Voice over recording has become much easier and convenient since the invention of USB mics. Your entire studio can be a laptop computer and a USB mic. But there are some drawbacks in using a USB mic instead of a conventional analog mic. Let's look at the good, the bad and the ugly of USB mics.
First of all, what is a USB mic? For decades microphones have been devices that have converted sound waves into a continuous analog electrical signal. This signal was then fed through a mixer to a tape recorder which then recorded the waveform on tape. When the tape was played back, the electrical signal reproduced was amplified through speakers and the original sound was reproduced. But that was so last millenium! As the new century dawned tape disappeared and sound was being recorded as numbers on a computer--digital recording. To convert sound to numbers (digital), the analog microphone signal was put through equipment that contained an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). These numbers were then passed on to the computer to record. When the numbers were played back through the opposite equipment -- a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) sound was heard once again in the speakers.
Then some bright inventor decided to put that analog-to-digital converter into the base of the microphone and send the digital signal out over a USB computer cable (yep, just like your printer cable!) and thus was born the USB mic. And the world of recording was much better... well, not exactly.
The Good. Convenience. Cost. In its simplest form you can now have a recording studio that consists of your microphone and your laptop (or desktop) computer. The devices are "plug and play" which means they don't require a sound card or drivers to operate. You just plug it into the USB port of your computer and the mic appears in your sound control panel. Traditional analog mics required a preamp, a mixer and then the A-to-D converter to get the same job done. For voice over talent this means you can record with much less investment. And your studio is much more portable. Just take your mic and laptop with you to the Bahamas and you can still nail that "must do" audition or job and send the finished files to the client via the internet. Reasonable quality mics are available starting at around $100. When you get up to around $200 the quality is just fine for VO work. And you don't have to buy all that extra equipment.
The Bad. Not quite professional. Single mic use. Early mic designs used a standard A-to-D chip that was limited to 16 bit/44.1 kHz recordings. Although this is CD quality, many pro recordings use the higher 24 bit/96 kHz standard. But this is changing. The latest mics are using a new chip that provides this 24 bit/96 kHz option. Also If you have a application where you need multiple mics or you need to mix the mic with other signals you'll need a mixer and you'll want to use analog mics. Because the USB mics are seen as computer signals, recording software can usually only handle one, or at the most a stereo pair of USB mics. This shouldn't be a drawback for simple voice over jobs where you're only recording one voice.
The Ugly. No gain adjust. Latency. Some USB mics don't have gain adjustment, or at best they have a level switch. When you do voice overs you might whisper for one job and shout for the next. You need a way to ensure that the recording level is adequate but not clipping in any performance. Analog mixers had "gain" knob that let you adjust the mic level. You shouldn't have to adjust your speech volume or your mic distance to achieve the correct recording level. So no gain knob is a problem. USB mics also have latency. This is a computer processing delay between the time you talk and the time you hear your voice. In the worst case this can be as long as a quarter second. This makes monitoring yourself with headphones annoying or impossible. The latest generation of USB mics has recognized these two problems with the addition of infinite gain knobs and direct monitoring. So you can adjust the mic gain to fit your situation. And now you can plug headphones directly into the mic and hear your voice in real time through an analog headphone jack with a volume adjust.
All In All I Like Them. I think the pros of USB mic far outweigh the cons. The latest generation of USB mics with gain control and latency-free monitoring allow you to sling your studio over your shoulder and take it anywhere in the world. Add a high-speed internet connection and it's "have voice-will travel". Bahamas here I come!
If you live in the Los Angeles area you should look into my live Voice Over Classes. For those who live in other ares I also offer Online Voice Over Classes which offer the same quality of instruction in a modular, online format
William Williams is a voice over talent, instructor and coach located in Burbank near Los Angeles California. With experience as a marketing director, commercial and animation producer and voice over talent he knows what's required for excellence on "both sides of the glass." For 25 years he has been the owner and operator of Aliso Creek Productions, a full service audio production company specializing in radio, TV, and industrial audio, and voice over instruction and coaching. William has produced or performed in hundreds of commercials, videos and animation projects.
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