Dave Courvoisier's Blog

Archive for the ‘Equipment’ Category

Egypt-based VO friend Mahmoud Taji called the other day.  He lives in Cairo, Egypt, but the area code on the caller ID told me it was the Seattle area.  Smart guy, that Taj…he set himself up with an American-style phone number through Magic-Jack.

This is one of those “as seen on TV” gizmos that actually is a fairly inexpensive and innovative way to use your computer to make phone calls.  In that sense, it’s like Skype, but you can use your regular phone handset if you want AND, you can choose a phone number area code from just about any part of the country.  There’s voice-mail, call-forwarding and many of the other features you’ll find in a POTS phone (plain old telephone system).

But I digress.

I’d never really talked to Taji before, so it was fun to hear him in real time.  Great voice.  You have to listen hard to hear any foreign accent at all.  In the course of the conversation, though, we talked about his newest online venture:  VOICE OVER BUY AND SELL:  “…If you have a piece of equipment you would like to sell and aren’t interested in going through any of the auction sites then why don’t you post a listing on VO Buy & Sell..”

And that pretty much says it all.  The site is easy to navigate, intuitive, and as with all the online work Taji does, it’s visually appealing.  Nice work, Mahmoud!  I hope it’s a big success…I know I’ll be listing something soon.

CourVO

The guy’s on a roll lately!

On top of having one the most marketable reputations in VO-land…and despite hosting frequent successful webinars and coaching classes, Harlan Hogan is finding the time to make a real go of it staking his name on two dynamite products these days.

His most recent splash is a signature series Marshall-made VO Microphone, getting boffo reviews.

Click HERE to see the offer at HarlanHogan.com, or HERE to see it on AMAZON.com (same price).

Harlan has also long been known for innovating a sweet little portable mic sound booth.   Now, with the right packaging and marketing, he’s making a very respectable run at selling a boatload of these things…and why not?  If you have to travel much, and keep clients happy, this is about as close as it gets to getting it done right on the fly.  Click HERE to get your pre-order in for the Porta-Booth Pro ($100 deposit, total price $349…enough to give anyone pause…but honestly, it’s probably worth every penny).

You might want to pause and see some of the other items Harlan lists on his ‘Voice Over Essentials Department Store‘.

Nice going HH!!

CourVO

Peter O’Connell — aside from being a talented Voice actor, a marketing guru, and the author of “The Voice Over Entrance Exam” also has the distinction of conceptualizing a number of unofficial casting calls…in other words, it’s not real, but it’s real fun.

His latest is an invitation to audition for the announcer of the ABC World News.  Bill Rice is the most capable voice of that program, but you can dream cantcha?

Give it a whirl.  I didn’t, ’cause I don’t believe in TV news programs.  ;-}

But I think you should…really!

Click HERE for details.

CourVO

You’ll always find a link to this online publication here on my blog, as soon as I get notification that it’s out.

I’ve never seen as slick an online publication as this magazine…and that’s aside from all the kick-butt content it has.

EQ Magazine is for the audiophile, the studio engineer, the musician crazed by getting the perfect sound…so it leans in the direction of technical audio lingo…but the articles are spot-on.  This month: tips on using Pro-Tools 8, and Cakewalk Sonar 8.5, along with other great equipment critiques and even the ads are worth a gander.

Check it out HERE.

CourVO

Art Hadley has put together a rather nice idea of an Amazon Store of VO equipment.

This is not a comprehensive collection by far, but certainly grasps the essence of tools that any VO would need to set up a good private studio.

The VoiceOver General Store is HERE.

CourVO

Inevitably, one of your clients (OK, a few?)  will require a “fix”, a “patch”…a “re-do”.

Maybe it’s their fault:  a re-write, a change in the copy, or a pronunciation they didn’t give you.

Maybe (horrors!) it’s YOUR fault for inserting or deleting an important word.

Whatever the reason — and not opening up the can of worms of how to charge for that  –  I have a question that would require your commenting back, and I hope you will.

Assuming you adjust your audio chain and your voice, your positioning, and maybe even your microphones differently for different jobs, how do you manage to reproduce that same sound (maybe days or weeks later) for that “patch” you are now being asked to do?

Is it just by ear?…do you actually make notes for the settings on your pre-amp or channel-strip?…do have pre-sets that are marked on the face of your panel?…are you SO good that you know exactly where to place yourself in front of your mic to get that same sound?

I’m trying different things, and having pretty good luck, but if you feel like sharing this not-so-secret-secret, I’d really appreciate it, and I promise to collate, share, and re-print the variety of responses here.

Just click on “COMMENT” below if you have a second to jot down a thought.

Thanks!

CourVO

The latest iteration of Sony’s professional digital audio production suite is out.  This is the full-featured program with all the bells and whistles, not their SoundForge “Audio Studio” pkg.

Full price is $374.95…but if you upgrade from a previous pro version, it’s $149.95, and upgrade from an Audio Studio version, it’s $279.95.  Offer valid until the end of October.

Click HERE for a time-sensitive, but full-featured trial.

CourVO

Rain Recording publishes a lot of great articles in its newsletters in addition to all the wonderful deals on audio equipment they constantly offer.

There latest  newsletter has a couple of articles worth your time in perusing.

See the one on: “DIY STUDIO SOUNDPROOFING: CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?”

and….the piece regarding: “CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON: MICROPHONES”.

Let me know what you think…I’m working on a new article for them adding to the 3 or 4 I’ve already written…but the topic is a big secret.  Check back here for more!

CourVO

‘Came across this site somehow in my meanderings yesterday.

Two of the members of ProToolsUsers.org discussing some tips on recording the human voice using ProTools.

You might find something of interest in THESE two posts.  If not, and you use PT, this may be a site to find some answers from time to time.

CourVO

Julie Williams’ monthly VoiceOver Insider newsletter has lately been extolling the virtues of BLUE Microphone’s “Mikey” portable condenser mic for use with the iPod, iPhone, and iTouch. 

She also sends out an occasional e-mail blast titled “VO Things of Interest” that has been mentioning the Mikey as well.   The meat to this story is that she’s secured a significant discount for us all in the purchase of Mikey, and all of that is mentioned in her latest missive below:
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VoiceOver Insider Subscribers Save 20% on Blue’s Latest Product

We’ve arranged a special deal for you on Blue’s new MIKEY! For a limited time you can save 20% by using a special coupon code.  Please note…this is a market test for them.   If they get a great response from VoiceOver Insider subscribers, there will be more coupons and giveaways to come!   So if you want a Mikey, THIS IS THE TIME to buy it!

ABOUT MIKEY:

Mikey is the first  CD Quality Recorder for iPod and .   Mikey delivers Blue’s award winning design and sound quality to an easy to use iPod recording device. Use Mikey to record a quality voiceover audition wherever you may be, song ideas, narration projects, field recording …and expect to get the best sound CD quality out there.  Then, sync your iPod and all of your recordings automatically load into iTunes.  Mikey features Blue’s superior quality condenser capsules, 3-position user selectable gain settings, and built-in speaker for playback. It’s never been easier to record your world. Simply connect Mikey to your iPod/iPhone and instantly begin recording. Mikey is capable of recording everything from the barest audible sound to extremely loud sources without losing audio fidelity, and compatible with the iPod 5G, iPod Classic, iPod Nano 2G, 3G and 4G and now compatible with iPhone and iPod touch. 

HOW TO GET DISCOUNT:
To purchase and receive your discount, click to http://tinyurl.com/VOI-MikeyDiscountand enter the coupon code:  voice0709. This offer expires on August 31, 2009.
For iPhone and iPod Touch: Recommended Recording Apps Include: Audioboo, Fire-Field Recorder and HT Pro-Recorder – there are hundreds out there to choose from.
And you STILL HAVE TIME to register to win a chance to review a Mikey, and keep it in return for your review!  For details go to www.Voice-Overs.com/forum and click on the REVIEW PRODUCTS thread.
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Sounds like a pretty good deal for somebody….maybe you!

CourVO