Darren, the Logic Pro eXpert, Saves the Day!
It’s one thing to be called into a recording studio operated by an extremely competent audio engineer to read a script. Recording, editing and mastering your own recordings requires learning the ins and outs of a complicated workflow and software program. Audio editing and mastering applications like Logic Pro X have deep functionality for composers who do multitrack recording. So at first it can be overwhelming and difficult to find your way to the few specific functions you need for voiceovers. One to ten minute voiceovers can be recorded, edited and mastered in a couple of hours. Producing an audiobook requires recording levels be consistent for weeks on end. You really have to up your game.
My first audiobook Startup got rejected by ACX’s Quality Assurance Team. Since it was recorded over the course of 3 months it was a challenge to keep recording levels consistent. If you are interested in how to record singers, make beats and compose music there are plenty of Youtuber’s out there ready to help, but if you just want to learn how to record and master a basic voiceover, most of the tutorials are totally irrelevant. Complicating this is the fact that there are several different audio mastering applications so you need tutorials on the one you are using.
I wasted a week watching Youtube tutorials trying to figure out how to do some really simple functions. It seems super basic, but I couldn’t figure out how to measure a portion of audio to ensure the proper duration of room tone at the beginning and end of each chapter. Additionally the average loudness level varied from chapter to chapter. Finally I found an excellent Youtuber who focuses exclusively on training and tutoring for Logic Pro X. Darren Burgos of http://www.logicproexpert.com/. In just 40 minutes he helped me re-master the entire audiobook to get consistent levels. Soon it was on it’s way back to ACX, sounding even better than before. A few days later it was approved by ACX and on it’s way to retail.
With Darren’s help I developed a step by step process to meet ACX specifications:
Audiobook Production Workflow
Ensure the 48V button is toggled off and the level is all the way down on all inputs on the audio interface - in my setup I use the Focusrite Scarlett Solo.
Turn on computer.
Ensure the microphone(in my case the Orange Spark) is plugged in. Push the 48V button to toggle on the microphone, after the initial power hit, turn the level up. In my set up that means the microphone level is around 75% of full.
Launch DAW, in my case Logic Pro X. Preferences, Audio, Interface.
Monitor levels throughout process with the loudness meter
Add region gain to areas that are relatively low. Ones levels throughout the whole track are consistent, add gain to the entire track, but be careful not to start clipping the peaks. IF possible, make the LUFS -20 to keep it within the -18 to -23 db RMS range acceptable for ACX.
Add compressor, Vintage Opto
4.0:1 Ratio
Adjust the threshold so that the pin is bouncing around -5, -7 is still ok for more dynamic areas, -10 for hard hitting commercial. In the lower volume areas there will be no movement. That means no compression is happening. It’s just lowering the high stuff. For most my audiobook stuff -30 is the setting.
Make sure the pin isn’t making jagged movements. If it is adjust the attack and release. Listen and make sure it doesn’t sound weird.
Then add the Noise gate- starting at zero and dragging the pot until it’s closing between words.
Make Noise gate reduction at 90-100%, 90 if you need room noise, 100 if it can go totally dead.
Add Reverb, small room, vocal plate, Wet -54db. (I‘m downloading all the content - please recommend a room once I get them all downloaded and have more options.)
Now adjust the master output by adding a limiter - Adaptive limiter
Set it to -2, then set the master pot level to -1 for a total limit of -3 db
You can add gain here to get the level up to -20 but no more than +8 gain. Go back to the region gain if more is needed. If still low, add make up gain in the compressor.
Add Waves Debreath if there’s any noise or breaths left, but most should be removed by the noise gate.
Move clips with suppressed letters to a second track with a non-aggressive Debreath. I’m still putting the Debreath here, but with such loose settings that it’s not crushing any levels, but I’m sure it has some slight influence so that the two tracks sound similar enough.
Adjust track 2 compressor and noise gate to match track 1.
Open mixer make sure master output is at zero. If not, option click the slider to zero it out.
Select all clips including the roomtone at the end.
Go to Bounce > Project or Section. Select MP3, Bit Rate 192 kbps, joint stereo, overload protection only.
Set PCM, WAVE, 24bit, 44100, Interleaved, Dithering none, overload protection only. And click OK.