Month: January 2017

Cables Cables Cables

Best XLR Cables

Yes, Cables do make a difference and you want to get the best you can find. Well, I did all the legwork and here it is! LyxPro will be our brand of choice until somebody proves me wrong.

XLR cable is the gold standard cable, that’s why professionals use it for varying purposes, including lighting, video, and audio equipment setups. Its primary draw is that it cuts out interferences and maintains the fidelity of the signal passing through it. This is why an average cable doesn’t cut it because it can quickly degrade the signals as it would be a magnet for interferences and unwanted noise.

Basic Understanding of an XLR Cable

Two basic things to know about the XLR cable are:

It is a BALANCED cable
It can carry LINE LEVEL SIGNALS over long distances

Of the five parts of an XLR cable, the two most important parts to pay mind to are the conductors and shielding.

The conductors should be oxygen free. This is to prevent corrosion and consequently increase durability.

The shield should be made of a requisite material that would adequately protect the pristine signals passing through the cable from sources of interference that would otherwise introduce noise. This material is usually metal-based. A typical useful shield material is tin-plated copper.

Overview

The LyxPro Balanced XLR Cable is a multi-purpose premium cable with an outstanding build that makes it ideal for a broad range of standard applications that use XLR cables in every pro audio setup from home recording studios to live concerts.

Conductors

The LyxPro Balanced XLR Cable Premium Series Professional Microphone Cable features 24-gauge Oxygen Free Copper (OFC) conductors that prevent corrosion and thus sustains pristine signal transmission over an extended period.

Shielding

The cable consists of twin conductive PVC inner shields. Furthermore, it features 98% braided shield found only in premium XLR cables. Braided shields boast of superior strength, durability, and high conductivity to other types of shields (serve shield and foil shield). Thus, it has excellent hi-frequency and RFI shielding.

Connectors

The LyxPro Balanced XLR Cable features high-end gold contact points. Gold is the preferred material for contact points for most pros as it is highly resistant to oxidation and corrosion.

Consequently, it prevents poor connections that would otherwise have occurred if the connector had contact points plated with materials, like silver, that are less resistant to oxidation and corrosion.

Besides, gold requires less maintenance than materials like silver for the same reasons mentioned above.

Other Noteworthy Information

Features cotton yarn wrap to reduce noise considerably
The cable is available in varying lengths—from 1.5 feet to 100 feet
LyxPro offers more versatility with its wide array of 10 colors choices to pick from. The availability of multiple color options is for easy identification and convenience.

This information was according to http://www.recordingexpert.net/best-xlr-cable/ follow link for full review.

What can a Narrator Narrate when a Narrator is sick!

Dude! Today’s searches will be exactly on that! I was lucky enough to catch a virus, cold, flu, or whatever it is going around. I have 2 books due and a pending audition. “Aint nobody got time fo dis”
Okay, so Cold-Eeze and Zicam for the win. Zinc gluconate, the active ingredient in Cold-EEZE® provides 13.3 mg of ionic zinc per lozenge and I do believe it does work

The Best Start-Up Guide to Audacity for Narrators

I am super excited to share this! My Book, yes MY Book is published and on Amazon as of today! <High Five>
Please check it out, if you like it, just give it a few hundred raving reviews! Seriously, This guide was written specifically for Narrators, Voice-Over Talents and Podcasters to get started quickly using Audacity 2.1.2. I created this ebook because I was in the exact position you are in now, excited to get started but not sure how to get the best sound from my system. Even though you are recording right away and with great ease, there are several important things you need to know about editing and mastering your track and meeting the requirements of sites like ACX and LibriVox.

The Best Start-Up Guide to Audacity for Narrators

Audacity is an excellent program used by many professionals. Do not feel like you are missing out because you didn’t pay hundreds of dollars. As a Narrator, Voice-Over talent or Podcaster, Audacity has everything you need to get started fast and become the success you were always meant to be.less videos and tutorials, filtered and focused on the needs of the Narrator that simplify the process. I hope you enjoy it!

This ebook is a collection of important information scattered throughout the web that I spent days searching for and then figuring out what did and did not work in Audacity. This included convenient methods and shortcuts that I learned from count This ebook is a collection of important information scattered throughout the web that I spent days searching for and then figuring out what did and did not work in Audacity. This included convenient methods and shortcuts that I learned from countless videos and tutorials, filtered and focused on the needs of the Narrator that simplify the process.

Free Audible Download Code

Pokemon has been updated with 80 new Pokemon! Get your new code below!

Go to my book's page on Audible.com: 2 in 1 Bundle: Pokemon Go Guide + Pokemon Go Battery Saving
Add the audiobook to your cart.
Create a new Audible.com account or log in.
Enter the promo code DTZXGCHXSZ4MC and click "Redeem" on the cart page.
To change the price from full price to $0.00, click the box next to "1 Credit" and click the "update" button to apply the credit to your purchase.
Complete checkout, and start listening to the free copy of the book.

This is a First-Come, First Serve Code, If it does not work, leave a message and I will give you a new code. "while supplies last"

Thank You for your support!

OMG! What a great Book!

Tips & Tricks for Recording Audio Narration | The Rapid E-Learning Blog

Tips & Tricks for Recording Audio Narration | The Rapid E-Learning Blog: Are you looking for tips on how to record audio narration? Check out this post and the weekly challenge to learn more about how to record audio narration.

Another great link and Audacity Addon If you use Audacity, you HAVE to get this AddOn! https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/chriss-dynamic-compressor-plugin-for-audacity/

There is a great video located on the Chris’s Dynamic Compressor download website. They explain the greatness of this plugin and all its functions and after trying it, I completely agree. The settings shown above work great for me, but I did have to change to this after getting the Audio Interface. So, I highly suggest playing with these settings until you get the results you are looking for. Remember “UNDO” is your friend. Good news is, like most add-ons, your last settings stay until changed. However, use the “Manage” button and save your settings.

Here is my tip and please if anyone knows a better way or why this is wrong, please leave a comment. I read and heard so many different ways to master your track, but so far this is the best order for me.

Before starting these effects, learn from me, copy the track or file, I usually just copy the track and save the file. Either way, make sure you have a raw file to go back to! That alone will make you love me!

1-Noise Reduction - Note: Spend a lot of time on getting your settings right, I still fight this!

2-Equalization

3-Normalize

4-Compression

5-Measure Contrast (remember reading for next step)

6-Amplify to achieve -22 dBa

7-Analyze for ACX Check < Link to Addon

8-If ACX Check shows Peak Level to high use:

- Limiter Soft/Hard Set at -3

I can spend a day on this page and will soon, but I found that most of the settings suggested for each of these effects need to be tweaked according to your specific system and environment. However, we all need starting points and I will show you the settings I use soon.

Also, note that most of these steps can be applied by the "Chain" function. More on that later too

Inspiration

http://www.georgeguidall.com/index.html

Narrated by George Guidall

A Suggested List for Audiobook Listeners

Last Stand (Philbrick), Hanging Judge (Brandt), Cold Dish (Johnson), Cure (Cooke), Broken Jewel (Robbins), Dark Horse (Johnson), Les Miserables (Hugo)
Shroud Codex (Corsi), Don Quixote (Miguel De Cervantes), The Devil's Advocate (Morris West), Shadow Song (Terry Kaye),

Talk about inspiration! this guy is amazing! Each book is a link, listen to his samples or better yet, Buy a Book!

The number one recommendation is to listen to as many audio books as possible. I also find it helpful (and now with Audible's new "Whispersync for Voice" it is even easier!) to read along while listening to get a feel for the rhythm and flow of the story. Especially helpful is to read a passage as you would narrate it, then compare yourself to how the pro did it. I learned more from that method than most anything else. BTW, it feels great to nail it!

Helpful Sites and Instruction

A wise man learns from his mistakes,
a wiser man learns from others mistakes.

As with all endeavors, it is time to learn as much as possible,
below are links I found to be helpful.

Please comment with any additional materials you have found to be informative.

WELCOME TO LIBRIVOX

Phil Chenevert

5 videos

187 views

Last updated on May 30, 2012

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFD65F1CE870516DF

LIBRIVOX HELP VIDEOS

Phil Chenevert

11 videos

285 views

Last updated on May 16, 2015

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD623ECF357234509

SAG-AFTRA Foundation

https://www.youtube.com/user/SAGFoundation/featured

and Professional Voice Over Artist

Welcome to my blog, I am attempting to create a narrative of the trials and tribulations of attempting to become a successful audiobook narrator. I am sure my experience will appeal to male voice over and female voice over talents equally. I did create an account on Fiverr, johncx4voice. Fiverr is a place where anyone can hire a voice over online. The competition ranges from the Professional voice over Artist to the aspiring trying to enter the voice over industry. BTW, I never know which is the right term, voice over or voiceover, audio book or audiobook, not to mention is it voice over talent, voice over artist, or voice over actor? Hopefully, I will know soon, I’m counting my first sale as saying I am Professional Voice Over Artist. As it is, I did sell my first book as an audiobook narrator, so guess what… BOOM - Professional Audiobook Narrator!
I will include a guide to the right settings and tips for Audacity and will start working now on a list of recommended home studio audio gear. I would also like to do gear reviews. But let’s see how that goes.

ebook, e-book, Ebook, or eBook

This will be a slight rant, so I thought there was trouble with audio book or audiobook! Well here is a whole new issue. I know we are on the cusp of a new dawn, the cutting edge of technology, the bend of the bee's knees, but seriously can't we just pick a word and agree on it!

So, I'm working with my editor (I feel like such a badass saying that) and the issue of the spelling of ebook came up. (And yes, for the record, I am going with ebook) so I googled it. Maeve Maddox of Daily Writing Tips has the following to say:

"I’ve been using the spelling eBook. I think it looks classier than ebook or e-book, but that’s just my opinion. To write this post I went to my usual venerable sources.

The entry in the OED is spelled e-book.

However, on the AskOxford site, it’s spelled ebook.

Merriam-Webster favors e-book.

The Chicago Manual of Style has the spelling e-book in its index.

I can’t find it in the Penguin Writer’s Manual, but I do find e-mail, so I infer that they may favor e-book as well.

According to the standard sources, therefore, it looks as if e-book is the spelling to go with.

Or is it?

My favorite, eBook, seems to enjoy a certain popularity in the publishing marketplace.

There’s an online store called eBooks.com

The ad for the Microsoft Reader uses eBook. (However, the spell checker in Word recognizes only e-book as the correct spelling.)

There’s a Sony eBook Store.

Barnes & Noble calls them eBooks."

See, no confusion there! But since money talks, and public opinion rules, let's refer to Google Insights for Search tool, which measures overall searches on a term versus the total Web searches. There are much more searches for “ebooks” than “e-books,”

However in a public opinion poll by Digital Book World our friends prefer to eBooks in written form. Just remember you were there when e-mail made its transformation to email, and we are here now as ebook will come into its own. What a great time to be alive!