VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

georgethetech

Just finished with a wonderful new client in Virginia helping him pick the right mic for his narration and podcasting needs. David Bereit was gracious enough to allow me to share the audio samples here with all of you. He runs a charity and is not a professional voice talent.

Here are the samples in one WAV file so you can jump back and forth very easily, each marked with the name of the mic (so open it in your DAW so you can see the markers). Each is gain matched and recorded through the same Aphex Channel with minimal to no processing.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8id4gztqewb5sgu/David_Bereit-8_Mics.wav

What a nice way to kick off Thanksgiving!!
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George Whittam
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Bish · Posted: Thu Nov 28, 2013 10:38 am Post subject:

Very interesting... I'm still bouncing back and forth between a few, but my first observation is that the "lower-priced" dynamics are holding up really well on his voice, and I'm going to immediately eliminate the Neumann TLM models, simply on the basis of not bringing anything to the party for their (considerable) extra cost.
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Scolaidhe · Guest

I'm inclined to agree with Bish. I like the Sennheiser MD 421.

Scott Pollak · Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 6:53 am Post subject:

Listening right now as I type.

First a disclaimer; my hearing isn't great and I have to listen to mike comparos like these thru Sony MDR-7506 headphones to be able to hear the nuances.

Honestly, I couldn't hear an ounce of difference until the Sennheiser 421, which sounded a bit fuller to my aged ears. Following that, the Shure sounded thin compared to the rest.

I, too, would pick the 421 first, then anything BUT the Shure next and - like Bish - eliminate the Neumanns due to price alone. And I would have been interested in hearing an RE-20 as opposed to the RE-27. I had each and compared them back-to-back and immediately sold the 27. Didn't like it nearly as much as the RE-20.

As an aside, what really IS the correct pronunciation of Neumann? He says "Noy-mohn", whereas I always thought it was "Noy-muhn". Just curious.
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ballenberg · Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 6:53 am Post subject:

Really? Who cares what mic he uses ? Google him. The best mic for this person's message is one that's unplugged.

Scott Pollak · Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 6:57 am Post subject:

Ballenberg; there's a reason that political discussions aren't allowed on the vo-bb. Just sayin'.
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Scott R. Pollak
Clients include Pandora, NPR Atlanta, Wells Fargo, Cisco, Humana, Publix, UPS, AT&T, HP, Xerox and more.

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ballenberg · Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 7:02 am Post subject:

Can't disagree with you, Scott-- But since this person isn't a VO talent and his message is extremely controversial and I'm sure, to many of us, unthinkable, I don't see how mentioning his name and work is appropriate to our board at all. Gear or not.

todd ellis · Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 9:09 am Post subject:

George's post has nothing to do with the man or his beliefs, just an opinion on microphones. Let's leave it at that.
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Bish · Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 10:22 am Post subject:

If it were my money I'd be torn between a few. For the way they sound... I've reviewed again and am still hard-pressed to make a decision... so I'm going to be fickle here. I don't like the look of the Sennies...I wouldn't want to look at one all day. PR30... I had a PR40 and ended up getting rid of it... I wanted to like it, but it started to grate on me. TLMs... too many $$$ and didn't stand up well in comparison. The BCM... still pretty expensive and meh.

Scott, I disagree with your Shure comment... if you go into the file and just reduce that one stray peak that pushed the level of everything else in the Shure sample down... it sounds a lot better when compared. In fact... that's my pick (yes, I know, I've got one, yada, yada, yada...)
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Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

Scott Pollak · Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 10:55 am Post subject:

Bish · Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 11:25 am Post subject:

Scott, I revel in my wrongness sometimes Smile

Some additional observations regarding this poll...

1) George, I really hope this has legs after the holiday weekend. I think it's generating some interesting observations regarding the overall sameness of the results.

2) When you look at the physical designs here... hardly any two are the same. Is this a 'dynamic" thing? I understand that end-address is a standard dynamic method allowing different construction method... but there's a very interesting diversity of styles here.

3) Poll leader so far is the ubiquitous TLM 103... yet no comments about it (apart from the ones that exclaim "meh"). If you voted for it, is it a) because it's an industry standard, b) mic loyalty, c) you can really hear a quantifiable difference?

Oh, and Scott... we do agree about AT mics... every one I've ever tried has been a poppy, hissy, sibilant, farty thing Gasp

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Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

Leslie Humble · Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 9:58 pm Post subject:

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen. Just back from a show.
First, let me say I am glad politics are kept out of the forum for the most part.
The reason being on many if not most issues 50%, or close to one half of people come down on one side of the fence or the other. That is also why you should not put "I hate Obama" or other icendiary messages on Facebook or other social media. There are many other places to vent if you don't mind making half the people mad. It's that simple.. Believe as your morals and common sense guide you, but use the proper avenues. I also will add that during my time as a political Talk Show Host the single toughest issue, for me, was abortion.

Now, a late night plug for the MD421. It was my first VO mic and even after dumping it for the pricier Neumanns (NOY MUHN) and Shotguns there are times I miss it. Excellent mic.
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heyguido · Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 12:43 am Post subject:

MD421 or Shure SM5b... Dynamics of choice.

Just my opinion. YMMV. Inoccent

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georgethetech · Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 2:50 am Post subject:

No, I didn't Google him, and I won't. We chose the 421 as our overall favorite, too.
Surprised the hell out of me. I hadn't used one of these in years, and it was on drums.
And it's "mahn", according to my high school German classes.
_________________
If it sounds good, it is good.
George Whittam
GeorgeThe.Tech
424-226-8528
VOBS.TV Co-host
TheProAudioSuite.com Co-host
TriBooth.com Co-founder

Bruce · Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 8:34 am Post subject:

The mics all sound equally good to me with the exception of the dynamic mics AND the TLM 103 which all sounded a bit duller/flatter, which I gather is normal (for the dynamics).

B
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