If you’re new to voice over, at some stage you’re going to need to be able to record yourself to practise, audition or perhaps for your first job.

One key piece of equipment you’ll need is a Microphone, but you don’t need to spend a lot on this (at least not when you’re just getting started). The truth is that you can spend as much money as you have in your bank account on a really great Microphone, yes I’m talking thousands of dollars, but we certainly don’t suggest you do that as you’re just starting out and still learning about voice over.

So what Microphone should you buy?

USB Microphones that can be found at most electronics retailers (JB HiFi or Officeworks) are a great option as they are simple to set up and start using quickly, however they don’t all sound the same and there are plenty that are not really good for much more than as a desktop Microphone for zoom meetings.

Working as a sound engineer for 28 years, I’ve used plenty of different microphones for different purposes, but I’ll never recommend a Microphone (or another other piece of equipment) that I haven’t personally used.

Ok, here’s my recommendation…

The Blue Yeti Nano USB Microphone. The cost is usually around $150, but I see that Officeworks has them for $128 right now.

Yes, you’ll see it has a desktop stand but don’t use it like this. Get a microphone stand and use the included adapter to mount in on the stand so you can use it at standing height. You can also then consider adding a pop-filter.

Finally, it’s important to mention that if you’re looking to make high quality sound recordings from your new Microphone, you also need to consider your recording space. Even a $4000 microphone will sound terrible in a poor recording environment. I’ll talk about setting up a recording space another time but if you have any questions feel free to reach out any time.

Andy