AKG Perception 200 + MBOX2 Mini + Protools LE

M

malmsteen

Active member
Hi all,

I am currently looking for a simple sound editing setup, small scale but high quality.
This will mainly be for commercial voice overs.
I've been using my AT897 shotgun and capturing to FCP and tweaking in Soundtrack Pro.
A few days ago, I purchased AKG Perception 200 condenser studio mic., and now I'd like to buy an external sound card for my G5.

I'd like to get high broadcast quality going from my AKG (XLR) mic to digitally conver to G5, and I just saw Mbox 2 mini that comes with Protools LE software.
Is this a good setup? or should I get something like Lexicon Omega or Presonus Firebox?

My understanding is that USB's are fine for audio.
This will be mainly for voice over in studio only.

Also, is there a better quality microphone in AKG-perception 200 price range? (I paid around $150 for it) I'm thinking of exchanging it.

Thank you!
 
If you're looking for another condenser mic in the $200 range, check out the rode nt-1a I use that and the presonus firebox for doing my studio recording. Also another invaluable mic to look at is the shure sm57. I've found myself using that a lot for VOs.

I heavily recommend the firebox (it comes with cubase le), I use it with cubase sx and sonar 6. No problems, very reliable, very clean pre's (as long as you don't use noisy cables!), plus it has six outputs so you can set up 5.1 monitor system with it, it has 2 neutrik xlr combo jacks so you coud even record with two microphones if necessary, plus the fact that it goes up to 96kHz sampling rate (mbox mini is only 48kHz).

Hope that helps.
 
The setup you describe should work fine... but... look, I love ProTools, use ProTools daily, I have two Digi002s and two MBoxes, and I can't imagine at this point switching over to another platform... but the MBox mini just irks me as too expensive. I mean, I guess, not if you consider the fact that it includes the ProTools software, but... I'd suggest getting a new or used original MBox (not "2") on eBay... you can get 'em cheap, I like the sound a tad better, and they have a few other benefits over the new ones.

As for the mic... are you recording yourself, or other people? Or rather, are you recording the same person repeatedly? If so, it's really worth going someplace where you can experiment with a variety of mics and choose one that suits the voice properly. As just posted, some "cheap" mics like the SM57/58 are quite flattering and popular for many voices; and with such a wide variety of mics in the $99-$200 price range today, you'll find mics that are perfect fort any given voice, and mics that'll sound like crap for the same voice. And some that are fairly general.
 
Thanks for your replies.

Yes, I was thinking the same....if it includes the Pro Tools software...how could the hardware be worth that money. That's why I was thinking of byuing a Firebox, and I guess that will be my investment..(I will look into the oroginal MBox too)

For the mic, I will be recording different people's voice all the time, so I guess I'm looking for generally good mic. Right now, from my experiments, I like AKG 200, but I don't know about studio condensor mics too well, so I can't really tell for sure.
There were similar grade mics in Audio Technica, Samson and such, but I needed the mic that day and the guys at the music store were too busy so I couldn't try any of them out!
Anyway, please let me know if you have any brand names and model names that might be better than the one I have in similar price range. I'm willing to spend a couple hundred dollars more for the quality since this is my long-term investment.

I appreciate you help!
 
Some mics you want to check out are: Rode NT1a, Rode NT1000, Audio Technica AT4040, Shure KSM27, AKG C 3000B, Studio Projects C1 and C3. All mics are roughly $200-$325.

Hope that helps!

-Jon
 
You might want to check out the Sure KSM 32/44 and some of the Audio Technica mics (4033, 4060, 4060). The sure SM7 (don't confuse with SM57) is also relatively cheap and used a lot more than people would like to admit :) SM57 is a great mic, and I have 4 of them, but it wouldn't be my first choice for a voiceover. The secret to SM57 is using a great mic preamp.

You aren't going to want to hear this, but there are hardly any mics that work well on everyone, so if you have one mic to work with, you are going to have to compromise.

Keep in mind that if you want to have ProTools, you have to buy either their hardware or M-Audio hardware (which is now owned by Digidesign). I really think the mbox mini is probably for people that have a TDM system and want to take mixes on the road with them.
 
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