Question in regards to Voice-Over work.

S

ShadowKingpin

New member
Hey HR!

I am a total newb with audio tech and could really use your help. I have no idea if this is the right area to post this (It looks like it), but I'll give it a shot. First off, I am trying to go into the next step of Voice-Over work by going from a USB mic (An old Samson CO1U microphone) to my new AT4033 mic (XLR input). Well, I keep reading mixed feelings online about whether to use or not use a mixer. First off, is a mixer vitally important to quality in Voice-Over work? If it's important, what kind of mixer should I look for (Mainly around the $200 range)? Please don't hate me for the newb-ish questions and I can't thank you enough in advance for taking the time to read this and help!
 
Hi,
A mixer is not essential at all. If you were podcasting or live streaming it might have been useful to have hands-on faders etc, but for straight forward recording you just need a straight forward audio interface.

Do you have firewire? I'm very happy with my presonus firestudio mobile.
If not, there are plenty of USB alternatives.
 
Not only is a mixer not necessary for quality, at your price point it would be of inferior quality to a similarly priced Audio interface. If you think about it, something like a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 has two mic pre amps and some gain controls. A mixer for the same money tries to have multiple mic inputs, EQ controls, various signal routings and so on. Based on "there's no such thing as a free lunch" some corners have had to be cut to give you all those features.

The most important thing for voice over work is a very quiet and acoustically dead recording environment. Getting rid of computer noise and room echo is essential since your V/O has to fit with anything.
 
Bobbsy said:
Not only is a mixer not necessary for quality, at your price point it would be of inferior quality to a similarly priced Audio interface. If you think about it, something like a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 has two mic pre amps and some gain controls. A mixer for the same money tries to have multiple mic inputs, EQ controls, various signal routings and so on. Based on "there's no such thing as a free lunch" some corners have had to be cut to give you all those features.

The most important thing for voice over work is a very quiet and acoustically dead recording environment. Getting rid of computer noise and room echo is essential since your V/O has to fit with anything.
Click to expand...

^^^^^^^^ +1 Bobbsy FTW, and Steen for the assist.

You must spread some
Reputation around before
giving it to Bobbsy again.
 
Last edited:
Hi,
A mixer is not essential at all. If you were podcasting or live streaming it might have been useful to have hands-on faders etc, but for straight forward recording you just need a straight forward audio interface.

Do you have firewire? I'm very happy with my PreSonus FireStudio Mobile.
If not, there are plenty of USB alternatives.
Click to expand...

I have definitely contemplated doing podcasting (As I have done it before), so I will definitely keep that in mind (I must mention that our podcasts were done over the Internet and not in person). Though, I have never had firewire, would you mind explaining it a little more compared to a mixer for someone that is audio-stupid like me? Haha. Many thanks for the great info!!

Not only is a mixer not necessary for quality, at your price point it would be of inferior quality to a similarly priced Audio interface. If you think about it, something like a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 has two mic pre amps and some gain controls. A mixer for the same money tries to have multiple mic inputs, EQ controls, various signal routings and so on. Based on "there's no such thing as a free lunch" some corners have had to be cut to give you all those features.

The most important thing for voice over work is a very quiet and acoustically dead recording environment. Getting rid of computer noise and room echo is essential since your V/O has to fit with anything.
Click to expand...

Crap. I was looking at a Mackie PROFX8 because I was just thinking about doing podcasting as well, but that's an optional thing. Though, I must ask, what should I hook my AT4033CL mic into since it isn't USB? Much thanks for the awesome info! :D
 
ShadowKingpin said:
Though, I have never had firewire, would you mind explaining it a little more compared to a mixer for someone that is audio-stupid like me?
Click to expand...
Don't worry about it too much. Firewire is just an alternative to USB.
I only mentioned it because I happen to have that particular interface, but there are plenty of USB options out there.


ShadowKingpin said:
Crap. I was looking at a Mackie PROFX8 because I was just thinking about doing podcasting as well, but that's an optional thing. Though, I must ask, what should I hook my AT4033CL mic into since it isn't USB? Much thanks for the awesome info! :D
Click to expand...

You plug your XLR microphone into anything with a microphone preamp.
Really the options are straight forward audio interface (scarlett 2i2 etc) or a mixer interface. As said, they're the same thing except the mixer version has more bells and whistles on the way in.
Usually they're unnecessary for home recording, but can be quite handy for live streaming/podcasting situations.

Just be careful. With simple audio interfaces the number of inputs is usually the number of discreet/separate channels that your DAW will see.
With mixer interfaces the computer usually sees summed stereo, regardless of how many inputs there are.
Something to keep in mind!
 
Steenamaroo said:
You plug your XLR microphone into anything with a microphone preamp.
Really the options are straight forward audio interface (scarlett 2i2 etc) or a mixer interface. As said, they're the same thing except the mixer version has more bells and whistles on the way in.
Usually they're unnecessary for home recording, but can be quite handy for live streaming/podcasting situations.

Just be careful. With simple audio interfaces the number of inputs is usually the number of discreet/separate channels that your DAW will see.
With mixer interfaces the computer usually sees summed stereo, regardless of how many inputs there are.
Something to keep in mind!
Click to expand...

I'll have to nab the Scarlett 2i2 then! Since I do my podcasting online, a mixer is most likely not even needed. One more question, will going this route diminish the audio quality in any way (The program I will be using for recording is Adobe Audition CC)?
 
ShadowKingpin said:
I'll have to nab the Scarlett 2i2 then! Since I do my podcasting online, a mixer is most likely not even needed. One more question, will going this route diminish the audio quality in any way (The program I will be using for recording is Adobe Audition CC)?
Click to expand...

Not in the slightest. :)
 
The Scarlett has very nice pre amps and will actually be slightly better quality than a similarly priced mixer.

It works perfectly with Audition (that's what I use as well) and, should you decide to record and edit your podcasts rather than just speak live, you'll be happy to learn that Audition is the audio software of choice in literally thousands of professional broadcasters. The BBC in the UK alone has several thousand Audition licences for its radio operations.
 
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