RadioDaddy.com: Gear Rant

This article is courtesy of Emmett, one of our VoicePros.

This is intended for people who are serious about making some real income from VO. Read it if you like...Or don't. I think it will be beneficial to those who really absorb the information. I'm covering a bunch of stuff to do with gear and studios. There are a lot of misunderstandings and misconceptions. None will go into great detail. If you want to know more about something, ask!

1. The most important part of any recording is the source material. Voice quality and delivery are more important than ANY piece of hardware or software.

2. Room treatment is the forgotten investment...And more important than most others. A great mic chain will not fix a bad room...It will only reveal the room noise more clearly.

3. Sound proofing and sound absorption are NOT the same thing. Foam will not block out noise. Learn the difference and treat the room accordingly.

4. The ENTIRE mic chain is important. Don't neglect any part of it. A professional pop filter, microphone, preamp, (processor, if desired) and A/D converter (i.e. Soundcard, USB or Firewire device) are essential.

5. Recording software does not have a 'sound'. When it comes to recording, Audacity (free) sounds just like Audition, Sound Forge or Wavelab.

6. Most of the time, you don't need a mixer. It will just add noise to your chain. Few voiceover people have a real need for a hardware mixer.

7. No mic will make you sound good. Better mics will ALLOW you to sound good, if you already do. And some will compliment your voice tonal qualities nicely for subtle character...But nothing will make you sound good.

8. You get what you pay for. Those cheap mics? They sound cheap. Luckily, thanks to technological developments, prices for quality have gotten much lower. That means that mics that would have once cost $1000 now sell for about $300. Large diaphragm condenser mics today start to sound professional around $220 or so. Mics in the $300-500 range can sound truly great. Below those price ranges, build quality can be sketchy and consistency is non-existant. Above those prices, you'll get a little better build quality and measurable consistency, but not always a better sound.

9. The ElectroVoice RE20 makes a lousy VO mic. It's great for durability and works very well in radio environments, but in terms of sound, it's pretty rough. For that price, you can do much, much better. It's only the radio standard...Not the VO standard.

10. Mic placement is very important. Finding the sweet spot is as important as the mic itself. Speaking directly into the diaphragm is rarely desirable.

11. Trying to make your voice 'thick and big' is a waste of time. VO artists should not perform heavy processing of any kind. It's a nightmare for a good producer.