VO Studio: Benefit of the Booth – Tuesday Tech Tip

Compared to my current VO recording space (shown above), the first voiceover studio I set up was ugly. I mean frighteningly so. Certainly, I never showed it to any client nor to my agent.

However, between the blankets and foam and insulation layers, the first studio sounded good. More importantly, the space gave consistent results. Recordings sounded the same even when matching work from the previous week, month or more. Since the gear had to be broken down and stored between sessions, part of that challenge was getting things back in precisely the same location each time.

Referring to measurements, quickly lining up on reference marks, and taking one last moment to make sure it all looked the same became part of the setup process. Then recording a quick take and running it through my ears before I spent time working the auditions or projects.

I used that simple, non-permanent setup for a couple years. At a certain point, I managed to score a decent upgrade. A used vocal booth found via the Craigslist. After the obtaining, wrangling, and setup, I immediately noticed that it sounded (a) different and (b) worse. That was a bit of a rude shock. Not entirely unexpected, but not particularly appreciated.

Building up your voiceover studio

As with any change to a studio setup, there were iterative fixes. My original setup had been more open, so I’d largely avoided issues with resonances associated with smaller, enclosed, symmetrical spaces. Changing to a 4’ square room trapped and reinforced certain frequencies which had to be addressed.

Just as when I first propped my mic up in the end of a hallway with some blankets on the wall, the process once again became one of listening to the results and then addressing the acoustic issue. Typically, solving one thing revealed another which had been masked by the first. Small tweaks of angle and position resulted in better sound. Some non-obvious things fixed other issues. It became kind of an audio treasure hunt, until one morning it just sounded “right”.

A dedicated VO recording space provides consistency

It was only then that I realized the beauty of the booth – it created an amazingly consistent environment. I could hit record, hop into the booth, and have the result match with no testing or mucking about. Most of that had to do with the more permanent nature of the setup. All the detailed positioning of the microphone, the placement of damping material, the distances from the walls – none of that had to be reset each time I wanted to record. It seemed a great luxury.

There was one small trick which I had brought along from the first setup. A taped “X” on the floor where my right foot goes. That consistent reference lets me take a quick look around so I can notice that the mic arm may have gotten bumped, or whether some bass trapping may have shifted position. It removes the variable of where I’m standing, places me in the right position, and lets me focus on the task at hand.

This information recently went out directly to my email community.
If you would like to join in to receive those emails the day they publish, please take a moment to share your contact information through this sign up form.
Thank you.