Pantsless, Volume, Chris Eberle, tributes, and the screeching cat.

HowardAB

Dear CGS,

I am relatively new to the CGS world, having been introduced to it nary a year ago. I lament the loss of Pants, however life does go on and on. I enjoyed the way he introduced the episodes, and looked forward to learning about the Marvel Universe with him. However, he's gone to read comics, watch Doctor Who, and clean up his room.

Just a few things I'd like to say... please bear with me as I form these words without the intent of insulting anyone.....

It seemed to me that the show is recorded at a very low volume. I struggle to hear when Jamie and Murd speak. I am constantly raising the sound in my car (as well as at home) so that they can be heard. When I am able to hear them, I am constantly entertained by their vast knowledge of comic book history, and their incredible humor. PLEASE either raise the microphone volume, or speak louder. There's just so far my volume can be turned up to; I realized this when I noticed I was at level 40 on my car speaker. What you have to say is far too interesting to be lost in the bowels of abyss of the unheard.

Which brings us to Chris Eberle. He seems to be the Wikipedia of everything comic books. He seems to know everything that is everything of this medium. I love the spotlights that you do, and the simple reason why is because of what he brings to it. Having said that, I am now teetering on the difficult part of this letter. Here's where I don't want to be insulting...so I'll try to say this nicely. While you always seem to enjoy being on the show, it gets a little tiring hearing how everyone there is part of the "brethren." There is a difference between showing appreciation and gushing about the Geeks. Really.....we get it....you like being there and you enjoy being with the Geeks to talk about comics. Really...we get it... no need to tell us anymore....WE GOT IT! Please stop!

Speaking of Mr. Eberle: Everyone likes to laugh. We all enjoy a good guffaw and knee slapper. The problem comes when you laugh, it sounds like someone is stomping on a cat's testicles. Your screeching "Haw-Haaaw!" digs through my ears like nails on a chalkboard. Have a blast while you're on the show... but please..Please...PLEASE...FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE...someway, somehow make that annoying sound go away. It's taking a lot of the fun out of listening to the show. It's making me NOT want to listen to it at all.....and I know that that would be something that I'd hate to happen.

All in all, the show makes my commute to and from work an enjoyable time....no matter how much traffic I have to endure.

Thank you,
HowardAB

Mr_Cosmic

^^ No, no, nothing insulting there.... :-@

The show sounds fine and I have no trouble hearing it. Chris does an awesome job. He is an educator and I think he knows what he is doing when presenting facts..and he does it in an entertaining way. His laugh is great and I chuckle every time I hear it.

HowardAB

That's great that it works for you! I ALSO think that Chris DOES an awesome job. As an educator, I appreciate the detail and descriptive language that he uses when presenting the information that he has obviously researched!

The fact is, in my opinion, that his laugh is akin to a dentist's drill digging for that last nerve in a tooth's cavity. Obviously, you have no problem with it, and that's great.

As far as the sound is concerned, I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for the Geeks to check their volume level.

Fact is we pay nothing for this wonderful podcast. We really have no right to complain. However, suggestions never hurt.

shroud68

Its hard saying no insult intended and compare someone's laugh to testicle stomping. But let the guy have his opinions. Some are valid if impolite.

David_D

@HowardAB

There is always room for feedback and suggestions. But, remember, the show has an email address, too, that they give every show comicgeekspeak (at) gmail (dot) com

You don't need to worry about the "difficult part of the letter" when it is not an open letter, you know what I mean? I am sure, as a fellow educator, you understand that feedback, particularly critical feedback, can sometimes be better given directly, rather than out in the open in front of the rest of the class. And then you don't have to even consider what everyone else thinks of the feedback you are giving, or have to say 'hey, this is just my opinion!' to anyone.

And, before anyone gets the wrong idea-- I am not saying starting a thread like this is not allowed, it is, or even that it is not welcome. Just a reminder that the show also has a way of taking and considering your feedback. The email address. Trust me, those emails get read and considered. Unless you are actually looking to have a discussion about this with and in front of everyone else, then that is an equally good (I would say better) place for someone to write a "Dear CGS" letter. Just my suggestion.

mguy1977

I have listened to ALL the CGS episodes (minus the Bede episodes). It was only in the early days or on Con episodes that you had to pump the volume plus the one episode where Pants didn't know how to work the good mics & how Bryan Deemer (where did that guy go?, sigh) talked about the piss poor quality in the intro of that one episode. We all have pluses & minuses about the show & in recent years w/my old & new desktop PC the volume level is at 50% for myself. Rock on CGS yes even CGS Matt.

Matthew

HowardAB

@David_D
Hmmm... Thank you , I appreciate the feedback. Perhaps I should have asked if anyone else had a difficult time with Mr. Eberle's laugh before I compared it to a stricken feline.


I believe that I WAS trying to start a conversation about the changes and wanted other's ideas about what I felt was something that could be corrected. Otherwise, I really do enjoy CGS, and am glad that they did not decide to end it when Pants left.

Matt

HowardAB said:

@David_D
Hmmm... Thank you , I appreciate the feedback. Perhaps I should have asked if anyone else had a difficult time with Mr. Eberle's laugh before I compared it to a stricken feline.


I believe that I WAS trying to start a conversation about the changes and wanted other's ideas about what I felt was something that could be corrected. Otherwise, I really do enjoy CGS, and am glad that they did not decide to end it when Pants left.

The conversation you were looking to start was about the volume, NOT about Chris, right?

You are right, it is a simple fix to check the levels. It'd take a few moments for Jamie to do a sound check right before each recording (I'll admit I like to mess with the volumes, settings, & mics when I record a spinoff ep!!)

Is the volume discrepancy with the old crew or when the greenhorns are on the show? We try to remind people to "eat the mic" when talking.

As for Chris, I wish I had 1/2 his energetic personality. I recall some people complained about Pants when his voice & laugh graced our show.

We DO read & consider all feedback sent to us. This is something that would've preferable be sent to us via email rather then on the forum. No one wants to feel unwelcome on the show anymore then on the forums.

The show, like everything else, will continue to evolve. It was different before Pants & it'll evolve again. No worries.

M

John_Steed

:x

JamieD

Personally thanks for the heads up on the volume, I try to make sure its right but I am learning as I go, I hate to wear the headphones for the entire show so I take them off from time to time and I am holding back on my mike, its the best one we have and I tend to speak louder, the little stage training I have taught me to project, that and two teachers for parents gives me the big voice so I do appreciate any feedback on that, as far as the other subject, we can agree to disagree on that, I love to make people laugh and a big guffaw from Chris is music to my ears. but please keep any other critiques coming we need to hear them but as others have said send em to our mailbox, we do read them each week.

John_Steed

Did I ever mention that CGS is like medicine (the good kind) to me. Thanks and hugs.

Matt

@John_Steed has a fever...the only prescription is more CGS!

M

Elsiebub

Hm, I haven't noticed any diminution in the audio volume (or quality) in recent episodes. Maybe I would notice more if I were listening with headphones or something, but I usually play the show on my home stereo system, which has a biiiig range of maximum volume. I haven't noticed myself having to turn the nob significantly higher than usual... but I guess I could be? There are other comics podcasts in which I feel the volume is very low, but CGS isn't one of them imo.

As for Chris -- First of all, the guy is awesome. That can't be overstated. I don't know if he's going to read this thread himself, but I thought I'd post this to throw positive accolades his way. Sometimes when he profusely thanks the Geeks for their hospitality, I do find myself thinking, "Dude... Chris... you've MORE than EARNED your spot!" But I am NOT annoyed by him mentioning the "brethren". That gives me a smile every time.

As far as the laugh goes: I LIKE the laugh! I will say that there is (was?) another comics podcaster, on another comics podcast, whose laugh used to annoy me because it seemed to dominate the airtime (and, due to iTunes reviews, I know I'm not the only listener this laugh chased away from an otherwise solid podcast). But I definitely don't think Chris's laugh is anywhere near a make-or-break issue, not in any regard. I will say that sometimes he seems to laugh at random things that the other Geeks say, things that aren't really even supposed to be funny, per se -- BUT I LOVE THAT! I usually get a chuckle when I hear things like that. Jamie or Murd will mention some little-known fact of comics lore, and Chris will burst out in glee about it, and his enthusiasm and goodwill is contagious. I like hearing it.

Krescan

Not sure what program you all use to record the podcast but there is possibly an equalizer option, if you put that on 95 % it will raise the volume up to one consistency throughout, of course if the mics are low it will be a low volume consistency.

Peter

Someone needs to take over for Pants' guffaws! :)

I'm way behind in my listening, so I can't speak to anything specific, but a good rule of thumb for laughter on a podcast is to keep back from the mic. Laughing into the mic is jarring to the ears, no matter what kind of laugh it is. Sometimes it can't be helped if something catches you off guard, but always sit back from the mic if you're not speaking/laughing. Cuts back on any kind noise: eating, breathing, laughing, etc.

I think of old Stern Show episodes - the best was hearing Jackie or Fred laughing or cracking a joke in the background just loud enough to be heard against whatever conversation is happening in the foreground. That level difference actually helps our ears as listeners to hear what they are saying. When too many voices are on the foreground, right at the mic, speaking over each other, that's bad. If it's a conversation, that's different. On the flip, excessive background talking against someone talking in the foreground is also a no-no. It's like this little buzz of activity that our brains can't separate out.

It's even harder if it's on Skype or when people are on the phone. Because you can't see them "preparing" to speak. But you have to be quick enough to catch their empty spaces so you can interject or keep the conversation going.

There's a craft to this podcasting thing that just takes practice and helpful feedback to get it into a good mix.

luckymustard

Listening to the latest episode, Previews! #1438, while reading this, and realizing the various geeks are at a bit different levels of volume, and the overall volume for this episode is a little lower than most of the other podcasts that I listen to. So I increased Winamp volume and the computer's main volume sliders.

I use Audacity (it's free), and I use the feature "Normalize". If there are a low number of high peaks, I manually select those short segments and lower them (the feature "Amplify"). This allows the normalization to produce a higher volume throughout the entire audio file. If there are too many of these peaks, then I don't select each one, and I don't use the "Amplify" feature, but just "Normalize". This produces the final audio file at a lower volume than normal. The peaks usually occur because of Ps that are popped.

hauberk

I do notice volume issues, but they're not exclusive to CGS. Most of the time, I'm listening in my car and generally have to have the volume at least 10 notches higher for podcasts than for music.

luckymustard

hauberk said:

I do notice volume issues, but they're not exclusive to CGS. Most of the time, I'm listening in my car and generally have to have the volume at least 10 notches higher for podcasts than for music.

You're not rockin' out enough! Hehe

bralinator

The volume levels have bothered me a bit a few episodes back. Some mics were not hot enough, or the overall levels were low. As far as the great Mr. Eberle's laughter, I don't mind as long as the volume levels are good. If I've been cranking up the volume to hear it and Chris bellows out a laugh, it can be piercing, but it is definitely not unwanted. Maybe some gate and compression would be helpful @JamieD?

I appreciate you guys working so hard and spending so much time doing these episodes. I also prefer the Spotlight and Previews episodes the most.

John_Steed

I demand more autotune


<:-P

Brontofelis

Just got done listening to Episode 1443. While it was full of great, entertaining information, it was also maddening.

The opening with the X-Men theme was cranked way up during the intros as was Jamie D's mic, but Chris Eberle's mic was really low.

I listen to you guys in the car and the last thing I want is to crank the volume to hear Chris, who's got the meat of these episodes, only to be scared poopless by Jamie D suddenly going, "LAAAME!" The other guys were

Please do more level testing and even practices before recording starts. I love, love, love your show, but you guys have been doing this show long enough that stuff like this should be behind you. Sorry to hammer you on my very first post. My next one will be all praise. I promise. :)

Thanks for the great podcast, guys!