Does This RecordingSound Right?

[Rhondazvous]

I want to thank everyone here for your invaluable support in helping me with this book.

A friend of mine in Ghana recorded an excerpt from chapter 1. It sounds okay, but I have poor hearing and don’t want to depend on it. So I’m asking you to listen and tell me how it sounds. I know he has n accent, but are the word clear?

http://rhondadenisejohnson.com/queenexcerpt.mp3

[HairyCyclist]

I want to thank everyone here for your invaluable support in helping me with this book.

A friend of mine in Ghana recorded an excerpt from chapter 1. It sounds okay, but I have poor hearing and don’t want to depend on it. So I’m asking you to listen and tell me how it sounds. I know he has n accent, but are the word clear?

http://rhondadenisejohnson.com/queenexcerpt.mp3

It sounds a bit muffled and unclear to me, but you can hear it if you concentrate.

[account_inactive]

Sorry, it doesn't seem to play on my iPad for some reason.

Good luck with the book though!

[Athene]

No, Rhonda. 
It's somewhat garbled, and the accent is indecipherable at times.

Congratulations on your book, though! Woot, woot!

[Thumpalumpacus]

The accent does make it difficult at times to understand what is being said. If I were engineering this recording, I'd kill some of the upper midrange -- there's phasing going on there, giving it a "whoosh" effect. I'd also drop some of the bass/lower mids in order to clear up the murk.

[brewer]

It sounds like it was recorded on tape and when played back the tape was dragging.

[Rhondazvous]

The accent does make it difficult at times to understand what is being said.  If I were engineering this recording, I'd kill some of the upper midrange -- there's phasing going on there, giving it a "whoosh" effect. I'd also drop some of the bass/lower mids in order to clear up the murk.

Do you think these changes will resolve the issue with the accent?

This is the second recording he’s sent me. The first one had so many pops and hisses like he was right up on the mike. For someone professional to send me something that sounds as bad as you say twice, why should I think the third time will be good enough? This is something I’m going to pay him to do.

Is there anyone at AF that has an outstanding reading voice and can make a good recording?

[Thumpalumpacus]

The accent does make it difficult at times to understand what is being said.  If I were engineering this recording, I'd kill some of the upper midrange -- there's phasing going on there, giving it a "whoosh" effect. I'd also drop some of the bass/lower mids in order to clear up the murk.

Do you think these changes will resolve the issue with the accent?

No. The accent is not a technical issue, it's a matter of me expecting to hear English pronounced a certain way. Nothing on the mixing board or outboard rack can fix that. I was a bit puzzled why you'd hire a non-native speaker to do the reading, frankly, because it would seem self-defeating; the point is to have the reading be transparently clear, so that the listener focuses on the story and not the voice telling it.

This is the second recording he’s sent me. The first one had so many pops and hisses like he was right up on the mike. For someone professional to send me something that sounds as bad as you say twice, why should I think the third time will be good enough?  This is something I’m going to pay him to do.

I doubt he's professional. This sounds very much like home demo-studio work.

[Rhondazvous]

Do you think these changes will resolve the issue with the accent?

No.  The accent is not a technical issue, it's a matter of me expecting to hear English pronounced a certain way. Nothing on the mixing board or outboard rack can fix that. I was a bit puzzled why you'd hire a non-native speaker to do the reading, frankly, because it would seem self-defeating; the point is to have the reading be transparently clear, so that the listener focuses on the story and not the voice telling it.

This is the second recording he’s sent me. The first one had so many pops and hisses like he was right up on the mike. For someone professional to send me something that sounds as bad as you say twice, why should I think the third time will be good enough?  This is something I’m going to pay him to do.

I doubt he's professional. This sounds very much like home demo-studio work.

He did the voice over for my book trailer. But I guess that's a far cry from reading a chapter excerpt. I will shop around until I find someone who can do a good job. I know a woman who has a great speaking voice, but since the story is about a boy, I'd prefer a male speaker.

[Thumpalumpacus]

If I had a recording setup, I'd offer, but I've got nothing that will deliver anything more than another amateur attempt.