Nov 209 min read

The 2024 Voice Actor Gift & Gear Guide!

Whether it's a gift for yourself, a gear upgrade or something for your favorite voice actor- here are some thoughts for the 2024 gift giving season! While the links in this article will get you to the right place- expect the prices to drop further on black friday and be sure to come back for updates on great deals. Find something worth sharing? Message me or comment below!

Also, be sure to visit my new Amazon Storefront, where I will continue to add items of interest and deals that I discover.

SHIRTS, GIFTS, AND BITS

Whether you want to tell the world you're a voice actor, or want to be reminded over coffee that you're the best ever- here are some shirts and mugs for under the tree or in the stocking! It's always nice to escape the padded room for a change, even if you have to use your voice actor voice in the real world.

Need to let the family know to keep it down while you're working? A handy on-air light is a simple solution. Similarly, you can use an Amazon Echo device to tell Alexa to make the light red via any number of Alexa enabled, color-changing smart bulbs. The Sengled bulbs are affordable and setup quickly to work with your Echo device.

SOLID MICS FOR EVERY BUDGET

If you've taken my Home Studio Primer (available here at a Black Friday discount price), you've heard me say that your setup needs to meet you where you are in terms of budget, space, and the work you're going after. While studios use the ubiquitous Neumann U87 and/or the Sennheiser 416 ($3,500 and $1,000 respectively), not everyone needs them at home. In fact I would argue that some of the features of the U87 are overkill for most voice acting. If you have the budget, or are looking to level up- then by all means, grab yourself a Sennheiser 416! I've written here about the benefits of shotgun mics in general, and many of my animation and video game production clients request it for sessions.

Rode makes fantastic and affordable microphones. I have been using a Rode NT1A for years, and get lots of compliments on it- and I'm not even a voice actor! Their Nt1 Signature series mics are just $159, and come with a shock mount, pop filter, and are offered in a variety of colors! Their NT1 5th Generation packs a punch by being both an XLR mic (requiring an interface) and a USB mic capable of 32 bit float audio recording directly to your computer and DAW that supports it. It currently costs $249.99. I would expect Black Friday deals and bundles on these and many other mics- so click back to stay on top of current pricing.

TZ Audio has hit home-runs with their line of "Neumann-esque" microphones- particularly their Stellar X2 large diaphragm condensor. It normally sells for $199, and comes with a shockmount, wind filter and solid case. It’s currently on sale for $161.99!!

While there is no shortage of knock-off Neumann's on the market, you can get what I would consider to be their entry-level offering, the TLM102, for $635. These higher-end mics don’t necessarily go on sale for the holidays, but you may find vaulable bundles on offer.

INTERFACES FOR EVERY STAGE

As an engineer that spends a lot of time recording and casting actors remotely, I will tell you that I have ZERO complaints about any of the affordable interfaces out there. Feel confident knowing that some really busy and accomplished voice actors are doing just fine with relatively inexpensive interfaces.

One of the "go-to" affordable interfaces has been the Focusrite Scarlett Solo. While their lineup has always offered a range of devices (2i2, 4i4, etc), if you're only dealing with a single microphone- the Solo will do just fine. Their 4th Generation interfaces are out and offer some great improvements over the 3rd Generation- but some of these features are only available on the 2i2 model and up. For example,.they now offer an auto-level feature, which allows you to speak and it will set the level automatically! The included Focusrite Control 2 software also gives you a more detailed, numbered level readout so you can see more than just the "glowing ring" around the input gain if you want to get a more specific reading. Another great improvement over the 3rd Generation version is the moving of the XLR input to the rear of the unit. If you're a voice actor that has a fixed and mounted setup, this will help keep the wires out of sight. The links in this section are to options that come with a series of WAVES plugins and other software, which is great if you're a musician or want some extra plugin power for your mixing. If you're looking to save some more money, you may still find the Scarlett Solo 3rd Generation for under $100.

The Presonus Audiobox 96 is on sale for an amazing $84.99! It also includes their Studio One Artist software- a solid DAW to pair with your interface.

Identical in both price and features is the Universal Audio Volt 1, whicih packs a lot of power into a very small footprint. It's built as solid as it sounds, offering a single XLR/ 1/4" combi jack input. It’s small form factor makes it a great choice for a travel rig.

Mark of the Unicorn (MOTU) is an often-overlooked but wonderful company, offering both software and hardware solutions. When I owned Planet V, the entire company was centered around their Digital Performer system, including audio interfaces, video, midi and machine control integrations. Their M2 audio interface is a solid and impressive looking 2 mic interface for under $200 and sounds fantastic.

The SSL2+ was given a makeover recently, and sells for under $300. It's a 2 input, 4 output system (great if you're running an independant cue mix or other studio routing that might need the extra outputs). The "plus" is just the addition of MIDI in and out, which is handy for keyboard players, but not really of concern for voice actors. You could always save some money and stick with the original SSL2.

HEADPHONES

For many years, recording studios had a large collection of Sony and AKG headphones. However, when the DT770 Pros came on the scene, they quickly became the hands-down favorite for actors. Their comfortable, velour cushions feel as good as the headphones sound. The black friday price is $149, and the link above includes an extension cord and splitter, as well as a carrying pouch! Keep an eye out, because I've seen them go as low as $135 on Black Friday!

If you want to save a little money and still have a great sound, the Sony MDR7506 headphones will suite you just fine for $98. They include a near 10 foot cord, and conveniently fold into a carrying pouch for easy storage.

CLEANUP THOSE FILES

If you're doing the kind of voice acting where you're delivering the final files (audiobooks, corporate narration, etc), then you might want to take advantage of Izotope's sale- which is already live! RX Elements 11 is currently just $29, and gives you voice de-noise, de-click, de-reverb and some other powerful tools. If you want to learn best bractices and be able to confidently master your own audio, check out my RX Class that covers all of these tools (currently discounted for Black Friday).

Another powerful plugin that I am using a lot these days is WAVES Clarity Vx De-Reverb Pro. The standard version is on sale for just $29.99, and I can tell you from experience- it's really powerful! As a voice actor, if your'e dealing with a very reverberant sound- you're going to want to fix that. But if you're on-the-go in a hotel room, and need to dampen down audio files, this is the way! Stay tuned to my website for some video demos of this coming soon. Definitely check out Waves Clarity Vx De-Reverb.

Just as easy to use is WAVES Clarity Vx program- a one knob plugin for fast and clean noise removal. Again, I have to warn, these tools are wonderful for the folks that need them. If your booth is noisy or overly boxy, there are bigger issues at hand that plugins won't always fix. If you need help, ALL of my services are discounted for black friday!

SET THE VIBE!

One of my favorite things to see in home studios is the cool lighting options people come up with. For my own home studio, I found that Govee's LED strip lights are both affordable and really easy to set up. I had previously used Phillips Hue lights, but they cost dramatically more for roughly the same product. 100 feet of Govee lights are $72.99. Last holiday season I got short strips for about $25- so expect the prices to drop.

Govee also makes some really interesting light panels, like these hexagonal lights that can mix any colors you want for some extra POP in your booth!

STORAGE AND BACKUPS

Nothing kills a computer faster than trying to run it on an empty tank, Sluggish performance can often be attributed to a lack of internal hard drive space. If you're working on larger projects, or even just keeping audition files around- it might be wise to consider recording to an external drive. SanDisk makes blazing fast SSD drives that are on sale. I own several of these, and they are insane! They are the size of a credit card and about a quarter inch thick. You can get a 1 TB drive for $89.99, On my home system, I actually use Carbon Copy Cloner to duplicate my drive daily onto a standard HDD drive. The LaCie Rugged 2TB option is only $89.60. If your'e a Mac user, having an additional external drive for Time Machine Backup is awesome. In addition to being able to retrieve accidentally deleted files, a Time Machine Backup drive is also a great way to restore a new Mac from where you left off on your old one, or to recover a Mac after a major failure. I've written more extensively about backing up drives here. Using the slim and small SSD drives is also a great way ato save space when you're travelling. I slip two of them into the pouch on my laptop cover.

COMPUTER ACCESSORY MUST-HAVES

As a voice actor, you'll find yourself with an audio interface, external hard drives and other peripherals, including an ILok dongle. And yet you have shockingly few USB ports on your computer. This is where a dock comes in handy! There are so many to choose from, but you definitely want to make sure you get one with an ethernet port, like this unit from Lionwei They also generally include an extra HDMI output, which can help you install a remote monitor in your booth while leaving the computer outside (a great solve for noisy machines!). All you need is a decent length HDMI cable.

If you're a working voice actor, you've no doubt been working with Source Connect and maybe even a DAW like Pro Tools, or other software that relies on ILok license management. And while you can save all those licenses straight to your computer- an external, physical Ilok key let's you effortlessly move licenses from one computer to another in a pinch. If your computer dies moments before a Source Connect session, you can simply install Source Connect on another computer and plug in the ILok- and off you go! Need help with Source Connect, remote session workflows and more? I would highly recommend signing up for my Critical Connectivity class to get your brain around all the options! It's currently discounted for Black Friday!

ACOUSTIC SOLUTIONS & BOOTHS

I've helped thousands of people get their spaces in shape to be viable recording booths. There are so many shapes and sizes of panels and materials to choose from- so it always boils down to your specific space, budget and aesthetics. The magic number for thickness is at least 2". Don't be lured by more affordable panels that are only a quarter inch thick or even one inch. You need a thick, dense material to soak up the reflections in your space. These UmiAcoustics panels come 4 to a pack, and are 2 feet tall, a foot wide and 2 inches thick.

If you're looking for a more traditional acoustic foam, Zelmine offers a 48 pack of 12 X 12 X 2 inch tiles with self-adhesive backings for easy mounting.

Very often I find that bass traps need to be added to the corners of a booth or room both to absorb reflections and buildups and to help break the shape of the booth. This can help get rid of a "boxy sound". As always, if you need help with how many tiles you need and where to place them, you can always book a booth consult and we'll go over it- plus I'll send a shopping list and plan of attack.

ODDS AND ENDS

Up your travel game. If you're running a laptop at home and prefer having a second screen, I absolutely love my MNN portable 15.6" display. It's prive has dropped to just $63.99 as I type this! It's slim and comes with it's own protective case and stand- currently for under $60! It can also easily be mounted on a wall arm as well for a more permanent setup at home.

The AOC 24" frameless monitor is currently down to $69.99 as well. I love mine so much I bought 3 for my rig!

Need a compact and travel friendly interface? IK Multimedia's iRig Pro gives you a single mic input, headphone out with volume control, MIDI i/o, 48v phantom power and the cables you'll need to connect to your computer, tablet or phone- giving you pro audio on the go. At $169.99, it might actually be cheaper to get one of the interfaces mentioned at the top of this article- as long as you have the space in your suitcase.

Do you have a pait of DT770 Pro headphones and the cushions are getting worn down and dingy? You can order replacement pads! They're simple to install and will give new life to your old headphones.

The InnoGear desktop mounted microphone arm is down to just $36.79! I've written about this one before, having tried much more expensive options- and just love mine!