for big-screen blockbusters like Jurassic Park, Braveheart, GoldenEye, The Lost World, Schindler’s List, Independence Day, G.I. Jane, The Peacemaker, Tomorrow Never Dies, The Edge, Deep Impact, Snake Eyes, Small Soldiers, The World is Not Enough and hundreds more. And this week he's featuring on our humble program.
Nick Tate is an Aussie actor who found that working behind the camera can be just as rewarding as being in front of it. With a bunch of screen credits to his name, Nick has also clearly become one of the giants of the Movie Trailer industry.
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Robbo got his hands on the Ozone 9 plugin from Izotope this week and has been playing with some of its features. Plus we discuss a few conventions around loudness..
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Carson Beck, and Beau Stephenson are two hard-working Voices out of LA. Hot on the heels of their input last episode, we dive into their backgrounds, studio setups and views on the audio industry in general., along with a look at Luna and a lively chat about processing voice-overs for delivery... The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
I gotta hand it to George, this one was his idea and it's a cracker episode. We invited two mad keen Apollo users onto the show to discuss the in's and outs (see what I did there) of the entire range of UA revered interfaces. Thanks go to Carson Beck, and Beau Stephenson for their input on this one, The guys are glued on Apollo lovers and their insights were invaluable. Look out for a full-on "Everything Audio" chat with them next week including a dive into Luna... The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
After AP read a Facebook post regarding a client of a US radio station recording their commercial on an iPhone and sending it to the station to go to air, we convened a panel of Radio's big guns along with our regular "know it alls" to debate whether anything recorded on a phone and in a random environment should be deemed "air quality".
Thanks go to imaging guns Adam and Tom from Imaging Blueprint, legendary Imaging Producer and Station Voice Jeff Berlin and Atlanta's Rock 100.5 and 99x's Imaging voice and production guru Adam Schneider for their input on this one...
The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Just like the speakers themselves, you don't want to be blowing your budget on overpriced, or oversized speakers for your home studio. So how do you know how much you should be spending, and what size is right for your space and needs?
In this episode, we share some experiences with the monitors we are running and talk about some high end and lower end options along with a few stops in between. So no matter what you're doing, or what you have to spend, this episode is full of some thought-provoking info...
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
On this episode, we talk with Jeff Silverman about 3D binaural audio and the song 'The Wall Will Fall' by Rick Springfield. Jeff has worked with Rick for the last 46 years and was asked to mix a 3D version of the song with all proceeds from the sale of the stereo and 3D Binaural mix being donated to FeedingAmerica.org. / @feedingamerica.
3D binaural is for headphones only, so plug them in for this episode and hear the difference in the stereo and 3D binaural mix. You can also check out more of Jeff's 3D binaural mixes here. VSN
You can buy the stereo release of The Wall Will Fall here;
iTunes and here AMAZON
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
A couple of questions to answer this week that came through on our website.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
AP's beloved "Big Knob" blew up this week and he's been trying out a bunch of replacements. But do you actually NEED a monitor controller in a Voice Over Studio? And if y so, do you need to spend a months pay to get one?
It's an episode well worth turning up (see what I did there??), and as usual, there's a bunch of other tips and secrets divulged along the way...
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
This week's discussion came from an article posted questioning whether it was best to spend money on your recording environment (Acoustic Treatment etc) or just spend on some great noise reduction tools and worry about the artifacts after recording. Robbo and Robert put their perspective on it from an Audio Engineer's point of view, George has his own angle on it as the designer of many a great room, and Andrew gives his insights as a voice actor with 40 odd years experience.
It's an episode well worth a listen, and as usual, there's a bunch of other tips and secrets divulged along the way...
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Source Connect, now the lifeline for most home studios. Whilst it's mostly simple to set up, there are a few snags that even the most seasoned audio professional can run into.
In this episode, we explore the myths of port mapping and static IP addresses so you can guarantee your client the most stable connection
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
You know the feeling. You're feeling sluggish, you're on autopilot, just going through the motions trying to "get it done", and now that big audition you've been working towards drops into your inbox. Urrggghh
What if there was a better way? What if when that audition arrived you were feeling fresh, invigorated and ready to really get creative, and do your best work.
Well, that's exactly what this week's guest, Michael Smith from Planet Naturopath can help you with. Greg runs a nutrition consulting business out of his home in Canada, helping people be at their best 24/7 simply through nutrition.
This week he's got a bag full of tips to have you feeling your best and at your most creative 24/7.
If you want to know more about Smithy and his work, you can get it here...
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
In-ear monitoring has been a common thread through many of our quick bites over the past few weeks, so this week we figured we'd deep dive into the subject.
What are they? What's good about them? What are the drawbacks? Should you use them as a reference or purely for monitoring?
Hopefully, we'll equip you with a little more knowledge of what they might do for you...
Don't forget to like our Facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Tom and Adam are the directors and Audio Force behind CHR Imaging service "Imaging Blueprint". Together they create unique and powerful work parts for Radio Stations around the planet.
In this weeks episode, we get inside their heads and dive into the way they work, the processes they go through to create their unique sound.
Voice Talent or Audio Producer there is lesson galore in here...
Don't forget to like our Facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
We've been inundated with desperate VO talent looking to get set up to work from home during this outbreak. They either haven't had a setup till now or have only used it for audition and demo purposes, and now want something more professional (but on a budget).
In this episode, Robbo and Andrew explore the possibilities and give you a head start in setting up a professional yet cost-effective studio that you could have up and running by the end of the weekend.
Don't forget to like our Facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The race to get home studios connected over the web is on for some voice actors. It seems that soon the ONLY work available will be online, requiring some sort of remote Connection. By far the most professional, and widely used is Source Connect, and it just so happens that one of the men responsible for its existence is also a member of our team.
In this quick bite, Robert Marshall gives a beginner's guide to what Source-Connect is, which version may be right for you, and how to go about getting yourself set up.
We also mention this video where our other team member, George "the Tech", guides you through the setup of Source Connect and the iLok feature. You'll find that here..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCDVG1btbzI&feature=youtu.be
To Purchase Source connect or create an account for Source connect now go here:
https://source-elements.com/products/source-connect/versions
and you can log into source connect now here:
https://now.source-elements.com/#!/
Don't forget to like our Facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
As the world literally goes into lockdown to try and sidestep the effects of Covid 19 (Coronavirus), STudio Sessions are changing the way our industry operates. In this special episode, we take a look at what's going on, and the state of play when it comes to keeping the doors open!
Don't forget to like our Facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
OK, here it is. Long promised and long-awaited. The ultimate voice-over microphone shootout.
The Sennheiser 416 has for decades been the go-to mic for studios recording voice over. Originally designed for location recording, it's "Cut Through" has been its trademark on VoiceOver recordings and made it the "Go To Mic" for many. However, it's pricepoint has put it out of reach for some home studio owners and Podcasters.
Enter the Rode NTG 5 a mic which is clearly based on it's Sennheiser rival, but at a price that is much easier on the Pocket. But does it Stack up? And is it as useful for the location sound guy as the studio owner?
This week the usual panel is joined by Location Sound Recordist extraordinaire Chris Mc Callum (soundo.com.au), and Radio Imager (and the reigning Benztown Branding Iron Imager) Brendan Tacey. We directly compare the two mics, discuss their suitability for the audio discipline they may be used for, and come to a conclusion that is absolutely unanimous.
Don't believe us? Download the comparison file here
Check out the specs of the 416 here
and NTG 5 here..
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Not everyone is mixing a Grammy award-winning masterpiece in their home studio. Perhaps you just want to be able to record a half-decent audition, or some may want to be able to record a voice over but don't want to go to the expense of a full-blown studio. Then there are those who see it as an "all-in" decision. So what is the best value set up, and what should you spend your money on, and what's not so important.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ All products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Not everyone is mixing a Grammy award-winning masterpiece in their studio. Perhaps you just want to be able to record a half-decent audition, or some may want to be able to record a voice over but don't want to go to the expense of a full-blown studio. Then there are those who see it as an "all-in" decision. So what is the best value set up, and what should you spend your money on, and what's not so important.
This week our panel scratch their heads and compare notes on their personal choices for setups at varying price points.
Don't forget to like our Facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ All products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Two time Emmy winner Lars Deutsch was born into a non-musical family and was astounded when he discovered that a guitar needs tuning. From there, he went from heavy metal guitarist to singer, to songwriter, to a Masters in classical composition, to international performances of his classical works, to lecturing in composition and audio production. Today he is a composer, sound designer, ADR recordist and score composer all rolled into the one neat service from his home studio in Berlin.
This week we deep dive into his early career, his achievements, his workflow, his favorite tools of the trade and much more.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ All products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Hot on the heels of our NAMM special last week, we catch up with the latest news from some of our favorite products. Pro Tools Folders is the big news, but is it the "latest and greatest" that Avid is making it out to be? We also talk Mics, preamps and connectivity.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ All products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Marice Tobias is an Award-Winning Director and Performance coach, also known as "the Voice Whisperer". In this week's episode, we talk to her about the ins and outs of casting, her thoughts on how to stand out from the crowd when casting, and everything in between.
Don't forget to like our Facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ All products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
NAMM was held last week, and George was there. In this week's Quick Bite we chat about the sights sounds (but thankfully not the smells) of Namm 2020.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ All products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
No matter which side of the glass you work on, there's one thing you can't do without... Your Hearing. In this quick bite, Robbo, Andrew, and Robert answer a listener question regarding hearing and answer a few basic questions about a very serious OH & S issue.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ All products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Zijit is the brainchild of Sharyn Doolan. Zijit it's ‘Shazam' for the Creative Industry. It's an app that recognises your work. You could be discovered 3 years from now, because of a project you worked on last week. Basically think IMDB but for the advertising industry. Every spot, every piece of creative linked to a database containing every person that worked on it, the music used and who composed it (or the library it came from), the lot.
Sharyn joins us this week to talk about it, and the beta program that's running right now!
You can find out more about Sharyn here... And Zijit here The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from RØDE microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. Thanks also go to Voice Over Essentials and the Porta Booth Pro for their support of our program Find out more and order your Porta Booth here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Auditioning. That process that you have to get right if you ever expect to make a name in the voice-over industry. This week, Robbo, Andrew, and George take a look at the Audition process. Robbo gives his thoughts on what a casting agent might be looking for ina an Audition recording, Andrew tells a rather embarrassing story about his Audition call for one of the biggest franchises in entertainment and talks through his Audition process, and George explains his philosophies behind setting up a DAW for his clients' Auditions.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ All products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Auditioning. That process that you have to get right if you ever expect to make a name in the voice-over industry. This week, Robbo, Andrew, and George take a look at the Audition process. Robbo gives his thoughts on what a casting agent might be looking for ina an Audition recording, Andrew tells a rather embarrassing story about his Audition call for one of the biggest franchises in entertainment and talks through his Audition process, and George explains his philosophies behind setting up a DAW for his clients' Auditions.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ All products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
TwistedWave is a browser, osx or ios-based audio editor. You can use it to record or edit any audio file, and its the weapon of choice for many of Voice Over's biggest names.
In this week's episode, George has a fanboy moment when we catch up with the creator of his favourite DAW. Thomas Thiriez created twisted wave and still runs it as a one-man show today. In this episode, he gives us a run-through of many of the features and answers a few questions about what's new and on the horizon for this versatile editor.
Before you dismiss it as a "toy" take a listen to this episode, and see how the "little guy" might have many advantages to dealing with (and paying for) the better-known players in the market. Especially if you don't have to.
Find twisted wave here.
Don't forget to like our Facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ All products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
In-ear, over-ear, 1 Driver, 2 Drivers, noise-cancelling?? The Headphone choices are endless and NOW throw into the mix Australian Company Nuraphone, who have combined in-ear and over-ear, along with software that claims to adjust the frequency response to your own ear and its idiosyncrasies.
George has just bought himself a pair and in this episode, we dive into their effectiveness and discuss the other noise-cancelling options available, including Robert's custom made in-ear monitors.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ All products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
It's Xmas, and the team from the Pro Audio Suite have been on the receiving end of some very nice good wishes from Rode.
George, AP, Robbo and Robert unwrap their presents and compare the treats inside...
Merry Christmas to all our Subscribers and regular listeners. We appreciate your support in this our first full year, and look forward t bringing you the latest in Home Studio and VoiceOver technology and techniques.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ All products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Microphones, the one piece of STudio equipment you can't be without, whether you're a Studio Engineer or a Home-based voice artist.
In this Quick Bite, AP, George and Robert take a walk through some of the choices out there that you may not have considered (or even heard about).
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ All products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Brave is a free and open-source web browser developed by Brave Software, Inc. based on the Chromium web browser. The browser blocks ads and website trackers. It is a fast, private and secure web browser for PC, Mac and mobile.
In this episode, we take a quick look at the future of this software that promises faster browsing, no ads and no invasion of your privacy.
For Audiophiles this could affect the way you market your business, and what you can learn about the people who view your work.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ All products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Editing Voice is one of those things that looks easy but can sometimes throw up its own complexities that have you scratching your head and wondering "why does that sound so bad".
In this episode Robbo, Andrew and Robert take a look at some of the common mistakes people make when editing, discuss the ideal way to make certain edits, and throw a bunch of tips your way to have you editing like a pro in no time flat.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. The Pro Audio Suite has kindly been supplied with gear from Rode microphones. We would like to thank them for their involvement with our show, and their generosity. You can see the complete list of their gear here. @rodemic @rodemics Rode on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/rode-microphones/ All products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
These days editing your voice recordings is commonplace for voice talent who have their own studio. But if you are not completing the edit, how much should you take out of your recording? There's obvious stuff like the trip from the control room to the booth (if that's a thing for you) or coughs, phone calls and the like. But what about content?
In this quick bite, Robbo and AP discuss the ins and outs of being too zealous in your cleanup, and what the Engineer at the other end may be missing out on if you really go to town.
Here's the link to the Brad Pitt roast Robbo mentions in this episode.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Brian Schmidt is one of the true pioneers of the game audio industry. The 2008 recipient of the Game Audio Network Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and 2017 inductee into the Pinball Expo Hall of Fame, Brian has been creating game music, sounds and cutting edge technology for more than 30 years. With a credit list of over 140 games and a client list including Electronic Arts, Zynga, Microsoft, Sony, Capcom, Sega, Data East, Namco and many others.
This week we sit down with Brian and get inside the mind of this master of Gaming Audio. Topics cover the gamut of his early days in the industry to the intricacies of building music and sound effects for the modern gamer and what and the requirements of the game sound Voice Actor.
Brian currently sits on the advisory board of the Game Developer Conference, is a founding board member of the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) is a former steering committee member of the Interactive Audio Special Interest Group (ia-sig) of the MMA, and has been a featured keynote speaker at GDC, Project BBQ and the Montreal Interactive Games Summit (MIGS).
If you're interested in gamesoundcon you can find out more here.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The TRI-BOOTH is a portable, customizable and fully-enclosed recording environment created by voiceover veteran and educator, Rick Wasserman and voiceover “Engineer to the Stars”, and Pro Audio Suite panellist George “The Tech” Whittam.
In this week's quick bite, we discuss the idea behind this revolutionary product, how it works and it's uses and put it through its paces ina VERY live room.
If you regularly take your rig on the road or just need something better than the space under the stairs for your home set up, this could be for you.
get more detailshere...
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The team investigate the different options when it comes to monitoring in a home studio )or any environment for that matter. Why you may or may not need monitoring, and more importantly how much do you need to spend?
In this episode, Robert, Andrew, Robbo and George discuss the Pros and Cons of listing the gear you're using.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Corey Dissin, The Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of Content and long-time broadcast production executive, is a voice talent authority and social media influencer who has impacted over 100,000 unique voiceover projects over the last 25 years.
In this week's episode, George, Andrew and Corey discuss life in a busy studio (you won't believe how many spots a month they produce), the do's and don'ts of Social Media for audio professionals, and take a shot at the shutdown of ISDN and the way it's being handled.
If you spend your days in a tiny room with a microphone as your best friend, this episode should not be missed!
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The team investigate the different options when it comes to monitoring in a home studio )or any environment for that matter. Why you may or may not need monitoring, and more importantly how much do you need to spend?
In this episode, Robert, Andrew, Robbo and George discuss the Pros and Cons of listing the gear you're using.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Imposter syndrome can be defined as a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success. 'Imposters' suffer from chronic self-doubt and a sense of intellectual fraudulence that override any feelings of success or external proof of their competence.
In this week's quick bite, we discuss our own experience with I.S., some of the ways we deal with it and chat about some of the dark places we can go to if we leave it unchecked.
We are not medically trained experts, however. This episode merely reflects our own experiences with I.S. If you are struggling with it, or depression in general, we urge you to seek professional advice.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The team investigate the different options when it comes to monitoring in a home studio )or any environment for that matter. Why you may or may not need monitoring, and more importantly how much do you need to spend?
In this episode, Robert, Andrew, Robbo and George discuss the Pros and Cons of listing the gear you're using.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Scott Rummell is heard daily on ABC, CBS, CNN, The CW, Showtime and FOX, and has been heard on thousands of movie trailers and blockbuster film campaigns over the years.
He lives and works at his home studio in Yorba Linda, California. And in this weeks episode, we get behind the voice to find out about how Scott got his start in the industry, what keeps him going and his advice for young players. We also delve into his tips for recording on the road, and the intricacies of his home studio built by our very own George the Tech!!
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The team investigate the different options when it comes to monitoring in a home studio )or any environment for that matter. Why you may or may not need monitoring, and more importantly how much do you need to spend?
In this episode, Robert, Andrew, Robbo and George discuss the Pros and Cons of listing the gear you're using.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
AP has just been on a 4000-mile road trip. He took his "road rig" with him for sessions as they came up.
He recorded samples and took photos (see below) and so this week we dissect the setup and analyse the results.
All you need to know to set up your own travelling voice-over booth is revealed in this episode..
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The team investigate the different options when it comes to monitoring in a home studio )or any environment for that matter. Why you may or may not need monitoring, and more importantly how much do you need to spend?
In this episode, Robert, Andrew, Robbo and George discuss the Pros and Cons of listing the gear you're using.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
"Catalina" or OSX 10.15 is out now, but if you run any type of AUdio, Video or Graphics editing software now is probably not the time to be running the upgrade.
George ad Robbo discuss the "why not" and "when to's" of Mac's latest platform. ANd George has a great tip to stop that annoying upgrade prompt that invades your screen tempting fate!
All you need to know, is revealed in this episode..
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The team investigate the different options when it comes to monitoring in a home studio )or any environment for that matter. Why you may or may not need monitoring, and more importantly how much do you need to spend?
In this episode, Robert, Andrew, Robbo and George discuss the Pros and Cons of listing the gear you're using.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Bitrate refers to the number of bits — or the amount of data — that is processed over a certain amount of time in your audio. But with the myriad of file formats available, what's the best way to deliver a file. And when you have to deliver in some weird variant (for IVR for example) what format should you use to record your files?
All you need to know, plus plenty of tips and tricks are revealed in this episode..
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The team investigate the different options when it comes to monitoring in a home studio )or any environment for that matter. Why you may or may not need monitoring, and more importantly how much do you need to spend?
In this episode, Robert, Andrew, Robbo and George discuss the Pros and Cons of listing the gear you're using.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Grace has recently repaired some of AP's equipment, and he has a few (very nice) things to say about their level of workmanship, and the customer service experience.
And Robert has recently replaced some studio gear and picked himself up the Zoom H6. A piece of gear he is now using as part of the show. Take a listen to his review, and a group chat about it's good and not so good features...
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The team investigate the different options when it comes to monitoring in a home studio )or any environment for that matter. Why you may or may not need monitoring, and more importantly how much do you need to spend?
In this episode, Robert, Andrew, Robbo and George discuss the Pros and Cons of listing the gear you're using.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Speakers. Do you need them at all? And if so, how good do they need to be?
The team investigate the different options when it comes to monitoring in a home studio )or any environment for that matter. Why you may or may not need monitoring, and more importantly how much do you need to spend?
In this episode, Robert, Andrew, Robbo and George discuss the Pros and Cons of listing the gear you're using.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Some do, some don't. What's best practice when it comes to listing your studio gear on your advertising and website?
In this episode, Robert, Andrew, Robbo and George discuss the Pros and Cons of listing the gear you're using.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
With Spring springing in the Southern Hemisphere, and the Northern parts of the globe about to go into WInter, we thought this would be a good time to talk about what you can do, when the dreaded Drip hits the old snoz, and you either have to record someone, or record yourself whilst sounding like there's a bunch of cotton wool stuffed up your sinuses.
Andrew, George and Robbo discuss a whole range of potential fixes from Mic placement to software and a few other places in between. So put away the tissues, chuck on the headphones and listen up as we do what we can to save your next snuffly session.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
It's the question that's on every voice artists mind when they step out of their voice booth and sit down behind their DAW to get their newly cut voice session ready for delivery. How much do I need to edit?
In this quick bite, Andrew, George and Robbo discuss the up and downsides of editing your voice overs. How much should you cut, and when? What should you cut, and what should you leave alone?
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
This week George Whittam, Robbo and Andrew Peters run through the updates on the RodeCaster Pro, is this the answer to not just podcasts but a voiceover studio and broadcast?
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Dan Gonzales is in charge of Product Management at Izotope. In this episode, we chat with Dan about RX7, the noise reduction suite from Izotope that is changing the vernacular of the industry. The term "RX it" is fast becoming Audio Engineer speak for "run some Noise Reduction".
We chat about its development, its uses, and many of the other goodies that come with the suite. We also delve into the big question of whether or not Voice artists should deliver their work with Noise Reduction and the like, and we cover off a few new uses Radio is coming up with for the "Music Rebalance" tool that comes in the box.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Headphones, such a personal choice. Do you like open back? Closed Back? What do you intend to use them for? If you're mixing in them do you need "extra" software? What's the best for both?
In this quick bite, we discuss the pros and cons of the bigger contenders and discuss the better qualities of some of the more "consumer" makes and models. If you're considering new headphones for the Voicebooth or the Studio, then this may well be the best 30 odd minutes you'll spend this week.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Daniel is the voice of international TV & radio campaigns, corporate films, trailers, videogames, audio books and news & sports programs, heard across the world.
He also runs "networks Europe", a global, multi-language team of translators, transcreators, copywriters, localisation professionals, voice talents, audio producers, musicians, composers and sound designers.
To find out more about Daniel check out his website, http://danielrichards.tv/ or www.networkseurope.net
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
To find out more about Jason check out his website, https://www.jasonbermingham.com/home-english
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Jason Bermingham is a journalist and voiceover talent from California, USA, who currently records from a professional studio in São Paulo, Brazil, with his wife and fellow voice artist Simone Kliass.
In this episode, we talk all things voice over with Jason and discuss how he manages to keep so busy considering he's an English speaking American based in Brazil.
To find out more about Jason check out his website, https://www.jasonbermingham.com/home-english
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Noise Reduction is the STudio Operators best friend when it comes to location sound and some of the "not so great" home studio recordings. And for the Voice Over artist on the road, it can save your butt when it comes to a noisy Hotel room that you just can't save with even the most complex "Fortress".
In this episode, we put the Waves arsenal of Noise Reduction up against the legendary RX 7 suite from Izotope, and the new player in the market Brusfri. The results are surprising, and at the end Robbo, Robert, George and AP give their thoughts on the best bang for your Noise Reduction dollar.
If you would like to put the files up in your own studio, or download them and see what results you can get for yourself, you can find them here.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
On this episode, we get in-depth with Paul Strikwerda. We talk about his stroke and how he almost died and the road to recovery, spoon feeding newbies and why we shouldn’t, how we are perfectly placed to make VO a green industry, why you should EQ your booth, Audient ID22 issue, Shure A15HP, Twisted Wave and Wavelab and should we volunteer to teach prisoners how to do voice over.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Working from your own studio has many rewards. but it also can hold perils of its own that you may not be immediately apparent.
In this Quick Bite, we chat with Paul Strikwerda, a massively busy voice-over artist in the US, and the author of Making Money In Your PJs a book for voice-overs and other solopreneurs about the perils of a remote lifestyle and how to overcome them. If you feel isolated and alone in your craft, or are just about to begin your own journey down the home studio path then this episode is for you.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
There is a scam going around the Voice Over industry that is costing talent big $. In this quickbite, we expose it and tell you what to look for to make sure you're not the next victim.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
On this episode, we take a look at the latest version of WaveLab Elements 9.5 from Steinberg.
Andrew uses it daily and Robbo has his first look and digs around to see what it can do.
Is it simple enough for anyone to use? Based on the fact Andrew uses it the answer must be a resounding yes!
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
For a while now, Izotope has held the mantle of one of (if not the) best noise reduction plugins on the market. But it also has a price point to match. Well, Sweedish company Klevgr has come up with what may be a product that could steer some voice artists and podcaster away from Izotope's suite of products and onto a $60 plugin that does the job just as well (if not perhaps even a little better). In this episode we plug it in, add some audio and debate the outcomes.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Adrenaline Studios is one of the hardest working studios in Vegas. Doing everything from ADR to Radio spots. Matt and his team are always onto something different, In this episode, we find out what, why and most importantly (for our little show anyway) HOW...
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
George Whittam runs through the features of the latest piece of gear from Rode, the Rodecaster Pro with the panel, Robert Marshall, Darren 'Robbo' Robertson and Andrew Peters.
If you're a podcaster or a voice talent with a home studio this could be the perfect solution.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Whether you’re a voice talent, a creative, audio engineer or talent agent this is a conversation worth a listen.
We are joined by Detroit based advertising executive, Iain Lanivich to talk about online casting, remote sessions, in-house production, the future of voice over casting, the shift in voice overuse, union and non-union, relationships between post houses and ad agencies and the change in workflow. Robert Marshall puts on his sound designer and studio owner hat to make for an interesting conversation. Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
This week we are joined by Dan Woodall, Marketing Director at Rode Microphones. We chat about the revolutionary Rodecaster Pro, a complete podcast recording solution. We also find out about a great competition they have running at the time of this episodes publish, where you could win everything you need to fit out your dream podcast studio and chat about what Mic's might be best for your setup.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Planning a podcast? We talk about all the gear and set up you need and the traps for young players. We talk mics, DAW, interfaces, USB mics, external recorders and setting up your space.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Gerard is an Australian stage, voice artist, television and film actor, producer and screenwriter best known for his role as Deputy Governor Jim Fletcher in Prisoner. Often appearing on Australian television police dramas and soap operas throughout the 1970s and 80s, he is also one of Australia's top voice actors, voicing numerous commercial and narrations during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Gerard joins us this week to talk about home studios and how to get them right. As well as answering a few tough questions about life on the inside (well his days working on one of the worlds most successful TV Series "Prisoner")..
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
You'll also find us on the web at theproaudiosuite.com
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
With NAMM on in Anaheim this week, and George on location, we figured it was the perfect opportunity to take you live to the floor and get the low down on what's new and what's happening.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
If you've been around this crazy industry long enough, you know the moment this episode is all about. The conversation where your client is insisting that you do something that you just know is never going to work, or if it does get by their radar, is simply gonna sound like shit!
How do you handle that moment, what can you say, what do you do?? In this episode, Robbo, Andrew and George explore the possibilities and chat about a few experiences that will have the hair standing up on the back of your neck...
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
It's your most valuable asset when you work in audio. Your hearing is the thing that makes your sound, well... your sound. No matter which side of the glass you work on, if you can't hear, you can't work.
Voice Over artists and performers need to hear themselves and their cues, and Audio Engineers, well, there's no need to explain what ANY sort of hearing damage can do to them.
SO what is Tinnitus, and what causes it. How can we work around it if we have it, and most importantly how can we prevent it?
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
Richard Lush is a British-born Australian recording engineer and producer. He began his career in the mid-1960s as an assistant engineer at Abbey Road Studios in London.
Working alongside producer Sir George Martin and senior engineer Geoff Emerick, Richard participated in nearly one hundred Beatles recording sessions and is credited as Second Engineer on all tracks on the Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album.
In this episode, we talk with Richerd about his time at Abbey Road, working with the Beatles, and delve into some of the stories about recording at such a landmark time in the music industry.
Don't forget to like our facebook page
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
In Episode 20 we compared 4 popular Mics for voice over. A startling discovery was that the Rhode NTG4 actually stood up well against the ever popular 416, and in fact was so close we concluded if set up properly it would be difficult for most to pick the difference.
In this episode, we put that theory to the test and the conclusion could save your back pocket hundreds the next time you go Mic shopping. Take a listen for yourself, we'd love your feedback.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
If it's a "Go To' man you're looking for when it comes to anything recording, Bobby is probably as close as you're gonna get. Bobby is one of the best selling authors in the music recording industry with 23 books that are now staples in audio recording, music and music business programs in colleges around the world. He has also penned hundreds of audio-related articles for a variety of popular industry trade publications such as Surround Professional, EQ, Billboard, Film & Video, Hollywood Reporter, Pro Sound News, Mix, Grammy Magazine, Electronic Musician, Recording Engineer/ Producer and Music Executive Insider, among others.
In this episode, we talk with Bobby about everything from room acoustics, to track counts and more. You won't believe how he uses the Omni setting on a condenser mic!! Once you try it you may never go back.
Don't forget to like our facebook page
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, they weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
AP recently received emails extorting money from him, including threats that his computer had been hacked and the perpetrator was going to release his personal information. Whilst AP managed to escape the clutches of this F&^kwit, it started us thinking about the amount of time Producers, Voice Artists and Audio Engineers spend online uploading and downloading files from sometimes dubious sources. So what are the risks, and what can we do to better protect ourselves.
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
We recently got a question from one of our listeners. John Knight Bowers asked "I'm just starting out in VO, but have a Pro Tools rig with roots in music (demos). Would be interested to hear about the full chain for VO, and the pros/cons of outboard gear. I've noticed most in VO are pretty much Mic-->Interface--> Computer but I have to think an extra link (like a pre) might be of benefit."
In this quick bite, the team answer John's question and give their views on the Mic Pre and it's place in what is fast becoming an "in the box world".
Don't forget to like our facebook page and if you have a question of your own you'd like us to answer, post it there and we will answer it as best we can.
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
If you're a voice artist, you know the conundrum. You're in a hotel room, the client is waiting and you need to deal with the cops raiding a drug den next door before you can record. Ok, stretch... yes, but seriously what's the best way to get a great sound on your recordings while you're on the road?
If you're an engineer, how can you help your voice artist get the best possible sound out of his location for that pick-up that you're going to have to match back to a session you did last week with him/her in the studio.
The porta-booth® is fast becoming a go-to for a lot of voice artists, there are plenty of upsides, but what are the downsides. And if you do get one, what type of Mic should you use? Where should you place it, and is there anything else you can do to improve your sound? In this episode, we try out a number of configurations to help you come up with the perfect set-up for you and more importantly your clients.
Stay tuned at the end of the show we play the samples raw and completely unprocessed (no compression or gain change).
Don't forget to like our facebook page
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, they weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
This week we are joined by Jeff Silverman once more as we compare 8 very different Microphones to find the ultimate in Performance and best bang for your buck. There is also some surprises!
The Mics in question are:
C414eb P48
Rode NTG4
Rode NT1
Sennheiser 416
Microtech Gefell M930art
Rode Podcaster
Jeanne JA87
Microtech Gefell M92.1s
Whilst there are some obvious contenders, you will be surprised at some of the results (We sure were). Don't miss this opportunity to listen in and get an insight into these Microphones and our thoughts on their usefulness, and with a combined experience of about 150 years in Audio, you're bound to learn something! We all did.
Stay tuned at the end of the show we play the samples raw and completely unprocessed (no compression or gain change).
Don't forget to like our facebook page
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, they weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
AES Conventions are held annually in both the United States and Europe and are the largest gatherings of audio professionals in the world. Workshops, tutorials, technical papers and the trade show floor provide attendees with a wealth of learning, networking and business opportunities.
In our first ever "Quick Bite" Robert and George give us the rundown on what was new and exciting on the floor of this year's US conference. From Microphones to headphones to fader automation for Analogue Consoles, the boys lay it all out for you. Just like being there, you will get the complete rundown here, and all in just 20 minutes (but unfortunately without the frequent flyer points).
Don't forget to like our facebook page
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, they weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
This week we are joined by Michael Pearson-Adams (Gomez) from Waves, and Dan Gonzalez from Izotope to deep dive into the world of plugins. Both these guys are the "go to" guys when it comes to their respective products, and we have picked their brains for every possible piece of know-how and tips we could think of.
In this episode, we talk plug-ins for home recording artists, picking the right plugin for the right job, iLok and their relevance today, where we have been in terms of technology and where we are going, along with a whole gamut of tech stuff that will have you geeking out of control.
So jump on board, we won't even charge you $29... :-)
Find out more about Waves Here
And Izotope Here
Don't forget to like our facebook page
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, they weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
This week we have a special Co-Host. Jeff Silverman. Jeff is Founder, Owner and Operator of Palette Music Studio Productions (MSP), Virtual Studio Nashville (VSN) and Co-Founder of Palette Records with artist Debra Lyn. He is a veteran producer, engineer, songwriter, accomplished musician, singer and music/audio editor and composer for film and TV. He is also a former (LA) Motown staff writer and has nearly 40 years’ of experience in the music industry.
In this episode, we talk about working in the box v out of the box, tricks for mixing voice, virtual studios, his time at Sound City and with names like Fleetwood Mac, Rick Springfield and more.
Find out more about Jeff Here
Don't forget to like our facebook page
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, they weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
This week is our Source Connect special. Robert answers your questions about one of the most popular Industry standard ISDN replacement tools on the market. If you're a Voice Over artist with a Home studio, record foley for Hollywood blockbusters or anything in between, you need to hear this special.
Find out more about Source Connect Here
Don't forget to like our facebook page
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast is a Bi-Weekly podcast designed for Audio Professionals. With your Hosts George (The Tech) Whittam, Robert Marshall (Audio Engineer/Source Elements Creator/Owner), Andrew Peters (Premier Voice Talent/Co-Owner Realtime Casting), and Darren "Robbo" Robertson (Studio Owner/Sound Designer), we cover the gamut of Audio issues. From voice Over tips and tools to Project and Professional Studio set up and fit out, to the latest in gear and everything in between.
This week is all about Radio Imaging. we start the show talking about Mics for recording voice over for radio, then we feature our chat with Benztown Branding CEO Andreas Sannemann. Then stick around as the discussion turns to plugins and settings for radio Imaging Production, and Robbo hands out a few tips on how to get your imaging cranking..
Find out more about Benztown Here
Don't forget to like our facebook page
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast is a Bi-Weekly podcast designed for Audio Professionals. With your Hosts George (The Tech) Whittam, Robert Marshall (Audio Engineer/Source Elements Creator/Owner), Andrew Peters (Premier Voice Talent/Co-Owner Realtime Casting), and Darren "Robbo" Robertson (Studio Owner/Sound Designer), we cover the gamut of Audio issues. From voice Over tips and tools to Project and Professional Studio set up and fit out, to the latest in gear and everything in between.
This week is all about the powerhouse behind what we do. It plays back and edits our audio, compresses and EQs, drives our reverb and modulation, and for some of us, plays back our video while doing all of the above.
Needless to say, the choice of platform for your editing software is paramount to a stress-free, uncomplicated and happy "High Track Count" life. In this week's show, we talk to Vin Curigliano one of the world's most respected builders of high-performance machines. His knowledge of both Mac and PC platforms has seen his machines used in some of the finest production houses around the world. In this week's show, he covers off all you need to know about the advent of DAW and where we are today.
Find out more about Vin Here..
Don't forget to like our facebook page
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast is a Bi-Weekly podcast designed for Audio Professionals. With your Hosts George (The Tech) Whittam, Robert Marshall (Audio Engineer/Source Elements Creator/Owner), Andrew Peters (Premier Voice Talent/Co-Owner Realtime Casting), and Darren "Robbo" Robertson (Studio Owner/Sound Designer), we cover the gamut of Audio issues. From voice Over tips and tools to Project and Professional Studio set up and fit out, to the latest in gear and everything in between.
This week is all about branding. We discuss Sonic branding and logos, as well as sound design in general. Our special guest is Marice Tobias. Marice is the principal of Tobias Entertainment Group and specializes in consulting hosted & information-driven Television, Film & New Media, as well as defining, refining & distinguishing the unique Signature, enhancing delivery, overcoming creative blocks, expanding the footprint & reinforcing top-of-mind awareness in the ever-changing marketplace.
Find out more about Marice Here..
Don't forget to like our facebook page
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and may be of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
he Pro Audio Suite Podcast is a Bi-Weekly podcast designed for Audio Professionals. With your Hosts George (The Tech) Whittam, Robert Marshall (Audio Engineer/Source Elements Creator/Owner), Andrew Peters (Premier Voice Talent/Co-Owner Realtime Casting), and Darren "Robbo" Robertson (Studio Owner/Sound Designer), we cover the gamut of Audio issues. From voice Over tips and tools to Project and Professional Studio set up and fit out, to the latest in gear and everything in between.
This week we talk Li-FI (yep that's a network connected by light), recording with a Zoom mic and portable rigs in general, and our special guest is Eric Bazilian the author of Joan Osborne's hit "one of us", half of the Hooters, and a record producer with some pretty impressive credits to his name!! There's also a world exclusive, a version of "One Of Us" never heard before outside of Eric's studio, and features a voice you'd never expect.
Find out more about Des and Zinc Media Here..
Don't forget to like our facebook page
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whittam, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and maybe of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast is a Bi-Weekly podcast designed for Audio Professionals. With your Hosts George (The Tech) Whittam, Robert Marshall (Audio Engineer/Source Elements Creator/Owner), Andrew Peters (Premier Voice Talent/Co-Owner Realtime Casting), and Darren "Robbo" Robertson (Studio Owner/Sound Designer), we cover the gamut of Audio issues. From voice Over tips and tools to Project and Professional Studio set up and fit out, to the latest in gear and everything in between.
This week delve into the fine art of Noise Reduction, discuss headphone sends and ways to do it, and our special guest is Des Shaw. Des creates amazing Radio programs out of the UK, and has interviewed and worked with some of the biggest musical names on the planet. He also headed up a project that teamed up with bands like Oasis and others to Re-Record the Beatles Sgt Peppers on the original equipment (yes that's right 4 track)!!
Find out more about Des and Zinc Media Here..
Don't forget to like our facebook page
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whitham, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and maybe of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast is a Bi-Weekly podcast designed for Audio Professionals. With your Hosts George (The Tech) Whittam, Robert Marshall (Audio Engineer/Source Elements Creator/Owner), Andrew Peters (Premier Voice Talent/Co-Owner Realtime Casting), and Darren "Robbo" Robertson (Studio Owner/Sound Designer), we cover the gamut of Audio issues. From voice Over tips and tools to Project and Professional Studio set up and fit out, to the latest in gear and everything in between.
This week we have a special guest who joins us for the entire show. Phil Lentz is an Australian audio engineer, Voice Over Artist, Radio Presenter and Program director, as well as a Location Sound Recordist. He was the guy foolish enough to give Robbo his start in Radio (and Audio) some 35 years ago and is still active in the Industry today. The boys cover off the yarns (along with a bunch tips and tools) from the good old days, and how they can still be relatable to how we work today.
Find out more about Phil Here..
Don't forget to like our facebook page
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whitham, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and maybe of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast is a Bi-Weekly podcast designed for Audio Professionals. With your Hosts George (The Tech) Whittam, Robert Marshall (Audio Engineer/Source Elements Creator/Owner), Andrew Peters (Premier Voice Talent/Co-Owner Realtime Casting), and Darren "Robbo" Robertson (Studio Owner/Sound Designer), we cover the gamut of Audio issues. From voice Over tips and tools to Project and Professional Studio set up and fit out, to the latest in gear and everything in between.
This week Robert's found a new Mic that he's besotted with, George has a breakthrough in headphone technology that will leave you gobsmacked, and Robbo solves the riddle of Australia's 12 frames of silence "in and out" standard. Plus we talk to Simon Murphy, better known as "King Aurotone" by us in the studio, after his penchant for monitoring his voice track records through his vintage pair of Aurotone speakers. But not just any Aurotones. What makes them special? Well, you'll have to listen to find out.
Find out more about David Here..
Don't forget to like our facebook page
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whitham, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and maybe of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast is a Bi-Weekly podcast designed for Audio Professionals. With your Hosts George (The Tech) Whittam, Robert Marshall (Audio Engineer/Source Elements Creator/Owner), Andrew Peters (Premier Voice Talent/Co-Owner Realtime Casting), and Darren "Robbo" Robertson (Studio Owner/Sound Designer), we cover the gamut of Audio issues. From voice Over tips and tools to Project and Professional Studio set up and fit out, to the latest in gear and everything in between.
This week we chat about weird things that can happen to audio files when you send them over the internet, Robbo tells a horror story about a project he was recently involved in, and George reveals the piece of Antique gear that gives his studio it's "sound", and we talk with Re-Recording mixer and Sound Supervisor from LA, David Raines. A fascinating look behind the scenes of Hollywood production, and an amazing story about the recording of the dialogue tracks for the Sean Connery blockbuster "The Hunt FOr Red October".
Find out more about David Here..
Don't forget to like our facebook page
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whitham, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and maybe of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast is a Bi-Weekly podcast designed for Audio Professionals. With your Hosts George (The Tech) Whittam, Robert Marshall (Audio Engineer/Source Elements Creator/Owner), Andrew Peters (Premier Voice Talent/Co-Owner Realtime Casting), and Darren "Robbo" Robertson (Studio Owner/Sound Designer), we cover the gamut of Audio issues. From voice Over tips and tools to Project and Professional Studio set up and fit out, to the latest in gear and everything in between.
This week we chat about weird things that can happen to audio files when you send them over the internet, Robbo tells a horror story about a project he was recently involved in, and George reveals the piece of Antique gear that gives his studio it's "sound", and we talk with Re-Recording mixer and Sound Supervisor from LA, David Raines. A fascinating look behind the scenes of Hollywood production, and an amazing story about the recording of the dialogue tracks for the Sean Connery blockbuster "The Hunt FOr Red October".
Find out more about David Here..
Don't forget to like our facebook page
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whitham, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and maybe of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson 00:02 this is a test of the emergency 00:03 broadcast system of high tech for sound 00:08 [Music] 00:15 you're listening to the pro audio suite 00:18 a program for audio and voice-over 00:20 professionals 00:22 [Music] 00:28 welcome to another pro audio suite - 00:31 Robert but we do have George 00:33 good afternoon evening and it's five 00:35 o'clock somewhere it is but not a yeah 00:38 it's repose up in Sydney we've got 00:41 Robert I'm back morning yeah I'm back 00:44 here and did you bring a note ID bring a 00:47 night I bring a note from a very 00:48 apologetic client it's a long story 00:51 shall I regard you later well we were 00:54 very concerned that you had been struck 00:57 down by a bus oh look it sounded well we 01:00 found out you hadn't we was so 01:01 disappointed it's look I am I've been 01:07 talking to a guy about a six-part TV 01:09 series for a while and then everything 01:12 went quiet as jobs do sometimes and so I 01:14 figured I was never gonna see it and 01:16 then two days before we were sporadic or 01:19 we were supposed to record I get a 01:20 frantic phone call from this guy going 01:22 um you know that series I was talking 01:24 about I had it mixed by some guy in New 01:26 Zealand and he sent all the mixers 01:28 across and we've compiled it all and 01:30 sent it off to the TV stations and it's 01:32 been rejected for audio recents and 01:34 video reasons 01:35 can you help um by the way this was and 01:40 this was on a Thursday by the way it 01:42 goes to air on Tuesday this was a half 01:50 hour or 45 minutes 46 minutes or 01:53 something yeah so long story short I was 01:54 basically sitting here redoing someone's 01:57 work who probably should never have done 01:59 the work in the first place because it 02:00 was the I only heard the mix for episode 02:03 1 and it was truly terrible and all that 02:07 place and certainly not compliant we 02:09 have all sorts of strange rules here in 02:10 Australia besides loudness you've got to 02:12 have 12 frames of silencing and 12 02:14 sounds of silence out and know what was 02:17 there and all sorts of stuff so yeah 02:18 that's yeah I think we're the only 02:20 country in the world that has that 02:21 George it's it's um it goes back to the 02:24 analog days when the the station's 02:26 decided they wanted some audio 02:28 separation between between shalls' 02:30 commercials yeah so they come up with 02:33 this rule that you had to have 12 frames 02:34 of silent scene and 12 frames of silence 02:36 out and now we've moved into the digital 02:39 world there 02:39 they never got rid of that he still must 02:41 have that if you don't have it it gets 02:42 rejected so um that was the only reason 02:46 they were all over the place and and the 02:47 video wasn't compliant either so someone 02:50 else had to do whatever they do to 02:51 rescue that so unsafe we got it to where 02:54 but um I wasn't answering phone calls or 02:57 answering emails or anything I was 02:59 ProTools the backside yeah that's right 03:02 yeah so um we've got it interesting with 03:04 the 12 front 12 frames thing that that 03:06 is a real trap for people in producing 03:08 spots outside of Australia for Australia 03:10 yeah yeah I think you said you twelve 03:13 frames out if my memory serves me 03:14 correctly is that rather on commercial 03:16 12 in 12 in and out no it's you know 12 03:19 annoyed that it is so I'm so effectively 03:22 because we were at 25 frames a second 03:24 effect effectively for a 30-second 03:26 commercial you get 29 seconds of audio 03:28 yeah and 30 seconds of picture and 30 03:31 seconds of picture that's right yes 03:33 Foxtel our pay TV network interestingly 03:37 the only requires six sixteen and six 03:41 hour so if yeah if it's going on Foxtel 03:44 only you can get away with six so if 03:47 you're doing a cut so you're doing a 03:48 commercial this is typical isn't it if 03:50 you're doing a commercial for Australian 03:52 TV and New Zealand TV and it was going 03:55 on Fox Fox tell ya that means they've 03:58 got to do three cuts they do one for 30 04:00 second for New Zealand 112 frames in 12 04:03 frames out for Australian live TV yeah 04:06 and then one six in six out for Foxtel 04:10 yeah yes technically yes it depends 04:13 sometimes they'll just do they'll just 04:15 live with the 12 in 12 out and 04:17 distribute that to everybody other type 04:20 of times they will do can you do us 04:21 three mixes yes just depends what I 04:25 learned so much today and I will never 04:28 need that ever again now you stole that 04:31 away in there you know for the next 04:32 trivia night you go to for the kids or 04:34 something yeah you know you know what's 04:37 gonna happen George someone will 04:39 actually one day bring that up and 04:41 they'll say is there any strange rules 04:43 in Australia cuz I'm just making 04:45 commercial for them yeah ah now 04:50 must tell you yeah actually yeah yeah 04:52 yeah that's right they're talking of 04:54 audio issues this is one that we have 04:57 and just to give our listeners an idea 04:59 of how this show works basically what we 05:02 do for this record while we were talking 05:04 to each other and monitoring each other 05:05 we use source connect now but what we 05:08 also do is record ourselves at our end 05:10 so Georgie record yours 05:12 Robert records his Robert records his 05:14 and I record mine call it a game 05:16 double-under exactly then we send 05:19 everything off to Robbo he then lays up 05:21 the four tracks and just gives it a bit 05:23 of a you know slide everything into 05:24 place then he sent it to me and because 05:26 I don't have multitrack I have Wavelab 05:29 which is running a stereo audio system I 05:31 only get the two tracks and is actually 05:33 a split mono feed really so I do the 05:36 Edit on that so I dual the you know deep 05:38 breathing and moving stuff around and 05:39 Counting great lungs out whatever has to 05:41 be done but we've had a couple of issues 05:43 in the last two well the last two I 05:45 think two shows that have been sent to 05:47 me from Rob oh there's a really strange 05:49 thing happening with the audio now my 05:51 audio is fine but everybody else is 05:53 audio it sounds like it's been deist and 05:56 compressed or something and I sent it 05:58 back to rubber and said what is yours if 06:01 you got the same problem and rubber you 06:03 didn't know I didn't it sounds like I 06:06 actually think it is happening on you 06:07 because I had another listen to it last 06:09 night when on you were gonna talk about 06:11 this today I actually think it is 06:12 happening on you but it's not quite as 06:14 noticeable but George to put you in the 06:16 picture to me what it sounds like 06:17 is someone running a de-esser but too 06:21 heavy so it's not just taking the tops 06:23 off the yeses it's taking the tops out 06:25 of everything you know so they're having 06:26 a nice it sounds like a yes is it s is a 06:32 disappearing completely in some places 06:34 yeah so fascinating yeah so it's we I 06:38 rang Andrew and went will you're a 06:40 dickhead because you're running a 06:41 de-esser and Andrew when I don't have a 06:43 DSL and I don't use any plugins 06:47 everything so so what I mean do you guys 06:51 know what I do on my own cuz you never 06:52 even asked what I'm doing on my hand 06:54 okay what are you doing you really want 06:58 to know offended if we can't see you do 07:01 we really want to know what you're doing 07:02 - yeah that's - an imaginary picture 07:07 draws a picture we're sitting 07:10 comfortably children yes okay well I am 07:13 mr. frugal when it comes to stuff and I 07:15 have using gear that is kind of 07:17 collected in my lap over the last 20 07:19 years most of it I didn't buy 07:21 it's just castaways and things I've 07:23 found from other studios along the way 07:25 but I'm using a mic processor between my 07:29 mic and the console and it's made by 07:32 roland it's called an mm p2 and it's 07:35 discontinued for quite a few years now 07:38 it's a stereo mic preamp with processing 07:41 digital processing so it's got expansion 07:44 and compression and EQ and all that kind 07:47 of fun stuff 07:47 and I'm using a decent amount of it I'm 07:51 I I cheat with an expander a lot because 07:54 I'm not in a great sounding studio and I 07:55 don't want anybody to know so yeah I 07:59 have an expander on there and and some 08:01 compression in the EQ is pretty close to 08:04 flat I'm sure I have a high-pass filter 08:06 on there too but I'm monitoring myself 08:11 through the processor so I certainly 08:13 hear what we'd be going to you and it 08:16 does definitely doesn't sound dest or 08:19 been washed in any way so should be okay 08:22 it's not why you're sending us it's 08:24 what's what it comes to me fine yeah and 08:27 then I I stick I lay everybody up in Pro 08:29 Tools yeah and then I bounced out a 08:31 stereo mix for Andrew that sounds fine 08:33 but so and then I deliver it to him via 08:36 hightail uh-huh he downloads is on he 08:39 there's his end and he's got this 08:41 lifeless everything sounds like 08:43 everything cut below about maybe eight 08:47 or nine K I'm sorry above I should say 08:49 everything above eight or nine K just 08:51 disappears and it sounds like this all 08:53 my tds has just been stacking everything 08:56 that's sounds impossible but III if we 09:00 don't know why it's happening I could 09:01 think of a possible theory as to how to 09:03 prevent it yeah without understanding 09:06 why it's happening 09:08 are you sending the files just as they 09:11 are like a wave with nothing later 09:13 they're not zipped into a zip file or 09:15 anything right 09:15 no they're just mixed down so I so 09:18 basically I clean up so if you've one of 09:20 us coughed behind someone else while 09:22 they're talking I'll cut all that out 09:23 yeah dude you're sending a wave file 09:26 right it's just sending a stereo mix 09:28 yeah so basically there's four tracks of 09:30 audio I mixed those down to a stereo 09:32 file and forward that onto a they yeah 09:33 because my hunch is that that file is 09:37 somehow being bastardized in the process 09:41 of being transferred I have no idea how 09:43 or why a great I'm thinking is that if 09:45 you zip it it's now basically encoded 09:49 not in CODIS but it's yeah what's the 09:52 word it's somehow projects rap don't you 09:55 yes and so maybe that will preserve the 10:00 quality it won't make the file much 10:02 smaller cuz waves don't zip down much 10:04 but maybe try that next time I'm gonna 10:07 do that that's a great idea 10:09 and then if Robert was here he would 10:11 certainly be talking about their utility 10:13 called sources zip what yes I don't know 10:15 if it has any utility for us moving from 10:18 stereo to mono stereo to multitrack and 10:22 black and black back and forth but my 10:25 understanding is sources if is designed 10:26 to do basically just that but a lot more 10:28 elaborate where it preserves the track 10:30 format and the you know the violin 10:33 namings you know just it makes it a 10:35 cleaner way to move projects between 10:37 studios you I wish he was here to 10:39 explain it better but maybe Robert might 10:41 um maybe Robert might donate a copy to 10:43 me for the show do you think I have no 10:48 choice that's his payment for not 10:56 turning up this week justice in a site 11:01 to that George I'm just having a look at 11:03 the MP 2 here on on Google that's 11:05 fascinating I've never seen one of those 11:06 before 11:07 yeah the MMP - yeah by rolling yeah 11:10 24-bit 96k yeah 11:13 what model like modeling preamp and it 11:15 has a mic modeling feature which Roland 11:17 was doing way back in you know kind of 11:19 the early days of that techno 11:21 and I don't use that feature to me Mike 11:24 modeling is which is a whole nother 11:27 topic we can go on if you like another 11:30 die think it's something I've been 11:31 thinking about lately because I watched 11:32 to see if it Steven slate interview 11:35 which creates the virtual microphone 11:38 systems but it has a mic modeler that I 11:41 don't use so I'm just using it because I 11:43 want to have an expander and a little 11:45 bit of compression on my mic so I can 11:47 get away with having my Mac Mini and 11:49 everything in just one room and you know 11:52 not have proper isolation yeah very well 11:56 so where'd you find that on in a garage 11:58 sale somewhere or something man you know 12:01 I just I just 12:01 I've I've spent time on websites like 12:04 gear slots of course over the years but 12:06 I've also googled tremendously like the 12:09 next cool thing to set up in a home 12:11 voice actors a studio you know what 12:13 channel strips and such and so forth and 12:16 this thing just popped up on the radar 12:17 I've had it for at least five or six 12:19 years so I can't remember where I saw it 12:22 but when I by the time I heard it it was 12:24 way out of production and no longer 12:27 considered really desirable so I think I 12:29 only paid probably $150 maybe less for 12:33 this thing so well um it's doing a 12:36 fantastic job for what it is yeah it's 12:38 fascinating I've got a question for you 12:40 George if you're on gear slots 12:42 Bogey's months what's your name 12:45 oh um you know what I have not been on 12:50 gear slots for quite some time 12:51 I would have to log in and actually look 12:53 and see what my name on there is but one 12:56 of my old user names that I came up with 13:00 when I was in college that I was still 13:02 used to this day on certain sites is um 13:05 when typing in now his sound gun so oh 13:10 if you ever see sound gun anywhere out 13:13 yep it just auto logged me in a sound 13:16 gun on gear so look at that 13:19 everybody now knows I gave it away sound 13:23 good because there's somebody because 13:24 I'm El Cid Els ID okay oh I know I 13:30 thought I've dropped a few things in 13:32 there which you been so 13:34 way off the mark anyway just my opinion 13:37 but there's a couple of people on there 13:39 I think is one called Fraser mm I don't 13:42 know what his real name is but there's a 13:44 couple of guys and they're obviously I 13:46 think phrases actually works in a store 13:49 or something and he's a techie dude I 13:51 think that's you know it's like he's a 13:52 dweeb right into gear selling gear and 13:54 fixing gear yeah but there's a couple of 13:56 other guys and I I read this stuff a 13:58 nice like I reckon they're really like a 14:00 high-end audio engineer like record 14:02 engineer you can just tell by the way 14:04 they talk and the things they talk about 14:05 and can tell that they're in like you 14:07 know sunset sound or you know somewhere 14:09 like that and they're really well-known 14:11 audio engineer like a chick irelia or a 14:14 bloody um you know those kind of guys 14:16 but I'd love to know who they are but 14:19 they hide behind these pseudonyms so 14:21 know who they are yeah exactly exactly 14:23 well yeah if you see anything sound gun 14:25 I don't know if there's anybody else out 14:27 there with the same name but I I think I 14:30 came up with it in college I wanted to 14:31 have a sound that was accurate and 14:33 powerful so a sound gun oh I just take 14:40 Rob oh and stick a couple of numbers 14:42 after it yeah that's right Robbo 62 14:46 Robbo 77 Robbo 428 it's funny what's 14:51 funny with nicknames isn't it I'm we're 14:53 getting off topic here but when I first 14:55 left full time radio and went freelance 14:57 I went from rock and roll radio at 15:00 Triple Aim where I'd been for 13 years 15:01 and I ended up working for the ABC which 15:04 is the government broadcaster here their 15:07 youth station called triple j which is a 15:09 National Youth Network and if it was my 15:13 first day there freelancing I was there 15:14 for a couple of weeks and on walking 15:16 down the corridor a couple of CDs in my 15:18 hand heading back to the studio to make 15:20 a promo and the program directors 15:22 standing at the other end of the 15:23 corridor going Darren Darren Darren 15:26 finally goes Rob oh yeah so used to Rob 15:33 I would was even zoned out to Darren 15:35 wasn't even thinking being at the ABC 15:39 they could have called you mr. Robertson 15:40 that's right exactly 15:42 yeah indeed yeah yeah that song that was 15:44 always a classic they're talking gear 15:45 slot so I did see something pop up and 15:47 gear slots nice 15:47 sent a link to you George and Robert 15:50 because once again the road thing is 15:52 intriguing me they've just launched a 15:55 few different microphones a few new ones 15:57 but the one that looks really 15:59 interesting for voice-over is the NT 49 16:03 mm-hmm 16:04 and I did see that mention on gear 16:06 as well couple of guys who said it is 16:08 anybody seen one yet or Nathan 16:10 Thomas 49 NT 49 yeah yeah mm-hmm 16:14 November tango November says the proper 16:17 yes the proper yeah phonetic alphabet 16:20 nice and sexy looking a little based 16:22 isn't it it's really because if you 16:25 remember they did the ribbon they the 16:27 NTR was the ribbon microphone they did 16:30 that was the first one with that kind of 16:31 shape and and now they've done the anti 16:34 50 which is an omni microphone comes in 16:37 pairs and that's for recording like 16:39 orchestras or that way you need an omni 16:41 mic and then off that they've done a 16:44 variable capsule for that body as a 16:47 condenser mic yeah which looks really 16:49 really interesting I wonder how much the 16:51 body effects the sound because that's a 16:53 big thing with norman like they've 16:54 they've patented the shape of the head 16:56 basket on the u67 for example when you 16:59 know and yeah yeah i find it intriguing 17:02 um and they've obviously done a lot of 17:05 research and development and i know the 17:06 guy that we interviewed Peter who's the 17:09 Belgian guy that joined them about a 17:11 year ago and he was involved in the the 17:13 I I won the little interface has also 17:16 been involved in the development of 17:17 these microphones so I'm really curious 17:19 what they're gonna sound like so I've 17:21 put in a call to Road just to see if 17:22 they'll let us borrow one just to check 17:24 it out but I haven't heard anything back 17:26 as yet but I shall keep you posted but 17:29 told you looks rolled out officially 17:30 right here on exactly but yeah I look 17:36 I'm I'm really interested in what 17:38 they're doing because they're they're 17:39 certainly taking on the big boys now oh 17:43 yeah no I haven't always been impressed 17:45 with Road I even had a I might have 17:47 mentioned this before I even had a 17:48 dealership at one time when I was 17:50 dabbling and selling equipment which I 17:52 won't do anymore 17:53 then they were so nice too to deal with 17:57 that just a guy you know who's just a 17:59 guy installing gear and they were happy 18:02 to set me up as a dealer and let me 18:05 resell their product and their 18:06 distributor I think they're US offices 18:08 were in Santa Barbara or something okay 18:11 not far away 18:12 and so I just they were really nice to 18:14 deal with rode great company yeah yeah 18:17 so there you go that's another knee mark 18:19 have you come across any anything in the 18:21 microphone area that said caught your 18:23 eye well I was just mentioning maybe 18:26 before we were on went on the air at 18:28 this whole these virtual mic systems and 18:31 there's a couple of them out there now 18:33 there's the VMS from slate digital and 18:36 then there's the Townsend labs speer p22 18:40 I think it is something 22 and they're 18:44 they're both designed around the idea 18:46 that you can take one microphone that's 18:48 a known quantity and then from that 18:50 microphone emulate any other microphone 18:53 and the slate system actually they sell 18:57 their own mic and their own preamp the 18:59 the main thing that you're really buying 19:00 though or buying into is the emulations 19:03 and it's totally done on native software 19:05 so I guess the advantage of it is that 19:08 you don't have to use their preamp and 19:10 you don't have to use any other extra 19:12 hardware you just have to have the mic 19:13 as long as you have an extremely flat 19:16 preamp it'll work with really any preamp 19:19 and then they emulate the microphone and 19:23 tests I've heard and the buzz and the 19:25 business and these guys have been out of 19:27 for a few years now is that it's it's 19:29 pretty legit it's the real deal but it 19:32 entirely relies on plugins so it's not a 19:35 hardware solution as much as it is a 19:38 software solution whereas the Townsend 19:41 labs system is a little bit more I don't 19:44 know 19:45 hardware related and the other thing 19:47 that makes the towns and labs might 19:48 quite different is that it has two 19:51 capsules and each capsule has its own 19:55 output so it kind of appears like a 19:58 stereo mic but whereas your typical 20:00 cardioid or switchable pattern mic you 20:03 know has two capsules but then the 20:06 the two capsules are blended together 20:08 and phased in and out to make it an omni 20:10 or a cardioid or a figure eight with the 20:13 spear system those two capsules are 20:15 completely in an independent completely 20:17 independently controllable within the 20:19 software so you can shape the pickup 20:22 pattern and do all kinds of wacky stuff 20:24 in the computer after you've recorded 20:26 something so you can basically steer the 20:29 pickup pattern where you want and on all 20:31 and any off any side of the microphone 20:33 and you can change the impedance of the 20:37 microphone all sorts of stuff from a 20:40 control panel so that's kind of a new 20:43 technology that bleeding edge of 20:45 microphone design I think right now is 20:47 that sort of technology and I haven't 20:50 demoed these in my own world where I've 20:52 gotten to play with them yet but it's 20:53 definitely on the radar hookup Townsend 20:56 labs Townsend T o WN Sen D lab dr. Diaz 21:01 and you'll find the sphere L 22 which 21:05 sells for $1,500 u.s. whereas its 21:09 competitor the slate digital Mike with 21:13 preamp and software is $1,000 so okay so 21:16 what are you saying is there 1500 yeah 21:18 this is more expensive but it's also 21:20 more sophisticated yeah but doesn't I 21:23 mean in terms of something anything that 21:25 seems entirely new to me those are some 21:28 of the entirely new ideas other than 21:31 that like trying to think what's like a 21:35 game should I mean I can't think of any 21:37 mic that's coming along and saying okay 21:39 everybody stop using the 41 six and go 21:42 get this like remember we've created our 21:49 own monster yes I haven't found the mic 21:53 that's truly dethroned it I mean I 21:55 always hearing about this micro that mic 21:57 that people tend to feel might favor but 22:00 it's amazing how often someone will have 22:02 that mic and something else and then 22:05 I'll ask them which one are you using 22:06 most of the time and they'll say the 22:08 forty one six and I don't know if it's 22:10 momentum laziness it just works 22:14 familiar familiarity it's obviously not 22:18 a bad mic 22:20 it's a it's a very good mic but it's not 22:24 a flat mic it has a sound it just 22:27 happens to be a sound that works well 22:29 for a lot of voices on a lot of kinds of 22:31 stuff that's right exactly 22:33 and it's it's true because I mean I've 22:35 got a TL m103 in the cupboard but I 22:39 rarely drag it out mm-hmm you know if 22:42 I've booked a voice talent which is rare 22:45 for me most of my voice recording I'll 22:47 dry hire a studio rather than do it here 22:51 in a in a project studio but I do I 22:55 rarely drag it out it's it's Erin 22:56 whenever I'm recording this sort of 22:57 stuff on my wife's recording voiceovers 22:59 the Sennheiser's the go-to yeah I mean 23:02 it's also more advantageous in a home 23:04 studio scenario whether maybe your noise 23:06 floor isn't the greatest to the 416 will 23:09 attract more background noise and have 23:11 some practical reasons to but the other 23:14 mic that's not that people are getting 23:17 interested in because they want an 23:19 ointment but maybe not want to spend 23:20 thousand-plus as the TL on one out - and 23:23 it's my I was just talking to a friend 23:26 of mine voice actor and fellow techie 23:29 head Graham Spicer and he said he's 23:31 finds himself using the t LM 102 now 23:34 more than anything and he likes it 23:37 because it has a more of a flat response 23:39 until you get to the top where it has a 23:41 big has a bump at the top whereas the 23:44 103 kind of has a rise in the upper 23:47 mid-range and has a little bit more of 23:49 that 23:49 u-87 mid-range bump that doesn't always 23:54 work for everybody it can be a little 23:56 nasal or a little honky sounding and 23:59 that one or two doesn't have that so 24:01 that's an interesting alternative if 24:03 you're looking for a different flavor 24:04 it's also a more affordable just look 24:06 that up 24:06 I'm 850 bucks us yeah that's the that's 24:10 the affordable Neyman no no and I've 24:14 heard of a lot of voice actors being 24:15 recommended that mic for their first 24:18 studio set up and nothing wrong with 24:20 that recommendation I just I guess cuz 24:22 I'm kind of a cheapskate I don't usually 24:24 recommend it $850 a mic for the first 24:26 voice actor studio I'm gonna stick mend 24:29 something 300 or less usually like the 24:32 NT one or 24:33 an 80 40 40 or something like that but 24:37 the 102 is a different take on their the 24:41 mic the anointment sound it's a it's a 24:43 different sounding mic than a lot of the 24:45 others yeah well one of the mics I use 24:47 and you'd probably look this one up as 24:48 well is a couple of micro tech refills 24:50 here and the first micro tech FL I 24:54 bought was the m9 30 right and if you 24:58 have a look at the patent on that on you 24:59 know because it's fixed 25:01 you know cardioid but have a look at the 25:03 have a look at the patent on that you'll 25:05 see what I mean it's pretty flat it's a 25:07 perfect beautifully made microphone so 25:09 they have a bunch of them do you know 25:11 what variation you have just the m9 30 25:14 but I did get the I did get the 25:16 limited-edition one when it came out 25:18 which was $2,000 25:20 know it which was the George Norman 80th 25:24 anniversary one you know what's really 25:26 awesome if you want to look at and 25:28 really geek out and compare microphones 25:30 are you familiar with a website called 25:31 recording hacks calm oh yeah yep yep he 25:35 makes design much he does it does make 25:37 several but what's cool is they have the 25:40 ability to look at a frequency response 25:41 and then overlay another microphones 25:44 response it's really cool so if you're 25:48 looking at I'm doing it right now if 25:49 you're looking at a mic like them 1 930 25:51 you'll see in the specifications area 25:54 the curve if you click on it it pops out 25:57 a window and then in that window there's 26:00 an empty box that says select another 26:01 mic and you just start typing the name 26:03 of the mic and it pops up and so I typed 26:05 in caddy 100's because this is one of my 26:08 favorite mics that it just sounds 26:11 surprisingly good 26:13 it's us-made for people that find that 26:15 intriguing and it's under 500 us and it 26:20 sounds fantastic very low noise and I 26:22 want to I wanted to line those two up so 26:24 because when you mention that you and I 26:27 saw the curve it said that looks like 26:28 the e100 s-curve and it's very similar 26:32 they just have their peaks at a little 26:34 bit different spot though 930 peak is up 26:37 higher it's above 10k which I kind of 26:40 liked actually and the the cads peak is 26:45 maybe at like 8 K 26:46 so but other than that they're really 26:48 similar very flat across the board 26:50 otherwise yeah I also like that that 930 26:53 is so small which actually the 102 is 26:56 also a very compact mic you might not 26:58 notice it without context but the 102 is 27:02 maybe almost half the size of a 103 27:04 physically so it's the one two nine 27:07 thirty and then one or two are very 27:09 similar in shape which is kind of nice 27:11 for voiceover because it doesn't 27:13 obstruct your copy as easily are the 27:16 inline 30 is great and also was that mic 27:18 I used to take on the road with me 27:20 because if I'm using like the Porter 27:23 booth it's perfect 27:24 cuz it's small it just sits in there you 27:26 know it doesn't get in the way at all I 27:27 have to remember that one I I've heard 27:29 that one come up a voice actor here in 27:31 the US who does a lot of blogging named 27:33 Paul Strickler de is a really big fan of 27:36 that microphone well you know the funny 27:38 thing is about Paul years and years and 27:40 years ago I did a thing I think it could 27:42 have been on Kia slots or somewhere and 27:44 I mentioned that that the chain I used 27:47 was an m9 30 and a grace m101 and that 27:52 was from advice from a guy here in 27:53 Melbourne mm-hmm and I put that up there 27:55 and he ended up because when I spoke to 27:59 him about the the microphone said IB he 28:01 actually in one one and oh yes yeah and 28:05 but he went and bought the m101 he said 28:08 Oh and I said what made you buy the mono 28:10 one he said I read it somewhere that you 28:12 know that microphone in that preamp 28:14 worked really well together and they're 28:15 fantastic and I said yeah that one sir 28:21 yes but it's you said that is a really 28:25 really nice chain to have the M 930 in a 28:29 my nose it's beautiful 28:31 I mean we do have a special guest 28:34 actually live on the line disfranchise 28:37 it is we've got expat Ozzy who now lives 28:43 in Hollywood and he's working in film 28:45 and television doing audio yeah an old 28:47 radio buddy of mine and yours indeed 28:49 indeed it's David Raines so uh so Dave 28:52 wanted to to get us started why don't 28:54 you give us an idea of your average day 28:56 at work then at the moment what are you 28:57 doing what are you 28:58 you working with what are you doing what 28:59 are you working on oh it varies quite a 29:02 lot I have a couple of different roles 29:05 here primarily I used to get hired a lot 29:09 as a recording mixer and now I get hired 29:11 to both mix and supervise re-recording 29:16 is what they call when you're when 29:18 you're you know mixing a television show 29:20 or a feature film so in that role I get 29:22 hired by either by the major studios or 29:25 by a certain production and you know I 29:29 come into the facility and work with the 29:31 crew and help steer the the mix and 29:34 obviously do the mixing as well get 29:37 hired as the sound supervisor which is 29:39 usually someone who's involved much 29:41 earlier in the show or in the movie and 29:45 you come in and you work with the 29:46 picture editor and the director and 29:48 composers and sometimes the 29:50 screenwriters you know budget the sound 29:53 high the crew often I choose the 29:55 facilities to be used in collaboration 29:58 with the filmmakers and then sort of act 30:00 acute the direction of the soundtrack 30:02 and then as part of that sometimes I'll 30:04 do the mixing as well so does that 30:06 happen 30:07 before production even begins sometimes 30:10 it does it's it's great when it does 30:12 it's rare I have a few filmmakers that 30:17 insist on me being involved while their 30:19 screenwriting and definitely in the 30:22 pre-production a lot of studio 30:26 productions don't just not set up that 30:29 way it really takes the filmmakers 30:32 pushing that direction for it to happen 30:34 that's fascinating because I just have a 30:36 very small stint in production mixing I 30:39 never got to the Union level but I had a 30:41 taste of that for a few years so it's 30:43 interesting the interesting to hear how 30:45 what you do fits into the timeline of 30:48 the sound post on the film yes and I 30:51 would say that I've done about a day or 30:54 maybe two days of actual production 30:56 mixing as I I don't I don't profess to 31:02 have the skills to be a production mixer 31:03 and but what I have done is been you 31:07 know I work on one series up here that 31:08 was shot up in Canon 31:09 and I worked with that production crew 31:12 producers and everyone else but also 31:15 that sound production crew for about 31:17 five years straight and I used to fly 31:20 myself up to Canada on my own dime every 31:23 year before we went into post but while 31:25 I was shooting to just go on the set and 31:28 see what those guys were doing because 31:30 they were amazing Wow 31:32 and they're all good friends of mine but 31:34 like I said I don't profess to be and be 31:37 the guy who can do that 31:38 when I'm involved in you know product 31:41 pre-production and you know prior to 31:43 film shooting 31:44 it's from a the perspective of how are 31:47 we going to make this film feel 31:50 emotionally what subjects are we going 31:53 to bring to it from a sound perspective 31:55 what can sound bring to the screenplay 31:57 and to the perspective of the shooting 32:00 that will mean that it is a more or less 32:03 emotional journey for the audience 32:05 depending on what the filmmaker wants so 32:07 for your your day or the average day 32:10 working on a film what does that entail 32:13 I mean because for a lot of people who 32:15 are listening and probably thought 32:16 you're on the faders doing a mix but 32:18 obviously we just worked out you not so 32:19 what do you actually do I do do that 32:22 absolutely and when I'm on a mixed stage 32:25 and I'm mixing it's the standard mixed 32:26 day having today the standard mixed day 32:28 here is here's a minimum of nine hours 32:31 at the console or running the room and 32:36 that process of mixing is broken into 32:41 sort of parts you know the dialogue pre 32:43 dubs the effects products 32:45 music production cetera and then what we 32:48 call the final which is bringing all 32:51 those elements together and working out 32:52 what the final print is going to sound 32:54 like so yes I will do that but more 32:57 lately is this only the last couple of 33:00 years I've been doing a lot more 33:01 supervising such a standard day it can 33:05 vary tremendously I could be out 33:08 recording animals or vehicles or weapons 33:13 or any you know key story element that 33:18 needs a library built for the production 33:21 I could be 33:23 you know editing dialogue I could be 33:25 editing staff and you know sound effects 33:26 mostly I have a crew who does that stuff 33:30 but as a supervisor arms are killed in 33:33 all those areas so I will usually get my 33:36 feet wet in all those areas to a greater 33:39 or lesser degree working a lot with 33:43 actors is often something I do for 33:47 instance I just did an action picture 33:49 for an Indonesian director last year 33:51 which we finished down at Paramount and 33:53 I spent two weeks in Jakarta shooting 33:56 ADR ADR for those of you that don't know 33:59 is dialogue replacement 34:01 so getting the principal actors to maybe 34:05 reread lines to add to them to clarify 34:08 story or in the case of this film was a 34:12 big action film and there were groups of 34:14 people running around the jungle trying 34:15 to kill themselves or kill each other 34:17 rather it was about creating tension in 34:20 the track in terms of hearing the other 34:23 people moving around you know the jungle 34:26 gosh I can imagine the challenge of 34:28 getting any kind of usable dialogue in 34:31 that kind of environment I mean I'm sure 34:33 they're better at it now than they ever 34:34 have been in the past but it still got 34:36 to be very difficult actually that 34:39 production in particular had really good 34:41 production sound some of the things that 34:44 production mixes do I don't know how 34:46 they do it but but what they do and the 34:49 tracks that they're able to bring into 34:51 post are unbelievable but what it 34:56 usually takes for that to happen is for 35:00 the production to treat you know to give 35:02 them some authority on the set and to 35:04 sort of back them up because if you look 35:08 at a decent sized film production there 35:10 might be a hundred people on the set of 35:12 which only you know four or five of them 35:14 might be cast and there's on even on a 35:18 big film there's only three sound people 35:21 on today so there's there's 90 odd other 35:25 people that are really just related to 35:27 the camera department and everything 35:29 associated with the picture so you know 35:32 wardrobe production production design 35:34 everything else so 35:36 all those people are focused on what you 35:37 see and there's only really three people 35:39 on the set focused on what you hear and 35:41 so just the physics of the environment 35:44 the physics of the number of people on 35:45 set make it very difficult for a 35:47 production sound crew to get good sound 35:49 unless they have an entire production 35:53 from the producers on down that respects 35:55 their role if they don't then the track 35:57 won't be any good it's interesting I've 35:59 seen you because when you look at a 36:01 soundstage or or actually a film set 36:04 they're not designed particularly well 36:06 for audio so there must be a huge 36:09 challenge if you're the audio person on 36:11 set yeah my perspective you know it was 36:16 ridiculous at times the and I was again 36:18 I was working at the low end of the 36:20 spectrum budget wise 36:22 but generally I understand it's probably 36:24 not that different going up the food 36:25 chain 36:26 you know you're you're just like he said 36:29 I mean I always felt like we were the 36:30 redheaded stepchild of the production 36:33 you know if we were lucky we had to 36:35 sound people on set at that budget and 36:38 they was getting it was very difficult 36:40 to get your - to get them to even give 36:43 you room tone at times you know let 36:46 alone anything else so yeah it was very 36:49 challenging to get usable sound yeah 36:51 it's very like I said it all comes from 36:53 the top and it all comes from you know 36:56 the great production crew I worked with 36:57 up in Canada they did a pilot that they 36:59 were shooting mostly in Calgary but and 37:02 they were based in Calgary which is in 37:04 the middle of Canada but they went out 37:07 and shot a pilot on the west coast in 37:09 Vancouver and I ended up mixing that 37:11 pilot and those tracks were just as bad 37:13 as all the other tracks I've received in 37:14 television and that told me oh you know 37:17 what it's not the production crew these 37:19 are the producers they didn't give them 37:21 authority they didn't back him up on the 37:23 set they didn't give them you know an 37:25 environment that promotes the ability to 37:28 record good sound and so therefore the 37:30 founders many could yeah we I mean we 37:33 use digital cameras back in that early 37:35 2000s it sounded like a refrigerator 37:37 when do you decide it's time in your in 37:41 your role to go out and get elements go 37:43 do field recording and and because 37:46 obviously you must have some 37:48 massive sound libraries to draw from 37:51 it's a collaborative decision and you 37:55 know because there always involves 37:56 spending money so you know you've got to 37:58 get the production to pay for it right 38:00 and you know like in every you know film 38:05 is a one of the guys you wanna brothers 38:07 said to me years ago he said you know 38:09 it's a handmade product from start to 38:11 finish 38:11 film in general but sound also and so 38:15 you look at every single piece of in the 38:19 case of sound every piece of sound that 38:21 goes into a track and if it is not 38:23 handmade the right way for an emotional 38:26 response that is the right promotional 38:28 response you're looking for in that 38:30 scene or that moment or that emotional 38:32 beat then it's not the right sound you 38:35 know you can have I've used really sort 38:38 of old you know I've used sound ideas 38:41 series/1000 sound effects in big movies 38:43 not because they're terribly great even 38:46 recordings as it relates to these days 38:49 recordings but they're the right sound 38:51 for that emotion so in terms of making 38:55 your decision about whether I go and 38:57 shoot something it comes down to do we 38:59 have the right sounds for the emotion 39:01 we're looking for in this in this moment 39:03 and if we don't then we generally go and 39:07 try and record it 39:08 my sound library at home but you know my 39:11 personal library which I've been 39:12 building for nearly two decades now it's 39:16 pretty large but it's not it's only 39:18 about the quarter of the size of the 39:20 major studios sound library and even 39:24 then with a major studio behind me I 39:28 often will make the decision or try and 39:31 get the production to get us involved in 39:34 recording you know something new for 39:36 instance I did a documentary I was at 39:39 Universal at the time and you know 39:41 they've got a pretty big library it's 39:43 it's I don't know six seven hundred 39:45 thousand sounds I guess and this 39:48 documentary was about elephants and it 39:50 was about the fact that elephants are 39:52 going to be extinct in the wild in 39:54 Africa body into this decade unless 39:56 something changes and so the filmmaker 40:00 was very empathetic towards elephant 40:02 spent several years in Africa shoe you 40:04 know recording the film shooting the 40:06 film but of course in the process of 40:09 acquiring the footage they used for the 40:11 film when you shoot documentary style 40:14 it's generally pretty rough in terms of 40:16 soundtrack and so we had these beautiful 40:18 emotional shots of elephants but the 40:21 sound wasn't anywhere near intimate 40:24 enough for those moments and so I 40:26 convinced the picture editor to convince 40:28 the director to give us some budget to 40:31 go on record elephants and I wrangled I 40:33 had five African elephants for about a 40:36 day at a sanctuary up near Monterrey on 40:39 the California coast and we recorded 40:42 these elephants and then of course 40:43 brought them back in you know cleaned 40:45 all the recordings up put them in our 40:47 library and then started editing and 40:48 editing the men into the picture and the 40:51 weird thing about it was even though the 40:54 filmmaker had made the decision to give 40:55 us a budget to go and do it she didn't 40:57 really understand what it was going to 40:59 do to fit film and that became obvious 41:02 to me when we came down to Los Angeles 41:04 because they were cutting up in Oregon 41:07 she came down to LA and we press play on 41:09 the first reel to run the the track with 41:12 her and give her an idea of how it was 41:14 coming together and she pretty much 41:17 cried through the whole reel Wow 41:20 and and it was about her emotional 41:23 response to hearing the intimacy of 41:25 these elephants and and what elephants 41:27 do when they are being very passive and 41:30 very very human actually 41:33 and it you know it's mostly the 41:36 rumblings not the trumpeting sound but 41:37 the rumblings and the swishing of the 41:39 trunk and those kind of sounds settle 41:41 it's kind of forgotten what those sounds 41:42 were like and what they would would do 41:44 for an audience and obviously what they 41:46 did for her that's fantastic wow that's 41:49 nice but it was it was very much a 41:51 collaborative decision but getting back 41:54 to your original question the first 41:55 thing we do is try and use them you know 41:57 the material we have it's funny though 42:04 isn't I mean I actually came across 42:06 something not on the scale of what 42:08 you're talking about but I was actually 42:09 doing a comedy sketch for a radio 42:11 station I do some work for up in 42:13 Singapore and there was 42:15 of seen in inverted commas in this radio 42:17 sketch where someone walked into the 42:19 room and I couldn't find a door I know 42:23 it sounds stupid but I couldn't find a 42:24 door opening and closing that sort of 42:26 seemed to make it work and I remembered 42:29 jeez we were talking about our radio 42:31 days before the interview but about 20 42:33 odd years ago my old boss in Brisbane 42:34 had this door that he used to use for 42:36 the breakfast show and one of the 42:38 characters would sort of inadvertent 42:39 commas enter and leave the studio we 42:42 used to call it but we still call it the 42:43 comedy door because it just it's perfect 42:46 and actually ended up ringing him and 42:47 getting him to sent it to me because 42:49 purely because I couldn't find anything 42:51 else that was right and and and that's 42:53 the magic of it isn't it is finding that 42:55 sound that is just absolutely spot-on 42:58 perfect in each and every way for for 43:01 that scene right I was gonna say I heard 43:04 a great story the other day about the 43:05 movie Red October and there's a scene in 43:08 the movie where the the submarines sunk 43:10 and it's kind of like a fan kind of 43:12 noise and just watch just that eerie 43:14 kind of the silence yeah the silent yeah 43:17 that's it and every time the sound guys 43:20 put the sound in the director would come 43:21 down and say no no and it went on and on 43:24 and on and it got to the point where the 43:27 guy who was doing the sound and went up 43:29 and sat on the roof and had a ciggy 43:30 while he was up there he heard the fans 43:33 on the rooftop air conditioning went 43:35 downstairs grabbed his recorder recorded 43:38 the fans on the air-conditioning unit on 43:40 the roof came back processed it threw it 43:42 back in as the directors leaving he said 43:44 can't come and check this out before you 43:46 go bang that was it that was the sound 43:48 they ended up using in the movie you 43:50 know it's also interesting about that 43:51 movie and I only know this because I 43:54 know the sound supervisor she's a very 43:56 very good friend of mine and I was very 43:59 lucky to meet her almost before I moved 44:02 to Los Angeles and around the time of 44:06 when I moved to Los Angeles was the 20th 44:08 anniversary it was like four or five 44:10 years after I moved here it was the 20th 44:12 anniversary of that film and the studio 44:16 which is paramount and the Academy the 44:19 Motion Picture Academy put on a 44:21 screening was only one screening of the 44:23 print and they restored the print and 44:25 they played it at the academy theater 44:27 here in Los Angeles and 44:28 when they were talking afterwards the 44:31 production sound mixer was there and he 44:33 told a story about how they gathered the 44:36 production sound on that film because 44:38 they did win an Oscar for this out and 44:41 someone said well how did you get the 44:43 you know such a good production sound 44:44 and his options were boom or plant mics 44:50 on most of the production he couldn't 44:52 use a boom because all the sets were 44:55 built it at the studio and they were all 44:57 submarine sets so they were all really 44:59 really short and you know small right so 45:03 he couldn't get a mic in over the top 45:04 and he could barely get a mic in under 45:05 the bottom so he ended up putting client 45:08 Mike's all the way through all the sets 45:10 and he would mix the track with these 45:13 plant mics well and he asked everyone in 45:16 the audience he said you know given the 45:18 perspective of wearing you know twenty 45:21 eleven right now whatever it was how 45:24 many tracks do you think came off that 45:26 set and the answer is one track of sound 45:30 yeah well so he nixed he mixed it live 45:34 to Nagre one track and they want an 45:37 Academy Award Wow isn't it so 45:39 mind-boggling I mean he has to had a 45:41 board there on you know and his cart and 45:43 just it was like orchestrating Lee 45:46 moving the faders as the actors moved 45:48 through the sadden he would have to know 45:53 the scripts better than any actor on the 45:54 set 45:55 yeah didn't know the script mr. blonde 46:01 they're probably not going to do seven 46:04 or eight takes until you get the mix 46:05 right yeah I'm guessing in production 46:16 really gets the opportunity for another 46:20 the camera yeah no you do if you don't 46:23 if you do you're in trouble put a shadow 46:27 in the frame it's like 46:30 it's the coldest shoulder on the planet 46:33 is that it's a tough feeling I can't 46:34 imagine I can't imagine uttering the 46:36 words I forgot to press record what 46:44 you're saying about yeah you're gonna 46:47 get the cold shoulder but you're gonna 46:48 get the cold shoulder from a hundred 46:49 people and there's only two or three of 46:51 you yeah that's right yeah that's right 46:54 but when they want to roll a duct tape 46:56 you got it on your card baby they love 46:58 you all of a sudden you gonna get the 47:02 cold shoulder from Sean Connery 47:06 individual yeah I can't imagine it'd 47:08 take too much well you know he's 47:11 licensed to kill after all Ryan the 47:13 disease he's not licensed to do a 47:15 Russian accent that's for sure I have a 47:19 I have a total geeky question insider 47:22 question I don't know how my inside of 47:24 this is but how often do you get to use 47:26 or how often do you choose to use the 47:29 Wilhelm scream explain if I listen as 47:39 though renze go I don't know when it was 47:42 first used but it looks 50s over 16 yeah 47:50 I guess in a diet was it was 47:53 blood-curdling these days it just comes 47:55 sounds kind of silly but been overused 47:58 I don't you I haven't actually used it 48:01 although I've worked on I've been at the 48:03 mix console when other supervisors have 48:05 brought it to the stage and put it up in 48:07 the tracks and we all have a chuckle 48:10 about it of course right I don't make it 48:13 part of my bag of tricks and the other 48:17 one that's I don't know the name of it 48:20 but there is a passing semi truck horn 48:23 sound the Doppler Hall yes that thing 48:28 Oh God hundreds of times I think yeah 48:33 and every time you go to a watch 48:39 yeah and every time a bad guy advances 48:44 on a protagonist in a film you know you 48:46 hear a gun I love it when the same 48:54 one who's doing the sound has no idea 48:56 about cars and you'll have a car in shot 48:59 and the sound you know if you know that 49:01 car is not the sound of that car yeah if 49:05 the car really sounds like in the sound 49:08 of pictures like more ballsy could even 49:17 go back to your story about the Hunt for 49:19 Red October though 2ap and sort of say 49:21 well hang on it's the submarines going 49:23 into a silent drive why do we need a 49:26 sound but you know again that's 49:28 Hollywood you've got to have something 49:29 there I'd say the one thing I don't know 49:31 work then this would be interesting cuz 49:32 David wanted to ask you this David 49:34 because I'm sure you've seen the movie 49:35 but this movie has very little dialogue 49:38 but the sound to me was amazing 49:41 have you seen Dunkirk oh and woody were 49:44 had here eyes out oh my god it was mixed 49:47 about 500 feet from where I'm sitting 49:49 right now Oh are they and yeah what were 49:55 you gonna ask me about it or yeah yeah 49:58 yeah how do you how do you write it 50:00 um it's a certain type of track and in 50:04 that filmmaker has been going down that 50:06 route for a number of years I'm not sure 50:11 that it's my taste in soundtrack but 50:14 having said that I can absolutely 50:16 appreciate the skill that it takes to 50:19 get a track like that I mean they're an 50:21 amazing crew Richard King is amazing and 50:24 Kerry Rizzo and the guys who makes those 50:26 tracks they're amazed I mean they're 50:28 just amazing and to be able to put a 50:30 track together like that I mean Chris 50:33 Nolan is a very very powerful force you 50:36 know and and you have to be to be a 50:38 director like that and to be at that 50:40 sort of playing at that level so you 50:43 know a lot of it comes to be able to 50:45 create a track like that you need a 50:47 filmmaker like Chris Nolan or a Michael 50:50 Mann because it is an unusual track 50:53 yeah and and there are people who in the 50:57 studio world may give you some 50:59 resistance about how to how to you know 51:02 about whether you can print that track 51:04 and it takes a filmmaker like a 51:06 crystalline or a Michael Mann someone 51:09 like that to say no this is the way this 51:11 is the direction we're going and this 51:12 hope you know so more power to them to 51:15 be able to create a track like that's 51:17 extraordinary track yeah and the 51:19 handsomer I mean he did the music from 51:21 memory and I just found the whole thing 51:23 did for the blue suspenseful and a 51:25 handsome is soundtrack or with music was 51:27 amazing Hollywood legend for about three 51:34 decades now indeed yeah speaking of 51:37 soundtracks do you ever find yourself 51:38 having an occasion to go over to the 51:42 Eastwood scoring stage it's in the next 51:46 building over where I'm sitting right 51:48 now I pass that every day I've been in 51:51 there a couple of times it's not my 51:53 domain it's not somewhere I get to play 51:57 around in it's one of the things though 51:59 that I loved that one of others has a 52:02 scoring stage and continues to maintain 52:04 it because and and continues to you know 52:08 pay for it and you know make it 52:10 available to filmmakers because scoring 52:13 stages have disappeared from LA 52:17 you know the tide Vittorio scoring stage 52:19 in in Studio City you know that was John 52:23 Williams favorite I heard for a long 52:25 time and they call that room down not 52:28 ten years ago and you know Fox and still 52:32 got a stage Sony's got one obviously you 52:35 know and Warner Brothers does Universal 52:37 doesn't have a scoring stage anymore 52:39 paramount doesn't have a scoring stage 52:41 anymore they took theirs down about 12 52:43 years ago so it's you ask about that 52:47 stage it's just great that they have won 52:48 here and that they continue to have it I 52:51 only mentioned it selfishly because I've 52:54 been very fortunate enough to see it and 52:56 sit in the room in the scoring room 52:58 during the recording of something one 53:01 time 53:02 and it was unbelievable I mean just from 53:06 a studio design perspective the noise 53:08 floor it's so quiet the moment the 53:11 conductor lifts the baton and he does 53:13 the downbeat it's absolutely dead silent 53:17 and there's a hundred people sitting in 53:19 there it's just incredible just an 53:21 amazing experience well you're one up on 53:23 me I've never I've never been in there 53:25 one has been musicians playing that 53:28 must've been amazing that was very lucky 53:30 I was I happen to be with Don LaFontaine 53:31 who somehow got a piece of music 53:35 recorded there so his wife Nita could 53:39 sing this piece with the orchestra 53:41 because I guess Don could do that kind 53:43 of thing and it was it was remarkable it 53:47 was really remarkable is so lucky to be 53:48 there don't can do whatever he wants I 53:50 would have thought yeah hey Yankee I 53:53 just want to go back on something you 53:54 said a second ago that I'm interested to 53:55 to sort of follow up the you were 53:58 talking about how I'm directors seemed 54:00 or directors have a signature sound not 54:03 just for one movie but sort of a 54:05 direction an audio direction they follow 54:07 in in a bunch of movies is that what you 54:09 were saying well it's not a signature 54:12 sound so much it's just a style of 54:13 filmmaking and I started derivative of 54:17 that is the style of the soundtrack 54:19 although in Nolan's case and some you 54:23 know great filmmakers their sound 54:24 impacts their film and their picture and 54:27 their everything else as much as those 54:29 things impact sound but he you know if 54:33 you'd listened to the last sort of six 54:35 films that he's done really after the 54:38 second Batman picture he did there's 54:41 been a definite sort of this is the 54:43 direction I'm going with my sound and 54:45 the integration of those two things and 54:48 the balance of those two you know sound 54:51 effects music and dialogue the balance 54:53 of those things he's definitely chosen a 54:55 path with that which you know some 54:57 people here and around the world I'm 55:00 sure have have sort of not agreed with 55:02 it but it's just the way he chooses to 55:06 make his films and in the case of 55:07 Dunkirk in particular I think it was it 55:11 was just animate to go you know 55:15 so what sort of things might that entail 55:17 is that a certain way that you treat 55:20 sound effect or you treat dialogue or or 55:22 you know in a bit finer detail without 55:25 getting too technical what sort of 55:26 things would would he be looking at um 55:28 there's certain things that he's done 55:32 which you know Hollywood has a there's a 55:35 star here which is in it you know it 55:38 starts from the script and so you're 55:40 your number one thing when you're 55:42 working on a film for the most part 55:45 you're always gonna want to hear the 55:47 dialogue and at a filmmakers risk 55:50 well they ignore that rule or at a 55:53 filmmaker you know they're going to have 55:54 they're going to get some pushback from 55:55 someone if if someone in the process of 55:59 finishing the film says I can't hear 56:01 those lines and he has got got close to 56:05 the threshold of acceptance and possibly 56:08 over that threshold do you guys remember 56:11 there was a character in one of the 56:12 Batman films called Bane made by care 56:15 buying a play by character named Tom 56:17 Hardy the echoes man Tom Hardy do you 56:20 guys remember that yeah yes definitely 56:22 sorry that name popped in the head when 56:24 you mention that beam yeah right he has 56:27 a mask on his head and his dialogue was 56:29 was quite difficult to hear in some of 56:32 the mixing and the pre dubs I remember 56:34 there was some back-and-forth and I 56:37 wasn't at Warner Brothers at the time 56:38 but I remember hearing about it in the 56:40 community that there was Connor and they 56:42 might have it being press about it you 56:44 know back and forth between the studio 56:45 and the filmmakers about well we can't 56:47 hear him we want to hear him do we avoid 56:49 him do we you know get him in that you 56:52 know if he men to do some more how do we 56:54 change that do we use the production 56:56 track do we not you know there's a lot 56:58 of back and forth about that and he was 57:01 he wanted to push the boundaries of that 57:03 and and push that sort of Hollywood 57:06 style of you know what you don't have to 57:08 hear every line so that's one of the 57:10 things that he has chosen to do and he 57:13 does that you know he did that with the 57:14 at least I heard he did it with 57:17 interstellar there was some once again 57:19 some press and some stuff in the in the 57:22 film community here in LA about how the 57:25 music might be too loud in interstellar 57:27 and people sort of saying 57:29 it was and some people saying it wasn't 57:31 and all that sort of thing 57:32 that's just derivative again if him 57:35 wanting to push those boundaries and say 57:36 I'm going in a different direction this 57:38 is this is not I'm not gonna make that 57:41 so I'm gonna make this film this is the 57:43 choice I choose to make it's funny thank 57:45 you for encapsulating that really helps 57:47 to understand that I was gonna say 57:48 though that was my takeaway from 57:49 interstellar was I actually came out of 57:51 a theater joint that music was loud I 57:55 want to know what you you've worked on I 57:58 mean the elephant story is fantastic so 58:00 it's clearly something that you're proud 58:02 of but what's another great example of 58:04 something you've had a lot of your 58:05 fingers all over that we should check 58:08 out I don't know that depends on what 58:14 sort of songs you you want you can look 58:15 at my IMDB make it easy for you mate 58:19 I've got one of your old promos on a DAT 58:21 here at the back of the studio you want 58:23 have y'all triple in promos I'll just 58:24 drag that out we'll play anymore storage 58:34 somewhere I'm in the same boat I got a 58:36 whole I got a whole bunch of debt 58:37 sitting in the back of the room that I 58:38 haven't touched in probably 15 years so 58:41 be interesting to see if they go in the 58:42 debt player or not I've heard the dads 58:44 don't last that long actually I probably 58:47 don't yeah yeah well yes microwaving 58:51 well that's all we used to do with the 58:53 reel-to-reel 58:54 absolutely seconds one run 58:57 that's it dub yeah get it or lose like 59:00 there's a couple films that I've worked 59:02 on that you know I mean I've worked on a 59:04 lot of like the elephant film the 59:05 documentary I don't think they've been 59:07 released worldwide it's certainly played 59:10 you know the president he President 59:12 Obama saw it and made some changes I 59:15 think based on that and a lot of other 59:17 input he was getting at the time to 59:19 import of illegal ivory into this 59:22 country you know that documentaries 59:25 played for a lot of world leaders and at 59:28 the UN and various other places because 59:30 the filmmakers a journalist and she 59:32 really she made the film to affect 59:34 change she didn't make the film to make 59:36 you know to have a big audience so I'm 59:40 proud of that film because of what it 59:43 means and 59:43 I'm also proud of it because of the 59:45 collaboration and the fact that from an 59:47 experience I got to go and you know work 59:50 with five African elephants for a day 59:52 and walk under them and record them an 59:56 incredible experience I've worked on 59:59 some films that would have been released 60:01 in Australia that I think are really 60:04 good tracks but I wasn't necessarily the 60:06 lead sound guy on them I worked on a 60:09 film called unbroken which was actually 60:12 filmed in Australia and there to really 60:16 receive Lina yeah yeah I can't say I've 60:19 but George is saying he has yeah Wow I 60:22 liked it a lot because it was only made 60:26 a couple of years ago and it was made 60:28 for a reasonable-sized studio budget but 60:32 it's not a film about men in tights and 60:36 I was just thankful to be on a 60:39 production that was to me the sort of 60:42 epitome of a big Hollywood blockbuster 60:45 without being about superheroes you know 60:49 kind of a classic canvas for a large 60:51 picture and I think the sound on that 60:55 film is great not because I was involved 60:57 I was only a small part of it but um but 61:00 it's a great track because the director 61:02 shows and the picture editors and 61:04 everyone else they chose not to have a 61:06 lot of score in the film which to me 61:09 opens it up a lot more for opportunities 61:11 to sound to help tell the story and it's 61:14 also the sort of story where you 61:15 wouldn't want a lot of score so it's a 61:18 really great sound picture I know I 61:21 worked on a picture called Patriots Day 61:23 a couple of about 18 months ago which is 61:26 about the Boston Marathon bombing here 61:27 in in the States 61:29 it's it's got like it's got a really 61:32 good cast and it's a really great i-ight 61:36 when you often when you work on a film 61:38 particularly a bigger production as a 61:40 sound person you don't get to see it in 61:42 its entirety if you're part of the 61:44 editorial and editorial crew it's just 61:47 the way it comes together and also with 61:50 a picture like that with that filmmaker 61:53 you know you guys are probably a little 61:55 more used to a linear 61:57 action workflow in other words you have 62:00 a script and you have everything kind of 62:02 like Robbo when you're doing an advert 62:04 of a TV advertisement they generally 62:06 give you a lock cut right yeah that's it 62:08 right well that doesn't happen in 62:10 filmmaking anymore yeah on that on 62:14 Patriot's Day we had 11 reels of film so 62:17 eleven two thousand four hundred and 62:20 forty minutes of film and we were 62:23 getting two new cuts on each reel every 62:27 day for months 62:28 well Wow and we were already in pre dubs 62:32 and finals so we were conforming twice a 62:35 day to every real upwards of three four 62:39 thousand tracks of sound every day all 62:42 day long so when you're in that 62:45 environment you don't often get to see 62:47 the picture you know play out 62:50 and so that film I was surprised at how 62:53 much I enjoyed watching it you know six 62:55 or eight months after it was released I 62:57 sat down no I watched it and I was like 63:00 oh actually is it actually really good - 63:02 yeah yeah do you think that's happening 63:05 because technology allows that to happen 63:08 and so since the technology allows it to 63:11 happen they're more prone to do it 63:12 that's absolutely one of the factors 63:14 yeah people you know produce you know 63:17 producers studio executives you know 63:20 anyone who's in part of the 63:21 decision-making process they know that 63:23 we have all these great tools and we can 63:25 do you know really amazing things with 63:28 them and the fact that you you can only 63:32 cut a 35 mil print once you know and no 63:35 one's working in 35 mil anymore so these 63:38 days you can make as many cuts as you 63:39 want and you can just keep cutting you 63:42 know and yeah and there's absolutely for 63:46 filmmakers that make the choices and 63:48 executives no one else to make the 63:50 choice to not make decisions that is an 63:53 option that they can now do you know 63:56 yeah it's funny I was talking with 63:58 Richard lush who lives in Sydney now 64:00 he's one of the Beatles engineers he 64:02 moved here back in the early 70s to set 64:04 up EMI Sydney and we were talking to him 64:07 a couple of years back and just going 64:10 through a few things and he talked 64:11 about commitment and he mentioned 64:13 working on the soundtrack for the Sydney 64:15 Olympics in 2000 and because he was in 64:18 recording with the engineer using 64:20 ProTools and one of the questions was do 64:23 you want to do another take on that yep 64:25 we're doing it to go give me another 64:26 take so did another take and then the 64:28 engineer turn around and said do you 64:30 want me to keep the other one and he 64:31 said well if I wanted you to keep the 64:32 other one I wouldn't have asked for a 64:34 new one it's all about commitment cuz 64:38 you just end up in the end with like 35 64:40 types of everything and you don't even 64:42 know you just you lost completely lost 64:44 that's all I think that's an issue you 64:46 finding you finding that David that 64:48 that's an issue of people not willing to 64:49 commit oh yeah but it's only an issue if 64:53 the production chooses to make it an 64:55 issue in other words as soon as you 64:58 change the scope like let's say an 65:01 advertiser comes to you robber and says 65:03 here's our ad you know we're gonna give 65:05 you I don't know whatever it cost for 65:07 you to work on an advertisement and and 65:11 then you you do the work and maybe it 65:13 takes a day or two or whatever and then 65:15 they come to you and they go okay well 65:18 here's another cut we want you to do all 65:20 that work again but do it on another cut 65:22 well now of course you're putting more 65:24 time into the production and if they 65:26 don't also come to you and say well we 65:28 should give you more money because 65:29 you're going to spend more time on it 65:30 then that becomes an issue right you got 65:33 to pay the rents like everyone else 65:35 so you know film is the same if if they 65:38 you know like on the on the Patriots Day 65:42 film so I don't know what the sound 65:44 budget was it was hundreds and hundreds 65:46 and hundreds of thousands of dollars 65:47 probably a couple million dollars and 65:49 you know they just had to keep spending 65:52 money because their filmmaker and their 65:53 picture editor and you know the director 65:56 they kept making changes to the cut now 65:59 that's only a problem if they then say 66:01 we're not going to spend any more money 66:02 because then you're like okay well I 66:05 guess just in the tracks to the states 66:07 that are out of sync and you'll have to 66:09 figure it out there but usually what 66:12 happens is you know someone's gonna be 66:14 pretty unhappy in that situation I don't 66:17 know how much more time yeah but I 66:19 to get one more and this might be a 66:20 quickie but I see you do a lot of 66:22 television what is the real difference 66:26 these days now in what you do between 66:29 working for television versus for a 66:31 future I don't really approach it any 66:35 differently it's still storytelling with 66:38 sound happened it's still the same I 66:41 mean obviously the budgets are a little 66:43 different and the schedules are very 66:44 different you know budget is budget and 66:47 you know the creative resources that 66:49 come out of that are affected by those 66:51 two things as in as they are in every 66:54 every job in the world 66:55 so you know TV here in America has done 67:00 certain way and it's very difficult to 67:03 get them to change that way of doing it 67:07 but within that way of doing at their 67:09 structure and reliability and 67:11 consistency which is sometimes a welcome 67:15 change from features because features 67:18 are absolutely derivative of the 67:21 filmmakers personality to an extent and 67:24 if they are a personality that wants to 67:26 keep cutting their film right up to the 67:28 print master then that's going to sort 67:31 of create a certain environment and the 67:34 budget and the number of people involved 67:37 and the amount of time you spend on it 67:39 is is going to change as a result 67:41 whereas television they don't really do 67:45 that although in the last couple of 67:46 years even that has changed you know the 67:50 consistency of television because with 67:52 these Netflix shows you know shows you 67:56 could have been delivered to networking 67:57 networks type networks you know you guys 68:01 probably seen this when you turn on 68:03 Netflix and you go to watch you know a 68:05 Netflix series you can watch the entire 68:08 series in one sitting if you want oh 68:11 yeah I know yeah it's not like it's not 68:14 like regular television ways you know 68:16 episode 1 this week in episode 2 will be 68:19 available next week and so as a result 68:23 like I did a series for Amazon a couple 68:26 of years ago which is a similar to a 68:27 Netflix delivery they deliver as in the 68:30 production delivers to the 68:32 giulio and subsequently the studio - the 68:34 network they deliver the entire series 68:36 on one day so right so you can imagine 68:40 is like an eight-hour movie right so 68:48 you're delivering instead of one hour 68:49 every week you're delivering ten hours 68:52 in one day or in one week now 68:55 usually a smart production will try and 68:58 schedule that so that they are turning 69:00 out one hour every week but going back 69:03 to your question earlier guys if if no 69:06 one makes a decision you could have ten 69:09 unlocked episodes three days from 69:12 delivery yeah like that right yeah so 69:17 that just think differences is schedule 69:19 and you know the way they structure 69:22 their productions do you think because 69:24 the budgets over the years have got 69:26 bigger and there's two different genres 69:29 now it's independent films and there's 69:30 you know big production studio films do 69:34 you find there's more fear involved in 69:37 the big studios I'm not sure if I'm 69:43 really qualified to answer that question 69:45 I mean I you know like the head of a 69:47 studio would be someone who could answer 69:49 that maybe and someone with a sort of a 69:51 perspective on it on the history of 69:53 filmmaking hi I think what is important 69:57 this is just me being the guy that reads 69:59 a lot of stuff about you know like when 70:02 I worked in radio one of the reasons I 70:04 left radio and chose to go and do 70:05 something else well the main reason was 70:07 I wanted to challenge myself creatively 70:09 the number two of maybe the third reason 70:12 why was I had been reading a lot of you 70:15 know the Financial Times and and I read 70:18 a lot of different perspectives on 70:21 business and the marketplace 70:23 and I could see that the radio 70:26 advertising the pie was getting called 70:28 the radio section of the advertising pie 70:31 was getting smaller even in the short 70:33 you know eight nine years that I work in 70:35 radio every time they put up that that 70:38 pie chart which showed you know print 70:40 television newspapers outdoor radio is 70:43 getting smaller every 70:45 here and I was like well this can't be 70:46 good for my job one day they're going to 70:49 get rid of my job because no one's going 70:51 to want to pay for it 70:52 you know yeah right radios radios it's a 70:55 broadcasting medium it's not a creative 70:58 sound medium at least that's not the 71:01 core business you know as part of the 71:03 business you deliver creative sound but 71:05 it's not the business you're in the 71:07 business you're in is selling media time 71:09 or air time so if your air time budget 71:12 is reducing then obviously everything 71:13 else in the station's going to get 71:14 reduced as well because they can't 71:16 handle the overhead so when you look at 71:19 major studios and films it's kind of the 71:22 same thing in addition to you know we've 71:26 had massive market consolidation with 71:27 radio station ownership not only in 71:29 Australia but around the world it's the 71:31 same thing with major studios 71:32 I mean Disney is just about to buy Fox 71:35 who would have thought that would happen 71:37 but it looks like it might happen you 71:39 know so when you look at the 71:43 consolidation of major movie studios the 71:46 only thing that drives that is the 71:50 ability for the marketplace to be able 71:52 to capitalize it and the only market 71:53 place that can capitalize those sort of 71:55 takeovers is the stock market and what 71:57 if the stock market want they want 12 15 72:01 13 percent year-over-year growth you 72:04 don't get that kind of consistent growth 72:07 out of the movie business it's a very 72:09 very up-and-down you know hot and cold 72:11 business one of the ways that the 72:14 studio's choose to minimize their risk 72:16 is by making movies that are derivative 72:19 or sequels of movies they've already 72:21 made before because when they put the 72:23 business model for a movie together they 72:24 say okay you know Batman one made one 72:27 hundred million dollars say well Batman 72:30 2 if even if we make it with you know 30 72:33 50 percent of the production value we're 72:36 still going to get 70% of that audience 72:37 so we can guarantee ourselves seventy 72:39 million dollars return based on 100 72:42 million we made last time so we know 72:44 roughly so there's a reasonably 72:46 consistent business model versus an 72:48 inconsistent business model which is a 72:50 risky movie with a script that and 72:53 characters and story that the audience 72:55 is never seen before and it's quite 72:57 unusual that's a very 72:58 business for a major movie studio sir 73:01 yeah 73:01 Maya in my humble opinion I think the 73:04 thing that drives the big movies and 73:07 they're sort of consistent theme if you 73:09 like or whatever however you phrased it 73:12 it's more who owns the studio's and what 73:16 does that mean for their business and 73:18 how does you know what ROI are those 73:21 equity investors looking for so we're 73:24 basically saying thank goodness that 73:25 George Lucas didn't try and pitch Star 73:27 Wars in 2018 right yeah yeah I know the 73:33 studio that would timing Star Wars was a 73:35 hard movie to make it was incredibly 73:38 difficult and groundbreaking it was 73:41 groundbreaking but it was also really 73:43 really hard for him he it took him a 73:45 long time to make that picture and it 73:49 was a very difficult picture to make and 73:51 I think there were some executives of 73:52 Fox that really took a risk on him as a 73:56 filmmaker and obviously paid off for 73:58 them and paid off for him to be time 74:02 that was 1975 when they dream let that 74:05 film but even back then it was a risky 74:10 yeah oh yeah absolutely but that was I 74:13 mean he basically sold sold his soul to 74:16 the devil to get it through in the first 74:17 place right I know I know he he did a 74:21 good deal on the merchandise that was 74:25 the deal don't pay me to make the movie 74:27 but I want the merchandise rights I 74:29 could be wrong on that something like 74:30 that yeah that's what I seem to remember 74:32 reading yeah but it's the same with 74:35 music though I mean music in the 60s 74:37 through the 70s probably into the 80s 74:40 and maybe early 90s the overhead 74:42 companies were happy to invest that you 74:44 know the first album may not fire the 74:45 second one may not go third one may not 74:47 but the fourth one could hmm and they 74:50 would invest in the future they wouldn't 74:52 just invest in that you know one single 74:54 on Spotify which is basically it now 74:56 yeah that's right well look at John 74:58 Mellencamp we wouldn't have John 74:59 Mellencamp if it wasn't for um what was 75:01 his second record company that picked 75:03 him up can I remember all others 75:05 was it one us yeah whoever it was I mean 75:06 he will CBS had him in the end but yeah 75:08 he was written off basically 75:11 yeah yeah CVS and they also Springsteen 75:14 he was another one that was you know if 75:17 the record companies to ditched him on 75:18 the first two albums I would have been 75:19 it hmm absolutely 75:21 now listen see we can't let you go we 75:23 can't wrapped up this interview without 75:24 getting a bit geeky here talk us through 75:27 talk us through your favorite gear your 75:30 favorite favorite plugins yeah maybe 75:32 some favorite workflows if you've got 75:34 any or just give us some geek gear you 75:37 know I'm actually I had some really cool 75:40 geeky stuff which I just I literally 75:43 sold it all about a year ago you know I 75:46 had outboard rack that I would bring two 75:49 duds and bring two mixes but really in 75:51 the last five years a lot of it's a lot 75:54 of the the technology in the box has 75:56 gotten a lot better I mean I've been 75:57 mixing in the box for a long time not as 76:00 long as some but but a long time and you 76:04 know I don't have it number one I kind 76:07 of don't like audio guys saying hey this 76:09 tool is really good this plug-in is 76:10 really cool because then everyone goes 76:12 and uses it and then thinks that they 76:13 can get the sound yes may or may not 76:16 yeah you know being well known for and I 76:19 don't think you know that the number one 76:22 thing is always your ears and second to 76:26 that or maybe primary to that is the 76:28 monitoring environment I was down in 76:30 Perth at the end of last year and I did 76:33 a talk for the Australian screen sound 76:35 guild and someone asked me roughly the 76:37 same question although it was quantified 76:39 in terms of what's your favorite film 76:41 mixing console my response was and it's 76:44 the same for plugins and it's the same 76:46 for I mean I have to work in Pro Tools 76:49 because the entire industries on it now 76:51 but but in terms of like consoles and 76:55 plugins and also stuff you know I don't 76:58 have a religion in terms of those things 77:00 to me the most important thing is with 77:03 what room am I going to be in when I'm 77:05 making decisions with my director I have 77:07 my favorite rooms at every studio here 77:10 and I will only work in those rooms at 77:13 those studios and because I can rather 77:17 you're saying yeah I can trust the 77:19 translation of those rooms to a 77:21 theatrical environment or to a home 77:23 environment 77:24 so let me take I did that that's an 77:26 exact inverse or the the mirror image of 77:29 what I tell all the voice actors you 77:32 know when they say what's the mic and 77:34 I'm like there's a mic get the room 77:37 right you know it's the exact it's the 77:40 same thing the room has to be right and 77:42 the voice to go to go with the room and 77:44 then I'm just performing to number one 77:47 in the in the in the the room or the 77:51 environment is secondary but number one 77:53 is performance if you can't get the 77:54 right performance then good luck tracks 77:56 I mean you'll never get the sound right 77:57 you'll never get it to sound good enough 77:59 for the client if the performance 78:01 doesn't work well your poly sense heard 78:03 is that what you're saying raisi 78:04 [Laughter] 78:08 that that two weeks of ADR down in 78:11 jakarta and we're working some pretty 78:12 kind of not-so-great ADR facilities cuz 78:16 chica jakarta is not a big filmmaking 78:18 community and yet we got really really 78:20 good performances and as a result the 78:24 filmmaker loved everything that happened 78:26 in his track you know once we go back to 78:28 LA and mixed it and you know there was a 78:30 little bit of oh gee this isn't a 78:33 beautiful recording but that didn't 78:34 matter the performance was there it's 78:36 funny I heard it quote from a recording 78:38 engineer and the question was asked 78:41 again what's you know what you fight 78:42 what what do you use you know what 78:44 microphones do you use what preamps do 78:46 you use what desk views and he said I 78:48 use whatever's there yeah that the truth 78:51 yeah I'm kind of I've worked on Harrison 78:55 you phonics obviously avid I did makes 79:00 no difference to me 79:01 I did I did a re-recording course at 79:04 afters here well Jesus back when there 79:08 was first to end when you did that yeah 79:10 and and they had a beautiful old 79:11 Harrison 12 in the in the room and man I 79:14 mean I you know I haven't worked on a 79:16 lot of big consoles like that probably 79:18 one or two but wow that was a sweet ride 79:20 that's for sure yeah yeah we got the 79:22 forgotten EQ that's a great River EQ in 79:26 it yeah that's right and speaking of 79:28 which I remember you used to have a 79:30 pultec EQ do you still add that no I 79:33 sold out when I left Australia 79:35 you fool yeah it was beautiful eyes just 79:40 just to fill you in ice to freelance 79:41 when rains he had his business I 79:43 I quit radio not long after rains he and 79:45 he used to get me into come and do some 79:46 work for him at night and man I used to 79:49 love that thing that was gorgeous 79:52 my head like I said I had up until 79:55 recently in my dialogue chain here and 79:58 some hardware a hardware rack with you 80:00 know some needs I had like six Neve 80:03 units and just some really cool 80:07 expensive it was like a fifty thousand 80:09 dollar rack and one of the things that 80:12 made me change is working in Atmos you 80:15 can't be locked to a dialog chain that's 80:19 limited in the number of channels which 80:21 surely a expensive rack will limit you 80:25 when you're mixing in at most and if you 80:28 guys know what that noise is 80:30 that's the Dolby nine twelve channel 80:33 surround system is a delivery it's a 80:38 delivery medium but also a number of 80:42 channels in Mendota Commons but 80:43 basically it's up to 128 channels of 80:46 sound as opposed to traditional film or 80:49 traditional in the last 15 20 years as 80:52 being either 5.1 or 7.1 sound there's 80:57 many many more channels and a great 80:59 example of an at mas mix and what people 81:01 do with them is the movie gravity that 81:03 film had you know had dialogue coming 81:06 off the screen and going around behind 81:08 you if you don't have a dialogue chain 81:12 that is able to be multiplied many times 81:14 over then you can't do that kind of 81:17 movement with a soundtrack try doing 81:20 that on a panel so I've mentioned the 81:26 Harrison 12 I I picture that I don't 81:29 know if I've ever seen one but isn't 81:30 that one of those quite large format 81:32 yeah consoles that are in the remix yeah 81:34 that's right say the course I was 81:36 talking about was a remix in course at 81:38 the and afters is the Australian film 81:40 television and radio school and I took 81:42 myself off to do that 81:45 mostly because I wanted to learn about 81:47 surround sound and this 81:48 Jesus late 90s people just when they 81:50 were talking about you know 81:52 surround-sound starting to hit TV and 81:53 all that sort of stuff so that's that's 81:55 why I took myself off to do that course 81:56 but yeah they had this beautiful big old 81:58 Harrison 12 and the mixing stage that 82:00 the film television and radio school was 82:02 a pleasure to work with that's for sure 82:03 where do you like to go see a film 82:05 because you like the way the speaking of 82:07 rooms other than playing a back of film 82:09 in your favorite room at Warner Brothers 82:11 where do you like to go in LA where you 82:13 really like the sound in the theatre 82:15 when I'm in LA I my wife and I are to go 82:18 if when we go out to a film we are to go 82:21 to a screening at the studio's because 82:23 we know they've all all their rooms if 82:25 they're doing a screening have been you 82:27 know proper their projection is is 82:29 correct of course if not then our second 82:34 choice is the ArcLight 82:35 because once again they generally have 82:37 projection pretty well sorted out but 82:41 lightly we just finished building a 82:43 little home theater slash sound design 82:46 room in our house we've got a sacred 82:49 structure at the back of our property 82:51 and I we put our little home theater 82:53 thing in there so lightly we'd be 82:54 watching films in there because it just 82:55 you know I did all the acoustic design 82:57 on that and it's it's close enough 82:59 and it's certainly better than the most 83:01 kind of home environments so it's 83:03 lightly been good enough for us 83:06 this is why movie theatres ladies and 83:08 gentlemen have to have giant reclining 83:10 electric seats and all sorts of other 83:12 gimmicks trying to get you to show up 83:14 because we're building these home 83:16 theaters that sound and look the 83:18 sounding and look incredible and that's 83:21 why he sent me a photo studio you should 83:23 say it's very nice in fact I might throw 83:25 it up in the show notes if that's okay 83:26 with you rain Z ah just give us the 83:28 address David Bowie around there like 83:32 three blocks and Warner Brothers I'm 83:35 lucky I get to walk good thing about 83:38 watching films though at home there's 83:40 some films you don't want to watch it 83:42 hug like like a comedy is far more you 83:46 know like a movie like The Hangover it's 83:48 far more enjoyable watching in a movie 83:50 oh yeah environment audience because 83:52 part of that process of enjoying the 83:56 picture is is hearing other people enjoy 83:58 the picture absolutely oh yeah 84:00 I first comedy I remember seeing the 84:02 theater where it really was like oh my 84:04 gosh listen to the audience was there's 84:06 there's something about Mary 84:07 yes out there movie I mean they really 84:11 pushed boundaries of taste and 84:13 everything and the audience like Ajay 84:15 drowned out the dialog like a third of 84:17 the movie have you guys seen a film 84:21 called two hands yes 84:23 no that's a great time 84:26 it's Heath Ledger before Heath Ledger 84:28 was a big Hollywood guy oh yes yes yes 84:35 [Music] 84:38 it's very black comedy and watch I 84:41 watched that film 84:42 I must mean five times in the cinema 84:44 probably because it's a great film and 84:46 also because watching it with an 84:47 audience it's just great yeah George 84:50 jump online and find it and and have a 84:51 look it's an awesome movie yeah yeah 84:53 Brian I am looking Ryan Brown plays that 84:56 perfect gangster yes Bergen gangsters 84:59 great right Brian basically plays black 85:01 Brian Brown he's um that's his signature 85:03 role I reckon dear you know even Netflix 85:10 online auto plays with audio aid website 85:14 yeah and a guy that you guys know Rick 85:19 Carter is in that picture and Rick he's 85:22 a great voiceover guy yeah there's a few 85:24 people pop up in that there's another 85:25 great film actually in that sort of 85:26 genre that was done here in Australia 85:28 and that was getting squared and they've 85:31 yeah they that's great there's a there's 85:34 a great scene it's Richard Roxburgh 85:37 plays this sort of heroin addicts and 85:40 there's the best scene of him it he's 85:43 running down the street in that you know 85:44 he's got the tight foot he shorts on and 85:46 would you would call flip-flops George 85:48 we call them thongs and they seem being 85:51 chased in a pair of thongs running down 85:54 the street and the sound of someone 85:56 running in thongs is so unique and it's 85:58 fantastic you got to see it well listen 86:03 Rosie this has been awesome I thank you 86:04 so much for your time we've probably 86:05 held you up way more way longer than you 86:07 thought we would but um it's been 86:09 awesome to talk to you thanks for your 86:10 time 86:10 no worries guys it's been fun thank you 86:13 if 86:13 I had a case of career Envy that's mine 86:16 yep yes I can understand that 86:20 absolutely the guy to hang out it with 86:22 at some point for sure 86:24 yes George stay you've got your I've got 86:27 your chance a nice guy to show the way 86:29 not just a shot away 86:31 get me shelter yeah yeah no I'd love to 86:35 do that job any day of the week 86:37 yeah but the trouble is if you 86:38 disappeared for two days mmm let's write 86:41 it down a rabbit hole yeah you'd never 86:44 emerge you know be gone gone for good 86:47 what's said in blood in in the hangover 86:50 what is Bangkok's got him it's in that 86:52 case it's Hollywood's got him yes that's 86:54 right yeah well there you go they goes 86:58 another show hopefully we've been 87:00 slightly informative hopefully something 87:03 in there somewhere surely for someone 87:05 yeah I'm still I'm still amazed about 87:08 Red October yes how they the audio when 87:11 they had to do it or plant all the 87:12 microphones that is insane he's crazy 87:15 fly live mixing a movie of that standing 87:18 that's crazy 87:19 yeah just one mistake they'll take you 87:21 outside and shoot you no pressure no 87:24 pressure and let's face it Sean Connery 87:27 is licensed to kill so you know and and 87:31 licensed to wear a week and have a 87:32 really bad Russian accent ooh Polaski 87:38 yeah so there you go Oh what what so 87:42 Ames I'm sorry come on 87:44 it's definite I'm sure you're just 87:45 trying to end the dang show and I have 87:47 to add something but I was a moment to 87:51 to as I was reading recording hacks 87:55 earlier up popped an ad and I clicked on 87:58 it and it's for antelope audio tying up 88:01 the the emulating microphone thing or 88:04 modeling mic they have their own it's 88:05 called the edge and it seems to go with 88:09 that same sphere audio design where it's 88:11 got stereo output it has to capsule 88:14 output uses a five pin XLR and then goes 88:19 on out and goes into their own system 88:23 and beyond that I don't know anything 88:25 about it because I just discovered it 88:26 but as you can 88:27 see that this is becoming a trend in mic 88:30 design and I'm sure gonna see a lot more 88:32 of this in the next year right right uh 88:36 time to put the microphones back in 88:38 their dust cover and it disappeared for 88:42 another week or so hopefully they won't 88:43 collect too much dust otherwise we'll be 88:45 out of money deal that's true talking 88:47 about dust covers so I wear the the 41 88:50 six that's because I'm getting bit lazy 88:54 that is the finally he's pretty well all 88:56 the time now that funny 88:57 it's just easy just easy I'll mentum 88:59 besides we've given it a we've given it 89:02 a cool name now - yeah sounds warts car 89:05 now it does yeah that's fine yeah yep 89:11 [Music] 89:21 be tickled to death to tell don't cry 89:25 don't sigh there's a silver lining in 89:29 the sky don't swallow thing cheerio chin 89:33 chin Naju toodaloo goodbye
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast is a Bi-Weekly podcast designed for Audio Professionals. With your Hosts George (The Tech) Whittam, Robert Marshall (Audio Engineer/Source Elements Creator/Owner), Andrew Peters (Premier Voice Talent/Co-Owner Realtime Casting), and Darren "Robbo" Robertson (Studio Owner/Sound Designer), we cover the gamut of Audio issues. From voice Over tips and tools to Project and Professional Studio set up and fit out, to the latest in gear and everything in between.
This week we chat about editing and recording Audio Books, there are tips and tools as well as software suggestions to make the task easier. We discuss a nice great sounding mic and Pre setup that won't bust your budget and speaking of Audio Books, Helen Lloyd, one of the UK's busiest narrators is our special guest.
Find out more about Helen Here..
Don't forget to like our facebook page
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whitham, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and maybe of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
This week we come to you LIVE...ish from NAB. Robert and George have set up camp in Las Vegas for the week, and we catch up with them from Adrenaline studios to find out what is new and shiny on the floor of this year's conference.
We also cover off the pro's and con's of Vodcasting (listen out for George's great green screen achievements), Robert answers a listener question about noise floors and bit rates, and there's the usual banter that will keep the tech heads frothing at the mouth.
So if you can't be in Vegas (Like Robbo and Andrew) kick back and enjoy the next best thing.
The boys lobbed into Adrenaline Studios to link up and record this week's show. A big thanks to Matt for providing all the Beer and Coffee that was required to keep their eyelids open. If you're looking for ADR, Post Production or just a great chat in some beautiful rooms, can we suggest you get into Adrenaline Studios? You can find out more about them here:
https://adrenalinestudioslv.com/
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whitham, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and maybe of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast is a Bi-Weekly podcast designed for Audio Professionals. With your Hosts George (The Tech) Whittam, Robert Marshall (Audio Engineer/Source Elements Creator/Owner), Andrew Peters (Premier Voice Talent/Co-Owner Realtime Casting), and Darren "Robbo" Robertson (Studio Owner/Sound Designer), we cover the gamut of Audio issues. From voice Over tips and tools to Project and Professional Studio set up and fit out, to the latest in gear and everything in between.
This week, we get onto the subject of microphones, and which is the best one to choose for sessions that will be played back in a live environment. Then, should you process your voice recordings for delivery to a studio? And to wrap up another big show we cover the best way to place a mic in your voice booth no matter what it's size. Plus, squeezed in the middle is our special guest voice artist and teacher Tom Dheere.
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whitham, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and maybe of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast is a Bi-Weekly podcast designed for Audio Professionals. With your Hosts George (The Tech) Whittam, Robert Marshall (Audio Engineer/Source Elements Creator/Owner), Andrew Peters (Premier Voice Talent/Co-Owner Real Time Casting), and Darren "Robbo" Robertson (Studio Owner/Sound Designer), we cover the gamut of Audio issues. From voice Over tips and tools to Project and Professional Studio set up and fit out, to the latest in gear and everything in between.
This week, on the back of our VO Atlanta special, we wrap up the goings on at this highlight on the industry calendar. We discuss some of the issues facing "Project Studios" and their rise in popularity. We dissect a noisy Voice Session Robbo dealt with recently, and we talk about some of the considerations it might be helpful to ponder when setting up for Voice Booth. Plus our special guest is voice artist Larissa Gallagher.
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whitham, Andrew Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson. Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and maybe of interest to you our listeners. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S Thompson
In this episode, the panel discusses Auratone Speakers and their relevance in today's studios. We debate the best way to install sliding doors into your home studio to achieve the best "soundproof" results, and on the back of the second part of our interview with UK voice artist Christopher Kent, we discuss the merits of sitting or standing whilst voicing.
On this special episode we crossed live to VO Atlanta with George Whittam and Robert Marshall to find out what topics were under the spotlight. We are also joined by voice talent Sean Caldwell and talked about P2P, home studios and sessions on the road.
A brand NEW Podcast for a New Year and a NEW line up! Andrew Peters and Robbo are joined by George "The Tech" Whittam, and Source Elements Robert Marshall as regular hosts.
In EP1 we cover of NAMM, discuss the U67 and what made it so great, we talk ISDN and Source Connect Now plus we feature part one of an Interview with UK Voice Actor and Studio Owner Christopher Kent.
George Witham and Robert Marshal from SOurce Connect stop by to chat about the year that was, the year ahead and a whole bunch of other Audio Related hoo ha. Slap on your Santa Hat, grab a cup of Eggnog and kick back in a comfy chair and enjoy.
Merry Christmas from the VO Radio SHow Team.
Tony Peterson is an Australian copywriter who specializes in Spoken Word Storytelling. Podcasting, yarns, tall tales and true, original content that tells the story of brands over a variety of platforms.
In this week's Episode, Robbo and AP dive into the casting process with Tony and get to the core of what it may take to get your foot in the door. An interesting listen if you want to expand your casting horizons.
It's a purely personal thing. The studio monitors you like may not be the pick of the guy down the road. There's nothing wrong with that, but beware the home Hi-Fi speakers, and even more wary of those commercial headphones. A nice flat response is what you're looking for. In this Episode, Robbo and AP discuss the ups and downs, ins and outs of studio monitoring and what to look out (or more importantly LISTEN) for.
Wikipedia will tell you, "A volume unit (VU) meter or standard volume indicator (SVI) is a device displaying a representation of the signal level in audio equipment.". But what is it measuring, and how do you set it up.
This week, Robbo and AP unravel a few truths, and discuss the different types of metering and where and why you may use them. If you have a home voice over studio, and you're not sure about all those bouncing meters and what they're telling you. This episode is for you.
Shhh… don't tell everyone, but in 2014, after two decades in London, Mike Cooper followed his dream to live in nature. Nowadays he enjoys log cabin life in the forest with his partner, two rescue dogs – and an increasing array of livestock – in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Fortunately, high-speed cable internet means he can still be the "guy next door", no matter where you are in the world…
Starting out as a newsreader for the BBC World Service, and narrating TV documentaries for the likes of HISTORY and National Geographic, his work has been described as "exceptional", his performance as "spot on in the first take", and his delivery as having an "effortless authority".
This week on the VO Radio show, we chat with Mike about his start the business, his career path and how he got to where he is today. It's an exception snapshot into the career path of one of the best.
Find out more about Mike here:
http://www.mikecoopervoiceover.com/#demos
Find out more about us here::
http://www.voradioshow.com/
Robbo Here:
https://www.voodoosound.com.au/
And Andrew here
http://andrewpetersvo.com/
The VO Radio Show copyright Andrew Peters & Darren Robertson Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements. They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we like, think is cool and maybe of interest to you our listeners. “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!” ― Hunter S. Thompson, The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967
This week we talk with Robert Marshall owner of Source Elements. Their latest product promises ISDN quality and usability over IP. We deep dive into the technology, how it works and why we think its going to be a big hit.
Matt Cowlrick’s voice over career spans over 20 countries, utilizing multiple accents and a variety of voice types and age ranges. His clients include an impressive collection of the world’s top brands and multinational companies. Matt records for commercials (TV, radio, and web), animation, corporate and industrial narrations, promos and many other mediums.
Based in beautiful British Columbia, Canada, Matt works from his fully equipped digital studio and delivers recordings via Source Connect, ISDN, ipDTL, phone patch and Skype.
This week we talk to Matt and deep dive into how he fine-tuned his American accent to create a more work for himself, how he made his start, and what life is like living in beautiful Canada whilst running his VOice Over business from a home studio in a Log Cabin.
George will help you improve the quality of your recordings, often without even setting foot in your home! George Whittam’s golden ears and over 20 years pro-audio experience as an engineer and technician will walk you through the processes of improving your studio’s acoustics, tweaking your signal chain, dialing in processing, and smoothing out your workflow so you can get more work finished in less time. In this episode, AP talks with George about everything Home Studio, and there's even a special offer from George for his services.
Marketing is one of the most important things you will do for your career. How can you do it better? How do other people do it? This week, we investigate...
It's an art that could prove an invaluable skill to have when everything goes pear shaped in a voice session, and you track the fault back to a dodgy mic lead.
What are the tricks, and is it a hard skill to master? Robbo and AP delve into all the details.
This week we talk to Antonio Anzalua from Warm Audio about their Neumann U87 clone, the WA 87. It has been touted by industry veterans as "the closest to the real thing", but with a price point that is nothing even remotely similar to the original.
Andrew gets the low down on how Warm Audio managed to pack in so much punch for such little outlay, and we give you the chance to hear for yourself why it's worth considering as an addition to your stable of microphones if you're running a home studio, creating your own podcast, or even just auditioning from home.
Download a raw uncompressed un-eq'd file direct from the WA87 at 24bit 48k by clicking on the "Bonus Content" button.
Social Media promises so much. Access to Creatives and Producers, a chance to sell your self to people that you may have never been able to reach 10 years ago before the dawn of Facebook.
But what platform works best for the media. How do you go about contacting these people? Do you sell yourself from the moment they connect or wait and see where things go?
In this week's show, we talk to Dan Hurst returns to the studio to share his experience and success online to drive his personal brand's success to new heights.
Here's the link to the Mojo Radio Show episode featuring Christopher J Reed Robbo mentions in this show..
http://www.themojoradioshow.com/ep-117---chris-j-reed.html
It's one of those annoying things. You nail the brief, pause where required, color and shade are abundant throughout your read, and there's just the right amount of smile. Then the engineer opens the talkback and says. "that was great, perfect in fact", but we'll just have to do one more. There were a few mouth clicks in there".
What can you do to avoid them? Is there anything you can do? This week AP and Robbo discuss the dilemma and some possible solutions that may suit you.
Unsure why your voice tracks sound distorted sometimes even tho VU meter says that they shouldn't be? This is where you need to understand the concept of GAIN and Level. In this week's Episode, Robbo tries to unravel the difference and give you an understanding of the difference and how to use them.
It's happened to all of us. You're in a session, and all of a sudden you're getting feedback, or the client listening at the other end says they can't hear you. If you're not confident in understanding how your studio works, and where problems can occur, you get that sinking feeling in your gut and a blind sense of panic sets in.
In this episode, tho, AP and Robbo discuss how you can work quickly and confidently to solve the problem and keep your client's blood pressure down.
More and more it seems that a good mix is becoming less of a lusted after goal when it comes to some forms of media. In this episode, AP and Robbo explore some disturbing industry trends and discuss some ways you may be able to "tweak" what you are delivering to help your voice stand out even straight out of the Avid.
We spend a fortune on them, but one day...Someday we have to move them. How do you prepare for the move, and what things do you need t think about? AP and Robbo discuss the ins and outs of moving house when you are also a small studio operator.
We all live and die by our Mobile (Cell) Phone, but what is the etiquette attached to their use in the Studio. AP and Robbo delve into what can sometimes be a sticky situation.
If you have a home studio for VO work, it can be confusing as to what studios expect when you are sending them their audio. In this quick bite AP and Robbo explore the different file types and settings that are fast becoming an industry standard.
This week, AP and Robbo take a look at the new player in the Voice over IP game. Bodalgo have thrown their hat in the ring, is it all it's shaped up to be?
In this week's episode, we catch up with Harlan Hogan. The creator and distributor of the Porta-Booth Pro. Take a listen as he tells us the best way to set it up, and some of the secrets of pulling a great sound on the road. If you travel and work, this is one not to miss.
As it becomes more and more accepted that experience in the industry, both advertsing and media, is not necessarily as respected from a hiring point of view as it used to be. Robbo and Andrew discuss some of the issues that can arise from working with some of those newer to our industry.
Let's face it, one of the key selling points of working from a home studio is availability. We can be flexible for our clients more so than when you're running between studios and spending downtime in the car or on the bus or train.
However, when is it ok to say, sorry I can't right now, and how do you manage that against the expectation of a fast turn around.
Take a listen to this week's show, as the guys try to solve this dilemma.
In this episode we look at a short article from Abbe Holmes about three things to think about before your next voiceover.
On this weeks show we put the Kaotica Eyeball and the Harlan Hogan Porta Booth Pro to the test. Admittedly its a small sample test but it does give you a pretty good idea how these work.
We use a base line sample, so you get an idea of the room sound and mic and preamp sound, then we record in the same space using both portable helpers.
Robbo offers his audio engineering ears to talk about each technically and what these two do to the sound.
So want to know the result? Join Andrew and Robbo for this weeks bite sized VO Radio Show.
In a new format, short form Podcast, Robbo, AP and Dan debate the pros and cons of Adobe's new voice cloning software. Where will it take us? What does it mean for Voice Over talent? What does the future hold for the Voice Over Hobbyist?
Take 20 minutes to explore what the future of our business holds and how we might be getting there.
In this episode Andrew, Robbo and Dan team up to help you make the most of your Audition Tapes.
From, interpreting scripts differently, to executing the "Perfect" read, the guys take you through the process step by step.
An hour of your time that will definitely pay dividends the next time you're asked to audition.
As a hard working, in demand voice over artist, Dan Hurst is one of the best, not only in English but Spanish as well.
When he was 14 years old he got his first job in radio. The radio station changed the locks on him.
His parents sent him to reform school. He got kicked out.
He finally graduated from High School although the principal "forgot" to call his name at graduation.
He spent 13 of the best years of his life in college. 4 different ones.
He got married and had 3 children. They moved out. But they keep coming back to eat.
He had a dog, but it ran away.
He’s been a voice talent for over 25 years. Mostly because he’s not any good at anything else.
In this week's show, we talk with Dan about his work, what got him there, and where it is taking him. We also compare a script read by both Dan and Andrew and run through Dan's mic chain to see what give him that "Secret Sauce", and Dan also spills a few secrets about how to have a better shot with your next Audition!
As a home studio operator, be it VO artist, or Production facility, what are the basics? Is there such a thing as too much gear? How can you get out there and sell yourself??
Andrew and Robbo discuss these issues and more in this weeks episode..
In this episode Robbo and Andrew chat about Microphones and their differing incarnations, Voices and their qualities, and talk in depth about the state of the Voice Over industry in general...
This weeks guest is Travis Hall, the Manager of Guitar, Systems, and Pro Audio Departments at Sound Pure. In this episode we discuss Microphone and pre amp combinations from the simple and most affordable, to the top end and more.
Whether you have a home studio or are servicing the top end of town, you can't afford to miss this.
Joan has voiced or filmed thousands of union TV commercials and corporate presentations and has been a featured performer on network TV and the NY stage. As a voiceover coach she has worked with established voice talent and their agents. She has also recently conducted seminars for NY SAG & AFTRA on surviving career change and working under the non-broadcast contract.
Don't miss what she has to say on this weeks episode of the Mojo Radio Show.
Robert Marshall is one-half of the driving force behinds the Voice Over Industry's go to software for voice over IP; Source Connect. In this episode, we chat with Robert about all things Source Elements, the idea behind it, the evolution of the product, and the many offshoots that have taken legs since the original software was released.
Plus being Christmas, it wouldn't be right if we didn't chat about all those goodies that might fill your sack this year. Sit back, take a listen and relax...
Chris Dickie was the bassist with God's Toys in the early '80s. A native of Coventry and living in Australia since 1994,he has navigated a career that has seen him engineer records by the Thompson Twins, Kirsty MacColl,Rickie Lee Jones, Simply Red, Sinéad O'Connor, Depeche Mode, Morrissey (who he has also produced), Wet Wet Wet, Waifs, and Augie March. He was also the Engineer at RAK Studios tasked with recording The Pogues - If I Should Fall From Grace With God.
In this weeks episode, Andrew and Chris relive his career to date and cover some of the finer details of his work. We also take a look at Source Connect Now and talk about deliverables for today's home voice over studio operators.
We also take a look at Source Connect Now and talk about deliverables for today's home voice over studio operators.
Wes has worked in the entertainment industry for some 20 years as an advocate / agent for performers. Primarily in the voice-over, advertising, endorsement, gaming, animation and social media arenas. He represents a diverse group of film, television, music, sports and social media celebrities as well as working actors.
These days he focuses on the shifts in what defines "engagement" and "relevance" in entertainment and media. He also works on how to measure this, create it and leverage it. He is representing a handful of clients with significant social media reach and matching them with appropriate brands to organically achieve these partners' marketing goals and increase their levels of engagement.
In this weeks interview with Andrew he expands on these ideas, as well as the background to his start in the industry and his thoughts on the changing tide in terms of home studios.
Plus Robbo and Andrew ask the questions "can you record an award winning spot on an SM57? And is there ever a time you should eq and Compress your home studio voice tracks before delivery?"
Find out on this weeks episode.
Over the years some very famous slogans have entered your ears via Harlan Hogan's voice:
From Raids' "Kills bugs fast, Kills bugs dead" and Head & Shoulders' "That little itch should be telling you something" to the iconic, "It's the cereal even Mikey Likes".
Today, Harlan's voice is still bringing us memorable slogans like, "How's that for trendy?" for Ford 150 trucks, "It's not home - but it's close" for Cracker Barrel and reminding PBS viewers day in and day out that, "This program was made possible by viewers like you. Thank you"
Based in Chicago, Harlan sends his voice world wide from his state of the art home studio, via ISDN, Source Connect, CD/DVD and the Internet. But Voice Over is not Harlan's only bag. If you're familiar with the "Porta Booth" you'll know that Harlan also runs one of the biggest home studio supply site on the net. Complete with his own Mic. This is an episode you cant afford to miss.
Nick Tate is one of the hardest working Voice Over Artists in the U.S. But did you know he's an Aussie?
In part 2 of our interview with Nick, he talks about getting his big break, working in LA and the challenges of working from your closet in Suburban Sydney Australia.
Also in this episode we discuss the latest in studio monitoring and the financial rewards (or lack of) for some of those working in the industry.
Links:
Nick Tate:
http://www.nicktate.com/
He's one of the most recognised Narrators in the Business Today. It’s very possible that you are already a fan and you don’t know it. If you’ve ever spent more than a few minutes on the Discovery channel you’ve probably heard Robert Lee, Narrator for the Hit Discovery Channel Series “MythBusters.” This week he's our special guest on the VO Radio show.
Plus Robbo and Andrew dispel a few studio and Voice Over Myths.
David Courtney is a British singer-songwriter and record producer. His first big break was as a songwriter with Adam Faith and Leo Sayer. As a producer, David has also worked with musicians such as Roger Daltrey, Gene Pitney, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour and Jimmy Page.
This week on the Vo Radio sho we chat with David about his Career, his work with some of the biggest names in the music business as well as the story of how he discovered 70's Pop legend Leo Sayer.
Plus Robbo and Andrew chat with Katie Bender, the force behind a new feature film that takes the world of Olympic Skiing to the world stage.
Marc Graue is an American voice actor and sound recording engineer who runs the Marc Graue Voiceover Studios, where the Fallout 2, Fallout: New Vegas and voiceovers were recorded. He also voiced Davison, Keene and some of the generic super mutants in Fallout: New Vegas.
His prior work includes voicing Mr. Zurkon in the Ratchet & Clankgames. Another popular role were the voices of Mario, Luigi, and Bowser in the infamous "Hotel Mario," which has garnered widespread attention and has been translated into a slew of memes, mostly due to its critically derided cutscenes and gameplay.
This week, Marc talks all things voice over and Radio.
Plus Andrew and Robbo chat about "emotion" in Radio Production, plus ins and outs of Headphones and their use.
It's a big show, don't miss it!!
Richard Lush is a British-born Australian recording engineer and producer. He began his career in the mid-1960s as an assistant engineer at the EMI Abbey Road Studios in London.
Working alongside producer Sir George Martin Richard participated in nearly one hundred Beatles recording sessions and he is credited as Second Engineer on all tracks on the Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album.
In this episode Richard talks about his time recording some of the biggest albums in history, as well as sharing a few of his secrets and thoughts on recording vocals, microphones in general, and behind the scenes secrets from recording sessions. Plus he tells the real story behind Yoko's influence on the break up of the Beatles.
Also this week, Robbo and Andrew review a few popular Mic/Mic Pre setups and talk all things Mic chain.
Links:
Mic/Mic Pre Setups
Richard Lush
Abby Road Studios
Nick Tate is one of the hardest working Voice Over Artists in the U.S. But did you know he's an Aussie?
His carrer started in Radio and behind the camera until he got his big break in the US. It was a life changing meeting that changed everything, that has now lead to him being one on the most used Movie Trailer voice artists in the US. Take a listen to part 1 of our interview with Nick as we delve into the early days of hios life and carrer, and the story of how this chance meeting came about.
Also in this episode we discuss the Australian influence on the US Film industry, the trick to nailing that authentic Australian Accent, and Robbo has 5 tips to improve your creativity.
Links:
Nick Tate:
http://www.nicktate.com/
Tim Tams:
http://www.arnotts.com.au/products/tim-tam/
Features:
– Our love for free lunches
– How advertising has changed…demise of advertising through new technology
– Voice channel trick for techie friends. Voice channel bus.
We also speak with
Mike Beach
Iain Lanivich
Who share with us the three things that influenced their careers.
Some other thoughts about drones, working in a team versus freelancing, staying connected.