Creative Spaces Podcast: Episode #2 with Jeff Bell

You’ve likely heard Jeff Bell’s voice in countless commercials. He’s most known for being the longtime voice of Ford Motor Company but has made a career out of his self-proclaimed “gnarly” sound. In one of his most recent commercials for  Liberty Mutual, Bell provides some assistance to a handsome but bumbling actor.

He got his start in radio broadcasting, answering a newspaper ad for disc jockeys in rural Arkansas where he lived at the time. Bell continued to do radio work for another 18 years, gradually transitioning into voiceover work and getting the “gig” that would define his career: Ford. True to the brand he represents, Bell owns a 1968 Mustang, a picture of which is featured prominently on his website, www.jeffbellvoiceover.com.

Bell enjoys the “vibe” of the home studio where he spends most of his time, even before COVID-19 hit the scene. A studio space, he says, should be a place where “you are free to experiment, to try whatever you want without fear.” Outfitted with top-of-the-line equipment, including a Neumann U-87 microphone, Manley VOXBOX channel strip, Aurora Lynx 16 converter and SSL Nucleus 2 controller, it’s no wonder Bell spends “every day” there.

An advocate for the voiceover industry, Bell provides instruction, often in humorous fashion, on his YouTube page. “A lot of voicework is sort of biofeedback and learning how to trick your body into doing these gags,” he said.