Voice recording gear? What should I get?

[NDeea]

Greetings Humans and Animals,


I'm looking to dedicate more of myself into voice acting. Most of my work has been mostly just local stuff but as my projects have been growing as of late I'm thinking about getting serious with this and am looking to invests into a better recording setup at least. I'm curious as to what gear some of you might reccomend or really what type of mic might I want to invest in. I've been researching and found somemore interesting things that might help out my current garageband setup like the Soundkitz AE-F http://www.soundkitz.com/Voiceover.htm I've been checking out since I don't have much of a studio right now. Maybe a mic like the AT2035 just to get the ball rolling. Luckily for the present work I've been doing I just record it raw then clean it up as best as I can but sometimes that takes away from how I want people to hear my voice. Thanks for any and all suggestions. Sorry for my tacky first post here, I don't really know any voice actors in person or anyone I can asks for help. There aren't many people doing this in my area which is probably why I'm able to get VA gigs even though I don't think I'm all that great.

[Kokoro Hane]

A stage mic hooked to a soundboard gets the job done really well. I myself use a STARPOWER SP-4C (NADY) hooked to a RadioShack stereo sound mixer (which I often refer to as a soundboard), that way you can control the sensitivity of your mic to avoid distortion. You don't need anything fancy, either. There are basic sound mixers you can get, and what I really recommend is just being able to control the mic level, so you can lower it to avoid distortion without having to be too far away from the mic (but don't put it too close either). However, the mic you just linked looks much more professional, and that might be a better idea if you can afford it.

[pyromaster]

Your budget is important in deciding what type of equipment you can get. The idea is to get the most for the money you spend so I'd always look up reviews for microphones before purchasing them. For example, I recently upgraded my microphone because my other one died after 5 years of usage. It was a tube mic and I learned that those aren't the best for voice over if you don't have studio grade mic preamps and A/D / D/A converters. Reason being is that their noise floor is fairly high, and that gets in the way of quality recordings. So this time, I bought a decent large diaphragm condenser mic that has a low noise floor which is great for voice over. It's called the Sennheiser MK4, and after reading many reviews on it, I decided to get it because it suited my needs. I was also swayed to get because it is German made, and I prefer that over Chinese made mics xD Not that Chinese made mics are worse, especially the good ones. There are lots of condenser microphones below the $500 that really good, as well as really poor... So its important to know what you're getting before you buy it. if you can, audition the mics in your local music store and decide which ones suits your voice, and your needs.

Now if you don't have a decent external mic pres, I would not suggest getting dynamic mics either. They require tons of clean gain to get a good signal, like the Shure SM7B (which is a great VO mic). So just keep that in mind. Also, if you have a really crappy audio interface, its worth it to make an upgrade because the mics pres in them have improved drastically over the years. Of course, you have to look at the reviews to see which ones offer great mic pres for the price. I personally love the Focusrite interfaces, they offer the same high quality preamps in all their interfaces. There are lots of companies that sell great interfaces, you just have to look around. It also depends on what features you need. For example, if you decide to upgrade the mics pres and A/D converters in the interface later on, you should make sure you buy on that has S/PDIF (Digital In/Out option). This way, you can bypass the built in pres and A/D converters in your interface properly.

If your budget does not allow you to purchase a decent interface and a microphone, you can always go for USB mics. There are lots of USB mics that are worth looking at. You probably already know about the Blue Yeti, but another good choice would be the Blue Spark Digital. It seems to have a really low noise floor and offers great audio quality, but I haven't tried the microphone personally so keep that in mind. I'm sure there are lots of people in the board who can recommend you other USB mics, as they have lots of experience with them. It seems to be the most affordable way to get professional sound quality without spending lots of money.

Anyways, I hope this helps in making your decision. If you have any other questions, you can PM me and I'd be glad to help. I can even send you audio samples of my current setup, since I haven't posted any work here using my new microphone.

[NDeea]

Woa, thanks for all the help guys. My budget is about $500 right now. Even though I'm able to get "voice work" if you want to call it that I'm only getting like $50 bucks a project sometimes, and when it's for my friends it's usually just a favor. I really do have fun doing this I just want to turn it from a hobby into a career. Doing public access stations was just a start in the right direction I hope. Someone else mentioned that I didn't really need to much to get a clean sound. That was if I had a good mic and a quiet space to record in. I share a house with my Sister so we have a couple of spare rooms mostly ones we used for storage. I recorded all my old work inside my bathroom and sometimes my sisters walk in closet. Every time I go in to record stuff I haul my computer around and have to set up shop. My sister uses the other rooms for her junk collection AKA stuff she says she needs yet never uses. I'm just going to clear a room out and start getting down to the business. I really appreciate all the help, I'm going to spend a bit more time looking into this. I don't have anything lined up so I guess this is a good time to improve my knowledge.

[pyromaster]

Yeah I completely forgot to mention acoustics. It's really important to get a dedicated place to record, away from any noise and that way its easier to treat. A walk in closet is great way to isolate noise and have clean recordings if have it filled with many clothes. You can also go a step further by purchasing acoustic foam to treat bare walls. That way you can avoid reflections which is one of the worst things you can do when recording. A bathroom has its own acoustics which are very hard to treat. So unless you're going for that type of sound, I wouldn't recommend it. Good luck with everything