Home Recording Starter Kit 2

Part 2 - Software and Hardware

Continuing my thoughts on the VO at-home starter kit: once you have your Microphone nailed down you need a way to record and a way to make the audio sound clean like it came from a studio. Not to worry, there are a few cost-effective ways to get these things until your budget allows for you to purchase or create a proper vocal booth.

[I’ll repeat my note from last time: I am NOT an expert. Engineers and sound designers like George Whittham and his like can tell you all about sound and sound absorption. They can design just the right space for you, long term. This article is meant only to help the novice get started with reasonable recording success while on a budget. Please don’t email me with your corrections and suggestions on how to better engineer a booth or set up. You’d loose me on paragraph one.]

Recording Software

There are lots of options for capturing your amazing performance in digital form in our current age. From the audio industry standard ProTools, Sony Sound Forge, Apple Garage Band (free with your purchase of an apple product) to any number of free and cheap audio software products, there is an ocean of options to choose from. But as a voice actor, you only need a program that can let you record audio well, make simple edits and output your file as an mp3. Programs like Pro Tools, Reason and Adobe Audition are tools for engineers and producers and are capable of high-end audio manipulation and editing. These programs are far more than you need and have price tags that match their capacities.

For the VO Starter kit, consider one of the following, cost-effective options for your first foray into the world of audio:

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