What mic?

[Rattakat]

My Youtube channel is banned because i uploaded audio books. It might be fair because it were audio books from the early eighties where still can be copyright involved. I had because another post here contact with Stichting Brein, here in the Netherlands. That's a notorious organisation known for hunting down people who violate copyright.

It took me some time to record all those books and then, suddenly, the whole channel is gone. So bad because people with disabilities liked my uploads so much. If things are copyrighted it is fair i can't upload it.

My new plan is to upload those books again, but then spoken by myself. Who knows there is a hidden talent in me haha. Or not. But anyway, i want to try it because the gratitude from the people is so big i can't stop with it. For the people who gave me this feedback i want to not let them down and come back. Imagine how good it is when you are blind to listen to a spoken book? For those people i want to continue my channel. I go arrange all the legal questions up front now.

Can anyone guess my question i opened this thread for?

 

[k brown]

Impossible to answer without knowing how much you can/are willing to spend.

FWIW, I'd offer my own preference for mics with no or little proximity effect (EV RE15/16/20, etc.), I find listening to books on tape recorded with that artificial exagerated proximity effect 'radio voice' very tiring after awhile. Much more pleasant to listen to a natural voice that sounds like a storyteller that's sitting in the room with you.

 

[Rattakat]

Impossible to answer without knowing how much you can/are willing to spend.

FWIW, I'd offer my own preference for mics with no or little proximity effect (EV RE15/16/20, etc.), I find listening to books on tape recorded with that artificial exagerated proximity effect 'radio voice' very tiring after awhile. Much more pleasant to listen to a natural voice that sounds like a storyteller that's sitting in the room with you.

Can you explain this further K Brown? I thought the voice of Mr Carlsons Lab is so good with a tube mic. If i am wrong better tell me now. To read a full book into a mic is no small deal.

 

[Rattakat]

What ( budget ) mic you prefer for this task?

 

[kingkorg]

I would stay away from a tube mic for this type of work simply because of the noise and some possible inconsistencies. Why not just go for some of the u87 based clones. U87 seems like safe bet for this kind of work.

 

[cyrano]

There's much more involved, besides the mic. Especially in Mr. Carlson's case.

Like your voice, your room, your recording chain...

Your room might need treatment to reduce sound bouncing off the walls. Especially if it's a small room.

Have you tried making a sample recording for us? Doesn't matter much which mic you might already have. Most mics are at least usable for voice.

Also, keep in mind that you still need permission from the book's copyright owner, even if you record it with your own voice. It's worth contacting the owner, especially for a non-profit project for people with bad eyesight. I don't know the rules in the Netherlands, but I can imagine some publishers lending you an ear, at least.

 

[Rattakat]

Thanks for the replies. I can do a recording ( sweat ) to give a taste. I'm in contact with Brein in the Netherlands and i make it sure everything is 100% by law. I just don't want my subscibers so far let down. I feel the need to come back for them. The ban on Youtube came as a surprise. It made me realize all the hours of work can be gone in just a blink.

I looked up the u87. this is not in my budget. Any idea how to build this with no money to spend?

 

[k brown]

Can you explain this further K Brown? I thought the voice of Mr Carlsons Lab is so good with a tube mic. If i am wrong better tell me now. To read a full book into a mic is no small deal.

Just my personal preference - I find the exaggerated bass of lots of proximity effect bothers be when listened to for an extended period. The EV (Variable-D) mics I mentioned have very little of this, while also being very directional. Being dynamics, they are also low on spitty sibilants, which can also get tiring.

If I were doing what you're doing, on a somewhat limited budget, I'd look for a used RE16, or one of their more recent less expensive variants (RE10, 11,18, etc.). Very smooth response, yet supercardioid pattern, so less of the room will be recorded.

 

[kingkorg]

Thanks for the replies. I can do a recording ( sweat ) to give a taste. I'm in contact with Brein in the Netherlands and i make it sure everything is 100% by law. I just don't want my subscibers so far let down. I feel the need to come back for them. The ban on Youtube came as a surprise. It made me realize all the hours of work can be gone in just a blink.

I looked up the u87. this is not in my budget. Any idea how to build this with no money to spend?

This might be your best bet.

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

 

[Rattakat]

Thanks so much for the suggestions. What i will do remains a mystery but thanks for the support.