VO Studio Setup, Thoughts and Suggestions?

Mitch.Kear said:
Way to stay on topic with the OP Noiz! Haha... You're right that all mics can be useful for certain situations. I used an ntg2 all day today because it worked for what I was doing. But you can't say that this is a good sounding shotgun for dialogue comparitively.

I know certain people that use a vintage U87 for their first choice for voice every time. If it doesn't work with the voice then they go to one with the characteristics the sound needed. In studio is a completely different way of working than field/location recording.

This U87 argument came from joking about using it as a suggestion to a budget setup. Albeit a lame joke, should not take things so seriously. It brings down the "happy place" that is the forum.
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Well a couple of things. If you noticed I wasn't quoting you but the other guy who was implying that Neumann was the end all mic company.

And secondly it is not a service to the community to have such BS sit out there with out a response. People come hear often with very little experience and take this stuff seriously. So as sound folks we can joke about using a $15K mic on a low budget project but some kid just starting out reads that and takes it as the "truth" and either just gives up because of $$$$ or worse goes off and repeats it.

And the fact is that a lot of VO for film and video is actually done with a 416. It's not a mic I would have chosen for VO but it is amazingly common. It is not done because nobody in major studios has ever heard a Neumann, it's done because they like the sound.

For the OP a dynamic like the PR-40 makes a lot more sense and it's probably in his price range.

Anyway your "joking" is fine, I don't think hardly anyone didn't understand that it was a joke, it was the other posts that started turning that joke into a serious suggestion that I had a problem with.

And I consider this a place where people should be able to get real useful answers to their questions/ problems. If keeping this a "happy place" in your mind is filling the list with misinformation then your right I will be bringing it down. Because every time some poor filmmaker gets bad advice they end up coming to someone like me to fix it. I love the creative work in post, I hate fixing stupid mistakes- especially ones that were done because of some bogus advice by an "expert" on the web.
 
To bring back that "happy place" ;~) If you really want something that sounds close to a U87 ant a price point that fit's the OP's budget level then this is probably your best bet. And it's only $359.
 
Noiz2 said:
bogus advice by an "expert" on the web.
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Exactly, but in the posters defense that you quoted he never said that mic was the end all of mics. I think he was baccking up the fact that someone who had said that the NT1A was better than the U87 was incorrect. Please Noiz by all means tear down all misinformation, I was trying to do the same earlier. I don't want an inexperienced. Film guy to believe something that was incorrect. Though the best information is to always hire a pro.
 
recordingwhiz said:
Spoken like a true Neumann inexperianced. If you cant hear the difference its NOT the mic. its your hearing... I used to own 8 of them, and there IS a reason for them.
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Well Mitch you may be right but the above sounds like an ad to me.

But point is taken the other side presented and I think mostly we are on the same page.

I read it a bit differently. I read it as poster two saying that the U87 wasn't nec the best mic always and the fan boy saying that was just because he hadn't heard a u87. And while the point may be right that the poster hadn't heard the u87 the implication that if he HAD heard it he would sell his mom to buy one is not correct.

I have a beer with my name on it, hope you do also ;~)

Cheers
SK


Scott Koue
www.scottkouesound.com
http://imdb.com/name/nm0468138/
 
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Noiz2 said:
I have a beer with my name on it, hope you do also ;~)
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Beer, beer, beer! Too many beer. I'm so glad I'm doing voice overs today. Punch, punch, punch.. Done. Cheers Noiz. I'll set up a U87 out of spite of this thread :) but not really.416 + RE20
 
The 87 is NOT the best mic , there is no such thing, I just get tired of people that aren't lucky enough to have one or more dissing it.
there are a ton of other very well suited mics, for example the NT2a I like over the 87 for quite a bit vocals, and cost considerably less.
The way I look at mics is that they offer many flavors and it depends on what you're recording which is best for that situation, however I have found out thru trial and error that the 87 does indeed seem to be the better choice in more situations than any other mic I can think of.
At that level of equipment obviously the rule of diminishing returns apply, it seems you spend a ton of money for very little improvement.
And what preamp you're using can make as much of a difference as well.

I apologize If I came of as snobbish.
 
:shocked:

S**t got real while I was away! :cheesy:

I seriously have to thank everyone for their suggestions, I feel a lot better lately reading through some of my literature and am beginning to understand what a lot of this means. Granted I've still not recorded much of anything, but to re-iterate, yep, the reason I chose the combo I did is because of budget and quality. I was trying to get the best setup I could for my sub $1k budget. The M10 is going to be used primarily as an sfx/ambiance gathering tool, as well as just making notes for myself throughout the process. In order to get a workable animatic going, I'll record the dialog myself, but the type of sound won't really matter here so the M10 will be fine for that.

I chose the NT1-a for the reason that many say it is very quiet and provides an even, standard (very little color?). That sounds to me like the ideal kind of result for clear understandable vocals that can be adjusted and equalized in post. It's going to be a lot of fun recording some awesome ambiance with the M10 and then working with the vocals to marry them to the scene. I promise I'll post some more pics when I start to get the idea together for my booth I want to build, but chances are it will be sometime this winter as I should be able to do my rough cut without the fancy room treatment. Things will get serious once I get the booth built, I have a few people who want to test read some of the script as well at that point. Promise I'll post plenty of photos for that :)

recorder.jpg
 
Sweeeeet. Aside from wind protection a decent pre will improve your sound greatly.

Still looking forward to build photos!
 
recordingwhiz said:
The 87 is NOT the best mic , there is no such thing, I just get tired of people that aren't lucky enough to have one or more dissing it.
there are a ton of other very well suited mics, for example the NT2a I like over the 87 for quite a bit vocals, and cost considerably less.
The way I look at mics is that they offer many flavors and it depends on what you're recording which is best for that situation, however I have found out thru trial and error that the 87 does indeed seem to be the better choice in more situations than any other mic I can think of.
At that level of equipment obviously the rule of diminishing returns apply, it seems you spend a ton of money for very little improvement.
And what preamp you're using can make as much of a difference as well.

I apologize If I came of as snobbish.
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AMEN, preach it bro!!!!!!!! I dislike the 87, sometimes with a passion. Way too brittle, except a couple of the vintage 87's, the ai's I won't even consider.. Of the Neumann line, I would choose a 47 over an 87 anyday, for most applications. But that is just if those were the only two I had to choose from.

LOL, I love how people seem to think the more expensive a mic is, the better it is. Sorry, I got some disappointing news for some people. The Neumann circuit has been copied component for component by many lesser priced mics. The only difference is the appearance (sometimes) and the little name badge on the mic. But strange how I see evals of those mics being lesser than the original, despite their being identical. I actually laugh when I see this. Even with the Rode, component costs are about 50 dollars.

So bottom line, trust your ears, not the name brand, people.
 
Old thread and probably not entirely what you're looking for but I just wanted to share this DIY porta booth look-a-like I made for the fun of it :)


It was pretty damn easy and still very transportational but like Noiz said in the other thread, it has its limitations. Still worth it imo...
 
Just saw this thing in the other thread, looks pretty similar to what I want to build. I may end up going all out and building a stand up modular booth though...I'll post pics in the thread when done :)
 
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