| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
BenWils
The Thirteenth Floor
Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 1324
Location: In a Flyover State
|
 Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:32 pm Post subject: What's Your Floor? |
 |
|
Just wondering how well I am doing with my new booth. I measured at 48dB gain on my pre-amp inside the booth with door closed HVAC off. Pre is running into channel 5 on the Digi0002 via balanced line in to bypass the 002 pre-amps (all Mogami cables). That is also with me outside of the booth...not in it.
I measured with Pro Tools Noise Bridge/Meter plug or whatever it's called. I have yet to build the caster plate for my booth to get it 4" off the floor as well, for further isolation.
But with all that said:
48db gain: -65 dB
42db gain -70 db
Care to share your floor?
By the way, what is the "proper" method of measuring noise floor? Just wondering what others do.
_________________
Ben
"To be really good at voiceover, you need to improve your footwork and hip snap." |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
louzucaro
The Gates of Troy
Joined: 13 Jul 2006
Posts: 1915
Location: Chicago area
|
| Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 5:04 pm Post subject: |
|
|
How do you measure this in Audition 2? Or can you even?
_________________
Lou Zucaro
http://www.voicehero.com
"Well, yeah, there's my favorite leaf!" |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
todd ellis
A Zillion
Joined: 02 Jan 2007
Posts: 10531
Location: little egypt
|
| Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 8:00 pm Post subject: |
|
|
with my mic @ 12 O'Clock on my board (normal recording position) i'm at -67db.
i'm really not sure i'm measuring correctly, though.
_________________
"i know philip banks": todd ellis
who's/on/1st?
 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Diane Maggipinto
Spreading Snark Worldwide
Joined: 03 Mar 2006
Posts: 6679
Location: saul lay seetee youtee
|
| Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 8:04 pm Post subject: |
|
|
to measure in adobe v.whatever, don't you just roll tape with the mic pot up and look at the meter on the bottom of the interface?
i think mine's at around -40 but i can't tell you for certain from here as i'm not ... there, at my studio.
_________________
sitting at #8, though not as present as I'd like to be. Hello!
www.d3voiceworks.com |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
louzucaro
The Gates of Troy
Joined: 13 Jul 2006
Posts: 1915
Location: Chicago area
|
| Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 8:25 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I dunno, that's why I'm asking! The way BenWils described it sounds so, you know, official.
_________________
Lou Zucaro
http://www.voicehero.com
"Well, yeah, there's my favorite leaf!" |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Jeffrey Kafer
Assistant Zookeeper
Joined: 09 Dec 2006
Posts: 4931
Location: Location, Location!
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
COURVO
Even Taller Than He Seems On TV
Joined: 10 Feb 2006
Posts: 1569
Location: Vegas, Baby!
|
| Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:07 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I work in a second-story closet. My floor is the ceiling of the walkway beneath. Anyway, I think my floor is probably about 6.75 inches.
WTH is Ben talking about? No, never mind....I know what a sound floor is -- I'm just feeling recklessly, irritatingly, troublesome tonite.
CourVO
_________________
Dave Courvoisier - Las Vegas, NV
http://www.CourVO.com
CourVO@CourVO.com
Courvo's "Voice Acting in Vegas" Blog: http://www.CourVO.biz
on your phone at courvo.mobi
702.610.6288
"I'm not a news anchor, but I play one on TV."
Last edited by COURVO on Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:35 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
louzucaro
The Gates of Troy
Joined: 13 Jul 2006
Posts: 1915
Location: Chicago area
|
| Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:27 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| COURVO wrote: | | WTF is Ben talking about? |
Dave owes me a new keyboard...Fellowes Microban split kb in black, thank you very much!
_________________
Lou Zucaro
http://www.voicehero.com
"Well, yeah, there's my favorite leaf!" |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Lance Blair
M&M
Joined: 03 Jun 2007
Posts: 2281
Location: Atlanta
|
| Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 11:00 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I cheat and usually use a dynamic at home (Heil PR40 + True Systems P-Solo)...the floor is about -75 going in and then -63 with hot processing when needed...and that's with a crazy amount of ambient noise swirling around that would prohibit condenser microphones. These measurements are in Cubase, which I find to be higher than Adobe Audition metering levels, fwiw.
Honestly, an awesome read could draw attention away from a terrible noise floor.
They used to put things on tape, no?
_________________
Skype: globalvoiceover
and now, http://lanceblairvo.com the blog is there now too! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
BenWils
The Thirteenth Floor
Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 1324
Location: In a Flyover State
|
| Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 6:30 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Lance Blair wrote: |
Honestly, an awesome read could draw attention away from a terrible noise floor.
|
I guess. But I know that a person reading in an environment where I can here an excess of ambient noise is not going to come off very professional to me (Some exclusions may apply).
I am not sure of the exact protocol for measuring noise floor is...but I just set up a 416 in my booth. Ran at two levels on my pre-amp that I may record at...leaning toward the hotter pre-amp settings to try to get a more accurate reading of noise. The lower you set your pre-amp, the lower your noise floor will/should be....Thus skewing your results giving you better readings. Some people in noisy rooms operate this way, with a lower pre-amp setting, thus the need to get really close to the mic.
Several sources of noise can contribute to your noise floor. One is noise from your pre-amp. Every pre has a certain level of noise it will generate. The lower the quality of pre-amp, the higher the noise will usually be (some exclusions may apply). Another is your cabling/connections and how much electrical interference they allow in. Another is your mic. The main source is your recording environment and how loud it is. Ambience getting into your recordings is not a good thing. Vibrations from motors and noise from fans in the house (refrigerators, sump pumps, HVAC, computers, some ISDN boxes) can get into your recordings too, causing low and high frequency junk to get on your recordings. For the lower frequency stuff, This is where a good shock mount, like the one you were reviewing Dave, can be useful.
So, if you want to find out what your noise floor is and you have no way of knowing how to do it, post up a file of your mic with pre-amp set to about 42db on the gain setting and I can run it through my metering set up in Pro Tools and let you know what I get.
Just so you know most pre-amps have 0dB at 7 o'clock on the dial and 60dB all the way around at 5 o'clock. So 42dB is a little shy of 3 o'clock on the dial (in case you don't have dB readings on your pre.
And sorry if this post is aggravating to some. However, this is something we all need to be aware of if we want to provide great service to our clients.
_________________
Ben
"To be really good at voiceover, you need to improve your footwork and hip snap." |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Jodi Krangle
Contributor IV
Joined: 21 Nov 2007
Posts: 140
Location: Toronto area, Canada
|
| Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 7:01 am Post subject: |
|
|
| BenWils wrote: | | Just so you know most pre-amps have 0dB at 7 o'clock on the dial and 60dB all the way around at 5 o'clock. So 42dB is a little shy of 3 o'clock on the dial (in case you don't have dB readings on your pre. |
Hi Ben. Total newbie here. I'm using an Omega Lexicon unit ... When you say "a little shy of 3 o'clock on the dial" do you mean on the "Output Level" dial? (I'm not sure if anyone's familiar with the Omega Lexicon ... I'm using it with a Rode NT1-A mic and Cubase LE)
Thanks!
_________________
Jodi Krangle @ voiceoversandvocals.com
How does sound influence us?
Check out the Audio Branding Podcast
@ audiobrandingpodcast.com |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
todd ellis
A Zillion
Joined: 02 Jan 2007
Posts: 10531
Location: little egypt
|
| Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 7:17 am Post subject: |
|
|
my question too ... i have just been using the mackie xdr pres in my board, and have been very happy. they are clean & quiet. is there any reason to look elsewhere?
_________________
"i know philip banks": todd ellis
who's/on/1st?
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
BenWils
The Thirteenth Floor
Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 1324
Location: In a Flyover State
|
| Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 9:01 am Post subject: |
|
|
I am more of a creative type than a gear head. To answer questions I guess, the best I can, since I started this thread:
Jodi:
To be honest, I am not sure how to do a proper measure of your noise floor if you have both an input and an output knob. You can just set your levels to your normal recording settings or set the mic input knob to just below 3 o'clock and record silence and measure that. The pre-amp I am measuring with is a Focusrite Red 8 and it only has gain knobs (two channel) on the front...no bells and whistles. But it is a very low noise pre-amp.
Todd:
The pre-amps in Mackie boards are very good from what I hear and read. much better than some of the lower quality boards that have the noisier pre-amps. No reason to change unless you are, or more importantly, your clients are unhappy. The higher you go up on the VO food chain though, the more likely it is someone might ask you what equipment you are recording with. I have heard the pre-amps in the new Mackie Onyx boards are really nice sounding. With anything audio it sometimes is hard to hear differences without doing a back to back A/B comparison.
But selecting a pre is just as important as selecting a mic. Each pre-amp sounds different and adds different qualities to your recordings depending on whether it is solid state or tube etc....an entire channel strip etc.
On a sound card quality note: I know someone who just upgraded their soundcard from the stock card on the computer to a new higher quality audio card and did an A/B to le me hear. The difference was BIG in frequency capture clarity and the overall analogue to digital (A to D) conversion quality too. YMMV.
For the record, I recently moved into a new booth, thus the testing. Just thought it would be an interesting test for people to do. Some may not want to know how noisy their environment is....fair enough, as long as your clients are good with it.
_________________
Ben
"To be really good at voiceover, you need to improve your footwork and hip snap." |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Jodi Krangle
Contributor IV
Joined: 21 Nov 2007
Posts: 140
Location: Toronto area, Canada
|
| Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 9:32 am Post subject: |
|
|
| BenWils wrote: | | To be honest, I am not sure how to do a proper measure of your noise floor if you have both an input and an output knob. You can just set your levels to your normal recording settings or set the mic input knob to just below 3 o'clock and record silence and measure that. The pre-amp I am measuring with is a Focusrite Red 8 and it only has gain knobs (two channel) on the front...no bells and whistles. But it is a very low noise pre-amp. |
That may have to be my next purchase - a good pre-amp. I got the Omega because it was fairly inexpensive and seemed to deal with more than one mic and the ability to plug in more instruments if needed. (I sing with a music group so it seemed prudent to get something I could grow with.) But it might be that a completely devoted pre-amp with just the one or two mic inputs might be the way to go.
I'm pretty certain my environment is noisy. I'm recording in my office as best I can, using a Reflexion filter screen and hanging a blanket behind me - rug on the floor and even a blanket draped over the desk I'm recording in front of. My laptop is pretty quiet too and I turn off the A/C or Heating before I record anything. But I'm in a townhouse complex, so there's noise from outside occasionally, and there's also the noise of the A/C or Heating turning on in the places next door ... (a kind of low buzz though a high pass usually gets rid of it - and sometimes I just wait to record when it stops. Most of the time, in fact. It can just be supremely annoying to wait.  ). I use Audacity's noise reduction feature and that seems to work pretty well.
But I'm using this home studio for mostly audition purposes. Actual jobs I do, I go into a studio with an isolation booth and a very nice Apex mic (the audio engineer uses Pro Tools in a Mac environment whereas I'm all PC here at home).
Still, I'd be really curious to see what my measurements would come out as ... I believe you need at least a -40 db to be considered for a SaVoa membership.
You'd just want a file of blank space? Or do you want some voice too? And how would you want that sent to you?
_________________
Jodi Krangle @ voiceoversandvocals.com
How does sound influence us?
Check out the Audio Branding Podcast
@ audiobrandingpodcast.com |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
TigerMitch
Guest
|
| Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 11:26 am Post subject: |
|
|
| With my MIC Input on mixer at just above 9 O'Clock (which is my normal recording setting), and keeping in mind my VO Booth is an Auralex-treated large closet, -60db to -63db. I'll usually add just a light "touch" of NR via Adobe Audition 1.5 before slightly EQ-ing and then, normalizing, final product (bringing it to @ -65db). |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
