Recording Voice overs

[Canobliss]

I have a client coming in who wants to do a voiceover for a website. There is no background music or anything, just the voice.
I have never done this so I am looking for suggestions for techniques and equipment. Can I approach it similarily to recording vocals for a song?
My mic choices are Soundelux U195, AKG C414, sm 57, MD 421.
Should I use some compression going in? Approximate settings? Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Fenderville]

I don't know if you will need compression going in but make sure you have a VERY quiet, dry room to record in.

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

My recoomendation of microphone would be to try out several of them and see which one works best for his voice. I'd tend to try the AKG first myself, but there was one time when I had a similar project and a simple li'l' SM58 actually wound up giving better results for the guy's speaking voice than even some high-end condensers did.

As far as compression, that can be tricky when going to a website, depending on what file format you wind up with. If you're going to MP3, for example, some MP3 encoders actually don't seem to handle heavy compression as well as one would think; they sometimes tend to add unpleasant artifacting to heavily compressed signals. WAVs on the other hand, can of course take the compression with no problem, and the compression might be helpful to make the voiceovers sound more intelligible on cheapo PC speakers and at lower volumes.

Based on all that I'd end up by saying try a couple of mics and see which one gives the most pleasing results for the voice and the material. Record it clean without compression so you can adjust it to how - or if - you need it on the DAW when prepping the files for the web, depending on final file format and encoder performance.

HTH,

G.

 

[Canobliss]

Good answers, thanks guys.

 

[bennychico11]

i'll tell you where I usually start at, but you'll definitely want to tweak from there. on compressor I usually give a 3-4:1 ratio with a threshold low enough to get 3-4dB of gain reduction. I give an attack around 6ms depending on the speed of the read and the release around 260ms with a medium soft knee (if you have control over that).
you may need to use a desser depending on how well trained he is. Also, a good EQ range for voice is around 1kHz to 1.5kHz for clarity. If he has a low deep voice and you want that prominent "i am god" voice...you might bump a little low end up too.
As far as mics, I'd go with the 414 or the Soundeluxe. I've never tried either on voice work, but a large condenser is what you want to go with. When setting levels you'll definitely want to keep them around mid level...maybe -6dB or so. Voice artists speak with a ton of dynamics and just the first letter of a sentence can ruin the take. A compressor going in if you don't trust him or yourself...but if not, at least keep your finger on the fader. You'll also want to use a pop screen. Ps and Bs come out more in VO than they do in music.
If it's going on the web I'm assuming it's going to be an MP3....but you can make it a mono MP3. It'll take up less space and there will be no sonic difference.
Go from there. Good luck

 

[Canobliss]

Thanks for the details bennychico11 those helped alot. When you (or anybody else for that matter) say 3-4 dbs reduction are you referring to the average reduction?

 

[bennychico11]

Thanks for the details bennychico11 those helped alot. When you (or anybody else for that matter) say 3-4 dbs reduction are you referring to the average reduction?

yeah average. your compressor should have a gain reduction meter that shows you how much you're compressing by. i usually just keep the meters around 3dB to 4dB reduction. Of course, tweak as needed.