voice over recording level issue

[Mark Smith]

There is something else going on with VO recording. I use my Mix pre 6 as an interface, limiters are off. I can be right on top of my schoeps mic and yell and barely get 0 db on the X meters meanwhile the mix pre is all in the red. I think there is some built in limiter in X for which there is no on- off switch.

[Maksym Kvitka]

I’m not sure anymore what to do and most probably to return the mic as I don’t see any solution on the internet. I have a cheap usb mic and that one records really loud – going over 3db when screaming.
This one is AKG 314 and I’ve tried to use it with Steinberg ur22C and Forcerite4i4 3rd generation and no luck no matter what levels I put on the control application.

If I record as a stereo – then the signal on one side is good, but then when I change to use as dual mono – it drops to -6 maximum.

I do consider to buy a splitter for XLR cable and use 2 inputs of the audio interface into 2 channels and record a stereo in fcpx.
Someone tried this already?

[Brad Hurley]

“There is something else going on with VO recording. I use my Mix pre 6 as an interface, limiters are off. I can be right on top of my schoeps mic and yell and barely get 0 db on the X meters meanwhile the mix pre is all in the red. I think there is some built in limiter in X for which there is no on- off switch.”

Ah, I see what you mean, I just tried the same thing (yelling into my mic at close range) and while my interface was showing everything in the red, Final Cut never got above -6db. Not a big deal as I usually aim for average levels between -18 and -12 dbfs when recording anyway but it does look like there’s a built-in limiter to prevent peaking.

[Maksym Kvitka]

Exactly. I just used to my USB mic which was recording well. Now I feel like the whole video need to be quieter as otherwise I cannot hear the mic. I will also email Focusrite for some information.

Logic Pro X on the other hand seams to record fine.
Have you tried splitter and record 2 inputs as stereo?

[Maksym Kvitka]

Like this one

[Brad Hurley]

“Logic Pro X on the other hand seams to record fine.
Have you tried splitter and record 2 inputs as stereo?”

Voiceover should be recorded in mono.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with keeping the levels below -6dbfs; it’s common practice to record at -18 to -12 dbfs. You can lower the levels of everything else and bring it all up to whatever your target level is in post. Remember that audio signals sum when mixed, so the sum of music, SFX, and voiceover could bring your master levels too high.

[Brad Hurley]

“Now I feel like the whole video need to be quieter as otherwise I cannot hear the mic.”

There is an option in the voiceover recording window to mute the project while you record your voiceover.

Overall, though, I get the feeling that you’re aiming for levels that are too high. In the analog world we aimed for 0 on the meter but that’s way, way too high in the digital world and will guarantee clipping. You should aim for average levels of -12 to -18 dbfs on the meter, with peaks going no higher than -5 or -6 dbfs. In fact that’s probably why Apple put that limiter in there, to prevent you from going too high.

[Maksym Kvitka]

Thank Brad for this.

I will actually research this subject a bit more.
I wrote an email to Scarlett and will see if they had something in the past. For not I will continue using my old USB and maybe will try splitter.

[Brad Hurley]

“I will actually research this subject a bit more.
I wrote an email to Scarlett and will see if they had something in the past. For not I will continue using my old USB and maybe will try splitter.”

Okay, good luck! Just to add a bit to what I wrote yesterday: when recording voiceover or dialogue you should aim for average levels of -12 to -18 dBFS on the meters, and your other clips in the timeline should generally be at that level as well (purchased music is usually much higher and you need to drag down the volume). This will give you plenty of headroom and helps ensure that you don’t cause clipping in the main mix as your music, dialogue, SFX, voiceover, etc. are mixed and added together.

In the final mixdown, that’s where you set the levels for your output, which depends on the loudness standards of whatever you’re delivering to (youtube/vimeo vs. broadcast vs. cinema; they all have different standards, and standards vary between the US and Europe for example). For that you need a loudness meter. The multimeter available in FCPX can sort of do the job; I much prefer the Youlean loudness meter but haven’t used it myself in FCPX as I do my audio work in Resolve.