VO Processing

[Jon R]

I have a question for those of you who do Voice Over recording and production. Do you use the Compressor and/or EQ in SS to process the voice during the mix, or do you process while recording, or both? And what settings do you use?

I know what makes a good VO read, but I am still learning how to make it sound better. Thanks for your input...processed or not.

[Kurt Garehime]

I'm in the same category as Jon. My primary focus is the spoken voice (and I, personally, am not as experienced at engineering) All my studio mics are run through processors and an on-air console before hitting SAW, but my field interviews are unprocessed and very much in need of improvement.

You master SAW engineers can really help us grow in this area.
Thx for whatever advice (or tricks) you can pass on....

[tomasino]

See the thread titled "Fader vs Gain Make Up" from just a few days back.

http://www.sawstudiouser.net/forums/...ead.php?t=1265

DaveL pulled a rabbit out of his hat, a trick up his sleeve,,, get the idea.

[Jon R]

I did read that thread when it was posted, and got some great insight into signal gain and where to push it. I still want to know what threshold and ratio settings seem to work best, and if there are some EQ Freqs to tweak.

For instance, I read an article from a record producer/engineer that talked about using a small 4k boost on the vocals helped them to stand out since the voice is centered in the 4k range. I have found this to help with both studio vo work an in live sound.

[Mountain Media]

I have a question for those of you who do Voice Over recording and production. Do you use the Compressor and/or EQ in SS to process the voice during the mix, or do you process while recording, or both? And what settings do you use?

I know what makes a good VO read, but I am still learning how to make it sound better. Thanks for your input...processed or not.

This is, in general, the only exception to my personal philosophy of always record as dry as possible. With VO, I usually compress a little and eq a little on the input, and at mix time if more is needed. With the processing on the input, I try to compensate for the talent's head movement (relative to the microphone) and maybe a slight eq to make their voice sound as natural as possible. Both the comp and the eq are primarily for their foldback monitoring. It keeps the talent from being to stressed, attempting to stay on mic axis, and strain their voice (which many talents will do, sub-consciously) attempting to sound 'natural' to their ear, though the different sound may be due to the mic, and pre-amp being used. I have found this will make long sessions less tiring on both the talent and the engineer!!

I may, or may not, depending on what studio I'm using, record the track dry. Often, I have found the comp and eq I may put on pre-tracking is all I need.

If I've recorded dry or need to tweak in the mix/edit process I just do a little eq (and seldom, some more compression). This, only if I'm working for a particular sound, or especially if I'm matching previous work with the same talent, or matching a space. Can't give specific settings, as these change a lot between talent, space and equipment used. Any tweaking I do during editing, I will use only the SS built-in dynamics and eq. Almost never need to go to any plug, unless I'm having to try to match space or previous vocal and will then, maybe, use JMS Hi-Res Eq on output.

The only thing to think about is, if you have significant VO tracked at one setting (long files to be edited) attempt to do all compressing and eq'ing on the entire session, or large portions, at one time. I've seen engineers edit all the small chunks, then attempt to put processing on each individually -- a real PAIN, IMO!!

Just my way --

[Bruce Callaway]

For the last 12 months, I have been mainly recording VOs for radio shows. These programs are a mix of speech and music tracks. I record vocals "dry" using mic placement and the preamp to get the appropriate vocal sound.

Once in SAW, I usually lightly compress on each track using a 3db ratio with a relatively high threshold, short attack and medium release times. For mixing, I put all tracks through a submix channel with a de-esser and another compressor to lightly compress any remaining peaks. I rarely use EQ and then only to match the tones between recordings done on different days for overdubs.

The last stage is throught the levelizer and Waves ultramaximizer as per Steve Berson's advice on a previous forum topic.

I find the compression and the mic placement gives the vocals a deeper sound more akin to the classic BBC english annoucer style. This is well suited to the content as the programs are on all classical music.

The end result is very clean and clear. The client is most impressed and the classic FM radio station even complemented me on the engineering. Hey, I'll take it

Cheers
Bruce

[Carl G.]

I have a question for those of you who do Voice Over recording and production. Do you use the Compressor and/or EQ in SS to process the voice during the mix, or do you process while recording, or both? And what settings do you use?

I know what makes a good VO read, but I am still learning how to make it sound better. Thanks for your input...processed or not.

A receipe to consider:
Start with delicious mic (and Pre) that you can really sink your mouth into.
Sprinkle in noise expander, light compression only as needed, and dash of sidechain eq to taste - in a separate bowl, then combine ingredients into your DAW.
Stir in the a gentle dose of variable curve compression sculptured to the vocal characteristics of the talent and level the audio teaspoon with the levelizer.
Gently Mix together in the Multitrack..... then pop it in the output tracks with the heat of the Levelizer to singe just the tops.
When Finished, bake a CD .... well... OK... you can burn it if you want!
Then, you're really "cookin' " !
Carl

[bcorkery]

Jon,

Due to the wide dynamics of VO work, I tend to record flat with plenty of headroom. I do run a little bit of compression just to tame the wild peaks so there won't be any clipping when it's really hot. I think there are too many variables to give you a set of guidlines.

I personally think that radio stations over process their stuff I end up having to over process everything else to match. Also a lot of VO guys figure their tracks are going to be dropped into a mix so they add EQ, Compression and other stuff, generally not to my liking. When I can I ask them to give the tracks to me dry so I can fit it into the mix myself instead of them guessing how it sould sound.

And what's up with delivering VO tracks in stereo? I can't believe how many professionals deliver their tracks that way. Oh well ...

In summation, I'll repeat the mantra, "Let your ears decide"!

Bill

[Sean McCoy]

I also do a lot of voice recording. The vast majority of my tracks start with my Lawson L47 (some people, particular sibilant females, sound better on a U-87), through a Vintech Neve 1272 and Urei 1176 with moderate compression. This analog chain creates the sonic signature.

Once digitized, it's no holds barred! If it's something mellow, like a video narration or book on tape, I'll do very little with it---possibly some lite compression and EQ using Waves Renaissance stuff. But if it's a high energy retail spot (which I produce frequently) I'll run it through a sometimes aggressive chain of compression, EQ and L1 limiting to a fixed peak point before even bringing it into Studio. While mixing, I may apply even a little more as necessary to get it sit properly in a heavy mix. The JMS High-Res EQ and Levelizer are very useful here thanks to automation. In any event, I think it's important to apply any altering process gently at each stage. It can always be squashed and brightened to death at the end if necessary!

[Mountain Media]

And what's up with delivering VO tracks in stereo? I can't believe how many professionals deliver their tracks that way. Oh well ...

Bill

Great if you get paid by the number of bits delivered!!

I also do a lot of voice recording. The vast majority of my tracks start with my Lawson L47 (some people, particular sibilant females, sound better on a U-87), through a Vintech Neve 1272 and Urei 1176 with moderate compression. This analog chain creates the sonic signature.

A U-87 (or TLM170) and the Urei 1176 are my very 'favoritest' pieces of VO pre-track gear!