(Part 2) Best products from r/VoiceActing

Whisper rooms are typically something that actors work up to (due to its high cost) or when soundproofing (and not sound treatment) is your only option.

You've mentioned a few things:

(1) First is that you’re renting a studio apartment.

(2) Second is that you haven’t done much voiceover work yet.

The issue is that Whisper rooms can easily run up to $3500. They typically have poor resale value and due to shipping costs, you are very limited in who you can sell it to. You can only sell it to anyone who's around you. So that's something to consider. That money would be better served in other areas that could help you accelerate your career ie, a better microphone, audio interface, a demo reel, a website, workshops and training, etc.

The problem is that even if you manage to set up the Whisper Room (it's a huge hassle btw), you then run the problem of later having to sell it when you inevitably decide to move somewhere else or to carry it with you, which can be a huge hassle.

Another issue is ROI (Return on investment).

As mentioned, you really only should be considering a Whisper Room if you feel the ROI is justified. If you're paying $3500 and you aren't making that money to even break-even it's not good ROI. Typically you want to work up to it. As in, when you are at a point where income is steady and you are making enough money in voiceover, you can then make adjustments to consider purchasing a Whisper room.

For now, I think the best route might be to just bear without AC during recordings. A PVC booth would work great. Also if your closet is a walk-in closet, it can be made to have great sound if you add the right acoustic treatment. Non-walk-in closets are hardly as effective as they tend to sound boxy but if you’ve got a walk-in closet, it’s fantastic for sound.

If the heat is unbearable, there are two alternatives.

The first is to turn on your air conditioning to cool the area. Then turn it off and then to record. If that isn’t an option, get RX7 Elements.

RX7 Elements $29.99 (It's rarely discounted this low so I'd definitely consider taking it)

RX7 Elements is one of the best audio editors out there and it’ll help a lot with the fan noise.

https://store.izotope.com/store?Action=DisplayPage&Env=BASE&Locale=en_US&SiteID=izotope&id=ThreePgCheckoutShoppingCartPage

Another option is to consider a super quiet fan. This fan was actually recommended by six voice actors and it works absolute wonders in the “Silent Night” mode.

The fan is called the Rowenta VU2660 Turbo Silence Extreme

https://www.amazon.com/Rowenta-Silence-Extreme-Electronic-control/dp/B06WD44Z47

Buy it on Amazon and see if it works for you. If you don't like it, just return it. But I guarantee you that you'll be amazed at how effective it is. (I don't work for Rowenta. I just think it's a f-ing awesome fan)

I’ve probably tinkered with about 25 different fans and I found that this was very effective in helping me stay cool but adding minimal noise in my recordings.

Hope that helps!

Continuing the answer, /u/talbayne:

As mentioned above, XLR is a way to get super clear sound - more than USB.
The reason for this, is because the hardware converting the analog (actual) sound waves to digital input, called Analog-to-Digital-Convert (ADC), is better in a preamp, than inside the a usb-microphone... Or at least they used to be.

The ADC is actually just a small chip - or a part of a small chip - which are inside a regular computer chip. They have a number of input pins to register to register the sound from the actual microphone, as seen on this picture of a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 - the bigger, black chip, reading XMOS upside down.

16 of those small pins come from the first XLR-input, and 16 from the second. This is because it's a 16-bit preamp, which you can also see from this screenshot.

Now - these ADCs used to require quite a certain amount of power, but do no longer. They can now be powered by 5 volts (to convert to 48 volts) - the output of a USB-port. Or... at least some of them can, and quite a few of them do a pretty decent job.

----
Time for examples in the USB-section:

• The Røde NT-USB ($169) review.
  
  I have a friend who uses this, and I have a hard time not hearing it being just as good as my own microphone (longer down the list).
  
  
• Bill Dewees talks about the Apogee MiC 96k ($20).
  
  That man knows his shit - pro dude, who makes 4k a week doing voice over.
  
  
• The Excelvan BM-800 ($25) is in the opposite price range. How can this cheap thing work? Well, like the XLR-microphones it needs what's called phantom power, which is 48 volts - this comes pretty cheap ($20)... or you plug it into your desktop (laptop won't work, I've read).
  
  
• The Blue Snowball Ice ($45) being compared to a few others.
  
  This one is extremely popular with YouTubers - for a good reason.
  
  ----
  
  Well, that's all good and nice, but what about the XLR options?
  
  When you go XLR, you need a preamp, which provides the 48 volts I described before - also known as phantom power.
  
  If you'd asked one year ago I'd say 'get the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2', but that was what I knew worked.
  Today you have two other options (from the same company):
  
  
• Scarlett Solo - $99.
  
  I takes only one input - but you only have one microphone, right? It converts upto 24 bits (where as my own only goes to 16 bit).
  
  
• Scarlett 2i2 (gen 2) - $149.
  
  This takes two inputs, so when you plugin your guitar you get a separate channel for each... It is also 24 bit, where as my gen 1 is only 16 bit.
  
  Are there others? Yes - plenty, but I don't know them.
  
  -----
  
  So microphones with XLR?
  
  
• I have a Røde NT1 (as a kit) for $269.
  
  
• The Blue Yeti Pro ($245) are spoken of as the next step up from its little brother (USB-microphone, mentioned above).
  
  
  Steep price for a starter, right? Well, the sound from it is not too bad, and this is where you need to remember what I wrote in my previous post - Your clients want clear sound. You can get clear sound from the USB-devices as well, but there will still be some quality loss between them. Decide for yourself what you want, and how much you want to spend on it.
  This list can go on forever, but it's getting late right now, so I'll holdt that here.
  
  ----
  
  I talked about sound treatment, yes?
  
  
• /u/sureillrecordthat has a great YouTube channel, where he posted a "booth" to record in (hear the actual recording at about 13:03.
  
  
• If you don't have a walk-in closet, you can do as I already posted and make sure you cover the microphone from reflected sound waves.
  
  
• If that's not an option, put up cheap panels to absorb the sound waves. They work SO DAMN WELL.
  
  Best of luck with your adventure :)

Personally, I think the MXL V67G is a good mic choice for beginners. It has a warm tone that's pretty forgiving for a lot of voice types, it takes EQ decently, and it's only ~$65. It has a good bass response, which many cheaper mics lack, and the upper frequencies are fairly smooth.

For the interface, pretty much any full interface will work. I normally recommend the Behringer UM2 for the price (~$40), but as long as you avoid stuff like the Neewer phantom power supply (which isn't an actual interface) you'll be fine. If you have extra money, something like the Audient iD4 (or iD14 if you need two inputs/think you will in the future) or Apogee Duet are good choices. They both have a good amount of clean gain (no hiss from the preamps) and they don't color the sound much, if any.

You will also need a mic stand, XLR cable, pop filter, and headphones. To get all that, it's going to cost about the same as a Blue Yeti (minus the headphones, but you'd need to buy those for the Yeti as well) and will sound far better.

If you have the money though, look around and test mics out before you buy. Every mic is going to sound slightly different, and just because one mic is popular or fits one person well doesn't mean it's the best choice for you. There are plenty of mics under $1000 (even under $500) that are phenomenal, you just need to find the one that suits your voice the best. As for mid-price mics that you may be interested in, there is the Lewitt LTC 440 Pure, Aston Origin, Rode NT1, CAD e100s, and Audio-Technica AT4040. This is just a list to get you started looking, and by no means covers all the good mics, so look around for what you think will suit you. Test out what you can, because you don't want to spend that much money without being sure it will sound right for you.

​

More important than mic selection though, is acoustic treatment. Even the best, most expensive mics are going to sound terrible in an untreated space. You can buy panels or foam squares, but if you're tight on money you can improvise this pretty easily. There are tons of youtube tutorials, so I won't spend too much time on it, but some good materials are blankets (moving blankets, quilts, comforters, basically anything really thick with lots of dead space), cushions, and pillows. If you have a fully stocked walk-in closet, that's even better.

Awesome; then /r/JohannesVerne 's suggestions would be great...and you could upgrade to the umc22 (less self-noise, I'm told).

Also, you'll need better headphones. Your Logitech are probably fine for gaming and pleasure listening, but not mixing VO work. I'm learning that most gaming headphones really boost the bass, and you need headphones with a super flat response for mixing your VO work. Look up a video where they compare a raw VO track with a processed one and listen with your Logitech cans...you probably won't hear much of a difference. Then buy a pair of Sony MDR7506's and listen again. Wow...what a difference! You won't use the Sony's for "pleasure" listening, so keep your Logitech set for that.

A better mic could possibly give you *worse* sound quality, because it'll pick up *everything*. So you'll also need to tighten up your performance and your room if you want a better mic to help you sound better. "With more mic comes more responsibility", or something like that! :-)

All that said, I think it's awesome that you have a budget and a passion, and I say "go for it"!

You have TWO options

1)If you have cheap motherboard and dont have add-on sound card and you dont want to buy any equipment, the BEST one bar-non, praised in every review is Samson Q2U, it has both USB interface [so you dont need to buy anything extra] and XLR port so you can upgrade if you want like buying 50-70USD Mixer or USB Audio Interface or if you have good sound card 10$ XLR to 3.5mm cable and record directly to sound card in 24bit/48hz, you should Yyoutube search its model name and see big YT channels benchmark it and listen to their vocie.

On Amazon USA, its 59.99 for microphone with cable and there is "secret kit" for 62USD with free Samson Studio headphones and anti-wind ball

Mic: https://www.amazon.com/Samson-Handheld-Microphone-Recording-Podcasting/dp/B001R747SG

Bundle for just 3$ more: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FWN32HI

2) If you have good sound card, or you want even better sound for same price then the 20$ Behringer Ultravoice Xm8500 Dynamic Vocal Microphone is the best in this category, its not worst then Samson Q2A it just dont have USB, nor cables bundled so its cheaper, its just the microphone and plastic box, you can also search in YT and listen to reviews.

Then you also buy 40USD BEHRINGER Audio Interface 1x XLR/TRS 1x 1/4" 2X RCA USB, Black 1-Channel UM2, and for 60USD you have the best cheapest combo possible, just dont forget XLR to XLR cable, they go from 6 to10-15USD depends on length, Amazon Basics cables is great option, quality, but you can buy whatever you want, but amont cheap cables Amazons are known quality, no gamble.

So i guess it all comes to 70USD with the cable and youll have semi-pro beginner setup.

In any case, if you going to record on your desk and will do keyboard typing you want some space, you may add 23USD Microphone Boom arm that screws on to the table and has your MIC on it, you can lift it up when you dont use, also microphone "improves" sound quality because you wont have to touch the mic and it wont pass your touching noises or keyboard typing to the mic and it comes with Pop filter bundled.

Personally I was going to buy the first one but decided to buy the second one with XLR to 3.5mm cable since my sound card is good and will allow me 24bit/48hz and even 96hz recording

Also if it wont be good trough my sound card sicne it was so cheap i can always add good USB Audio interface.

Mic: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002KZAKS

Cable: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QMIT1YK

Audio Interface: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EK1OTZC

Microphone arm/Boom with Pop filter: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JHCL3KS



P.S. No matter what, DO NOT BUY ANY MICROPHONE TYPES Except Dynamic! Otherwise you'll be cursing yourself.

Dynamic doesn't need phantom power [its a separate headache that most mics need 48v phantom power] and its the least sensitive type made for Voice, when you talk it will record just you, all others, especially the USB popular Blue brand mics will record your scratching, air conditioner, your cat, your neighbors and mouse farts across the street, they all good to use-in Audio treated room, when people isolate the room for audio or audio booth, in regular peoples room, Dynamic mics is the Best way to go.

This would be a super convenient gift/starting point for him: https://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-Studio-GENERATION-Interface/dp/B00AW91CPG

Not a great mic, and I'm not sure how good the headphones are, but that bundle could get him started recording and experimenting right out of the box. Using Garageband or Audacity as a free DAW to work in, it's definitely a starting point. If he really gets the bug for this kind of stuff, he'll need coaching and better equipment. I feel like this is a pretty good investment for just trying things out and making it as easy as possible to just get audio into the computer.

A blue Yeti is a great starter option for a mic and a pop filter is a very useful accessory. Audacity is a free to use software to record audio. Good luck!

Blue Yeti: https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Yeti-USB-Microphone-Blackout/dp/B00N1YPXW2/ref=sxin_3_ac_d_rm?ac_md=0-0-Ymx1ZSB5ZXRpIHVzYiBtaWNyb3Bob25l-ac_d_rm&crid=3V93A9CUX4N14&keywords=blue+yeti+usb+microphone&pd_rd_i=B00N1YPXW2&pd_rd_r=7a65d986-e3ff-4fb4-b76b-7f9fe8463dbe&pd_rd_w=qzsPm&pd_rd_wg=i1zfq&pf_rd_p=2938a786-9bec-4d37-8c06-456e3edce5d1&pf_rd_r=N63B7D96XAYF82KBHTQT&psc=1&qid=1569836992&sprefix=Blue+Yeti%2Caps%2C364

Audacity: https://www.audacityteam.org/

Like the other comments say, I'm still in the "not liking my own voice phase" i like to think i have a good voice but I still never like what i record. But other than that, I highly recommend getting a decent mic. Aim for XLR, if you can, over USB microphones. They are a bit more expensive but totally worth it for quality. the NW-700 is a really good beginner Microphone. As of now its only $27 which is awesomely cheap for an XLR, although you will have to buy a phantom power, little box that powers the microphone since the computer itself cant generate it, but thats only an extra $17. And a small adapter to actually go into your PC. This is by no means professional but any XLR is better than a USB microphone, in my opinion.

Microphone: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XOXRTX6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Phantom Power: https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-1-Channel-Microphone-Condenser-Recording/dp/B014H8AWGC/ref=pd_bxgy_267_img_2/132-8551522-3088534?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B014H8AWGC&pd_rd_r=ee89c156-a0db-4f07-b5fd-08246cdd8db3&pd_rd_w=oJwwl&pd_rd_wg=2W4Tj&pf_rd_p=a2006322-0bc0-4db9-a08e-d168c18ce6f0&pf_rd_r=GZSZ5G9AGGFHYCWXQWJM&psc=1&refRID=GZSZ5G9AGGFHYCWXQWJM

​

Adapter: https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-External-Adapter-Windows-AU-MMSA/dp/B00IRVQ0F8/ref=pd_bxgy_267_img_3/132-8551522-3088534?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00IRVQ0F8&pd_rd_r=ee89c156-a0db-4f07-b5fd-08246cdd8db3&pd_rd_w=oJwwl&pd_rd_wg=2W4Tj&pf_rd_p=a2006322-0bc0-4db9-a08e-d168c18ce6f0&pf_rd_r=GZSZ5G9AGGFHYCWXQWJM&psc=1&refRID=GZSZ5G9AGGFHYCWXQWJM

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I myself am no professional but have been into this for a while and had this very microphone for like 2 years. I've since upgraded to an AT-2020

Maybe an Audio Technica 2020.

Edit: Here's a list of Amazon Links for mics that should do fine for under $100. Mind you, these aren't going to be as good as more expensive mics.

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT2020-Cardioid-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B0006H92QK/ref=sr_1_2?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1397680493&sr=1-2&keywords=audio+technica+at2020

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CZ0RLK/ref=s9_simh_gw_p267_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1HB6SGG69DC63CE0W94T&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

http://www.amazon.com/CAD-U37-Condenser-Recording-Microphone/dp/B001AIQGUO/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1397680546&sr=1-1&keywords=cad+u37

(This next one has a used one for under a hundred. Just over a hundred for new.)

http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Microphones-Yeti-USB-Microphone/dp/B008F4USMS/ref=sr_du_2_map?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1397680579&sr=1-2

Edit 2:

If you want something pretty good even cheaper, this one will actually do you fine. You might notice a difference, but you also might not. It should be perfectly adequate if you don't intend to do anything more than amateur work.

http://www.amazon.com/GLS-Audio-Vocal-Microphone-ES-58-S/dp/B000RKVH0K/ref=pd_cp_MI_0

I'm using a Behringer C-1 mic with a pop filter, works like a charm and it's not too sensitive. I have a basic phantom power setup for it, and pipe the output into an M-Audio FastTrack USB unit.

I'd been using my ijebus to record for a bit, which sounded like crap (unsurprisingly), and a VoIP headset, but decided to upgrade so I didn't feel like I was putting crap-sounding audio out there and limiting myself. Plus, with this mic, I can pretty readily record myself playing my instruments, which I couldn't do (with quality) with any other solution.

You're probably looking at ~$200USD to get a similar setup as this, or a touch more, but you can get by with the Blue Microphones Snowball USB Mic, which (I believe) is used by some other folks in that sub.

Hope this helps!

The quality of your PC is more important for editing work than it is for actually taking input from a microphone. Any computer nowadays can do the task of recording input from an audio device.

That said, the quality of the microphone does impact the quality of the information that the computer receives to record.

The Newwer 700 appears to have an XLR output. This kind of connector is not typically compatible with consumer computers; the only computers I've ever seen with the ability to connect to an XLR cable with no converter were made explicitly for stage work.

Microphone output is analog data. As such, you will need an audio interface (Scarlett is a common manufacturer of these, but far from the only one) to convert the analog output of the microphone to a digital signal that your computer is equipped to work with.

Take the advice of others here. Don't buy a Yeti microphone. You already bought a microphone, and you can make it work with the money you would spend on the Yeti.

Finally, consider your recording environment beyond the microphone in your calculations. I have a setup at home, but it is generally not ideal for actual professional work as my apartment is located on a major roadway. I do most of my work out of a local recording studio which has real sound booths. If the background noise in your space is above a certain level, or you have too much of an issue with echo, you will need to find a solution (which may cost you some more money). You could have the nicest voice in the world, but your work will be unusable if the recordings aren't clean.

All that said, you have the information you need to build a setup that will enable you to learn about how to record, even if it isn't quite suitable for recording at the present time. Get familiar with your audio editing program of choice; if you do audiobooks, you will be spending a lot of time using it, more time than you actually spend on the recording step. Start making some of your own recordings; listen for potential problems with your speech that you don't notice when you're speaking. Find an author whose work you enjoy reading (quietly) and start reading their work aloud. Test your vocal endurance; your recording sessions, if you "make it", will be several hours long.

Don't forget to have fun with it.

Based on what you mentioned as your budget, I'd recommend purchasing a USB type of condenser microphone. Unfortunately, anything under $40 isn't going to sound too nice when recording. Your best bet is to up the $40 to $50-ish and get a Blue Snowball.

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Snowball-iCE-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B014PYGTUQ/ref=sr_1_21?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1519757795&sr=1-21&keywords=condenser+mic

It's a nice mic and it'll do you justice over any other mic in the price range. As for headphones, I'd buy these: https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-201-Lightweight-Headphones/dp/B0007XJSQC/ref=sr_1_12?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1519758135&sr=1-12&keywords=studio+headphones

For what it's worth, none of these booths are 100% sound PROOF.

Whisper Room was at VO Atlanta last year and had one of their 4 x 6 booths set up in the vendor room. With the door closed, I could still very clearly hear everyone outside the room. Yes, the sound was reduced dramatically, but I could still hear it clearly.

Short of building an anechoic chamber, You are NEVER going to have a room completely isolated from the outside world. You have to come up with a level of noise you can or cant afford to be acceptable with.

Unless you are doing audiobooks with a lot of long empty silences between paragraphs or lines of dialog, you are probably not going to need a whisper room.

There are two different things to consider: outside sound and inside sound.

The biggest problem with voiceover audio is inside sounds. The sounds created inside the room and bounce around the hard walls, ceilings and floors. This is the easiest thing to deal with and there are a number of things that you can use to absorb these reflections and reduce the echo. Things like acoustic foam or OC703 panels.

If the room is already acoustically treated, you could probably buy pre-built panels if you are just trying to remove some troublesome reflections. And if you want a specific room to work in, you might want to try a loose-walled curtain style booth like what Vocal Booth 2 Go has.

As for outside sound...if you live on a busy street, there's not much you can do about it. You could spend tens of thousands of dollars to completely acoustically treat your environment and youll still hear the Subaru with the coffee can-sized muffler when it drives by.

I read this and it was super helpful. I bough the paperback but they also have e- and audio versions. Good luck!

https://www.amazon.com/Voice-Over-Startup-Guide-Acting/dp/0982886365/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=voice+over+startup+guide&qid=1574020605&sr=8-1

That's what I tried and it still wasn't dense enough. Acoustic foam isn't all that hard to find, music, sound, and home improvement places are good places to check for it.

Here's an example of what you need. I'm not endorsing this stuff specifically, just giving an example of the type of foam you need. There are plenty of places to find stuff like this cheap enough to work for you but if you just try to go with mattress pads my experience says it won't work.

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-C-1-BEHRINGER/dp/B000CZ0RLK/ is the mic I started out with and it still holds up to this day whenever I use it. You can easily get that, a phantom power supply, a stand, a pop guard, and any miscellaneous cables for under $150.