How to Master EQ For Voice-Over - Equalisation for Audiobooks

hey everyone what's good I'm Andy from cracking media and today I'm going to be leading you in a master class on EQ specifically focused on voiceover dialogue and audio books EQ or Equalization involves adjusting the volume of specific frequencies within your recording so after clarifying the process and covering the frequency Basics I'm going to reveal to you one of my potent secret techniques enhances vocal quality so make sure you stick around for that valuable Insight this tool has the potential to substantially enhance vocal presence and Clarity but it's intended for improvements rather than fixing shortcomings in the original recording and as with most post-production and mastering processes remember that less is often more strive to make minimal adjustments for optimal results there are various types of equalizers for graphic equalizers that consist of like dials and sliders like these and parametric equalizers depicted as graphs like this one essentially they all operate in a similar manner left to right represents frequency with left indicating lower frequencies and rights indicating higher frequencies up and down represents amplitude indicating how loud you're increasing or decreasing each frequency another key aspect to master the basics of EQ is what's called Q width in a parametric equalizer adjusting the Q width affects the width of the frequency band that you're altering a small q width affects a narrow band while a larger Q whip results in a wider adjustment starting at the lower end the frequency range will work through each frequency discussing its characteristics and how it relates to voice over recording for most human voices the range is under 20 000 Hertz so let's begin at the bottom with the sub bass those extremely low frequencies between 0 and 100 Hertz below 100 Hertz there's not a lot of voice present though there is a slight amount between 50 and 100 Hertz especially around 80 to 100 Hertz range frequencies below 50 hertz are virtually non-existent in our voices additionally this is where low rumbling noises are present such as background traffic or any vibrations picked up from your desk plosive might also fall into this lower frequency bracket a common technique here is the high pass or low cut filter by applying this filter within the range of 0 to 100 Hertz we eliminate lower sounds when using a parametric EQ the shape resembles this curve aim to start the roll-off at around 80 Hertz to retain some detail between 80 and 100 Hertz gradually intensify the roll-off as you descend through the frequency such as 50 40 30 Hertz Etc this process removes low rumbling noises and introduces some clarity to the lower end of your voice next let's examine the low frequencies within your voice range roughly between 1 to 250 Hertz this is the base range now beginners quite often mistakenly believe that boosting this range will deepen their voice however boosting these frequencies won't affect your vocal pitch instead a slight boost usually around two to four decibels adds a little bit of warmth and depth to your recording consider reducing this frequency range if you're recording exhibits a proximity effect where being too close to the microphone causes a build up in the lower frequencies moving on WE encounter what I call the muddy puddle the three to 500 Hertz range this range can make your recording sound muddled and thick resembling a mouthful of toast dropping these frequencies a few decibels helps clarify and smoothen the sound the degree of drop and the width of the adjustment depends on your microphone and voice now let's delve into the mid vocal tone spanning from one to four thousand Hertz this range contains the bulk of your voice but it also includes nasally and harsh frequencies adjusting here depends on your voice microphone and your recording context you might boost these frequencies to bring out the voice or reduce them slightly to minimize harshness or nasal sounds experiment by adding or removing a few decibels to determine what sounds best for your recording moving up the frequency ladder we reach the bright Clarity range from five to eight thousand Hertz this range includes sibilance which can be over emphasized by boosting this frequency range a slight boost of around three to four decibels can bring out the detail and Clarity of your voice followed by using a de-esser to control and reduce any sibilance that's introduced lastly the very high frequencies so this is between 10 000 and 20 000 Hertz this contributes to an Airy quality to your voice keep in mind that compression processes like MP3 conversion will probably remove most of these frequencies boosting frequencies around 10 to 15 000 Hertz enhances airiness while a high cut or low pass filter between say 15 and 20 000 Hertz helps eliminate top end hiss in terms of using equalizers remember that less is often more aim to add or reduce around two to four decibels per frequency band wide curves are suitable for boosting while narrow curves work well for cutting frequencies my secret technique involves setting a narrow Q width and a large boost and then sweeping through all of the frequencies to find and identify any unpleasant sounds and then minimizing those frequencies but this should be used very sparingly in summary a standard EQ curve is a really good starting point for you should resemble something like this a gentle roll-off to eliminate Rumble a slight boost between one to two hundred Hertz for some warmth a minor dip around 300 Hertz to remove muddiness and gradually boosting through the mid-tones and the highs before cutting off the very high frequencies to manage noise this curve provides an excellent foundation for building your EQ settings I hope this information proves valuable while it's a lot to absorb remember the practice and experimentation will refine your skills if you're looking for a lighter take check out this video here that covers the common mistakes in vocal recordings take a break relax enjoy the humor and I'll see you over there

Channel: Kraken Media

Views: 3,244

Keywords: Voiceover EQ, Audio equalization, Audiobook editing, Voice recording tips, EQ techniques, Audio frequency adjustment, Voice clarity, Audio mastering, Vocal enhancements, EQ for beginners, Voiceover production, Audio post-production, EQ tutorial, Audio editing tips, Audiobook production, Professional audio quality, Voiceover improvement, EQ strategies, Vocal EQ adjustments, Clear audio recording

Id: cPP1RGfk824

Length: 6min 37sec (397 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 26 2023