Please stop pounding the table

Y

Yard Sard

Member
Sorry to once again only be posting when I have a quibbling and non-substantive complaint instead of something to actually contribute, but...

Corey, I am begging you on hands and knees: please stop banging on the table with your hands! When you do that, whether you're emphasizing a point or getting worked up about something or whatever, it creates this massive THOOOM sound that is physically painful when I've got the sound turned up enough to make sure I am not missing any of the substance. "Why do the hobbits have feet extenders?? THOOOOM Why do that? There is NO THOOOOM textual evidence for giant feet! THOOOOM"

I don't know if you have a sound editor or if you review the audio levels of these after you record them or what; I've been listening to your streams for years and years and always hoped this would clear up but it just hasn't. Isn't there some way to mount the microphone to the wall or ceiling or anything but your desk?
 
As the editor of my wife's podcast, who occasionally has a guest with the same habit, I can verify that these are almost impossible to remove in post-processing. I like your suggestion of using a microphone that is not physically connected to the desk: that will help (but not eliminate the problem). A headset mike is an example, but they are generally of low quality and I think you'd lose more than you gained.

Ever seen a picture of one of those old 1940's/50's microphones attached to a ring using springs? The logistics of hanging a microphone from the ceiling are left as an exercise for the reader.
 
Yeah, I mean — the reason I mention an editor isn't to suggest that the table-smacking booms could be fixed in post, but more to ask whether anyone is listening to the product before it gets sent out at all. Because anyone listening to it just for QC purposes would immediately notice there's an issue and give some feedback, I would think.

Like one of the episodes (24 or 25) has all these weird time-skips where it jumps forward by some unknown number of seconds, long enough that in some cases the topic of discussion has completely changed. It's very disorienting. Or whenever there's another participant calling in, their audio level is sometimes about 20% what Corey's is, so I can barely hear them unless I crank my volume all the way up, and then my speakers blow out and my windows rattle as soon as Corey comes back in with "EXACTLY". It's super inconsistent from one episode to another, like it's all just being haphazardly set up every time.

I don't mean to sound nitpicky but it all feels like there's a ton of basic things to fix if this is an operation that's bandying about plans for expanding into video production, major youtube series, etc. And it makes it hard to listen to, much as I want to absorb every word.
 
Well, it is much better than it was before. I remember the first ETLOTR sessions, Corey was LOUD and the rest of the discussion was almost unhearable. Much worse then it is now. To be honest, i think the soundquality nowadays are very good, but i see the point with the tablesmacking. It can be annoying,yes.
 
I did pass the initial observation in this thread along to Corey Olsen, and he expressed some surprise - he is not aware of a habit of pounding the table. But he did say he would try to figure out what he was doing that is causing the annoying sound.
 
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