Tech Tip: The EQ Curve Every Voice Actor Must Master!

Yes, there is a joke here. This is a flat EQ curve- meaning don't do anything. But why? Let's talk about it- particularly from a commercial audio engineer's point of view.

Adding EQ to your Auditions?

Your audition has to accurately reflect how you sound coming down the line for remote sessions. If you process your sound with tools that don't work in real-time, this would be false advertising. But that's only part of the equation. Most voice actors I encounter are quick to jump to presets or fiddle with settings while listening at home in their headphones to get a sound that they find pleasing. Usually it's awful.

Even when professional engineers are connecting over Source Connect to other professional engineers at studios, we check to make sure the signal is flat. This has to do with matching for pickups among other things. Leave it alone!

But I Paid a Professional to Make a Preset!

I'm sorry you paid for that. But shut it down. No one wants to hear it. If I gave 10 different engineers your audio file and asked them to make it great- you'd get 10 different opinions. And none of them matter, beccause how a voice is treated is largely dictated by what else is going on in the commercial: Is it just your voice? Is it going to be over music? Is it a tag at the end of a very intense spot? There are too many variables for a one size fits all solution. Leave it alone!

My EQ Settings are Compensating for Issues in my Booth!

Fix your booth. There's no way to EQ your way out of acoustic issues. I'm sorry someone told you they could do it for you. Leave it alone!

But I do Audiobooks and Corporate Narration where I am the Last Stop before it goes out!

Leave it al... wait, you get a pass. But shut all that shit off when you shift back to commercial work!

The Bottom Line

If you've purchased a decent mic and have treated your recording space properly, for most jobs there is absolutely no reason to process your sound with EQ. Commercial sessions don't want it. Video game sessions don't want it. Animation sessions don't want it. Leave it alone.