Voices.com

Hi Master VO,

I run my own little company "Big Mouth Media" for voice overs here in Australia, and as many do, run it from home.

I've only just upgraded the hardware - so now I have an sE (Studio Engineering) Mini microphone (known as M1C in the USA), and a Behringer XENYX 1622 FX with much nicer pre amps and the like than the UB802 I used to have.

I bought the Xenyx because it allows me to have subgroups, for which I will utilise when I get a phone patch setup - it's made by JK Audio called the "THAT-2", and runs XLR's in/out from the box to the mixer and back. My plan is to be able to be directed while recording, sending myself to the main mix and the sub, having the listener come back on the sub (which I'll also monitor) so that only I get recorded in the end.

Now my next conquest is speakers, I've got a couple of suggestions - Yamaha HS50M, KRKSYS ROKIT-5, Behringer Truth, and Edirol MA15D (the cheaper of the bunch). Basically I'm looking for something more than the Creative Audio satellite speakers and subwoofer I have now, needing something more 'true to life' and one of these studio monitors I'm sure is better.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Paul Seidel

G,day Paul,
Great to hear from "OZ!"

You've made some good mic choices. If you do a search for "Microphones" on E-Bay, you'll find some great bargains on some classic models. I've discovered that my prized Neumann TLM 103 picks up my mustache rumbling. My Audio Technica 3035 did yeoman's work for a couple of years and for less than $200 it's a great starter mic. There's no mystery here. You want a mic that picks up everything. The cleaner the sound in, the more you can do with it in processing.

You're doing a great deal of routing just to do the phone patch. My philosophy is KISS! Keep it simple! (I'll leave the last "s" off.) Here is something so simple you'll slap yourself in the head and say "Of Course!" SKYPE!

When I was introduced to SKYPE over a year ago, it was a growing company. Within a few months of my signing on, several million others did as well. For those of you who have been on Mars, SKYPE is a fantastic VOIP program. It solved the ISDN and phone patch conundrum ... For FREE! Really! You call their computer or they call yours. All you do is set up your digital interface as your sound source for SKYPE. Your mic becomes a high-end phone. You listen to the producer on headphones. What amazed me, was that because the digital interface "keys off" off the monitor (To avoid feedback) and the call from the other end is routed around the "input" bus to avoid feedback (Or something like that) you hear them, but what they say is not recorded on your computer! Problem solved!

My clients were thrilled when I introduced them to this! I saved them thousands by me not having to be in Phoenix, Seattle or Tel Aviv, and by utilizing SKYPE'S free computer-to-computer VOIP. Free to another computer anywhere in the world, what they don't spend on studio communication, they spend on you. Beat that! It's the end of ISDN. Plus, there are some programs coming down the pike that will rival ISDN quality. That which has made the online voice industry, continues to get better.

Monitors.. good studio monitors are essential. I got two KRK ROKIT 5 studio monitors and laid out almost $300 US for them. ($149 US each) It's worth every penny! Again, you want to have your mic pick up everything in your voice, and the monitor will deliver the exact same thing back. They aren't loudspeakers for your home stereo. Any professional grade studio monitors will suffice. Although, I have noticed that the old pair of Radio Shack Optimus bookshelf speakers that I bought at a garage sale sound pretty good when played through my old analog Techniques dorm room amp. I've got those hooked up to my PC. (I use a Mac) Great sound sounds good on anything.

Everybody is different. Brand name monitors have loyal followings, but it has to do more with how your ears work. What sounds good to you, is what's best for you. Having a name brand on your studio monitors means nothing to your clients if they aren't in your studio. It's so much better having them on the other end of the phone instead of seeing the mess in your own "Black Hole of Calcutta." If they say it sounds good to them, who cares?

Thanks Paul, that will cost you two vegemite sandwiches!

About The Author

Buffalo, NY native Dan Lenard has been a radio personality, an insurance sales consultant, a high school Media and Social Studies teacher and a stay-at-home dad. He earned his BA in Broadcasting from Buffalo State College in 1980, a New York State teaching certificate from Buff State in 1997 and then in 2002, an MA in Creative Studies from again, his hometown Alma Mater.