XPRTNovice

Here's what I did to solve the problem: From the receiver, I plugged in a stereo splitter (single 1/4" mono went to 2x1/4"). Then I plugged in the reverse, so that it went back down to a single mono out. Then I plugged a 1/4 adapter onto the headphones and plugged them in. It's convoluted as shit, but it works. Thanks for all the suggestions.

It's a high quality observation system for students of clinical psychology. It's a favor for a friend (this isn't my field). I need a way to wirelessly output high-quality audio to an observer not in the same room, and I need it to be portable and small. So in one room you have a session going on (consented by the patient to be recorded/observed) and in another room somewhere close by you have a student listening wirelessly.

Happy Birthday!

I definitely already have one of these hooked up to the headphones, as the receiver outputs at 1/4" and the headphones are 3.5mm. Is it possible I am using the wrong type of adapter to do this?

Hey guys, I'm having an issue with a sound system I am trying to set up. I am using the H2N zoom mic (via line out) that goes to the WMS40 wireless transmitter/receiver. When I plug headphones into the back of the receiver, sound only comes out my left ear. I know the receiver is the issue because I've tested several configurations with different inputs and headphones, and when the WMS40 gets involved all of a sudden I only get output on the left ear. I called AKG support and they said that the WMS only outputs in mono. That's fine, I don't care about the L/R balance in this instance. I just want sound to come out of both ears of my headphones. Is there an adapter that will take the signal and duplicate L/R so that I get the mono, but I get it in both of my freaking ears? Barring that, is there a wireless system that WILL allow me to do this? I'm tearing out my hair, here.

Point-and-click heaven on Gog.com!

happy birthdays!

Thanks for the birthday wishes, everyone! And I want that cake.

Have a happy!

Hit me up. At the very least I can give you a cut or two and if you don't like it, don't use it. It only takes a few minutes to lay down. But, just out of curiosity: Is it the only thing you -can- do or the only thing you're -willing- to do? I don't know you as a musician, but when you say you'll be selling it worldwide, you make it seem like you stand to make a good amount of money off the album because you have an established following. In which case...why "can't" you? But if you're selling the album for .99 and you don't expect more than 10 people to buy it (but they happen to be worldwide) I can understand that. I've done plenty of free tracks for commercial albums, and if the album takes off the artist always ends up tossing me some money out of appreciation for donating my time, which is nice.

Why waste your time practicing on scripts? Go to Elance or one voices.com or voice123.com and submit auditions. Practice that way - at least you might make some money. If you're looking for scripts for demo reels though, just google demo scripts.

Tommy Tallarico commented on this at a panel at MAG - he runs a site where, if you join, you can get contract templates for nearly every audio project. I can't access it from the computer I am on right now but let me know if it's helpful.

Yeah, unfortunately, like any business, your ability to network and interact without people wanting to kill you is important. Most clients, though, are very, very responsive and generally don't waste my time. 5 star feedback isn't from ass kissing or client pandering, though, it's from a quick turnaround and a good product. Most of the time I barely communicate with clients. They give me direction, I give them the files, and that's that. If there are edits, they are typically minor. It's also impossible for them not to pay because of the escrow system, which is nice. I've had a couple of clients disappear without releasing payment after they got their files, and the voices.com team releases the funds for me when I present my case. Regarding a place to do low budget stuff, try Elance.com. It's filled with people trying to get $500 voiceover work for $10.50 and a sandwich.

Oh, sorry. I pay a yearly membership fee on the site. That gives me a ranking in their search engine and the ability to audition for jobs that clients post. I audition for those jobs by submitting a sample of their script and a cover letter as well as my price (based on their budget range). The client then chooses me for the job and pays upfront into an escrow system (SurePay). We work on the job. When they're happy, they "release" the payment. The site takes a 10% cut of every job.

So, believe it or not, 90% of my business comes from a freelancing website called voices.com. It's a pay-to-play site where you audition for jobs posted. I've gotten a great reputation there because there is a feedback system, and now I appear at the top of search lists. But that's a very small microcosm and there is waaaaay more business to be had that I have not tapped into yet. That's why I'm trying to build the business outside those sites. I get maybe 3-4 jobs monthly from direct contact, and typically those people actually found my profile via voices.com, anyway. The answer right now is brute force. Audition for 30+ jobs a day. My return on jobs is about 4% awarded vs. auditioned. That seems minuscule, but the person who has the highest return rate on that site is at 7.5%.

Been a while since anyone has posted in here, but I've had an experience lately that, while tangential, I thought I'd post. I launched Renaissance Man Studio in September of 2013. The intent was to formalize my voiceover and music business into one LLC and then have a centralized place for customers to see what was going on. I dumped some money into advertising, dumped some money into the development of the site, and made sure all my other facets of my business (facebook, twitter, my freelancer profiles on freelancer sites) linked back to it. In short, I've decided to discontinue Renaissance Man Studio and rebrand specifically for voiceovers. I'll keep RenMan as my company for filing purposes, but using it as my platform isn't going to work. I'm doing this for multiple reasons, but primarily it's because RenMan Studio wasn't generating any business. At all. The only hits on the website I got were from AdWords, and all that did was cost me money to generate spam comments on the blog. I had been posting regularly on the blog, which should have helped my SEO, but I wasn't getting anything. I think the branding was wrong. Voiceover/music combo is a pretty rare thing, and production companies are almost never looking for both at the same time. If they are they almost always have different people looking for them. So, while I've done some commercial music, it was only by pitching it to my voiceover clients, and never from the "studio." Second, nobody is busting down the doors for my music. People ARE busting down the doors for my voiceover work. So I was diluting what was potentially a very powerful brand to do something that I enjoy a bit more but isn't generating any business (music). I also don't have as much time for it as I'm trying to squirm my way out of my day job and into a dual writing/voiceover career - two things that have the potential to support me financially and will allow me to leave the day job and, if I want to, begin building a music career. So I've decided to go through a rebranding phase. I'm successful on freelancing websites, but if I want to tap into the potential of my voiceover business, I need to be able to generate customers outside of those sites. In order to do that, I'll be re-commissioning a developer to to a new site that is specifically dedicated to voiceovers. I'll be changing my twitter and facebook pages to represent voiceover only, and I will only seek music work on an ad hoc basis. If I do start to write albums or want to market music, I'll create a bandcamp page or something. I don't have the content to do it right now, anyway, and if I do, people on the music side know me as XPRTNovice, not Renaissance Man Studio. So that's my story. A combination of brand dilution and not understanding my own time constraints led to a several month (and $$$) setback in my business building. I think a reset is going to put me in a much better position for building that business in the future. And when music comes, it comes. Right now, though, spending the time and marketing capital to force it is detracting from other more profitable ventures. Would love to hear some thoughts if you have them. If not, I hope you learn something from my mistakes.

Many happy returns!

Jimmy Hinson got the video! I will post when I get it.

Everyone does it differently, unfortunately. I know people that put the melody down first, and I know people that put the drumbeat down first, and I know people that put the bassline down first. I know people that write 100% of one part, then 100% of another part, and then I know people that fill out the "A" section before they even start working on the "B" section. My advice is to just START WRITING. Listen to lots of music and analyze it. There are also plenty of youtube videos out there of people building songs from the ground up - you can see what their workflow is, that way, and you can adapt from there.

I actually have two, but neither is really a shining example of how to be a successful blogger (I suffer from not following the advice I gave you). I have one that I do all myself in wordpress for my writing career and one that functions on wordpress but was professionally designed. IMHO, I actually think I like the free one better, but I kind of got hosed on the development side, which is a different story.

This might be a bit tangential, but one of the things that I found to be the most helpful to drawing readers was guest blogging. Find some people who are already successful in the industry you are trying to write for and then pitch articles to them. It helps them because it gives them a different POV, and you will definitely draw readers. Speaking from experience, building a platform from scratch is really, really hard, so it helps to "stand on the shoulders of giants" if you can. EDIT: The other small bits I can offer are: Tag your posts appropriately and write regularly (once a week if you can). The more content on the blog, the better your search engine results (and the more loyal your readers will be). Best of luck!

I'm challenging Darkesword to a beatbox-off next MAGFest. If I win, he has to take the extra 'e' out of his name. If he wins, I have to put the vowels in mine.

Garp, these are are awesome, thanks. Do you, by any chance, have video of me and DaMonz jamming on the Super Mario Brother 2 theme? I was on guitar and whistling and he was on melodeon. EDIT Or Melodica, or Melonin, or whatever the hell that awesome thing was

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