Sound Devices 702 Recorder. What Microphone for recording Narration?

Searcher

Searcher

Well-known member
I just pulled the trigger and ordered a Sound Devices 702 recorder. I know it's a little overkill for my skill level but I like to buy quality equipment whenever possible.

I'm going to be doing a series of short one minute films over the next few months that will involve a lot of voiceovers in them. Any advice on a microphone? I also want to start building a sound kit so a quality mic that would work well in a standard film kit for shooting narrative filmmaking would be good.

Oktava MK012 w/ Hyper Cardiod Cap?

Or is there a Schoeps mic that would kill it? Yes I know Schoeps is not cheap but like I said above I like to buy quality upfront. My grandfather had a saying "I can't afford to buy cheap things."

Thanks for any advice. I did a search but had no luck.
 
Just realised Schoeps are probably overkill for narration and my wallet. So concentrating on the OKTAVA... is that suitable for narration or should I be looking at something more like an AKG D230 interview mic? Thanks.
 
Voiceovers, as in, non-synchronous narration recorded in a sound booth far away from the set and not live on camera? Then, you're talking about the classic voiceover mics, which are usually large-diaphragm dynamics or condensers -- Electro-Voice RE20, Shure SM7, Neumann U87, etc., or the occasional MKH416. They're usually not the same mics you'd use for booming live sound at all. Some of the lower-end large diaphragm condensers like the Rode NT1A, NT1000, and various MXL models are popular for this use as well.

- Greg
 
Thanks greg! Yes I thought I was on the wrong track. There is so much info on the net that sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees.
 
It seems to me that the Audio-Technica AT4053b is becoming the most favored indoor, boom-mounted hypercardioid for recording live dialogue on a less-than-Hollywood budget. The Oktavas are probably OK, but the talk about handling noise sensitivity and especially their inconsistency and occasional quality control problems scares me away from them a bit. You will probably want and need a microphone in this class for general production sound.

For voiceovers, wow, that can get complicated. Experienced voice actors usually have their own personal favorites that they know work the best with their particular voices. People coming from a broadcast background often prefer whatever they grew up using at the radio station. For everybody else, you almost need to try out several mics and compare the results to find out which one works best with each speaker's individual sound. As a very, very general rule, I like the Electro-Voice RE20 a lot for classic deep male voices -- it has a warm sound -- and generally prefer condensers for most female and thinner male voices. (I own an RE20 and a pair of Shure KSM44s that are my default first tries, but if they don't work out, I don't hesitate to raid the mic closets of all my friends in the radio/TV/music/recording business locally to find something that works better.) I've used everything from a Shure SM57 to Neumann U87s at different times. A few voice actors even prefer the Sennheiser MKH416 short shotgun for voiceover recording. This would have to be considered a very "nonstandard" use of this highly directional microphone, which is usually considered to be optimized for outdoor dialog and sound effects recording, but so be it, if it works. If you bought one of these you'd have the advantage of being able to use it for location audio as well. The other large diaphragm mics I mentioned are too big, heavy and fragile to want to swing them around on a boom on location for the most part, and none is very good more than a few inches from the speaker anyway.

Good luck in your quest. Listen to a lot of the comparative microphone tests that are posted here and on YouTube and let us know what you decide.

- Greg
 
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Greg Smith said:
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The Oktavas are probably OK, but the talk about handling noise sensitivity and especially their inconsistency and occasional quality control problems scares me away from them a bit. You will probably want and need a microphone in this class for general production sound.
Click to expand...

I think a lot of the "quality control" issues have to do with people buying the chinese knock offs and attributing it to the russians. In the early days there was some issues but that was quite awhile ago. Since The Sound Room is the only place I know that you know your getting the Russian mic and they do their own quality check your pretty safe.

Actually Oktava Mod also sells the real russian mic but they only sell ones they have modified.

For voiceovers, wow, that can get complicated. Experienced voice actors usually have their own personal favorites that they know work the best with their particular voices.
Click to expand...

The three main camps seem to be those that use a shotgun (I know seems crazy but actually used fairly often), Large diaphragm condensers, and dynamic mics - usually large diaphragm. What I have been using, and everyone seems to like how their voices sound with it, is a Heil PR40. It's similar to a RE20 but sounds a bit cleaner. It has a very hot out put (for a dynamic) and can take really loud sound levels (in case you need some screams). It's also around 1/2 - 2/3 the price of the RE20.

Small condensers tend not to be used for VO.
Good luck in your quest. Listen to a lot of the comparative microphone tests that are posted here and on YouTube and let us know what you decide.
Click to expand...

- Greg[/QUOTE]

I would listen to mics but you can't tell much of anything from online video. The sound is highly compressed and even with really well done tests your pretty much relying on how the tester interprets the sound. Unfortunately unless you know someone who owns the mic it's hard to actually hear a mic. Professional sound stores (ie NOT Guitar Center) often a demo area where you can listen to mics speakers etc. But your in a store and it's hard to pick up much subtlety. If you can find a local recording studio they will probably have some likely candidates in their mic locker and if your nice they might let you try a few out.
 
Either get something which is usable for other tasks also, like an Oktava MK012 with hypercardioid cap, or a cheap large diaphram studio mic like a Rode. The place, "studio" if you will, where you do the voiceovers will matter more than the mic at this stage. Oktava would be more usefull in the long run.
 
I've had great results with a CAD e100 for years now.
http://cadaudio.com/e100.php

I have one of the originals from years ago so I don't know if they changed it any....back in the day, it was the mic James Earl Jones carried with him to VO gigs.
Has many other uses too. I use it with my 722 all the time. FWIW
 
For studio VO work, I prefer a large diaphragm condensor. I have my personal favs, but everyone is going to have a different list of personal favs. I have found the Neumann TLM103 pretty good if you know you are going to be recording different people all the time. It is pretty forgiving. Of course, there is the U87 that was already mentioned. Audio Technica makes some good large diaphragm condensors that sound good and don't cost an arm and a leg. Shure makes some as well, but I haven't used them, so I can't speak about their quality.
 
davefisk said:
I have my personal favs, but everyone is going to have a different list of personal favs.
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Absolutely agree. Definitely not just 1 mic out there to do the job well.

This is my fav when I get the opportunity to pull out a large diaphragm.

lawson.png
 
Yep the Lawson L47mp.

Mangler..it's 24K gold hilarious isnt it?
It definitely makes a statement pulling it out. (good or bad)
 
Thanks to everyone! I didn't realise I was opening up such a can of worms. I like the reviews for the Heil Sound PR-40. Also the idea of the Oktava is attractive simply because I need to buy a shotgun as well. At this stage I probably just need to try a few different ones and see the difference.
 
Searcher, the Oktava can be used on a boom but is not considered a shotgun. I believe it is a hypercardioid. This has to do with how "directional" the pickup pattern is. A shotgun is extremely directional. In fact, it's so directional I think of it like a shotgun that only hits exactly what it's aimed at. You can also think of it like a barrel as these mics are typically longer than hypercardioids. This lets you get further away from the subject and still isolate the intended audio. That's the main reason shotgun mikes are used outdoors (oftentimes the shot is wide enough you need to get the mike 6 feet away or it will be seen in the shot by the camera). The oktava is hypercardioid which is still directional and can be aimed using a boom pole, but is oftentimes used indoors where the boom operator can get it within maybe 3 feet and still not be seen by the camera. I'm not an audio expert here so anyone feel free to correct me. I think I got the basics right but it can be more complex, for example; most people don't recommend using a shotgun indoors b/c they pick up sound reflections that are bouncing around the room.

I have an old Sennheiser 416 that I've had really good results using for voiceover. It's a better mike than my large diaphragm condenser and I like the results much better AS LONG AS I AM IN A GOOD SOUNDBOOTH. Once I made a makeshift soundbooth in a closet using tons of styrofoam, blankets, a mattress, etc... It looked far from professional but I was really happy with the results. I guess what I'm trying to emphasize is that the more you understand the microphones and their strenghts and limitations the better your sound is going to be no matter which microphones you end up with. Paying attention to room acoustics is also important and for voice-over, you probably want to look up DIY soundbooths on a google search. Hope this helps.
 
Rippie said:
Yep the Lawson L47mp.

Mangler..it's 24K gold hilarious isnt it?
It definitely makes a statement pulling it out. (good or bad)
Click to expand...

We had a pair of those in college. LOVE that mic. They sounded great as drum overheads, on vocals, on guitar amps, on kick drums, on just about anything.
 
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