Whether you are an up-and-coming or a more experienced voice talent who wants to make the most out of your portfolio, the best voice over software can make or break your career.
Technological developments have made the lives of singers, audio engineers, narrators, and voice talents dramatically easier. Now, voice over software allows you to refine and edit your voice overs. The importance of the best voice over software cannot be overstated. Without this critical software, it is impossible to make a high-quality recording.
Whatever your audio recording needs, the best voice over software is vital in achieving the best sound possible. Once you learn how to do voice-overs, it is virtually effortless to deliver quality digital production.
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This post was updated on March 2021
What Is Voice Over Software?
If you believe setting up your home studio is hard, think again. When you use quality voice over software, you can lay down amazing podcasts and other audio files easily. Editing your voice over is an integral step before you publish or submit your work to a client.
Voice over software allows you to polish your files and add music and sound effects to improve the overall quality of your output.
Factors to Consider When Choosing Voice Over Software
There are hundreds of quality voice over software options available on the market. Some options are even free. Because of the number of choices, it can be frustrating to go through every single piece of software available until you find the one that best fits your needs. Here are some essential factors you need to consider when choosing voice over software.
Price
One of the most important things to consider when looking for anything is the price. Do you want some free software options, or are you willing to spend some money on something high quality with extra features?
First, set your budget and make a checklist of the tools you need for your voice overs. After you’ve done this, you can proceed with the elimination process. You don’t have to get the most expensive software on the market. You just need to find the right fit that will allow you to make the most out of your voice recordings.
Grade
When selecting voice over software, assess if you need one that is professional grade. This step is essential, especially for professionals. Research the advantages and drawbacks of each software option and choose one that can enhance your voice quality, get rid of background noise, and improve your voice quality through filters and special sound effects.
Also, choose software that is compatible with your recording device and computer’s operating system. If not, you cannot use it, and it will be a total waste of time and money. You may also check with your clients if they want to be involved with your project production and if their software is compatible with the devices you have in your studio. This precaution will make collaboration easier.
Ease of use
If you’re a beginner, you should choose voice over software that is user-friendly. Do you need to research extensively on tutorial videos, or can you understand how to use it immediately? Go with software that is easy to use since it will optimize your experience. Any user-friendly digital software will make your workflow seamlessly.
6 Best Choices for Voice Over Software
Now that you know how to choose the best software, it is time to look at some of the best options in the industry. Here are our top picks for the best voice over software listed in no particular order.
Audacity
Audacity is one of the most popular choices of software for voice over talents because it offers many features and effects options. While it may be harder to use for beginners, Audacity has made an effort to improve its interface and menus in recent updates.
First launched in 2000, Audacity was one of the pieces of first-ever voice over software on the market. And it is an excellent choice if you are pinching pennies. Since it is free and open-source, you can get your hands on it whenever and wherever you like. This software is also very versatile and is compatible with Linux, macOS, and Windows. Whether you want to use it to record a discussion, interviews, game sound effects, dialogues, or podcasts, it will deliver quality results. You can even use it to release song demos if you’re in a band.
When you first open Audacity, you may be a little intimidated by its interface. Just remember that its toolbar functions just like a traditional cassette recorder. It comes with a record, pause, stop, play, back skip, and forward skip options. You can also upload an existing audio file. Audacity also has a cursor that you can use if you want to select a specific position in your recording to edit.
Adobe Audition
Just like Audacity, Adobe Audition does not only help make your voice over come to life, but also any other audio file. This software is one of the pioneering programs in the industry and has established the digital audio workstation (DAW).
Whichever type of track you want, Adobe Audition will give you the tools you need. It serves such needs as editing spectral frequency, multitrack mixing, restoration, sound design, music recording, editing audio waveform, and even AI-based automation. Through this, you can save money since it has integrated everything you could want; and the need to purchase expensive plug-ins to make your audio better will be eliminated.
Its features make Adobe Audition a staple for radio and voice over production since it offers radio-specific markets and metadata. It also contains the features you need to create a refined track, including repair and sound manipulation tools, as well as effects.
Adobe Audition has been integrated with Premiere Pro to make video production easier. This integration allows you to move between the two platforms seamlessly. The program also offers auto-ducking, which automatically edits the soundtrack music to give it a professional quality mix. This voice over software costs $31.49 for a monthly plan, and $20.99 per month on annual plans.
You can also check out a detailed comparison between Audacity and Audition here.
GarageBand
Geared for macOS users, GarageBand is an amazing choice for budding professionals who want to start with some user-friendly software. Despite catering to beginners, it still boasts tons of essential features.
GarageBand will be your go-to software if you play virtual instruments for your original music. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t use it for voice overs alone. There are many voice elements integrated into the software that will put a contemporary twist on your recording through special effects.
This voice over software is ideal for custom audio recordings since it will help you develop your creativity. This voice over software is included on every Mac computer and laptop. So there’s no need to pay a fee! You can even use this software to do some production on the go since it is also present on iPhone models.
Logic
Whatever your requirements as a voice talent, Logic can provide you with everything you need. Logic has a wide array of tools that will let you facilitate the transformation of your basic voice recording to a complete edited piece.
Logic will look familiar to anyone who has ever used GarageBand. This similarity is why it’s sometimes referred to as the “older sibling” of the software. The heart of Logic is a tracks area which contains the data or the audio recording.
This software will let you record high-quality digital audio and provides various tools to edit your recording. You can record, program, and even edit data using this voice over software. Logic is also popular with music producers since it allows them to use built-in audio plug-ins that enable their audio files to be ready for release and distribution on whatever their desired platform.
Not long ago, Logic was very expensive for home studio owners. Despite coming with lots of add-ons, all the extras were sold separately. Now, Logic has more integrated plug-ins, instruments, loops, and special effects, and you can get it for only $199.
With over 66 effect plug-ins to choose from, you will not need any other software. You can even say goodbye to your consoles and complicated cables. If you have any questions regarding this software, you can directly contact its online support, which is available every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The catch is that this voice over software is only available on macOS.
Pro Tools
You can’t go wrong with Pro Tools. Often considered the standard in the industry, this voice over software will make every audio production seem professional. While it may not be easy to use for beginners and is relatively expensive, it will surely be worth it if you are looking for software that will level up your game.
Unfortunately, you cannot buy the Pro Tools software on its own. It will not even work without an approved interface. Because of these limitations, it may not be the best home recording tool for up-and-coming professionals.
But Pro Tools can give you the highest quality recording in the business. Whether you are a musician looking for synth-heavy editing or a voice talent who wants to achieve crisp and clear vocals, the versatility of this software enables any result you want, whether the source is a musical instrument or human voice. Pro Tools even offers Cloud collaboration technology, which lets talents and clients work together on a project from different locations. The edits and additions will take place automatically in real-time.
This software works hand in hand with a vast array of internal and external hardware components that make it one of the most powerful recordings and editing systems. The efficiency of Pro Tools depends on your system. For example, its basic system will let you record 18 audio tracks simultaneously. High-end systems come with internal cards to improve your computer’s processing capability.
Studio One
This voice over software has both free and paid options. This flexibility makes it a fantastic choice for both beginners and professionals. Some features of its free version are unlimited audio tracks, latency compensation capability, time-stretching, and multiple instruments, together with a wide selection of editing tools.
The interface of Studio One makes it easy for users to create a single and cohesive workflow. Like other top software choices on this list, it also supports many formats. Studio One features an option to share your audio file directly to SoundCloud. This voice over software is a favorite among voice talents because of the pristine sound quality it gives. You don’t even have to give a perfect performance. With this software, your flaws can be edited to make it seem like a perfect take. Without question, Studio One is software that allows you to produce quality audio without limits.
Elevate Your Game with Voice Over Software
When you’re a budding voice talent, you must make a constant effort to improve your work. The software choices mentioned above gives you the right tools that you need to create, record, and edit voice overs for professional use.
So take your voice over talents to the next level with some of the best voice over software today!
If you’re looking to join the ranks of pro voice actors and start getting amazing gigs right away, drop us a line. We’d love to have you on the Bunny Studio team!
