VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[jlatenight]

Hi all, I'm brand new here, and brand new to VO and brand new to any kind of acting in general. Complete and utter newbie. I KNOW I have what it takes to find some kind of niche in this industry, but I have a TON of learning to do. I'm reading Elaine Clark's book, and I want to setup a make-shift studio to practice and start working on some demos.

I have a nice little mixing board that has phantom power http://www.behringer.com/UB1202/index.cfm?lang=ENG and I just bought a used Audio-Technica AT3035 mic. My plan is to connect the mixing board to my pc via my pc's line-in jack. Is that what others do? I know it's not a pro setup, just something I can practice with. Will it work?

[Rob Ellis]

I think you will probably need some sort of interface between your mixer and computer, unless this mixer has a USB or Firewire connector.

If that is the case, there are some reasonably priced interfaces out there.
Like MOTU or Digi 002, etc.

[Chuck Davis]

Your sound card could work...Rob's suggestion of an interface would be better.

What are you planning to use to record and edit with? Do you already have software?
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Wicked huge.....in India.
www.chuckdaviscreative.com

[jlatenight]

First off, thanks to both of you for replying. It must get annoying having to answer newbie dumb questions. I work in the computer field and I've been making people laugh with my noises and impersonations all my life, but never had the guts to develop this ability. I'm 33 and bored with my job, so I figure it's now or never! maybe already too late, but I have to at least try.

As for software, I guess I was thinking Audacity b/c it's free. I think I have an older copy of Sony Sound Forge somewhere. Do people use that? Once concern is my computer's right next to my desk where the mic will be, so I would think it'll pick up the fan noise, right?

[Chuck Davis]

LOL. No prob answering questions! Done plenty of asking myself!

Audacity is pretty popular around here. If I was building a basic set-up on a budget I'd go that way. Interface-wise....do some searching here. There's lots of great advise. Lexicon Alpha might be good for you. I'm sure Frank Fredrick will chime in soon. He's got wealth of world class expertise that's he's always happy to share. Same goes for isolating your PC from the mic.

Welcome to the club here! Do some searching/reading and then ask more questions. There's always somebody ready to help..and even listen to your setup once you're up/running/tweaking.
_________________
Wicked huge.....in India.
www.chuckdaviscreative.com

[Rob Ellis]

Here's a helpful article from our buddy Peter Drew:

http://www.peterdrewvo.com/html/home_voiceover_studio.html

[Frank F]

The first question about your onboard sound card has to be: "Is the onboard sound card full/true duplex"?

Some inexpensive cards are simplex (record or playback only, not record and playback at the same time), which can cause some difficulties when trying to monitor your VO when recording.

What you ask can and has been done with some success. Moving the PC under a desk and adding some foam to deaden the sound of the cooling fans (near, not affixed to the computer - you need to let the computer breathe) the noise should not be a problem.

Just remember, if you can hear the noise, so can your microphone.

Toodles

F2
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Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com

[Bill Campbell]

He has a mixer to use for monitoring. Unless your computer is over five years old, I'm thinking the built in sound card will be fine.

An AT3035 will serve you just fine.

But, Frank's right, get your room "quiet". Stop the reflections and isolate
your hard drive. Carpet, drapes, U-haul moving blankets on the wall will all help your sound.

Once you get your room quiet, forget about all things technical and work
on your delivery and marketing. Many people get bogged down on the technical. Unless your set-up clearly sounds BAD, not many voice seekers will notice small differences in sonic quality.
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www.asapaudio.com