New recording equipment: Way too much dry/wet lip smacking awfulness from Dan (no blame game)

Hopefully it's just this week while levels and the like get sorted out but all through Dan's Undertaker story and talking about Animal Crossing you can hear constant dry/wet lip and mouth noise that is so super unappealing in the ear Can't really think of another way to describe it, but it's not good listening. Not blaming Dan as it's probably new equipment as it hasn't been heard before but it is the kind of thing that when I hear someone doing it on an interview or another podcast I skip a section or just turn it off. It's the worst thing to have in your ear.

Hopefully helpful criticism and can be sorted for next week!

I know it is not a "blame game" but Dan was not the only person with lip smacking. I don't know why this was even brought up considering Drew made a mention that this was going to be dialed in. I'm only commenting since Dan is not to blame...

This is one of those things that drives some people crazy which I genuinely never even notice.

Man, this might honestly make Bombcast impossible for me this week. I get irrationally angry when I hear lip smacking

Haven't listened to it yet so I can't level judgment, but this is one of the reasons I can't listen to NPR for the most part.

I went to a Metal Gear panel at PAX Prime this year. It was super informative, really well put together.

But holy fuck, one of the hosts had this exact problem and every subtle tongue click or salivary noise was boomed into the panel hall over the PA system. By the end I was physically uncomfortable listening to the panelists speak.

@itwongo:This and Planet Money were the ones I was specifically referring to. When they interview someone and they do this I just get real mad ;_;

@doublespy: It was the most pronounced and was the only person I picked up on doing it. Whether he was closer to the mic or something I don't know, but the other issues (Brad a bit muffled for some sections) were mentioned on the cast but this wasn't so just pointing it out as it should be something audio-fixable as he has never done it before

I will also be skipping this weeks podcast ,made it about 15 mins before i threw my hands up and just said "burn this down."

Weird. I'm usually super against that noise but I didn't notice it. maybe because I didn't listen with headphones this week.

This. When people complain about breathing and other stuff like that I just don't even notice.

this

Give Drew 10 years or so and he will figure the new stuff out its no problem. It doesnt bother me.

Shouldn't this be in a PM or at least in the comments to the actual Bombcast episode?

Anyway I've not listened to it yet but hopefully they iron these things out. It's been hours of free content on a weekly basis for years now so let's be patient while they adjust what needs adjusting.

I guess it depends on listeners equipment as well as hearing range. When I bought new headphones it took me a while to adjust to the high frequency content I couldn't hear on the old ones. This part of the spectrum is where those nasty and irritaiting sounds happen.

@szlifier: It might be worth mentioning that I listen to podcasts with the external speakers of my ipod touch with the thing in my pocket so I'm not even using headphones.

Its gonna piss me off if this kind of complaining leads to them doing something that lowers the over all volume of the podcast cause then I might not be able to hear it well with the ipod in my pocket.

Basically I'm saying that there is no way to please everyone cause fixing one issue is gonna cause another issue for other listeners.

Fuck, I just started it again to see if I would hear it this time and I can't not hear it now.

I should have seen this coming.

I have borderline hair-trigger misophonia when it comes to mouth noises (mostly irl and in otherwise quiet rooms), and I didn't notice at all. I listened to most of this week's bombcast through my phone's speaker while I was packing up some luggage, though. I wonder if that's a headphone/earbud problem?

Edit: Reading this thread, you should probably look up misophonia if you don't know what it is. It's not a matter of people being babies about noises that would irritate anyone. It's basically the noise version of what people that have trypophobia experience visually and it's really unpleasant. I had a summer roommate that would constantly eat crunchy food with her mouth open and smacked her lips at night, and it made it really hard to want to go back to my room. While this isn't a problem that can necessarily have one quick fix that makes everyone happy, acting like it's a silly thing to complain about is bumming me out!

meh, i didn't notice anything.

probably should meet in the middle- maybe they can mic the dudes a little further back, ease off the compression. but otherwise seems like an exceedingly difficult problem to fix.

@vocalcannibal: Very informative post! Thank you. Based on this and what other people are saying I think it's a combination of listening preference (I use in ear noise cancelling headphones) and just the fact that some people don't pick up on it as much as others. Considering it hasn't been a "problem" (bugbear?) ever in the history of the bombcast, hopefully that it is something they can hear and fix up without being detrimental to overall quality - which is awesome as always.

I'm blessed with the power of not noticing stuff like this ever.

People complain about weird noises in 8-4 that I never heard too.

Didn't notice.

It was incredibly muffled for me, but I'm pretty sure my ears are all stuffed up. Can't quite seem to pop them.

I didn't even notice it. I honesty don't have a problem when people eat or drink during podcasts. Maybe it's a generational thing...

Fuck me, some people complain over the stupidest shit.

Didn't hear anything.

@vocalcannibal: I recently heard about this, and listening to it be described was a moment of clarity. Growing up I'd want to snap at family members during breakfast because of crunchy foods. Now that I'm an adult, when coworkers eat lunch at their desks, it can be unbearable and totally impacts my productivity. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much to do about it, but knowing the issue and that I'm not alone helps. I understand that I'm not just being a jerk, but that I have some weird innate trigger, with that info I can typically supersede any issues by listening to loud music or excusing myself during those times.

That said, no issues with the Bombcast. Like vocalcannibal, I listened to it on my phone speaker and didn't hear any of it.

That def happens to me in real life but its never been an issue on podcasts. The sound of someone chewing next to me often makes me want to scream.

I noticed this right away when Dan was talking about Animal Crossing. I was thinking about saying something but then thought I would sound crazy/maniacal. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who noticed this and is very put off by it. It is a huge turn off when listening to other podcasts if I notice it.

@monkeyking1969: considering how many Tuesdays GB has missed in the last decade (not many) that seems like an insane reason to skip a week. :D

Anyways I didn't notice anything.

Really? I didn't notice anything. Actually it didn't sound all that different from any other podcast they've done recently. But I am only using Apple ear buds.

Yea I just listened to most of it on my ride home and did not pick up on it even once.

Dan needs to check those wet lips at the door.

I guess it doesn't bother me, never noticed it.

It's just an extra feature to appeal to the ASMR crowd.

I'm not reading everyone's reply so I don't know if it's been said.

Dan, here's a tip to fix that problem. Use lip balm. Seriously. A lot of professional voice actors and radio personalities do it to solve this problem. Some even use lipstick.

Also, just for reference, it's not something that bothers me, but it is something that I'd definitely notice. Although, I don't get bothered if people eat on mic. I don't really understand that weird aversion some people have to some sounds.

I listened to this podcast on high end reference headphones and it barely even registered with me. I was tired and kind of zoned out though so I dunnu maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention.

I didn't even hear that but then again I tend to listen to podcasts from my phone speakers.

@deerokus: It's one of the things that drives me crazy. But I didn't notice it in this bombcast at all.

New equipment sounds good though.

You don't get it on the premium podcast.

@baillie: You mean kinda like folks who complain about people complaining?

As far as complaints go I'd say pointing out potentially unappealing mouth noises is pretty legit. I've no doubt the guys would like to know of these kind of issues and will tweak their setup accordingly if there is a noticeable problem.

Any word on what equipment they're getting - the audio / tech nerd within me really would like to know.