Shure MV6 Audiobook Narration Tuning

Budget: $30 - $250

I’m recording an erotic-style audiobook on a Shure MV6 in a fairly dead bedroom corner, yet faint street rumble still creeps in and my louder passages hit the reds. I currently use Audacity to record but want to migrate and am willing to learn Reaper because as I know, it is best for long form audiobook narration. I need you to build a complete, plug-and-play Reaper FX chain that will let my narration sit deep and resonant, stay warm and clear, and eliminate outside noise without thinning the tone. I currently use a custom tune in steelseries gg that I have been recording this audiobook with so far, so I would prefer to be able to have profiles able to activate when needed.

Here’s what matters most to me: • Keep the “deep and resonant” character front-and-center. • Soften harsh “s” sounds and rein-in plosives (“p d t b”) while preserving healthy low-end weight. • Control peaks so I can lean into intimate passages without clipping or audible pumping. • I need to be able to get energetic in a scene without it peaking or being to loud but also need to be able to get quiet and whisper with it still picking everything up. • Eliminate background noise, specifically my magnetic dog door when it swings.

I am familiar with something like a de-esser, but I’d like the full chain—from high-pass choices and multiband compression to limiting—ready to drop into Reaper and go.

Deliverables

1. A Reaper.RfxChain file optimised for the Shure MV6 in a small, treated room.
2. A concise rundown of each module, the reasoning behind its placement, and advice on minor tweaks if I change rooms or mic distance.
3. Quick tips for gain-staging so I can keep healthy headroom all the way to mastering.