VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Stephanie]

Hi there – I’m purchasing equipment for a home studio - isn't everyone? - and was hoping for a bit of feedback (no pun intended). I’ve read through many of the previous threads on studio start-ups but remain befuddled about a few items.

I’ve downloaded Audacity and want to make sure I’m getting the equipment I need to record (I have a paid gig pending with a very loose timeline). I’ve read good things about the Art Tube MP and the Delta Audiophile 2496. I’m just wondering what else I need to get other than the preamp and sound card. I have a mic, stand, cables, headphones. Do I also need an external drive? Is there anything I'm forgetting?

I've been checking out these gear threads and surfing around online and while I'm picking up good advice I often feel like the more I know, the more I don't know, ya know? So I thought I'd ask.

Many thanks in advance!

[billelder]

A portable drive is good to have for backups or to store for when the main drive fails. But then again, I'm a "more drives the merrier" kinda guy.
Good luck with your project!

[Stephanie]

Thanks, Bill!

[steveanthony]

Hi Stephanie,

The equipment you mentioned should work fine. What kind of recording environment do you have. By that, do you have a quiet room? And if it's quiet, does it echo or reflect sound? The room has as much (if not more) bearing on creating acceptable audio. It's easy to blame poor audio quality on equipment when it may be the room causing acoustics to misbehave. I mention this as a heads up if, when you invest in equipment and you're not happy with the sound, you don't feel like you should have gone with something else . . . then, the next thing you know, you're into Sweetwater for several grand and things haven't improved. Get the room right first. A clothes closet (with clothes) is often a viable alternative.

Good luck,
Steve

[Yoda117]

I'm going to add a recommendation.

Studio monitors.

Even though I have some great reference headphones (Sony MDR-7506 and Ultrasone), I still like to listen to anything I'm doing (i.e., whatever I'm sending to the client) through some good studio reference monitors.

I'm a little weirder than most on this board in that I also monitor my mix using speakers from a car sometimes (for VO that it going over radio). Mainly I take this next step because I want to hear what the audience is going to hear, and more imporantly... those speakers were free.

I'm also curious as to what you're using for a mic. I've recently been running into people who've been having issues with their recordings, only to find that they're using a microphone that is totally unsuited to the application.

Call me paranoid...
_________________
Voiceovers by Gregory Houser
Philadelphia based Voice Actor

Blog - A man, a martini, and a lot of microphones

[Stephanie]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

This will be trial by fire but I am excited about it. I feel confident the room will suffice, or I will make it suffice. Basement, no windows, very quiet and I'll be buying some foam for sure.

The hardware is concerning me most of all. I got overzealous a few weeks ago and bought the Mbox 2 and as I was attempting to install it, discovered it isn't compatible with my system. And now knowing that this version also isn't compatible with Vista, I either need to find a new notebook with XP (but I like Dell!) or try to make due with my old system with some of the helpful suggestions I've received.

Such is the life of a technophobe and one who forgets to check the specs! But I am learning a lot so it's all good!