Tracking for Corporate audio work

guyreilly · Post by **guyreilly** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 7:46 am

Howdy,

I have recently been doing some work for a corporate training video and also some messaging-on-hold work. I would like to do a lot more of this work so maybe I could quit my stupid day job!!!! Right now, my front end consists of a MXL-2003 going straight into my 896HD. My vocal talent says it is a cheesy rig and I think it sounds very "2D", but it works!!

I definitely want to get an outboard compressor to save me work on the back end I was also thinking about maybe getting some sort of better pre, possibly ourboard eq, and a better large capsule condenser. It looks like the Focusrite VoicemasterPro is a pretty decent value and has a built in deesser which would be rad. I am trying to stay around $1000 to $1200 for the mic and compresser+pre/channel strip.

My questions are these:

A. Does it really matter? My web video output will probably by flash audio and my messaging on hold will be listened to at 22Khz... should I make the investment in a hi-fi front end when the final product is so lo-fi?

B. If yes, it is worth it to sound good, what is the best channel strip and mic combo that would keep me in my budget?

C1. It looks like Sweetwater has a deal right now that you can get the A/D card added in the Vocalmaster Pro for only $50, which is normally more like $230. Do you think I will get a measurably better sound from the Focusrite A/D than my 896HD converters?

C2. If C1=yes, go for it, then how do I get the S/PDIF output on the VMPro into my 896HD which only has AES/EBU and optical ins? Mo money, I bet..

(I also record signer/songwriters on occasion, but not for $$, but anyhow it would be nice to have a good sounding signal path for them...)

Thanks in advance all, you guys are as good as it gets!

HCMarkus · Post by **HCMarkus** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 1:26 pm

For the delivery you contemplate, I seriously doubt a better rig will make much if any difference, with ONE exception: Compression! The lower fidelity the end product, the more compression will help, as you can keep the voice level within the narrow window between noise and distortion. Any compressor should work, although one with a limiter on top (stopping peaks COLD) could be helpful.

If your work will ever see a higher-fidelity application, a better mic would be a good thing.

See http://www.unicornation.com/phpBB2/view ... 100#179100 for AES/EBU to SPDIF info.

HCMarkus · Post by **HCMarkus** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 1:27 pm

By the way, you could do the compression in DP, you don't need hardware.

sdemott · Post by **sdemott** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 1:57 pm

I don't consider the VoiceMaster Pro an upgrade to the 896HD. Grace, Millennia, Speck, BG DAV - those would be worthwhile upgrades.

But as was said - for your end product you probably aren't going to realize a noticeable improvement.

My only suggestion would be to get a 2nd mic that is more typical VO, like a SM-7b or RE-20. They're both in the $300-400 range and would add another option for your talent. I find those mics much more pleasing than the cheaper condensers. My SM-7b gets a lot of use as a vocal mic.

Also, as was already said, use DP for then compression and save some $$.

HTH

guyreilly · Post by **guyreilly** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 6:36 pm

Thanks for the info, all!

I will probably just grab an SM7 or RE20 (RE20 seems a little more popular) which both seem to have the plosives and silibance under control (my old black sock wasn't so effective... )

I guess I like the idea of tracking with a limiter so I can run the trim a little hotter without worried as much about peaking or my converters, any thoughts?

You are both right, I have all the compression/eq tools I need ITB especially with my liquidmix. I was more talking about going to tape (er DP) with some compression for safety's sake.

thx again.

HCMarkus · Post by **HCMarkus** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 9:31 pm

If you are recording at 24 bits, headroom is not an issue, especially when your delivery format is 22k, 8 (or even 16) bit. Good comments on mic selection SDMott.