Getting rid of/avoiding "sibilant hiss"

drofluf

Further to this thread https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/199130/best-room-to-record-in#latest, my studio and is set up and I'm getting "good enough" results for my voiceover except for one thing:  I'm getting a "hiss" when I say words such as "responsibilities".

Any ideas for getting rid of it? Either in the room setup or in treating the sound afterwards. I'm using a Zoom H2 microphone with a pop shield and recording/producing in Audacity.

smigeon

Can't you just say "obligations" instead?

drofluf

smigeon said:

Can't you just say "obligations" instead?

Still got an "s" in it. I looked at rewriting the script but there are too many s's in the subject and it's for work so I'm stuck with it.

Whistler

Two things that would help us know:

1. What acoustic treatment do you have in your room?

2. Does your voice normally have a sibilance issue? Does it occur with other microphones?

One thing to try is to smooth harsh Ss out so that they are half way to a Z sound.

relic245

Whistler said:

One thing to try is to smooth harsh Ss out so that they are half way to a Z sound.

This is a very good suggestion, although not the fastest to implement. 

I have quite a strong lisp which is often very pronounced when I record my spoken voice. 

With practice I can reduce the sibilance a lot by doing what Whistler suggests.  I've only been doing this for a while and it's quite an effort. I think over time it will become more natural. 

If it's just the one word that you're having difficulty with then perhaps it will be a reasonably fast fix. 

Danny1969

The H2 from Zoom is more of a field recorder I though, or are you using something else ? 

If it is the normal field recorder one then experiment with the angle you use it has, it's probably very sensitive to anything close up. 

drofluf

@Whistler ; Thanks!

1. Acoustic "treatment" is limited to a duvet hung over the cupboard behind the microphone.

2. I only became aware of the sibilance when my wife (ex-BBC radio broadcaster, so she knows about this) pointed it out on playback of the test recording. When I did subsequent versions I became conscious of it but it's the first time I've had to be aware of it.

I guess if it's inherent to my natural speech there's little that can be done?

@relic245 It's in a number of words; given time I may be able to improve but not by my deadline.   
 

drofluf

Danny1969 said:

The H2 from Zoom is more of a field recorder I though, or are you using something else ? 

If it is the normal field recorder one then experiment with the angle you use it has, it's probably very sensitive to anything close up. 

Yes, it's possibly not the best tool for the job but it's what I've got. As it's for work I'm not willing to spend more; as their suggestion was to use my phone I should get a better result than they were expecting.

Stuckfast

Try positioning the mics slightly differently -- say at forehead height for instance.

steamabacus

There have been a few de-esser plug-ins developed for Audacity. Here's one (there are others if you search) ...

https://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic.php?p=245549#p245549

I've not used it personally so can't vouch for it's effectiveness/quality. Worth experimenting though.

drofluf

steamabacus said:

There have been a few de-esser plug-ins developed for Audacity. Here's one (there are others if you search) ...

https://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic.php?p=245549#p245549

I've not used it personally so can't vouch for it's effectiveness/quality. Worth experimenting though.

Thanks that really helped! A quick play and it managed to tame the worst excesses

Whistler

The Zoom H2 is definitely not a studio microphone but I use mine every week to record band rehearsals. Desperate times call for desperate measures and so during lockdown with our new studio far from finished I have been using the Zoom H2 to record my wife's singing for pre-recorded online church services with good results.



drofluf, my wife has a sibilance at 3,750Hz. If I can get a recording of you singing I would be happy to help try to locate it and work out how to minimise it. I will send you a PM.

WiresDreamDisasters

Definitely change the position in the first instance.

Then you'll want a de-esser plugin, or just automate an EQ manually for the worst bits.

Winny_Pooh

- Have the mic higher and facing your upper lip. Plosives come out of the mouth facing down.
- use a narrow q 1 band eq boosted 10db and sweep around to find your 'S' frequency, then apply a mild cut at that frequency on those words by automating on/off or use a de-esser to find it.
-pull your lower jaw back and raise your tongue when you sing esses, this is how pro singers do it.