AAwk2

For Audio arts this week I have 12 different comparisons of Vocal recordings. The first 2 are raw recordings of my friend Lisa on the Nueman U89. The first recording is her singing without any vocal expression and then the second is a comparison where she is being expressive. It was difficult to get her to do a recording without much expression as she is a singer and naturally puts it in. But in the end we got a comparison which demonstrates the vast dynamics of her vocals.

Lisa singing Flat into the Nueman

Lisa Singing with expression into the Nueman

Then I did some raw recordings of a friend Scott using the Nueman U89. Because Scott can’t sing we got him to read off a sheet of paper. Again I got him to do a flat read and an expressive read. Scott’s 'esses' were really prominent in both recordings, but particularly when he did an expressive read.

Scott doing a flat read into the Nueman

Scott doing an expressive read into the Nueman

Then I did the same using the Road NTV. Although it picked up a lot more, it really gave a lot more Clarity to Lisa's voice. For Scott however, it didn't do him any favors. It made it quite evident that the Nueman had much greater warmth in sound as it rolled of the bottom end of his voice.

Lisa singing Flat into the NTV

Lisa singing with expression into the NTV

Scott doing a flat read into the NTV

Scott doing an expressive read into the NTV

Finally I added some compression and a De-esser to the 4 expressive reads. Lisa still sounds best on the NTV. Scott on the other hand, still sounded good on the Nueman but with the NTV I was able to get a more Radio like quality to his voice. A major set back was that a lot more of the room noise came through into the mix after compression. Particularly in one point of Scotts recording on the NTV.

Lisa singing with expression into the Nueman with compression and de-esser added in post

Lisa singing with expression into the NTV with compression and de-esser added in post

Scott doing a flat read into the Nueman with compression and de-esser added in post

Scott doing a flat read into the Nueman with compression and de-esser added in post