zac850 said:
ok, later today im going to need to EQ a mic, and i want to know what leavels to try and push up and keep down
this mic is used just for spoken words, no music, no singing, just spoken words. What leavels do I want to bring up, or down?
Thanks,
Zac
Hiya, well I see I"m a little too late most likely to be of help today, but I'll go ahead and answer cause you will probably have another go at sound for a solo
speaker. Speech....well depending on how the persons voice sounds and comes over will depend on what you EQ. I have run into a few folks who sound SO nasal and awful, there isn't ANYTHING you can do to make it better or at least not so horrible--its just their voice (or the fact that they speak out of their noses but still move their mouths for some reason) and...well.."crap in is crap out"--there is only so much a sound person can do. If your source is awful--not much you can do to fix it.
But speech in general is pretty easy... here's a few pointers to get you started.. First things first--use a HPF to
roll off the low end from about 250hz on down--it cleans up and eleminates low-frequency room noise and any
podium bangs or clanks. Human voice isn't in the 250hz range--no need to have that extra "noise" being picked up. Second--give a slight boost in the 2khz - 4khz range for clarity. If the person is sybilant or really bad on the SSSS sound, you can do a slight cut in the 6-8k range.
Other things you can do--If the person sounds overly nasal or "boomy" you can give a slight cut in the 500hz-800hz range. If the mic or person speaking sounds "ringy" or shrill, and has a slight ring you can't pin down when they talk, that frequency is usually in the 1k-3.15k range, and a slight cut will clean that up.
Other things you can do, insert a
compressor on the
channel to cut down on some of those "puh-puh-puh" P's that seem to burst cause the person just talks like that or is too close to the mic. Minimal compression works well--a 2:1 or 4:1 ratio reduction with a fast attack, low
threshold and medium
release. Idea being you don't want it to compress them when they speak, but only when they emphasize or get louder or slip closer to the mic. Other toys out there which
IMO you do NOT need are De-Essers and companders..there is no limit to what I've seen people use on a simple speakers mic..
Make note--you don't NEED to use compressors or toys...you don't need to go crazy using EQ.. I'm a minimalist when it comes to EQ & toy useage...I mean with a proper
gain structure, mic choice and
speaker placement you should be able to get enough
gain with lots of
headroom and no
feedback or
proximity effect for everyone to hear even some of the whispers whether you have a professional
speaker or a amature who talks like theyare whispering. But if you were doing say the CEO of a fortune 500 company and its going out for broadcast and media was recording, it can't hurt to go that extra mile with the extra EQ and toys to get the best possible sound with no surprises or
feedback or "pops" that go to tape or to broadcast... Best thing you can do is rely on your ears and your skills in
gain structure etc, and not technology or other devices to solve problems for ya.
Hope this helps ya...
wolf