VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Dayo]

Twenty odd years ago when I had my first studio I could swear that it sounded better somedays than others. I was either too busy or too lazy to make direct A/B comparisons but it used to drive me mad that some days I couldn't get the same kind of performance day in day out. I guess it's not surprising - everything was analogue.

Fast forward to 2008 and we're all digital and much more consistent. But the other day I had to do some inserts on a narration I'd completed the previous morning. The original recording sounded great.

Problem. On my inserts all the "air" had disappeared. Nothing, I mean nothing had changed in my mic chain, the mic position, recording levels, everything was identical. Everything. Used the same edit list file and processing, but the inserts lacked the top end sheen and had taken on a slight dirty grainy quality.

I tried all kinds of subtle varitions of mic to head position but still couldn't match the previos days recording. Got there with some EQ but it drove me insane!

I'm baffled and for some reason I suspect the mains supply. Am I clutching at straws? Any other variables that could affect the tone?

My mic chain:

TLM103 into a TC Konnekt 24D, direct firewire feed to my PC.

Be grateful for any input. Thanks.

Oh - how's my sound today? Better, a bit better, but not quite back to where it was....

[Rob Ellis]

You may want to post the sound files in question....just a suggestion.

[Charles Nove]

[Mandy Nelson]

My first thought is that it may just be your voice. Sometimes making a match, even in the same day, can be difficult. I hope it all came clean, though!
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[Dayo]

Thanks Charles but I swear it wasn't a performance thing. I'm wondering if I need to clean the connections on my xlr plugs. I'm sure I heard that tiny amounts of grunge on the pins can affect the high end? I had been swapping some cables in and out in between the sessions....

More straw clutching!!!

[Mike Sommer]

If you have changed cables, this could be the source. Oxidized pins can also be a problem source. But your chain is rather short

Often loss of clarity in the top end can indicate a bad capacitor or a cap not forming completely.
If you did not allow your equipment to properly warm up --including your Mic-- this can cause changes in audio. Those pesky IC's can be finicky when not warmed.

And mic placement and items around the mic such as a copy-stand, clothing, can change the dynamics too. The angle of the 103 can make huge difference in how it sounds: if it sits 90° (straight up and down) it will record bright, if set at a slight angle --30°-- it will record less bright. This has to do with the physics of how sound hits the diaphragm.

Also if your TC Konnekt 24D is powered by the firewire, it could be a matter of a power problem with the computer. If you can power the unit via a wallwort I would do so. I'm also wondering if you had different applications running on your computer when recording. When recording via computer I close all un-necessary applications off.

Then again it could be gremlins.

[Dayo]

Mike

All good points. You've got me wondering now about the angle of the TLM 103. Maybe it's slipped. So much for me "not changing a thing"!

I do tend to leave everything powered up only switching off at weekends. I've ordered some De-Ox to give the pins a clean.

As for the TC Konnekt, I used to use the Firewire power, but went over to the wall wart and it reduced an RFI problem I was having (I posted this one on another thread).

Thanks for your input

[Gp]

Dayo I honestly think you are putting way more into this than necessary. I haven't heard the files but I can almost tell you for certain that it was probably your voice. The voice changes all day long. It's effected by humidity, temperature, even your mood.
If you did change cables it may have something to do with it also. I still would look to your voice for the answer. I'm not talking performance I am talking only about the sound of your voice and it's changing during the course of the day. It's one of the reasons they tell you not to do your demo all in one sitting....because your voice will sound different later even if on the same mic.