Voice Actor's Guide to Recording at Home and On the Road

I was looking for a book to explain how to record one's voice on a home computer. This very practical, easy-to-understand guide to voice-over recording comes through loud and clear, with excellent signal-to-noise ratio. Best of all, these guys "get" direct-to-computer USB recording, mixing software, the Internet, and other modern technologies, integrating them with timeless recording advice gathered in real careers.Hogan and Fisher tell you what works, and why what you think might work, won't. Rather than showing off their geek-speak chops, they use regular English and even poke fun at the technical lingo in the process of demystifying it. Other home recording books lavish excessive technical verbiage on how to pad your walls. These guys offer practical solutions (including "move") and even show how to make a portable acoustic foam-lined mic box. You will discover exactly what you need to buy -- although the USB-audio-interfaces section is surprisingly short -- and how to use it. They won't tell you exactly what mic to buy, though, and it's for your own good.Warning: the jokes are abundant, mostly terrible and distracting, especially the comments from "Prunella," whose parenthetic remarks, although they mercifully trail off, are the editorial equivalent of lip smacks. (The full harshness of this comment will be appreciated upon reading the otherwise excellent text.) Failed humor notwithstanding, the tone ends up being warmly self effacing and encouragingly user-oriented. These guys take seriously the job of helping you, including a strong index and glossary, and plenty of URLs.Chapter 12, Advanced Production Techniques, is alone worth the price of the book. Embedded in an economically worded step-by-step script for editing recordings are the exact frequencies to manipulate to address problems such as thin sound, dull recording, and sibilance. You end up feeling as though you have two buddies in the recording business; telling you every tip they know, and hammering on mistakes that could ruin your project. Don't let the light tone fool you: this is a seriously great book!

While I am not averse to keeping up with the changes in technology I was certainly cowed by the prospect of delving into this much technology at such a broad price range. This was especially so due to the goal of producing income from this endeavor. The authors of this book have given far more digestible information than I was able to glean from the myriad of websites and chat-rooms devoted to VO. Having waited until I finished the book to proceed with purchasing my equipment I am awaiting its' arrival. I will update this review in light of my attempts to record based on what this book provides. As of now, I am pleased to say that I have a working idea of what I am getting myself into and have thusly justified the expense, both to myself AND my wife (the book made all the difference there!).UPDATE 5/4/2013I have made some major purchases based on priciples of buying that this book sets forth and have not been disapointed! While my progress has been slowed by the birth of a child (read: lots of time and $ spent on diapers!) I am looking forward to picking things back up. So far I have exceeded the quality expected by clients within the smalltime arena I am currently producing work. I feel pretty confident as well that I will continue to do so for some time with the versatility afforded by my purchases. At this rate I am hoping to be able to make at least half my income through VO within the next 2-3 years.

Well written and I appreciate the humor which keeps it from being a dry read. Basic, good info that you need to know or be aware of in the world of voice recording and setting up your own studio.

Having recorded commercials in studios for years, it was time to go with the trend of setting up a home recording studio. This book was highly recommended by a few professionals in the business. I found it easy to read as well as humorous and motivational. In just a few easy steps, I was able to piece together a home recording studio. I also gleaned many valuable voice over techniques and tips from the book. I continue to recommend it to friends and acquaintances that want to get into the voice over business or who are already working voice over artists. It is just a good book to have in your library if you are a voice over artist.

This is the most useful (and fun) book on the actual process of recording the voice for acting, demos, audio books and so forth I've ever seen. Technically detailed enough (though written in normal people lingo, not "geek speak") to guide the construction of your own home "studio," it also has the basics of processing and promoting voice work at home or on the road. Written in a very breezy style, it also includes lots of advice for the aspiring voice artist and has pages of references for equipment, vendors and services. Highly recommended!

The jokes are horrible but the information is well organized, interesting and very practical. Consider yourself warned about the jokes!

The jokes and asides sometimes got in the way of the information. Besides this small annoyance, the information and techniques given were definitely keepers.Some of the nuggets I got were how to build a portable voice booth you can set up anywhere. I made two (one in my LA studio and one for my Manila studio) using acoustic foam I found cheap onlline. They work as advertised and I made several recourdings with them from my desktop. The Advanced Production techniques also helped me to clean up onlder voice takes I had almost given up on. One was good enough for my demo.

Excellent book! Enjoyed it and will use it as my VO go-to source. Well-written and seasoned with a break of humor here and there. From technique to set-up and web presence this is an excellent book for the beginning voice actor to novice. Thanks Harlan for a well-written resource!