audio sizzle in video recording

[Ty Ford]

Hello Larry and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.

Can you post a chunk and point us to it?

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

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[Larry Brewer]

6373_audioexport.wav.zip

[Ty Ford]

Larry,

First thing I’d check would be whether you inadvertently left the Phantom Power on when you plugged in the wireless receiver.

Second thing I’d check is interference. Sounds like you may not have been the only person on that frequency. Go back to that location, turn on the receiver, but not the transmitter. If you were on the same frequency as when you were there for the problem, you may hear SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. That’s someone else operating on that frequency. Retune the receiver until you don’t hear the SSSSSHHHHHHHH then tune the transmitter to that new frequency.

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

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[Larry Brewer]

The file was sent to me so I have no access to either the location, mic, xmitter or receiver. My role in this is “post screw-up”. Typical noise reduction does not work since the sizzling does not occur during the space between words but rides on top of just the dialog.

Any suggestions regarding a noise reduction filter?

[Larry Brewer]

I do appreciate your suggestions and will relay those back to the hapless camera operator.

My experience makes me believe she was operating just past the range limit of an inexpensive wireless system.

[Ty Ford]

Larry,

Could be that, depending on which side of the range she was on. 🙂

Which wireless?

Even good wireless can sound bad in the conditions I mentioned.

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

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[Richard Crowley]

It sounds to me like the wireless receiver needs repair. It is almost like a “soft squelch” letting in receiver noise, but only during speech. It is tough to try to remove broadband noise like that after the fact.

This is why we never use wireless where a wired mic would work. A $15 cable is better than a $1500 wireless kit. It is also why we CAREFULLY monitor and meter the audio as we are recording it. This is general admonishment, clearly Mr. Brewer is only trying to clean up after the fact.

[Larry Brewer]

I’ve been informed that this was an Azden wireless system. Very inexpensive. A fresh battery apparently did the trick. So in addition to other shortcomings of this system, it apparently is a battery hog.

Like I said in an earlier post, I’ve rolled off the top end at about 1.5K and that removed all most all the sizzle but left the sound a little muffled. However it will just have to do. Bury it in the music mix.

I’m sending the shooter a Lectrosonic UHF system to finish this project.

Thanks for all the good advice!

[Ty Ford]

Larry,

Maybe a battery hog, but people who buy Azden to begin with seem to be the type who might try to squeeze every joule possible out of a battery and buy cheap batteries as well.

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Ty Ford Blog: Ty Ford’s Blog

[Richard Crowley]

This is the kind of report that maintains Azden’s poor reputation.

There used to be “Aphex Aural Exciter” gadgets which purported to add even harmonics back into “flat” audio. Dunno if they are still around (or if there are software plug-in equivalents?)