C’mon…admit it! The thought of adding a new…er… something …to your audio chain holds a magic allure. It may, in fact, actually improve your sound, but even if it doesn’t…the effect it has on your morale and attitude is worth the price, no? Well, not always…so that’s why you have to shop smart.
One word of advice: no matter which site you shop…ask for the same sales associate each time. Make a relationship with them. Get them to remember you and what your needs are. Tell them about the VO business. They just want to make a sale, and when they have special pricing on that Neumann TLM103 or Behringer mixer, they’ll remember you and call.
Most of them are very knowledgeable, too, and can make excellent comparative suggestions about similar equipment under different name brands. The audio interface I use most, was suggested to me by a SweetWater rep, and his advice was spot-on. These people know their product lines, but they don’t always know what special considerations a voice actor has…so educate them, and the relationship will benefit you in the end.
Now, here’s my list of the top 15+ Audio Equipment sites:
I’ve narrowed this list to the best composite online sites, not those individual equipment companies with specified product lines — for a complete list, see my blogroll: Equipment/Supplies. This list is alphabetical.
- Amazon Sound Recording Equipment
- AudioGear
- B & H
- Broadcasters General Store
- BSW
- Ebay-ProAudioEquipment
- Full Compass
- Guitar Center
- Harlan Hogan’s VoiceOver Essentials
- Musician’s Friend
- Phonic
- ProAudio
- ProAudioSuperStore
- RSPE
- Sam Ash
- Spectrum Audio
- Sweetwater
- ZZSounds
