Here is a lovely anecdote about the importance of effective troubleshooting…
A few days after my Source Connect debacle, I had a Skype session with a friend using my MicPort Pro as a workaround. It worked perfectly. The next day I recorded a short project for a client (no issues) then I had a session with a VO Strategist student. Just like the day before, I plugged my MicPort Pro directly into my PC so I could use my 416 instead of my webcam mic so my student could hear me better on Skype. He couldn’t hear me. I plugged my webcam back in. He couldn’t hear me. So as not to waste time, we did the session on the phone.
The next day I wanted to get a head start on a 4,000 word project. Inexplicably, I couldn’t record anything on Adobe Audition. Everything looked right but no sound was being picked up. I went to the Intel site (the maker of my NUC) to make sure the software & drivers were updated. After doing that, now I can’t play videos either online or offline. What. The Hell.
Since it was a Saturday I couldn’t call Universal Audio (to see if the Apollo Arrow was the problem) or Intel (to see if the NUC was the problem). Ugh.
The following Monday I called Intel Tech Support to do some troubleshooting. We updated the drivers and did a few other things. They determined there is nothing wrong with the NUC on a software level.
I called my friend Sean Caldwell (the builder of my NUC) to do some more troubleshooting. We determined that the XLR port of my Sennheiser 416 was wobbly and creating some mad static but that didn’t seem to have anything to do with the recording or video-playing issues. I wrote a buddy who works at Sennheiser about the issue with the 416. He told me to send it to the home office so they could fix it. I mailed it out the next day and it arrived back here safe & sound a few days ago so that’s taken care of. Whew.
Back to the troubleshooting. Sean determined it was either a cable issue or an Arrow issue. I went to B&H and got a new Thunderbolt 3 cable. No effect. I swapped out XLR cables. No effect. I swapped out mics. It worked! And then it didn’t. And then it did! And then it didn’t. Hmm…
Fast-forward to this past Friday. Some gigs had come in but I was able to get the old AKG Perception to work often enough to do them. I was sitting at my desk watching something on YouTube (yes, that started working again, albeit intermittently) and the new Thunderbolt 3 cable was draped over my keyboard so I moved it. That’s when the video crapped out again. I made a video of it and sent it to my caseworker at Intel:
Within only 30 MINUTES of sending him the video, I got an email informing me they are replacing the NUC. As of this writing (Monday afternoon) I could get it as early as today and get everything back on track within 24 hours.
TIP OF THE WEEK
Halloween came early for me this year! What a nightmare. The good news is that the 416 got fixed and the NUC will be replaced at no charge (well, plus $50+ for shipping). The bad news is that it took forever to figure out the actual problem. Why a faulty port would effect the ability to play videos both online and offline is beyond me. Beyond most of us, I’d say.
Anyway, the ability to quickly and efficiently troubleshoot your computer and signal chain is critical. Here’s a link to a fantastic troubleshooting guide created by Edge Studio. It covers everything from buzz & hum to Skype & Chrome. Bookmark it!
NEWS AND NOTES
Wanna get your ducks in a row for 2019? Go to my shiny new VO Strategist website (www.VOStrategist.com) and book a session with me. We can do:
a free 15-minute consult
a Diagnostic Session
a one-on-session covering business, marketing, genre exploration, or performance
the Mentorship Program for ongoing sessions to develop your voiceover business
Schedule and pay for your sessions directly on the website. Let’s take your voiceover business to the next level!
Thursday, October 25th @8PM EST: My next Edge Studio Marketing 201 webinar will be “Keeping Clients Coming Back”. We’re going to talk about the real secret to making clients cast you again and again. Click here to sign up.
SOLD OUT Sunday, November 4th @2PM EST: At Soundvine Studios in Manhattan I will lead the workshop “Learning to do eLearning”. To get on the waiting list, PM me with the subject line “Add Me!”
Tuesday, November 6th @8PM EST: My next Edge Studio Marketing 201 webinar will be “Thriving in a Smaller Market City”. Click here to sign up.
November 9-11: MAVO 2018 is less than two months away! If you’ve already registered and haven’t picked your sessions, watch this video to learn more about what I’ll be teaching:
If you haven’t registered yet, there’s still time! Click here to sign up.
Thursday, November 15th @8PM EST: My next Edge Studio Business and Money 201 webinar will be “Managing Your Money”. Click here to sign up.
Sunday, November 18th @2PM EST: At Soundvine Studios in Manhattan I will lead the workshop “Explainer Videos Explained”. Seating is limited to only seven attendees so you’d better sign up fast! Click here to sign up.
HAPPY HAPPYS
Happy Dessert Day and Spreadsheet Day!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
From my village to yours; this is Tom Dheere, The H is Silent, but I’m Not.
Tom Dheere is a 20+year veteran of the voice over industry who has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. He is also voiceover business consultant known as the VO Strategist and is currently producing the comic book “Agent 1.22”.
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