Can Plugins Fix My Room Echo?
Can plugins fix my untreated room echo?
One of my most popular requests is to resolve someone's room echo in their voice-over recordings. This challenge is prevalent, especially for beginning voice-over artists recording from home.
Can plugins be used to fix an untreated room echo? Here is the answer. Plugins can improve your room echo problem, not fix it. These same types of echo-canceling plugins (sometimes called RX) often decrease the overall quality and fidelity of your recording (Yes, even state-of-the-art AI-powered processers). The more processing is applied, the more voice recording quality is lost.
It's important to understand that RX (restoration) plugins only mask the problem, not resolve it. No plugin or boutique equipment will improve the sound of your voice-over recording more than proper acoustic treatment. Your voice-over sound begins in the room, and a great room sound is critical to delivering an excellent voice-over recording.
RX, or restoration plugins, can be valuable. They can be a quick fix and improve your voice-over recording sound. However, the danger is following a ghost by thinking, "The next plugin will fix the problem", "A more expensive microphone will finally get me the sound I've always wanted", or "When I get this hardware channel strip, I'll finally get the professional sound". The truth is that the right type, amount, and placement of proper acoustic treatment will improve the sound of your voice-over recording more than anything else. Your unprocessed recordings will sound better, your processed sound will improve, and you may not need to rely on RX plugins.
Learn more about creating a great-sounding recording space in my quick and affordable video training course, Learn Acoustic Treatment For Voice-Over.
What Is A Custom Preset And Why Do I Need One?
A custom processing preset for your voice-over is a series of plugins explicitly tuned for your voice, in your room, and on your microphone. If you want to compete in today's voice-over world, you must ensure that your demos and auditions are extraordinary. Voice-over artists at every experience level from all over the world are fighting to win work. However, if you don't have a professional sound, you will lose out to someone who does.
Custom voice-over processing presets can take your audio presentation quality to the level necessary to compete with the pros. Instead of taking it upon yourself to tweak the parameters like EQ, compression, DeEssing, and saturation to name a few, you can hire a professional voice-over audio engineer to create it for you. Once you have the custom preset on your system, you have "The Sound" every time you press the record button. The investment pays for itself with the money and time saved. Here are the top reasons why they are so popular:
- A custom processing preset lets you focus on your strengths, leaving more time for pitching your voice-over and less time stumbling with engineering.
- A custom processing preset gives you the confidence necessary to help you perform your best.
- A custom processing preset allows you to outshine the competition, win more auditions, and get more work.
Demo Your Custom Voice-Over Preset Sound Free!
Once you submit your voice for processing, you will be notified if your audio recording quality needs improvement or if it's ready for prime time. If your production quality needs improvement, you will be offered suggestions to help identify and resolve any issues before being asked to resubmit audio. On the other hand, if your audio recording quality is up to par, you will receive a sample of your custom-tuned processed sound to review for free.
About The Author
Lenny B is a professional voice-over audio engineer. Thousands of voice-over artists worldwide trust Lenny to improve their voice-over production quality and presentation.
