Equipment for New VO Actors (if I could do it all over again I would get...)

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Permalink Reply by J S Gilbert on March 2, 2009 at 1:17pm

Making a progression in terms of both the cost of equipment and its complexity is very natural for anyone approaching a new endeavor. Given that most of the people attempting to get into voiceover will not be able to manifest this desire into any level of a financially significant vocation, my suggestion is to go with moderately priced and popular offerings, so that if it turns out you "leave" voiceover, your investment will have been minimal and you might stand to recoup some of that investment via resale, or at least be able to use it for Karioke parties.

Should it turn out that your income from voiceover and your level of engineering increase, there is little issue with upgrading gear and finding appropriate avenues for dealing with your old stuff.

Unfortunately, I see many, many talent purchase equipment with the mindset and designs that they will make thier own demos, audition from home and attempt to also market themsleves as a home based studio for voiceover. The low cost of equipment has meant an amazing amount of empowerment, but it springs forth an amazing number of completely unprepared "would be" voice talents.

It was extremely difficult to break into the voiceover industry 20 years ago and now, with 100 times the number of people trying to get into voiceover and requirements that also now include having to be able to direct oneself and really understand how to interpret copy, you must also be an audio engineer, marketing director, your own agent and collections company.

My best adsvice is to take it slow and learn as much as you can about every aspect of the voiceover industry as it may affect you,. while working as much as possible to develop your craft and a marketing strategy.

No doubt when the King of Cakes airs this week, in which we get to see just how 2 bakers with no experience can do cartoon voices, there will be another 100,000 or so people rushing out to buy USB microphones and become voice talent.

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Permalink Reply by Luis Acevedo on March 2, 2009 at 1:23pm

Thx J...any input on equipment for newbees?

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Permalink Reply by Mike Cooper on March 3, 2009 at 2:05am

Hi Luis,

Someone asked me this just the other day. Here's what I said:

"You need a quiet room, away from traffic, kids, dogs and people walking around overhead (or the option to make all these stop whenever you need them to). You also need to look at deadening the reverberations when you talk. I'd suggest buying "The Mic Thing" for £190. It will double as a heavy-duty microphone stand (looks the part, too) and is the best thing I've seen in ages. My mate Trish has one, and it stunned us both. Put it in front of you behind the mic, and behind you make sure you've either got some curtains or are in an absorbent corner full of books and shelves to break up the reflections. You'll have to play a bit to get the best sound.

Here's what I'd buy, in your situation:

- A microphone. Your choice. You could consider an AT 4033/4040, Rode NT2a, or dig around the forums for suggestions. Try before you buy if that's possible.
- The cable to connect it (an XLR to XLR cable. Buy longer than you think you'll need: you might want to move the mic further from the PC.)
- A pop shield
- The Mic Thing with The Mic Stand
- An Mbox 2 Mini
- Some Beyer DT150 headphones
- Some monitor speakers around £100 which will connect to your computer

The Mbox will work with your existing computer, whether that's a laptop or desktop, PC or Mac. It also comes with Pro Tools LE, but you can get yourself started with some less "ambitious" software if you want (Pro Tools scares me).

This setup will do you to get started. The Mbox isn't the best Mic Pre in the world, but it's a good starting point. Later you could look at upgrading it to something like a dbx 286 or a Focusrite Voicemaster Pro (or if things are going well, something by Neve……)

I believe in starting small, testing the water, not spending a fortune and seeing how you go. All of the above can be had for about £800/$1000 (it upsets me to see that £800 is now only $1000, but hey) and all are eminently re-sellable if the whole thing goes "pop" after six months.

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Permalink Reply by Luis Acevedo on March 3, 2009 at 9:08am

Mike thank you so much. Not only for this comment but for all the other information you have contributed to the site. You are very talented and your input is always welcomed. Thank you for so much...Great info as always.

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Permalink Reply by J S Gilbert on March 3, 2009 at 12:29pm

I think Mike has offered rather sane advice here. I have a Mic Thing and it is very handy for eliminating reverberation that normally costs quite a bit for room "dressing". Perhaps first and formeost, the poor sound quality of so many home studios is a major factor against the talent booking.

As far as interfaces are concerned, I'd go even simpler with a Mic Port pro. They are $150 and the size of a cigar, with a headphone output and they work with just about any software (not Pro Tools). I have tested microphones ranging from a Vintage Telefunken U47 to a Neuann U87 to a Cascade Fathead II to an Oktava to an RE 20 and they all sound good, clear and transparent. In fact, not a single engineer friend of mine could tell my voice recorded on the same microphone with a Mic Port Pro from a John Hardy Mic pre ($1,100)

Here's a link to an article about some $200 a pair speakers that many engineers seem to think are worth a lot, lot more.

As for a microphone, I'm very partial to Groove Tubes. I think you get a microphone value of double the purchase price on GT gear. Also MXL makes a couple of decent mics in the sub $300 range and their newest mic for $595 is absolutely incredible.

The next thing to do would be to pick up a book on recording. Not one for home v.o., but one that talks about compression and e.q. and how to work a microphone, etc. It wold also be a good idea to try and befriend a local audio engineer. The expereinces I got from visiting recording studios to work in over a 20 year period have contribued greatly to my overall understanding of sound recording and ability to produce absolutely broadcast quality sound.

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Permalink Reply by J S Gilbert on March 3, 2009 at 12:39pm

Here's the article on picking speakers

http://homerecording.com/monitors.html

and a link to the Alesis speakers for $200 per pair (also several different Alesis speakers for a little more)

http://www.spectrumaudio.com/products.php?sort=5&cat=56

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Permalink Reply by Luis Acevedo on March 3, 2009 at 12:40pm

You Rock JS...great info brother...Always awesome to heat experts like you guys put in your .02 cents...thx

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Permalink Reply by John Taylor on March 4, 2009 at 12:27am

JS I bought the MIC port pro from our very own George Whittam at ElDorado recording....I picked it up at his place and sat on his couch while we set it up......George will sell you the Mic port AND help you set it up.....over the phone if it's not handy for you to pop over to his house near LAX. I couldn't be happier! My MicPort and the 416 are all I need. This thing is much easier to use than so many pre-amps with their pretty lights and dials and knobs and meters. The Focusrite is on the shelf gathering dust! My biggest investment was the whisper room.....I live in Hollywood across from an elemantary school....150 happy childhoods at recess make a LOTTA noise.....the Whisper Room allows me to work anytime.

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Permalink Reply by J S Gilbert on March 4, 2009 at 3:35pm

It's actually a little embarassing as I tend to be a bit of a lover of gear and have 7 or 8 fairly high end mic-pre's as well as digital convertors that are $3,000+ units to see this little $150 thing that seems to work so well.

While there are a lot of nuances to recording spoken voice well, it would appear that the end product benefits most from having a low noise floor and a clean short signal path. Personally, I'd use the focusrite for a little compression on the way in with the 416, but that's not truly that important.

Having a situation that allows you to focus as much of your energy on the voice acting and not on the periphery (like engineering, babysitting, etc.) is always going to get you a better end product, whether an audition or finished work. The Mic Port Pro tends to deliver on that, with a total of two dials and one button. One dial for iput level on the mic, One dial for headphone level and a button for phantom power. It doesn't get much simpler than that.

Now, if I were micing trombones or drums or clarinets, I'm not so sure that the Mic Port would be my go to guy, but for v.o. I am dead sold on it.

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Permalink Reply by George Whittam on March 9, 2009 at 3:51am

Thanks for the shout-out, John!
I have a couple MicPorts, and if you are interested you can buy directly from eldorec.com.
I recently posted an audio test of several popular audio interfaces on my website, so you can hear how the MicPort sounds compared to the Mbox, the Apogee Duet, and a few mic preamps.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Cooper on March 3, 2009 at 8:00pm

Thanks for the compliment - I appreciate that very much Luis!

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Permalink Reply by Dennis McGeady on March 6, 2009 at 12:48pm

On the equipment for Newbies topic. If I had to give one piece of advice, it would be to get the best condenser mic you can afford. You don't want a dynamic mic for v/o studio work. Regards to all, Dennis

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