Libsyn Directory

Starting Your Home Studio: Gear Essentials and Expert Tips

Release Date: 05/20/2024

Can You Build a Proper VO Setup in a Tiny Room?

The Pro Audio Suite

How do you build a voiceover audition setup when the room is tiny, space is precious, and you really don't want to pull the whole thing apart every time you're finished? AP's daughter has moved into a share house in Melbourne and needs something permanent enough to give her consistent audition audio without taking over the room. The gear is already pretty capable: a RØDE NTG3, CEntrance MicPort Pro, Porta Booth, TwistedWave, Source Connect and a trusty old pair of AKGs. The question is how to put it all together so it actually works. That gets the guys talking about mic placement, portable...

In Ears for Voiceover: Brilliant Isolation or Total Overkill?

The Pro Audio Suite

Do voice actors really need in ear monitors? They offer excellent isolation and can sound fantastic, but they can also feel uncomfortable, create an unnatural sense of pressure, and make it harder to hear your own voice unless your direct monitoring is set up properly. In this episode, George, Robert, Robbo and AP look at when headphone isolation genuinely matters, including WALA sessions, radio interviews, music driven reads, remote recording, pickups and situations where headphone bleed can end up permanently embedded in the recording. They also consider the complete opposite approach....

Mic Splitters, Patchbays and the Search for Clean Gain

The Pro Audio Suite

What is the cleanest way to connect several microphones, preamps and audio interfaces without constantly crawling behind the rack? AP starts with what sounds like a simple question about expanding the line-level inputs on his Audient iD44. That sends the team down a glorious rabbit hole involving passive switchers, mic splitters, USB converters, matrix routers, the Heritage Audio Synth Buddy, ESI interfaces, Broadcast Tools, Source-Nexus and the Passport VO. Eventually, one decidedly old-school solution keeps winning the argument: the humble patchbay. The team discusses quarter-inch, Bantam...

Do Voice Actors Really Need a Neumann U87?

The Pro Audio Suite

The Neumann U87 may be one of the most recognisable microphones in the world, but does that make it the right microphone for voiceover and animation? This week, the team digs into the reputation, sound and real world value of the U87. Andrew is considering one for Somerset’s animation work, which sparks a much bigger discussion about why certain microphones become industry standards and whether producers genuinely require them. We compare the U87 with alternatives including the Neumann TLM 103, TLM 193, U89, Sennheiser MKH 416, Microtech Gefell models and the Austrian Audio OC818. The...

AI Fixed the Audio, But Should We Tell People?

The Pro Audio Suite

This week on The Pro Audio Suite, the crew dives into the weirdly perfect world of AI fixing AI. Robert shares a corporate video job about AI adoption that was, rather beautifully, rescued by AI audio cleanup. Robbo jumps in with his own tale of a big corporate shoot where the lapel mics were fitted, but somehow the camera mic was what got recorded. Enter Source Elements ReGen. The team talks through where tools like ReGen sit in the real world of audio post. Not as a first choice, not as a magic button, but as a serious get out of jail option when the recording is so far gone that traditional...

SSL One First Look: Tiny Interface, Real Knobs

The Pro Audio Suite

This week on The Pro Audio Suite, George brings out a little show and tell with the SSL One, SSL’s compact single mic preamp interface aimed squarely at the same world as the Scarlett Solo and other simple home studio boxes. The team gets into what actually matters for voice actors and home studio users, including physical gain knobs, direct monitoring, high pass filters, 4K mode, USB-C connections, headphone control, auto gain, clip protection, and why simple interfaces are sometimes the best interfaces. There is also a little live testing with Twisted Wave, a quick look at Source Elements...

Can You Trust What You’re Hearing? Monitoring, Headphones and Room Lies

The Pro Audio Suite

This week on The Pro Audio Suite, the crew dives into one of the biggest traps in audio production: trusting what you think you’re hearing. Robbo talks about working in an unfamiliar studio and being reminded how much your room, routing, monitoring chain, headphones, templates and habits shape the way you work. The conversation moves into headphone mixing, crossfeed, SPL monitoring, virtual control rooms, Sonarworks, Waves room emulation, EQ Mac, old school graphic EQs, and the fine art of not destroying your mix because your room has a 120Hz attitude problem. There’s also a proper old...

Source Elements Recorder, First Look

The Pro Audio Suite

This week on The Pro Audio Suite, we take a first look at the new Source Elements Recorder, a browser-based recording tool designed for voice actors, producers and modern remote workflows. George opens it up live during the episode with no rehearsal, no manual and no safety net, while Robert walks him through the setup, recording options and deeper features. Along the way, they explore sample rates, bit depth, mono and stereo recording, loudness targets, waveform displays, peak meters, noise floor readings, take management, ratings, notes, level conforming and export options. What starts out...

Acceptable Audio: What Voice Actors Should Listen For

The Pro Audio Suite

The team breaks down what “acceptable audio” really means for voice actors recording from home, from reflections and noise to mic placement, editing, clothing rustle and using reference recordings. What actually counts as acceptable audio when you’re recording voiceover from home? That question came up after Robbo spoke with a group of aspiring voice actors in Perth. The advice was simple enough, don’t overprocess, don’t gate everything, and send clean raw audio when asked. But one student asked the thing every beginner wants to know: how do I know if what I’m recording is...

Apple Silicon, Old Macs, and Why Working Gear Shouldn’t Die

The Pro Audio Suite

Apple has not always been known as the bargain option, but the latest Apple Silicon Macs might be changing that conversation. In this episode, the team gets into the surprising value of the M4 Mac Mini, why even a base model can be serious overkill for many voice actors, and how smaller machines like the MacBook Air and MacBook “Neo” style systems compare for remote sessions, Source Connect, Pro Tools, and travel rigs. The conversation also wanders into classic Pro Audio Suite territory, including old Macs that refuse to die, running Linux or Windows on ageing Apple hardware, right to...

More Episodes

Hosts:

Darren "Robbo" Robertson
Robert Marshall
George "The Tech" Whittam
Andrew Peters

Special Guest:

Matt Calrick (https://www.mattcowlrick.com/)

Sponsors:

Tribooth: The best vocal booths for home or on-the-road voice recording (Code: TRIPAP200 for $200 off).
Austrian Audio: Making passion heard.

Main Topic: Setting Up a Home Studio

Introduction:
- The episode kicks off with the hosts introducing themselves and their sponsors.
- The main discussion revolves around recommendations for setting up a first home studio for voice-over work.
Key Points:
- Building a Booth: Robbo shares how he built a recording booth for his wife in their walk-in wardrobe, using clothing for sound treatment.
- Microphone Recommendations:
  - Sennheiser 416
  - NTG5, NTG1, NT1, OC16
  - Audio Technica AT875R
- Interface Recommendations:
  - AI1, SSL2, Micport Pro, Steinberg UR series (IXO12, IXO22)
- Headphones:
  - Closed-back models like Audio Technica ATH series and Austrian Audio Hi-X 15
- DAWs and Software:
  - Twisted Wave recommended for its simplicity and cross-platform capabilities.
Additional Insights:
- Importance of a good recording space.
- Flexibility and longevity of audio gear.
- Importance of connectivity for remote sessions (Zoom, Source Connect).
Conclusion:
- Investing in quality gear that can be used both at home and on the road.
- Recommendations for a balanced setup: Tribooth, Sennheiser 416, and SSL2.

A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth...

https://tribooth.com/

And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear..

https://austrian.audio/

We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it’s an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here..

https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite