VC Radio
Voice Coaches Radio #552 – It’s a Learning Process…
Voice coaches, radio, everything voiceover. Welcome to a brand new episode of voice coaches, radio. My name is Marissa. You know, it seems like just yesterday that we were diving into lockdown and all of a sudden it's almost the end of 2022. Like what in the world? You know, I was just thinking about it a couple of weeks ago, it was Labor Day week, right?
And, and like that, even though it was a short work week, it felt like the longest week ever, you know? And then we've got here where we just sprinted now to October, and we're getting closer and closer to the end of the year. I hope that whatever goals that you've had for 2022, I hope that you're nearing, uh, those goals, or maybe you've tackled them head on and, uh, you're, you're onto the next thing.
Uh, but whatever the case, I do hope this is finding you well. You know, I wanted to get into something that happened for me this week. God, this was challenging. And this happens every once in a while, you know, you, you get a new piece of equipment, you want to make things easier for yourself, maybe the people that you're doing voice work for, but it's like the biggest headache to get set up.
You know, I, I feel like it happens every. Every single time like nothing works the way it's supposed to right off the bat, and it's really frustrating, you know, when you've kind of gone through it to a lot like you understand, like the first time you go to set something up like it's probably going to be a little bit challenging, right?
It's going to be a little bit of a headache, and it's really just because this is something new for you. And it's a little bit of an educational process. And you know, you always want to keep learning. I've said that before. But at first, when you've never tackled any of this kind of equipment, you know, just, just setting up, um, like audacity on your computer.
Even though it's like the most basic form of editing that you're going to be doing in voiceover, it can still feel like, uh, you know, it's like a, it's a new little, uh, challenge to, to kind of work your way through. And, and I get it, you know, but that's why it is a beautiful thing that we have. The tools of YouTube and the, the graciousness of those within the industry who want to go ahead and put these tutorial videos out to help us navigate this wild world.
And it is true for anything, you know, there's, there's tutorials for everything and coming up this weekend, that is something that I will be doing. So just. Pray with me, will you? Uh, It's uh, it's one of those things I'll tell you, you know, yes, you might be brand new I am NOT brand new but sometimes things still feel brand new and I'm I'm the person that People would come to, uh, you know, working at different radio stations.
Like, I understand the ins and outs of the technology in various radio stations. Uh, you know, the, the, some of these digital boards especially, it's like a lot of people grew up with, with non digital, uh, you know, and, and doing things in a much different way. And it's like these new, newfangled boards, you know, not to sound old, uh, but these newfangled things, uh, they can do.
So much more, especially if you program them, right? Uh, so I, I definitely learned the ins and outs and I don't know why I got so good at it, but I did, and I can pretty much understand how to fix almost anything and you really only have to show me something once and, and I'm going to go ahead and I'm going to be able to troubleshoot it from there.
Uh, but you know, for me, you know, what I ended up doing. In the last week and a half. I ended up spending like a good 500 bucks and but I will tell you I saved money It doesn't sound like I saved money But I saved money because this this mixed board that I got for my studio The the beautiful thing about it is a couple years ago.
It ended up Costing my friend like, I don't know, he said something about almost 600 bucks, I think, for just the board. And I was able to find one, I don't know, maybe it was a damaged box. I think that was the only thing that was different from mine. But I got it on eBay and I, I sent in a best offer and they accepted it.
So, they took my 400 offer, it ended up with tax and stuff. Cost me about 430 something. And then I also purchased a new Wi Fi extender for the house. Because I got my studio in the basement. And sometimes I, I know like those cement walls can be a problem, and I was trying to figure out, well, how can I reconfigure this just a little bit that is going to allow this.
Wi Fi extender to work in the best of ways and I think I've got that situated but that only cost me about 50 bucks on Amazon and and it's a good one. So I know some people pay upwards to you know 100 200 for Wi Fi extenders now I got one for like 50 and it was solid if you need that you could always email info at voice coaches calm I will let you know exactly which one that is cuz yeah, it's a good one.
But um, so The, the board that I got is a Roadcaster Pro and it is very prominent, especially in the last couple of years when we got in lockdown, a lot of different radio stations sent their talent home and said, we got to do this from home. And, you know, this was what they started utilizing for, for radio shows.
And I, I was like, all right, I was hesitant to buy one at first cause I'm like, I don't really feel like I need it for everything that, that. Somebody else might need it for if they're live, um, because everything I do right now is recorded and not that it's recorded wildly in advance, but it's recorded nonetheless.
And everything that I've had currently in my studio has been sufficient, but I have a radio station that I'm on in Detroit and I'm on seven days a week there right now. And, uh, that, that station had a contest that had started this past week and it requires. a sounder, which for those who maybe don't know what that is, it's basically like the, the thing that you hear that triggers your brain to know, Oh, the contest is happening now, you know?
And, and what happens is you've got this little piece of audio that plays and it's got their voice guy, their voice talent that, uh, has, has done that. And it's all produced. And then it has this little kind of stinger type music bed that fades out. That's where I start talking. Now, here's the problem is that.
It was in the first day, our boss there had put it in the system, so should be able to hear it and talk over it with ease, except that system only likes to show the talent on the other side, the music, and it was not put in like it was music, it was put in as a production piece, so it comes up as missing, even though it's there.
I just can't hear it. So the first day I go to do this contest, I had a guesstimate as to where I should start talking, and I did not guesstimate fully accurately. Like, there was one time it played okay, and then the next time it was like there was a little bit too much of a pause or a lag between where I probably should have started talking and where I actually did.
Like, five seconds. I'm telling you five seconds in life is nothing five seconds when you hear nothing. It sucks And uh, yeah, it was just like that little stinger kind of fading out, uh, and then all of a sudden Oh, there's marissa. So I was like, all right, cool. You know what what i'll do is I got the board Delivered to me earlier than I expected I'll go ahead on my lunch break.
I'll go and I'll set things up and this should be cake Like it shouldn't take me that long. I know how to get this configured And and I did like I even they have this little like button bar pod pad thing on the board Where if you press it like a sound effect can happen and I recorded that sounder right there onto the board I was so proud of myself.
I figured it out like real quick and Then you know, I go to I plug it into my computer And I go to just test it out, sounds fine in Audacity, sounds fine in the other radio station program that I use, sounds like trash for Detroit. And I'm like, Oh, Oh no, how do I fix this? And, uh, I, I was trying all sorts of things.
I hopped on with the engineer and. He wasn't, you know, fully certain on things and then I had to come to the office. So it's like I had to put it aside for a while and my friend in the meantime, who also has this same board is sending me pictures and sending me all the little things about his settings.
And, you know, try this out, try this out when you get home. And so when I got home at like just after five o'clock last night. I spent an hour and a half, if not more, trying and trying, and I had all of my dude's settings in there, and, and I, it's, again, it sounds great in everything, except for Detroit's radio program.
So that led me to go, it is just that program, and I need help now. And I wasn't going to get it last night. So you know what I had to do? I had to go and break all of that stuff down. And I had to set up all of my other equipment that I had been using. And by the time I was done, it was like nine o'clock and I'm like, I am spent.
So, you know, I. I had to make that phone call as well and just tell my boss out there, like, Hey, this is the situation and I'm not going to be able to do this contest tomorrow. So I'm not a hundred percent sure what you would like done. And he has, unfortunately, my, my friend now has the extra work to go ahead and do the contest during my show.
Uh, but. It's just temporary. It's temporary while we figure it out and he was very understanding because he's had to deal with this, this hiccup that's been going on in the last couple years because I mean, for any industry, things are just different, you know, and we're just trying to embrace new technology and new ways of doing things.
And this is one of those things for radio where it's just like, It, this is a hiccup and we just need to work through, troubleshoot, see what's going to best allow this to sound its best through this program. So while I have my three day weekend this weekend, I'm going to be setting all that back up. Once I get the recording done that I need to, I'm going to get ahead.
So there's some extra work for me, right? And then, uh, and then Monday. I'm getting on the phone with that engineer and we are gonna troubleshoot the heck out of this thing and again pray for me, uh, because I just do not know If we're gonna get it squared away on monday, i'm gonna hope i'm gonna manifest good things I'm gonna ask you to manifest some good things for me as well.
Okay, please please for the love of god, uh, but um This is constantly a learning curve, you know as you are Doing different things in the industry It's going to be the first audition that you officially do, it's going to be the first, you know, audio book that you do on your own, it is going to be the first time troubleshooting a brand new recording program, or a new piece of equipment, or an added piece of equipment that you're, you know, putting in with your current studio setup, it's trying to figure out And set up a studio and make it so it sounds as good as possible and it doesn't sound echoey and it needs, you know, the right sound proofing, and did I do it right?
You know, do I have it set up nicely? Is somebody going to agree? Is it just my ear? Does somebody else have the ear that's going to hear something differently than I'm hearing right now? Um, the whole thing. It's a little. It's a little nerve wracking, you know, and, and it just like, you know, training your skill of voice, it's very easy to kind of get in your own head and your own way about it, but just know that.
It will all get figured out in time. Some things just take a little longer than others. And, uh, and then you'll be all squared away and you'll be all up and running and everything is going to, to be exactly what you had hoped. Uh, but really I'm just saying this to take my own advice and try to make my weekend easier.
Oh, what? You don't like my honesty? Too bad. Uh, but listen, if you've got a subject that you want us to tackle here on the voice coaches radio podcast, it is a simple email away. Just info at voice coaches. com. We'll get to new episodes. Maybe I'll get to some more guests to coming up here momentarily. See how y'all have been kind of navigating this voice industry.
And if you want to be a guest to hit me up. Cause I would love to have you on. I'd love to hear your story. I'd love to hear how you got started. If it wasn't through us, I'd love to hear, uh, you know, the, the things that you had to kind of, uh, navigate your way through to, to get to where you are and, and some of this work that you've been going and doing because We all have different ways that we've started.
We all have different ways that we've, uh, gone through this industry and different hurdles we've had to jump and, uh, everybody's story is worth listening to. So info at voicecoaches. com. A brand new episode is coming your way next week. Stay safe, everybody. Visit voicecoaches. com for more voiceover news and information.
And, and like that, even though it was a short work week, it felt like the longest week ever, you know? And then we've got here where we just sprinted now to October, and we're getting closer and closer to the end of the year. I hope that whatever goals that you've had for 2022, I hope that you're nearing, uh, those goals, or maybe you've tackled them head on and, uh, you're, you're onto the next thing.
Uh, but whatever the case, I do hope this is finding you well. You know, I wanted to get into something that happened for me this week. God, this was challenging. And this happens every once in a while, you know, you, you get a new piece of equipment, you want to make things easier for yourself, maybe the people that you're doing voice work for, but it's like the biggest headache to get set up.
You know, I, I feel like it happens every. Every single time like nothing works the way it's supposed to right off the bat, and it's really frustrating, you know, when you've kind of gone through it to a lot like you understand, like the first time you go to set something up like it's probably going to be a little bit challenging, right?
It's going to be a little bit of a headache, and it's really just because this is something new for you. And it's a little bit of an educational process. And you know, you always want to keep learning. I've said that before. But at first, when you've never tackled any of this kind of equipment, you know, just, just setting up, um, like audacity on your computer.
Even though it's like the most basic form of editing that you're going to be doing in voiceover, it can still feel like, uh, you know, it's like a, it's a new little, uh, challenge to, to kind of work your way through. And, and I get it, you know, but that's why it is a beautiful thing that we have. The tools of YouTube and the, the graciousness of those within the industry who want to go ahead and put these tutorial videos out to help us navigate this wild world.
And it is true for anything, you know, there's, there's tutorials for everything and coming up this weekend, that is something that I will be doing. So just. Pray with me, will you? Uh, It's uh, it's one of those things I'll tell you, you know, yes, you might be brand new I am NOT brand new but sometimes things still feel brand new and I'm I'm the person that People would come to, uh, you know, working at different radio stations.
Like, I understand the ins and outs of the technology in various radio stations. Uh, you know, the, the, some of these digital boards especially, it's like a lot of people grew up with, with non digital, uh, you know, and, and doing things in a much different way. And it's like these new, newfangled boards, you know, not to sound old, uh, but these newfangled things, uh, they can do.
So much more, especially if you program them, right? Uh, so I, I definitely learned the ins and outs and I don't know why I got so good at it, but I did, and I can pretty much understand how to fix almost anything and you really only have to show me something once and, and I'm going to go ahead and I'm going to be able to troubleshoot it from there.
Uh, but you know, for me, you know, what I ended up doing. In the last week and a half. I ended up spending like a good 500 bucks and but I will tell you I saved money It doesn't sound like I saved money But I saved money because this this mixed board that I got for my studio The the beautiful thing about it is a couple years ago.
It ended up Costing my friend like, I don't know, he said something about almost 600 bucks, I think, for just the board. And I was able to find one, I don't know, maybe it was a damaged box. I think that was the only thing that was different from mine. But I got it on eBay and I, I sent in a best offer and they accepted it.
So, they took my 400 offer, it ended up with tax and stuff. Cost me about 430 something. And then I also purchased a new Wi Fi extender for the house. Because I got my studio in the basement. And sometimes I, I know like those cement walls can be a problem, and I was trying to figure out, well, how can I reconfigure this just a little bit that is going to allow this.
Wi Fi extender to work in the best of ways and I think I've got that situated but that only cost me about 50 bucks on Amazon and and it's a good one. So I know some people pay upwards to you know 100 200 for Wi Fi extenders now I got one for like 50 and it was solid if you need that you could always email info at voice coaches calm I will let you know exactly which one that is cuz yeah, it's a good one.
But um, so The, the board that I got is a Roadcaster Pro and it is very prominent, especially in the last couple of years when we got in lockdown, a lot of different radio stations sent their talent home and said, we got to do this from home. And, you know, this was what they started utilizing for, for radio shows.
And I, I was like, all right, I was hesitant to buy one at first cause I'm like, I don't really feel like I need it for everything that, that. Somebody else might need it for if they're live, um, because everything I do right now is recorded and not that it's recorded wildly in advance, but it's recorded nonetheless.
And everything that I've had currently in my studio has been sufficient, but I have a radio station that I'm on in Detroit and I'm on seven days a week there right now. And, uh, that, that station had a contest that had started this past week and it requires. a sounder, which for those who maybe don't know what that is, it's basically like the, the thing that you hear that triggers your brain to know, Oh, the contest is happening now, you know?
And, and what happens is you've got this little piece of audio that plays and it's got their voice guy, their voice talent that, uh, has, has done that. And it's all produced. And then it has this little kind of stinger type music bed that fades out. That's where I start talking. Now, here's the problem is that.
It was in the first day, our boss there had put it in the system, so should be able to hear it and talk over it with ease, except that system only likes to show the talent on the other side, the music, and it was not put in like it was music, it was put in as a production piece, so it comes up as missing, even though it's there.
I just can't hear it. So the first day I go to do this contest, I had a guesstimate as to where I should start talking, and I did not guesstimate fully accurately. Like, there was one time it played okay, and then the next time it was like there was a little bit too much of a pause or a lag between where I probably should have started talking and where I actually did.
Like, five seconds. I'm telling you five seconds in life is nothing five seconds when you hear nothing. It sucks And uh, yeah, it was just like that little stinger kind of fading out, uh, and then all of a sudden Oh, there's marissa. So I was like, all right, cool. You know what what i'll do is I got the board Delivered to me earlier than I expected I'll go ahead on my lunch break.
I'll go and I'll set things up and this should be cake Like it shouldn't take me that long. I know how to get this configured And and I did like I even they have this little like button bar pod pad thing on the board Where if you press it like a sound effect can happen and I recorded that sounder right there onto the board I was so proud of myself.
I figured it out like real quick and Then you know, I go to I plug it into my computer And I go to just test it out, sounds fine in Audacity, sounds fine in the other radio station program that I use, sounds like trash for Detroit. And I'm like, Oh, Oh no, how do I fix this? And, uh, I, I was trying all sorts of things.
I hopped on with the engineer and. He wasn't, you know, fully certain on things and then I had to come to the office. So it's like I had to put it aside for a while and my friend in the meantime, who also has this same board is sending me pictures and sending me all the little things about his settings.
And, you know, try this out, try this out when you get home. And so when I got home at like just after five o'clock last night. I spent an hour and a half, if not more, trying and trying, and I had all of my dude's settings in there, and, and I, it's, again, it sounds great in everything, except for Detroit's radio program.
So that led me to go, it is just that program, and I need help now. And I wasn't going to get it last night. So you know what I had to do? I had to go and break all of that stuff down. And I had to set up all of my other equipment that I had been using. And by the time I was done, it was like nine o'clock and I'm like, I am spent.
So, you know, I. I had to make that phone call as well and just tell my boss out there, like, Hey, this is the situation and I'm not going to be able to do this contest tomorrow. So I'm not a hundred percent sure what you would like done. And he has, unfortunately, my, my friend now has the extra work to go ahead and do the contest during my show.
Uh, but. It's just temporary. It's temporary while we figure it out and he was very understanding because he's had to deal with this, this hiccup that's been going on in the last couple years because I mean, for any industry, things are just different, you know, and we're just trying to embrace new technology and new ways of doing things.
And this is one of those things for radio where it's just like, It, this is a hiccup and we just need to work through, troubleshoot, see what's going to best allow this to sound its best through this program. So while I have my three day weekend this weekend, I'm going to be setting all that back up. Once I get the recording done that I need to, I'm going to get ahead.
So there's some extra work for me, right? And then, uh, and then Monday. I'm getting on the phone with that engineer and we are gonna troubleshoot the heck out of this thing and again pray for me, uh, because I just do not know If we're gonna get it squared away on monday, i'm gonna hope i'm gonna manifest good things I'm gonna ask you to manifest some good things for me as well.
Okay, please please for the love of god, uh, but um This is constantly a learning curve, you know as you are Doing different things in the industry It's going to be the first audition that you officially do, it's going to be the first, you know, audio book that you do on your own, it is going to be the first time troubleshooting a brand new recording program, or a new piece of equipment, or an added piece of equipment that you're, you know, putting in with your current studio setup, it's trying to figure out And set up a studio and make it so it sounds as good as possible and it doesn't sound echoey and it needs, you know, the right sound proofing, and did I do it right?
You know, do I have it set up nicely? Is somebody going to agree? Is it just my ear? Does somebody else have the ear that's going to hear something differently than I'm hearing right now? Um, the whole thing. It's a little. It's a little nerve wracking, you know, and, and it just like, you know, training your skill of voice, it's very easy to kind of get in your own head and your own way about it, but just know that.
It will all get figured out in time. Some things just take a little longer than others. And, uh, and then you'll be all squared away and you'll be all up and running and everything is going to, to be exactly what you had hoped. Uh, but really I'm just saying this to take my own advice and try to make my weekend easier.
Oh, what? You don't like my honesty? Too bad. Uh, but listen, if you've got a subject that you want us to tackle here on the voice coaches radio podcast, it is a simple email away. Just info at voice coaches. com. We'll get to new episodes. Maybe I'll get to some more guests to coming up here momentarily. See how y'all have been kind of navigating this voice industry.
And if you want to be a guest to hit me up. Cause I would love to have you on. I'd love to hear your story. I'd love to hear how you got started. If it wasn't through us, I'd love to hear, uh, you know, the, the things that you had to kind of, uh, navigate your way through to, to get to where you are and, and some of this work that you've been going and doing because We all have different ways that we've started.
We all have different ways that we've, uh, gone through this industry and different hurdles we've had to jump and, uh, everybody's story is worth listening to. So info at voicecoaches. com. A brand new episode is coming your way next week. Stay safe, everybody. Visit voicecoaches. com for more voiceover news and information.
This week on Voice Coaches Radio, Marissa talks about her latest hoop to jump through when it came to her home studio and how she’s had to handle it and what’s to come!
