Digital Interfaces

Yamaha AG03 3-Channel Mixer/Digital interface

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A Top Choice Of The Home Studio Master

If you’re looking for equipment for an affordable home voiceover studio, the Yamaha AG03 3 channel mixer/digital interface may be all you’ll ever need. The Voice Over Home Studio Master uses this very interface in his own studio. The AG03 is a multi-purpose 3-channel mixer and high resolution (24-bit 192 kHz) 2-track audio recording /playback computer interface (MAC or PC).

It has a bunch of unique features and has the sound you’d expect from something with the Yamaha name. It has one mic input (How many do you need for VO?) with a quality Yamaha pre-amp.

Features

The AG03 model features volume knobs and a 60mm fader on the front panel. This is for simple manual control of your voice, background music, and other audio content or sound effects a gain knob

The AG03 comes equipped with an input featuring phantom power as well as a headset input. This  gives you the option to use a professional condenser mic, or conventional computer headset.

One of the unique features of the AG03 is 1-TOUCH DSP offers professional sound with a single touch.

1-TOUCH COMP / EQ adds clarity and focus to your sound with the simple click of a button. Just like an authentic radio broadcast, you can add reverb with the 1-TOUCH EFFECT or sound effects from an external device at will.

With the downloadable, multi-platform, AG DSP Controller software app, you can access, and edit the compressor, EQ, high-pass filter, reverb, and amp simulator parameters of your 1-TOUCH DSP. EASY mode gives you precise, intuitive control, while EXPERT mode allows you more detailed adjustment of your parameters.

Another unique feature is The LOOPBACK function. This enables live broadcasting of all the microphones, instruments and other audio sources along with background music from your PC / Mac or iPad. While that might not be a necessary feature for Voice Over, its a super simple way to mix live sources for a live streaming broadcast or recording a podcast!

Highly recommended!

I use the Yamaha AG03 mixer/interface every single day.  The reason is simple. A super versatile, mixer, digital interface with unique features that serve me in several capacities. Highly recommended!

 

Mixer-StudioLive® AR8 USB 8-channel hybrid

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If you need a little more versatility with a mixer  in your home voice over Studio, Presonus’ new line of “Studio Live” mixers might just be the ticket if you need to do ISDN or Phone Patches.

StudioLive® AR8 USB 8-channel hybrid mixers make it simple to mix and record live shows, studio productions, podcasts, and much more. This is a podcasters’s mixer: lightweight, versatile, feature-rich, and packed with analog connections and digital tools, yet easy to learn and use. Mix with PreSonus’® famous Class A preamps and three-band EQ.  Record with a 24-bit, 96 kHz, USB 2.0 digital audio interface. Record and playback in stereo with the integrated SD™ digital recorder. Stream program music wirelessly, using onboard Bluetooth®. Compact and road-ready, StudioLive AR mixers provide a superior all-in-one solution for mixing and recording your performances.

Audient ID4 Digital Interface For Voiceover

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Another very popular interface among the Voiceover crowd is the Audient line.

Packing large-format console performance into a petite desktop chassis, the Audient iD4 audio interface fortifies your studio with one of Audient’s renowned Class A console mic preamps, a discrete JFET DI, class-leading conversion technology, two headphone jacks, and console-style monitoring control. Also onboard is the company’s intuitive ScrollControl virtual scroll wheel that lets you use the iD4’s big volume knob to tweak your DAW and plug-in parameters and even scroll your iTunes library. Simply press the knob to dim the monitors. The Audient iD4 is a serious upgrade for any personal project studio or mobile rig.

Interface-Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Most popular Digital Interface

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I’ve used the FocusRite 2i2 digital interface since it was introduced. Why? When it comes to functionality, sound quality and affordability, FocusRite’s Scarlett 2i2 is hands down the top choice for voice over talent home studios. The best and easiest to use digital interface. The “Second Generation” 2i2 has 2 in/2 out USB 2.0 audio interface with one Scarlett mic pre amp and one instrument input, 24bit/192kHz & USB bus powered. Mac & PC compatible. It also has an easy to use and understand audio level meter that arcs around the audio input gain dial. I wish I had a nickel for every 2i2 I recommended to someone. I’ve heard few complaints aside from occasional problems with drivers when used with a PC.

Universal Audio Apollo Twin MKII

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The Apollo Twin MKII is the ultimate digital interface for home studio and professional studios alike! Apollo Twin MkII is a ground-up redesign of the world’s most popular professional desktop recording interface for Mac and Windows — delivering enhanced audio conversion with the tone, feel, and flow of analog recording.

Built upon UA’s 60-year heritage of audio craftsmanship, Apollo Twin MkII starts with two Unison™-enabled mic preamps and stellar next-generation A/D and D/A conversion derived from UA’s flagship Apollo 8, 8p, and 16. Together with its included bundle of UAD analog emulation plug-ins — which you can track through in real time with UAD-2 SOLO, DUO or QUAD Core processing

How Should Voice Over Audio Sound?

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How Should Voice Over Audio Sound?

By Dan Lenard

“The Home Studio Master”

One of the things to consider when hiring a voice talent is “How is their sound?” Does it sound like its on the radio? Is the size of the room they recorded it in apparent from the echo you hear? Are their mic plosives or “popping “P’s? All of these things are evidence of overthinking or not understanding proper audio processing, a less than ideal recording space and poor mic technique. When it comes to you for your production, you don’t want to spend the time to clean it up or ask the talent to record it again.

Having a home or “personal“ voice over recording studio is a relatively new phenomenon. It used to be the pride of a few technically adept audio engineers and experienced radio talents. That all changed with the simplification of the digital recording process about 15 years ago. Equipment to record quality audio to one’s computer became cheap and in the reach of anyone wanting to hang out a VO shingle.

Unfortunately, having the proper equipment and knowing how to use it are two different things.

I’ve spent the last ten years as a private consultant to voice talents, helping them create their recording spaces, teaching them how to use the equipment and software and troubleshooting issues with it. My clients include the horde of new talents vying for your attention and experienced pros who’ve spent their careers in professional recording studios, who now have to have a home studio and have to learn these skills in order to compete.

The most experienced pros have mastered these skills. Its what allowed them to succeed in todays marketplace.  While the recording process is physically easier to do now, not understanding some basic rules will render some audio unusable.  Over-modulation causing distorted audio, or under-modulated audio that requires a great deal of amplification, which adds additional noise to the audio file. Poor mic technique that lends to the plosives I mentioned earlier, and having a room that is not properly acoustically treated that is not ideal to record audio.

Listen to auditions you get. Aside form a talents ability to take your copy and bring it to life, and make it sound like they’re not reading it, does it sound like they recorded it in a tube?

Here’s what it should sound like: Like your having a conversation with that person in the same room. We don’t talk to each other 1/2” from each others eardrums. They shouldn’t sound like they are right on top of the microphone.  You should only hear the talents voice, no background noise and no room reflection, or small echoes.

So when listening to talent for your next production, watch for these signs of inexperience that will eventually cost you time and money. Hire the ones that know how its done.

If you want to know more about how to properly record voice overs or want the talents you use to improve their sounds, I’m available for consultations. Go to homevoiceoverstudio.com and read up on what I do.