Many newcomers to voice over don’t understand the difference between sound proofing and sound isolation.
A sound proof room is resistant to the passage of sound. A completely sound proof recording space can be expensive and difficult to achieve in a home studio, but for most auditions, a sound treated space in a quiet part of your home is good enough.
So what’s the difference between sound treated and sound proof?
A sound treated space has sound absorbent materials behind and around the microphone to deaden any reflective surfaces and help you sound your best.
For example, a tiled bathroom or kitchen would be the worst place in your home to record because of all the live, echo-y surfaces.
A walk in closet is a great place to record because the hanging clothing absorbs sound and the closet has no windows.
The idea is to dampen unwanted sound in your recording space so the room sounds dead and your microphone can pick up the sound of your voice as accurately as possible. You’re not recording a band, so you don’t need to dampen the entire room, just the space immediately around the mic.
Many people purchase specially designed sound foam or fabric for this purpose to tweak their home recording space, but you can achieve a similar result with items you already own. For example, try hanging a comforter or moving blanket in a corner. Place the mic in front the blanket, face toward the corner and record.
It might not be a good looking solution but in a pinch I think you’ll be surprised at how good you’ll sound!
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