BlogBloghttp://eldorec.com/eldoblog/2012-05-21T18:24:30ZSquarespaceBook 1 on 1 time with George Whittam at VOICE2012http://eldorec.com/eldoblog/2012/5/18/book-1-on-1-time-with-george-whittam-at-voice2012.htmlGeorge2012-05-18T23:48:06Z2012-05-18T23:48:06ZAttending VOICE 2012?
Have a lot of burning technical questions you really need addressed?

Book a timeslot with me in private to:

 

  • Walk you through your tech issues
  • Discuss ways to make the most of your home studio
  • Sketch out ideas for a new studio design
  • Learn some editing or audio processing techniques to make your auditions really sell
  • Try a new recording software

 

Slots are available during the conference Wednesday through Friday.  

You can conveniently request options for 30 minutes to 2 hours of time, and I'll confirm of the options you provide what works best.

SPECIAL PRICE ONLY FOR ATTENDEES OF VOICE 1/3 off my normal rate!  

ONLY $50/30 minutes!

Just choose the number of 30 minute "service credits" for the amount of time you desire.

After you make your purchase, visit my scheduler at meetme.so/vostudiotech to request timeslots.

Qty

]]>For Sale: VocalBooth.com Silver Series 4x6' iso booth and Avalon VT-737SP preamphttp://eldorec.com/eldoblog/2012/5/18/for-sale-vocalboothcom-silver-series-4x6-iso-booth-and-avalo.htmlGeorge2012-05-18T23:31:24Z2012-05-18T23:31:24ZLong time ERS client Peter McHugh has a few items he no longer needs after relocating.

Vocalbooth.com Silver Series 4x6' isolation booth
Peter's booth has a window and a ventilation system included.

It is in excellent condition, has never been moved from original location.

Here's a national commercial spot recorded in the booth.

Asking price:  $2500.00 plus delivery

Peter's studio with VocalboothPeter in the Vocalbooth 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Avalon VT-737SP Tube mic preamp with compression and EQ.

One of the favorites of the VO business for a good reason...

Works WONDERS with a Sennheiser 416.

Peter says: "I have not re-tubed my Avalon. There is no microphonic noise or popping or dinging. There's probably only 500 hours on the unit."

Asking price:  $1600.00


Contact us for questions and to make arrangements

 

PETER'S ACTUAL AVALON UNIT 

]]>May 22, 2012: SOURCE-CONNECT HOW-TO WEBINARhttp://eldorec.com/eldoblog/2012/5/18/may-22-2012-source-connect-how-to-webinar.htmlGeorge2012-05-18T23:20:25Z2012-05-18T23:20:25ZLearn from the guy who supports the TOP talent in VO!

May 22, 2012: SOURCE-CONNECT HOW-TO WEBINAR / George Whittam

ATTEND TO LEARN:
  • How Source-Connect connects you with clients real-time when recording
  • How to configure and use Source-Connect (many versions)
  • How to use Source-Connect when traveling
  • How to evaluate whether to rent or buy
  • How to replace current ISDN and bridging
And your registration includes a full recording of the live webinar.
Tuition: Just $39, including full recording.
Sessions:
Date Time Price  
5/22/2012 9:00 PM EDT $39.00 Register


Are you using Source-Connect - or thinking about it - to connect real-time with your voice over clients as you record in your home studio? 

Created by Source Elements LLC, Source-Connect delivers broadcast-quality audio using T1, cable or DSL Internet connections. And it's growing in popularity as an alternative to the more expensive ISDN system that requires hardware, subscription fees and telephone line charges.
 
But: how do you set up, configure and use Source-Connect properly? Are there limitations? Can it follow you as you travel?

These and many more questions will be answered on Tuesday night, May 22, in the Source-Connect How-To Webinar, led by home audio expert George Whittam.

An authority on the installation and configuration of Source-Connect, Whittam will describe and demonstrate onscreen the present state of this technology. He'll also discuss its future, and help newcomers to this service decide whether to take the plunge.

FOR INSTANCE, YOU WILL LEARN ...
  • What Source-Connect is, and what it isn't
  • About Source-Connect's many versions
  • How Source-Connect functions for you
  • About iLok - what's that?
  • How to replace your current ISDN and bridging
  • How to use Source-Connect when you're traveling
  • About advanced network configuration
  • Whether to buy or rent
  • And much more.
Plus, personally ask questions during a live Q&A.
Tuition: Just $39, including full recording.
Sessions:
Date Time Price  
5/22/2012 9:00 PM EDT $39.00 Register


MEET GEORGE WHITTAM ...

Based in Los Angeles, George Whittam is the owner of Eldorado Recording Services - a full-service studio consulting company - and he's popularly known as the home studio consultant to the stars.  Whittam was the personal home studio consultant to the late great Don LaFontaine, and co-founder and designer of the Don LaFontaine Voice Over Lab at the SAG Foundation in Los Angeles.

He is also co-host of the popular Sunday night Ustream TV show East-West Audio Body Shop(EWABS), featuring home studio audio advice and guest interviews.

Tuition: Just $39, including full recording.
Sessions:
Date Time Price  
5/22/2012 9:00 PM EDT $39.00 Register

 

]]>My FaffCon 4 Experience: Unexpected Resultshttp://eldorec.com/eldoblog/2012/4/10/my-faffcon-4-experience-unexpected-results.htmlGeorge2012-04-10T20:24:26Z2012-04-10T20:24:26ZIt's been two weeks since FaffCon 4 wrapped in Ventura, CA.  For me it was more rewarding than I anticipated, and not in the ways I expected it to be…

 Before attending FaffCon 4, my first FaffCon, I considered it to be primarily a networking opportunity. Not a voice actor myself, I wondered exactly how it would benefit me and my business.  The thing is about an unConference like FaffCon, you have no clue what lies ahead until the moment the ideas for break-out sessions hit the scheduling wall. It was such an organically formed process, and it worked brilliantly.   I also knew I'd like to share some wisdom, but until the day came I didn't know what exactly it might be.  

 On the day, Dan Friedman, a voice actor/studio owner from North Carolina, suggested all of the techie types lead a panel together, to ensure the information we shared could be provided in a unified way.  Seven of us gathered for a panel, and the truth of it was that if nobody even showed up, we still would have had a great time bouncing thoughts off each other.  Those who came got their questions answered in detail, and others absorbed as much as they could handle.  

 I opted to share my thoughts on office productivity, and idea loosely based on the Getting Things Done concept.  The hour started with sharing my ideas, and evolved into others sharing theirs, and finally closed with a fantastic discussion about hiring virtual assistants.  As luck would have it, Bob Souer's daughter Karen was nearby and shared her experience as a VA to the group, something I never could have planned.  I benefitted as much if not more than the others in attendance.  

 But the biggest surprise for me came in a group discussion about family and business, hosted by Christian Taylor.  Listening to each person's stories of their challenges juggling self employed, work-at-home careers with the needs of children and spouses really  hit home.  While the difficulties we all face have different facets, we all came away with a better understanding of how to be compassionate to the needs of others, while still keeping one's self first priority.  It's a struggle I go through daily as I meet the demands of an ever growing list of amazing clients, and my 3 year old daughter's needs to be out in the world increase, while my wife remains the glue that holds us all together.  

 

FaffCon 5 in Charlotte, NC is in my calendar for October, and I am making every effort to be there.

If you've never attended something like this, or you think you are "too busy" or "too successful", think again.  Every person there belongs because all are working professionals and vetted by the organizers.  Nobody is special because EVERYONE is special.  You never know who you may meet, and how your life can change, at FaffCon.

]]>Announcing our new service, hire a Virtual Engineerhttp://eldorec.com/eldoblog/2012/3/16/announcing-our-new-service-hire-a-virtual-engineer.htmlGeorge2012-03-17T04:13:17Z2012-03-17T04:13:17ZThere are few one-size-fits-all solutions when it comes to the art of audio engineering.  

One of the services I've found very popular among our clients over the last year is the creation of custom audio effects presets that produce the best sounding results possible from their voice, microphone, and room acoustics combination.  This can include a combination of parametric equalization, graphic equalization, compression, limiting, gating, de-essing, and normalization.  

If you've already worked with us or someone else to get your room acoustics and noise issues under control, then you're probably ready to take this next step.  We recommend you do that first, because some problems just can't be "fixed in the mix".  However, you may be just a simple EQ curve away from making your good sounding booth sound great.  

We've gone to great lengths to make the process as easy as possible so that you don't have to be a geek to figure it out.  Here's how it works:

 

  1. Purchase service credits to cover the number of effects presets you desire
  2. Submit raw audio samples representing the type of read(s) you plan to use with the effects
  3. Schedule a time if you want to observe the process via Skype (not required)
  4. Install Mikogo if you think you'll need to have us set up your software for you remotely (additional service credit required)
  5. George will process the audio, send back the resulting file for approval, and provide you either preset files or screen shots of the settings (where applicable), as well as detailed instructions on how to make use of the information.  

 

In most cases you'll receive the results within 48 hours.  Rush service is available, too.  

TwistedWave users have the advantage of being able to use an effects stack, which contains a combination of multiple effects, giving you a lot more bang for the buck and faster results!  We can handle SoundForge, Audacity, Garageband, and Adobe Audition as well. 

Ready to get started?  DIVE IN!!

Remember:  When it comes to impressing with an audition, good may not be good enough

]]>TwistedWave for iOS now creates MP3s and exports to SoundCloudhttp://eldorec.com/eldoblog/2012/2/18/twistedwave-for-ios-now-creates-mp3s-and-exports-to-soundclo.htmlGeorge2012-02-18T19:05:53Z2012-02-18T19:05:53ZThose who use TwistedWave on a regular basis know about one inconvenience of the software:  MP3's must be encoded offsite, which adds another step to the process and slows the delivery of files when time is not on your side.  As of the latest TwistedWave update, which went live February 17th, 2012, MP3's are encoded locally right on your iOS device!  My best guess is that the powers that be at Apple decided to finally pay for the licensing to encode MP3 on iOS, as it certainly wasn't a technical limitation.  

Another cool added feature is the ability to now upload your files directly to a SoundCloud account.  This addition joins a long list of ways you can deliver files directly from TwistedWave, including email, FTP, and Dropbox.  Yes, no iCloud support yet.  I gotta say I am un-impressed with iCloud, it just seems like it came too late to the party and is a closed system that only functions on Apple devices within software specifically written to support it.  I love the openness of Dropbox, and the ubiquity, and the sheer convenience.  It works on my Mac, PC, Android phone, and iPod Touch.  What more could you want?

Here's a SoundCloud I just recorded on the iPod Touch with TwistedWave.  This is the built in mic and I applied some dynamics processing

 

]]>George's Hearing Test Results Speak for Themselveshttp://eldorec.com/eldoblog/2012/1/31/georges-hearing-test-results-speak-for-themselves.htmlGeorge2012-01-31T21:41:05Z2012-01-31T21:41:05ZHundreds of voice actors trust my hearing to ensure that they are sending out the best audio quality possible. With this great resonsibility I take the quality of my hearing very seriously.  Each year I have my hearing tested by the House Ear Institute.  Here are the results from the latest exam, just click the document to enlarge it (no, it's not a seeing test).   Basically, it says my hearing is average or better for men my age across the entire spectrum.

 

]]>Beau Weaver reviews the Tascam iM2 mic for iOS deviceshttp://eldorec.com/eldoblog/2012/1/18/beau-weaver-reviews-the-tascam-im2-mic-for-ios-devices.htmlGeorge2012-01-19T06:29:24Z2012-01-19T06:29:24ZHello from Nerdville;

Finally a super portable microphone for iOS that, with some care, and in a decent sonic environment can produce voice tracks on your iPhone or iPad that are actually air-able.  In fact, if you take time to listen to my line by line comparison audio file I have posted here, you will be pretty damn impressed.  You can hear the difference, but by the time they finish with post, it will be more than adequate.
The mic is the Tascam iM2 for iOS. It's about 80 bucks!  It connects via the 30 pin connector.

im2_with_iphone_grey.jpg

Caution: there is another Tascam product that you do not want (the Tascam iXZ) an iOS audio interface with XLR and phantom power..... but sends analog audio through the 1/8th inch mic/headphone port.  Bad bad bad!  That mic port has a radical "telephone filter" eq baked in, so there is no way to get broadcast quality audio through it.  No no no, fluffy.  You want the Tascam iM2!

NOTE:  George tested the iXZ with an iPod Touch with good results, but it's lousy with the iPhone. 

The audio app you use to record is TwistedWave Mobile for iOS.  
It makes rough editing quite easy, and it will export to Dropbox, memorized FTP folders, and, using a nifty workaround, allows you to send a link to an .mp3 file on Twisted Waves webserver.   Apple will not allow native export of .mp3 due to their contracts with record companies, and their general control-freak nature!
So, Twisted Wave allows you to send an uncompressed file up to their server, and creates an email with the link from which your client can download the .mp3.   However, remember, uncompressed audiofiles are huge......so, you will want to upload only the buy takes, or plan to sit there forever, especially on a 3G connection.  Hopefully, you have found a Starbucks.   I think a better option is using AAC files...which are better quality than .mp3........and most digital audio workstations will read them.  Email or FTP.
I have posted a line by line comparison audio file of a couple of scripts, recorded simultaneously in the studio on the 416 and the Tascam.  I compare my home studio with the 416 to the Tascam iM2, and the built in iphone mic.  I did no processing, except clipping out breaths.  

                                        Check out this WAV file (to download to your desktop)

                                        OR this MP3  (this one will stream in your browser)

 

After the line by line comparision, you will hear the complete reads all the way through.....  1:   416  2:   Tascam iM2  3:   iphone built in mic.    I am favorably impressed.

 

I set the volume almost wide open......with the limiter on the iM2 switched off.  I worked it about 5 inches away to the side, at about a 75 degree angle, to minimize plosives and wind.   I have ordered an extension cable, so that I will be able to read a script off the iPhone while recording.

 

You really  have to be careful to hold the mic very still....it is very sensitive to movement and wind.  Note: switch the iphone to "airplane mode" or you may pick up some RF noise, and be disturbed by notifications.   

 

In either case, iPhone or iPad, you can start recording and multi-task.......that is, switch to the email client.....by double clicking the home button, and selecting the email icon.  Twisted Wave will continue recording in the background with no problem, and will indicate this by the red bar notification at the top of the screen.  You then return to TW  at the end of your read by double clicking on the home button and selecting the TW icon.

 

You will not want to try to narrate a documentary with this, but certainly for tags and short promos.......it's not bad at all.  And it may save your client's bacon when you are nowhere near a studio and they have an emergency.   I had equally good results on the original iPad.

 

There are a couple of other interfaces in the pipeline that will allow us to use the 416 in the field with iOS ......but the ship dates keep getting pushed back. 

 

In the meantime, for 80 bucks, and something that is truly pocketable, this is not bad at all.

 

 

As always, 

 

 

 

Beauregard

 

 


 
]]>ISDN ordering hell, courtesy of Verizonhttp://eldorec.com/eldoblog/2011/12/13/isdn-ordering-hell-courtesy-of-verizon.htmlGeorge2011-12-14T07:57:04Z2011-12-14T07:57:04ZIn light of my last article about ISDN going down hill, I thought I should support it with further evidence and experience.  

Howard Parker (I call him Client Zero, my first voice over studio client), had me design him his dream studio in his Mother's townhome after she tragically succombed to cancer this year.  He was incredibly fortunate that Verizon brought FiOS to his neighborhood at the same time, a huge blessing and cost savings over his dual T1 lines at his previous residence.  The build went great, and the results are fantastic, but for one last hurdle... the ISDN.  

EdNet books the Verizon installer for December 12th from 1-5PM, and I'm there.  I work on whatever I can while I wait for the guy, but I can't leave to remove the equipment from Howard's old studio for fear that I might miss the tech's arrival.  Unless you have Verizon mobile phone service, you can't receive even a text message at Howard's old place, so I wouldn't know if they guy tried to contact me.  5PM comes and goes, and no technician.  EdNet calls Verizon, but their office is already closed.

I did book the following day as a contigency, darn glad I did.  The installer was confirmed for Tuesday from 1-5PM.  At Noon I get a call from my builder James Michael telling me the Verizon tech was already there.  By some stroke of luck JM was at the location when the tech arrived, as he was supposed to be at another location.  What transpired next was just pitiful...

You know things are going down-hill when the Verizon phone technician, who admitted he's worked for them for 35 years, isn't permitted to have a power drill in his truck.  They let him bring a Yankee hand drill to use, that's all.  I mean, seriously?  That ain't gonna cut it when you have to drill through 12+ inches of studio wall, insulation, and stucco.  JM had to go out and buy a long drill bit and handle the hole for the wire himself, and I am glad he was there to do it in the end because I don't want a single mistake when a hole needs to penetrate a very expensive sound isolating wall and side of a custom built cabinet.  

The techician moped around for a few hours waiting for the home office to switch things on.  I asked him what was the hold up and he said they didn't "build out" the ISDN network before he arrived, as they are required to do.  Someone "had a question" and rather than seek out the answer, just sat on their thumbs and held up the job.  Again, 5PM came and went, and we were left with a non-functioning ISDN connection.  I can't go back today, but I did leave everything connecting so if the SPIDS we were given are actually correct (which there is no guarantee), everything should just work when they push the right buttons.  

So, even with the proper planning, a respected ISDN provider handling the order (at great cost, mind you), an experienced technician, my builder, and myself involved, things still didn't go well.  ISDN IS DEAD, and it's beginning to smell.  OK, not dead, but dying...

]]>iPhone and Pro Tools: A Bad Combohttp://eldorec.com/eldoblog/2011/12/7/iphone-and-pro-tools-a-bad-combo.htmlGeorge2011-12-07T17:11:57Z2011-12-07T17:11:57ZMy readers and clients know how I feel about Pro Tools in the context of a voiceover actor's home studio.  However, some of us still use Pro Tools because we do production and find it the best tool for the job.  Others producing audio books find it's the best workflow for them.  Whatever the case, if you use Pro Tools on your workstation, I don't recommend connecting an iPhone to it.  

Many who have used Pro Tools for a while have experienced the dread after Mac OS has automatically updated and created problems.  It's not a situation anyone wants to have.  You walk into your studio in the morning, click the Pro Tools icon, and nothing happens.  Pro Tools is extremely sensitive to the version of Mac OS running on your system.  Unfortunately, so are iOS devices.  

If you like to have the latest and greatest iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch device or iOS version from Apple, you'll find yourself in a situation where you need to upgrade several elements of your system to handle them.  First you'll need to run the latest iTunes version available.  This may require that you upgrade the OS to handle that request, which puts you in a bad situation.  This also holds true for Apple's latest creation, iCloud.

iCloud attempts to keep all of your documents in sync between your different Macs and iOS devices.  Like everything new that comes from Apple, they require that ALL of your devices have the latest OS running on them.  iCloud seems great in concept, but it is a closed system that has many limitations, especially if you have any devices you want to sync that are not from Apple.  It's sure to get better, but for now it's frustratingly simplified (in my opinion).  

Consider a more flexible system such as Sugarsync, which I've used very successfully for over three years to keep my entire business in sync.   I've yet to have it interfere with any software I use, and it works on Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, and others.  You can choose any folders on any of your systems you want to sync or share with friends or coworkers, which is very handy if you have an assistant handling some of your tasks!

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