Master VO

Oh USB, Oh USB...A Microphone For You And Me! or... Which mic should I get for my first home recording studio?

Hey Master VO,

Happy Holidays,
Thadd Coates

And Happy Holidays to you Thadd!

My thoughts on USB Mics and starter mics in general.

How a microphone "looks" has nothing to do with how well it converts your voice into a clean electrical signal. I was always thrilled to key up that big RCA ribbon mic on my first radio job. (The classic one that looks like a Contact capsule) It made me sound ten feet tall!

When starting out, do some research on studio condenser microphones. Those are what are truly required for professional voice over work. Each manufacturer makes a model that is a good starter mic. Even a $100 Audio Technica condenser is better than that dynamic mic you get with a Karaoke machine. (With the American Idol logo on it)

USB mics... I bought one last summer. $79 for a Samson C01U. I've used it once while on the road in a far off land to record a radio commentary. I was impressed with the quality I got, and you can hear for yourself:

Audio commentary recorded using a Samson C01U.

To me that is what a USB studio mic is for; portability, and I suppose convenience. Now for a beginner, thats a whole nother ball o' wax. If you're just starting out, one of these new breed of USB studio mics makes sense, depending on what recording program you are using. They come with software mixers so you can control the input levels. This eliminates a great deal of what we call "The Audio Chain," the mic, mic Pre-amp, mixer, and a digital interface like an M-Audio Mobile Pre-USB or a Presonus "Firebox," to name a few.

With digital recording these days, its pretty hard to sound "cheap." Basic electronics make everything sound better than yesteryear, merely by being digital.

So, as a starter mic, I guess a USB unit isn't such a bad idea. It will get you used to using a input mixer which will allow you to attenuate your microphone, or adjust its sensitivity and equalization to your voice and studio. When you invest in higher-end equipment later on after you book that first $2000 job, you'll understand the concepts of how to set your mic up.

Which model of USB mic should you choose?

I'm sure purists will hang me but I think that with the control one now has over the dynamics of a recorded track (Eq, compression, band compression, Noise gates etc.) you can make the most basic of condenser mics sound very good. It takes practice and there are other factors involved such as the acustic set up of your new sound playroom.
Thats a topic for another question.

Don't buy a pig in poke. Ask your mic dealer at Guitar Center, electronics store or online catalog customer service person what the ratings of each mic are. Internet research is always a smart idea too. Obviously there are going to be a bunch more coming out from the other major manufactures in 2007. With people going nutso with podcasting, Shure, Electrovoice, Audio Technica and the others will have a USB product to compete with Samson, MXL and Blue. There was an issue discussed last week on this blog regarding Blue's USB "Snowball" mic, A Snowballs Chance.

Thank you for asking me to elucidate on this subject as I think it will be a factor for many beginners like you.

((((GONG))))

Master VO out.

Jaws and Audacity - can they get along?

Dear Master VO

Ame

Ame,

Great to hear from you. I'd love to hear your music.

That's an Interesting question. I was not familiar with JAWS. A couple keystrokes and I learned that JAWS is a computer screen reader for the visually impaired.

From my research it seems that the Audacity and JAWS are quite compatible.

Check this article:

http://www.podtopia.net/aud_history.shtml

The bottom line? The answer to everything is at your fingertips...

Master VO, out...

(((GONG)))

Do snowball mics work with Audacity?

Oh Master VO,

Thanks Ed

Ed,

You are not alone. Apparently lots of folks have experienced this. Two suggestions:

1. Stop using Audacity. If it’s causing more trouble than it’s worth, why keep whapping yourself in the head with that Snowball mic? It's cool, but it is no substitute for an audio chain. It is a nice alternative if you are on the road. However, its kind of bulky. The Samson CO1U USB mic is smaller and my experience with it has been seamless.

2. David Carradine in the Talking Yellow Pages commercial says it best. Just type in what you desire!

Seek and ye shall find:

http://audacityteam.org/forum/thread/2683

http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/audio/topic3294.html#oct24

In other words:

To fix the problem of the Blue Snowball not working with audacity on Windows, download the firmware update from the bluemic.com Web site.

(((GONG)))

Looking for step by step audio editing tutorials?

Dear Master VO,

Reese Westfall (aspiring to be a great voice-over artist!)

Welcome Grasshopper Reese,

As the Chinese proverb goes, “Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

What you lack in basic knowledge, you are making up for in determination. Good start!

When I taught high school social studies, a student once came up to my desk during a study hall and asked; “How do I find information on the Internet for a report I’m doing about “medieval religious icons?”

I paused for a second and asked: Have you tried typing in “medieval religious icons” into a search engine? He had a dumbfounded look on his face (as my students usually did).

So I took him over to one of the many PC’s our school district had generously placed in my classroom, and typed the magic words into Google. This was in 1999 or so. A bunch of hits came up with the very information he had sought. His dumbfounded look turned to one of glee.

The moral of the story?

Search engines are the card catalogs of the 21st century. Ask exactly for what you want. My 10 second search for “Audio Editing Tutorials” came up with two excellent sites that graphically take you through the process.

http://www.blazeaudio.com/howto/edit-introduction.html
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/tutorials.html

Audio editing is as much a skill as it is an art. Modern software makes it a breeze. Once you learn the basic skills, such as using waveforms and timelines, you can play to your hearts content. Your only limit is your imagination.

As to your second question; that’s a little more tricky. Sound effects require “multi-tracking.” That is, using multiple waveforms in separate “tracks” laid over each other. Audacity is a very basic, multi-track, audio recording and editing software. Even better, it’s free! In a nutshell, you insert your sound effect file in a new track on the track timeline where it is supposed to synchronize with your voice. You do the same with your music track. You can then adjust the volume of each track to get the level “mix” you wish. If you’ve ever worked with any video editing software, it’s the exact same thing. Cut and paste, split and adding effects.

Recording and editing does require some “hands-on” experience. I recommend you find a local recording studio that offers multi-track recording classes. That will be more than worth your time and money and may lead you into something else that you didn’t think about.

As for downloading SFX. (Sound effects) Downloading SFX for commercial use is a murky area. For demo’s, it’s no problem. But if you are doing commercial work, I recommend you buy a CD of sound effects online or at an electronics store. Or, try recording your own SFX! Its called “Foley.” It’s what they do in Hollywood. (A real fun exhibit at Universal Studios in LA and in Orlando by the way!) I once needed a sound effect of Niagara Falls for a commercial. I went down the street from the radio station I was working at, to a modest waterfall on a local creek. I recorded the sound on a tape recorder, took it back to the studio, multi-tracked that sound over itself about 5 times, pumped up the volume and I had my roaring cataract!

It’s great to aspire to something you love to do. Pursue your passion with a lust for knowledge. The way you’ll learn is by doing. Try the demos of all the major multi-track programs like ACID, Audacity, Pro-Tools and even my favorite, Mac’s Garage Band! Find out what feels best to you and your style or is easiest to learn.

Go forth and manipulate audio!

((((GONG))))

Master VO