Clean Cut Audio | The Science of Sound and the Art of Great Podcast Audio

I wanted the opportunity to let you all know that I'm taking a break from the podcast for a while! I plan on coming back in a few months with a greater sense of purpose, focus, and a stronger grasp of how I can best educate those who are looking to make their podcasts sounds better!   If you're looking to stay connected and updated, you can keep up with what's going on in the Discord server or on Patreon!   Thank you all so much, and I'll still be seeing you most weeks over on the YouTube channel.   Links: Clean Cut Audiophiles Discord Server     My Signal Chain Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-2A oeksound Soothe2 Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links   Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Rainy Days by Joakim Karud http://www.joakimkarud.com   For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to [email protected]

It's very important to know that every compressor is different and it will make your audio sound differently depending on how it processes the gain reduction. There is a time and place for every different style of compressor, and in this episode we listen to 4 different styles of compression at 3 different amounts of compression applied to my voice.     JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!     Links: Join the Clean Cut Audiophiles Discord Server! Clean Cut Audio on YouTube UA Article on Compressor Topologies 4SoundEngineers Article of Compressor Topologies IzoTope's 4 Different Types of Compressors SoundBridge Article on Types of Compressors   Compressors sampled in this episode: VCA: API 2500 Stereo Buss Compressor by Waves FET: CLA-76 Compressor by Waves Optical: CLA-2A Compressor by Waves Vari-Mu: u73b by Audified     My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-2A oeksound Soothe2 Waves LinMB Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3     -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-     *most of these links are affiliate links   Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Something New by Joakim Karud http://www.joakimkarud.com     For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to [email protected]

Compression is a topic I've covered extensively (but also not nearly enough) on my YouTube channel. Even with all the hours of teaching I've done on the topic, I've barely touched on the other incredible effects and benefits of learning proper compression techniques.   While a perfectly dialed in compressor will certainly help level out your dynamic range and save your listeners ears from being blown out by sudden changes in loudness, it will also impart a beautiful tone and character to your voice that can otherwise sound bland and lifeless. Not even mentioning the sonic characteristics of hardware and analog emulated plugins, compression can add warmth and body to your voice that is otherwise unattainable, leaving your listeners with a more pleasing and intimate experience.   In this episode we go over the basics of compression, why it can add so much life to a podcast, and we listen to several examples of different intensities of compression to analyze the life it will give to a recording, and we'll learn to identify how much is too much.     JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!     Links: 10% off all merch, all proceeds benefiting the humane society Basic YouTube Video on Compression Join the Clean Cut Audiophiles Discord Server! LA-2A Compressor Classic Optical Compressor CLA-2A Compressor     My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-2A Apogee Digital ModComp oeksound Soothe2 Waves LinMB Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links     Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud http://www.joakimkarud.com     For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to [email protected]

Death has a crazy way of putting a lot of things into perspective. With the recent passing on my dog and best friend Levi, I've been thinking a lot about what audio and podcasting REALLY means to me. It got me thinking of the Alexander Supertramp quote "Happiness is only real when shared". We as podcasters tend to hole ourselves in a spare bedroom, walk in closet, or any location that is completely separated from the sounds and sights of the rest of the world. It can get lonely, and that loneliness and isolation can really get in the way of progress.   This week I'm revising the concept of community, this time VERY determined to provide a safe place for listeners of this podcast, viewers of my videos, and I to freely express ideas, theories, tips, and techniques that will not only result in a better sounding podcast, but a more fulfilling experience along the way.     JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!       Links: 10% off all merch, all proceeds benefiting the humane society Previous Episode on Community Community Vlog on YouTube Levi the Pitbull Clean Cut Audio on Twitter     My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-2A oeksound Soothe2 Waves LinMB Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3     -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links       Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Harmony by Joakim Karud   http://www.joakimkarud.com       For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to [email protected]

Something I've been seeing recently in Facebook groups and forums is people claiming they can't be great at audio because they don't have a degree or formal education in audio engineering. If that's you, let me offer some personal insight. I'm one of those chumps who spent 4 years and a TON of money on a degree in audio engineering, and I've lived to regret it. The REAL learning happened after college when I was working with some very experienced and prolific audio engineers who, guess what, never had ANY formal education in audio engineering.   The thing that really took my production to the next level was watching professionals do what they do best. To this day, I still spends hours every week, sometimes every day on several different paid platforms where I can watch audio engineers work and talk about their processes.   In this episode I offer suggestions on how you can learn how to be GREAT at audio and produce incredible podcasts without any type of formal education, including a new service I'll be offering called MixLab. Be sure to check it out in the links below!     JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!       Links: Clean Cut Audio Mixlab Podcast Engineering School Podcast Engineering Show Taylor Larson Instagram from my Former Life as a Woodworker Nail the Mix     My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-2A oeksound Soothe2 Waves LinMB Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3     -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-     *most of these links are affiliate links     Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud   Closing Song: If I Could I'd... by Joakim Karud   http://www.joakimkarud.com       For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to [email protected]

Many folks think noise reduction is something that can only be done in post production, but I'm here to tell you that's a bald-faced lie. The best noise reduction is accomplished WHILE recording your podcast! "The best offense is a great defense" type of vibes. There are SO many things we can do to make sure that noise (see also: unwanted sound) is never captured in the first place!   In this episode you'll learn a little bit about soundproofing and why it's unattainable for more people, microphone techniques that will almost eliminate noise (with listening examples of course!), some physical objects we can incorporate into our space to contain noise, and if all else fails, how to fix it in post.     JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!       Links: Preamp Noise Comparison Episode Frequency and Wavelength 101 Episode Waves NS1 Waves X-Noise Waves Z-Noise IzoTope RX 7 GoBo       My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: Avid Pro Tools 2020.5.0 IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-2A oeksound Soothe2 Waves LinMB Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-     *most of these links are affiliate links     Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Holiday Blues by Joakim Karud   http://www.joakimkarud.com     For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to [email protected]

When new podcasters or audio engineers are reaching out to their peers for help with their production, it's not uncommon to hear the super frustrating and unhelpful response of "just trust your ears". Unfortunately when you're so new to audio, that means nothing. It's a lazy cop out that relieves the person being asked for help from actually teaching anything. It would be like a new fighter pilot asking his superior how to fly a supersonic jet and getting the response "just trust your gut". Sure the stakes are much lower in audio production, but there still needs to be some foundational understanding in place in order for our ears to be trustworthy.   This process of analyzing and critically listening to audio is called "ear training". It's very aptly named, as it's a very long term process that is constantly expanding upon previous trainings and exercises. Just like you would never finish a marathon with 0 training, you won't hear audio the way a professional does after a couple of days. With running, you need to run to the edge of the block first. When that feels too easy, go all the way around the block, then work your way up to 1 mile, 2 miles, 5 miles, 10, 15, then 26.2 miles. When we first start critically listening to audio, some changes may be so subtle you start to question if you're listening to 2 identical audio files, meanwhile someone else is waxing poetic about how wildly different the sounds are.   This episode will teach you how to effectively develop your skills as an audio professional and podcaster so you can better hear subtle differences in audio, then use those skills to slowly but intentionally increase the quality of your audio week by week.     JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!     Links: Equalizing by Octave: The Characteristics of Each Octave Band on the Human Voice A/B'ing Your Audio to Produce Better Sounding Podcasts Metric A/B by ADPTR (free 14 day trial)     My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-2A oeksound Soothe2 Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links   Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: I Feel the Heat by Joakim Karud   http://www.joakimkarud.com   For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to [email protected]    

I vow to never stop talking about local recordings until every podcast on Earth at least KNOWS it's an option. Whether or not they choose to sound good is up to them.   A local recording eliminates all the fail points and fidelity degrading processes by writing all your 0's and 1's directly to your computer without any consideration of WiFi strength, bandwidth availability, or whatever noises your cohost is making on the other end. If you're using a platform like Zoom or Skype to record your podcast, keep doing what you're doing, just consider adding a local recording via your DAW of choice, Quicktime, or an interface with onboard recoding options. You'll immediately see a dramatic improvement in your audio quality.   JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!   Links: Local v. Zoom Audio Comparison Double Ender Video Using Quicktime in Addition to Zoom Demo Video   Consider donating to these foundations: George Floyd Memorial Fund Campaign Zero Reclaim the Block The Bail Project Black Visions Collective     My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-76 Waves API 2500 oeksound Soothe2 Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links     Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Love Mode by Joakim Karud   http://www.joakimkarud.com     For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to [email protected]

I vow to never stop talking about local recordings until every podcast on Earth at least KNOWS it's an option. Whether or not they choose to sound good is up to them.   A local recording eliminates all the fail points and fidelity degrading processes by writing all your 0's and 1's directly to your computer without any consideration of WiFi strength, bandwidth availability, or whatever noises your cohost is making on the other end. If you're using a platform like Zoom or Skype to record your podcast, keep doing what you're doing, just consider adding a local recording via your DAW of choice, Quicktime, or an interface with onboard recoding options. You'll immediately see a dramatic improvement in your audio quality.   JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!   Links: Local v. Zoom Audio Comparison Double Ender Video Using Quicktime in Addition to Zoom Demo Video   Consider donating to these foundations: George Floyd Memorial Fund Campaign Zero Reclaim the Block The Bail Project Black Visions Collective     My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-76 Waves API 2500 oeksound Soothe2 Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links     Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Love Mode by Joakim Karud   http://www.joakimkarud.com     For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to [email protected]

When it comes to mixing audio, you'd be hard pressed to find a more lively debate than the one between headphones and studio monitors. There are a LOT of pros and cons to each, and in this episode we explore many of the arguments for each side along with some brief lessons on HRTF (head related transfer function) and the psychoacoustics of how we localize audio in a 3D world.     JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!       Links: The Science of Sound 101 Episode Waves Nx Virtual Mix Room Waves Abbey Road Studios3 HRTF (head related transfer function)     Gear Suggestions: Affordable Closed Back Headphones Quality Closed Back Headphones Affordable Open Back Headphones Quality Open Back Headphones Affordable Studio Monitors Quality Studio Monitors   My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-76 Waves API 2500 Waves PuigTec EQP-1A oeksound Soothe2 Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3     -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-     *most of these links are affiliate links     Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Electro Brass by Joakim Karud     http://www.joakimkarud.com     Find me online! Patreon | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Website