Voiceover Recording Issue

[TyeDOESVOICEOVER]

Hi Friends,

I've had a very frustrating recording issue lately.  I don't know what induces it but here's what happens (at random).  In my audio track, the noise floor noise (airflow, etc.) will rise and become louder as my voiceover becomes lower.  It's almost like the power of my signal chain is straining.  My noise floor goes from -50 to -40 and my voice just gets killed.  I'm using an Apollo Twin Solo with a 416 microphone.  Anyone ever experienced this?  It's very negatively affecting my business.

Thanks for your time!

-Tye

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

Can you provide a link to an uncompressed recording of this happening? Without some more clues, it's going to be a little difficult to analyse...

[ryclark]

How are you recording in Audition? Are you recording into the Multitrack or Waveform view? If Multitrack are you using one of Adobe's templates or just a new basic session set up by yourself?

[TyeDOESVOICEOVER]

Hi Ry,

I'm recording in Waveform view.  I think a basic session.

[TyeDOESVOICEOVER]

Hi Steve,

I could email you the mp3 that way you can see what's happening to the wave form.  Would that be ok?

Best,

Tye

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

TyeDOESVOICEOVER  wrote

I could email you the mp3 that way you can see what's happening to the wave form.  Would that be ok?

Best to put just the affected bit (and what leads up to it) in Dropbox, and provide a public link to it. That way you get more than just my opinion/diagnosis! Also, it shouldn't be an MP3, as this is a compressed format that covers up a multitude of things - it should be a bit of the wav file that you originally recorded. And that's the other reason for not emailing it - uncompressed wav files, if they're even down to short timespans, tend to overload my email box.

[TyeDOESVOICEOVER]

Good call Steve.  Here is a link to the file.  Unfortunately I saved it originally as an Mp3, but I remember the WAV file for next time.

Recording Problem 10.23.mp3 - Google Drive

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

Strange one. It sounds almost as though it's crossfading to a noise source, which you can hear in the background anyway - it just gets louder. Whatever it is, I'm pretty sure that it's not caused by Audition - that's remarkably good at recording exactly what it's been sent. I have a couple of questions though - are you using any of the plugins as processing on the mic before it's being recorded? And how often has it happened? Does it happen after a while at a regular time?

One thing you might want to check is what's happening to the phantom supply, as this also sounds a bit like what happens when it fades away. Have you tried swapping out the mic lead?

[TyeDOESVOICEOVER]

Thanks for listening Steve.  I downloaded the Izotope RX Elements Plug in pack and used the De-noiser and De-clicker for a while but stopped because it was sounding overly processed.  I now use a different rack, but the Izotope plug ins are still installed.  As for processing before it's recorded, yes, my tech guy set me up with some compression and such for that purpose.  Pics of my set up in the link.  It happens regularly, and yes it tends to happen after I've been recording for 20 or 30 minutes.

Screen Shot 2017-10-24 at 1.21.44 PM.png - Google Drive

-Tye

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

I can't see anything obviously wrong with the rack settings - well nothing that would cause this to happen. But those compressor settings are almost certainly what's causing the 'hiss' in your normal background, and if you treat a signal like that with any form of RX, you have to be really careful with the NR, because it will drop the background all in one hit, and this will almost certainly cause pumping artifacts. RX processing works much better on non-processed recordings, especially when you are dealing with noise. I'd let RX do that first, and then apply compression. Always best to record flat if you can - you then have the best source to go back to, rather than one you wish you could un-process, but can't...

But regardless, with all of these things, in order to find out what's happening you have to start eliminating items one at a time. First thing to do is try recording without any effects in the chain, and see if that makes any difference. Also, just in case something truly weird is happening, have a go at recording in Audition's multitrack mode and see if that behaves any differently. What you have to be careful of though is to only make a single change, and test that on its own, otherwise you'll never get to the bottom of it.

[TyeDOESVOICEOVER]

Thank you for your helpful insight Steve!  It really means alot.  What do you mean by 'pumping artifacts'? What about the compressor settings seem to be too extreme?

It's strange I couldn't tell what that hiss was, nothing seemed to be creating that noise in my room, but I suppose with my compressor settings they way they are, that it could exacerbate room noise.  It's funny I just turned the CS-s1 on an off a few times to test recordings with and without it, and now the noise floor is better than usual.

Duly noted on properly using RX.  I did notice that the CS-1 auto compression sounds better than applying the Adobe compression after recording.   I will try eliminating things one by one, as well as using multitrack, that is great advice.  May I ask if you are a Voice Actor and if you're based in LA?

Thanks again!

-Tye

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

'Pumping' artifacts are a descriptive term for what happens when the noise floor gets disturbed rapidly - often by over-zealous use of NR. The higher the noise floor, the more intrusive it's going to be, and it's been likened to a 'pumping' sound.

In general, it's much better only to use a limiter before recording, and try not even to kick that in too often. But a -15dB knee and a compression ratio of 2.5:1 is going to mess up your dynamics quite a bit. I don't know whether there's a limiter option in the package, but you'd be a lot better off just using that to catch the odd peak, rather than compressing everything below -15dB, any day of the week. With care, and correct normalizing before use, Audition's compressors can do a pretty good job with speech - which is why it's in use in one heck of a lot of radio stations. You might not get the result you want immediately, but once you've got it sorted and you know what to do, it's easy to apply.

No I'm not a voice actor (although I've spent a long time training on-air talent), and I'm in the UK.

[TyeDOESVOICEOVER]

Thank you very much for your time Steve.  I really appreciate it!  Best of luck in the UK.

Best,

Tye

[Bob_Howes]

Long shot, but...

I just had a look at the specs for the Apollo interface and it mentions a couple of software compression options.  It's not totally clear whether these are standard and how they're accessed and controlled but it might be worth checking to see if somehow a compressor has got turned on.  Particularly if a compressor has come on with some fairly harsh settings, it could easily cause the pumping that you're encountering.

As an aside, interesting that you're using a 416 for your voice work.  Many (many) years ago I did a lot of recording work with a voice artist who insisted on a 416--it wouldn't be for everyone but it really gave the guy I worked with a lot of depth and bass for a classic "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the ocean" style of voice as used in trailers.

[TyeDOESVOICEOVER]

Hi Bob,

I do have a screenshot of my specific compression settings in the other thread, so there is definitely a compression setting that is active.  In regards to the 416, at least on the west coast, it is considered the industry standard at many top studios.

[Bob_Howes]

Sorry I missed the screen shot.  However, just as an experiment I'd suggest trying a recording with the compressor turned off--from the settings I see it could be causing the noise to get louder as it tries to compensate for a quieter voice.

If turning it of cures the pumping problem then we can talk about changing the compression settings.  Personally I prefer to add compression and EQ while editing and not while recording--my mixer offers compression on every channel but for voice work I have it set up to act only as a limiter--and adjust my mic gain to try and never hit the limiter.

FYI, I've heard that the use of the proximity effect of the 416 to boost the bass was common on the West coast--interesting to have it confirmed.  Most of my work was in the UK where taste in voices tends to be a lot more neutral without the "announcer voice" effect.

[TyeDOESVOICEOVER]

It's interesting you note that, because I did seem to notice that the problem exists primarily when my roommate has the TV on and the low murmur and hum is coming through the wall (my mic setup borders her room).  Do you think that's a possibility?  And if I may, what specifically about the compression settings (I'm still learning, a friend set it up), says "Uh oh, I sense a low rumble, let's crank that up closer to the vocals we're also hearing"!

[Bob_Howes]

There's nothing major wrong with your friend's settings but, depending on the levels you're trying to record, that low noise penetrating your room could be the problem.

Basically with your compressor settings, any time your voice is above -15 the system will be turning your recording down.  However, if you slip below -15, it'll stop the compression ("turning down") and every level--including the noise--will come up to normal..

A couple of things to try:  First off, at some time with the TV is on at normal volume, try a recording without the compressor.  Also, at the same time, check the noise floor without the compressor and without speaking but with the level on the Apollo set to where you normally record.  If you find the floor is around that -40 figure with "silence" and no compression, we've probably found your culprit.

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Bob+Howes  wrote

Basically with your compressor settings, any time your voice is above -15 the system will be turning your recording down.  However, if you slip below -15, it'll stop the compression ("turning down") and every level--including the noise--will come up to normal..

The problem with this is what you can actually hear on the file. That's a very gradual fall in level of the voice, and an equally gradual rise in the noise, and none of it appears to be signal-dependent. Whatever it is sounds more like a fault than anything else, which is why I initially suggested the removal of everything, and I'd even add that if it's possible to try the interface on another machine to see if this persists, that would be a good idea too.