Narration Mic

J

jacob12_1993

Active member
Hello,

I'm new to this audio stuff so please bear with me :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)

I am looking to purchase a mic to use for a voice over narration on a documentary. The narration will be recorded after filming, at my house (not the perfect studio environment but pretty consistent during recording). I don't have a massive budget so would probably go second hand if possible. I initially had my eye on the Rode NT-1(a) microphones but after reading they seem to produce quite a bright sound. I am looking more for a warm sound, that will portray as a fatherly figure (hope this makes sense). Sort of David Attenborough style (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlbxRBfGAr0). Do you have any recommendations on how to produce this sort of sound? The only other mic I have is a Rode NTG-1 which I don't think (may be wrong) will be suitable?

Thanks in advance

Jake
 
That warm fatherly sounding voice comes from the VO artist, not the mic.
That being said, there are plenty of low cost mics available that will likely work for your use.
The NT2 and AT 4033 are just a couple of low cost microphones that might fit the bill.

I would also say this... Use the search function because this question has already been asked and answered numberous times.

Good Luck!

Dave
 
I have been researching some more and came across the MXL V67G. Anybody have any experience with this mic? It sure does look cool!

EDIT: Just seen daves post, I understand the warmth comes from the narrator and I have found somebody perfect for the bill, but some mics sound just warmer to my ears, would a pre amp help with the warmth?

I will try the search tool too!
 
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?264955-VO-Mic

As for your question about pre-amps, they can affect the color of the sound. Some people swear by tube-based pre-amps for "tube warmth". Others say it's better to record as clean and flat as possible and then add whatever you need in post. There are benefits to both. Just don't get swept up in the absolute need for a tube-based pre and then purchase a cheap tube pre ("cheap" is not necessarily the same as "inexpensive"). Read reviews, and if you have a local shop where you can demo pre-amps, try before you buy.
 
While a mic pre can make a difference on the sound you get, the bigger difference will be made by the actor knowing how to work the mic.
I'll also say the quality of the room you are recording and monitoring in will have a major impact on the sound as well.
 
Key issues (if ya ask me):

At least a "decent" mic - but even a Sure 58 can get a good VO sound.

You need a dead, quiet room (by dead I mean no reflections). Even a hint of room character knocks the "this is god talking inside your head" quality down.

A preamp/recording chain that is noise-free and gets a good frequency range.

Proximity make a giant difference in the "size" and presence of the voice - play with mic distance; sometimes having a mic just an inch or two from the mouth gives you a bigger-than-life low end... you don't want the lows overpowering though, and you don't want popped p's (plosives).

A huge part of a quality VO sound is in post - EQ, Compression, and things that fall in the "exciter" range - either an actual aural exciter/enhancer or vintage gear with even distortion characteristics (such as tube EQs or comps, or even running back through a sweet preamp) or vintage-emulating plugins (many of which sound amazing).

So - who has all this stuff and the ability to use it? Recording studios. And... musicians who record at home. Many of whom need all the work they can get. You could buy a couple plugins for your recording setup (if you're using software that takes pro plugins - many are affordable), buy a great mic, and sound-treat a closet or something... but someone has already done all of that and knows how to use it. Hunt around your town, talk to bands who have recorded locally, etc - find a partner who in the future could help you sweeten or score your stuff.
 
Michael Carter said:
Key issues (if ya ask me):

At least a "decent" mic - but even a Sure 58 can get a good VO sound.

You need a dead, quiet room (by dead I mean no reflections). Even a hint of room character knocks the "this is god talking inside your head" quality down.

A preamp/recording chain that is noise-free and gets a good frequency range.

Proximity make a giant difference in the "size" and presence of the voice - play with mic distance; sometimes having a mic just an inch or two from the mouth gives you a bigger-than-life low end... you don't want the lows overpowering though, and you don't want popped p's (plosives).

A huge part of a quality VO sound is in post - EQ, Compression, and things that fall in the "exciter" range - either an actual aural exciter/enhancer or vintage gear with even distortion characteristics (such as tube EQs or comps, or even running back through a sweet preamp) or vintage-emulating plugins (many of which sound amazing).

So - who has all this stuff and the ability to use it? Recording stud!ios. And... musicians who record at home. Many of whom need all the work they can get. You could buy a couple plugins for your recording setup (if you're using software that takes pro plugins - many are affordable), buy a great mic, and sound-treat a closet or something... but someone has already done all of that and knows how to use it. Hunt around your town, talk to bands who have recorded locally, etc - find a partner who in the future could help you sweeten or score your stuff.
Click to expand...

Cheers for the post Micheal, lots of food for thought! Thanks for taking your time to reply. I know that recording at home will not get hollywood quality sound but I'm on an extremely low budget (aka funded by myself) to highlight the work of an excellent NGO. I am just hoping to produce good quality audio that I can be proud of and will do the project justice! I'm thinking of knocking up a cheap diy vocal booth aswell to cut down on peripheral sounds
 
Also, to get that "warm" sound, look into a LDC tube mic (the 6072 tube circuit comes to mind). That is what they are known for. As long as you do what everyone else has said. Quiet room, good pre-amp, great vocal artist. Tie those all together and you have a great possibility of getting gold.

I say possibility, because there is one other factor. The engineer. These types of recordings, though they look simple, require great skill and attentiveness on the engineer's part. You really need to know the vocal/signal chain, and where to set everything to give that voice the highlight it needs prior to hitting record. There is only so much you can do in post. And make sure you are not getting any noise from the gear. Too many people set up a great chain but forget about what it is they are running everything into. If you are using a small mixer, make sure it isn't stepping on your sound with noise (Mackie's and Behringer's are notorious for self-noise). And watch your gain staging through the chain.

You can do it. But it's not just setting up a mic, plugging in a few cables, and you are off to the races. Unless you will have a producer with you to work with the talent, you will need to be the producer as well. You need to listen to the inflections and make sure it is what YOU want for the project and that it fits the project.

When you get this done, post up a sample.
 
Last edited:
Jacob,I have the MXL V67G. It is actually a very decent mike. But I bought it used, and it has been modded. I'm not sure how it would compare to a stock, off-the-shelf version, but ours gets lots of use, many times over much more expensive microphone brands.GJ
 
For what your doing probably the least expensive mic that should work well is a SM58. You can get them used and they are so "indestructible" that it's pretty safe buying used. But even new you can get them for under $100. It has a good proximity effect that will give you some of that warm in your face sound if the actor really eats the mic. It's dynamic so recording that close will mitigate a lot of defects in your recording space, it will not pick up much of the room bounce or out side sounds. You won't need phantom power and it's a good mic to have in general.
 
Doc Bernard said:
Also, to get that "warm" sound, look into a LDC tube mic (the 6072 tube circuit comes to mind). That is what they are known for. As long as you do what everyone else has said. Quiet room, good pre-amp, great vocal artist. Tie those all together and you have a great possibility of getting gold.

I say possibility, because there is one other factor. The engineer. These types of recordings, though they look simple, require great skill and attentiveness on the engineer's part. You really need to know the vocal/signal chain, and where to set everything to give that voice the highlight it needs prior to hitting record. There is only so much you can do in post. And make sure you are not getting any noise from the gear. Too many people set up a great chain but forget about what it is they are running everything into. If you are using a small mixer, make sure it isn't stepping on your sound with noise (Mackie's and Behringer's are notorious for self-noise). And watch your gain staging through the chain.

You can do it. But it's not just setting up a mic, plugging in a few cables, and you are off to the races. Unless you will have a producer with you to work with the talent, you will need to be the producer as well. You need to listen to the inflections and make sure it is what YOU want for the project and that it fits the project.

When you get this done, post up a sample.
Click to expand...

I understand that it isn't easy, that's why I want to get the kit now. The filming wont be till spring next year so I won't have to do the final recording for another year! Plenty of practise time will be in need I feel!
 
Gregg Juke said:
Jacob,I have the MXL V67G. It is actually a very decent mike. But I bought it used, and it has been modded. I'm not sure how it would compare to a stock, off-the-shelf version, but ours gets lots of use, many times over much more expensive microphone brands.GJ
Click to expand...

I'm glad you've said this as its what I have been hearing all over. How do you find the sound? Where can I find a modded one? or is it DIY?
 
Noiz2 said:
For what your doing probably the least expensive mic that should work well is a SM58. You can get them used and they are so "indestructible" that it's pretty safe buying used. But even new you can get them for under $100. It has a good proximity effect that will give you some of that warm in your face sound if the actor really eats the mic. It's dynamic so recording that close will mitigate a lot of defects in your recording space, it will not pick up much of the room bounce or out side sounds. You won't need phantom power and it's a good mic to have in general.
Click to expand...

Will take a look at the SM58, seen lots of good things written about it! Shame its £100 rather than $100 here in the UK though :( I have read about a dynamic mic working better in a bedroom environment as its not as sensitive. The phantom power is good too!
 
You should be able to find a used 58 or 58 beta - and there are zillions of 57's out there - not thought of as a vocal mic but sounds quite good (John lennon "Imagine", Bono - handheld! "in the name of love".... and so on...) A tube mic can be very expensive.

Far before you buy a pricey mic or pre, you need to think about accurate monitoring. For simply recording a voice, you may not need $2k in reference speakers, but at the least some non-hyped headphones and the ability to listen to the end result on a few systems (a home theater, an iPod, computer speakers, etc). Think about where the audience will hear this.

For advice on room treatment, your first stop should be Ethan Winer's forum.

Probably the best thought-of affordable preamp is the RNP (really nice preamp). Google it...

If you have an audio mixing host that can handle VST or Au plugins (and use their interfaces) some affordable mojo plugins would be:

Redline EQ and Big Blue Limiter (112db.com)
IK Multimedia T-racks series has some really nice EQs and Compressors for $99 a pop (ikmultimedia.com). I use their vintage EQ often.
Nomad Factory "Magnetic" is awesome (nomadfactory.com) They have a lot of low-priced stuff, some very good.
The amazing RC tube console emulator is $49 for just a couple more days (www.slatedigital.com)

There are tons more out there. Keep in mind many of these emulate analog gear and add subtle, "pleasing" distortion, which to our ears translates as "warmth", "sparkle", etc. - but they can be pushed into "godzilla stomps the city" territory.

My overall advice: get a Sure SM58 or an ADK A-51 (niiiiice mic for the bucks). Treat a closet or area of a room with EFFECTIVE sound deadening (read up on Winer's forum) and run mic and headphone lines to it; learn about gain staging; and think about your monitoring setup.
 
Jacob,The MXL works great, and we often choose to use it over lots of other/more expensive options in the mike cabinet. But it had a DIY mod, and I'm not the one who made the modification. But if you're confident that you're "that kind of guy" (comfortable with a soldering iron and working with small electronic parts), I can probably find the name of the mod for you; I think the plans are available on the Internet.The advice about getting good headphones is an excellent idea; as for the rest, as you can see by the responses here, you've got plenty to think about! One thing though, I probably wouldn't choose a 57 as an ideal (even at low cost) voice-over microphone.GJ
 
I agree, the 57 is too soft for voice work unless you're recording James Earl Jones or a similar deep male voice.

Be careful of SM58 counterfeit copies .. Shure have prominent warning notices posted in all sound shops here.

I'd also look at getting a HH Porta-booth for the room acoustics. I have one it's great, wouldn't be without it and you can set it up in other places.

http://www.harlanhogan.com/portaboothArticle.shtml

Disclaimer, not associated with HH in any way.

Cheers.
 
jacob12_1993 said:
I understand that it isn't easy, that's why I want to get the kit now. The filming wont be till spring next year so I won't have to do the final recording for another year! Plenty of practise time will be in need I feel!
Click to expand...

Don't buy gear now if you don't need it yet!

Put that money into your room getting it ready, as the recording environment will have a bigger impact on your finished product than the mic used.

Look, I have done thousands of VOs over the course of my career using every microphone & preamp combo imaginable. But I seriously doubt anyone listening to the radio or TV could tell what mic was used to record any of them.

Once you have your recording environment prepared, then look at gear.

Good Luck!

Dave
 
I totally agree on making a proper environment first then the gear, keep in mind that there is no universal solution. Every microphone mentioned here will give you the opportunity to create decent sounding stuff if you have done your homework.

Microphones and pre-amps performances are only as good as how they are set up (gain staging) as well and more importantly how the room is set up.

a $2500 Neumann U87 will sound crappy in a square living room with no treatment as well as a $89 Shure SM57 will sound pretty decent in a well treated room.
 
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