Voice Overs

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abercrombie

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Hi everybody,

This is my 1st post here. I've looked all over the boards for a similar question(s) but haven't found one..so here goes.

I am putting together a home studio for the sole purpose of recording my voice for radio commercials and liners.

I'll be using pre-recorded music to fit the copy. I've been doing this for too many years to mention in the radio industry but now I am going on my own.

I am strongly considering the MBox by Digidesign. And I am strongly considering buying a used re20 for a mic. It's the mic I'm most familiar with and I like it a lot but was wondering if there was another mic someone might recommend that was less expensive.

My voice quality seems to really improve w/the re20. My voice is somewhat thin and the re20 does a great job for me. I've also used the Sennheiser , I forgot the #, 421 or something like that and it was ok. I'd rather not spend more than $250-300 for a mic.

If I DO get the MBox, and I decide I don't like the Pro Tools software that comes with it...will I be able to use another software program and still be able to utilize the MBox soundcard?

Or would I have to upgrade the sound card in my computer? I have the Sound Blaster Live, I think it is.

I have a P4 2.0GH, 512ram, 60gb hard drive. Right now I have Windows 2000 but am going to try and install XP as that's what's needed for MBox to work.

The reason I'd like to go with MBox is this: it's simple, takes up less room than a mixer, and comes w/ a sound card. I also believe I can get away with not having an additional mic compressor.

Thanks in advance for your help....this is a great site!

Dennis Abercrombie
 
abercrombie said:
I have a P4 2.0GH, 512ram, 60gb hard drive. Right now I have Windows 2000 but am going to try and install XP as that's what's needed for MBox to work.
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Dennis,
You have adequate RAM and the processor should be just fine with WinXP, but I have no direct experience running WinXP on this processor. If you can, go with WinXP Pro.

...would I have to upgrade the sound card in my computer? I have the Sound Blaster Live, I think...
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If you need a sound card exchange the Sound Blaster for a 2496 Audiophile

...I am strongly considering buying a used re20 for a mic. It's the mic I'm most familiar with and I like it a lot but was wondering if there was another mic someone might recommend that was less expensive...
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If the job gets done right with this mic, then by all means stick with it. You can always experiment with other mics after the cash rolls in. The cheapest (new) that I found was here for $399.95

I do not have the expertise to speak to the other issues you raised.

Now, and this is would be a huge favor, but how would one go about breaking into the voice-over industry? Any tips would be so appreciated!
 
I can't really tell you how to break in to it. I can only tell you what I am trying to do. First of all, I'm really good at it!! I've been recording commercials since the early 70's and I'd better be good at it by now! I should have gone out on my own a quarter of a century ago but I was having too much fun being a wild and crazy guy..getting married and divorced every few years and just generally "blowin' all of my hard earned pay" as the old song goes.

I have done some agency work over the years and I've decided now is the time to go for it on my own. I've hooked up with one of our local car dealers who has always liked my work and I'm doing his spots, plus he has several other dealerships spread over a 3 state area that he's hooking me up with, so I already have 4 clients to begin with. I do their spots at one of the local stations here until I get my studio ready.

Next, I'll visit some other businesses that I've done work for while I was employed at my station and convince them to let me continue to do their spots so they can maintain a high quality level. Then, I'll advertise my services in one of the trades for liner work...you know, the voice that comes on and says, "Just right at home, at work and in the car....Continuous Soft Rock Favorites...blah, blah".

I'll also put together a cd of spots and send them to various ad agencies around the country.

Even though I am old as the hills I can still sound like I'm in my 20's....or, I can do the big, authoritative bank commercial type of thing. I can also do the sincere nursing home ad or the ladies intimate wear spot (one of my favorites).

All in all I love to do this kind of work. But, I'm pretty tired of seeing everyone but me benefit from it!!

So, basically if you have talent don't be afraid to put something together on a cd and shop yourself around. Ad agencies are almost always looking for new voices. And the trend nowadays is for "real" voices, not hyped up Ricky Radio voices, or even the standard Gary Owens type of delivery. People are hip and will tune out phoniness in a heartbeat.

I don't know what your situation is at all, but the main thing about commercials as far as voicing them.....is practice, practice, practice. Let someone who is good critique you often and give you pointers. When you practice have fun! Try doing different things with your voice and try approaching the mic in different ways.

Well, I'm getting tired. I hope this helps you!
 
It sounds like you have a good plan. I would expect to spend a few bucks on some sound treatment. For voice a few panels of Auralex or OC703 rigid fiberglass should do fine. You can check out the Studio Building forum for info on sound treatment if you're interested.
 
TexRoadkill said:
It sounds like you have a good plan. I would expect to spend a few bucks on some sound treatment. For voice a few panels of Auralex or OC703 rigid fiberglass should do fine. You can check out the Studio Building forum for info on sound treatment if you're interested.
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Thanks! I've read everything on here that I can find about mics and about mbox. Seems like most of you have projects much too big for mbox, but since I have no need to record anything other than voice I think it will be fine. I'm a little worried that it was not originally created for Windows but we'll see about that.

I also note that no one actually promotes the re20. I'm thinking now about going much, much cheaper and getting the Shure 57 or 58. If I don't like it I can bring it back.

Also, does anyone know of any inexpensive production music libraries? I have a small collection of discs and I have some emails out for quotes on a few libraries. I'd love to find a buy-out of under $300 or so for a collection of say 20-discs. Maybe some of you out there have recorded some cd's of music that might be appropriate.
 
By the way, I just went back and read the Microphone faq over again.....I've read so much stuff here and other places over the last few days that I didn't really absorb that much!

And of course, the RE20 comes highly recommended for voice over/narration. Sooooo, it looks like I'm back to that again.
 
abercrombie,

I guess there is just so much to learn. I am putting together a studio for my daughters singing and I would like to, if I could, use it for voiceover work also. Given that I can put together a marketable CD and get someone to bite, do I just accept what compensation is offered or is this something that has to be negotiated?
 
The RE20 is a standard work horse VO mic. So is the Sennheiser 441.

You could go with a condensor mic if you want a more crisp sound but they can be more prone to sibilance and picking up background noise. In an untreated room you're probably better off with a dynamic for VO work.

As far as music goes good luck. There are some really cheesy generic libraries out there but I have a feeling if you want to use them for commercial production you will have to pay licensing fees per song. Of course you can pass that back onto the customer. If you want to purchase music from a member here you might try checking out the MP3 forum and see if you like anybodies stuff.

I would be happy to sell you some high quality rockin drum/guitar/bass stuff with all real instruments but there is no way I could do it for that cheap. For closer to a grand I could give you some good stuff for your own exclusive use and license free.
 
Yo Abercrombie! Shure SM7B is a perfectly good VO mic, at least $100 cheaper than the RE20. I also like the long since discontinued Shure SM82, which will need a phantom power supply and a line in. It's a line level broadcast mic with a little bit of a cult following. They can occasionally be had under $200 on ebay. *Don't* plug this puppy into a mic input and turn on the phantom power, it will toast your preamp. It was made to run on a mercury battery that was then outlawed, or on phantom power, but most mic preamp line ins don't produce phantom power, so I use a little phantom power supply and the thing rocks.-Richie
 
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