Proving the quality of a recording

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Leanne171

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Hello guys. This might be an odd question to ask but I'd like some help.

I work for a book publisher here in the UK and I'm trying to convince the CEO that we could produce our own audio books. I've dabbled with some recording and it sounds very good. The problem is how to demonstrate the quality to someone else who's naturally skeptical about the quality of an "amateur recording". Naturally they don't want to put the company name on anything substandard.

So I was wondering about ways of proving the quality of a recording to a layperson. Now obviously they can listen to it but is it fair to say that if it sounds good then it is good? Or is that too simplistic?
Basically is there a way I can further prove that it's a quality recording that the company would be willing, or even proud to publish?
I don't want to get too technical but any advice on this appreciated.

Thanks a lot.
Leanne Jackson
 
Leanne171 said:
Hello guys. This might be an odd question to ask but I'd like some help.

I work for a book publisher here in the UK and I'm trying to convince the CEO that we could produce our own audio books. I've dabbled with some recording and it sounds very good. The problem is how to demonstrate the quality to someone else who's naturally skeptical about the quality of an "amateur recording". Naturally they don't want to put the company name on anything substandard.

So I was wondering about ways of proving the quality of a recording to a layperson. Now obviously they can listen to it but is it fair to say that if it sounds good then it is good? Or is that too simplistic?
Basically is there a way I can further prove that it's a quality recording that the company would be willing, or even proud to publish?
I don't want to get too technical but any advice on this appreciated.

Thanks a lot.
Leanne Jackson
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I would be sceptical too.

Recording an audio book is not an easy task.

OK - you need the right microphone and you need the right acoustic for the job.

An acoustic that sounds natural and not boxy nor over damped. There should also be no annoying external noises.

Given that the reader needs to be a professional actor that can get the vocal intonation correct.

Editing needs to be done on a decent DAW that lets the text flow and leaves in all the correct breathing pauses.

It is actually a skilled job to do well.


OK - if you have the skills - you need to record and edit a complete chapter of a book as a demo. You should then play it back on high quality monitoring headphones that will show up any faults, outside noises, etc., and/or good monitor loudspeakers at a decent level.

If the result is interesting and engaging and makes you want to listen more - the voice sounds perfect and natural and there are no untoward noises going on in the background. Then OK, you have succeeded.
 
Leanne171 said:
So I was wondering about ways of proving the quality of a recording to a layperson.
Click to expand...

Find one that's already been done commercially and has good reviews and sales...and then provide a demo of what you think you can do.

Let them compare.
 
Do you have an example of anything recorded already?

If not, record a chapter like John says and fire an mp3 up on soundcloud or something.

There are plenty of experienced people on here who will be brutally honest with you. :)
 
Thanks.

Yes I've produced a quick demo recording. There's no hum, hiss or background noise so I'm pretty happy with it as a first effort but comments welcome.

Can't post links because I'm too new :(
 
Granted I've not actually listened to a recorded book before, but it sounds OK - not brilliant, but not bad either.

I think you could be running your signal too hot.... have a very close listen at decent volume to "without warning" at about 30 secs in... also words starting with "sh" are taking my head off a bit at high volume...

There's an "out of phase" thing happening in the word "pause" at 1.36, and now that I've noticed that specific instance, I'm more aware of it in the background from there on it.

There's a definite clip at 1.46 on the word "all"

I'm listening on a PC using small Sennheiser headphones - hardly optimal - I suspect people listening on proper recording monitors will find a few more bugs for you.

Can you do it? Absolutely - you probably need a bit of upskilling on recording techniques though, and/or better equipment.

Give us some more info on what, and how, you did the recording and I'm sure you'll get plenty of suggestions... it's a nice change from reviewing noobie metal efforts! :laughings:

Good luck..
 
Spoken word recording is one of the hardest things to do. You need a silent natural sounding room, a good speaking person with an interesting voice, be prepared to do a lot of editing to get rid of mouth noises, swallows, etc, and the recording chain needs to be very very quiet.

Alan.
 
Hi,

I had a listen to your sample and thought that you did a pretty good job for an amateur demo. It's worth remembering that many of the professionals in the area probably started just the way you have, by having to convince somebody that they could do the job.

My first impression was that you (EDIT: OK, the narrator, whoever it was.. :) ] had a good speaking voice and a good general idea of how to read. I did think that there was room to broaden the delivery range a bit though. I didn't feel that the full horror or impact of what was being described came across quite as well as it might have. The suggestion above to record a direct comparison with an existing professional recording sounds like a great way to go, both from the perspective of convincing others and also for checking if you may have missed any opportunities.

Quite apart from any requirement to do any necessary brushing up on recording and/or skills (which seems achievable), one of the biggest hurdles to breaking in is probably the fashion for using 'names' that can be marketed. So if you can manage a role in a TV show - or a good headline grabbing crime of some sort - then that could help. ;)

[EDIT: And if you're only interested in doing the recording, then the same strategies apply as always - a decent product to demonstrate and a network of contacts to ensure that you can demonstrate it to the right people and get the necessary approval/endorsement to boost your chances. It's pretty much always what you know AND who you know.]

Best of luck.

Chris
 
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Hakea said:
Hi,

My first impression was that you had a good speaking voice and a good general idea of how to read. Chris
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You have an exceptionally deep speaking voice for a woman, Leanne.... :)
 
Armistice said:
You have an exceptionally deep speaking voice for a woman, Leanne.... :)
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Yes, that was my first impression too. :D Without checking, I assumed that perhaps Leanne, like Pat, Evelyn or my own name - Chris - might even be a unisex name. So Leanne might be either sex and doing just the recording, or both narrating and recording - or even posting on behalf of a friend. Perhaps that was a rather risky assumption... :o :facepalm:

Either way, it's hard for me to judge the quality of just the recording in my current position - which is at a computer with relatively inexpensive monitors (and inexperienced ears too). So that may be an issue as well - what sort of equipment are audio books usually played back on? The only times that I've heard audio books the playback gear was always pretty basic. Provided that the recording had been above a reasonably achievable standard, it would have been OK. I'd rather hear a really good narrator on an average recording than an average narrator on a really good recording any day.

In general, I can't see any reason in principle why it's necessary to have a professional studio (although I can readily see why it might be a safer bet). If bands can get a start that way, then I don't see why it couldn't work with audio books. My own audio-book collection consists of precisely two - one of kid's stories read by some of the best loved Australian Play School presenters, and the other of Under Milk Wood with Anthony Hopkins and a star cast, and both are on tapes. The play-back quality is inevitably below what Leanne could probably achieve, but the performances are what I hear. :)

Chris

[EDIT: The ageing brain cells have finally retrieved the unisex name I was thinking of - Lynn - as in Lynn Redgrave (actress) and Lynn Davies (Welsh male Olympic long-jump champion)etc.... OK, maybe not that close... ]
 
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Let me start by saying that the sample posted isn't bad at all--and I really like the voice and the feeling injected into it. However, since you want this judged against professional audio books, I'm going to be really picky.

First, looking at the waveform, it appears there's some DC offset on your recording. This doesn't affect the quality in itself, but it makes later processing of levels etc. somewhat difficult.

Second, your room sounds just a bit boxy to me when listened to on good gear.

Third, the amount of sibilance might be a bit much--maybe a de-esser could help or maybe just a change of mic or mic position.

Finally, to compete with pro audio books you'll probably need to add some compression to even out the peaks. The dynamic range there is fine for an original (though the levels are high for an original) but a finished product needs to be evened out a bit--except the DC offset will make this more difficult than it should be.
 
Would also sound better with an Australian reading it ... I am... *clears throat*... available...:D
 
Armistice said:
Would also sound better with an Australian reading it ... I am... *clears throat*... available...:D
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He's right!.... I'm long overdue for a triumphant return to the stage... * pushes Armistice aside, and clears own throat *.... pick me..
 
Hakea said:
He's right!.... I'm long overdue for a triumphant return to the stage... * pushes Armistice aside, and clears own throat *.... pick me..
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Take it away Bruce!

By the way I played at the Mundaring Hotel new years day. :guitar:

Alan.
 
On the other hand, if you want the international audience, my accent is originally Canadian, moderated by 30+ years in the UK (with many Scottish friends) and now almost 5 years in Australia. They'll never guess where I'm from!
 
Thanks everyone. No it's not me reading. I've teamed up with a guy who can do the reading and handle the language side, while I'm concentrating on the technical stuff. If anything the demo is probably a bit overcooked as I'm experimenting with different software. I can always go back to the original recording and start again with compression, EQ and that kind of thing. What does 'out of phase' mean?

Ultimately the book will be an internet download so there's a fairly level playing field when it comes to quality I think. It'll be heavily compressed mp3 and listened to on Ipods. I have read some conflicting advice that says you should record at close to the final output, so 44khz while others recommend recording more like 192khz for professional sound. Any thoughts on this?
 
Not mad on the gating, seems a little robotic to me :S I'd def raise the release time
 
Leanne171 said:
I have read some conflicting advice that says you should record at close to the final output, so 44khz while others recommend recording more like 192khz for professional sound. Any thoughts on this?
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Record two small passages at both 44khz and 192khz, convert them to whatever MP3 format you desire, upload them both and see if anyone can tell the difference.

You are recording an audio book do be listened to in a car or consumer headphones, not the Royal Philharmonic to be listened to through $2000 speakers.
 
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