With a number of audio interfaces, there's a tendency to simplify the control panel. While this gives a very clean look to the device, it means that what a given knob or button controls changes depending upon what mode you are in. Well designed separate controls show exact settings and allow immediate adjustments. Analog interfaces can aid creativity in the vo studio.
While maintaining that operational simplicity, the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Generation 4 then solved two major issues impacting many voice actors and podcasters: reliably setting input levels with Auto-Gain, and dealing with sudden changes in performance volume through the "SAFE" mode.
Once you decide to hit the road with your voiceover recording gear, how do you bring along "everything you need, but nothing you don't"? Here's what I've found works well...
How much VO gear do you need when you travel? Or more importantly, should you be bringing anything with you at all? Before focusing on what recording equipment to take along, it might be helpful to ask just what we are trying to accomplish. Challenging conditions lie in wait when on the road.
Our studio working environment matters a great deal. The ability to be instantly creative behind the microphone strikes me as the oft-overlooked variable when developing a home recording space.
In choosing software, our needs are niche... Narrators, podcasters, storytellers, and voice actors remain a small subset of those people who record audio at home using their own equipment. The bulk of the product or software development remains geared towards singer/songwriters or home music recording enthusiasts. Our home VO studio requirements remain an outlier. So, how to choose?
When considering how to deliver long form audio, such as audiobook, eLearning work, or even podcast monologues, it becomes apparent...
While new stuff can certainly be cool to consider, those new gear announcements may also make us wonder whether what we have already is enough. It might be more helpful to ask what exactly we need to do in our home voiceover studios.
The PASport VO Dual Audio Interface has arrived! So many VO-specific challenges are solved by this unit. It sounds great and I"m looking forward to digging in under the hood to learn this device.
© JustAskJimVO.studio / Jim Edgar
For my VO Services: JimEdgarVoices.com
