YOUR OPINIONS, PLEASE!

Jane Morgan · **Voice Talent** Joined: 09 Jun 2005 Posts: 64

Ok, what do you think of this?

"M-Audio Delta 1010, a 24 bit 96kHz full-duplex breakout box interface that connects via the Delta Series PCI host card. It's superb engineering and high quality converters deliver fidelity that surpasses systems costing many times more. Features include:
8 x 8 analog I/O balanced/unbalanced with 1/4 inch TRS connectors; coaxial S/PDIF digital I/O; Word Clock I/O for sample accurage sync; 36-bit internal DSP digital mixing and routing; Includes Maximum Audio Tools software bundles; Compatible with Pro Tools M-powered software; Mac and Windows compatible. $399.00"

Is this a good one? I don't have ProTools, I have Adobe, so I'm going to call and find out if it works with Adobe, if you guys think it's a good one.

Waiting to hear from you all!

Thanks,
Jane

Todd Ellis · Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007, 01:49 (GMT) Post subject:

M-Audio Delta 1010 is a super sound card - top of the line - I don't know what all you're running through it - but it may be overkill. the 1010LT is the same card without the breakout box (with a dongle) and it's half the price. mho.

Jane Morgan · **Voice Talent** Joined: 09 Jun 2005 Posts: 64

When you say "overkill," do you mean as in it's more than I need for just doing voiceovers, do you mean it'll screw something up because it's too much for my system?

Colin Campbell · Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007, 02:02 (GMT) Post subject:

He means that for pure voice over you don't need so many inputs and outputs.

Jane Morgan · **Voice Talent** Joined: 09 Jun 2005 Posts: 64

What do you recommend, Colin, as far as interface?

Colin Campbell · Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007, 02:10 (GMT) Post subject:

Jane... If you really want to run Pro Tools... go to www.bswusa.xom and check out their current special of the Mbox2 Mini and Pro Tools M-powered all for $295.

If Pro Tools is not important to you then it opens up a whole other area.

Todd Ellis · Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007, 05:04 (GMT) Post subject:

yeah ... what Colin said.

I don't see any reason it would not work with AA.

Victor Harris · Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007, 05:24 (GMT) Post subject:

MBox2 does work with AA, Sound Forge, Sonar and obviously ProTools LE. Wink

Colin Campbell · Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007, 05:28 (GMT) Post subject:

Mbox should work with anything. It's just an Interface but it will also satisfy Pro Tools hardware requirements as well. I've considered purchasing the BSW $295 deal to get my feet wet with Pro Tools but am afraid my 1 GHZ/512 MB PC can't handle it. (It won't upgrade past 512, I've checked.)

J.S. Gilbert · Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007, 06:53 (GMT) Post subject: what else you got Jane

Jane,
What kind of microphone are you looking at? What's your background?

Do you want to set it and forget it or fidget til the cows come home?

I've got about 86,746 combinations of mics, pres and other gadgetry in my head and Colin probably has another 90,000 or so.

Jane Morgan · **Voice Talent** Joined: 09 Jun 2005 Posts: 64

I'm looking at an RE20.

Yeah, I'd love to "set it and forget it!"

As far as my background, I've been on the air since 1983, and am currently half of an all-female morning show.

Even though I have an extensive radio background, I know absolutely nothing about engineering. I just go in, flip the mic switch on, and start talking. I've never really had to know how it worked before!

HELP????

Colin Campbell · Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007, 23:15 (GMT) Post subject:

The radio background is what leads you to the RE-20. God, if it wasn't for radio they wouldn't sell any. Not to say that it is not a good mic, it is... but it is a "dynamic" mic. I feel that a good voice over person needs a condenser as the price of admission. Now, condensers have their own set of problems... first you need "phantom power" from whatever you plug it into to make it work. Secondly, condensers have a "proximity effect" where its placement in relation to your mouth is crucial. Also, they are very sensitive and pick up a lot of background noise and saliva pops. But, they also bring out every nuance of your vocal chords to the microphone.

JS? Am I off?

Scott Pollak · Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007, 23:21 (GMT) Post subject:

Colin Campbell · Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007, 00:36 (GMT) Post subject:

Scott... we are all splitting hairs here. Have you ever tried a condenser?

J.S. Gilbert

I notice that the gear in general is getting less and less expensive and the quality better and better. Now if you have a studio with Ad agency folks coming into it, you pretty much need to flash a high end Neumann, because if God forbid anything goes wrong, you pretty much want to rule out the equipment and be able to blame it on the talent.

In fact, having participated in a bunch of microphone shoot outs I've discovered a few things.

1. It's the whole audio chain that counts.

2. A lot also has to do with what the sound is being played back on

3. Just because a microphone is a "vocal" mic doesn't mean it's only good for vocals nor does it mean that it is good for all vocals.

4. If you sound good and are comfortable using a kick drum microphone for a vocal microphone, then by all means do so.

5. The amount you pay doesn't often have much bearing on the quality of the gear. Several Rhode microphones seem to always do well. Recently a mic shoot-out place the Sputnik mic higher than a Neumann 49.

6. I've never heard of a mic shootout where everyone liked the same mic for the same reasons.

7. It's easier to find a really good recording studio than a voiceover actor who can really act well. (Actually I didn't learn this from a mic shootout, but it proves the point that if you got skills and need a place to record, it's easier than the other way around.)

You really are better off setting some sort of reasonable budget and then auditioing various equipment combinations that fall within your budget on real world projects.

There are some projects I would use an RE-20 for and others I wouldn't. They seem to work fairly well in areas that aren't super quiet and have better room rejection than many condensor microphones. They also can handle large differences in sound levels. It takes a lot to blow these mics out, which makes them perfect for morning zoo tom foolery. They are also not the perfect microphone for really setting up intimate commercial copy reads in my opinion. Now if you hook one up to a warm mic pre (tube pre) or you can fiddidle with the eq a little you can probably coax some really nice stuff.

Is it the right microphone for someone who doesn't want to become an audio engineer and just wants to mainly focus on being the talent? I don't know.

Trying out condenser microphones you will find some with extrmely tight patterns that can also help cut down on room noise leaking. Look for hypercardioid setting or super cardioid.

If it's what you got and you need to make it work, then figure out how to do that. If you're groping around in the dark, a candle is nice. A flashlight is better and a lighthouse beacon may be overkill but...

The situation here is hooking up an RE-20 to some interface (M-audio solo?) and seeing if it might work?

you don't sound like you need more than a solo, since it's just for recording one channel of microphone. You do have phantom power if youo want to try moving into a dynamic microphone. You have a direct connection to either laptop or desktop, Mac or PC. only a couple of knobs. ouo can elect to use something like SoundForge LE, with a relatively short learning curve for basic recording and editing, yet you also can use M-Powered Pro-Tools, which is very similar to Pro Tools LE, if you decide to become more adept at engineering.

Do you have a relatively quiet place to set this up? Are you willingto make the investment in time and learning audio engineering basics? Do you know what to listen for to make an assumption that your recording sounds good? Will you be able to hear problems withinthe recording?
Are you adept enough at your craft to feel confident being talent, engineer and director all at once?

In this part of your life as a voice over artist, do you have the ability to market yourself and get hired to perform v.o. from a home studio? Are they buying what you're selling, etc.?

So, after doingthe sould searching try doing the following:

I would suggest a visit to a good quality audio store with some of your geek posts in hand. If the store doesn't let yoou audition items there,then make sure they have a very liberal return policy.

Tell them you need easy, cheap and good and see what happens.