Voice Over Essential Equipment

Getting started as a voice over actor requires more than a basic microphone and a recording tool. If you are serious about moving forward with a career in the voice over industry, you will need to invest on your essential tools.

What equipment do I need to record voice overs?

Here are the essential components of a voice over studio.

Microphone

Microphone is required to capture your voice; you need to pick a quality microphone as it has a big impact to the overall quality of your recordings

 

Headphone

Though some talents forego the use of headset all together, as a beginner it is best to use a headphone to be able to understand our sound better; observe your pronunciation, enunciation; listen to any stray sound; use headphones when you playback your recording and in editing

 

Microphone Stand

The microphone stand holds your microphone in place to have a consistent and even sound

 

Preamplifier (Preamp)

A preamp provides a phantom power that amplifies the audio signal coming from your mic; it is said that to get an industry standard voice over recording, 50% depends on the quality your mic and then 50% on preamp

 

Windscreen/pop filter

Pop filter is essential as it helps minimize picking up plosives and cutting down on sibilance (the Ps and Bs sound pop and the hissing noise of S sounds).

 

Shock Mount

A shock mount suspends the microphone and helps reduce noise from the surrounding area, without affecting the sound of a microphone.

 

Acoustic Room Treatment

Acoustic room treatment for audio recording means that the microphone should only pick up the voice and not the echo bouncing around a room; a beginner may find it easier in the budget to find a quiet room, or use heavy blanket or sound blanket

 

Recording and Editing Software

The most basic of audio recording and editing software is normally more than enough to do the job as a beginner, as most sound engineers request the raw audio file; you may invest more on this as you go along with your career

Don’t jump in online and start purchasing anything related to setting up a home studio. Take time to shop around and test the equipment personally. A good advice to take is not purchase equipment that you do not have any idea how it works. To start, you may want to check out this microphone selector.