{"id":467,"date":"2019-04-13T20:00:24","date_gmt":"2019-04-13T20:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.voiceovergurus.com\/guru_blog\/?p=467"},"modified":"2019-04-14T19:17:41","modified_gmt":"2019-04-14T19:17:41","slug":"voiceover-home-studio-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voiceovergurus.com\/guru_blog\/voiceover-home-studio-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Voiceover Home Studio Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Now that we have a quiet place to record, it&#8217;s time to talk\nabout equipment. Think of your recording equipment as having three primary\npieces: an ear (microphone), a mouth (monitor), and a brain (computer). For all\nof the equipment we&#8217;re about to discuss I&#8217;ll offer 3 price levels: low, middle,\nand high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many options, and a wide price range, when it\ncomes to buying a professional quality microphone. Obviously, since you&#8217;re just\nstarting out, you&#8217;ll want the highest quality you can get, without breaking the\nbank. If you&#8217;re looking to do voice work, you&#8217;ll want what&#8217;s called a\n\u201cCondenser Microphone.\u201d Condenser mics draw power from a battery or external\nsource. As a result, the audio signal is stronger signal than that from the\nother kind, which is called a \u201cDynamic Microphone.\u201d Here are 3 examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.guitarcenter.com\/MXL\/990-Condenser-Microphone-with-Shockmount.gc\">https:\/\/www.guitarcenter.com\/MXL\/990-Condenser-Microphone-with-Shockmount.gc<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.guitarcenter.com\/Rode-Microphones\/NT1-Condenser-Microphone-Package.gc\">https:\/\/www.guitarcenter.com\/Rode-Microphones\/NT1-Condenser-Microphone-Package.gc<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.guitarcenter.com\/Sony\/C-100-Hi-Res-Studio-Vocal-Microphone.gc\">https:\/\/www.guitarcenter.com\/Sony\/C-100-Hi-Res-Studio-Vocal-Microphone.gc<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Condenser mics are very sensitive, so they usually come with\na metal ring-and-spring harness called a \u201cShock Mount\u201d which prevents\nvibrations from reaching the mic. Many models also include a \u201cPop Filter\u201d which\nis a noise protection shield that reduces or eliminates the popping sounds\ncaused by fast-moving air from your mouth impacting the microphone. If you buy\nyour equipment used, be sure all the original accessories like the shock mount\nand pop-filter are included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rockvilleaudio.com\/rockpop\/\">https:\/\/www.rockvilleaudio.com\/rockpop\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You could spend up to Twenty Thousand Dollars on your\nmicrophone&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-wordpress wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-money-inc\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/moneyinc.com\/most-expensive-microphones-in-the-world\/\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>But just like it is with luxury cars, after a certain point\nits all about perceived value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;re going to need a microphone stand. Depending on your\nsetup, you can opt for a standard floor stand, or for a dektop stand. If you\nchoose the desktop, I recommend a solid-base model, like this one:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Proline-MS112-Desktop-Boom-Stand\/dp\/B000J0N5TY\">https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Proline-MS112-Desktop-Boom-Stand\/dp\/B000J0N5TY<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That greater stability is necessary because it needs to\nsupport the added weight of a \u201cMicrophone Isolation Shield\u201d which attaches to\nthe top of the stand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.monoprice.com\/product?p_id=602650\">https:\/\/www.monoprice.com\/product?p_id=602650<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because condenser mics take in sound from all directions,\nambient and reflected sound can be a problem when recording acoustic and vocal\ntracks. The isolation shield blocks or absorbs unwanted sounds, preventing them\nfrom reaching to the microphone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the days before computers, a microphone was plugged into\nan audio mixer which Amplified the signal before sending it both to the users\nheadphones and to the recording device, which was typically tape driven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But in the digital age, the mixer has been replaced by a\nsmall box that converts the microphone&#8217;s output to a digital file before\nsending it on to the computer for recording. It also alllows you to adjust the\n\u201cGain\u201d or the microphones level of sensitivity. Higher gain makes noises sound\nlounder, etc. Models range from simple cost effective solo mic models (which\nare usb powered) up to and including those with their own power source, and\neight separate inputs for microphones, instruments, etc. Here are 3 options:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/store\/detail\/UM2usb--behringer-u-phoria-um2\">https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/store\/detail\/UM2usb&#8211;behringer-u-phoria-um2<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/focusrite.com\/usb-audio-interface\/scarlett\/scarlett-solo\">https:\/\/focusrite.com\/usb-audio-interface\/scarlett\/scarlett-solo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-wordpress wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-audient\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"zzWwbiEBj7\"><a href=\"https:\/\/audient.com\/products\/audio-interfaces\/id44\/overview\/\">Overview<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Overview&#8221; &#8212; Audient\" src=\"https:\/\/audient.com\/products\/audio-interfaces\/id44\/overview\/embed\/#?secret=Vi3p40u034#?secret=zzWwbiEBj7\" data-secret=\"zzWwbiEBj7\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The other function that the audio interface provides is that\nit allows you to monitor the audio going out to the computer through a\nheadphone jack. You&#8217;ll want a pair of high-quality headphones for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Focusrite offers an excellent turn-key package covering\neverything we&#8217;ve discussed up to this point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B06WD1WMF8\/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_YZi2Bb8C97BWQ\">https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B06WD1WMF8\/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_YZi2Bb8C97BWQ<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally we come to the computer. Everyone has one these\ndays, so is there something special that sets an &#8220;audio recording\ncomputer&#8221; apart from the one sitting on your desk? The short answer is,\nnot really. At the end of the day, its all about the software. Perfect\nentry-level software can be had for FREE with \u201cAudacity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pro Tools is widely considered the industry-standard for professional audio editing software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.avid.com\/pro-tools\">https:\/\/www.avid.com\/pro-tools<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adobe Audition is another similarly priced professional\ndigital audio workstation. All three options use the same basic waveform\nediting view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.adobe.com\/products\/audition.html\">https:\/\/www.adobe.com\/products\/audition.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When I setup my home recording studio, I tried to spend my\nmoney where it would count most. I bought a mid-range microphone and USB audio\ninterface. I reasoned that I could save a few bucks if I started out by using\nthe free audacity software on my home computer, a 3 year old Dell Inspiron\nrunning Windows 10. To increase my recoding capacity, I purchased the largest\nsolid-state external hard drive I could find. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seagate.com\/consumer\/backup\/backup-plus\/\">https:\/\/www.seagate.com\/consumer\/backup\/backup-plus\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Luckily, it worked well, though I don&#8217;t know if my old machine would be up to the challenge of running the Avid or Adobe software. So when the time does come to upgrade your computer. You will want a machine with the most RAM (memory) possible. At least 16GB. Hard drive size isn&#8217;t really an issue if you use an external drive that has a USB 3.0 connector.\u00a0 CPU speed is surprisingly low on the list. Mostly because it\u2019s less of an issue than it was, say 10 years ago. Even a modest off-the-shelf\u00a0 computer today is powerful enough to create professional voicework audio. Especially if you&#8217;re not mixing a ton of tracks the way you would making music.That isn\u2019t to say you shouldn\u2019t go for the fastest machine you can afford. Just as with RAM, more is better. With a computer\u2019s CPU, faster is always better for longevity of use. I recommend a desktop model, but if you&#8217;re wedded to the idea of editing audio on a laptop, using the external drive becomes even more important. Here are 3 desktop possibilities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dell.com\/en-us\/shop\/dell-desktop-computers\/inspiron-desktop\/spd\/inspiron-3670-desktop\/ddcwgmmtcfl417s\">https:\/\/www.dell.com\/en-us\/shop\/dell-desktop-computers\/inspiron-desktop\/spd\/inspiron-3670-desktop\/ddcwgmmtcfl417s<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dell.com\/en-us\/shop\/dell-desktop-computers\/xps-tower\/spd\/xps-8930-desktop\/dxcwvmax004hb\">https:\/\/www.dell.com\/en-us\/shop\/dell-desktop-computers\/xps-tower\/spd\/xps-8930-desktop\/dxcwvmax004hb<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dell.com\/en-us\/shop\/dell-desktop-computers\/alienware-aurora\/spd\/alienware-aurora-r7-desktop\/dpcwxtc03h\">https:\/\/www.dell.com\/en-us\/shop\/dell-desktop-computers\/alienware-aurora\/spd\/alienware-aurora-r7-desktop\/dpcwxtc03h<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next time we&#8217;ll talk about a few final concerns, with some\ntips and tricks for making your studio a comfortable and productive\nenvironment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Now that we have a quiet place to record, it&#8217;s time to talk about equipment. Think of your recording equipment as having three primary pieces: an ear (microphone), a mouth (monitor), and a brain (computer). For all of the equipment we&#8217;re about to discuss I&#8217;ll offer 3 price levels: low, middle, and high. There are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-voice-over-gurus-blog"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/voiceovergurus.com\/guru_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/voiceovergurus.com\/guru_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/voiceovergurus.com\/guru_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voiceovergurus.com\/guru_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voiceovergurus.com\/guru_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=467"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/voiceovergurus.com\/guru_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":470,"href":"https:\/\/voiceovergurus.com\/guru_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467\/revisions\/470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/voiceovergurus.com\/guru_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voiceovergurus.com\/guru_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voiceovergurus.com\/guru_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}