30 episodes
Clean Cut Audio | The Science of Sound and the Art of Great Podcast Audio Clean Cut Audio
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- Education
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5.0 • 26 Ratings
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Clean Cut Audio is dedicated to educating and inspiring higher standards of audio in podcasting. Every week, audio engineer and podcast producer Tom Kelly will teach editing tips, workflow tricks, and necessary values that will help you produce a better sounding podcast more efficiently.
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Summer Break and the Future of Clean Cut Audio
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 hello@cleancutaudio.com -
Explaining and Listening to the 4 Topologies of Compressors (VCA, FET, Opto, and Vari-Mu)
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 hello@cleancutaudio.com -
Compression for Color, Tone, and Depth
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 hello@cleancutaudio.com -
What My Dog Taught Me About Love, Audio, and Community
Death has a crazy way of putting a lot of things into perspective. With the recent passing on my dog and best friend Levi, I've been thinking a lot about what audio and podcasting REALLY means to me. It got me thinking of the Alexander Supertramp quote "Happiness is only real when shared". We as podcasters tend to hole ourselves in a spare bedroom, walk in closet, or any location that is completely separated from the sounds and sights of the rest of the world. It can get lonely, and that loneliness and isolation can really get in the way of progress.
This week I'm revising the concept of community, this time VERY determined to provide a safe place for listeners of this podcast, viewers of my videos, and I to freely express ideas, theories, tips, and techniques that will not only result in a better sounding podcast, but a more fulfilling experience along the way.
JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!
Links:
10% off all merch, all proceeds benefiting the humane society
Previous Episode on Community
Community Vlog on YouTube
Levi the Pitbull
Clean Cut Audio on Twitter
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: Harmony by Joakim Karud
http://www.joakimkarud.com
For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com -
How to Become an Amazing Podcast Engineer (without a degree in audio production)
Something I've been seeing recently in Facebook groups and forums is people claiming they can't be great at audio because they don't have a degree or formal education in audio engineering. If that's you, let me offer some personal insight. I'm one of those chumps who spent 4 years and a TON of money on a degree in audio engineering, and I've lived to regret it. The REAL learning happened after college when I was working with some very experienced and prolific audio engineers who, guess what, never had ANY formal education in audio engineering.
The thing that really took my production to the next level was watching professionals do what they do best. To this day, I still spends hours every week, sometimes every day on several different paid platforms where I can watch audio engineers work and talk about their processes.
In this episode I offer suggestions on how you can learn how to be GREAT at audio and produce incredible podcasts without any type of formal education, including a new service I'll be offering called MixLab. Be sure to check it out in the links below!
JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!
Links:
Clean Cut Audio Mixlab
Podcast Engineering School
Podcast Engineering Show
Taylor Larson
Instagram from my Former Life as a Woodworker
Nail the Mix
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: If I Could I'd... by Joakim Karud
http://www.joakimkarud.com
For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com -
Noise Reduction in the Recording and in Post Production
Many folks think noise reduction is something that can only be done in post production, but I'm here to tell you that's a bald-faced lie. The best noise reduction is accomplished WHILE recording your podcast! "The best offense is a great defense" type of vibes. There are SO many things we can do to make sure that noise (see also: unwanted sound) is never captured in the first place!
In this episode you'll learn a little bit about soundproofing and why it's unattainable for more people, microphone techniques that will almost eliminate noise (with listening examples of course!), some physical objects we can incorporate into our space to contain noise, and if all else fails, how to fix it in post.
JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!
Links:
Preamp Noise Comparison Episode
Frequency and Wavelength 101 Episode
Waves NS1
Waves X-Noise
Waves Z-Noise
IzoTope RX 7
GoBo
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:
Avid Pro Tools 2020.5.0
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: Holiday Blues by Joakim Karud
http://www.joakimkarud.com
For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com
Customer Reviews
If you’re reading this
...you may already know this is the place you need to be. Tom does it better than anyone else in the podcasting space. He knows his stuff, he cares, and his content reflects that.
The Audio Teacher I Never Had!
It’s a steep learning curve starting a podcast without any experience with audio. This podcast essentially gave me the foundation of knowledge I needed to steer through the editing process and optimize the overall sound of my podcast. I still have much to learn but the fire is lit!
Tom Kelly is the best in the biz
I love Tom’s fun and friendly style of teaching that somehow also feels firm and to the point. I’ve been doing voice over and audio production for two years and am learning so much from this podcast - especially how to talk to my clients who need editing. I can’t wait to keep learning from this show! Thanks Tom!