All you need to know while setting up your home voice recording studio

With oodles of work opportunities to earn as a voice over artist, you need to ensure that you are making the best of each opportunity. While recording from an outside studio will help you get the highest quality recording, you still have to clear your schedule for making an appointment and complete your work within th booked time slot. Also, for bulk volume projects you need to work properly in your own time and booking a studio will not be feasible for such work!

Having a home studio ensures that you have flexibility to work at your own pace and time. Also, with no time clock telling you to make way for another voice artist, you can wrap up the project without any stress, with as many retakes and by saving huge bucks! Setting up a home studio is a time consuming work but with the right planning and knowledge, you can build the right home studio with easy access to record anytime.

Choosing the right equipment:

The basic hardwares required in your home studio will help you to capture and control sounds better and this will be dependenton the quality of the equipment you use. The essential voice over equipment required to build a home recording studio are:

Microphone:

The first essential equipment you require for setting up your studio is a microphone, without which you cannot deliver any high quality recording. Microphones can be broadly narrowed down to the following types:

1. Condenser Microphone: Considered one of the best types of microphones for studio recordings, condenser microphones comprise of a diaphragm that moves back and forth to solid backplate and this capacitance change creates the sound waves. These types of microphones are able to pick up sound waves better and offer the highest sound quality. Also these have a higher sensitivity and lower noise frequency than other microphones
2. Ribbon Microphone: These are one of the earliest microphones to be used in which a corrugated aluminium ribbon is suspended between poles of magnet. These microphones have a low output impedance and a good resonance frequency, producing a more pleasing sound.
3. Dynamic Microphone: Dynamic microphones convert the sound into an electrical energy through electromagnetism. These are often used for stage performance as these have a sturdy built and don't operate on external power. They are better suited to handle higher volume level and cheaper than other microphones.

You should be aware of what 'type' of microphone you require and the need of extra microphone gears, aside from your budget. Some of the most popular microphones for home studio recordings are:

1. Shure SM7B
2. Blue Yeti Pro
3. AKG C414 XLII

Pop Shield:

To protect unwanted noise build-up, you must ensure to use a good quality pop filter or pop shield. A pop filter helps to improve the life of the microphone and with various options present in the market, you should make sure that you invest in the right model. Few popular pop filters to choose from are:

1. Nadi MPF-6
2. Blue Universal pop up filter
3. Stedman Corporation Proscreen XL

Audio Interface:

Audio Interface helps to convert analog signals to digital signals that your computer can process and also helps to convert digital signals to analog that can be monitored via headphones. Audio interfaces are a must if you seek high quality audio sound and here is a list of some that can improve the overall experience of your voice recording:

1. M-Audio M-Track 2X2
2. Steinberg UR22C
3. Universal audio Apollo twin Mkll

Recording and Editing Software:

This is an important tool to give the final finish to your voice over recording. There are many softwares available online for free and here are some popular options to help you choose the best audio editing software:

1. Audacity
2. Adobe audition
3. Logic Pro X

Soundproofing the room:

Soundproofing your studio is an important aspect to block unwanted noise and insulate your studio to deliver documentary, advertisement or animation voice over like a pro! You may invest in the best recording equipment but without soundproofing, you will not be able to get a quality job done. If you want to soundproof a basic studio set-up, remember the following:

1. Insulate entry doors and windows and check for any cracks. You can easily install a door sweep to keep the unwanted noises at bay and seal the windows with foam gaskets so that the sound does not escape or enter into your set up.
2. Mass loaded vinyl on the walls can help to absorb sound better and absorbent panels and cork, rubber, or foam insulations help to provide better insulation.
3. Use thick floor carpets to dampen the noise coming from floors beneath you.
4. You can also carpet your entire studio, i.e., walls, doors and ceiling instead of opting for foam insulations that cost more.
5. Keep large and irregular equipment like furniture inside the room to diffuse the sound better and do an echo test by clapping your hands from the place you would be doing your recording. This will help you to know if further sound absorption is required or not.

You can easily achieve an optimum recording environment by selecting proper equipment and soundproofing the studio effectively. Also, if you’re a professional voice actor or a beginner in the field of voice over, you can always visit and register on Voyzapp, which has provided hundreds of professional and aspiring voice over actors to get new voice over opportunities.

In the end, it’s all about taking out the time to learn how to build an environment that is conducive to producing high quality voice recordings. Good luck with your home studio!

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