V/O recording options

[John M. McCloskey]

very close to making a purchase for the Sound Devices 702T to use in conjuction with a AT4050. From what I have heard and read this would be a great duo in recording broadcast quality studio V/O. I would like to make sure I am not leaving any rock unturned as to options I may have overlooked. Please if you would do something different I would enjoy hearing your suggestions. THX

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by John M. McCloskey

very close to making a purchase for the Sound Devices 702T to use in conjuction with a AT4050. From what I have heard and read this would be a great duo in recording broadcast quality studio V/O. I would like to make sure I am not leaving any rock unturned as to options I may have overlooked. Please if you would do something different I would enjoy hearing your suggestions. THX

If you're doing VO you'll probably also be editing the recording and possibly mating it to video. While the 702 is certainly a great recorder and does a thoroughly professional job in every respect, if you're in the studio and have a computer with audio interface and editing software, as it's likely you would if you're doing VO work, the separate recorder becomes redundent. Why record to the SD and transfer the file to the computer for editing when you can record directly into the computer and cut out the middleman? Set up a recording chain of microphone->small mixer with good preamps->good audio interface->workstation and add your choice of audio editing software such as Sony Soundforge or Vegas, Adobe Audition, or what have you.

I personally chose a Mackie 1642 mixing desk and an Echo Audiofire 8 interface to feed my workstation but there are a number of other similar options you might explore. For the price of the SD recorder you could buy both of those and still have money leftover to get a passable set of monitor speakers and some acoustic conditioning.

If you have the need for field or location recording that's another story altogether. That's where the stand-alone recorder comes into its own. (Although even there, there's a lot of excellent work is being done with a good mixer/interface combination feeding a laptop.)

Just some thoughts to help you decide....

[John M. McCloskey]

Thanks Steve, the main reason we were going with this recorder was for in the field option along with in studio V/O. Would you consider a differnet mic than the AT 4050 which would strickly be used for in house V/O sessions. Just checking viable options. Thanks again

[Wayne Brissette]

I use the 4040 for 99% of my VO sessions. I love the sound of that series mic for voice overs.

Wayne

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by John M. McCloskey

Thanks Steve, the main reason we were going with this recorder was for in the field option along with in studio V/O. Would you consider a differnet mic than the AT 4050 which would strickly be used for in house V/O sessions. Just checking viable options. Thanks again

Differrent voices will like different mics. The A/T is undoubtedly a good mic. I have a Rode NT1a that sounds pretty good. I also like the EV RE20, I used one for radio broadcasting 10 years ago and liked the way I sounded with it, and am planning on getting one of those or an RE27 one of these days soon. A number of VO artists who go top-shelf for their gear like Neumann U87.