Help me build a home studio space for VO

[LumiCat]

Hi! I’m a voice actor and I’d like to wfh. You guys seem to be experts so give me your recommendations on how to achieve a semi professional set up. Tbh I’d invest in a whisper room or acoustic booth but I’m not ready/ I live in a townhouse on the second story and the door way is tricky etc..logistics to be dealt with later. with that being said, I don’t want to DIY it or save money ($500 moving blanket pvc booths, no thanks) the most simple and effective solution for the next several months- if that means hiring a pro then fine but I’d like to know what I’m talking about first and I can’t even ballpark that price. I am a bit fatigued from all of the differing advice that can be found online for sound treating.
I was hoping someone could just tell me what to do? I have a 3x2 closet and 5x5 closet with or without clothes, both have normal doors, not bifolding or accordion, which do you recommend? The closet seems like a good idea because it is self contained and can be more easily sound treated. What do you guys suggest?
Budget less than 2k.

Thank you in advance

 

[Steenamaroo]

Hi,
Do you have any equipment to be starting with?
For voice over work damn near any computer will do. An old laptop...anything.

Personally I'd be going for a dynamic microphone like RE20 or SM7b with a view to working rather close to it, staying within a few inches.
The closer you are to the microphone the less of an issue external sounds and the acoustics of your room are.

It's not a magic fix where you don't have to care about the environment, but keeping proximity to the microphone down does help,
and that's generally easier to do (without issue) with a big dynamic.

For which room to record in, a bit of trial and error might be a good idea.
Your closets might be good...They might be terrible.

In simplest terms you want the room with the least obvious 'signature'.
Generally if you're in a bathroom or unfurnished hallway and talk or sing, it's very obvious that you can hear the effect of the room.
You want the room where that happens the least, which is probably the room with the most soft furnishings.

You might find that working in the room with the closets off it, but with the closet doors open, might be helpful,
since you're in a slightly bigger more natural sounding environment, but getting the benefit of the closet contents as diffusing/absorbing materials.

Tell us more, and welcome to HR.

 

[rob aylestone]

The key feature as mentioned above is a space lacking in any noise other than your voice. Computer fans and aircon that people often need to have are more grief. I'll concentrate on practical things - the smaller space will get hot and smelly and tiresome as CO2 goes up and oxygen goes down. The larger space will simply be nicer to work in. Clothes are normally really good - they often work better than the terrible thin foam people use. What I would do is test the space as it is with your phone - they're great for capturing what a space sounds like - that will tell you if you are going the right way.

 

[ecc83]

Hi Lumi cat and welcome. As Mr S has said...lots to know about you first....
1) "The Space" What is wrong with it/them? In other words, what are the problems? If for instance you are getting a lot of external noise, traffic, dogs, people then there is probably nothing you can do about that especially for VO work where TOTAL background silence is really a must. (a bit of noise behind lusty singing can often be tolerated or indeed removed digitally). If you have a lot of ambient noise then you might be better off to give your money to a studio.

2) "The Gear" As Steeno' says, practically any laptop will work for 'two in two out' recording and I can save you LOADS of time looking at interfaces? Just get a MOTU M2 end of. For recording software, two options. Audacity, simple free and 'everyone' knows how it works. Better is Reaper 'almost' free and again, almost everyone here knows a bit about it.

So, if the place is noisy, think again* but if you get some silent periods, the wee smalls say, then invest in the gears suggested, have a go and post the results. Really the only obstacle to 'pro' results is 'noises off'.

*Get a Sound Level Meter app for your phone. Set it for "C" weighting and tell us the readings.

"Great Minds" Rob. You are younger and quicker than I.

Dave.

 

[LumiCat]

Hi,
Do you have any equipment to be starting with?
For voice over work damn near any computer will do. An old laptop...anything.

Personally I'd be going for a dynamic microphone like RE20 or SM7b with a view to working rather close to it, staying within a few inches.
The closer you are to the microphone the less of an issue external sounds and the acoustics of your room are.

Ah, alas nothing impressive, I have a Rode NT USB. Is my next purchase an acoustic condenser mic and interface?

It's not a magic fix where you don't have to care about the environment, but keeping proximity to the microphone down does help,
and that's generally easier to do (without issue) with a big dynamic.

Got it.

For which room to record in, a bit of trial and error might be a good idea.
Your closets might be good...They might be terrible.

In simplest terms you want the room with the least obvious 'signature'.
Generally if you're in a bathroom or unfurnished hallway and talk or sing, it's very obvious that you can hear the effect of the room.
You want the room where that happens the least, which is probably the room with the most soft furnishings.

You might find that working in the room with the closets off it, but with the closet doors open, might be helpful,
since you're in a slightly bigger more natural sounding environment, but getting the benefit of the closet contents as diffusing/absorbing materials.

Interesting, I hadn’t thought of open spaces as an option. My home has hard floors and high ceilings but I will explore.

Tell us more, and welcome to HR.

Thank you!
Well, I guess the more is that I’m trying to use a usb mic that’s probably embarrassingly subpar
No but really, you went straight for suggestions, thank you: I’m not afraid to invest in a good mic but I don’t want to purchase the in between. from what I’ve read Neumann is the gold standard but there is no consensus on what is “in between”. Should I just buy the TLM103 and then I won’t have to do so much room treatment?

 

[LumiCat]

The key feature as mentioned above is a space lacking in any noise other than your voice. Computer fans and aircon that people often need to have are more grief. I'll concentrate on practical things - the smaller space will get hot and smelly and tiresome as CO2 goes up and oxygen goes down. The larger space will simply be nicer to work in. Clothes are normally really good - they often work better than the terrible thin foam people use. What I would do is test the space as it is with your phone - they're great for capturing what a space sounds like - that will tell you if you are going the right way.

Great advice, thank you! I seem prefer the large closet, I think the small one would bounce sound around no matter how treated it is. Roger on the foam.

 

[LumiCat]

Hi Lumi cat and welcome.

Thank you!

As Mr S has said...lots to know about you first....
1) "The Space" What is wrong with it/them? In other words, what are the problems?

I’m not sure. I don’t have the vocab to explain what is bothering me but there is a non-sound presence during my pauses that doesn’t sound professional. Maybe it is my subpar mic (rode nt usb). I thought it was the acoustics. Hmm.

If for instance you are getting a lot of external noise, traffic, dogs, people then there is probably nothing you can do about that especially for VO work where TOTAL background silence is really a must. (a bit of noise behind lusty singing can often be tolerated or indeed removed digitally). If you have a lot of ambient noise then you might be better off to give your money to a studio.

That’s fair.
Are you saying not even a whisper booth can accommodate a home with a lot of ambient noise?

2) "The Gear" As Steeno' says, practically any laptop will work for 'two in two out' recording and I can save you LOADS of time looking at interfaces? Just get a MOTU M2 end of. For recording software, two options. Audacity, simple free and 'everyone' knows how it works. Better is Reaper 'almost' free and again, almost everyone here knows a bit about it.

Amazing yes please save me time, I don’t want to invest in lame gear.
I’m using audacity, I will check out Reaper. What about wave and adobe audition- not necessary yet?

So, if the place is noisy, think again* but if you get some silent periods, the wee smalls say, then invest in the gears suggested, have a go and post the results. Really the only obstacle to 'pro' results is 'noises off'.

*Get a Sound Level Meter app for your phone. Set it for "C" weighting and tell us the readings.

I downloaded Decibel X and upgraded to get the db C. If I just sit in my closet and don’t really move, treated as it is right now, the low was 28.2, high 40.9, average 30.7. I’ll check it again during different times of the day with different sound absorption set ups. Could you give a quick run down on what I should be aspiring to and when to call it and go back to the studio? Thank you

"Great Minds" Rob. You are younger and quicker than I.

Dave.

 

[ecc83]

Ah, somethings there I have perhaps not made clear? ANY noise in your room is going to be a problem and no, no kind of 'booth' is going to keep noise out, that would need an expensive 'decoupled' structure and you would end up with a tiny space that sounded horrible. This morning at 06:20 in my leafy, suburban bungalow I am getting 25-30dBC. To me that is subjectively silence and what 'blips' there are could probably be removed with software. You will inevitably be 'editing'. Not denying your actors skill but we all 'um' and fluff and cough!

Hard floor? Rolling out a rug or two is going to make a massive difference to the acoustics. High ceilings are better than low ones.

The TLM103 is a superb microphone but as others have said, you might be better off with a dynamic because...
The 'room' to voice ratio depends upon the relative distance of your mouth to the mic and the mic to the room. You can only change mic to mouth. Capacitor mics in general* are designed to be used at some distance, not less than 300mm I would say. Dynamics such as the very well regarded Shure SM7b ARE designed for close talking. Thus you will get more 'you' and less room in your recording. This is NOT to say that a good capacitor mic in a WELL treated and very quiet room, i.e. a studio, cannot give really excellent results but most of us don't have studios!

Do not despise the USB mic! My son does scratch classical guitar recordings with a Citronics CU3 and though not 'EMI' standard they are pretty good. Can you make a recording of 10 seconds of speech and then be silent for 20secs? Post as an attachment 320k MP3. That way I/we can just drop it into our DAWs and hopefully give more answers.

My rather flippant suggestion of the M2 might seem odd? I have the next model up the M4 (but you don't need the extra ins and outs) The microphone pre amps are very low noise. I recently made some recordings of classical guitar with my son using a very old Reslo RB ribbon and the noise levels were acceptably low we thought. Even if the M2 is not quite good enough for the SM7b (I bet it will be!) there are steps you can take such as the CloudLifter and similar devices. I doubt there is an AI anything close to the price of the M2 with better pre amps? You would need to go to Sound Devices kit...Lot of money.

People generally find when they get the setup aright with a mic/AI combination that the noise floor is dictated by the room noise, even when it seems subjectively silent. In other words, quite 'middle of the road' gear can give excellent results. For some context? I doubt there is a mic/AI combination that is as noisy as the very best studio tape machine!

*There are capacitor mics of very low sensitivity designed to do the job of the ubiquitous SM58s as hand held singer's mics for PA work. These do give very clear sound but not I think what you want for VO work.

Dave.

 

[rob aylestone]

Totally agree. There is nothing wrong about using a usb mic. The only real issue is they are one mic, mono mics. As in they limit what they can do well. No multimic recordings, so all the stereo live stuff is out and a drum kit?

However, many profession, in demand, voice over artists use a pair of headphones, a usb mic and a MacBook. The key feature is the acoustics. The treatment of the hard surfaces to control what is in the room and preventing outside noise getting in. Most VO people therefore use close miking and either mics that have good wind shielding or decent external ones. The differences between your Rode and a 103 are small, but more importantly is the match. As in a mic that flatters your voice. That’s where they differ. I’d suggest everyone’s initial purchase could be bettered. Not necessarily by a more expensive on. Most mics have little presence peaks that work for or against you. If you can take honest, well meant criticism, post a clip of you saying in your chosen space.

Usually the answers will help. We can easily compare yours with others and we will hear what clients will hear. You might get, definitely don’t go dynamic or get XYZ as you need some clarity up top, or did you know your voice is very nasal or whistly? Never meant unpleasantly but you just can’t compare your own voice. Maybe try it at different distances and adjust the levels. We will hear. I like my SM7B but I go against the trend and use it further away because I like how it sounds. That’s very odd, but it works for me.

Try both your spaces with and without clothes hanging. I rediscovered NT1 mics after 25 years and really like the sound. I think most of the YouTube reviews are linked to on here somewhere if you want to hear the same voice on lots of popular mics in the sane space?

 

[LumiCat]

As in a mic that flatters your voice. That’s where they differ. I’d suggest everyone’s initial purchase could be bettered. Not necessarily by a more expensive on. Most mics have little presence peaks that work for or against you. If you can take honest, well meant criticism, post a clip of you saying in your chosen space.

Usually the answers will help. We can easily compare yours with others and we will hear what clients will hear. You might get, definitely don’t go dynamic or get XYZ as you need some clarity up top, or did you know your voice is very nasal or whistly? Never meant unpleasantly but you just can’t compare your own voice. Maybe try it at different distances and adjust the levels. We will hear. I like my SM7B but I go against the trend and use it further away because I like how it sounds. That’s very odd, but it works for me.

Thank you for this great response! I think initially was expecting the biggest problem would be the acoustics but of course, I can purchase a whisper booth and get on with my life- so now I’m very interested in mics.
I have read threads re: a mic for “your voice” but thought wow how am I going to find a needle in a haystack?
The thing is, after I read your comment I have been sort of training my ear and have heard at least one or two instances of what I believe is a vo using a studio mic that doesn’t flatter their voices and it’s kind of mind blowing. so yes, if you wouldn’t mind I will absolutely upload a bit of my voice and would be grateful for any feedback or direction.

Thank you!

 

[LumiCat]

Ah, somethings there I have perhaps not made clear? ANY noise in your room is going to be a problem and no, no kind of 'booth' is going to keep noise out, that would need an expensive 'decoupled' structure and you would end up with a tiny space that sounded horrible. This morning at 06:20 in my leafy, suburban bungalow I am getting 25-30dBC. To me that is subjectively silence and what 'blips' there are could probably be removed with software. You will inevitably be 'editing'. Not denying your actors skill but we all 'um' and fluff and cough!

Yes of course

The TLM103 is a superb microphone but as others have said, you might be better off with a dynamic because...
The 'room' to voice ratio depends upon the relative distance of your mouth to the mic and the mic to the room. You can only change mic to mouth. Capacitor mics in general* are designed to be used at some distance, not less than 300mm I would say. Dynamics such as the very well regarded Shure SM7b ARE designed for close talking. Thus you will get more 'you' and less room in your recording. This is NOT to say that a good capacitor mic in a WELL treated and very quiet room, i.e. a studio, cannot give really excellent results but most of us don't have studios!

Great advice, thank you! This makes perfect sense.

Do not despise the USB mic! My son does scratch classical guitar recordings with a Citronics CU3 and though not 'EMI' standard they are pretty good. Can you make a recording of 10 seconds of speech and then be silent for 20secs? Post as an attachment 320k MP3. That way I/we can just drop it into our DAWs and hopefully give more answers.

Yes please!

People generally find when they get the setup aright with a mic/AI combination that the noise floor is dictated by the room noise, even when it seems subjectively silent. In other words, quite 'middle of the road' gear can give excellent results. For some context? I doubt there is a mic/AI combination that is as noisy as the very best studio tape machine!

*There are capacitor mics of very low sensitivity designed to do the job of the ubiquitous SM58s as hand held singer's mics for PA work. These do give very clear sound but not I think what you want for VO work.

Dave.

this is so helpful!