Audio Filter Settings for a Voice Over

[Rich Rubasch]

If you can, record a bunch of big national spots. Import them and listen to the dynamics…look for spots that have more VO than music, but it doesn’t matter much. Now take the 3-way EQ and the dynamics processor and start tweaking settings until you start to shape the sound to match the “big boys.”

Worked for me on a recent stubborn VO record and it ended up sounding great.

[Will Salley]

Define “decent mic”.

i.e.: dynamic, condenser, ribbon, diaphragm size, pattern, etc. or just state the model. That makes the most difference. After that, insert a compressor/limiter in during or after recording and start with the auto settings – play with the attack and ratio settings until you get a natural but full voice.

Also, get into the mic, which means get close to it so that close proxinity will boost the low end so you’ll sound big. Of course, you’ll overdrive things easier that way too. Just mess with the knobs until you like it and there isn’t any distortion.

Good luck.

[Frank Nolan]

What mic are you using?
Are you going into a mixer or pre amp or are you plugged straight into the mic in jack of your computer?
The warm, resonant sound you hear in professional voice over is usually a combination of the voice, the mic and the pre amp. Some compression and a subtle reverb may be added.

[Christopher Bagnall]

Thanks for those tips. I’m using a Shure BG 1.0 mic ($60) and am running it through a minidisc player to the mac where my audio record program is Sprak XL. I then take the audio file and input in to FCP where I layer and edit. I realize that FCP is not a sound editor but it does the trick when I want to do layering, as Spark is not very good with that. Thanks again. Any more suggestions I’d be willing to hear.

[Will Salley]

I agree with Dave. You probably need a mic designed for voiceover work – a large-diaphragm condenser to be exact. Check out the models offered by CAD or Marshall. They aren’t anywhere near the price of the better brands but they will come closer to the desired performance than a simple stage vocal mic. They also require power so you also might want to consider a mixer with phantom power and Firewire connectivity. That would also allow the insertion of signal processing.

[Dai Davies]

Check out Behringer for both mics and mixers (they make some good large diaphragm studio mics for voice over) – not the very best quality but unbeatable on price and stocked by nearly all music stores

[Frank Nolan]

Okay being that this is a voice over demo reel and as such will be your calling card, you want it to sound as polished and professional as it can be. So from what you have said in your posts I gather you do not have the experience or equipment to record professional voice overs yourself. So my suggestion would be to spend some money for an hour or so at a top notch studio in your area and record your demo there. Make sure you go to a studio that does VO on a regular basis.

[Christopher Bagnall]

Ok guys, thanks for the tips. Yesterday morning I purchased for under $200 an audio package. If anyone besides the posters are reading this, let me tell you from my new found experience what to do.
Here’s a list of my purchases yesterday:

– Marshall MXL2006 Studio Condenser Microphone $100
– Phantom 48 Volt Phantom Power Supply $50
– Tube MP Project Series Microphone Preamp $50

Guys this is it. It sounds phenomenal. For the past couple weeks I was wondeing what the hell was wrong with my setup. It’s all in the equipment, especially the Tube preamp. It makes a world of difference, giving the vocals a professional warm sound. Obviously it helps if you can annunicate and speak clearly. People were telling me it was my voice that wasn’t professional and my experience was lacking. I love proving them wrong. Alright thanks for the help everyone.