Would a top notch comp/preamp 'cause clicks...

[Arno Peeters]

I've noticed that with vocal recordings (voicovers) done w. a Neumann (any TLM) and say an AMEK preamp and a D3 or DBX (simply put; top of the line preamps and compressors) spittle-sounds or abrupt transients will cause extra click-type sounds or small distortions. This shouldn't happen right ?
Or is this...natural vintage behaviour ?
Anyone else noticed ? Or am I just plain crazy ?

Have seen it happen 3 or 4 times now in sessions from different studio's, varying form 'natural' sillava-sounds that become a problem during the masteringstage to real strange transients popping and crackling...

I'm just suspicous what this outboardgear does aside from warming things up a little.

[uno1234]

Also, make sure your cell phone is turned off. When it "checks in with the network", it causes brief clicks to appear in the signal chain, with focusrite stuff in particular. Keep them (cell phones) off and out of the studio when recording.

[Arno Peeters]

Thanks for the info.
Yeah, most of the time it IS just spittle 'n smack, but it seems the comp/lim isn't fast enough and will distort somehow the small abrupt transients into clicks. Not just t's and s'ses, but also syllables, abrupt volume changes etc. It's almost inaudible, untill the mastering starts.... [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img]

I get my stuff on CD-rom and have checked for clocking-errors (happened to me before: the recording studio was slaved to an external clock. At the time everything's just fine... untill you switch the clocks...).

So I'm not alone with this problem ?

[FajitaTone]

how are you getting the material into ProTools?

[mike connelly]

"spittle-sounds or abrupt transients will cause extra click-type sounds or small distortions. This shouldn't happen right?"

This isn't the fault of the equipment, it's just the simple fact that the human voice makes lots of spittle/lip smack sounds. The better the mic, the more detail you get, whether you want that detail or not.

The easiest thing to do is to have the talent drink water more frequently. (otherwise, you're stuck editing out the clicks by hand)


Mike

[rodney morris]

Sounds like lip and spit smack to me too. Aside from the previously mentioned solutions (should be addressed during tracking) you can also have the talent back away from the mic a bit and then speak a little louder (as long as they aren't shouting and you aren't hearing too much of the room). I have also heard things like this happening when a patch bay is dirty or damaged. I had a guy that we were doing ISDN sessions with that had water damage in his studio (and in his patch bay) and we would have problems like that (pops and clicks and distortions) all over the place. Usually required reseating the patch (for the quick fix). This is why I hate trusting someone else for good audio when you can't put your ears on it during the tracking stage. I have had several people tell me that "it sounds good to me" and then I get the DAT or file or whatever and there are pops and clicks all over it. You find out quickly who you can trust and who you can't (sounds cynical but you are the one left holding the bag when you get crap in). If you are getting these CD-ROMs in from out of house then I would be speaking with the engineer(s) of the outside house to find out what might be happening. Try different mic/pre-amp/comp combinations if it continues to be a problem. If that studio has a problem with equipment and they don't know about, they might really be thankful if you brought this to their attention. You certainly don't want to come across as arrogant or accusing but if you want it sounding good in the end, it's gotta be good in the beginning, know what I mean? [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] MHO of course.

Rodney

[Arno Peeters]

... I did exactly that with the studio that had the clock wrong (see above). That engineer just kept on going: "that's impossible, we have a $ xxx studio, earthgrounded, extra-shielded...bla bla'

So not all engineers take it the right way [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
But yes, you're right: you should be keeping eachother posted. Thanks for the info !

I've taken a closer look at things and saw that the most irritating glitches were in the middle of e's an a's, shortly after the consonant or close to loud t's and s'es. After processing, these smacks become real spikey and thus turn to distortion. Looks like a clocking error again, but I still doubt the influence of the comp/limiter... anyway: it's driving me nuts !!

[kurt]

Fighting with the same problem for years. Sometimes lower gain or talent further from the mick seams to help but not allvays.
(Nanosync,AD-8000 & various Micks & pre-amps.)

[Fireworx]

I';ve had this same problem for ages. I spent loads of time trying to figure out where it was coming from. I tested my red 7 , my mics, my converters....you name it.
But what pisses me off is when collegues try and tell me it is natural.....
I CAN TELL U THE WEIRD SOUNDS THAT I GET ARE DEFIATELY NOT HUMAN. My latest suspician was that it was my RME converters, but now that I hear that people with AD-8000s have experienced the same problem makes me wonder. I have evrything clocked in parallel. Its a complete mistery to me.

If any one ever works it out then please let us know.......Maybe HD problem?

[Fireworx]

I' ve had this same problem for ages. I spent loads of time trying to figure out where it was coming from. I tested my red 7 , my mics, my converters....you name it.
But what pisses me off is when collegues try and tell me it is natural.....
I CAN TELL U THE WEIRD SOUNDS THAT I GET ARE DEFINATELY NOT HUMAN. My latest suspician was that it was my RME converters, but now that I hear that people with AD-8000s have experienced the same problem makes me wonder. I have everything clocked in parallel. Its a complete mistery to me.

If any one ever works it out then please let us know.......Maybe HD problem?