If you goto the OP's Youtube channel and listen to his recordings, for example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh0sTxLs9VA, there is a HUGE amount of hiss / static in his audio, to the point where I would be uncomfortable listening to his voice for a long period of time at a medium volume. He's using the $400 Shure mic in that video too.
The $100 for the dedicated 2nd pre-amp with the Triton seems pretty wasteful. As an alternative, for $299 you can pick up the DBX 286s pre-amp[0] which also acts as a noise gate (helps filter hiss / static), de-esser, compressor and basic EQ together. It's an awesome piece of hardware and offers way more bang for your buck.
Also the AT2005[1] mic is a solid upgrade from the AT2100 that he recommends, and both are about the same price. IMO the AT2005 is worth using as an end-game microphone. The AT2005 is one of those crazy mics where it almost feels like it's mis-priced at $80 and the DBX 286 has enough knobs and buttons to make it sound good with a number of different types of voices.
Ultimately your real natural voice is going to play one of the biggest roles in how you sound in the end.
(Yes these are affiliate links, I've been using both pieces of hardware for years)
As a professional audio engineer in a past life, I can say the SM7B + Triton Fethead is a great recommendation. The SM7B has very good off-axis rejection characteristics and will pick up _much_ less room noise than most alternatives.
But the end result is with a configured noise gate the audio coming out will not appear to have as much hiss or room noise.
Check out the Youtube video I linked of his. It's super noticeable. With Sony MDR-V6 headphones, I hear a huge amount of hiss in his audio. To the point where it's distracting and drowns out his voice.
I'm not trying to pick on you or him, but if I go to your most recent Youtube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lf6dwipRYg, you can very much hear the same type of hiss within the first few seconds. I can't say for what what it is, but it sounds like your computer fan is spinning at 50% and it very much comes through. At about the 16:22 mark in the video, your fans appear to be spinning at 100% because it's much louder than before you started coding. It sounds like your computer is about to launch into space.
It looks like you have the same mic too.
I'm not saying the mic is bad, it's a really good mic. I just think the OP should have talked more about one of the biggest things that will kill a recording, especially when talking about "professional podcasting" and recommending high end gear.
For comparison, here's something I recorded with the AT2005 + DBX 286s acting as a noise gate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xd84hlIjkI
There's no software processing here either and my room is not treated with acoustic panels. In fact, my office is almost a worst case scenario. It's a wide open empty room with hardwood floors, angled ceilings and almost no furniture or rugs. I have super loud computer fans too and I'm right next to a window.
Even at maximum volume (unrealistically loud) there's pretty much no hiss or room noise. At least nothing I can hear with the same Sony MDR-V6 headphones.
I'm sure I could get similar results with the Shure mic too (using the DBX), but I'm happy with the AT2005. If I ever upgrade mics in the future it would be to a shotgun mic so it's out of frame.
The Triton fethead is just a "plug it in and go" solution in a lot of setups. That dbx preamp has a lot of knobs that, for the most part, need to be set right in order for it to work at all - let alone help the situation.
Also worth noting that the fethead is tiny - it sits inline with your cable, whereas that dbx requires you to mount 19" rack gear at your desk, which is a big ask for a lot of people.
But that's the thing. The Triton is just a pre-amp, the Scarlett also has its own pre-amp, but maybe it's not strong enough to drive the Shure mic (it's strong enough for most other mics).
The DBX also has a pre-amp but it does many other things to improve the quality of your audio where as the Triton does nothing except boost the signal. I would classify the DBX as very much helping the situation. Way more than just having a pre-amp.
> whereas that dbx requires you to mount 19" rack gear at your desk, which is a big ask for a lot of people.
I don't think having a piece of gear on your desk is a big ask for a personal recording studio. It's not like you're sometimes streaming or recording your podcast at Starbucks. You also don't need to mount it. It sits flush on a desk without straining any of the parts or sitting uneven.
It's been happily sitting on my desk for a long time now.
Do you know of any device with similar capabilities but in smaller form factor (even if more expensive)? Something of the size of Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 [0]. Or at least not meant to be mounted in a rack?
[0]: https://focusrite.com/en/usb-audio-interface/scarlett/scarle...
It won't help you when it comes to background noise cancellation or any type of processing. For that you need something like the DBX or you can find other hardware that combos as a USB audio interface + pre-amp + processor (with comparable options to the DBX). I don't know of any offhand but maybe something exists.
Also, you can go the software route too to avoid needing any hardware (and just use a USB mic), but it gets a little more complicated. OBS supports VST plugins which is straight forward enough, but if you plan to record in other programs you won't have those effects applied.
Or you can delve into the wonderful world of software based audio redirecting where you can redirect the output of a DAW like REAPER into another app as input to capture and process audio in real time. I did this for years until the software I used stopped working due to the author dying and his license server went offline. Alternative software doesn't exist on Windows with the requirements I had so I decided to go with hardware.
The cool thing about the AT2005 mic I recommended from earlier is it has a USB and XLR connector, so you can try both out.
Running your signal through analog EQ and compression is super useful, because they’re intuitive to use (just twist knobs) and once you’ve got your settings dialed in, it will survive any OS update or kernel panic :) And you’d need some dynamics processing digital or analog if you want to approximate the kind of voice people associate with radio or voice over.
I think a noise gate is tricky though, if set up wrong it can make the audio sound choppy. If at all feasible, reduce the noise at the source. Especially if you use a compressor, because as great as it can sound, it will also amplify the noise. You might notice this less if the compressor has a very fast release time (i.e. its amplification drops out immediately after the audio drops below the level where it’s supposed to kick in) but also that risks making the audio sound choppy and unnatural.
Funny how different people are sensitive to different things.
If I plug in my budget earbuds I can't notice anything but with my studio headphones (which I normally use for everything) it's super distracting.
Most of what I record for podcasts these days is on location anyway and I know I don't personally have a "radio voice." So I do what I can to get reasonable audio quality but don't sweat the details too much.
There's nothing wrong with buying gear.
It's just, he lists that set up as a "professional" podcast set up but forgot to mention the most important piece of hardware (or software) to get rid of continuous background noise.
If you're going to listen to someone talk for an hour, having a bunch of white noise hiss in the background is very tiring on your ears.
If you read that article without years of prior audio experience you might just blindly click those links and buy the top end set up, and then get upset that you just dropped $700 on a set up that sounds worse than what you could have gotten for $80 (+ free software) or half that in pure hardware but spending your budget on different hardware.
You can definitely baffle a lot/all of that noise away, but you definitely need to be more mindful of your setup and not just have some wall-mounted panels and your tower right next to your mic.
I've been privy to some crafty home studio setups. It's workable—the first problem is paying attention/having an ear and the example you posted is so obvious I was surprised at it.
Yeah I was surprised too. Considering that clip is from the author of the post.
> you definitely need to be more mindful of your setup and not just have some wall-mounted panels and your tower right next to your mic.
Mine is on the floor, under my desk, which has a large thick piece of wood (the desktop) as a barrier and it still comes through without a noise gate. My mic is on a boom arm like 5 feet above my tower (I use a standing desk) and the mic is positioned opposite of my computer to further reduce it picking it up.
Also, a lot of people use laptops as their main computer which is even worse. Chances are you'll end up with your laptop on the top of your desk instead of below it.
That's why I was so taken back by him creating this article without mentioning noise cancellation.
Fortunately I do have the DBX and the noise floor is almost silent without clamping down too hard on natural frequencies. I've recorded about 400 videos, some with the DXB and some without and there's such a huge difference.
Therein lies the main problem for me personally.
Is there a way to train your voice to become more comfortable for others to listen to?
Additionally, I'd look into something like Toastmasters. This will give you a great place to practice outside of formal lessons with a voice coach.
Being comfortable to listen to is about both your vocal technique - the mechanics of how you form sound - and about your content and delivery.
This is something I struggle with too honestly.
I've recorded 400+ videos and I still think my voice is -ultra- cringe and I feel like it gets worn out after talking for only maybe an hour straight.
So what I usually do is record for about 45 minutes, then edit for a few hours and then go back to recording when my voice is fresh. I drink plenty of water while editing too.
I don't have any professional advice since I'm just a dude who records screencasts. But I think my biggest problem related to getting worn out is I tend to talk slightly louder than normal when I'm recording because I still internally link loudness with tone variance and "energy". So maybe talking less loud, raising the gain on my mic and learning how to have more tone variance without talking louder would be something to look into. If I were to guess this is probably a common problem for many folks.
One of the worst aspects of my job as a remote developer has been working with people with crappy microphones. I worked with one client whose conference mic was so low-fi that a lot of what they were saying in meetings was incomprehensible. (I told them about this, but they didn't seem to care, which is why I'm glad I'm not working with them anymore)
Going against what the author suggests, I purchased a Blue Yeti mic. The reason I went for it is that I want my coworkers to not have to strain to hear me. Ideally, it should sound as if I'm in the same room with them. With cardioid mode turned on, I can use the mic with my MacBook Pro speakers as the output channel and never have feedback issues. My home is quiet, so I never have issues with bad noises coming through. If I'm at a cafe, that's when I'll use my AirPods. However, I use my Yeti mic when possible. A few of my other coworkers have since bought a Blue Yeti or a Razer Seiren, and it makes a world of difference.
EDIT: While I've always known them as pickup patterns, I've just noticed that Wikipedia refers to them as polar patterns. I assume this is a more universal term.
- cardioid
- stereo
- omni
- biThat, and stop putting the mic so damn close to your mouth.
While there are many good choices, the Shure SM7B is the quintessential desk or studio microphone for recording vocals. However, it is a bulky monster and will take up a _lot_ of real estate in a video frame. If you're audio-only, that's not an issue, your vocals will sound awesome.
For video, I really think an off-camera mic on a boom stand in sound treated room is the best option for seated, stationary casting. Many hypercardioid vocal microphones most people have actually work fairly well in this setup. Treating panels doesn't even need to be expensive; this youtuber made really nice looking ones from towels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVEXp87TTrs
I don't like the sound or intrusive look of a lapel mic or the noise it picks up, for moving sequences, it's probably the best option unless you can hire a grip.
There's no great middle ground. I'd rather have it than a SM7B, though, that's for sure.
Although I understand the plug-n-play appeal of these devices, they uniformly violate this rule because they cannot share whatever sample clock is being used for the other "direction" (i.e. the USB mic has its own clock, which is independent from the one used for playback).
Using these sorts of devices implicitly requires the audio software stack to do resampling to keep both input and output in sync with each other. For podcasting the change in quality that this causes is probably not an issue, but users should at least be aware this is happening under the hood.
You're much better off getting a cheap USB audio interface, an XLR mic and doing both recording and playback via the same device (with a single sample clock).
After using those headphones for couple years, I now see the difference between audio output of a laptop and simple interface like umc22 (which has own DAC + amp as I understand).
I have not found much use for mic yet (guess no one has called me since), besides recording birds outside, and generally having fun with it :D but I definitely love how headphones sound after getting audio interface (or DAC+amp part of it)
You might want to read https://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html
If you check out infinitewave.ca you will see that actually there are still lots of resampling implementations with notable artifacts, certainly when subject to measurement.
Can you hear them? Depends on the nature of the artifacts. I'd agree that in general, the answer is no.
Nevertheless, it is still wrong in my opinion for these mics to be spreading (or even being made) without it being clear what they imply for the user. You might not hear the effect, and you might not care, but you should understand clearly what using these devices require from whatever software stack you're using.
Any XLR mic, such as the Shure models mentioned in the article. That plugs into the audio interface.
Any (analog+wired) headphones (you'll have my MDR-7506s over my dead body). These plug into the audio interface.
Done.
Stock is usually good enough. That money is better invested on a pair of comfortable headphones, and also some good on-the-go light headphones with micro to hold remote calls outside of a quiet environment.
But most importantly, I'm 100% sure my expensive ($1500-ish?) audio setup has been a competitive advantage for me. I've had numerous people comment that they are relieved when they find out they can comfortably converse with me, and how outside the norm that is. From my own experience, I can attest that most people are oblivious to the discomfort they can cause by not putting reasonable effort into the quality of their team or client's experience.
Two things annoy me greatly enough to want to avoid having to work with someone.
1. Being late / unprepared / distracted in meetings
2. Having to tolerate a literal headache due to background noise, awful sound quality, or constant technical issues during a call.
For me, freedom is not driving in rush hour and being home when my kids get home from school. Having a dedicated setup makes complete sense.
It’s not that the SM7B is bad. Like any high end tool it requires to skill (and other high end tools) to be effective. Even in amateur hands it can sound great. But for $350 the average podcaster, streamer, or remote worker can do much better.
Otherwise this article is great.
The Rode RE20 is a very similar mic used in broadcast radio scenarios almost as much as the SM7, mostly because it is so forgiving of poor technique, and when you have guests on radio shows, it's not nice (or often even possible) to force them to be a certain distance from the mic, and use a certain technique.
Like the Rolex Submariner, the SM58 has been cloned at lower and lower prices since its introduction. The design is solid regardless of the price point. Imitations from Pyle and Audio Technica sound great and cost less, but aren't as rugged.
If you _want_ to spend money for more pleasing tone the Beta 87A from Shure is outstanding. As are similar cardioid microphones from Electro Voice and Neumann
- Sony makes great cameras but the lenses are expensive. You can get an old Panasonic GH3 and a camlink and the lenses will be cheaper, while the image quality won't (for this sort of use) be affected much at all.
- You don't need a freakin' SM7B for this stuff. I do audio engineering as one of my too-many side gigs and the most expensive microphone I own is the Synco D2, an interesting little MKH416 knockoff shotgun microphone. It was $225. It's above my head right now, I was on a call an hour ago. It's out of frame and it sounds great. While the PR40 (which personally I prefer to a SM7B) or the SM7B are great mics for what they are, the delta between them and much cheaper competitors is not that significant.
- You don't really need hardware to tune your audio stack, aside possibly from a preamp if you bought the wrong microphone (in this case, defined as "the SM7B"). Use your computer. It's fast enough, it can save multiple presets, and it will get out of your way.
- Software matters. I use vMix for everything: live streaming and recording. This is where I recommend spending money. vMix has a reasonably featured (for the purpose--videography and audio to go with it) audio system, able to use ASIO with Windows and to use VSTs. It can support half a dozen cameras (my road kit uses 4, my home setup uses 6) and as many voices as your interface can, while supporting multi-record for archival footage/alternate takes and a nice tablet-control interface that's topped only by Logic Remote in this space (and if you're only doing audio, Logic Pro on a Mac is a no-brainer).
Has anyone ever had experience of "live coding" at a company, and if so, how do you manage things like, not broadcasting a database secret, etc.
Are there any examples of companies letting people record their work? I remember a lot of videos floating around about "a day in the life at X" style things.
A couple tips:
- Use multiple monitors - this is almost a hard requirement
- Separate secrets into their own files.
- Exclude secret files from your IDE/editor search
- Make the second monitor the main monitor so notifications and what not go there
- On that second (or third monitor), put everything that isn't your editor
If you work in the cloud, usually database secrets and the like will be obscured as well in password fields. Same as in password managers, e.g. 1password has a 'copy' button, and displaying it is an explicit button you have to press.
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/210707503-Virtual-...
It actually drives me nuts when podcasters use the SM7B mic and have their low-end cranked or don't apply a strong enough HPF to compensate for the mic's proximity effect. That's incredibly tiring to my ears--I usually end up reducing the low end via my playback device's EQ.
99% of the pre-amp options don't matter as long as you get a strong, clean signal into a decent ADC stage. Spend your efforts on learning how to properly process the signal chain instead (apply High-pass filter, proper gain, apply dynamic compression, possibly EQ/de-ess, etc.).
Sorry for the rant. :)
It turns out this is actually hard, when you use inexpensive preamps, typical microphones, and you’re recording voice at home. Getting a strong signal means more gain than onboard preamps in inexpensive interfaces typically provide, which is why you might want to get an outboard preamp or use an inline device like the fethead. Getting a clean signal means learning how to do mic placement, doing some room treatment, etc.
From what I understand, there’s a limit to how much clean gain you can get from a single amplifier stage, and it’s often just not enough. I was very skeptical about getting an outboard preamp but it ended up making a much larger difference than I thought it would.
Any specific ones you'd recommend?
Ah, Wirecutter. The same guys who will one year absolutely recommend dual-hose portable ACs (and cite many sources, including the Department of Energy) and utterly demolish the efficiency of single hose models. Then, next year, say that this is not actually important at all. Because they are less practical or something. Which is an argument they themselves discarded just one year prior.
What changed? That's left as an exercise for the reader.
They may be fine if you use them to check products that you might otherwise have missed. But as far as recommendations go, I'm not sure they have no agenda.
You're running a condenser mic that's going to be a lot "louder" on it's own. Running the gain pretty high is fine if it doesn't seem noisey to you. It was 100% obvious I needed to do something else when I first attached my mic directly to the Scarlett.
I use a Cloudlifter with my SM-58 just because the gain it provides is a lot cleaner than my interface (Audiobox iOne) seems to provide at the top end.
Of course, if the room acoustics are horrible, that's not going to sound nearly as good as talking close to the mic, but if you have a decent sounding room it is freeing to not have to be close (and a good mic won't necessarily sound worse at slightly longer distances).
If you’d want more control over the sound before it goes into the computer, than a kind of channel strip unit with a preamp compressor and eq could make sense, although you can do all that in OBS as well.
Before getting the Cloudlifter, my audio was whisper quiet even with the gain cranked all the way up. I highly recommend it for a SM7B.
I couldn't be happier with my current setup. It sounds fantastic now.
Recently, started using the base logitech webcam and have gotten several mentions about how much better the video is from people on the other side of the calls. That sort of drove it home for me.
Don't know why it took me so long for it to "hit" - gonna probably pick up a couple things in this post - thanks.
The comments here were as helpful as the original post - thanks all.
The way I see it...people work in these offices that cost hundreds of thousands, so I will benefit from looking somewhat professional on my calls from home.
One frustrating note: we use RingCentral/Zoom at work, and they only work with the Elgato CamLink once. After one call with proper video, I have to reset my PRAM.
A nice pair of headphones can have a boom mike added with little hassle, using something like an Antlion Modmic.
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicwebprese...
Does anyone have more info about this piece of the set up?
But now in the winter, it gets dark quite early and my normal room lighting is not bright enough. Doesn't make me look exactly as if I'm sitting in the dark but it's close to it :P
Also look at Black Magic ATEM Mini https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/atemmini - you need to connect a camera with HDMI output to it (i.e., something like a Panasonic G7) rather than a webcam, but it'll do the green screen in-device and output an HDMI signal. You can then run that into a USB3 HDMI capture device that will show up as a normal webcam.
The Zoom app, and the Logitech C922, each have live background replacement ("virtual green screen").
For post-production without a physical green screen, you can use a green rectangle as your virtual background in Zoom or with the Logitech, import into iMovie etc., and chromakey there.
I mean, I'd need to get dressed :(