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Jaayne:
All right, so ready for this deep dive. You sent in this Danny Brown video,

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Jaayne:
the two quick tips for better mic technique.

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Jaayne:
And honestly, who doesn't want like super clear audio? Am I right? So let's jump right in.

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Jamie:
And you picked a great one. Honestly, Danny Brown, his channel is like mic technique 101.

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Jaayne:
Yeah.

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Jamie:
But, you know, actually fun to watch.

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Jaayne:
Totally. Yeah. And I love how he doesn't like assume you've got this crazy pro studio happening.

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Jaayne:
Like, yeah, he's got the cool acoustic panels and all that. Yeah.

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Jamie:
Yeah. Which, I mean, they do make a difference.

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Jaayne:
Oh, for sure, for sure.

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Jamie:
Don't get me wrong.

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Jaayne:
Oh, absolutely not. But he really emphasizes that, like, mic technique by itself.

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Jaayne:
Even if you're recording, like, in your closet right now, like, no judgment.

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Jamie:
None at all. You know, I once heard this recording, and it was made in a professionally,

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Jamie:
like, treated vocal booth, you know, the whole nine yards.

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Jamie:
And the mic technique was so bad, it sounded like they were speaking from inside a fishbowl.

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Jaayne:
No way. See, that's what I'm talking about. So you're telling me you even I

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Jaayne:
with my like very basic setup can improve things just by What was his things

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Jaayne:
speaking across the mic not into it? Have you tried that?

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Jamie:
Oh, yeah, absolutely Felt

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Jaayne:
Kind of it.

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Jamie:
Feels a little unnatural effort natural, but there's a method to the madness Yeah,

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Jamie:
especially when it comes to what we call plosives plosives, you know There's

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Jamie:
little bursts of air like when we say words with P or B They create this like

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Jamie:
popping sound and it can really mess with your audio.

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Jamie:
It's like imagine someone like shoving a mini air cannon at your mic every time

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Jamie:
they said Peter Piper picked.

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Jaayne:
Okay, now I'm both grossed out. And D, I understand what you mean. Right. Okay.

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Jamie:
So speaking across the mic is almost like creating a little sound barrier, right?

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Jamie:
So those plosives, those little air bursts, they're not hitting your microphone

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Jamie:
diaphragm directly. correctly, so you get a much smoother sound,

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Jamie:
right? Much more pleasant to listen to.

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Jamie:
It's the difference between like someone slamming a door versus gently closing it.

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Jaayne:
I'm going with gently closing for sure. Yes.

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Jamie:
Which one would you rather listen to? Exactly. Yeah. The one that doesn't make

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Jamie:
me jump out of my skin. So this works for any type of mic, right?

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Jamie:
Because he also talks about like condenser versus dynamic mics.

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Jaayne:
Right. And that's where things get even more interesting, especially for,

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Jaayne:
you know, if you're working with a condenser mic at home.

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Jamie:
They're great. They're amazing at capturing detail. They're like the high-definition

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Jamie:
cameras of the microphone world.

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Jaayne:
Ooh, tell me more. I'm suddenly very self-conscious about my pores.

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Jaayne:
But okay, so condenser mics, very sensitive.

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Jamie:
Very sensitive.

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Jaayne:
So they're like the super, super HD cameras of the microphone world,

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Jaayne:
which sounds amazing, but maybe a little high maintenance.

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Jamie:
A little bit, yeah. They can be. They're very sensitive. Okay.

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Jamie:
Which is great because it means you can capture all those subtle details,

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Jamie:
the nuances of your voice. Okay.

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Jamie:
But it also means that it picks up everything else.

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Jaayne:
Oh, okay.

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Jamie:
So that whole thing that Danny Brown does in the video. Yeah. With the hang loose.

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Jaayne:
Oh, when he's all like hang loose, like he's about to like catch a wave.

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Jamie:
Yeah, exactly.

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Jaayne:
I thought he was just like messing around.

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Jamie:
No, no, no. He's actually, he's really onto something there. What?

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Jamie:
Because that distance, like from your thumb to your pinky. Yeah.

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Jamie:
When you make that hang loose sign. Yeah.

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Jamie:
That's actually like a pretty solid rule of thumb.

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Jaayne:
I see what you did there.

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Jamie:
For how far you want to be from a condenser mic.

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Jaayne:
OK, so not like breathing down its neck.

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Jamie:
Less breathing down the neck and more like, you know, having a respectful conversation.

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Jaayne:
OK, OK.

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Jamie:
From a comfortable distance.

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Jaayne:
I like it. So it can like do its thing.

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Jamie:
Exactly. Let it breathe. Yeah. Capture the richness of your voice without being overwhelmed.

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Jaayne:
It can breathe. I love that. OK, so condenser mics, the sensitive friend that

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Jaayne:
you don't want to blast with an air horn. Got it. But what about dynamic mics?

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Jaayne:
Because those seem to be like all the rage, you know, for podcasts and like

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Jaayne:
live stuff and all that. Are those as high maintenance?

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Jamie:
So dynamic mics, they're a little bit more like think about your trusty old landline phone.

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Jamie:
Okay. You know, it can handle a little bit more volume. Yeah.

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Jamie:
They're not as sensitive to every little bump or breath.

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Jaayne:
So I could like whisper sweet nothings or like belt out a power ballad and it will be fine.

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Jamie:
Maybe not whisper.

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Jaayne:
Okay.

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Jamie:
But, you know, they are designed for those higher sound pressure levels.

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Jaayne:
Right, right.

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Jamie:
Think about it. They're used a lot on stage where things can get really loud.

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Jaayne:
Yeah, yeah.

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Jamie:
They're built to handle that.

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Jaayne:
Makes sense. Okay, so with a dynamic mic, I don't have to worry about the whole

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Jaayne:
hang loose thing. I can get all up in there.

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Jamie:
You want to be mindful of your distance. Okay. But you can definitely get a little bit closer.

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Jaayne:
Okay, okay. But I'm sensing a butt.

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Jamie:
Butt, butt.

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Jamie:
Speaking across the mic still matters.

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Jaayne:
Even if I can practically like kiss it.

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Jamie:
Even then. Yeah. Because remember, it's not just about volume.

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Jamie:
It's about directionality. Right.

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Jamie:
You're still aiming those plosives away from that diaphragm.

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Jamie:
Okay. And that's what's going to make your audio sound so much clearer and more professional.

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Jaayne:
So no matter what, speaking across the mic is where it's at?

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Jamie:
Always.

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Jaayne:
Okay. I'm picking up what you're putting down. Anything else I need to know

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Jaayne:
about that before I move on? Right. Okay. So speaking across, not into.

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Jaayne:
Got it. But then Danny Brown, he also talks about like being consistent with your mic technique.

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Jaayne:
It's like finding that perfect parking spot. You know, you don't want to just

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Jaayne:
like admire it from afar. You got to pull in and hold it.

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Jamie:
That's a great analogy because, yeah, it's one thing to find that sweet spot

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Jamie:
where your voice sounds amazing. Right.

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Jamie:
But the real magic happens when you can actually stay there.

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Jaayne:
Yeah. Easier said than done, though, right? I will fully admit I've been guilty

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Jaayne:
of like leaning in when I'm like super fired up about something where i back

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Jaayne:
away when i'm thinking it's like my voice has its own gravitational pull to

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Jaayne:
and from the microphone how do i stop that.

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Jamie:
Well and even those tiny little movements you might

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Jamie:
not even realize you're doing them yeah but they

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Jamie:
can really really impact how your audio is perceived you know yeah think about

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Jamie:
it how many times you've been listening to someone speak and you just you kind

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Jamie:
of zone out oh all the time and it might not even be like the content itself

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Jamie:
right it's those subtle There are subtle variations in the volume, the tone.

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Jamie:
Our brains, they just pick up on that stuff.

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Jaayne:
It's so true. Like when you're watching something, like a movie or whatever,

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Jaayne:
and the audio is just all over the place, and you're so busy like messing with

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Jaayne:
the volume, that you completely miss what's going on.

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Jamie:
Exactly. Wow.

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Jaayne:
Okay, so consistency is key. How do we get better at that?

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Jamie:
Well, I mean, honestly, practice, you know, just start by recording yourself speaking.

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Jamie:
Okay. And then really listen back and listen for those little things.

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Jamie:
Do you lean in when you get excited? Do you back away when you pause?

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Jamie:
And once you identify what your kind of like bad habits are,

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Jamie:
you can start to break them.

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Jaayne:
It's like becoming aware of your like nervous six. You know,

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Jaayne:
once you see it, you can't unsee it. So you just got to work with it.

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Jamie:
I love that. Exactly. The more you practice, the more it'll become second nature.

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Jaayne:
Yeah. You know what I love about all this is that it's not about like having

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Jaayne:
the most expensive microphone or this like fancy studio setup.

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Jaayne:
It's really just about like understanding how to use what you've got to the best of its ability.

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Jaayne:
Totally. It's like Danny Brown is giving us all the cheat codes.

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Jamie:
Exactly. And you can use those cheat codes, whether you're recording a podcast,

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Jamie:
giving up a presentation, even just leaving a voicemail message.

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Jaayne:
It's true so good it's like a superpower but like for your voice yeah makes

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Jaayne:
you wonder if something as simple as how we use our microphones can have that

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Jaayne:
much of an impact what other areas of our lives could use a little optimization you know it's.

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Jamie:
Something to think about right

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Jaayne:
It really is well that is it for this deep dive huge thanks to danny brown for

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Jaayne:
the amazing advice and remember speak across the mic not into it find that sweet

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Jaayne:
spot and hold it until next time.

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