• Voice coaching
• Studio space upgrade
• Computer and recording component transition
• Microphone change-out
• Headshot redo
• Website revamp

Progress. I love it!! Here I go………weeeeeeeeeeeee!

STUDIO BRICKS SOUNDPROOF BOOTH

I’m absolutely thrilled, and amazed, to announce my purchase of a Studio Bricks booth. By far my biggest purchase to date, it is an absolute pleasure just THINKING about using it. I may even hang out in there just because I can. Studio Bricks is based in Spain. They’ve come out with a soundproof booth that is relatively easy to assemble and extremely effective. They have established themselves in the US so that ordering no longer requires any paperwork to ship the product into the country. My order is still in Spain, but Miguel at Studio Bricks USA is handling everything. I am extremely grateful for how simple he has made the ordering process. In 4-5 weeks, I’m to see the 1000 lb crate at my door. In a couple of months, I will be voicing scripts in an isolated recording space and I couldn’t be happier. While I have managed to have good acoustics over the past ten years, my new booth will allow me to record without concern for extraneous noise coming from various appliances, family, and neighbors.

VOICE COACHING – ACTING AND SINGING

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve begun working with Voice Acting Coach, Marc Cashman. With a degree in Radio and Television Arts, a performance background, and thousands of voice jobs under my belt, one might wonder why the sudden interest in being coached. Aside from the fact that coaching is simply a good idea at any time, I am ready to elevate my abilities to provide my clients script reads that are more natural and in tune with what voice actors are currently being called upon to provide. Less Announcer. More natural speak. Marc nuances everything. He can tell you the importance (or not) of every kind of punctuation. He can bring out just the right emotion for any script despite the subject or the quality of the script writing. After only a few sessions, I am able to see that my reads are that much more specific, natural, and dynamic.

Also, much to my surprise, I’ve also started Voice Coaching with New York teacher, Elynn Diamond. I say surprise because I let go of singing a long time ago, decades actually. I was enrolled with Elynn Diamond in the 90’s taking classes in Manhattan regularly. And, it recently occurred to me that working musically again, will help me elevate my sound as a voice actor, not to mention provide me with that musical channel that has been clearly missing in my life. Elynn offers inspiring classes, private lessons, and Skype sessions.

MICROPHONE

My plan for my 2016 upgrading was to purchase a new microphone, AFTER my sound booth was set up and AFTER I made some upgrades to other equipment. It’s vital to have an excellent microphone, but it’s the last piece of the puzzle, the icing on the cake, if you will. An expensive microphone cannot transform a voice or a recording. It can, however, enhance it and amplify it. All that said, my plan changed significantly when my trusted, loyal, reliable Electrovoice RE-20 had a major malfunction due to age and user incompetence. So, off I went for an impulse purchase…never a way to buy anything, but a necessary upgrade yesterday. I’ve subsequently bought a Shure SM7B, the legendary microphone used in Thriller, which in all honesty was an appealing selling point. After some personalization and practice, I’m thinking that I may hold onto it past the 45-day return policy.

GRATITUDE

I’m well on my way to achieving my goals to elevate my studio and my business and I already owe a lot of thanks to many. Gratitude is something I reflect upon daily and today is no exception! Ongoing thanks to both Elynn Diamond and Marc Cashman for their wisdom and support. And extra thanks to Guitar Center, StudioBricks, VO Studio Tech, and my IT expert husband, for technical support which will always be needed!

“Enthusiastic days make for an enthusiastic life!”