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#1
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Recording Voice - What equipment do we need?
Hi all,
Need some advice on this. We do a lot of voice recording for scripts of e-training modules developed in flash. We have been outsourcing the sound recording, and currently are paying a lot of money to have each of these scripts recorded. I think that due to the amount of recording we have had to do recently, we would be better off getting our own equipment. Question. What do I need? We DO NOT have a sound proof room, but we do have a very quiet room. I need to know if there is a special type of mic that I need, do I need a mixer for this? Pretty much what is the best quality solution to get it from our speaker into my computer with minimal sound loss and little background noise? (Please suggest at least a microphone, note that the only current equipment I have is a number of extremely high end developer computers (dual xeon 2.8). I am assuming I will need to purchase sound forge also) Your response is very much appreciated! John (if you have a detailed message you want to send to me, you may email me at . Thanks!) |
#2
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Recording Voice - What equipment do we need?
Hey John,
Go get yourself an RE20 microphone. Then stick it up your ass for taking work away from studios ASSHOLE! Obviously, you no nothing about audio, or the complexities of recording. Your product will sound like ****. Oh well that's what you get. Don't expect any help here. If you had half a clue, you would realize that the studio who normally does you audio for you, 9 times out of 10 will most likely be very familiar with this newsgroup. See ya ****wad! Sound Fella |
#3
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Recording Voice - What equipment do we need?
"Sound Fella" wrote in message
news Hey John, Go get yourself an RE20 microphone. Yes. I've never gotten a "bad" recording with a RE20. Then stick it up your ass The RE20 is WAY too big for this. If you must go this route, try a Behringer ECM8000. for taking work away from studios ASSHOLE! Obviously, you no nothing about audio, or the complexities of recording. Your product will sound like ****. Oh well that's what you get. Don't expect any help here. If you had half a clue, you would realize that the studio who normally does you audio for you, 9 times out of 10 will most likely be very familiar with this newsgroup. This is ridiculous. People here will help you. Don't leave. |
#4
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Recording Voice - What equipment do we need?
John wrote:
Need some advice on this. We do a lot of voice recording for scripts of e-training modules developed in flash. We have been outsourcing the sound recording, and currently are paying a lot of money to have each of these scripts recorded. I think that due to the amount of recording we have had to do recently, we would be better off getting our own equipment. What about talent? Is the studio providing that or does one of your people read the scripts? Question. What do I need? We DO NOT have a sound proof room, but we do have a very quiet room. I need to know if there is a special type of mic that I need, do I need a mixer for this? Pretty much what is the best quality solution to get it from our speaker into my computer with minimal sound loss and little background noise? Assuming you have the talent taken care of (and please, please don't underestimate this as it's far more impratant than the equipment) here are some starting suggestions: A decent microphone which compliments the talent's voice. EV RE20 is a safe choice, rarely if ever bad but maybe not a magical as others for a particular voice http://www.bswusa.com/prod_item.asp?item=RE20 A holder or stand and shockmount for said microphone. http://www.bswusa.com/prod_item.asp?item=SILENTBOOM A preamp for the microphone. http://www.fmraudio.com/rnp/ http://www.mercenary.com/fmrrnmp.html A professional soundcard. http://www.lynxstudio.com/lynxl22.html http://www.rme-audio.com/english/hdsp/hdsp9632.htm http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/MiaMIDI/ Software such as Sound Forge, Samplitude, or Wavelab Lots of time to practice learning how to use all this... |
#5
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Recording Voice - What equipment do we need?
Need some advice on this. We do a lot of voice recording for scripts
of e-training modules developed in flash. We have been outsourcing the sound recording, and currently are paying a lot of money to have each of these scripts recorded. Are they what you want? Are the narrators good? If the answer is yes, then you are getting what you paid for. I think that due to the amount of recording we have had to do recently, we would be better off getting our own equipment. If you are use FedEx a lot, do you think you'd be better off buying your own jet and a fleet of trucks? Question. What do I need? We DO NOT have a sound proof room, but we do have a very quiet room. I need to know if there is a special type of mic that I need, do I need a mixer for this? Pretty much what is the best quality solution to get it from our speaker into my computer with minimal sound loss and little background noise? (Please suggest at least a microphone, note that the only current equipment I have is a number of extremely high end developer computers (dual xeon 2.8). I am assuming I will need to purchase sound forge also) Are you going to record professional announcers or will have the receptionist read scripts during her lunch? The answer sort of depends on how much quality you are putting into your product. -- Chris White, Freelance Advertising Writer & Voice Overs* Email: Web: www.chriswhite.com Phone: 757-621-1348 *Your opinion may vary |
#6
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Recording Voice - What equipment do we need?
And in addition to what the others say, I'd advise that having a good room is
very important if you want professional results in recording voice-overs. I've had to listen to badly-recorded training films and CD-ROMs before, and those can be very painful to deal with when there's any irritating background noise going on, no matter how minor it may seem to be. At the least, you'll need to move all computers and fans out of the room, and damp out any bad reflections. Also, don't overlook the necessity of editing the voiceover track to eliminate "mouth noise" (lip smacks, clicks, etc.), and also to improve the read by cutting out flubs, stutters, excessive pauses, loud breaths, and so on. There's an art to doing this well, and it may not be something you'll really want to spend time and effort accomplishing. And the cost of the equipment is actually easier to deal with than the skill with which to use it. --MFW |
#7
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Recording Voice - What equipment do we need?
Hi John
Based on what you describe here, you have quite a few options. I believe the ultimate choice of equipment - aside from budget considerations, of course - will come down to simplicity and ease of use, as you didn't mention whether the person operating the workstation (you?) has any experience or background in audio. I would think an ElectroVoice RE20 microphone (don't forget the pop filter and possibly a shock mount) into an audio interface with a decent mic pre-amp would fit the bill, and then you could choose your flavour of software to edit the material and burn CDs. Adobe's Audition seems to be popular, but Sound Forge is an equally valid choice, as are many others (ProTools, Nuendo, Cubase...). Unless you're doing many voices at the same time, a mixer isn't really neccesary. The recording department of any respectable music retailer should be able to set you up with a minimum of effort (as will your local audio dealer), as well as being able to provide support if and/or when you might need it. Good luck! -kooz (John) wrote in message . com... Hi all, Need some advice on this. We do a lot of voice recording for scripts of e-training modules developed in flash. We have been outsourcing the sound recording, and currently are paying a lot of money to have each of these scripts recorded. I think that due to the amount of recording we have had to do recently, we would be better off getting our own equipment. Question. What do I need? We DO NOT have a sound proof room, but we do have a very quiet room. I need to know if there is a special type of mic that I need, do I need a mixer for this? Pretty much what is the best quality solution to get it from our speaker into my computer with minimal sound loss and little background noise? (Please suggest at least a microphone, note that the only current equipment I have is a number of extremely high end developer computers (dual xeon 2.8). I am assuming I will need to purchase sound forge also) Your response is very much appreciated! John (if you have a detailed message you want to send to me, you may email me at . Thanks!) |
#8
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Recording Voice - What equipment do we need?
For all of those who took my post seriously, thanks a lot for the
advice. For those who came in to post a pitch for "taking away business from recording studios," please, we have our OWN recording studio. This is a multibillion dollar company, its an internal recording organization within our company, so you dont have to worry about me taking away business from all the small little recording studios trying to make some money out there. were taking business away from our own business, so calm down. As far as the "talent," yes, we provide the people who do the voice overs. these people are professional speakers, so no worries there. All I needed was the tools to make the recordings, and we are well on our way, so no further responses are necessary. Thanks again to those who gave important advice. |
#9
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Recording Voice - What equipment do we need?
John wrote
For those who came in to post a pitch for "taking away business from recording studios," please, we have our OWN recording studio. This is a multibillion dollar company, its an internal recording organization within our company, so you dont have to worry about me taking away business from all the small little recording studios trying to make some money out there. were taking business away from our own business, so calm down. I don't get it with sutch a large company how is it you can't record a voice? |
#11
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Recording Voice - What equipment do we need?
"Ian" wrote ...
Perhaps it's a. easier to spend capital once than opex multiple times b. shows a financial saving over a period, so easy to justify c. gives John a chance to do something more interesting rather than "outsourcing" internally? You're 3 for 3 in my experience! |
#12
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Recording Voice - What equipment do we need?
"Richard Crowley" wrote in message
... "Ian" wrote ... Perhaps it's a. easier to spend capital once than opex multiple times b. shows a financial saving over a period, so easy to justify c. gives John a chance to do something more interesting rather than "outsourcing" internally? You're 3 for 3 in my experience! I agree. Plus, it is a testament to how audio is perceived by those creating interactive and internet based training. It is communication, plain and simple. The files are typically 16 bit, 22 Khz. If there is a little noise, it is lost in the cacophony of the multiple computer environment that is typical of the work spaces of these creative groups. There is no "finding just the right mic for the voice". There is simply "the mic". Corporate and internet producers seem, to me, not as caught up in the "if it doesn't cost a fortune it can't be good" syndrome. Also, computer people are quick to realize that the tools we use are relatively inexpensive and easy enough to learn to gain a satisfactory final result for their purposes. Steve King |
#13
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Recording Voice - What equipment do we need?
"Sound Fella" wrote in message news Hey John, Go get yourself an RE20 microphone. Then stick it up your ass for taking work away from studios ASSHOLE! Obviously, you no nothing about audio, or the complexities of recording. Your product will sound like ****. Oh well that's what you get. Don't expect any help here. If you had half a clue, you would realize that the studio who normally does you audio for you, 9 times out of 10 will most likely be very familiar with this newsgroup. See ya ****wad! I can see why they want to do it in-house. Must be a real pain in the butt dealing with people who have this kind of attitude :-) Cheers, Randy Hyde |
#14
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Recording Voice - What equipment do we need?
"Ian" wrote ...
Perhaps it's a. easier to spend capital once than opex multiple times b. shows a financial saving over a period, so easy to justify c. gives John a chance to do something more interesting rather than "outsourcing" internally? OK my bad, I would like to rephrase my question. I'd think that a multibillion dollar recording outfit would have one person on its staff that has lots of education and or experience in recording some kind of voice over or narration. I ment no harm in asking but I just didn't understand why the poster didn't know how to do it or what gear to buy. I'd start out with a great speaker (some one whos done this before), know what the subject (lines and setting) is. For instance if I'm recording a plug for womans perfume I may want to use a woman with a sexy voice, if I'm recording a plug for a mud slinging SUV I may want a gruff sounding lumberjack. These things may come into play when I'm picking my mics and mic pres, it will very likely matter when I'm mixing and doing processing. Again the room may come into play with it to, but I think that a medium (not all dead but not all live) dead room works good with regular voice recording. Good dynamic mic (as most of the guys have stated) is fine but maybe I want a soft sound for that sexy womans perfume deal, in comes a cool LDC and a nice tube mic pre. I like my AT 4048sv for a softer sounding mic, I've not yet used it with my DBX Mini Pre but it works well with the Aphex 107. The only dynamic mic I own is a SM57 (maybe soon I can afford a few 421's) so thats all I've used on the three spoken work projects I've done. |
#15
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Recording Voice - What equipment do we need?
"Raymond" wrote in message
... "Ian" wrote ... Perhaps it's a. easier to spend capital once than opex multiple times b. shows a financial saving over a period, so easy to justify c. gives John a chance to do something more interesting rather than "outsourcing" internally? OK my bad, I would like to rephrase my question. I'd think that a multibillion dollar recording outfit would have one person on its staff that has lots of education and or experience in recording some kind of voice over or narration. I ment no harm in asking but I just didn't understand why the poster didn't know how to do it or what gear to buy. I'd start out with a great speaker (some one who's done this before), know what the subject (lines and setting) is. For instance if I'm recording a plug for woman's perfume I may want to use a woman with a sexy voice, if I'm recording a plug for a mud slinging SUV I may want a gruff sounding lumberjack. These things may come into play when I'm picking my mics and mic pres, it will very likely matter when I'm mixing and doing processing. Again the room may come into play with it to, but I think that a medium (not all dead but not all live) dead room works good with regular voice recording. Good dynamic mic (as most of the guys have stated) is fine but maybe I want a soft sound for that sexy woman's perfume deal, in comes a cool LDC and a nice tube mic pre. I like my AT 4048sv for a softer sounding mic, I've not yet used it with my DBX Mini Pre but it works well with the Aphex 107. The only dynamic mic I own is a SM57 (maybe soon I can afford a few 421's) so that's all I've used on the three spoken work projects I've done. I'd sure be interested in the OP's comments on this. I'd bet that the requirement is for voice recording for internet based training. As I said in an earlier post, most set-ups for that use a Whisper room tucked in the corner of the office, where the programming is done. There is one mic, which fits all. There is no processing required or done. This is far simpler a task than you seem to be imagining. Steve King |
#16
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Recording Voice - What equipment do we need?
Nobody has talked about compression. I think a sound compressor is
very important if you want to amplify the final result and dont want it to clip or distort. Ignacio Simon |
#18
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Recording Voice - What equipment do we need?
Ignacio Simon wrote:
Nobody has talked about compression. I think a sound compressor is very important if you want to amplify the final result and dont want it to clip or distort. Maybe, but that can always be added later if you get a clean capture. If you record with a compressor in the signal chain, just try to remove the compression or change the settings if you don't like your results ; |
#19
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Recording Voice - What equipment do we need?
(John) wrote in message . com...
Hi all, Need some advice on this. We do a lot of voice recording for scripts of e-training modules developed in flash. We have been outsourcing the sound recording, and currently are paying a lot of money to have each of these scripts recorded. I think that due to the amount of recording we have had to do recently, we would be better off getting our own equipment. Question. What do I need? We DO NOT have a sound proof room, but we do have a very quiet room. I need to know if there is a special type of mic that I need, do I need a mixer for this? Pretty much what is the best quality solution to get it from our speaker into my computer with minimal sound loss and little background noise? (Please suggest at least a microphone, note that the only current equipment I have is a number of extremely high end developer computers (dual xeon 2.8). I am assuming I will need to purchase sound forge also) Your response is very much appreciated! John (if you have a detailed message you want to send to me, you may email me at . Thanks!) Hi John - I'm doing similar things at the multibillion dollar company I work for. Sorry you had to endure some abuse, a few of the studio operators just don't get it when it comes to how internal profit centers work, but then it's simply not part of their environment so you can't really blame them. They're right in claiming to be able to do a quality job for you, but as you've already figured out, by the time it gets encoded for the net, much if not most of that quality is lost. So IMO, given a decent talent (which you say you have), editing capability becomes the most important thing. If your voice overs are going against screen captures (i.e. you don't need to synch it up with a face and lips), you might just go get a free copy of Audigy, which is a wave editor along the lines of Sonic Foundry Sound Forge, and call it a day. It has good editing capability for what you're using it for, though it would likely not satisfy a music studio operator. If you need to synch it up with true video (i.e. a face with moving lips), you probably want to look for a true video editing program that has good sound support. Sonic Foundry Vegas (well actually Sony Digital Vegas these days) is a decent choice, very powerful and fairly easy to learn. Others have made hardware recommendations, and they look pretty solid to me. The RE20, the FMR brand preamp called the RNP, these are very good recommendations they've made. You won't find yourself needing to do it again later going these routes... |
#20
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Recording Voice - What equipment do we need?
If your voice overs are going against screen captures (i.e. you don't
need to synch it up with a face and lips), you might just go get a free copy of Audigy, which is a wave editor along the lines of Sonic Foundry Sound Forge, and call it a day. Uh... Make that "Audacity", not "Audigy"... Sorry about that, I was on the phone while I was posting... |
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