Voiceover Mic Choice

[jeremynothman]

Hmm, i remembered that a u87 was around 1500€, now it's 3k... Inflation or memory deflation?

If you are on a budget, buy a good affordable SDC, o own a sontronics stc-3x. It's very good for the price. Then spend every last bit of your budget on acoustic treatment. There's no point to use the best microphone in the world in an untreated room.

To record VO you want well balanced but not too dead, so bass traps and diffusion.

A u87 is €1500 second hand

 

[JeffKall]

The King of Trailer VO …Don LaFontaine … and virtually all of the legendary film trailer Voice Over announcers specifically requested and used the Sennheiser 416 shotgun microphone during my time in film promo work in LA during the 80’s and 90’s … after which time most of the successful VO announcers built their own in home VO booths and started using a variety of large diaphragm condenser microphones (variations of the venerable U87) …

Maybe @Wordsushi could weigh in with a suggestion or two …

Check out Mark’s “The Microphone Assassin” YouTube posts for other possible suggestions …

Happy hunting !!!

 

[Wordsushi]

The King of Trailer VO …Don LaFontaine … and virtually all of the legendary film trailer Voice Over announcers specifically requested and used the Sennheiser 416 shotgun microphone during my time in film promo work in LA during the 80’s and 90’s … after which time most of the successful VO announcers built their own in home VO booths and started using a variety of large diaphragm condenser microphones (variations of the venerable U87) …

Maybe @Wordsushi could weigh in with a suggestion or two …

Check out Mark’s “The Microphone Assassin” YouTube posts for other possible suggestions …

Happy hunting !!!

Thanks Jeff! The Lauten Clarion has put my 87 and my 416 out to pasture. And I believe it's on sale for $999 through the end of the year. Plus, it does a really nice 87 imitation when you switch it to fig-8

 

[untamedfrontier]

I saw the script on that YT thumbnail and misread it to say "Authentically better than you are", which is still definitely accurate

 

[MicMaven]

Gee, fellers, maybe I am off base or I missed the MEMO, or something ... but I thought the OP asked about BUDGET microphones for VO work. Fifteen Hundred Quid for a used U87 and $900 US for a Sennheiser shotgun mic, or $1600 US for the Neumann TLM 193, hardly strike me as "budget" options. Of course, nobody specified exactly what the budget IS, so, I suppose those might be considered "budget" options for SOME guys.

Considering the number of YouTube videos that compare Microphone X or Microphone Y to various Neumann models, and how close they sound (to my and other guys' ears), I figure there must be at least a few low cost microphones that cut the muster. Yes, I acknowledge some guys can hear loads of differences between high end and low end microphones ... and while I may be hounded out of the principality for saying so - I figure there are several low cost models that would get a guy into the game, PROVIDED he follows Mr. @totoxraymond 's advice and employ good microphone technique in a suitable venue (i.e., quiet room with little reverberation and ambient noise). There must be SOME low cost models that would suit the task.

For example, what about the Shure Beta series for $150 - $200, or the Shure Nexadyne or KSM8 Dualdyne for around $300 (obtained used for 2/3 that sum), or maybe the Shure Beta PGA27 or SM4 for $200, or SM137 for $190. OR ... how's about the Sennheiser MK-4 for a stiff, but maybe affordable, $400, or if you like shotgun style, Sennheiser MKE600 for around $300? Or AudioTechnica AT4040 or WarmAudio for just under $300? Just to name a few likely suspects.

I believe there is a large number of decent, reasonably priced models in that price range from several companies, including, but not limited to, AudioTechnica, BeyerDynamic, Shure, Sennheiser, and other brands that are "good enough" for a starter kit coupled with a good audio interface (the MOTU M2 for a mere $200 springs to mind) to get started) in a proper, quiet non-reverberating venue.

Not everyone needs the same equipment used in Disney Studios's animation voice over department.​

I suppose everyone, except for me, wants a Neumann U87 or that $900 Sennheiser shotgun model - but I do not, because I believe a large portion of VO work is rather mundane and produced on meager budgets. You might be surprised at what they used to do the job.

I know guys who worked for SONY corp. building Nashville recording studios, and I represented a number of advertising agencies in a middle to large market producing many local and regional radio and TV commercials, training and promotional videos, and other audio and video projects using rather low cost, regular guy - yet professional quality - equipment. Shoot, the former occupant of my own professional office suite used it as a voice over studio voicing commercials and training and promotional narratives for multiple ad agencies serving some of the nation's largest retailers as clients. And it was NOT a properly treated space, lacking all those foam squares on the walls or moving blanket tapestries so many advocate. It was just a well built structure with good blow-in insulation, plenty quiet for normal operations.

Notice, I am NOT suggesting more expensive gear is not better. I merely suggest a guy could get started in VO work with a more affordable kit than has heretofore been suggested.​

Shoot, Mr. @Wordsushi and many other pundits have a large inventory of YouTube reviews of many affordable microphones that could get a guy started in the trade - again with judicious selection of a high quality recording interface and a suitably quiet space. The OP's friend might begin with an affordable model, and later upgrade to a higher quality, higher cost model later, as he develops and expands his skill set , resume, and book of business.

I used to field test and beta test microphones for speech recognition software producers and retail vendors - and they always recommended some of the most expensive microphones, claiming they were "more accurate" - for example the $500 Sennheiser MD 431II. Yet the software engineers who coded the applications recommended a fifty cent electret capsule as most appropriate and plenty accurate, for example headsets using small, cheap Knowles capsules. (E.g., VXI TalkPro or AndreElectronics NC-181VM, or Plantronics .Audio 326 - all using cheap electret capsules.)

Point is, one does not always need the most expensive, awesome, coveted microphone to get the job done - it just has to be good enough. Are there no truly "budget" options the guy could use to get started?​

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N'est ce pas? Or am I way off base? Happy trails, y'all. James

 

[k brown]

As already mentioned, the AKG with the @kingkorg capacitor mod is pretty hard to beat for the money, for anything one would use an LDC for:

https://groupdiy.com/threads/akg-perception-p220-to-neumann-u87-5-min-mod-p200-p100-p400-p420.67473/

This one's worth serious consideration as well:

https://groupdiy.com/threads/akg-c3000b-5-min-mod-awesome-mic.67911/

 

[john12ax7]

I appreciate all the suggestions, both high and low end, it gives a good overall picture and a future upgrade path.

But yes for my friend the current starting budget is more limited. The room acoustics is also a concern. In my experience recording vocals (singing), I've had more success with dynamics in these less than ideal situations.

 

[john12ax7]

Thanks Jeff! The Lauten Clarion has put my 87 and my 416 out to pasture. And I believe it's on sale for $999 through the end of the year. Plus, it does a really nice 87 imitation when you switch it to fig-8

The Clarion sounds rather nice. While browsing the videos stumbled across the LS-208, seems that one could be a good choice for a less than ideal room?

 

[MicMaven]

I've had more success with dynamics in these less than ideal situations.

YES. I believe a really good dynamic microphone can work well for the target application.

Close-talked (but not too close) they tend to ignore or "reject" (I never liked that descriptor) ambient noise. This is why I prefer a dynamic microphone in noisy situations, such as an amateur radio station where cooling fans, marauding grandkids, and the wife shouting orders from a 3 year old "To Do" list can wreak havoc on the air, not to mention terminate a good session altogether! The Late Bob Heil of HEIL SOUND, Inc., one of the only non-musicians with a display in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, recommended dynamic microphones for this, stage, and other noisy situations. Picking up a more narrow range of frequencies also helps, I think.

Parenthetically, I am partial to Sennheiser Evolution Series dynamic models. James

 

[john12ax7]

Parenthetically, I am partial to Sennheiser Evolution Series dynamic models. James

I like them too. I've had the e935 beat out much more expensive mics in some situations. Well worth the price.