I get a lot of email from Toaster/Flyer users asking me how I have my audio signal flow designed to and from the system. I have tried to answer these questions in a manner that hopefully will make the little light go on over the readers head. However, to simply explain how MY particular system is hooked up would surely be a loaded question. I realize that not all videographers who use the Video Toaster/Flyer just "happen" to also have at their disposal a complete multitrack recording studio. To be fair, I DID start out in the recording industry long before I got my feet wet in video, so I have accumulated a large arsenal of audio gear, processors, microphones, cables, adapters, and the like. But who wants to have to spend all that money on audio if they don't have to? And you DON'T have to�� Read on.
There are a few tools that you absolutely must have in order to get good audio for your video projects. The most important tool is your ears! You have to learn to listen even as you use your eyes to monitor your viewfinder when acquiring your field master footage. It's one thing if you are shooting video on location. For most projects, if you are using a high end camcorder you are probably getting decent audio from the camera mic. Not always - your mileage may vary - depending on the unit. I use a Sony VX1000 for most of my field acquisition. It's on board stereo mic works pretty well for 90% of my applications. Obviously, if I have a "talking head" shot I will need to either body mic the speaker or use a shotgun mic on a pole. But if I am shooting (for example) an auto race, air show, assembly line shot for an industrial video, or a fishing show, the camera microphone will do a pretty decent job of obtaining good usable location field audio - PROVIDING you are very careful in handling the camcorder during the shoot. If the environment is very quiet the camcorders built in limiter will bring the audio up so high that even the smallest hand movement on the camcorder may reveal squeaks and crackles and even sometimes the motorized zoom. That's why I always wear a small pair of stereo earbuds while shooting. First, it gives me the perspective of what the camera (and therefore the audience) is "hearing", and second, if you wear phones you will hear all that operator hand movement and be more inclined to pay attention to your audio.
But getting good audio at the source is only part of the process. As we all know by now, the weakest link in the Toaster/Flyer system is audio support. Thanks to third party supporters like OzWare and ProWave we now have much more control over audio, but we still need to pay some special attention to the audio digitization process. Here is where having some critical pieces of gear come in handy. First, the Toaster card only has a single stereo pair of RCA input and output jacks. This means you will have to find a way to get multiple sources of audio to the card.
Well, the one thing you DON'T want to have to do is keep plugging and unplugging cables to and from the back of your computer! The main reason is that eventually you will weaken the connection points to the board causing it to have to be repaired. Also - this is a big PIA! So� What to do? Well, many of you are already using some kind of mixer to run to the Toaster card inputs. And, according to many posts I read on the VTFML, many of you are also using the same mixer to run the outputs from the Toaster audio card. I don't recommend this as, unless you are very savvy with audio signal flow, you run the risk of opening
a feedback loop (accidentally feeding the output of the Toaster to the input of the Toaster). You CAN work around this problem by diligently separating the mixers capabilities and using AUX sends or submixes, depending on the configuration of your particular brand of mixer. Mackie mixers are particularly well suited for this task, and have little "bleedthough" in overall signal flow. Personally, the route I would recommend would be to only use the mixer on the INPUT end of the Toaster card. I use a separate audio routing system coming out of the Toaster card and furnishing audio to my various VCR's.
Back to the question at hand. How would I configure and what gear would I buy to set up a good audio input source to the Toaster card�. If I was STARTING FROM SCRATCH AND AS CHEAPLY AS POSSIBLE? Okay, fair enough. Here's what I would buy at this particular point in time - starting from scratch. The prices I have included are from the latest American Music Supply catalog, but you should be able to find comparable prices in almost any music instrument supply catalog:
1) Behringer Eurorack MX602A Mixer ($99.95) - This 4-channel mixer features two mic/line channels. The mic inputs are low-impedence, terminate with XLR jacks, and are also 48V phantom power if you are using a condenser mic which needs external power. Each MIC channel is switchable between mic or line which give you added flexibility of returning two mono or one stereo audio line input source. In addition the mixer has two additional stereo inputs. All channels have 3-band EQ with 15db cut/boost, AUX send, pan and rotary volume knobs. It also has extensive insert jacks for configuring the mixer in several ways. You could put your vocal mic on CH 1, a mono line source on CH 2 (such as a keyboard with sequencer), run a CD player to the stereo CH 3 inputs, and stereo camcorder audio returns into CH 4.
2) DBX 266XL stereo compressor/limiter ($169.95) - This will give you two independent channels of compression, and more importantly for Flyer use you can go from slow leveling to aggressive peak limiting. I would place this unit between the output of the mixer and the input of the Toaster card. That way, if you're doing a simple voiceover you can set the device to compress and limit your voice as you digitize it to the Flyer. You can then set it differently to digitize music tracks and again for the audio source from your camcorders location audio. The DBX also features a noise gate which can be very helpful in cleaning up your voiceover tracks, like taking out the air conditioner hum from your track when you're not speaking.
3) Shure SM58 microphone ($99.95) - Sure, there are more expensive mics, but this one is considered the "desert island mic". If you can spend more, try the Shure Beta58A ($159.95), or the A/T3525 Studio Condenser ($189.95) . Or, for just a bit more you could get a "big boy" and buy the Rode NT1 Studio Condenser ($199.95) (http://www.event1.com/) . The last two mics listed require phantom power but don't worry! Remember� you have phantom power with the Behringer!
4) ATLDS7 Adjustable short desk mic stand ($16.95) - This will work fine for the Shure mics and have a small footprint so you can keep it just out of reach until you need it. For the condensers you'll need a floor stand with a boom arm, such as the MUS77001B+ ($29.95) as the mics are too large to mount on a desk stand.
5) ProCo Lo-Z 10' mic cable ($16.95) - You need something to connect the mic to the mixer, don't you? Nothing in life is free - unless you can convince the place you're buying gear from to throw in the mic cable as a perk (which is highly possible).
Let's stop here for a moment to remind you that this is all assuming that you already own a cassette deck/CD player, and some spare RCA cables laying around. I'm not nitpicking here, but for less than $400 you could set yourself up with a peachy keen little audio studio. No muss - no fuss.
Now, let's take this one step further. I know that many of you probably also have a PC in your set up, if for no other reason than to use for word processing and internet use. You can put it to use as a valuable audio support system to the Flyer. As an example, let me describe how I use my PC. First, I connected the audio output from my PC sound card to one of the stereo inputs of the mixer. For a sound designer/editor/recorder on the PC I use Soundprobe, but any software like Sound Forge , Cool Edit PRO, Goldwave , etc. will do just fine. Next, I purchased the basic no frills version of Sonic Foundry's ACID program.
This loop-based program is just way too cool and so easy to learn it should be criminal. By just dropping and dragging audio loops you can create your very own music beds for video projects. No copyright infringements. No permission needed. You can purchase dozens of loops on a single CD from any of Sonic Foundry's CD-ROM catalog. Or even create your own loops like I do. It's really not that difficult and you can make custom music beds for your video projects. Another great music software program for the PC is ReBirth RB-338 by Steinberg, which is a software reincarnation of two analog bassline synths and two classic drum machines. You can create your own rhythm grooves in any desired length for video projects. There are some excellent other software applications available that are very reasonable in cost, but I will cover these topics in a future Hear Ye! Column.
I have read several recent posts on the VTFML about using Black Box to convert WAV files from the PC over to Amiga Flyer audio clips. Why bother? Why not just play the files straight from the PC to the digitization process on the Flyer? For that matter, why stop there? You can also play MIDI files (freely distributed on the net) on the PC and record them over to the Flyer as well. I even use the CD player on my PC and don't bother with routing the CD audio all the way over from my audio studio anymore. The PC is located right next to my Amiga so everything I need is easily within reach.
If you have more audio devices or larger configurations to consider, then you have two ways to go. First, you could just buy a larger mixer such as the Behringer MX802A ($149.95) with 8-channels, or you could add a patch bay. The new small Neutrik PatchBox supports eight �" send/returns and is only $34.95. You could run four different stereo audio sources to this box, then patch whatever you needed to a single stereo channel on the mixer. This is the method that I use. I simply do not have enough room for a larger mixer and all I needed was a few more places to insert CD players, PC audio, cassette deck, camcorder audio, and reel-to-reel deck.
One last item which would be very helpful but not an absolute necessity would be a quality pair of stereo headphones, such as the AKG K55 ($29.95) . Doing voiceover narration is so much easier when you can hear your voice without getting feedback from your speakers. The Behringer mixer has a CONTROL ROOM monitor knob which is useful for sending the signal to a small stereo amplifier with a headphone jack on it. I bought a small 15-watt amp from Radio Shack for under $30 which drives my headphones and a small set of bookshelf speakers. I switch it to TUNER and I have my mixer audio feed plugged in there. I switch it to CD/TAPE and I have my Flyer audio output running to it so I can monitor my projects on the small speakers if I wish. When I plug in the headphones it disconnects the speakers.
Of course there is a lot more to getting the best audio for your Flyer projects. But this Basic Primer should assist those just starting out configuring the Toaster/Flyer, and may even prove helpful for those videographers who have been using the Flyer for some time but have been frustrated at some of the audio shortcomings. If you do not have any kind of audio control upstream of your Toaster/Flyer, I guarantee that if you set it up with the above components (or similar devices) you will be more than satisfied with your expense.
Bob Ketchum, the Clown Prince Of Audio, reminds readers that he does not particularly endorse AMS - unless of course they start sending checks in the mail
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