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I need home audio booth in a pinch
I’m a novice to studio audio recording.
I need to lay down a voice / singing track in short order with limited time & gear.
What I have to work with is my home editing system:
• Mac G-5 with
• Final Cut and Qtime Pro (both have audio recording features)
• “M-Audio USB FastTrack” to interface mic with computer
• Medium sized office as a studio
• DV Camera, VX-2000, with XLR inputs
• Mics: Sennheiser ME 64 & ME 67; Shure PG58 Handheld & Sennheiser lav.
That’s it.
What do you recommend?
I just did a test today using the Voice Over tool inside Final Cut. That was real handy for my purposes. I tried the ME 64 mic. The workflow seemed great. When I checked the sound quality afterward however it sounded blown out/distorted in a few spots. I thought I’d left plenty of head room.
Any ideas? I’m wondering if the M-Audio box (brand new) might be over driven and need to lowering. It lacks level indicators.
Thanks,
-C -
4 Replies
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Hello Craig and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.
Trying to achieve “Studio AUdio Recording” with your equipment and in the space you describe is extremely challenging, if not down right impossible. I suggest you try to contact an experienced audio person in your area who can help.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Watch Ty play guitar -
Thanks, Ty.
To be clear I’m not trying to achieve studio conditions nor do I have access to additional equipment / personnel. I need to make the best of what I have.
-Craig -
Hello Craig,
You seem to have several problems. Getting the proper level without distortion for you mic, recording in a non treated space with a mic that exacerbates the bad qualities of the space.
Solving these problems on line is difficult. There are too many places for things to be misadjusted. FCP and STP have meters to measure input. Metering in Quicktime is no very accurate. I have found that half scale on Quicktime is about as loud as I can record without distortion.
If your singer has excessive dynamic range, they need to cool it or you need to reduce your record level to allow for their louder parts. If you can record normal speaking voice with no problem, their dynamics may be the issue.
Again, you are in uncharted territory and are asking for a simple set of instructions to fix your problem. What I’m saying is that the answer is not simple. Audio is not plug and play. (If you didn’t know that before, you have learned it with this experience.) Take your time and use this as a learning experience. Let your curiosity fuel your enthusiasm and pay attention to what you’re doing so you can use what you learn to go from bad to better.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Watch Ty play guitar -
Thanks, dude. That’s what I’m looking for: a little guidance to help make it passable (or better!) . In addition to your sage advice I found the M-Audio Box was too hot. That was difficult to determine without meters on it. (meters in FCP were fine). I’m now plugging headphones directly into it to monitor it locally to set levels. I believe I will prevail.
Thanks, Ty.
All additional input / advice is welcome too.
Best Regards
Craig
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