Hello there,

I was wondering if you could tell me how to create quality voice pieces from home, I was thinking that it might just be as simple as using a microphone and recording the speech but I don't think this gives a very good quality of sound or maybe it is just the microphone I am using.

I have no experience with sound technologies so feel free to talk to me like a child.

Is there software or techniques that I could try at home to get a quality voice clip, it is for a personal project so I am on a limited budget.

Thanks in advanced.

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I was wondering if you could tell me how to create quality voice pieces from home...

I'm not really sure what you mean by "voice pieces." Are you talking about music that uses voice or doing voice overs for projects? One thing, regardless of what you're trying to do is to understand that very few "normal" rooms will create great voice recordings (either spoken or sung) because they're not acoustically treated. You'll hear things like computer noise, street noise, A/C and heating noise, your own voice bouncing off the walls, yelling neighbors and other elements that can bleed into a recording. This is why studios have so much treatment on the walls and are carefully designed to eliminate as much bleed over as possible.

Then it could also be the mic and/or cable you're using. It could also be the software or hardware you're using. Tell us more about the set up you're using and if possible post a short example of the type of quality you're getting. Odds are one of us will be able to help you out!

Thanks,

Nate

You usually won't get any decent sound out of a "real" mic (real, as in not one of those attached to a pair of headphones) without some kind of a preamp. There are many in different price ranges. Otherwise you can keep increasing the mic volume but all you get is noise.

What kind of microphone do you have? If you're at all serious - you state that you want quality, then you are - you should look into buying something like Shure SM58 and a small preamp like this perhaps?

Thank you for being so understanding. I'm looking to create lots of voice pieces for my game and I will need lots of different people (genders/accents/ages) to do it so I thought it would be easier if I did it myself.

What I mean by voice pieces is short sentences with no background noise, for example "Roger that" or "Under attack!"

I only have a very basic head phone which I think is half the battle, I was just wondering how many people could offer services as Voice Actors, they can't all have studios surely? If not then they must have software or a technique they are using that make clean sounding clips, correct?

I had a voice actress once who said she used two microphones in a particular way? I didn't want to hire a voice actor(ess) because I needed a wide verity of voices within the same quality.

Ian.

I edited my post just after you posted your reply :)

The preamp will improve sound quality? I will have to read up on these. Is it worth getting one if I'm doing my own sound?

Are there any ways I can cut down the amount of background noise? Perhaps or is there any software free or otherwise that cuts out or smooths over such annoyances like the computer hum?

Thanks.

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Original post by Punk Designer What I mean by voice pieces is short sentences with no background noise, for example "Roger that" or "Under attack!"

This is called Voice Over.

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Original post by Punk Designer Are there any ways I can cut down the amount of background noise? Perhaps or is there any software free or otherwise that cuts out or smooths over such annoyances like the computer hum?

Yes there are many programs. Are you on a Mac or PC? What is your budget range? Many DAWs (Digital Audio Workstation) programs come with their own bundled plug-ins and there are plenty of 3rd party plug-ins as well. These all can vary in price from a couple hundred dollars to thousands.

Also what audio interface are you using?

Thanks,

Nate

is the "Shure SM58LC Cardioid Dynamic Microphone" the best I could get for the job of doing the voice overs? It seems a little expensive. Probably it has good reason to be.

I thought that doing the voice overs myself at home would save some money and I would get what I want. I mean if it turns out to be a lot of money I will have to go another route but I'm looking for quality and diversity.

Perhaps I am going down the wrong route would it be easier to hire a professional? But would that deny my variety?

Let's explore this angle for a while though, I'm running PC (Windows 7) As I have said I am on a tight budget as well so if any free software was available that would really help?

Ian.

Edit; what do you mean by audio interface?

From what I've learned about this business, there's not really a way to save money AND get the quality that you want. I have a friend who's in basically the same situation that you are, and has been searching for quite a while for software/hardware that doesn't require much financial commitment. Bottom line though, if you want quality, you have to invest a bit in hardware, software, and time. Not a bit, a lot. There's just not a way for most users to get the quality that they want for free or cheap. Luckily it won't cost you a fortune, but if you want quality...

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Original post by Punk Designer is the "Shure SM58LC Cardioid Dynamic Microphone" the best I could get for the job of doing the voice overs? It seems a little expensive. Probably it has good reason to be.

$100 for a microphone is hardly expensive. The next mic I'm wanting to get for my studio costs $3,000! So this is a decent entry level mic.

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Original post by Punk Designer Edit; what do you mean by audio interface?

Audio interface is another way of saying what are you using for your audio card? Integrated? Sound Blaster Pro? DigiRack 003? The quality of sound card that you're using can greatly impact the quality of the recordings.

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Original post by Punk Designer Perhaps I am going down the wrong route would it be easier to hire a professional? But would that deny my variety?

It depends really. No offense but you don't seem to have much knowledge of the subject so it might take more time to get up to speed with the hardware and software side of things and we haven't even discussed the audio production side of all of this. Finally, are you a good actor? Can you give convincing performances that will enhance your game's experience? If not, then you may want to just hire someone.

On the other end however, it never hurts to stretch yourself and if you have a real interest about voice overs then this could be a good opportunity to learn and experiment.