OT: Topic: Phone voicemail, VOIP & sound quality (weaving gold from yarn)

(posted over at KVR but got no response...anybody familiar with this stuff?)

Im working on a mini project for my job that basically consists of recording a sort of promo voicemail for the department that will be heard by people calling into the number.

I've never taken on this task before and thought it would be relatively easy. Record some raw vocals, bounce them to Ableton, get some killer samples, apply some effects and arrange.

My first misconception was that the company had a way to simply upload the wav file into the telecom system. They dont (or dont want to...but that is a different story) Anyway...so I finished one already the results were shit.

Why...well because...the way they decided to record the audio was by playing it into the phone from some cheap mini computer speakers. The results are just....MUD...

My new little promo wav contains lots of subtle sounds (vinyl crackles, film reel noise). It does not seem like this will even be heard and Im afraid of the results when it is recorded like it was the 1st time.

I have several questions:

- what is the (I guess) standard "sample rate" for phones (office-type phones)

- what is the best way to get the clearest possible highest quality audio to be put on a voicemail


I had ideas of trying to use Voip software like Skype to dial into the recording prompt and just playing the wav file from my PC but...even this didnt sound too good.

Anybody know much about Voip software...are there different sample quality issues or is phone audio just standard?

Im completely new to this and have no clue when it comes to phones. One thing is for sure...Im not proud of the results at ALL.

We've all heard presentable recorded sound quality over the phone before...question is...how do they get it. I remember calling "info lines" for parties or clubs and you can hear music and the announcer's vocals very clearly...how is this done and where am I going wrong?

Please help!