i want you to hold my hand

Ann Baker · **Voice Talent** Joined: 06 Jun 2005 Posts: 6

OK I admit it - I'm reading instructions but not understanding and I'm trying different settings hit and miss out of frustration and I don't know what I'm doing.

I have a Samson microphone on a stand in a shock absorber thingie with a round screen-looking filter poised about 2 inches in front of it. There are two switches on the front of the microphone: left one is set at "hooked horizontal line" rather than "straight horizontal line." Right switch is set at "0" as opposed to "-10dB." There's one switch in the back - set at center setting which is an upside down teardrop, rather than an infinity sign or an open circle sign.

I'm using RecordPad to record and my settings are I don't know what... I'm editing with WavePad but most editing consists of "grab noise sample & apply noise reduction based on sample" and "normalize."

If someone who uses similar equipment and software could tell me what settings to use on the microphone, what type(s) of filter(s) I should have mounted in front of it, and how I should select proper settings with my software, I would be eternally grateful (or at least grateful for a long time)!

Bill Campbell · **Voice Talent** Joined: 27 Oct 2007 Posts: 106

Anne...it sounds like you're using a Samson C03U. It's a good mic.
The back switch needs to be in the middle and the front switch is optional - whichever sounds best on your voice. "0" is correct for the level. Talk into it about 4-5 inches away, into the side that has the blue light.. You should get a nice sound out of it.

Steve Royal · **Voice Talent** Joined: 17 Aug 2006 Posts: 167

Hi Ann,
First off, it sounds like your mic is facing the wrong way.
What sort of Samson Mic is it?
The switch with the patterns typically faces to the front.
These patterns are: infinity symbol - Figure 8 (bidirectional)pattern
Circle-omni directional
Teardrop: Uni directional or cardioid.
The mic facing backwards with a cardioid pattern could be the source of many of your problems.
The other two switches are for a low frequency roll-off filter. This should typically be set to the straight line.
The other switch is a -10dB attenuator. This should be set to 0 unless your voice is louder than a drum kit! Smile

I hope this helps a bit.
Cheers!
Steve

Ed Gambill · **Voice Talent** Joined: 04 Jun 2007 Posts: 585

Steve

"Trust But Verify" is the only thing former pres Regan ever said that I total agree with. I trust what you have said but knowing Samson marches to the beat of their own drum, I looked up their manual and they have gone a 180 degree on the normal set up.

The company logo and pad and roll off switches are on the front. Pattern switch is on the back.

I think that is one reason not to buy product that go against traditional setup/wisdom. I would have given the same advice has I not know about Samson's quirkiness. Every microphone I own with pattern switches has the switch on the front of the microphone.

Steve Royal · **Voice Talent** Joined: 17 Aug 2006 Posts: 167

Ed, I stand humbly corrected.
I wuz wrong!
One should never make assumptions......
Sorry about that, Ann.
Have you got anything working satisfactorily yet?

Ann Baker · **Voice Talent** Joined: 06 Jun 2005 Posts: 6

I recorded this test with some of your suggested changes made to my setup. The big change I haven't yet made is creating an enclosed, sound-deadened area in which to record. Working on that now. If you've got another moment, please listen and tell me if what's been done so far has improved things. Thank you! Thank you!

Scott Pollak · Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008, 21:51 (GMT) Post subject:

Ann, please repost this as an .mp3 and not a .wav to make it easier for us to download and play. Thx.

Ann Baker · **Voice Talent** Joined: 06 Jun 2005 Posts: 6

attached. thanks.

Connie Terwilliger · **Voice Talent** Joined: 14 Jul 2003 Posts: 409

Melba Sibrel · Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008, 01:51 (GMT) Post subject:

Ann...this sounds so much better than what you originally posted in the critique section. I still wouldn't use it for broadcast, though some might find it acceptable for finished dry audio for some other purposes; but in my non-techie opinion, it's a good rough custom audition set up now.

Connie Terwilliger · **Voice Talent** Joined: 14 Jul 2003 Posts: 409

There is still a slightly sharp, treble sound to me. I have no suggestions - other than the fact that mics do different things to different voices. Perhaps this mic isn't doing your voice any favors.

I spent a long time at Pro Sound here in San Diego when I was selecting my mics. We hooked up several and I was able to punch back and forth between them until I found one that really "liked" my voice.

I tried a Snowball a few months ago and returned it because I just didn't like what it did to my voice.

Now - regarding Melba's advice. Please heed it until you get things set so that it sounds pro all the way. The challenge, as you found out, is that if you audition with a less than professional set up, and get the gig - people will expect you to deliver top quality.

The changes you made have moved the output up many notches, but for some clients probably not enough. She is right, for some purposes it will work fine. Voice mail for example - it gets compressed to 8K-8Bit. And depending on the market and what they will be doing to the audio, you could even do some radio and TV spots. Internet audio is improving so quickly and people have such good speaker systems attached to their computers that those jobs might not be such a good idea to audition for.

Lance Blair · Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008, 03:09 (GMT) Post subject:

It's sounding better...you're off the Bridge of the Enterprise. Now it just sounds like we're hearing too much of your computer in the background.

I still like your voice though. You'll get there!

Being chef, cook, and bottle-washer isn't easy. Being a VO Talent and Sound Engineer is a tall order. Imagine if most on-camera talent had to own and operate HD Cameras in order to get gigs.

Ann Baker · **Voice Talent** Joined: 06 Jun 2005 Posts: 6

thank you all! now I'm on to the soundproofing project!

Ed Gambill · **Voice Talent** Joined: 04 Jun 2007 Posts: 585

Connie

I can’t find any photos of the 3000 back side. From what I have found it is a Cardioid only microphone. Therefore no pattern switch is needed. On the back you may likely have a pad switch 0db or -10 db and a frequency roll off switch. I have two AKG 414s an EB and ULS. On each of them the pattern switch is on the front right over the LOGO.

The Logo is the usual give away as to which way to address the microphone. Mr. Microphone or Mrs. Microphone or in some cases Ms Microphone, all work well. On side address microphones it is more common to find the pattern on the front or address side and the pad and roll off on the backside.

I took some extra time to check up on what I had previously said. AKG mics with polar pattern switched have them on the front, Neumman have them on the front, Shure have them on the front and other do various things. Yet all have the logo on the side that is to be addressed.