Subject:New to sound recording

Posted by: Zoeygirl

Date:6/17/2012 6:23:25 PM

I am a budding voiceover artist, and I bought Sony Acid 8 as my software. I am also new to recording software in general, so thank you in advance for your patience with my questions!

Right now I have a Sennheiser e935 mic and a Focusrite 2i2 interface. The problem I'm having is that my voice is not recording. When I talk into the mic the input meter is jumping, so it seems something is going on, but it's not recording and I can't hear myself in the headphones. What could I be doing wrong?

Also, how do I set it up so that all my recordings are saved as mp3s?

Subject:RE: New to sound recording

Reply by: UKharrie

Date:6/17/2012 6:46:30 PM

Not sure why you chose Acid software _I thought this was for creating modern beat music......but I presume it has a voice-over feature and as you say the Meter appears to indicate Mic sound input.
I don't use Acid, but suggest you should record in .WAV 16 or 24 bit- you can downgrade it e.g. in SoundForge (& maybe Acid as well.). - but you need to have original files as Best quality.
Does your program work OK -apart from external inputs?

Subject:RE: New to sound recording

Reply by: Zoeygirl

Date:6/18/2012 12:33:27 AM

Well, buying Acid was probably not the smartest choice since it has a lot of bells and whistles I don't need, but it does vocal recording, which is what I do need. Also, I need submit auditions in mp3 format, which is why I want to figure that out.

The program works fine--I actually was able to do recording with a USB mic, but it had poor sound quality. I then got a real mic and an interface it stopped working. I guess there's probably some settings I need to change? I don't know. I did change my recording/playback device to Focusrite in both my computer and on Acid.

Thanks for your reply, UKharrie. I need more help!

Subject:RE: New to sound recording

Reply by: 519tbarr

Date:6/18/2012 8:05:46 AM

Hey Zoeygirl.

Make sure you have the most current driver for your focusrite unit up to date.
Acid will do great for a voiceover. I've done many of them with Acid Pro.
I am assuming you are arming your track when you are trying to record...
Make the Microsoft default device your focus rite and your preferences(ACID), audio devices tab is set to the focusrite box. Also in your device manager (windows) I would recommend disabling your computers internal sound card.

Hope some of that helps.
Depending on the quality of recording you are getting I would also recommend buying a copy of Izotope Nectar - it's a vocal plugin suite - but has a whole range of Voice Over presets that are pretty incredible. It's around $249 but worth every penny.

Subject:RE: New to sound recording

Reply by: Geoff_Wood

Date:6/18/2012 5:56:46 PM

Hi ZG

Re your MP3 file saving, the user manual is a good place to start. Specifically the section Getting Started | Saving Rendering and Delivering Projects.

There are also free traiining videos here : [link]http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/training

cheers

geoff

Subject:RE: New to sound recording

Reply by: Geoff_Wood

Date:6/20/2012 3:43:55 PM

ZG,

Hope you are getting more of a handle on things now.

Here's a tip:
While a good mic, your e935 is more designed for live stage applications (feedback rejection, cutting through a band mix,, etc). Once you got to a certain level you will probably be interested in a more appropriate microphone - usually for this application a large-diamter condensor mic such as Rode, Studio Projects, SE, Audio Technica, etc.

Best wishes

geoff