Audio is Everything Consulting Workshop
Bad audio kills immersion. Learn pro-level voice mixing, noise control, and soundboard use for TTRPGs on Discord & VTTs—using FREE tools!
TYPE
SYSTEM
EXPERIENCE
AGE
Free
Details
Once / Thursday – 2:00 PM UTC
Jun 26
1–1.5 Hour Duration
40 / 50 Seats Filled
Schedule
About the adventure
If you want to be a Virtual DM, the most important thing to get right is AUDIO, AUDIO, AUDIO!Lot's of GM's work hard on their video presentation, but in reality, your players are looking at their VTT screen, their character sheet, and chat - not you. However, they are LISTENING to you ALL THE TIME! If your audio is bad, they won't stay. This workshop will cover a variety of topics that will provide the basic skills and technical knowledge necessary to mix your audio into a single high fidelity stream that is supported on Discord or other video conferencing applications. This includes proper microphone selection and employment, the proper use of noise gates and compressors, audio mixing, and sound effect integration. As your facilitator, I have a masters degree in acoustics & digital signal processing. Additionally, I spent a 30 year career operating sonar systems on submarines, to include operating state of the art microphones, beam formers, signal processors, and audio recording systems. The great news is that everything listed above can be done with free open source software, which means as a professional, you can keep your operating costs low. Workshop topics include: ✅ Microphone basics (you don't need to buy an expensive and sensitive microphone - in fact most people who do just make their audio worse). ✅ Audio mixing using VOICEMETER ✅ Soundboard integration using RESANANCE ✅ Voice modification using Cantabile and open source VSTs (Note: this is a CPU resource hog, you will need an 8 core i7 CPU processor or better to integrate this functionality) 🚨Required System Specifications🚨 The Windows operating system is required for Voicemeeter and Cantabile (Although Apple OS versions are in development, they have not been released yet and no date for release has been promulgated). Windows operating system requirements for Voicemeeter: XP(SP2), VISTA, WIN7, WIN8, WIN8.1, WIN10/11 (32 / 64 bits) PC hardware minimum requirements for Voicemeeter: Celeron Dual Core 1.8 GHz - 512 MB RAM - Disk < 100 MB Windows operating system requirements for Cantabile Lite: WIN 7 (SP1), WIN 8.1, WIN 10 (Anniversary Update) and WIN 11. For WIN XP/Vista use the older 32xx series builds.
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
About me
U.S. Navy Submarine Captain that started playing D&D in 1981. Immerse yourself in challenging 3D combat that requires tactical teamwork for victory. Explore and unravel intricate story plot lines set in motion by memorable NPCs. ✔️ Amazing battlemaps are the focus, RP to tie everything together ✔️ Encourages player creativity - "Yes, you can do that!" ✔️ Unique visual aids, ambient music and sound effects 🌐 https://AdmiralAdventures.com/ 🙏 A portion of proceeds supports the Tunnel to Towers Foundation I run most of my campaigns as follows: 📚 Rules as Written (RaW) Games that are ran “Rules as Written” emphasize realism and stick to the letter of the rules, allowing players to explore creative solutions while still operating under a consistent rule set. Players have the ability to utilize the rules in creative ways to create awesome characters and moments in the game. ⚔️ Combat Heavy “Combat Heavy” games emphasize the combat mechanics within their systems over roleplay or puzzle solving. There are frequent and longer battles with enemies and a greater emphasis on tactical game play.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
No character creation required. Below is the list of potential open source (i.e. free) or donationware software used in this workshop. AUDIO MIXING ✅ Voicemeter Potato: https://vb-audio.com/Voicemeeter/potato.htm ✅ Voicemeter Banana: https://vb-audio.com/Voicemeeter/banana.htm SOUNDBOARD INTEGRATION ✅ Resanance: https://resanance.com/ SOUND CREATION/ALTERATION ✅ Audacity: https://www.audacityteam.org/download/ VOICE CHANGING ✅ Cantabile Lite: https://www.cantabilesoftware.com/free-vst-host ✅ TDR Nova VST: https://www.tokyodawn.net/tdr-nova/ ✅ Gform VST: https://www.gvst.co.uk/beta.htm ✅ FETISH VST: https://www.patreon.com/posts/51962024 ✅ Nembrini Noise Gate: https://www.nembriniaudio.com/products/analog-rack-noise-gate ✅ Pongasoft https://pongasoft.com/vst/ABSwitch.html ✅ MeldaProduction FX Suite VST: https://www.meldaproduction.com/effects/free
What to expect
Preparing for the session
1️⃣ Here is the Discord Server Invite: https://discord.gg/3vSHkX5N2a 2️⃣ The Webinar lists several links to download the "open source" software that will be discussed during the Webinar. IMPORTANT: Do not open or run Voicemeeter for the webinar, you will lose all your audio until it is configured properly. Use the technical setup you use to run games.
What Admiral Adventures brings to the table
I will provide reference material and guides that participants can download and keep.
Homebrew rules
None
Equipment needed to play
Computer
Internet
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Admiral Adventures creates a safe table
Gender differences between male and female voices due to physiology will be discussed in any sessions related to improving your voice audio stream.
Content warnings
Safety tools used