ej's voice cast E2

So I wasn't going to deal with singing so that type of mic wasn't going to get purchased.
Starting with a microphone you have Condenser mic's and Dynamic mic's.
You have mics that are USB pluggable into your computer and ones that plug into a device between your mic and usb port on the computer.
The later mic uses this middle device, referred to as an XLR, will record analog and convert the output into digital format for the computer.
This is what I have. My first mic was barrowed from a friend, co-worker and MC riding buddy.
It was an Elgato Wave 3 and worked well. I had it for a long time before really starting to  use it and after a I got started he needed it back. So I went on my search for a mic and came back to that brand. I stepped it up from a USB connection to the XLR type based on what I learned on google searches about mic's for VO artists. 

So I use the Elgato DX mic and Elgato XLR. Pretty nice setup and its price point was fine. I got the mic, the cable and the XLR unit for $279.00. I bought it in Japan from Amazon.co.jp and got everything within a couple of days.
I downloaded the software updates, Elgato has software to manage the mic's settings.
This is what I used with older Wave 3 mic. 
So with this software running I can make changes from the XLR itself using the giant dial or the software app.
I can see changes in the app when dialing it up on the XLR.

The software I use now is Audacity but as mentioned earlier I use GB.
Both are free and there are plenty of youtube videos on how to use either.
Make sure when you google for it that your specifying Voice Over work otherwise you'll get a bunch of returns talking about multiple track recording. Drums on one, vocals on another, strings etc... it's a waste of time but interesting.
You won't really need all those settings and probably not any of the plugins mentioned.

So that covers the electronics, on to the hardware.
I got cheap boom to put the mic on rather than a desk mount.
I didn't know if I was going to stand and do VO or sit but knew I wanted so be able to position the mic where I needed it.
Turns out I'm sitting most of the time but the arm lets me move the mic out of the way.
I'm waiting on my new arm I purchased from Elgato, guess I'm a being an Elgato spokesman at this rate, because I believe it will be sturdier than the one I have. This one has exposed springs that when bumped create an audible sound and vibration which will get on the track. I'd rather reduce/eliminate that issue at the source rather than edit it out.
The other reason is it's kinda weak and doesn't hold up the mic with he sound shield attached. 

Now for room treatment. Room treatment is simply making your recording space as quiet as you can so sound waves, your voice, doesn't start bouncing around the room and you also don't have a lot of echos.
it doesn't have to be sound proof just quiet. You can purchase many things but before you do record the sound in your space while setting the levels you wish to record at.
My coach has me setting the record meter for my voice between -12 and -6 db. So when looking at the audio meter the green bar should be at -12 and you should start seeing yellow at -6. This space shouldn't be red at all.
I got my output, sound through the headset or speakers, at 100%. 
This you can play with as everyone is different. My coach won't wear headphones while recording, drives her nuts to hear her own voice.
It bugged me to for a bit but got used to it. There were instances where I was hearing my self twice in the head set. So saying hello would mean I hear it twice in the head set. I had to disable monitoring on GB that was causing it.
Not much of an issue in Audacity.
I've go my mic/PC mix at 50/50

I had been looking for a booth that I could setup in my tiny office space.
I found one googling around that was kind of what I wanted; however, it was taller than I needed, wouldn't fit in the manner I needed it to and way too expensive. 
So I went to my local DIY store, for those living in Yokohama you'll know it "D2"!
I purchased some poles and connectors for under 7000 yen, about $62.00(ish).
I went online and purchased 2 moving blankets for $35.00 and found some laundry drying clamps that weren't used and I had a working booth. It deadens the sound enough even it doesn't look "professional".