0539 – The Magic Balance Between Mic Position, Projection and Recording Levels

2022.06.23 – 0539 – The Magic Balance Between Mic Position, Projection and Recording Levels

You can increase the basic loudness of your voice by turning up the gain[1] on your mic, but this will make you sound thin and weak, partly because more room noise is also being picked up by the mic, for which you have increased the sensitivity. In other words, your voice will be louder, but it won’t have more energy, projection or robustness. We’re talking sheer naked ‘volume’.

Audio processing makes sure that recorded voices are heard by the listener at roughly the same level, so they don’t have to grab the remote to turn up the TV as a whispered boardroom coup takes place, or turn it down as a soap opera showdown kicks off.

It’s easier to pull back the energy and add it in later, than have it too loud to start with.

Recorded audio that’s been recorded too loud and so ‘overmodding’ or ‘distorted’ is virtually impossible to fix.

Therefore, it’s best to get the mic-to-mouth position and the dependent mic levels correct at the get-go, so nothing has to be changed later.

[1] When a microphone channel is fully open, it is not actually picking up sound at its full capability. An additional knob, (‘the gain control’) can boost the incoming signal (your voice) so it is broadcast or recorded louder.

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