In some of their inter-season materials, they go into how their recording setup evolved over time, including mentioning the disco light. There are also some discussions on which scenes sound like they were recorded in a hall from effects and which ones were literally just recorded in a hall.
There’s one or two spots where you can actually hear traffic from outside. For real though, the first season they had essentially no money to put into it, whole thing was done on a shoestring. Given that, I think it speaks to the talent of everyone involved that the audio is primarily very clear and the quality good
Hang in there, this is the podcast that got these guys out of literal homelessness and recording in random friends' corridors to being a legitimate podcast network with their own studio and the ability to buy and ship recording equipment to their remote employees across the world.
For what they actually are, the early seasons are remarkably decent in quality, lol.
Rusty Quill did, with RQG, but TMA was second basically and the first true audio fiction they produced.
Also for anyone unaware, Alex’s apartment had asbestos really bad and he couldn’t live there for awhile. He doesn’t live there anymore so he’s fine now, or at least, he’s not breathing in asbestos.
Unfortunately, season 1 (and maybe part of season 2?) was recorded in a "blanket yurt" in one of the producers' apartments. It gets better once they set up a real studio and again later when they get better equipment. I forget exact episodes, though.
There are [very complete fanmade transcripts here](https://snarp.github.io/magnus_archives_transcripts/) if you're missing stuff that's being said.
The main issue I have with TMA mechanically is how loud the opening is compared to the episode. I had a very driving intensive job where I'd listen on the road, but in order to hear the dialog I'd crank the volume. Then a new episode would start and the intro violin would blow my cars speakers.
Same here. And that difference is what happens when you're editing audio without knowing anything about it. I (and my mates) did the same when we edited our own songs (we used to play in a band). The instruments would almost drown the voices, and shouting next to the mic didn't help as much as we hoped for 😅
I fully agree with you. The voice actor for Jared did an amazing job but it’s still a very deep and gravely voice that’s a little to low for my ears to really hear what he’s saying.
Jared Hopworth is actually the same voice actor as Martin. I think one of the reasons he's hard to understand is the manipulation done on the voice to make him sound like he's a huge guy with too many organs (and to differentiate the voice from Martin's).
Had the same problem. Even dropped it for a year before the urging of a friend made me come back. The sound mixing gets better, but the volume remains crazy low, even after.
It's worth the trouble, but def is trouble at first.
Well... the series started as a literal guy talking a microphone, not a professional one, just random mic he had lying around using a blanket for noise isolation, all this in his home. So... yeah, not great. The first season I had to turn up the volume to 11 to understand what he was saying and then often ended with ringing in my ears.
At some point around the 3rd season you'll notice a big improvement. Not as good as Magnus Protocol, but definitely better.
the sound mixing and overall what they do with the scaping gets better, but also a lo-fi aesthetic is a part of the experience. it’s diegetically all recorded onto cassette. if you really need a luxury listening experience it may not be the type of thing for you, its story is worth it tho imo
Rusty quill has created an amazing story, and I absolutely loved it, but this is probably my harshest criticism.
Everyone keeps saying that it gets better later on, but in my opinion it only gets marginally better.
I took issue with the audio balancing for the entire series. Everything was always far too quiet, and anytime there was something loud (raised voices, sound effects) it was always TOO loud. I understand that they want to create a specific atmosphere for the show, but there were times where it would take me out of it with how bad the balancing was. Oftentimes I had to turn my car or headphones volume to almost max to even hear what they were saying clearly, then I'd get smacked in the eardrums anytime there was something loud. Sometimes the audio was garbled by effects so badly that you can hardly hear what they are saying.
They got it a little bit better in TMP, but again, only marginally so. There are still some of the same issues.
Quality is different than volume balancing, the quality is fine (most of the time), it's just the balancing is horrible.
I had to listen to TMA in pill-sized doses because listening to it on a regular basis would give me ringing in the ears. It didn't help there no transcripts and to this day, most of the videos on YT have no subtitles either.
No joke, I downloaded the first 40 episodes a while back and threw them in audacity and adjusted volume / cut the outros. Definitely a quality of life change but also an unnecessary amount of effort.
Anyway, I expect to listen to it a million more times so maybe I should finish my little project...
Yup, have the same issue! I am currently on the early episodes of season 3 and i can tell you that it gets better.
I was literally fighting to understand whats going on while listening to the first season, I tried to change some sound settings (i use spotify) and it helped a little bit.
It gets better. Parts of the early seasons were recorded in a closet with blankets on the walls.
And a disco light
What
In some of their inter-season materials, they go into how their recording setup evolved over time, including mentioning the disco light. There are also some discussions on which scenes sound like they were recorded in a hall from effects and which ones were literally just recorded in a hall.
Lol?
There’s one or two spots where you can actually hear traffic from outside. For real though, the first season they had essentially no money to put into it, whole thing was done on a shoestring. Given that, I think it speaks to the talent of everyone involved that the audio is primarily very clear and the quality good
Hang in there, this is the podcast that got these guys out of literal homelessness and recording in random friends' corridors to being a legitimate podcast network with their own studio and the ability to buy and ship recording equipment to their remote employees across the world. For what they actually are, the early seasons are remarkably decent in quality, lol.
"Let's not forget, Archives started when I was HOMELESS! After being POISONED!" -Drama King Alexander J Newall
WAIT rusty quill did not exist before TMA?
Rusty Quill did, with RQG, but TMA was second basically and the first true audio fiction they produced. Also for anyone unaware, Alex’s apartment had asbestos really bad and he couldn’t live there for awhile. He doesn’t live there anymore so he’s fine now, or at least, he’s not breathing in asbestos.
Unfortunately, season 1 (and maybe part of season 2?) was recorded in a "blanket yurt" in one of the producers' apartments. It gets better once they set up a real studio and again later when they get better equipment. I forget exact episodes, though. There are [very complete fanmade transcripts here](https://snarp.github.io/magnus_archives_transcripts/) if you're missing stuff that's being said.
Wait, am I crazy or were there not official transcripts?
There are, the fan made ones take fewer clicks to access.
The main issue I have with TMA mechanically is how loud the opening is compared to the episode. I had a very driving intensive job where I'd listen on the road, but in order to hear the dialog I'd crank the volume. Then a new episode would start and the intro violin would blow my cars speakers.
I sometimes fall asleep to an episode (not meant as a negative) but the outro always wakes me up.
Ditto with creepypastas on YouTube. Different topic but I started on an anti-anxiety med this last year. I'm sure that's unrelated.
Ooooohhhhhh I listen to MAG as a bedtime story and I keep waking up without knowing why, might’ve found the culprit at last!
There's a podcast called "The Quiet Corner Bedtime Stories" u/gorerella It's great and it doesn't have sudden violins xD
Oh, thank you for the recommendation, I’ll have to check it out!
Sleep timers are your friend! Set yours for before the outro music, and enjoy your uninterrupted sleep.
Thank you for the advice, I could try it with TMA or another horror podcast I'm listening to.
1000%
Same here. And that difference is what happens when you're editing audio without knowing anything about it. I (and my mates) did the same when we edited our own songs (we used to play in a band). The instruments would almost drown the voices, and shouting next to the mic didn't help as much as we hoped for 😅
I had the problem, especially with Daisy and Jared voice actors (I love them, I just can't hear what they say ???) but it gets better !
I fully agree with you. The voice actor for Jared did an amazing job but it’s still a very deep and gravely voice that’s a little to low for my ears to really hear what he’s saying.
Jared Hopworth is actually the same voice actor as Martin. I think one of the reasons he's hard to understand is the manipulation done on the voice to make him sound like he's a huge guy with too many organs (and to differentiate the voice from Martin's).
Had the same problem. Even dropped it for a year before the urging of a friend made me come back. The sound mixing gets better, but the volume remains crazy low, even after. It's worth the trouble, but def is trouble at first.
Well... the series started as a literal guy talking a microphone, not a professional one, just random mic he had lying around using a blanket for noise isolation, all this in his home. So... yeah, not great. The first season I had to turn up the volume to 11 to understand what he was saying and then often ended with ringing in my ears. At some point around the 3rd season you'll notice a big improvement. Not as good as Magnus Protocol, but definitely better.
I think they had the blanket tent setup for at least 2 seasons
the sound mixing and overall what they do with the scaping gets better, but also a lo-fi aesthetic is a part of the experience. it’s diegetically all recorded onto cassette. if you really need a luxury listening experience it may not be the type of thing for you, its story is worth it tho imo
Rusty quill has created an amazing story, and I absolutely loved it, but this is probably my harshest criticism. Everyone keeps saying that it gets better later on, but in my opinion it only gets marginally better. I took issue with the audio balancing for the entire series. Everything was always far too quiet, and anytime there was something loud (raised voices, sound effects) it was always TOO loud. I understand that they want to create a specific atmosphere for the show, but there were times where it would take me out of it with how bad the balancing was. Oftentimes I had to turn my car or headphones volume to almost max to even hear what they were saying clearly, then I'd get smacked in the eardrums anytime there was something loud. Sometimes the audio was garbled by effects so badly that you can hardly hear what they are saying. They got it a little bit better in TMP, but again, only marginally so. There are still some of the same issues. Quality is different than volume balancing, the quality is fine (most of the time), it's just the balancing is horrible.
I had to listen to TMA in pill-sized doses because listening to it on a regular basis would give me ringing in the ears. It didn't help there no transcripts and to this day, most of the videos on YT have no subtitles either.
It is VERY painful in the beginning. But after Prentis they get the audio balance better.
No joke, I downloaded the first 40 episodes a while back and threw them in audacity and adjusted volume / cut the outros. Definitely a quality of life change but also an unnecessary amount of effort. Anyway, I expect to listen to it a million more times so maybe I should finish my little project...
Yup, have the same issue! I am currently on the early episodes of season 3 and i can tell you that it gets better. I was literally fighting to understand whats going on while listening to the first season, I tried to change some sound settings (i use spotify) and it helped a little bit.