How do I improve the sound of my spoken voice in Audition CC? (Still confused...)

Report · Sep 09, 2018

Hello everybody,

I have spend basically the whole day watching tutorials on Youtube and trying to understand how to use Audition CC to improve my voice in a few Youtube videos I am recording (speech, not music). I am more confused than ever. There is so much to adjust, and in most tutorials, they just say that the setting are different for every voice and tell me to play around with the settings until it sounds good.

For example, in "parametric equalizer" how am I supposed to know which dot I need to move where?

Or in graphic euqualizer, I have 10,20 or 30 bands (since this is what they are apparently called?) which I can move around, and there is no tutorial that tells me what each single one means and how to adjust them to fit my voice!

Also, what the is this "FFT" that I am supposed to adjust when using noise reduction?

And so on, and so on! There is just a solid lack of high-quality information on the internet explaining everything, and I don't want to just copy some settings from a Youtube video without a clue what they mean.

Does somebody have advice on how to use Audition CC to improve the sound of my recorded voice? (I am using the Rode Videomic pro+)

Or can somebody recommend a good tutorial /book /online-class /anything that will teach me all these things?

I appreciate any help!

Report · Sep 09, 2018

Try this

Adobe Audition CC 2018 Tutorial - YouTube

Report · Sep 09, 2018

This one may be a bit better for your usage. HOW TO MAKE YOUR VOICE SOUND PERFECT FOR VIDEO | AUDITION CC TUTORIAL - YouTube . However I do find his delivery a bit annoying and couldn't watch all the tutorial.

Report · Sep 09, 2018

ryclark wrote
However I do find his delivery a bit annoying and couldn't watch all the tutorial.

For some strange reason he seems to think that he sounds good...

And as we've said before, the real starting place for sounding good has nothing to do with recording. You need to learn to use your voice effectively - so that's breathing, learning to articulate effectively and all of that sort of stuff. Also, in that video he didn't mention anywhere what it is you have to do to learn to modify this effectively (here's a clue - it involves using headphones...). And I think he's gone a bit mad with the compression, too - there's no blanket approach to this, whatever he thinks. And as for using two different sorts of EQ - quite frankly there's no point; parametric EQ just sounds better at both ends of the spectrum. I've never used that 20 or 30 band graphic thingy for anything, mainly because of the alarming phase distortion it's capable of introducing,

To the OP: the chances are that unless you get a bit of impartial feedback about what you're doing, you'll never really learn what's 'good' or 'bad' about your voice. Apart from anything else, you're far too familiar with it, and what it sounds like to you. And this isn't how others hear it - your version is picked up as much inside your head as outside it. Also, unless you have a pair of decent speakers to listen to the result on, all the adjustments you make are likely to be a bit moot. Most of what you need to do has to come from within you, not a load of processing.

Why not post us an example, tell us what you think might be wrong with it, and we might be able to give you a little more advice?

Report · Sep 16, 2018

Thanks everyone for the answers!

SteveG(AudioMasters) wrote
ryclark wrote
However I do find his delivery a bit annoying and couldn't watch all the tutorial.
For some strange reason he seems to think that he sounds good...

I totally agree. To me, the guy in that video sounds like kermit the frog, to be honest.

Here is a link to a short audio sample of what I am doing:

audio sample for forum.mp4 - Google Drive

I have already done quite a bit work on my voice to minimize my German accent and to make it sound better, though I realize I still sound far from good.

My questions is what I can do to make it sound better in post production. I realize I can probably do little about the accent there, but maybe there are still ways to make it sound better, clearer, more "professional"? I just didn't find any of the Youtube tutorials very satisfying because they do not explain their settings in detail.

Report · Sep 16, 2018

Let's start with just your recording - there's a lot of room tone in it, and that really doesn't help. Also there's not too much clarity, especially in the HF, although there's no real 'gravitas' either, as the bass end is also quite restricted. Just listening to it on this laptop using a pair of headphones (Beyers, which are pretty good for speech), I tried EQing the file a bit to see how much of this I could compensate for, and to a first approximation, I did this:

The HF boost is pretty vicious, but it does actually improve the clarity quite a bit. Most of the clarity of speech comes from the response in the 4-8kHz region, and there's definitely a suck-out in your original:

This is the overall response of your audio. The region I've ringed is the suck-out (the response should follow down smoothly), and the red line represents a better response for the bass, but since that's really missing in your recording, you can't really fix that very much.

Which brings me to the rest of it. Firstly you need a better mic, and to get a sensible distance from it in a room that doesn't echo anything like as much as yours does! That will make a significant difference to the clarity. We could talk a bit more about that if you can describe exactly your recording situation.

The second thing I have to mention about clarity is important; you need to speak more slowly! What you need to do is to concentrate on saying the ends of words - this is where you're really rushing. Concentrating on articulating those correctly will slow you down slightly. but that will be a good thing for another reason...

What you have to bear in mind about speech is that people can only assimilate and understand what you're saying in the pauses between sentences; whatever you do, don't crush them all together, or people will just switch off. Don't worry about your accent - that's not actually an issue, believe it or not!

There's nothing you can't fix here, but you'll need to attend to all of it to achieve your goal, I'm afraid. As I said, start by telling us about how you've actually recorded this...

Report · Sep 17, 2018

Thanks a lot for the analysis Steve, I'll try to implement your advice!

I am using the Rode Videomic pro+, it's about 250$ here in Germany, I don't think I can afford anything more expensive, unless it's only 100$ more or so and the difference in quality is really huge. My settings on the Rode are

Maybe, I should use a lavalier mic instead to minimize surrounding noise? I am surprised to hear that the rode does not perform well, I though it was a good mic..

I am shooting in a small bedroom, it's about 4m x 4m. The floor is mostly, but not completely, covered with a carpet, there is a lot of furniture, but also some walls left uncovered, the biggest one is behind me, though there still is a white paper backdrop between me and that wall.

The room has a height of about 250 cm. (let me know if you need measurements in inches instead and I'll convert them).

The microphone is mounted on a boom stand, because I though to get good sound quality it should be close to me, so it's about 40-50cm from my mouth pointing at me.

I did cover most of the room with black cotton to minimize color reflections, but I did not take measures to reduce echo, maybe I should cover everything with blankets?

I should mention that the house I live in does not have very good sound isolation, so background noise might be partly coming from outside, also, there is a laptop from which I read the script that has slightly loud fans, but it's not in the direction the shotgun is pointing at, so I though it wouldn't be on the recording..

Report · Sep 17, 2018

Sky24 wrote
Thanks a lot for the analysis Steve, I'll try to implement your advice!
I am using the Rode Videomic pro+, it's about 250$ here in Germany, I don't think I can afford anything more expensive, unless it's only 100$ more or so and the difference in quality is really huge.
Maybe, I should use a lavalier mic instead to minimize surrounding noise? I am surprised to hear that the rode does not perform well, I though it was a good mic.

Hmm... not all mics are equal by any means! The Videomic is a specific type of mic for gathering sounds from a distance, and it uses some acoustic tricks to do this, as mentioned above. This makes it pretty unsuitable for recording voices close up, I'm afraid. One of the things it's doing in your room is picking up the walls rather well... Yes you could get a dynamic mic that would do a better job, but if you like Shure mics, the PGA 27 would be a good bet, especially if you want some clarity without spending a fortune. In terms of the results you'd get, then using this with a pop screen, the difference would be huge. I wouldn't use a lavalier mic unless you were absolutely forced to - you get clothing rustle, and all sorts of other strange noises you weren't expecting as well unless you're very careful.

The microphone is mounted on a boom stand, because I though to get good sound quality it should be close to me, so it's about 40-50cm from my mouth pointing at me.
I did cover most of the room with black cotton to minimize color reflections, but I did not take measures to reduce echo, maybe I should cover everything with blankets?

Having the mic boom-mounted is good, but that distance wouldn't be appropriate (see previous post) for a more normal microphone of the type that's better for speech. I wouldn't treat the rest of the room yet - just get a more appropriate mic and see how much difference this makes first - you may need to do less than you think. The positioning of the mic is important though - slightly above the mouth level, and slightly off to one side to reduce pop/blast effects - a pop screen won't stop all of these by any means. There are other things you can do too, but it's not worth doing them until it proves necessary.

Report · Sep 17, 2018

One of the best reasonably priced mics for voice, if you want to stick with Rode, is the NT-1A. Here is a kit with shock mount and pop shield which would be ideal.

Rode NT1-A Complete Vocal Recording – Thomann UK

Report · Sep 17, 2018

SteveG(AudioMasters) wrote
Having the mic boom-mounted is good, but that distance wouldn't be appropriate (see previous post) for a more normal microphone of the type that's better for speech.
15-20cm is much more like it if you want a relatively flat response from any sort of pressure gradient mic, which most are unless you pay a lot for them.

I have to do it with a boom stand, because I am also shooting video and I don't want the mic to be in the picture.

I think I can get as close as 35 cm, but not closer. Is the PGA 27 you recommended still the right choice, then?

Report · Sep 17, 2018

If you don’t want the mic in shot, then the other option is a Lav.

Another option, could you record somewhere else?

Report · Sep 17, 2018

Sky24 wrote
Having the mic boom-mounted is good, but that distance wouldn't be appropriate (see previous post) for a more normal microphone of the type that's better for speech.
15-20cm is much more like it if you want a relatively flat response from any sort of pressure gradient mic, which most are unless you pay a lot for them.
I have to do it with a boom stand, because I am also shooting video and I don't want the mic to be in the picture.
I think I can get as close as 35 cm, but not closer. Is the PGA 27 you recommended still the right choice, then?

If you want to do it in-vision, then no. If you want to do this, then a better option is a tie-clip omni mic, which is what most broadcasters use. If you are on your own, then using a boom mic is a bit of a nightmare, because it restricts your movement. You can only successfully use one if you dedicate an operator to it - which is what any film crew would do.

Report · Sep 17, 2018

SteveG(AudioMasters) wrote
Sky24 wrote
Having the mic boom-mounted is good, but that distance wouldn't be appropriate (see previous post) for a more normal microphone of the type that's better for speech.
15-20cm is much more like it if you want a relatively flat response from any sort of pressure gradient mic, which most are unless you pay a lot for them.
I have to do it with a boom stand, because I am also shooting video and I don't want the mic to be in the picture.
I think I can get as close as 35 cm, but not closer. Is the PGA 27 you recommended still the right choice, then?
If you want to do it in-vision, then no. If you want to do this, then a better option is a tie-clip omni mic, which is what most broadcasters use. If you are on your own, then using a boom mic is a bit of a nightmare, because it restricts your movement. You can only successfully use one if you dedicate an operator to it - which is what any film crew would do.

I do not need to move around, I am standing in one place while talking. I am just wondering if the PGA 27 requires me to get closer to the mic than 35cm.

Report · Sep 17, 2018

Sky24 wrote
I do not need to move around, I am standing in one place while talking. I am just wondering if the PGA 27 requires me to get closer to the mic than 35cm.

The more directional a mic is, the further you need to get from it to get acceptable results - this being especially true of line - gradient types. Whilst other types of mic will work at greater distances, it's inevitable that the further away they are, the less output from the voice, whilst the response from the room remains the same. So you increase the volume to compensate, and the room tone gets louder.

As you have discovered, line - gradient mics are excellent at picking up everything except what you need, and this particularly applies to using them for any form of dialogue recording. 15-20cm is reckoned to be about the best compromise between the various things that can happen when recording a voice, those being the pickup of background noise and room colouration, and the bass proximity effect that you get with any form of directional mic, even if it is nearly an omni (pressure) mic at LF. It really does sound as though a tieclip mic would be a better bet - and they really don't cost that much unless you deliberately purchase something expensive, like a Tram. Trams are excellent for this sort of job, but unless you really are going to do a lot of it, they are hard to justify... TRAM Lavalier Microphones and Tram Mic Clips | TramMicrophones.com - you'd probably get more than acceptable results from a Shure CVL-B/C-TQG.

Report · Sep 17, 2018

Because of the problems explained by Steve in using a line gradient mic indoors a lot of pro film/TV recordists will often use a small pencil condenser mic on a boom in the same way as you would a gun mic. It would still be suspended on a boom above the head of the speaker just out of frame. However in your case a lavalier is probably the easiest type of mic to use if you are shooting video on your own.

Report · Sep 17, 2018

SteveG(AudioMasters) wrote
Sky24 wrote
I do not need to move around, I am standing in one place while talking. I am just wondering if the PGA 27 requires me to get closer to the mic than 35cm.
The more directional a mic is, the further you need to get from it to get acceptable results - this being especially true of line - gradient types. Whilst other types of mic will work at greater distances, it's inevitable that the further away they are, the less output from the voice, whilst the response from the room remains the same. So you increase the volume to compensate, and the room tone gets louder.
As you have discovered, line - gradient mics are excellent at picking up everything except what you need, and this particularly applies to using them for any form of dialogue recording. 15-20cm is reckoned to be about the best compromise between the various things that can happen when recording a voice, those being the pickup of background noise and room colouration, and the bass proximity effect that you get with any form of directional mic, even if it is nearly an omni (pressure) mic at LF. It really does sound as though a tieclip mic would be a better bet - and they really don't cost that much unless you deliberately purchase something expensive, like a Tram. Trams are excellent for this sort of job, but unless you really are going to do a lot of it, they are hard to justify... TRAM Lavalier Microphones and Tram Mic Clips | TramMicrophones.com - you'd probably get more than acceptable results from a Shure CVL-B/C-TQG.

I watched a few videos on Youtube of the Tram TR-50 and the Shure CVL, I think the Tram has much better sound, but the problem is, shipping of it to Germany seems to take very long for some reason..

I just found the Sanken COS11D, they say that it is pretty loud, so I could attach it further down on my shirt where it would not be in the frame.

Do you think this would be a good option for my situation?

Sorry that I have so many questions, I am too ignorant

And maybe the last question for now:

Can I record into my smartphone, or should I buy something like this? Amazon.com: TASCAM DR-05 Portable Digital Recorder (Version 2): Musical Instruments

Report · Sep 17, 2018

Sky24 wrote
I just found the Sanken COS11D, they say that it is pretty loud, so I could attach it further down on my shirt where it would not be in the frame.
Do you think this would be a good option for my situation?

As I said before - the greater the distance between your mouth and the mic, the more room you'll pick up. This has nothing to do with the output level of the mic! As far as I'm aware, Sanken mics work fine, and they're pretty small.

Personally I don't think you should worry about whether a mic is in shot or not. Let's put it like this: if people start noticing the mic you're using, you've got a bigger problem than that...

Can I record into my smartphone, or should I buy something like this? Amazon.com: TASCAM DR-05 Portable Digital Recorder (Version 2): Musical Instruments

I would never record anything I actually cared about into a smartphone. Period. Tascam make some very fine recorders (I have a couple of them, but not a DR-05), and those are a far better bet. In a dedicated recorder you are going to get a much more stable sync clock to run it, and when it comes to re-syncing the results, it's going to go a lot better because of that.

Report · Sep 17, 2018

To dampen down the reflections you need something heavier. Cotton and paper won't cut it. Blankets, duvet, coats - The recording sounds like you're in a shower. If you are in a bedroom, record with your wardrobe door open and you facing it. Hang a blanket behind you. Get under a duvet. Some people use cat beds to 'get in'. There are lots of options.

Get in closer to the mic - about a fist away, but keep the mic about 45 degrees to your mouth to minimise pops.

Speaker slower and make each word more defined, Try to reduce your accent.

Get the recording as good as you can and then compress and EQ - there are lots of video instructions on YouTube.

The VideoMic Pro= is a good mic - if you need something to sit on top of a videocamera and get general ambiance - Not the first choice for speech - you would do better with a dynamic mic like a Shure SM58a or similar if budget is a constraint.

Report · Sep 17, 2018

miket61732453 wrote
To dampen down the reflections you need something heavier. Cotton and paper won't cut it. Blankets, duvet, coats - The recording sounds like you're in a shower. If you are in a bedroom, record with your wardrobe door open and you facing it. Hang a blanket behind you. Get under a duvet. Some people use cat beds to 'get in'. There are lots of options.

If you are going to hang anything on the wall, then leave a gap between it and the wall of about 15cm - this will make it a lot more efficient as an absorber. even cotton sheets work better like this (although not a lot, admittedly) but with any other heavier drape it will. The reason for this is simple; sound gets absorbed to an extent by the front of it, but a lot of it gets transmitted through, which then hits the wall and is reflected back into the room. The first thing it hits though is the back of your drape, so the transmission is once again reduced. If you have the drape any closer to the wall, then there won't be sufficient room for half a wavelength of the sounds you can affect like this to develop - and without that happening, you don't get the benefit of the return path attenuation, as you'll be within the pressure wave distance. With a 15cm gap, this can be effective down to about 1kHz. It will do nothing for bass frequencies though - that costs a lot to fix.

Get in closer to the mic - about a fist away, but keep the mic about 45 degrees to your mouth to minimise pops.

Er, no. Not with any line gradient mic! For a start, it's directional. If you speak at 45 degrees to it, you will only be exciting the line tube, whose sole purpose is to provide cancellation effects. So whatever you record like that is inevitably going to sound dreadful. In fact, the news that it's a line gradient mic explains very nicely why there's a suck-out in the response. And with almost any mic, a fist away is too close; popping is almost inevitable unless it's a good omni at LF, when you might get away with it... 15-20cm is much more like it if you want a relatively flat response from any sort of pressure gradient mic, which most are unless you pay a lot for them.

Report · Sep 17, 2018

SteveG(AudioMasters) wrote
miket61732453 wrote
Get in closer to the mic - about a fist away, but keep the mic about 45 degrees to your mouth to minimise pops.
Er, no. Not with any line gradient mic! For a start, it's directional. If you speak at 45 degrees to it, you will only be exciting the line tube, whose sole purpose is to provide cancellation effects. So whatever you record like that is inevitably going to sound dreadful. In fact, the news that it's a line gradient mic explains very nicely why there's a suck-out in the response. And with almost any mic, a fist away is too close; popping is almost inevitable unless it's a good omni at LF, when you might get away with it... 15-20cm is much more like it if you want a relatively flat response from any sort of pressure gradient mic, which most are unless you pay a lot for them.

Yes, 45 degree was exactly what I was doing, so that makes sense. Do you think I should keep the Rode shotgun, or is there something else around this budget that you would recommend?

Report · Sep 19, 2018

The problem you have is not your gear, it’s the room.

Whatever mic mic you have you need the sound of your voice to be significantly louder than the reflections coming in from your surroundings. That why you can reduce the background sounds.

The videomic should be fine, but you need it up close - at least as close as you can with the video. However you need to do whatever you can to deaden the room or go find somewhere else to record.

Another mic may help, but could create new problems as the root problem isn’t addressed.

where do you intend to show this video?

Report · Sep 19, 2018

miket61732453 wrote

The videomic should be fine, but you need it up close - at least as close as you can with the video.
The problem you have is not your gear, it’s the room.

Actually it's both. The videomic is very well suited to picking up distant sounds in a room - the reflections from the walls - and those are the ones that are colouring the speech. But the videomic is specifically designed not to be used close-up - that's what the OP did originally, and what produces the unacceptable sound.

Yes the room needs treating (or not using) but to get a decent result, the videomic is not the one to use.

Report · Sep 20, 2018

I found where to buy it and ordered the Tram TR-50 along with an audio interface (Presonus AudioBox iTwo) and will upload a new audio sample when ready.

Report · Sep 20, 2018

That sounds far more appropriate! It will certainly improve the overall sound, and although you may find that you need to alter the room furnishings as well, the room will play a far smaller role in the sound you capture, assuming that you get it correctly positioned. One thing that people have noticed in the past with these sorts of mics is that it's still possible to get a 'blast' past them, The generally accepted solution (since fundamentally they are omnis) is to point them down, and away from your mouth. This doesn't materially alter the response to speech, but makes them far less vulnerable to air-blast effects.

How do I improve the sound of my spoken voice in Audition CC? (Still confused...)

1 Correct answer