VO studio setup: Right or Wrong? What say YOU?

V

voiceguy

New member
I've been a writer, director, producer for 30 years and throughout my career I've also worked as a voice actor. Now, I'm looking to do more VO work. Over the years, I've learned to rely on the sound advice of engineers. (No pun intended).

I have a home VO studio consisting of the following: 4X4Vocal Booth (vocalbooth. com / Silver series). Neumann U47fet mic, ProTools LE & M Box, MAC Intel computer, Universal Audio 710 amp., pair of KRK "Rocket 5" speakers, hybrid phone patch. I have a deep, baritone voice with good flexibility and can read from Movie Trailer deep to mid-range DRTV easily. Since putting together the above package, I've been having trouble getting that crisp, clean sound out of my system. When I bounce my ProTools sessions to mp3 (which is how I send my audition scripts to clients/48k @ 256) I get a less than great sound. It sounds a bit muddy and doesn't have that great, crisp sound with plenty of bottom and mid pop. I guess I'm not hearing the punch. I've been told that I may not be using the right mic pre. Although my U47fet is one of the most sought after mics, I wonder if it's the best mic for me. Also, a lot of VO guys I know say they love the Symetrix 528 voice processor. Not sure if a piece of hardware like that has any advantages over the ProTools EQ, compressor/limiter, reverb, etc. that it comes with. All I do is voice work, so I'm interested in knowing what you'd recommend. What strips, pre-amps (tube or transistor) would you recommend, based on your experience?

Although I'm not a novice, perhaps the big questions here is my lack of experience working the EQ, compressor/limiter, de-esser and other controls within ProTools LE. The UA has no controls for these items, so I'm doing it all inside the ProTools software. Software vs Hardware...any thoughts? I'd like to know what experienced sound recordists / engineers think about using the ProTools LE software to EQ, compress and limit, as opposed to a piece of hardware (Amp/strip). Am I missing anything?
Much Obliged
 
i think youve answered alot of your own questions, there just hidden in your post.

although the neumann U47 is a great mic, like you said it could be just not right for your situation.

try a mic that can handle a deep baritone male voice (if thats what you have)

id reccomend you try the shure SM7B, there reasonably cheap for the sound quality there known for
im saving up to buy one myself right now

ive just moved up to protools 8 from cubase, and i love the EQ, compressors ect that are in PT.
as long as you understand HOW to use them, you should be able to acheive good results

you already addressed this though, so its not like your not aware of the problem, which is half of the battle won.

maybe spend more time learning how to use everything to its best potential,
you should be able to do pretty much anything youn can do with another piece of rack gear, unless your going to spend big bucks on hi quality gear.

from what ive seen of big VO guys though, they have ALOT of natural talent to do what that do (not saying you dont). their voices sound that way no matter what they say, or were they are most of the time.

so it really just comes down to practice, and learning your gear properly.

its always the case that good talent is easier to record then mediocre or crap
(again not saying you are, youve obviously had work as a VO before im guessing by your post)

if your going to be mixing down and mastering yourself, you should take the time to get to know your equipment completly.
if youve been getting professionals to do this, it will probably be a while till your happy with what your getting at home, because pros are pros for a reason, there usually incredible at what they do.
 
Hey Audio Leak,
Thanks for the thoughts. Yes, I have a voice that punches out from the crowd, but I'm just not happy with my new home recording studio finished product. You may be right with regard to learning the nuances of the PT EQ/Comp. setups. Guess I need to take a PT course for understanding their software. Also, having just finished a documentary for DISCOVERY, I realize the U47 may not be the best for me. I've used it for many years, but with my new set up, I'm not sure its the best. At DISCOVERY studios, they have me a U87 to work with. I had forgotten how amazingly clear and accurate that mic is. I sounded like my old self.

Am currently in touch w/Neumann USA. They are shipping me several mics to test. Thanks again for your input. Any other thoughts...please feel free to share with me.
 
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