Tools

My friend Juan, better known in the blogosphere as Some Audio Guy, has just posted a very interesting comparison of a couple of microphones and pre-amps. It’s not a fair fight, as Juan notes, but quite interesting.

B&H’s latest electronic newsletter includes an introduction to a career in audio that has some points of value to anyone needing to understand how to record and edit audio.

My friend and fellow voice actor Dave Courvoisier takes a long hard look at the ins and outs of ISDN on the Rain Recording web site. This is a very good, and well balanced article, well worth the several minutes of your time it will take to read … especially if you’re wrestling with whether or not to add ISDN to your home studio set-up.

With thanks to my friend Steve Anthony for the link on his blog, I ran across an old but still quite useful article looking at the subject of recording voiceovers from the perspective of studio engineers. In this day, when so many of us in voiceover work have to do the recording and editing ourselves, this article on the Mix Magazine website is worth a few minutes of your time to read.

Then check out the site my friend Brian Haymond found and posted about on his blog the other day.

Michael Minetree emails with the link to video number 4 in his on-going series as he builds he new voice isolation booth.

Thank you, Michael. It’s looking great.

The work continues on Michael Minetree’s new voiceover isolation booth. Here is the third in his on-going series of videos.

I’m looking forward to seeing the finished booth one of these days.

My friend Michael Minetree has a new updated video on the ongoing construction project as he’s building a new voice booth for his studio.

Thanks for the update, Michael. It’s looking good.

Dan O’Day has a page on his website where you can buy copies of a ton of different audio seminars for just $24 each. A great deal in and of itself. But, now Dan has decided to offer a complicated, but worthwhile, opportunity for you to get an even better deal. Here are the details from Dan’s email earlier today.

Purchase any 3 of the 47 audio seminars by 11:59PM (EDT) on Friday, July 11, and I will GIVE you a fourth one of your choice for free.

How Does That Work?

1. Stroll on over to http://www.danoday.com/24 .

2. Listen to all the audio demos you want.

3. Pick 3 seminars that really appeal to you and download them. Be sure to use identical ordering information (name, payment method, etc.) for each of the 3.

4. This will require 3 separate transactions: You select one, download it, then select another, download it, etc.

5. Send me an e-mail that lists the three order numbers. (Easy to locate. You’re automatically sent an e-mail confirmation for each, and each confirmation includes the order number in the “Subject” line.)

In that e-mail, be sure to tell me the name of the FOURTH audio seminar you want from the $24 Seminars page, and I’ll e-mail you your own private download link.

Voila!

In less time than it took you to read these admittedly complicated instructions, you’ll have enough new continuing audio education to last for a VERY long road trip. (I have a hunch many people listen while driving.)

I’ve been present for the recording of many of these audio sessions. They aren’t all going to be perfect for you, but certainly at least 4 of them will be. Very possibly more than 4. Read the instructions over again, if you need to, then click through and take advantage of Dan’s offer before the end of the day (Eastern Time) on Friday, July 11th. (And, no, I don’t get a commission from Dan for passing along this news. I just thing you should know about it.)

My friend Willie Edwards is an ongoing source of excellent ideas. He posted on his blog some time ago about how to make Sound Absorbing Panels that can help you tame the sound of your recording space, especially if you don’t have an ideal room in which to do your voiceover work.

Now, he’s added a new blog post with two more excellent suggestions of further DIY projects. Thank you, Willie. I so appreciate that you’ve found and linked to these excellent resources.

(edited to fix typo)

My friend Juan, better known as Some Audio Guy, offers some thought-provoking comments on his blog about microphone technique … especially about the habit of some voice artists to work too close.

From time to time I get and email asking about the audio player I use on this blog and on my main web site. If you’re using WordPress as your blogging software or the foundation of your site, it’s a simple as can be. Just install the free WordPress audio player plug in and follow the very simple instructions on how to put an audio clip on your site.

If you’re not using WordPress, don’t despair. There’s a clear tutorial available from Mindy McAdams about how to use the WordPress player on other sites.

One other note, this player will only play MP3 files. No other audio formats are supported.

My friend Willie Edwards (who lives just an hour up the road from me in North Carolina) wrote some time back about a Do-It-Yourself project building Sound Absorption Panels.

Recently he’s received and replied to some correspondence about those panels on his VO Mic Test blog. I think you might find the exchange valuable and enlightening, especially if you need to tame the sound in your home studio.

Update: In case you don’t see the comments below, my friend Greg Houser mentions a site to checkout called Clearsonic.com.