Q3 PTC Day 17

4:45p - 7:00p

First up, review of sound checks

Sound Check Review:

Close, NO Additional dampener
The 6"-10" distance range, speaking lower and into the mic, sounds exceptionally good.

Close w/ Background dampener
May sound SLIGHTLY better than the one without the additional dampener, but hard to tell, more apparently if you get loud.

Far, NO Additional dampener
The 2' - 3' distance range, speaking louder, sounds like shit

Far, w/ Background dampener
Notably better than without the dampener, but still sounds like shit.

I was surprised how much better being close is.  Even if you can't express as much, the little variations in tone convey MORE WEIGHT than the larger variations when expressing more fully from a distance.  It's almost like it's more personal, more real, more powerful.  And the kicker is, it takes less effort.  It's like the try too hard syndrome struck again - just go up close and take it easy :).

Since there was virtually no difference with the background dampening, the good news here is I don't need to do that!

I still need to test laptop sound vs. computer sound to see how much a difference the computer makes.  Just start tmw by testing right off the computer and line that up with the laptop recordings from Monday.

...
Next, I tested the Blue Yeti, curosty of Dave.

Various differences, playing with gain, pc vs. laptop, etc... all the same... it sounded pretty bad!

The lows just aren't there at all with the yeti.  The result is that while it may sound slightly crisper, it carries no weight.  Since the quality of my voice is in the lows, the yeti couldn't capture that quality and I sounded very flat.

...

Other tips with recording:

-As far as getting the sound just right with the mini sound studio, you'll need to pick the right distance between 6"-12" from the microphone (it seems 8-10" is the sweet spot) and test it vs. how loud you are.  Both factors affect each other.  It should be loud enough to feel like it's ideally expressive, but quiet enough so it's not even close to bouncing off the walls, which is the biggest killer of quality when you don't have a sound room.

-ALWAYS NOTE WHAT VOLUME LEVEL THE MICROPHONE IS SET TO WHEN TESTING!!  It makes a huge difference, it's the same as "gain" dial on the mic, too much and it's all plosions.
--->WINNER = 85% volume on AT2020 (laptop)