VC Radio
Voice Coaches Radio Episode 694 “Home Recording”
John: [00:00:00] All right, we're back. It's John.
Tina: And it's Tina,
John: and this is Voice Coaches Radio, episode 6 94. And this one is, uh, by popular demand. Yes. And we're gonna call this episode home recording.
Tina: Yeah. I get a lot of questions on that. Definitely ton.
John: I do too. Even in, even in the webinar, I get a lot of
Tina: questions right from the beginning.
They're like, how can I do this at home?
John: Yep. So, so I, the first thing I wanna say is, in my opinion, I don't think investing in recording equipment. Before anything else is the way.
Tina: Yeah.
John: True. And this is my opinion, and I think a lot of people share that opinion. Mm-hmm. Um, you know, in other words, if you, if.
You decide, [00:01:00] Hey, I would like, I, I think I'd like to get, like, to get into voiceovers. I don't know if going out and spending or investing mm-hmm. I'll call it in, in a bunch of equipment immediately is the way to go. Because you're not a voice actor yet.
Tina: Yeah.
John: I think first step is always gonna be voice coaching.
Get a voice coach. Mm-hmm. Maybe, or you know, take an intro first to see Yes. If you're toing it, you know what I mean? Yeah. Uh, but then get a voice coach, uh, then get. A network quality demo. Mm-hmm. National quality demo. Uh, and even then, I would say start to develop clients on a local and regional level.
And as you do that, mm-hmm. Maybe then start investing in some home recording equipment. The people who can record from home, we call them full service providers.
Tina: Okay. Yes, they do. Yep.
John: And the, the, um, it's in the name. Mm-hmm. That's pretty obvious. Mm-hmm. Because they can provide a full service as voice actors, right?
Yeah. So, um, but, but we're here to talk about if you are at that point.
Tina: Mm-hmm.
John: You know, and, and I will say there is a part of the industry that is almost, and because I never wanna make anything absolute mm-hmm. But almost [00:02:00] exclusively. Done by full service providers at this point. There's one part of the industry that's almost exclusively done by full service providers, and that is audio books.
Tina: Yes. Yeah, definitely. You think, you think about the time and the reason why it goes hand in hand, you know? Yeah. Because Audi, most books, not most books, but I'll you, it could always depend, but they're long recordings. Very long recordings, and it's not, you sit down once and you just read the whole book now that way.
Yeah.
John: Yeah. And I, and I, honestly, I've. I mean, it's, it's, it's part of the reason that, because I've heard this from people because there's so many different audio versions of so many different books. Mm-hmm. Like there's not, there's not one audio version of almost anything. Right? Yeah. There's there because of all the different places that offer audio books now.
Yeah. Then many of them have their own versions. Some have multiple versions and audio the same book. Mm-hmm. But this is why, um. Sometimes you hear a version that is just not good.
Tina: Yeah.
John: Uh, and it's because it might be a beginner
Tina: mm-hmm.
John: Who, because there are [00:03:00] some sites that will let anyone record an audio book.
They'll say, go ahead. Yeah. And if someone buys it, you get a commission from
Tina: it. Yeah. You get the royalty
John: fees. No, no. Never buys it because you're not good.
Tina: Yeah.
John: Right. You, you're not there yet.
Tina: Mm-hmm.
John: And so I, I always warn people, Hey, I get it. You feel like you're. You're getting into the industry, but you're really not.
Because if, if people get to sample it first, and if they sample an audio book and it's not good, they're not paying money
Tina: for it. Oh, they will not. No, definitely not.
John: So, but let's say you're there. Mm-hmm. Let's say you've had voice coaching. Mm-hmm. You, you now have a network quality demo. Uh, you're marketing yourself, you're getting some jobs.
Mm-hmm. You're at the point where, hey, I want to tap into, because, um, I wanna say this. Don't get super nervous. Do you have to be a full service provider to work as a voice actor? No. No.
Tina: You don't. No.
John: You can go to studios. There are still clients. Mm-hmm. In my career right now, there are clients that when I'm, you know, I'm a producer, but mm-hmm.
When I work as a voice actor as well, there are clients that insist on being in a studio. Yes. Like, they're, they, they don't care that I'm a [00:04:00] producer. They're, I'm not doing it by myself. They wanna be there and mm-hmm. Part of it's the, the experience, I think.
Tina: Yeah.
John: Um, so you always have clients that want you in the studio regardless.
Mm-hmm. So you will go to studios as a voice actor? Yeah. And so you don't have to be a full service provider to make money as a voice actor, but I wanna be very clear, does being a full service provider make more work available to you? Absolutely.
Tina: Oh, yes.
John: Of course. Yeah. Is a side of the industry that you wouldn't mm-hmm.
Be tapped into otherwise,
right?
Tina: Yeah, that's, yep.
John: Yeah. So, so let's talk a little bit about, hey, what kind of equipment. Do we think you can get starting out? Mm-hmm. And, and, and I'm gonna talk, let's talk about the bare minimum because I don't think people wanna go all out, right? No, you don't wanna have to build a studio in your house.
Right? So, so Tina, talk about your setup. 'cause you are a full service provider. Yeah.
Tina: Yes, I am. Yeah. Now, and this is what I do tell students, you know, because they do walk in when they're coming in and doing their demo. I say, this is gorgeous. I absolutely, our studio here is. Absolutely gorgeous, [00:05:00] and it would be phenomenal.
Can you imagine your basement looking like this? It would be fantastic. But you don't need that. That's the biggest thing. So for me, um, I have a shore microphone, right? I, I had one for the longest time and, um, I have, um,
John: is a unidirectional condenser.
Tina: Yes, I believe so. I couldn't tell you. It's a sure microphone.
Well, I guess so it sounds really good.
John: But it's a uni direction, doesn't it? Record from all sides. Mm-hmm. Right. And you power that?
Tina: Yes.
John: Yes. Okay. So it's a unidirectional condenser mic.
Tina: Yeah.
John: Yeah. Got
you.
Tina: So, um, it's a, it has a USB port that plugs right into my computer
John: from your preamp. So it goes.
Tina: Fright from, see, I'm not technical.
Sure. I'm not the technical person.
John: And you don't have to be either. You don't have to.
Tina: And so that's why I tell
John: people,
Tina: if I can do this, you can do this.
John: So you're your, um, from your mic, it goes on your computer? Yes. So you have a u SB shore. Yes. It's a USB microphone. So this is not so, uh, just to clarify, for those of you who are techies, uh, so, so, [00:06:00] um, it's not a unidirectional condenser mic.
It could be, it's probably a unidirectional mic. Mm-hmm. It's a USB mic. Condenser would usually be powered. Okay. By pre-op. Okay. So,
Tina: yeah.
John: Yeah. But, but there, there's some great USB mics. I don't know this one in particular. Mm-hmm. Um, so Cool. Okay. Go
Tina: on. And it works. And it, and that's the, the biggest thing. I plug it right into my, my Mac and, um, I use Audacity.
That's a program that will capture all the audio for us.
John: So for, for again, techies, I wouldn't wanna try to appeal to everybody. Mm-hmm. Thank you for, for techies that would be what we call daw. Like a digital audio workstation, which is a software mm-hmm. People call software, but you know, in the, you know, like producers and, and audio engineers typically call a da DAW mm-hmm.
Which is digital audio workstation and almost anything can work. Yeah. So that's a good one, by the way. That's a good one.
Tina: I
John: for pc, you have a PC then?
Tina: Um, it, it works right on my Mac. Yeah, no problem. Fantastic. Now I do.
John: Oh, you, oh, you have it on Mac?
Tina: I have it on Mac.
John: Oh, okay. So aud. Yes. So I, [00:07:00] I wasn't aware 'cause I've never owned a PC in my life.
Mm-hmm. I didn't know Audacity had a Mac version too. They do
Tina: on
John: the school. Great,
Tina: great, great. Yes, they do. So they offer those to both of those. And so, um. Uh, I go down into my basement where I have my desk. I, I had a room, a small room built just a red, like a, like an office. Mm-hmm. And, um, I have my desk, I've got my mic, I've got my, you know, mic on a stand.
I got my pop filter. And behind me is some foam on the wall. And then right in front of me, I have a microphone, um, isolation shield that just really sit, fits right on the stand. And so in that shield is all that foam. That's what's capturing my voice, not to give me the, what I call the room sound.
John: Talk about the I isolation feel.
What is that? The isolation one?
Tina: It's an isolation shield. Okay. What it is, it looks like a briefcase when you fold it up.
John: Okay.
Tina: But when you open it on the inside is all foam
John: and you put it around the mic.
Tina: Yep. It stands right behind the microphone. Okay. Right. Be, [00:08:00] so it will go on the, on the microphone stand and the micro, and that shield also has a lever where the microphone goes through that as well.
So it's right back to back.
John: I have something similar, but mine doesn't fold up.
Tina: Okay. Yeah. And the reason why. I have it full. Uh, got the fold up. One was because I do travel a lot, and so if I know that I've got a gig that I've gotta get done, my microphone comes with me, my laptop, and I shield and I, right then and there I can, I'm able to record and I love it.
Absolutely love it. But that's. It. That's all I have. There's nothing else. I, there's so many other things. There's an isolation microphone, um, a box, which is just a box that's, uh, made of foam, you know, and, and people put the microphone in there and that gives you that booth sound. Um, but I, I, that's, that's how simple.
That's what I tell people. That's how simple, a lot of times they have to learn how to use, um, the audacity and how to record their voice and how to, you know, play and record and, and [00:09:00] edit and all that stuff. That's the reason why I like Audacity because they have a search engine up there that says you can put in there how to record my voice and a bunch of videos are gonna come up and it's gonna show you how to do it.
So it's very user friendly.
John: Got ya. Got ya. So cool. Yeah. That, that's, that's, um, perfect. Yeah, that's all I really know. Now, do you live, do um, so my question to you, because I I always talk about this. Mm-hmm. Do you live in the suburbs? The city, the country?
Tina: I the suburbs.
John: Suburbs, okay. Mm-hmm. So there is noise.
Tina: There is, and I will tell you this, and this is what I tell a lot of people, if I have a gig, um, and I have to record something, I know Tuesdays, Tuesdays in my neighborhood, um, spring, summer, and fall is everybody's lawn day. I don't know. They all decide to mow their lawn on Tuesdays, so I have to wait. If I, if something is due, I, and I have to know I can't record until Tuesday night when it all quiets down.
So you, you kind of get an idea of when's the best time to record if you're recording from home.
John: Okay, cool. Also, so [00:10:00] my setup, I, I, so on the third floor of my house, um, I, and I'd love to take credit for this mm-hmm. But I can't because my wife is kind of the, the handy person. Oh. I'm the, I'm the audio person.
She's the handy, she could build anything. Mm-hmm. She built me a recording studio in my house in the third floor. So I hire her. Yeah. She's so good. She builds, she can build anything. It's wild. So, uh, so she built me a recording studio on the third floor of the house. And we live in the, so we have a lot of land.
Mm-hmm. So I have four acres of just lawn.
Tina: Okay.
John: And then I have a really long driveway. Mm-hmm. And we live in the mountains, sort of like the foot of the Catskills. Yeah. Uh, so. Um, I didn't have to go all out and soundproofing because I have no neighbors and Oh, yeah. There's no noise where I am. Mm-hmm.
Pretty much ever. Uh, so only thing is once in a while that for some reason that the, the governor of New York's helicopter flies over my house. Oh. So that nothing can help. That you can sound soundproof all you want. You Come on, Kathy, because it is low too. A different route. It is low. It flies low over my house.
Uh, but. Um, besides that, [00:11:00] it's, but I did, you know, I put some, some panels around, things like that. Mm-hmm. It's, it's fairly soundproof, but, uh, but again, I'm, I'm in an area where I don't need it, which is great. Mm-hmm. Uh, so, but as far as equipment, I use a unit and I always do recommend, although there are some great USB mics.
I don't know that one, but Sure. Is a great brand, so
Tina: Yeah. It's a real good brand.
Yeah.
John: Uh, but mine is the unidirectional condenser mic. It's powered by what's called a preamp, and this is kind of what I, I recommend for people. Mm-hmm. Because you're preamp. Um, has a lot of volume control. Mm-hmm. And you can really, so you, you go f now your computer would be the big expense if you don't have one.
Yeah. I assume everyone has a computer. Mm-hmm. Okay. So, and, and these days PC is fine. Yeah. Oh, absolutely. But obviously if you, if you have a Mac, that's great. Mm-hmm. I mean, I've never owned a PC in my life. I don't know much about them. Mm-hmm. But, um, I know that they've caught up pretty much in
Tina: recording.
Yeah, they have. Yeah.
John: So. Uh, you have to have a computer and then, uh, again, a software of some kind of dot mm-hmm. Digital audio workstation. And these days for you don't need a lot for voiceovers. You really don't. Yeah. And there's a lot of freeware out there.
Tina: Yeah.
John: So there's [00:12:00] freeware. You don't have to necessarily pay, but whatever software you use, whatever do you use.
Mm-hmm. Become proficient on it.
Tina: Yes.
John: Practice, practice, practice. Because you do have to be able to put out network quality audio. Mm-hmm. If you're gonna do this professionally, again, this is assuming that you are already a voice actor. Mm-hmm. You know, you've had voice coaching, you already have a demo. Yep.
I never suggest you produce your own demo, by the way. Mm-hmm. So don't do that. Don't use it for that because you do need someone to really say. Hey, you don't do that very well.
Tina: Mm-hmm.
John: Yeah. You know, we, we have a hard time being honest with ourselves. Either way, sometimes we we're over critical. Yeah. And sometimes we're, we're not enough.
Mm-hmm. You know? But anyway, so, uh, unidirectional, condenser, mic. Or again, if you, if you can, you know, again, the, the mic that you have, the shore, I'm sure that's a great mic. Mm-hmm. Um, and then I go into a preamp. I love my preamp. I have an eight channel preamp. You don't need that. You need a one channel preamp.
They're not super pricey. Um, because again, you're just doing voice service. Mm-hmm. I have an eight channel preamp because I also podcast from home. I'm not, now we're here at the studio, but I can podcast [00:13:00] from home. I I can have eight microphones plugged in at the same time.
Tina: Oh, see, that's good.
John: Yeah. Yeah.
And I, and each channel has its own volume.
Tina: See, that's good too. Yeah. Yeah.
John: So, excuse me. So, um. And now around. So I have a big table, and around my table I have all the set the, all the mics. Mm-hmm. And I don't, never will. I have eight people, by the way. Yeah. So I have four mics set up around the table. And each microphone has, has, um, it's called a, a tabletop, uh, tabletop compact microphone, isolation shield with absorbing, absorbing foam.
Can I, am I even saying that right? Absorbing foam.
Tina: Okay.
John: Uh, so similar. Yeah, I'm sure. But mine doesn't fold up. Mm-hmm. Um, yeah. And yo, I wish it did 'cause that'd be cool. I, I, I, yeah. It would be hard to travel with this 'cause it, it is, uh, does not fold up or anything. Um. Super cool though. Every microphone in my, in my studio has that around it.
Mm-hmm. And it is really cool because it, it, it surrounds the microphone.
Tina: Yeah.
John: And if your mic is unidirectional, which it should be mm-hmm. It's only recording you, so you're in front of the mic [00:14:00] and everything else is around it, which means nothing else is getting into that microphone. Yeah. So it's, it's super, super cool.
And I found mine at Amazon. I will tell you right now, I can give you the brand, but it's sold out. It's, it's like unavailable at Amazon at this point. So people caught on, I got this. I, I, I mean, I've had these things for probably six years.
Tina: Oh, see, that's good.
John: Yeah. Yeah. But, but, um, it, the, the brand, you can find it on audio websites like, um, I.
Well, I, I guess I'll just use the brand that we use all the mm-hmm. Or the, the store we use all, all the time. Yes, sir. We have a relationship with Sweetwater. Yep. Mm-hmm. So Sweetwater I'm sure has, but it's, it's a neer, N-E-E-W-E-R. Neer is the brand, so mm-hmm. Just a, if, if anyone wants to know, uh, and again, it's, it's a tabletop compact microphone, isolation shield.
I know. By the way, why are they calling it a compact that doesn't fold up? I don't know. It's just they're calling it compact
Tina: because maybe it's not like a,
John: maybe
Tina: the larger one, maybe a smaller
John: one. I don't know. Could, it could be true. Because they're not that big. They're not that big. No, they're not. I mean, you could pack it.
Mm-hmm. And, and I guess, but you'd have have like a [00:15:00] duffle or something. It wouldn't go to, Hm. Anyway, so, um, I. Now if you want me to recommend a mic, I, I, people ask me this, what kind of mic? First of all, different voices work well with different microphones. Yeah. Which is why you'll find recording studios have so many mics because we can switch 'em out.
Tina: Yeah.
John: Like if, if I record someone and I go, oh, uh, you know what, I, I think there's a better mic for you. We can do that. Um, but there are microphones, like we, we usually use 'em in our studio, for example. They're raw microphones that are good for almost all voices. Mm-hmm. You know, that I think they're like, Hey, this microphone's pretty good for pretty much any voice I put on it.
Yeah. And the one I would recommend, because I will say this bad audio in is bad audio.
Tina: Yeah.
John: It's hard to fix bad audio. Mm-hmm. So if you buy like, you're like, I'm just gonna spend 20 bucks, and I'm like, the chances of you recording good audio are slim to none.
Tina: Yeah.
John: And it's very hard to fix. Mm-hmm. Um, no matter how much EQing you do.
Yeah. No matter what,
Tina: what, yeah.
John: So, um, the mic that I think is really good, and I've never looked it up on Amazon. I'm gonna do it as [00:16:00] we're chatting because I know much I paid for it. And people ask me, and I always say, well, you know what, Amazon's changed the game.
Tina: You
John: know what I mean? Oh, I have. Yeah. You know, because, um, it's, it's, uh.
It really has. Oh, there it is. Cool. Oh, wow.
Tina: Uh,
John: this makes me sick, by the way, because of what I paid for the microphone. This makes me sick. All right. My god. So a really, really good all around microphone that comes with its own pop screen comes, comes with its own shock mount.
Tina: Mm-hmm.
John: And I guess unidirectional condenser.
So you, you would need a preamp with it. It's called a bluebird by the company. Blue.
Tina: Okay.
John: It is a fantastic mic. I haven't heard, um, a voice yet. That doesn't sound good on it. And, um. I paid $400 for mine.
Tina: Yeah.
John: And I just looked it up on Amazon and it's 1 41.
Tina: See, this is doable. I
John: feel like throwing my phone against the wall.
Tina: Yeah, I know, I know.
John: I what in the world? I mean, I paid $400 because I've [00:17:00] had the mic for a long time and I bought it from, um, I might be at it from Sweetwater originally. And it was new then. Yeah. You know, it was, it was, mm-hmm. A new model. But it's still out. Fantastic Mike and Wow. On Amazon, it's 1 41. I can't believe it.
Tina: You find that it usually, and that's what I tell most students. Usually when you buy a microphone, if you're gonna buy a really good microphone, it's a one and done. You're not gonna have to buy another one.
John: That Yeah, true.
Tina: Usually. Yeah. And that's, that's the biggest thing. And I always say, 'cause people ask me, you know, I've had two.
Microphones since I've started doing voice acting. And the only reason, um, I had to do two, one of my oldest daughters is in film in Boston. They were re, they were filming here in the area and they needed an extra microphone. My mom's got one and she comes in, swoops in, takes my microphone. My microphone is in, uh.
It's in Boston right now, so I had to buy another one. Oh, that's funny. But that, but it is a norm. It normally is a one and done. You buy yourself a good microphone. It's not gonna, it's gonna last. It will definitely last.
John: It should. It should. As long as you don't drop it on the ground and
Tina: all that. Yeah. And you're not, you know, that's why I always say [00:18:00] to people, majority of the time, you're just talking into the microphone.
You're not singing, you're not adding a choir or the. Band or anything like that. It's just your voice.
John: Yep. Now I'll give you, uh, now I'll give you another idea for a mic, but I don't feel as bad right now because I just looked at this up. Okay. This was my favorite mic of all time. I do have this at home.
Mm-hmm. Uh, I, I, I was. It's not. So the, my favorite mic of all time really is as assure KSM 32. Okay.
Tina: Yep.
John: Which I buffer a thousand dollars when I got it. Mm-hmm. Um, because, uh, Ben, again, technology's changed and you can get things mm-hmm. Less expensive now, but it's still on Amazon. Yeah. Over $700 just for the mic.
Tina: That's the one my daughter has.
John: It's got a
Tina: killer.
John: It's a, it is a, yeah, it's a fantastic microphone. Yeah. And it's good for everybody. Mm-hmm. But it's. Again, $700 is, is is expensive. Yeah. I mean, if you're, if you're a full-time voice actor, it makes sense. Right? Yeah. You know, to invest in yourself like that.
Mm-hmm. But again, I think the Bluebird is, um, compar comparable. It, it is, it is a very good microphone. And if I was to, um. Like if I was to like, make all my mic's uniform, which they're not, [00:19:00] I have mm-hmm. I have a different mic kind of at every station. Yeah. But if I was to make all my mic's uniform
Tina: mm-hmm.
John: In my studio, I, it would be the bluebird.
Tina: Yeah.
John: Because it's, it is affordable and for the, for the money
Tina: right there. Yeah. Amazing. You're seeing that
John: for the money, it's super, is a super excellent microphone, but again, you do have to have a preamp with it.
Tina: Mm-hmm.
John: Um, I don't, I do have experience with USB mics and I, I do, there's one I really like, but I don't, I don't use my u sb mics from professional work typically, although.
They're excellent. If you're traveling, because how easy is that? You don't have to bring extra stuff with you.
Tina: That's right. That's, that's, that's why my microphone came with a case too. Yeah. So it's like a little briefcase and I've got that little, you know, shield that folds up. I can easily use pop.
John: That's awesome.
Tina: Pops. Yeah.
John: That's awesome. That's foldable shield is really cool. I gotta look into that because I travel sometimes I don't travel as much anymore. Mm-hmm. I do travel sometimes, and once in a while I'll have a job I have to do when I'm out town and I'm like, oh, no. Yeah. I mean, I, I always have a mic with me.
Tina: Mm-hmm.
John: But I don't have, I have to like, and it sometimes at a hotel.
Tina: Oh yeah. So,
John: oh, and I'm, then I have to be su I have [00:20:00] to like really like, wait until there's no one walking by or anything. Oh, I know. It's
Tina: like.
John: Tricky.
Tina: You put the big
John: quil
Tina: over your head.
John: I know, I know. It's not, it's not the best atmosphere to do voiceovers, you know, but I've had some voiceovers I, I've had to do.
So I had to do a Yankees thing once, and I was in mis uh, Missouri. Missouri, and I'll never forget this. They called me and they said, we need this and we need it now. Oh. And I was, and I was driving across Missouri. I had to pull over. It was hot. I pulled over, I set my laptop up with a microphone, rolled all my windows up in my rental car.
Tina: Oh my goodness.
John: And luckily it was short. Yeah, it was a short thing. It was get tagged and I recorded it in my car with all the windows rolled up, sweating. But I didn't want any sounding guy. I parked, I parked in like this, like abandoned storage parking lot, you know, when no one was around. And I was, I was like, if someone pulls up, they're gonna think I'm so weird right now.
'cause I have like a microphone set up, you know, and in my car and I'm obviously, it's like 90 degrees outside of the windows rolled up, you know? So, uh, you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes, you know?
Tina: [00:21:00] I know, I know it worked and I
John: don't recommend it. You didn't
Tina: wanna pass up that gig. Yeah.
John: But, uh, but I, I will say those, those isolation.
Um, I dunno what they call isolation screens or I isolate whatever they call them. They're really helpful.
Tina: Yeah,
John: they're really helpful. Mm-hmm. I mean, what a difference that has made. 'cause in the past, like before these, before people designed these mm-hmm. Um, these things, you really did have to like do a, you had to have to pad a closet or something, you know, or whatever you really did because you, because so many things would get in, you know?
Mm-hmm. These things have really made it possible.
Tina: Yeah.
John: Uh, to, you know, I shouldn't say possible. Easier.
Tina: A little easier. Yeah. Easier, yeah.
To
John: be a full service provider. Mm-hmm. You know, so it's great. Um, so there you go. I mean, I, I think, uh, am I forgetting anything? Um, as far as preamp, I, I, I don't have a recommendation for that.
Mm-hmm. Because I, what I have is overkill. If you're gonna, if you're gonna podcast, obviously an eight channel preamp is amazing. Um. But if you're not, you just need a one channel Preem. Mm-hmm. If it's just you one channel, Preem, that's it. And they're fairly inexpensive. Again, um, I always recommend Sweetwater.
They're great. And [00:22:00] Sweetwater has some really good deals too. And yes, and they sell, they do sell used equipment sometimes, but they, they, they make sure they go over it, make sure everything works. Yes. And so you can get really good deals on Sweetwater, um, uh, Sweetwater. What does their website Is that
Tina: sweet?
I think, I think it's just sweetwater.com. I think so too. I think so too. Yeah, they have great, when I first got into, even though my, you know, have a broadcasting background, when I was getting into this, I use, I get all my equipment from Sweetwater. Yeah. Customer service. Fantastic. Yeah. They
John: text you. Yes.
Tina: Oh,
John: I know. They
Tina: text
John: you and make sure everything works. Yes,
Tina: it's,
John: and it is sweetwater.com so
Tina: Yeah.
John: And, and we are. Sort of affiliated with them. Mm-hmm. Like, we get our equipment from them, but we don't, by the way, I'm not suggesting them because we get anything from them. No, no. We get nothing. No. We get, yeah.
Tina: We're
John: just, we just happen to buy our equipment from there.
Tina: Yeah.
John: Uh, so, and they used to list us as their voiceover people.
Tina: Oh, that's good. I
John: didn't know that. I don't know if they still do, like, I don't know what, you know. Mm-hmm. Um. Like, they, like, you know, as far as, and I don't mean like they used to say, Hey, if [00:23:00] you're interested in voiceovers Yeah.
We know these people. Basically. It wasn't anything official, I don't think.
Tina: Yeah.
John: Uh, but, but yeah, so, uh, but Sweetwater's great. Obviously Amazon's gonna always be
Tina: great. Oh yeah. Yeah. Amazon, the, it's funny what you can find on Amazon, but you can find the, the microphone and the shield on Amazon.
John: Absolutely
Tina: as well.
You know, a lot of people feel, oh, well you know what, I can just get it from Amazon, don't work. I can return it easily. You know, that type of thing.
John: So, yeah, like the, of course the one, the blue bird by blue. I'm just looking it up on Sweetwater as well. Um. And it doesn't look like they even have it on their website actually.
So the microphone I recommended they don't have. So there's that.
Tina: You get it on Amazon.
John: Yeah. There you go. There you go. Uh, we, we should be like, you know, all these podcasters are Amazon affiliates. We should have an Amazon affiliate, so people buy things from Amazon. We could A little kickback.
Tina: Oh, we could just build a page.
There you go. This
John: is are
Tina: suggested and yeah, let's
John: get a little percentage. I think I've heard that they're being more selective now. You used to any podcast could be an Amazon affiliate for a while, [00:24:00] and I just heard that there. Being more selective and I don't know what that means, and I don't even know what.
Tina: Yeah, I don't know what,
John: we're not doing that by the way, but we're, you know, we're not gonna do that. We're not, I was just kidding. We're not, definitely not doing that. But, uh, it was just, uh, you know, um, alright, cool. So
Tina: we get no money for this?
John: No, no, no, no. This, we do this out. Passion.
Tina: Yes,
John: absolutely. Pure passion.
So, yeah. Uh, all right, cool. So that, so I think that's both of our advice on that. And again, please understand, I would never recommend that you just invest. And equipment immediately with that advice. Advice always is mm-hmm. Get voice coaching first. You know, you really, my advice is become a voice actor, a, become an educated and skilled mm-hmm.
Voice actor before you invest money in equipment, because it's kind of backwards, right? You invest in equipment for what? What do you, what do you, I get it. It's kind of exciting. Mm-hmm. You know, to get new equipment and have that capability, but again, become a voice actor first. Get a network quality demo, have someone produce it for you.
Hopefully the person you go with, like, like us for example. [00:25:00] Mm-hmm. Voice coaches. Right. We do it all. We're all inclusive. Uh, and then as you start to develop clients, as you start marketing yourself, that's the time maybe too. Yes. If, if you wanna be a full service provider mm-hmm. That's the time to start investing and equipment.
Yeah. And we can always give you advice on that too.
Tina: Oh, absolutely. At any time, feel free to reach out.
John: Awesome. Alright, well again, I want to thank everybody for listening and. If you wanna reach out, wanna
Tina: mm-hmm.
John: Chat with us, you want to give us suggestions If you're wanna be interviewed,
Tina: I knows I would love it.
John: Right?
Tina: Yeah.
John: Uh, again, it's John [email protected]
Tina: and [email protected].
John: And we out. Yep.
Tina: And it's Tina,
John: and this is Voice Coaches Radio, episode 6 94. And this one is, uh, by popular demand. Yes. And we're gonna call this episode home recording.
Tina: Yeah. I get a lot of questions on that. Definitely ton.
John: I do too. Even in, even in the webinar, I get a lot of
Tina: questions right from the beginning.
They're like, how can I do this at home?
John: Yep. So, so I, the first thing I wanna say is, in my opinion, I don't think investing in recording equipment. Before anything else is the way.
Tina: Yeah.
John: True. And this is my opinion, and I think a lot of people share that opinion. Mm-hmm. Um, you know, in other words, if you, if.
You decide, [00:01:00] Hey, I would like, I, I think I'd like to get, like, to get into voiceovers. I don't know if going out and spending or investing mm-hmm. I'll call it in, in a bunch of equipment immediately is the way to go. Because you're not a voice actor yet.
Tina: Yeah.
John: I think first step is always gonna be voice coaching.
Get a voice coach. Mm-hmm. Maybe, or you know, take an intro first to see Yes. If you're toing it, you know what I mean? Yeah. Uh, but then get a voice coach, uh, then get. A network quality demo. Mm-hmm. National quality demo. Uh, and even then, I would say start to develop clients on a local and regional level.
And as you do that, mm-hmm. Maybe then start investing in some home recording equipment. The people who can record from home, we call them full service providers.
Tina: Okay. Yes, they do. Yep.
John: And the, the, um, it's in the name. Mm-hmm. That's pretty obvious. Mm-hmm. Because they can provide a full service as voice actors, right?
Yeah. So, um, but, but we're here to talk about if you are at that point.
Tina: Mm-hmm.
John: You know, and, and I will say there is a part of the industry that is almost, and because I never wanna make anything absolute mm-hmm. But almost [00:02:00] exclusively. Done by full service providers at this point. There's one part of the industry that's almost exclusively done by full service providers, and that is audio books.
Tina: Yes. Yeah, definitely. You think, you think about the time and the reason why it goes hand in hand, you know? Yeah. Because Audi, most books, not most books, but I'll you, it could always depend, but they're long recordings. Very long recordings, and it's not, you sit down once and you just read the whole book now that way.
Yeah.
John: Yeah. And I, and I, honestly, I've. I mean, it's, it's, it's part of the reason that, because I've heard this from people because there's so many different audio versions of so many different books. Mm-hmm. Like there's not, there's not one audio version of almost anything. Right? Yeah. There's there because of all the different places that offer audio books now.
Yeah. Then many of them have their own versions. Some have multiple versions and audio the same book. Mm-hmm. But this is why, um. Sometimes you hear a version that is just not good.
Tina: Yeah.
John: Uh, and it's because it might be a beginner
Tina: mm-hmm.
John: Who, because there are [00:03:00] some sites that will let anyone record an audio book.
They'll say, go ahead. Yeah. And if someone buys it, you get a commission from
Tina: it. Yeah. You get the royalty
John: fees. No, no. Never buys it because you're not good.
Tina: Yeah.
John: Right. You, you're not there yet.
Tina: Mm-hmm.
John: And so I, I always warn people, Hey, I get it. You feel like you're. You're getting into the industry, but you're really not.
Because if, if people get to sample it first, and if they sample an audio book and it's not good, they're not paying money
Tina: for it. Oh, they will not. No, definitely not.
John: So, but let's say you're there. Mm-hmm. Let's say you've had voice coaching. Mm-hmm. You, you now have a network quality demo. Uh, you're marketing yourself, you're getting some jobs.
Mm-hmm. You're at the point where, hey, I want to tap into, because, um, I wanna say this. Don't get super nervous. Do you have to be a full service provider to work as a voice actor? No. No.
Tina: You don't. No.
John: You can go to studios. There are still clients. Mm-hmm. In my career right now, there are clients that when I'm, you know, I'm a producer, but mm-hmm.
When I work as a voice actor as well, there are clients that insist on being in a studio. Yes. Like, they're, they, they don't care that I'm a [00:04:00] producer. They're, I'm not doing it by myself. They wanna be there and mm-hmm. Part of it's the, the experience, I think.
Tina: Yeah.
John: Um, so you always have clients that want you in the studio regardless.
Mm-hmm. So you will go to studios as a voice actor? Yeah. And so you don't have to be a full service provider to make money as a voice actor, but I wanna be very clear, does being a full service provider make more work available to you? Absolutely.
Tina: Oh, yes.
John: Of course. Yeah. Is a side of the industry that you wouldn't mm-hmm.
Be tapped into otherwise,
right?
Tina: Yeah, that's, yep.
John: Yeah. So, so let's talk a little bit about, hey, what kind of equipment. Do we think you can get starting out? Mm-hmm. And, and, and I'm gonna talk, let's talk about the bare minimum because I don't think people wanna go all out, right? No, you don't wanna have to build a studio in your house.
Right? So, so Tina, talk about your setup. 'cause you are a full service provider. Yeah.
Tina: Yes, I am. Yeah. Now, and this is what I do tell students, you know, because they do walk in when they're coming in and doing their demo. I say, this is gorgeous. I absolutely, our studio here is. Absolutely gorgeous, [00:05:00] and it would be phenomenal.
Can you imagine your basement looking like this? It would be fantastic. But you don't need that. That's the biggest thing. So for me, um, I have a shore microphone, right? I, I had one for the longest time and, um, I have, um,
John: is a unidirectional condenser.
Tina: Yes, I believe so. I couldn't tell you. It's a sure microphone.
Well, I guess so it sounds really good.
John: But it's a uni direction, doesn't it? Record from all sides. Mm-hmm. Right. And you power that?
Tina: Yes.
John: Yes. Okay. So it's a unidirectional condenser mic.
Tina: Yeah.
John: Yeah. Got
you.
Tina: So, um, it's a, it has a USB port that plugs right into my computer
John: from your preamp. So it goes.
Tina: Fright from, see, I'm not technical.
Sure. I'm not the technical person.
John: And you don't have to be either. You don't have to.
Tina: And so that's why I tell
John: people,
Tina: if I can do this, you can do this.
John: So you're your, um, from your mic, it goes on your computer? Yes. So you have a u SB shore. Yes. It's a USB microphone. So this is not so, uh, just to clarify, for those of you who are techies, uh, so, so, [00:06:00] um, it's not a unidirectional condenser mic.
It could be, it's probably a unidirectional mic. Mm-hmm. It's a USB mic. Condenser would usually be powered. Okay. By pre-op. Okay. So,
Tina: yeah.
John: Yeah. But, but there, there's some great USB mics. I don't know this one in particular. Mm-hmm. Um, so Cool. Okay. Go
Tina: on. And it works. And it, and that's the, the biggest thing. I plug it right into my, my Mac and, um, I use Audacity.
That's a program that will capture all the audio for us.
John: So for, for again, techies, I wouldn't wanna try to appeal to everybody. Mm-hmm. Thank you for, for techies that would be what we call daw. Like a digital audio workstation, which is a software mm-hmm. People call software, but you know, in the, you know, like producers and, and audio engineers typically call a da DAW mm-hmm.
Which is digital audio workstation and almost anything can work. Yeah. So that's a good one, by the way. That's a good one.
Tina: I
John: for pc, you have a PC then?
Tina: Um, it, it works right on my Mac. Yeah, no problem. Fantastic. Now I do.
John: Oh, you, oh, you have it on Mac?
Tina: I have it on Mac.
John: Oh, okay. So aud. Yes. So I, [00:07:00] I wasn't aware 'cause I've never owned a PC in my life.
Mm-hmm. I didn't know Audacity had a Mac version too. They do
Tina: on
John: the school. Great,
Tina: great, great. Yes, they do. So they offer those to both of those. And so, um. Uh, I go down into my basement where I have my desk. I, I had a room, a small room built just a red, like a, like an office. Mm-hmm. And, um, I have my desk, I've got my mic, I've got my, you know, mic on a stand.
I got my pop filter. And behind me is some foam on the wall. And then right in front of me, I have a microphone, um, isolation shield that just really sit, fits right on the stand. And so in that shield is all that foam. That's what's capturing my voice, not to give me the, what I call the room sound.
John: Talk about the I isolation feel.
What is that? The isolation one?
Tina: It's an isolation shield. Okay. What it is, it looks like a briefcase when you fold it up.
John: Okay.
Tina: But when you open it on the inside is all foam
John: and you put it around the mic.
Tina: Yep. It stands right behind the microphone. Okay. Right. Be, [00:08:00] so it will go on the, on the microphone stand and the micro, and that shield also has a lever where the microphone goes through that as well.
So it's right back to back.
John: I have something similar, but mine doesn't fold up.
Tina: Okay. Yeah. And the reason why. I have it full. Uh, got the fold up. One was because I do travel a lot, and so if I know that I've got a gig that I've gotta get done, my microphone comes with me, my laptop, and I shield and I, right then and there I can, I'm able to record and I love it.
Absolutely love it. But that's. It. That's all I have. There's nothing else. I, there's so many other things. There's an isolation microphone, um, a box, which is just a box that's, uh, made of foam, you know, and, and people put the microphone in there and that gives you that booth sound. Um, but I, I, that's, that's how simple.
That's what I tell people. That's how simple, a lot of times they have to learn how to use, um, the audacity and how to record their voice and how to, you know, play and record and, and [00:09:00] edit and all that stuff. That's the reason why I like Audacity because they have a search engine up there that says you can put in there how to record my voice and a bunch of videos are gonna come up and it's gonna show you how to do it.
So it's very user friendly.
John: Got ya. Got ya. So cool. Yeah. That, that's, that's, um, perfect. Yeah, that's all I really know. Now, do you live, do um, so my question to you, because I I always talk about this. Mm-hmm. Do you live in the suburbs? The city, the country?
Tina: I the suburbs.
John: Suburbs, okay. Mm-hmm. So there is noise.
Tina: There is, and I will tell you this, and this is what I tell a lot of people, if I have a gig, um, and I have to record something, I know Tuesdays, Tuesdays in my neighborhood, um, spring, summer, and fall is everybody's lawn day. I don't know. They all decide to mow their lawn on Tuesdays, so I have to wait. If I, if something is due, I, and I have to know I can't record until Tuesday night when it all quiets down.
So you, you kind of get an idea of when's the best time to record if you're recording from home.
John: Okay, cool. Also, so [00:10:00] my setup, I, I, so on the third floor of my house, um, I, and I'd love to take credit for this mm-hmm. But I can't because my wife is kind of the, the handy person. Oh. I'm the, I'm the audio person.
She's the handy, she could build anything. Mm-hmm. She built me a recording studio in my house in the third floor. So I hire her. Yeah. She's so good. She builds, she can build anything. It's wild. So, uh, so she built me a recording studio on the third floor of the house. And we live in the, so we have a lot of land.
Mm-hmm. So I have four acres of just lawn.
Tina: Okay.
John: And then I have a really long driveway. Mm-hmm. And we live in the mountains, sort of like the foot of the Catskills. Yeah. Uh, so. Um, I didn't have to go all out and soundproofing because I have no neighbors and Oh, yeah. There's no noise where I am. Mm-hmm.
Pretty much ever. Uh, so only thing is once in a while that for some reason that the, the governor of New York's helicopter flies over my house. Oh. So that nothing can help. That you can sound soundproof all you want. You Come on, Kathy, because it is low too. A different route. It is low. It flies low over my house.
Uh, but. Um, besides that, [00:11:00] it's, but I did, you know, I put some, some panels around, things like that. Mm-hmm. It's, it's fairly soundproof, but, uh, but again, I'm, I'm in an area where I don't need it, which is great. Mm-hmm. Uh, so, but as far as equipment, I use a unit and I always do recommend, although there are some great USB mics.
I don't know that one, but Sure. Is a great brand, so
Tina: Yeah. It's a real good brand.
Yeah.
John: Uh, but mine is the unidirectional condenser mic. It's powered by what's called a preamp, and this is kind of what I, I recommend for people. Mm-hmm. Because you're preamp. Um, has a lot of volume control. Mm-hmm. And you can really, so you, you go f now your computer would be the big expense if you don't have one.
Yeah. I assume everyone has a computer. Mm-hmm. Okay. So, and, and these days PC is fine. Yeah. Oh, absolutely. But obviously if you, if you have a Mac, that's great. Mm-hmm. I mean, I've never owned a PC in my life. I don't know much about them. Mm-hmm. But, um, I know that they've caught up pretty much in
Tina: recording.
Yeah, they have. Yeah.
John: So. Uh, you have to have a computer and then, uh, again, a software of some kind of dot mm-hmm. Digital audio workstation. And these days for you don't need a lot for voiceovers. You really don't. Yeah. And there's a lot of freeware out there.
Tina: Yeah.
John: So there's [00:12:00] freeware. You don't have to necessarily pay, but whatever software you use, whatever do you use.
Mm-hmm. Become proficient on it.
Tina: Yes.
John: Practice, practice, practice. Because you do have to be able to put out network quality audio. Mm-hmm. If you're gonna do this professionally, again, this is assuming that you are already a voice actor. Mm-hmm. You know, you've had voice coaching, you already have a demo. Yep.
I never suggest you produce your own demo, by the way. Mm-hmm. So don't do that. Don't use it for that because you do need someone to really say. Hey, you don't do that very well.
Tina: Mm-hmm.
John: Yeah. You know, we, we have a hard time being honest with ourselves. Either way, sometimes we we're over critical. Yeah. And sometimes we're, we're not enough.
Mm-hmm. You know? But anyway, so, uh, unidirectional, condenser, mic. Or again, if you, if you can, you know, again, the, the mic that you have, the shore, I'm sure that's a great mic. Mm-hmm. Um, and then I go into a preamp. I love my preamp. I have an eight channel preamp. You don't need that. You need a one channel preamp.
They're not super pricey. Um, because again, you're just doing voice service. Mm-hmm. I have an eight channel preamp because I also podcast from home. I'm not, now we're here at the studio, but I can podcast [00:13:00] from home. I I can have eight microphones plugged in at the same time.
Tina: Oh, see, that's good.
John: Yeah. Yeah.
And I, and each channel has its own volume.
Tina: See, that's good too. Yeah. Yeah.
John: So, excuse me. So, um. And now around. So I have a big table, and around my table I have all the set the, all the mics. Mm-hmm. And I don't, never will. I have eight people, by the way. Yeah. So I have four mics set up around the table. And each microphone has, has, um, it's called a, a tabletop, uh, tabletop compact microphone, isolation shield with absorbing, absorbing foam.
Can I, am I even saying that right? Absorbing foam.
Tina: Okay.
John: Uh, so similar. Yeah, I'm sure. But mine doesn't fold up. Mm-hmm. Um, yeah. And yo, I wish it did 'cause that'd be cool. I, I, I, yeah. It would be hard to travel with this 'cause it, it is, uh, does not fold up or anything. Um. Super cool though. Every microphone in my, in my studio has that around it.
Mm-hmm. And it is really cool because it, it, it surrounds the microphone.
Tina: Yeah.
John: And if your mic is unidirectional, which it should be mm-hmm. It's only recording you, so you're in front of the mic [00:14:00] and everything else is around it, which means nothing else is getting into that microphone. Yeah. So it's, it's super, super cool.
And I found mine at Amazon. I will tell you right now, I can give you the brand, but it's sold out. It's, it's like unavailable at Amazon at this point. So people caught on, I got this. I, I, I mean, I've had these things for probably six years.
Tina: Oh, see, that's good.
John: Yeah. Yeah. But, but, um, it, the, the brand, you can find it on audio websites like, um, I.
Well, I, I guess I'll just use the brand that we use all the mm-hmm. Or the, the store we use all, all the time. Yes, sir. We have a relationship with Sweetwater. Yep. Mm-hmm. So Sweetwater I'm sure has, but it's, it's a neer, N-E-E-W-E-R. Neer is the brand, so mm-hmm. Just a, if, if anyone wants to know, uh, and again, it's, it's a tabletop compact microphone, isolation shield.
I know. By the way, why are they calling it a compact that doesn't fold up? I don't know. It's just they're calling it compact
Tina: because maybe it's not like a,
John: maybe
Tina: the larger one, maybe a smaller
John: one. I don't know. Could, it could be true. Because they're not that big. They're not that big. No, they're not. I mean, you could pack it.
Mm-hmm. And, and I guess, but you'd have have like a [00:15:00] duffle or something. It wouldn't go to, Hm. Anyway, so, um, I. Now if you want me to recommend a mic, I, I, people ask me this, what kind of mic? First of all, different voices work well with different microphones. Yeah. Which is why you'll find recording studios have so many mics because we can switch 'em out.
Tina: Yeah.
John: Like if, if I record someone and I go, oh, uh, you know what, I, I think there's a better mic for you. We can do that. Um, but there are microphones, like we, we usually use 'em in our studio, for example. They're raw microphones that are good for almost all voices. Mm-hmm. You know, that I think they're like, Hey, this microphone's pretty good for pretty much any voice I put on it.
Yeah. And the one I would recommend, because I will say this bad audio in is bad audio.
Tina: Yeah.
John: It's hard to fix bad audio. Mm-hmm. So if you buy like, you're like, I'm just gonna spend 20 bucks, and I'm like, the chances of you recording good audio are slim to none.
Tina: Yeah.
John: And it's very hard to fix. Mm-hmm. Um, no matter how much EQing you do.
Yeah. No matter what,
Tina: what, yeah.
John: So, um, the mic that I think is really good, and I've never looked it up on Amazon. I'm gonna do it as [00:16:00] we're chatting because I know much I paid for it. And people ask me, and I always say, well, you know what, Amazon's changed the game.
Tina: You
John: know what I mean? Oh, I have. Yeah. You know, because, um, it's, it's, uh.
It really has. Oh, there it is. Cool. Oh, wow.
Tina: Uh,
John: this makes me sick, by the way, because of what I paid for the microphone. This makes me sick. All right. My god. So a really, really good all around microphone that comes with its own pop screen comes, comes with its own shock mount.
Tina: Mm-hmm.
John: And I guess unidirectional condenser.
So you, you would need a preamp with it. It's called a bluebird by the company. Blue.
Tina: Okay.
John: It is a fantastic mic. I haven't heard, um, a voice yet. That doesn't sound good on it. And, um. I paid $400 for mine.
Tina: Yeah.
John: And I just looked it up on Amazon and it's 1 41.
Tina: See, this is doable. I
John: feel like throwing my phone against the wall.
Tina: Yeah, I know, I know.
John: I what in the world? I mean, I paid $400 because I've [00:17:00] had the mic for a long time and I bought it from, um, I might be at it from Sweetwater originally. And it was new then. Yeah. You know, it was, it was, mm-hmm. A new model. But it's still out. Fantastic Mike and Wow. On Amazon, it's 1 41. I can't believe it.
Tina: You find that it usually, and that's what I tell most students. Usually when you buy a microphone, if you're gonna buy a really good microphone, it's a one and done. You're not gonna have to buy another one.
John: That Yeah, true.
Tina: Usually. Yeah. And that's, that's the biggest thing. And I always say, 'cause people ask me, you know, I've had two.
Microphones since I've started doing voice acting. And the only reason, um, I had to do two, one of my oldest daughters is in film in Boston. They were re, they were filming here in the area and they needed an extra microphone. My mom's got one and she comes in, swoops in, takes my microphone. My microphone is in, uh.
It's in Boston right now, so I had to buy another one. Oh, that's funny. But that, but it is a norm. It normally is a one and done. You buy yourself a good microphone. It's not gonna, it's gonna last. It will definitely last.
John: It should. It should. As long as you don't drop it on the ground and
Tina: all that. Yeah. And you're not, you know, that's why I always say [00:18:00] to people, majority of the time, you're just talking into the microphone.
You're not singing, you're not adding a choir or the. Band or anything like that. It's just your voice.
John: Yep. Now I'll give you, uh, now I'll give you another idea for a mic, but I don't feel as bad right now because I just looked at this up. Okay. This was my favorite mic of all time. I do have this at home.
Mm-hmm. Uh, I, I, I was. It's not. So the, my favorite mic of all time really is as assure KSM 32. Okay.
Tina: Yep.
John: Which I buffer a thousand dollars when I got it. Mm-hmm. Um, because, uh, Ben, again, technology's changed and you can get things mm-hmm. Less expensive now, but it's still on Amazon. Yeah. Over $700 just for the mic.
Tina: That's the one my daughter has.
John: It's got a
Tina: killer.
John: It's a, it is a, yeah, it's a fantastic microphone. Yeah. And it's good for everybody. Mm-hmm. But it's. Again, $700 is, is is expensive. Yeah. I mean, if you're, if you're a full-time voice actor, it makes sense. Right? Yeah. You know, to invest in yourself like that.
Mm-hmm. But again, I think the Bluebird is, um, compar comparable. It, it is, it is a very good microphone. And if I was to, um. Like if I was to like, make all my mic's uniform, which they're not, [00:19:00] I have mm-hmm. I have a different mic kind of at every station. Yeah. But if I was to make all my mic's uniform
Tina: mm-hmm.
John: In my studio, I, it would be the bluebird.
Tina: Yeah.
John: Because it's, it is affordable and for the, for the money
Tina: right there. Yeah. Amazing. You're seeing that
John: for the money, it's super, is a super excellent microphone, but again, you do have to have a preamp with it.
Tina: Mm-hmm.
John: Um, I don't, I do have experience with USB mics and I, I do, there's one I really like, but I don't, I don't use my u sb mics from professional work typically, although.
They're excellent. If you're traveling, because how easy is that? You don't have to bring extra stuff with you.
Tina: That's right. That's, that's, that's why my microphone came with a case too. Yeah. So it's like a little briefcase and I've got that little, you know, shield that folds up. I can easily use pop.
John: That's awesome.
Tina: Pops. Yeah.
John: That's awesome. That's foldable shield is really cool. I gotta look into that because I travel sometimes I don't travel as much anymore. Mm-hmm. I do travel sometimes, and once in a while I'll have a job I have to do when I'm out town and I'm like, oh, no. Yeah. I mean, I, I always have a mic with me.
Tina: Mm-hmm.
John: But I don't have, I have to like, and it sometimes at a hotel.
Tina: Oh yeah. So,
John: oh, and I'm, then I have to be su I have [00:20:00] to like really like, wait until there's no one walking by or anything. Oh, I know. It's
Tina: like.
John: Tricky.
Tina: You put the big
John: quil
Tina: over your head.
John: I know, I know. It's not, it's not the best atmosphere to do voiceovers, you know, but I've had some voiceovers I, I've had to do.
So I had to do a Yankees thing once, and I was in mis uh, Missouri. Missouri, and I'll never forget this. They called me and they said, we need this and we need it now. Oh. And I was, and I was driving across Missouri. I had to pull over. It was hot. I pulled over, I set my laptop up with a microphone, rolled all my windows up in my rental car.
Tina: Oh my goodness.
John: And luckily it was short. Yeah, it was a short thing. It was get tagged and I recorded it in my car with all the windows rolled up, sweating. But I didn't want any sounding guy. I parked, I parked in like this, like abandoned storage parking lot, you know, when no one was around. And I was, I was like, if someone pulls up, they're gonna think I'm so weird right now.
'cause I have like a microphone set up, you know, and in my car and I'm obviously, it's like 90 degrees outside of the windows rolled up, you know? So, uh, you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes, you know?
Tina: [00:21:00] I know, I know it worked and I
John: don't recommend it. You didn't
Tina: wanna pass up that gig. Yeah.
John: But, uh, but I, I will say those, those isolation.
Um, I dunno what they call isolation screens or I isolate whatever they call them. They're really helpful.
Tina: Yeah,
John: they're really helpful. Mm-hmm. I mean, what a difference that has made. 'cause in the past, like before these, before people designed these mm-hmm. Um, these things, you really did have to like do a, you had to have to pad a closet or something, you know, or whatever you really did because you, because so many things would get in, you know?
Mm-hmm. These things have really made it possible.
Tina: Yeah.
John: Uh, to, you know, I shouldn't say possible. Easier.
Tina: A little easier. Yeah. Easier, yeah.
To
John: be a full service provider. Mm-hmm. You know, so it's great. Um, so there you go. I mean, I, I think, uh, am I forgetting anything? Um, as far as preamp, I, I, I don't have a recommendation for that.
Mm-hmm. Because I, what I have is overkill. If you're gonna, if you're gonna podcast, obviously an eight channel preamp is amazing. Um. But if you're not, you just need a one channel Preem. Mm-hmm. If it's just you one channel, Preem, that's it. And they're fairly inexpensive. Again, um, I always recommend Sweetwater.
They're great. And [00:22:00] Sweetwater has some really good deals too. And yes, and they sell, they do sell used equipment sometimes, but they, they, they make sure they go over it, make sure everything works. Yes. And so you can get really good deals on Sweetwater, um, uh, Sweetwater. What does their website Is that
Tina: sweet?
I think, I think it's just sweetwater.com. I think so too. I think so too. Yeah, they have great, when I first got into, even though my, you know, have a broadcasting background, when I was getting into this, I use, I get all my equipment from Sweetwater. Yeah. Customer service. Fantastic. Yeah. They
John: text you. Yes.
Tina: Oh,
John: I know. They
Tina: text
John: you and make sure everything works. Yes,
Tina: it's,
John: and it is sweetwater.com so
Tina: Yeah.
John: And, and we are. Sort of affiliated with them. Mm-hmm. Like, we get our equipment from them, but we don't, by the way, I'm not suggesting them because we get anything from them. No, no. We get nothing. No. We get, yeah.
Tina: We're
John: just, we just happen to buy our equipment from there.
Tina: Yeah.
John: Uh, so, and they used to list us as their voiceover people.
Tina: Oh, that's good. I
John: didn't know that. I don't know if they still do, like, I don't know what, you know. Mm-hmm. Um. Like, they, like, you know, as far as, and I don't mean like they used to say, Hey, if [00:23:00] you're interested in voiceovers Yeah.
We know these people. Basically. It wasn't anything official, I don't think.
Tina: Yeah.
John: Uh, but, but yeah, so, uh, but Sweetwater's great. Obviously Amazon's gonna always be
Tina: great. Oh yeah. Yeah. Amazon, the, it's funny what you can find on Amazon, but you can find the, the microphone and the shield on Amazon.
John: Absolutely
Tina: as well.
You know, a lot of people feel, oh, well you know what, I can just get it from Amazon, don't work. I can return it easily. You know, that type of thing.
John: So, yeah, like the, of course the one, the blue bird by blue. I'm just looking it up on Sweetwater as well. Um. And it doesn't look like they even have it on their website actually.
So the microphone I recommended they don't have. So there's that.
Tina: You get it on Amazon.
John: Yeah. There you go. There you go. Uh, we, we should be like, you know, all these podcasters are Amazon affiliates. We should have an Amazon affiliate, so people buy things from Amazon. We could A little kickback.
Tina: Oh, we could just build a page.
There you go. This
John: is are
Tina: suggested and yeah, let's
John: get a little percentage. I think I've heard that they're being more selective now. You used to any podcast could be an Amazon affiliate for a while, [00:24:00] and I just heard that there. Being more selective and I don't know what that means, and I don't even know what.
Tina: Yeah, I don't know what,
John: we're not doing that by the way, but we're, you know, we're not gonna do that. We're not, I was just kidding. We're not, definitely not doing that. But, uh, it was just, uh, you know, um, alright, cool. So
Tina: we get no money for this?
John: No, no, no, no. This, we do this out. Passion.
Tina: Yes,
John: absolutely. Pure passion.
So, yeah. Uh, all right, cool. So that, so I think that's both of our advice on that. And again, please understand, I would never recommend that you just invest. And equipment immediately with that advice. Advice always is mm-hmm. Get voice coaching first. You know, you really, my advice is become a voice actor, a, become an educated and skilled mm-hmm.
Voice actor before you invest money in equipment, because it's kind of backwards, right? You invest in equipment for what? What do you, what do you, I get it. It's kind of exciting. Mm-hmm. You know, to get new equipment and have that capability, but again, become a voice actor first. Get a network quality demo, have someone produce it for you.
Hopefully the person you go with, like, like us for example. [00:25:00] Mm-hmm. Voice coaches. Right. We do it all. We're all inclusive. Uh, and then as you start to develop clients, as you start marketing yourself, that's the time maybe too. Yes. If, if you wanna be a full service provider mm-hmm. That's the time to start investing and equipment.
Yeah. And we can always give you advice on that too.
Tina: Oh, absolutely. At any time, feel free to reach out.
John: Awesome. Alright, well again, I want to thank everybody for listening and. If you wanna reach out, wanna
Tina: mm-hmm.
John: Chat with us, you want to give us suggestions If you're wanna be interviewed,
Tina: I knows I would love it.
John: Right?
Tina: Yeah.
John: Uh, again, it's John [email protected]
Tina: and [email protected].
John: And we out. Yep.
Tina and John talk about their home recording set ups as full service providers.
