John Cloutman

Voice Description

I can provide a wide range of voices, tones and temperments for any application. Narrations in a very gentle matter-of-fact voice, energetic and emphatic for upbeat commercial content, eloquent and articulate presentation voice, radio announcer's voice available in any genre e.g. smooth jazz, Classic Rock, Hot Country, etc. I can do both parts of a dialog and make both voices sound quite different from one another, as well.

Voice Genders and "Ages" I Can Perform

• Teenage Boy
• Young Adult Male
• Middle Age Male
• Senior Male

Language(s) of Which I Am a Native Speaker:

• English - North American

I Offer my Services for these Recording Purposes

• Commercials
• Promos
• IVR, voicemail, phone systems, and on-hold messages
• Training, business presentations, sales, and web sites
• Audiobooks
• Videogames
• Documentaries
• TV shows and movies
• Movie and game trailers
• Podcasts
• Songs
• Others (on-camera, infomercials, live announcers, spokespersons)

Jobs I Am Willing to Take (Union-wise)

• Non-Union Jobs

• Jobs for AFTRA (US) signatories

• Jobs for SAG (US) signatories

My Union Affiliations and Memberships

None

My Recording and Delivery Capabilities

• I will go to any designated studio in my area
• I have Phone Patch in my studio
• I can record and then deliver the audio files via Email
• I can record and then upload the audio files via FTP
• I can record and then deliver the files by regular mail

Pre-, Post- and Production Services I Offer

• I can deliver edited and finished voice tracks
• I can add special effects to any project

My Home Base

Tracy, California, United States

Accents, Impersonations, Characters and Dialects

I have every U.S. regional accent imaginable, from the Gentlemanly Agricultural Southland to the Brutal industrial north, California Surfer to Dry Monotone Harvard Professor. I have Boston and New York accents including ethnic variations. I have a variety of Brit accents as well as an Aussie accent that is convincing.
I have the "2000-year-old man" accent (thanks Mel) The Chicago accent, Minnesota, Wisconsin, even a great Maine "Down-easter" accent a la "Bert and I". My Accents range from the wild blue yonder to the city streets. I have a pretty good Indian/Sikh accent So I can do Apu and Grandpa simpson as well. I also have a "Taglish" accent that is the unique cadence of Filipino-American speakers who are mixing tagalog with their English. I can do Austrian and German accents as well as French and Scandinvian accents. I also have a few of the colloquial terms used by native Jamaican Rastafari (managed a reggae band).

My Voice Experience

I'm an audio/video/electronics engineer by training. I did some radio shows at WJUL 91.5FM in Lowell Ma (Now WUML) with my friend John Guregian (who is still there Saturdays and Sundays playing the blues)beginning about 1979. Without quitting my day gig as a computer engineer, I began acquiring the gear and building a recording studio and PA system, then mixed live concerts and played in bands during the 80's and 90's. I've produced bands and mixed sound/recorded for artists such as John Mayall, KoKo Taylor, Albert Collins, Jimmy Rogers, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Gregg Allman, The Outlaws, and dozens of others. I learned all about recording from the pros, learned how to mix and record all the different instruments including (difficult)Hammond B-3, but most of all I learned about how versatile the human voice is as an instrument, and how to record it.
I've played tiny little clubs as well as Theaters up to 5000 seats (Arnold Hall, Air Force Academy for example) and Street Fairs similar to Reno's Hot August Nights.

My Training

I've had 2 years of Electronics Engineering Training at DeVry in Kansas City MO. I've had the pleasure of doing training seminars (audio and Video) for Digital Equipment Corporation which had its own studio. I've been trained as an instructor and used my voice to do podcasts for a local book review publication - Sacramento and San Francisco Book Review. I've played and sung in bands since the 1980's, and am accomplished on acoustic and electric guitars, Basses, Drums, and a little piano or organ. In the late 90's I started using a computer to record audio and edit video, and am accomplished with Sony VEGAS video editor, novice at FINAL CUT, expert at Photoshop. I have relatives who are a famous cinematographer (has his star on the Hollywood walk of fame) and Sound engineer, and my first exposure (at age 10) was to get to meet Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway on the set of "Thomas Crown Affair" being shot near my hometown in Boston. In my day gig I have patent applications on file and my co-inventor is a bona-fide audio expert as well.

My Studio Equipment

I use:
Audio-Technica and NADY Wireless rigs both Highball and Lavalier style microphones. I also have wired microphones (condensers) from Audio Technica, SONY and SHURE. I have AKG headphones and access to a whole collection of Neumann Mics. I use AKG D112 or D-12 for Bass Drum, and still find use for SM57 and 58 though I like EV and Audio Technica Mics alot now.

I use COOL EDIT PRO (now Adobe Audition) PC audio editing software and SONY VEGAS VIDEO editor. I run multi-track Audio into a PC using M-Audio Delta and Omni I/O breakout box. I record everything at a minimum 24-bit 96-Khz rate.

I am expert in the use of Audio Precision 2700 analyzers and in my day gig I help product Manufacturers obtain certification of Compliance with Dolby Labs' AC-3 and Dolby Digital Plus licensing.
I worked for Cirrus Logic who owns Crystal Semiconductors, one of the largest Audio DAC/ADC and DSP chip makers in the world. I know Digital Audio recording extremely thoroughly.

I use Canon GL-1 video Camera (But really want a RED camera) and NIKON, Canon and OLYMPUS Still Cameras.

I play:
Roland V-Pro Drums with DW pedals,
Roland VK-7 Virtual Hammond B3 Organ,
SoundGear Bass with Gallien-Krueger Amp,
Gibson J-185-EC Acoustic/Electric guitar,
Gibson ES-335 Electric Guitar,
Tokai AST-62 Clone of 1962 Stratocaster,
thru a Fender Hot Rod DeVille amp with 4-10" speakers at 60 Watts. I use LINE 6 POD PRO effects.
I also have a hand made guitar/banjolin from the Philippines.

Additional Skills

Being an Electronics Engineer and specializing in Audio and Video really helps me bring an extra bit of support to your project. I also have years of experience in customer technical support. I have an extensive home network and cozy studio environment with which to produce your work, and I am thorough, patient, detail-oriented and won't settle for second-best on your project. If I have to re-take or re-mix or edit extensively to get your project perfect, you can count on me to go the distance for you.

Payment Methods Accepted

• PayPal
• Personal checks, cashier's checks, or money orders in my local currency

Contact Information

To contact John Cloutman by email or phone, please click here.