VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[captain54]

Any thoughts on the SE Electronics 2200a II? I've heard an awfully lot of good things about this mic.

Looking to replace my beloved SP C1v2, which is beyond a simple fix, and which the manufacturer will not support. The Studio Projects was used for countless projects..broadcast, narration, etc

Any major difference between the 2200a and the 2200a II?
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Lee Kanne
www.leekanne.com

[ccpetersen]

FOr what it's worth, I had the USB version of the 2200a and LOVED it. It had both USB and XLR connector possibilities.

However, there was a small technical problem unrelated to recording and I returned it for repair. The company stopped making them and sent me a newer, better mic in replacement, the sE x-1 (yes, they really called it that), and I am pleased with it. It emphasizes the mid-tones in my voice a bit better and is a solid mic. I've done several projects with it with no problems.
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Charter Member: Threadjackers Local 420

[Jason Huggins]

I know quite a few people who use it for narration. It is not the quietest mic. It could also be muddy on certain voices if I remember correctly. I haven't personally used it, but have inspected the audio for quite a few users. Definitely a solidly usable mic, but for the price I would probably try to find a CAD e100s that will have lower noise. There is new one on eBay as of writing this for $324 shipped or B&H for $359.

[vkuehn]

Through the years I have followed various forums related to sound and recording. People who record music get really fussy about finding the perfect mic for a violin, which will be different than the perfect mic for drums, which in turn will be different than the mic for a sax. (And then they will break out into discussion over ALTO sax over TENOR sax!) And of course, you would not likely choose the same mic to record piano as you used to record a pipe organ.

In the voice-over world, we come closer to trying to focus on "the perfect mic" which we then sometimes assume is the perfect mic for EVERY human voice.

I am well aware that a number of regulars here had clearly stated that they have a fleet of two to four different mics which you use for various types of reads.

How do those of us who don't yet have a fleet know when we should acquire multiples, and how do we know when the latest acquisition was a mistake?

[ Is there a medical specialty that can write a prescription? ]

[Bish]

[captain54]

[Rob Ellis]

what is your main mic at the moment?

[captain54]

main mic is an AT 875r in the booth, which doubles as a travel mic. soon to be replaced by a Senn 416 or 415. the 875r is a real nifty mic for short money
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Lee Kanne
www.leekanne.com

[ccpetersen]

Main mic kind of depends on what I'm doing. In the booth, it's an sE x-1 mic --it is a nice mic that does NOT emphasize the essy parts of my voice. Down in the green screen room we use a shotgun. For travel, I'm still trying to decide what to get. I had a snowflake that I swear I was only going to use for skype, etc, and then once on a trip, I got a call for a quick VO and I had it along, and it worked just fine for that purpose. We have a few other mics around that don't get a lot of use, except maybe in the field occasionally.
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Charter Member: Threadjackers Local 420

[Branimir]

I have sE Electronics 2200a, not II (I guess it can not be worse than the older brother). Since i have SP1, in my opinion SE is better for the class. much cleaner, mid range nicely front and deep tones are rich, something like Neumann TLM49. I heard your voice and I think you will not go wrong with sE.
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Croatian voice over / producer

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[captain54]

thanks for all the feedback..

mic shootout, kids..

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/906044-mic-shootout-se-x1-se-2200a-iic-audio-technica-at4040-audio-samples.html

BTW, the according to the specs, the newer 2200a, or 2200a II, is 1 db quieter than the 2200a.
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Lee Kanne
www.leekanne.com

[vkuehn]

I downloaded the Gearslutz sample file and played with it. And did a frequency analysis. If you run a Hi Pass Filter with a steep cut of everything below 90 hz, all three begin to sound much more alike.

Room tone is BAD in all three tests so comments about mic "self noise" based on this test are useless.

The recording was staged to peak at -9. A lot of forum discussions about noise levels seem to assume that a finished recording will be normailized to -3 which puts the noise level even in the best recording at about -35 dBfs. I would think that "self noise/internal noise" of the mic has to be at least 20 dB below the best room tone behavior.

[captain54]

Here's a dude with the SE 2200a in his toolbox. can't say if it's his go - to

http://www.voiceoveruniverse.com/profile/PaulPape
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Lee Kanne
www.leekanne.com

[georgethetech]

Yeah, Don LaFontaine probably gave that SE2200 Paul after he was done playing with it in his studio. I walked in one day and Don was using it. Vendors sent him stuff to try out all the time.
SE, like CAD, have lousy marketing in the VO world, and make great bang-for-buck mics. I'd like to try their SE-x1 USB sometime.
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[ccpetersen]

I HAVE the sE x-1 USB and I like the sound. For my voice, it does need the gain to be boosted just slightly (unless I'm yelling). It's not a biggie -- I can compensate in software and it doesn't appreciably raise my noise floor (which is around -60 d.

I'm also working on learning better technique with it -- I've only had it a short while, so still learning its quirks.

The sE X-1 has a -10 dB pad which I don't use unless I have yelling lines, and it has a bass rolloff switch. It's a tough little mic and for the cost, it's a good one to have in the collection.
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Charter Member: Threadjackers Local 420