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Silly question about audio

by Mark Singletary
8 replies
Many of us, myself included, hate to hear the sound of our own voices played back on a recording.

Recently I discovered that putting earphones in my ears while doing the recording improved the quality a lot to the point that I was okay with it for the most part.

The silly question: did it just sound better to me or to everyone else too?

Any tips for overcoming this problem?

Thanks,
Mark
#audio #question #silly
  • Profile picture of the author Michael Ten
    I'm guessing it would sound no different to anyone else; you are just getting used to hearing your own voice. Are you young? Perhaps as one gets older one simply cares less. Not sure.
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  • Profile picture of the author Liam Murray
    I guess it's the element of getting used to your own voice, it takes time for some people but you will get used to it soon enough! Just keep recording even if it's not work related to fasten that process and you will be more confident too.
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  • Profile picture of the author Karan Goel
    I would say getting a better pair of microphone
    would help.

    Karan
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  • Profile picture of the author sscot
    Originally Posted by Mark Singletary View Post

    .

    Recently I discovered that putting earphones in my ears while doing the recording improved the quality a lot to the point that I was okay with it for the most part.
    Mark, I'm not a sound engineer. But, I feel that this is impossible to happen. Did you change the microphone? putting earphones in ears while recording, do nothing for recording quality.
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  • Profile picture of the author rlhurst
    Originally Posted by Mark Singletary View Post

    Many of us, myself included, hate to hear the sound of our own voices played back on a recording.
    This is quite common. Same thing happens with video. We all are our worst critic, for the most part. When you wear headphones while recording, it cuts down on the external noise and allows one to focus in on just the voice. Add some effects like eq, compression, de-esser, and a touch of reverb, and all of a sudden it's not so bad after all.

    Just takes time, and doing it consistently to get used to it. If you're serious about getting into doing a lot of your own recordings, I'd suggest picking up a nice mic (that's a whole other thread). Use a pop filter to cut out those nasty poppy p's. You can make one of those cheaply by using a wire hanger to shape the frame, and nylon pantyhose for the fabric.

    Keep at it, testing different variables (like you would a squeeze page) and you will improve with time.

    Ronnie
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  • Profile picture of the author omk
    I'm not sure what you mean. But if you mean hearing your voice in your headphones while you record, then that's just the "monitor" setting. You need to turn that off so you don't hear yourself.
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    • Profile picture of the author rlhurst
      Originally Posted by omk View Post

      I'm not sure what you mean. But if you mean hearing your voice in your headphones while you record, then that's just the "monitor" setting. You need to turn that off so you don't hear yourself.
      If you're going to shut off your voice to the headphones..... then why wear them in the first place? Unless you're talking about the voice coming through the external speakers (monitors) as well as the headphones, then yes, turn those external speakers off while you're recording with headphones on. So all you're hearing is what is coming through the headphones.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark Singletary
    I was using a cell phone's voice recorder - not for business. The first take was unclear and sounded awful - even others said so.

    Someone suggested putting ear buds in my ears and trying it again which I did. Same phone, same script, etc. but the results were 100x better. The only difference was the earbuds.

    I forget now if the earbuds were even plugged in to the phone.

    I've seen other people who do professional recordings use headphones and thought it might be related somehow.

    Thanks for the tips.

    Mark
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