Clean Cut Audio | The Science of Sound and the Art of Great Podcast Audio

When new podcasters or audio engineers are reaching out to their peers for help with their production, it's not uncommon to hear the super frustrating and unhelpful response of "just trust your ears". Unfortunately when you're so new to audio, that means nothing. It's a lazy cop out that relieves the person being asked for help from actually teaching anything. It would be like a new fighter pilot asking his superior how to fly a supersonic jet and getting the response "just trust your gut". Sure the stakes are much lower in audio production, but there still needs to be some foundational understanding in place in order for our ears to be trustworthy. This process of analyzing and critically listening to audio is called "ear training". It's very aptly named, as it's a very long term process that is constantly expanding upon previous trainings and exercises. Just like you would never finish a marathon with 0 training, you won't hear audio the way a professional does after a couple of days. With running, you need to run to the edge of the block first. When that feels too easy, go all the way around the block, then work your way up to 1 mile, 2 miles, 5 miles, 10, 15, then 26.2 miles. When we first start critically listening to audio, some changes may be so subtle you start to question if you're listening to 2 identical audio files, meanwhile someone else is waxing poetic about how wildly different the sounds are. This episode will teach you how to effectively develop your skills as an audio professional and podcaster so you can better hear subtle differences in audio, then use those skills to slowly but intentionally increase the quality of your audio week by week. JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON! Links: Equalizing by Octave: The Characteristics of Each Octave Band on the Human Voice A/B'ing Your Audio to Produce Better Sounding Podcasts Metric A/B by ADPTR (free 14 day trial) My Signal Chain Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-2A oeksound Soothe2 Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3 -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!- *most of these links are affiliate links Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: I Feel the Heat by Joakim Karud http://www.joakimkarud.com For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to [email protected]

Being a podcaster or a podcast producer can be lonely business. Long nights in your pitch black walk-in closet, the basement, or the forgotten spare bedroom can take its toll on anyone brave enough to enter to wild world of podcasting. The reason so many podcasts fade out after 7-8 episodes (which is so lovingly called "podfading") is because the work can often outweigh the reward, especially when you're just starting out. Luckily, there's an antidote to podfading and burnout, and it's called human interaction, err, community! I've been self-employed for just under a year now, and there have been entire WEEKS where I haven't left my house and interacted with another soul. It's so easy to get bogged down by the routine we find ourselves in when we don't shake it up a bit. When we join a community, preferably in person, we often come away from the evening reinvigorated, ready to take on the world and we're willing to do ANYTHING to make our podcasts be #1 on the charts. Over time, that feeling may fade and we tumble back into the routines and we face burnout around every corner. I HIGHLY encourage you all to find a local meetup of fellow podcasters, artists, creatives, and storytellers so that you stay inspired and don't let your passions and your projects fall by the wayside. The other massive benefit of community is you can grow EXPONENTIALLY faster than if you were trying to learn in isolation. Everyone's ideas and values are slightly different, and it's massively beneficial to experience as many different methods as possible so you can better form your own processes and morals and establish what works best for you. If you're alone all day, as I'm known to be, it's very easy to get struck in patterns that are most likely not optimal or good for the human spirit. If you're not in an area that lends itself to many meetups or gatherings of highly creative people, there are some valuable Facebook groups and forums out there, but not many. Be careful with those. But that leads me to this massive idea. What if WE create our own community that's dedicated to exploring values and ideas around capturing and producing better audio for podcasts?! That's something I'd be super interested in exploring with you all. Please reach out to [email protected] and let me know if you're down to get some ideas flowing with me and other listeners of the podcast. Links: Clean Cut Audio Educational YouTube Channel Clean Cut Audio on Instagram My Vlog on the Importance of Community Podfest Podcast Movement Closing Track: Harmony by Joakim Karud My Signal Chain Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm XLR Cable: Handmade... Software: IzoTope RX6 De-Mouth Click FabFilter ProQ3 Waves LinMB Waves Vocal Rider IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!- *most of these links are affiliate links* For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to [email protected]

Compression is a topic I've covered extensively (but also not nearly enough) on my YouTube channel. Even with all the hours of teaching I've done on the topic, I've barely touched on the other incredible effects and benefits of learning proper compression techniques. While a perfectly dialed in compressor will certainly help level out your dynamic range and save your listeners ears from being blown out by sudden changes in loudness, it will also impart a beautiful tone and character to your voice that can otherwise sound bland and lifeless. Not even mentioning the sonic characteristics of hardware and analog emulated plugins, compression can add warmth and body to your voice that is otherwise unattainable, leaving your listeners with a more pleasing and intimate experience. In this episode we go over the basics of compression, why it can add so much life to a podcast, and we listen to several examples of different intensities of compression to analyze the life it will give to a recording, and we'll learn to identify how much is too much. JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON! Links: 10% off all merch, all proceeds benefiting the humane society Basic YouTube Video on Compression Join the Clean Cut Audiophiles Discord Server! LA-2A Compressor Classic Optical Compressor CLA-2A Compressor My Signal Chain Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-2A Apogee Digital ModComp oeksound Soothe2 Waves LinMB Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3 -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!- *most of these links are affiliate links Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud http://www.joakimkarud.com For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to [email protected]

I wanted the opportunity to let you all know that I'm taking a break from the podcast for a while! I plan on coming back in a few months with a greater sense of purpose, focus, and a stronger grasp of how I can best educate those who are looking to make their podcasts sounds better! If you're looking to stay connected and updated, you can keep up with what's going on in the Discord server or on Patreon! Thank you all so much, and I'll still be seeing you most weeks over on the YouTube channel. Links: Clean Cut Audiophiles Discord Server My Signal Chain Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-2A oeksound Soothe2 Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3 -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!- *most of these links are affiliate links Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Rainy Days by Joakim Karud http://www.joakimkarud.com For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to [email protected]

It's very important to know that every compressor is different and it will make your audio sound differently depending on how it processes the gain reduction. There is a time and place for every different style of compressor, and in this episode we listen to 4 different styles of compression at 3 different amounts of compression applied to my voice. JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON! Links: Join the Clean Cut Audiophiles Discord Server! Clean Cut Audio on YouTube UA Article on Compressor Topologies 4SoundEngineers Article of Compressor Topologies IzoTope's 4 Different Types of Compressors SoundBridge Article on Types of Compressors Compressors sampled in this episode: VCA: API 2500 Stereo Buss Compressor by Waves FET: CLA-76 Compressor by Waves Optical: CLA-2A Compressor by Waves Vari-Mu: u73b by Audified My Signal Chain Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-2A oeksound Soothe2 Waves LinMB Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3 -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!- *most of these links are affiliate links Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Something New by Joakim Karud http://www.joakimkarud.com For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to [email protected]