VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[mcm]

What can I do to make my VO less "essy"? Rcvd a DVD today of a narration I did for a museum and was very bothered by the essiness. I have tried reducing the volume on the s's after recording but that isn't very effective, and is awfully time-consuming.

Rode NT-1A, Behringer mixer, Audition -- oh, and the MCM voice/mouth. What are the most likely culprits? Can I use what I already have to reduce it? Or (Kevin) do I have to throw money at it and buy $500 worth of new equipment ("no Mary, it'll take at least $2000" ).

Thanks for any advice you can give me!

[Deirdre]

Mary--

You might try to find another placement for your S.
There are times where my S is very very sibilant, and I fix the trouble by placing my tongue in a different spot on my hard palate.

I need to engage in a fair amount of oral calesthenics from time to time. Understanding the nature of your own biomechanical machinery is crucial.
_________________
DBCooperVO.com
IMDB

[billelder]

MCM,

Deirdre has the tongue addressed. Before we spend your money, have you just noticed this or is this something new? Any changes in the EQ of your mixer? Are you listening through the same monitors or headphones? Do you have a cold? My entire Eq perspective changes when I'm a bit "stuffy". Highs can seem more harsh.

Good luck with this.

[mcm]

No, it really isn't new-- but I guess the things that attract one's attention follow different paths for everybody and as the VO career develops and certain problems are solved (like getting basic equipment, addressing sound-proofing), then one starts looking for other things to fix. Settings on the mixer haven't changed, but maybe fiddling with EQ would be enlightening. It is definitely more noticeable when watching the DVD on TV with the sound coming through the stereo speakers, rather than watching on the computer with its much smaller speakers.

Tongue placement and oral calisthenics -- sigh -- now this is starting to sound like work! I'll experiment with that.

What about mic placement? Would that make a difference?

[Deirdre]

Remember Mary--

if it were as simple as reading, everyone would be doing it.



we love you.
_________________
DBCooperVO.com
IMDB

[Frank F]

Hi MCM, Guess-s-s-s who?

Is it the 'S' itself or the 'shhh' or a combination of sounds including the 's'?

Something which seems to work is well is an old radio trick: putting a "d" on s's. Short of course, but a "d" none the less. This applies to 's's' at the end of a sentence of course.

Additionally, moving the mic a bit more off center and higher above your mouth sometimes helps.

Then there is probably one of the easiest: simply get a drink of water.

Just a swig, and let it sit in your mouth and then speak for a moment or two. Articulate as much as possible, and use as many of the 'harder' sounds to pronounce. Pay particular attention to S's, T's, Q's, and C's as well as other hard consants.

F-e-e-l, how they sound and how the MCM mouth, lips and (Yes, DB ) - the tounge are placed.

Oh, now you can swallow or spit what's left out... using a bib in this case might also be well advised - then, try again... do this for a few minutes each day for about a week and you will find yourself will less sibilant S's and less hard consants.

Now you know why I do not have s's in my name... I cannot thhh-ey them either.

Frank F

[Gp]

Mary,
In Audition in the effects menu, under amplitude, dynamics processing there are a few d-essing plug-ins. I've never tried them. But maybe you should give them a try and see what happens.???

Gp

[kgenus]

I remember one of my first times going to the local basketball court back in the day, there was a kid out there who wasn't too good but he was out there. It always stuck with me because he had this massive gap between his two front teeth - they use to call him"Whistles" and claimed they didn't need any referee, they just waited for him to complain.

Strictly from an engineering POV, when you're recording and you want to introduce more natural highs, you crank up the preamp gain and reduce the output on the fader. Doing the opposite keeps the highs 'lowered' if you will, with the voice, it may or may not apply given your instrument. You should definitely play around with gain settings before spending a dime.

Right on Frank, if you're recording on-axis, try 4" off-axis. That usually does a lot to clear up what you're hearing, although it may introduce other things that you did not hear previously.

Get a second opinion (the free kind) - could it be you're picking out what you hear? If they produced the DVD without mention of sibilance chances are it's moot.

One thing I would not do is lower the volume in place of de-essing. It just sounds different bordering on unnatural, plus if you're working with a producer who wants the audio unprocessed, you're really throwing yourself under the bus. In the end, they're probably using some multiband compression which may have brought out some of the sibilant characteristics in your voice.

Finally, it wouldn't be like me to leave out the $$$ option you requested. What you need is the LS-810 Vocal Compoundulator Mark VIII Series 4, actually, I think Series 5 comes with the Titan TruTone (TTT) DeEsser which trains itself to the proper frequency. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on the version... I don't remember the price, but it's up there! :wink:

Kevin
_________________
Genus

[mcm]

[Deirdre]

[kgenus]

Yeah, I guess I overdid that one a little....
_________________
Genus

[mcm]

Pathology report in: in the opinion of this particular White Knight, it's the mic and I should experiment with its position or (Kevin will be thrilled) get a different mic. Like maybe the kind used for my demo, which doesn't have the sibilance. Will have to call up that studio and find out what it was. And maybe spend some more time at The Guitar Center, although I would like to be able to bring the mic home. GC isn't the quietest place in the world.

I also tried the de-essing option in Audition as Greg suggested but it didn't make a big difference.

Anybody have experience with sibilance being cured by using a different mic and if so, what mic?

[billelder]

Then you could post it in the Critique section of this board and get more opinions than you ever wanted! <g>

[kgenus]

The frequency response graphs on mics are the calling card you really should be after if you're looking for a mic. I had the very same problem with the NTK, but on other voices the mic sounded amazing ... it bothered me for a while.

If you really like the mic and it's a minor sibilance problem, you may want to try a different pop filter. I use one that has a dual filter on it, you can actually put three filters on it. My website has a link to the dealer if you're looking for one.

Best way to find a new mic is call up a studio, rent some time and test out all their mics. Take your preamp so you konw what it's going to sound like at home and be very honest with yourself while listening....

Kevin
_________________
Genus

[mcm]

This is what my recording engineer had to say about my mic: first there was a snort. He didn't actually utter it, but it was there just the same. He says that Rødes are not professional mics, and that the one I bought was for singing in home studios. Although he doesn't know which mic was used during my particular session, he said the mics there are all Neumann or AKG and cost $5K.

:shock:

And I was worried that I might have to spend $1K.

Also, what with the pre-amps, he says by the time you hear what you recorded, you've run the voice through $7000 worth of stuff.

His favored lower-cost mics are Audio Technica. And, like most anybody else, he recommended going to a store and trying them out.

Maybe I'll just refuse any gigs that have the letter s in the script.

MCM