Need a recommendation for a microphone with shock mount for voice-overs

Rick R said:
As David stated, the 416, which would not normally be considered, more than a few 'big name' pro VO artists prefer them over the usual suspect LDC mics.
Click to expand...


And in contrast, I once voiced the open/close/bills/ and bumps for a national TV fishing show using an EV635a hanging from a coat hanger in a mobile broadcast truck's audio room. People may clamor over expensive mic X and high end mic pre Y, but the truth of the matter is, by the time it hits the air, nobody listening is going to know what equipment you used.

I will say, if you can, audition as many mics you can in your price range before you spend your money on a mic you have never used. Over the years I have used a few different mics that just don't work well with my voice, like the EV RE27N/D, which I get a weird sibilance on. Your mileage may vary.
 
Re the voxguard and similar reflection filter products, I use one for recording voice overs and love it. They really do a good job of minimising crappy room reflections and background noise when recording in less than ideal locations (e.g. my lounge). The only downside is that they're quite bulky, annoying if you have to lug one from place to place.
 
I thought I would just put a note in for a long time solid v/o performer the Shure SM7 which I use and have used for years along with many studios. I know this is a ROde generation and there are tons of Chinese knock offs that sound pretty good and not everyone can afford a Neuman. But the Shure is worth the money and will last forever and hold its value.
Just my two cents
 
Marshall Harrington said:
One of the reviews I read in Sound on Sound basically said that there are three categories of mics. The low end, the middle end, and the upper end. The writer argued that the upper end tended to not color the sound at all, the middle end provided coloring that was all over the spectrum, and the lower end was just inconsistent where you are getting just what you pay for.
Click to expand...

I don't know who wrote this, but I would disagree.

Yes, you *do* get what you pay for.

In the middle range - say £500 - £1,500 there are mics. that are top end, there are mics. that are clean and natural and there are mics that are coloured.

There are the same degrees of colour in the top end as well. Some people pay a lot of money for a certain type of "colour"

Yes, the cheap end can be "all over the spectrum", but there are still a few mics at the bottom end that are good value.

My top 5 makes are (alphabetically): DPA, Microtech Gefell, Neumann, Schoeps and Sennheiser. All offer mics in the mid range as well as the upper range and most offer mics that are clean and othered that have a "colour" - you choose what is right for you.
 
In the past two weeks I have done VO work in various studios using the following mics… Neumann U-87, Neumann TLM-193, Neumann TLM-107, Neumann TLM-103, Sennheiser MKH-416, Sennheiser MKH-60, Sennheiser MD-421, Electro Voice RE-20, Blue Dragonfly, Blue Bottle, Shure SM-58, AKG 414, Audio Technica AT-4033, and some mic made by SE Electronics which I'm don't know the model number of.

Everybody here is going to give you their idea of their favorite mic, or the mic which they purchased. If you ask 100 different people you are likely going to get 100 different answers.

My thoughts, and I have been doing VO work for going on 38 years now…. As long as you have a good sounding isolated location to record your VOs, a noise free signal chain using the proper gain staging, and a VO talent who knows how to work the mic, it really doesn't matter which mic is in front of them.

All the Best!

Dave
 
David W. Jones said:
Everybody here is going to give you their idea of their favorite mic, or the mic which they purchased.
Click to expand...

No, certainly not! - my recommendations were neither my favourite mics. nor ones which I have purchased.

My recommendations are based on what was best for the situation described, based on 30+ years working in sound and specialisng in microphones.
 
John Willett said:
No, certainly not! - my recommendations were neither my favourite mics. nor ones which I have purchased.

My recommendations are based on what was best for the situation described, based on 30+ years working in sound and specialisng in microphones.
Click to expand...

I think what he meant was more along the lines of everyone is going to have different opinions because of their personal experience. And that is exactly what you are saying, unless some how you are of the opinion that your recommendation is the final word and everyone else is speaking out of their b^&$'s.

I don't think the later is your stance, so in slightly different words you are saying the same thing.

Namely that different people will have different recommendations, based on their different experiences. The other reality is that some voices sound better on certain mics, so there is no one size fit's all. The best answer would be a collection of mics, but that is not a workable answer for the OP.

Some of us have had more experience with multiple mics in multiple situations and we are going to give an opinion based on that. But it's also true that there will probably be plenty of posts that are basically "I bought mic X and it's working well for me". The use of the word "favorite" may be a english to english translation error. In american english vernacular it is perfectly valid to refer to the mic you recommend as your "favorite" for that situation. It just means it's the one you recommend in that situation, it doesn't imply you have some biased fetish over the microphone.

To quote Charlie Papazian "Relax Dont worry, have a home brew".
 
I want to thank all of you for taking the time to post on this. I am learning a ton. Exactly what I'd hoped for.

I'm tracking down a bunch of these as we speak.

Your generosity inspires.
 
Noiz2 said:
I think what he meant was more along the lines of everyone is going to have different opinions because of their personal experience. And that is exactly what you are saying, unless some how you are of the opinion that your recommendation is the final word and everyone else is speaking out of their b^&$'s.
Click to expand...

No - not at all - all I was saying that the statement was wrong in that it was *not* my favourite mic. and *not* one which I had purchased and I was speaking as a professional based on years of experience.

I was *not* commenting on anyone else's recommendations, just on the statement that "everyone just recommends their favourite mic" which was incorrect.
 
So sorry folks took my post the wrong way!

The point I was trying to make was… ask 100 people and you might likely get 100 different answers.

Case in point…. In this thread I believe 7 different people suggested 9 different microphones.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top