I am new to the VO bussiness. I would like to know if anyone can tell me where to buy recording devices?

Question

I need better recording devices. I have a free recording device on my computer Audacity. I know that's why I am not getting jobs because of the quality of the recording.

Answer 1

In order to answer your question... it would help to know in general what your budget is for equipment.  

On the low end you can get in with a laptop... a relatively inexpensive usb mic and free recording software... and a few more bucks to make a small room/closet quiet enough for recording. (sounds as though that's where you are at this point)

On the other end you can spend many thousands of dollars for high end mics, mixers, software, a DIY or custom built sound booth... etc

But more to your question... most of the lower end gear is available a la carte at local music stores such as Guitar Center... and its also ALL available at countless outlets "online".  

I bought much of my gear online through Full Compass.  Often you can find better prices online than in a box store... and I've found the support at Full Compass superb!  

Also "read read read" everything you can find about how to set up gear and how to treat the room it's in acousticly.

For example, if you research all of this online... you'll sooner or later come across the caveat that you can buy all the expensive gear... but if you have it in a crappy room and it's not connected correctly... it's still not  going to give you the quality you're after.  

For example, it took me awhile to grasp the fact that if your rig includes a pre-amp and a mixer... you want to make sure your mic is plugged into an insert on the mixer that allows you to bypass the mixer's preamp.  You never want the output of a preamp routed into a mixer preamp because it will add mucho noise to the signal path.  Don't hesitate to talk to as many people as you can about how to build and setup your studio.

Hopes this helps you navigate the path to quality recordings... good luck!!  :-)

Answer 2

Audacity works just fine. But you have to know how to use it. I use the noise removal tool, but you have to use it sparingly. You also need a quality microphone and a quiet recording environment.

B&H Photo/Video has some good stuff. You can even find some good microphones at Best Buy. Amazon has a Blue Snowball kit, that would be ideal for a beginner:
(http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Microphones-Snowball-Microphone-Headphones/dp/B003LRTQEA/ref=pd_sim_sbs_pc_6)

One early breakthrough for me was when I was able to completely bypass my computer's soundcard for both recording and monitoring, with a USB mic that has an on-board earphone jack.