The importance of having a voiceover home studio raw audio sample file, and how to make your own

Shelley Hunter
Nov 25
8 min read

In a world of remote recording, where some of us have the luxury of recording voice-over and music in our own homes, a raw studio audio file for your voice-over work is essential (in my opinion).

Before working on a project with you, a professional sound engineer will want to hear how your recordings sound WITHOUT any processing or EQ magic.

They will have their own perfected methods of EQ and cleanup, so a voice actor providing a raw sample file is the best way for them to determine how to work with their files, and if they are up to par with the quality the client expects. You must trust them - they are the experts in the field, and they will be able to tell if you have applied any effects to your audio, whether it be a noise-gate, compression, frequency EQ or anything.

A basic structure of what is needed for a voice-over raw audio sample file:

The short answer:

A .wav audio file of you talking and showcasing your noise floor - WITHOUT any audio post-processing such as EQ, noise removal or compression.

Between 30 seconds to 1 minute long
Either 44,100 Hz or 48,000 Hz
Between 24-bit to 32-bit (24-bit will likely be fine but check if the audio engineer/client have a preference!)
Mono

There is no 100% correct structure to a raw audio sample file.

By this, I mean the content itself - what you say and record. You can make your own, and then sometimes a casting director will request a bespoke custom made one, so that they can judge everyone the same - it's just part of the business.

But it doesn't hurt to have a pre-prepared one ready to download on your website or send to clients on request. Generally, these are the sections of a raw studio audio file you will require as a voice actor:

Pro-tip about DAWs:

If you haven't already, upgrade to a DAW that allows easy, clear audio monitoring - such as Reaper, Adobe Audition, Twisted Wave or Pro Tools. Audacity is fine for indie projects, but once you try one of the above tools - I guarantee your workflow will improve and you'll wonder how you ever worked without them!

01 - Introduction

A short introduction at normal speaking level/gain to demonstrate normal recording levels, lack of plosives, mic positioning etc.

An introduction might be something like this:

"Hi there, my name is [name here] and this is my vocal booth / home-studio raw audio sample file. I'm currently using a [insert microphone here] which is connected to a [insert audio interface here]". I'm recording at approximately [insert cm] distance from my microphone, with the gain dial set to the [insert time] X o' clock position. I'm now going to demonstrate whispering and shouting."

02 - It's time to whisper quietly...

Some roles may require quiet talking, whispering or even breathing sound effects. In order to capture these efficiently, you will usually have to turn your input gain up on your audio interface to record it at an appropriate level.

Increasing your audio input gain will increase your noise floor levels. This is okay and normal, however an engineer will be able to determine how loud it needs to go to record good quality whispering.

For this section, the engineer will be listening out for:

Background noise
Plosives
General mouth noises
The 'proximity' effect (i.e. how close you are to the microphone, and if it still sounds clear and natural, warm or intimate, or if you sound like you have eaten the microphone...)

You might whisper something like this:

"I am now demonstrating what a whisper will sound like with my recording equipment.

I have increased the input gain to the [insert time] X o' clock position, in order to capture these much quieter, whispering sounds."

03 - Loud, shouting!!!

Now is time to do a loud recording! You will want to do the opposite of the whispering section here and turn down your input gain levels to an appropriate lower level. One key thing that the engineer will be listening for here is clipping / peaking.

This is when you have recorded a very loud sentence such as shouting or screaming, but at an input gain level on your interface that causes audio peaks above 0db, which creates a distorted 'clipping' sound. This means it will 'cut off' and sound crispy and terrible - audio clipping must be avoided at all costs.

To do this, turn down your input gain to below what you would usually use for normal speaking voice levels. Some interfaces may require it to be turned down only a little, some turned down a lot. Experiment with this to find the optimal level (and be sure to drink water and take care of your voice when doing so, no one wants a sore throat from shouting too much / without correct method!)

Loudly shout something along the lines of:

"This is me speaking at a much louder, stronger volume - to demonstrate shouting!! I have turned the gain down to the [insert time] X o' clock position!!"

04 - A round of applause (well... 3 claps 👏👏👏)

Once you have done your shouting lines, it is good to add a very small intro recording to let the engineer know that you have reset to your normal audio input recording levels.

Another test that audio engineers appreciate are clap tests. This is basically where you will do three to four single claps in a row, at a slow speed. This will help them asses clipping (again) and reverb in your recording space.

You could say:

"I have now returned to my normal recording input levels, and will now record 3 claps."

A screenshot of a voiceover raw sample file, demonstrating how the clapping section may look like.

05 - End with noise-floor only

A noise floor recording is very important. Your noise floor is essentially when you hit record, and don't speak - just room tone. It's that simple!

However, it's one of the most delicate parts of audio quality, as it's where you will hear issues such as background noises, electrical interference, buzzing etc. As far as home recordings go, the generally accepted standard is your noise floor being below -60db.

Any higher, it can be too noticable. If you can get it lower than -60db whilst maintaining great levels for your speaking recordings, then even better! (I tend to average between -64 to -70db at the moment)

Doing a noise-floor test every so often is very helpful for making sure no stray issues have entered your recording space.

You don't nessecarily need to introduce this section, but if you want to, you can put it in your clap test intro so that the claps go straight into the noise-floor rather than interupting those.

E.g:

"I have now returned to my normal recording input levels, and will now record a clap test, followed by room tone / noise floor. Thanks for listening."

Top tip: Listen to what other voice actors have made

I'm going to be honest, I've got a mini storage of voice actor raw studio files on my PC. When I was building my booth space, I really wanted to make sure I was on parr with the voice actors I look up to, and so listening to the way they structure their files and how the quality is was very helpful in creating my own sample to a standard I could confidently give to a client. I recommend listening to other (professional) voice actor raw sample files to help you perfect your own.

Things to watch out for / avoid in your voice-over raw audio sample file:

Don't apply any EQ or effects:

I'm gonna be brutal on this on, as I mean it. I know it's tempting... "just a little EQ won't hurt, right? Just to lower the noise a liiiittle bit? Or maybe just a tiny bit of compression to give my voice that sparkle and bass?"

No. Don't do it. Please.

We know you can make it cleaner and add that oomph to your voice that everyone loves. But this isn't for a final product piece, it's for an engineer to asses what they need to do to get your recordings consistent with everyone else's - you won't fool a sound engineer. No one wants to come across as dishonest or hard to work with, and giving a sound engineer a processed raw sample is a pretty quick way to do that.

Your mouth is clicking? Sort it out with hydration, chewing gum, microphone placement, temporary remedies.
Noisy background? Treat your space better or wait until you can record at a better, quieter time.
You can hear a 'pfff' sound every time you say a word that begins with 'p' or 'b'? Get a pop filter or change mic placement to avoid plosives.

These are things that can be sorted without slapping EQ on it to mask mistakes.

Some may argue it's okay to do a tiny bit of EQ, but personally - I don't think it's worth the risk of coming across as deceitful and causing a headache for the sound engie - keep it raw.

Background sounds that aren't obvious:

Even when listening to people who I absolutely aspire to be, I noticed some had mistakes or noise floor issues in their raw sample files! Sure, it's not the end of the world if your file has a small amount - but it really does help to be mindful of the following:

People talking in the background (in another room, headphones/online voice chat, next door, outside)
Poor XLR cable noise disturbance (a cheap XLR cable can produce a constant buzz noise)
Pets - barking, meowing, tweeting, fish tanks. 🐶
Electrical disturbances (TV, screechy plugs, crossed wires of equipment, computer noises, mobile phones, cheap LEDs buzzing)
And the classic, external outside noises (lawnmower, traffic lights, cars, planes etc)

If you have a well-treated space, thankfully this will not be much of an issue for you. However, it really pays to listen back to your recordings carefully in order to catch any of these issues that could cause a director to lose confidence in your quality.

'Choppy' files:

Any professional client or audio engineer who listens to your file will be able to tell if you've cut and paste / chopped bits around, which whilst might have innocent intention - it can look like you've doctored your file.

Generally, it's fine to do for if you are switching section of your reel (i.e. switching from normal speaking, to whispering, to shouting). But don't do it in any 'consistent' sections of your file, such as in the middle of your 'noise floor only' or 'clapping' sections.

An screenshot example of a boosted audio file with clear chopping of audio.

Audio 'popping' sound:

This is a bit of a hard one to describe or visually show but, if in your recordings you notice sudden 'pops' in your speaking, or perhaps your sentence seems to be suddenly missing a syllable and it sounds cut off - this could be a few things.

Sometimes it's as simple as increasing your Buffer Size or recording at the wrong Sample Rate in your settings, sometimes it can mean your device isn't powerful enough to record with, and sometimes it's a hardware issue. (Try the buffer size first before panicking though!)

Make sure this doesn't happen in your raw file. It happens to everyone at some point, whether we realise it or not. But best it's not in your showcase piece!

That's all I wanted to share for today. If you are a beginner voice-over artist, you should try making one of these as they're so handy to have on hand - no one wants to have to panic record a sample at short notice.

You can also check out my guide on how to make your own basic vocal booth space at home too if you'd like!

I hope this guide on raw voiceover sample files helps! Until next time!