VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

iannyc · Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 8:43 am Post subject: Travel kit, apogee 96k?

Hi friends

With sweet sweet holiday times looming upon us, and a nice long visit to my parents' house in Mexico on the horizon, I was looking at the apogee 96k mic and couldnt help but ponder the possibilities of taking it with me!

My current kit is a bit bulky-- shure sm7b, 610 lunchbox preamp, reflection filter, pop filter, shock mount, etc.. and Im wondering if I cant audition and/or record (promos and/or audiobooks) from this little guy either in a clothing closet or possibly with something like the harlan hogan travel kit! A penny for your thoughts

Thanks as always

-I

DenaliDave · Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2016 9:35 am Post subject:

I think the major hurdle for me with a travel rig is getting a good sounding environment/room. I spent a lot of time making sure my recording space sounded as good as possible.

I'd probably drive myself nuts and scare people when they opened their closests to find me hunched over a tablet and portable mic.

"Hiya! Just getting a few auditions done...oh, I moved your ties and that corduroy sport coat to the end of the rack over there..."
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Kristin Lennox · Flight Attendant Joined: 30 Apr 2011 Posts: 858

I use the Apogee mic into my MacBook as my travel rig, and I'm surprised by how good it sounds... does it sound as good as my studio? No, so I only use it for can't-miss auditions and we-can't-wait-for-you-to-get-back jobs.

It's a good sound, but I would have a helluva time trying to match audio that I recorded in a closet on the beach if there were ever revisions once I returned home...
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iannyc · Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2016 10:43 am Post subject:

Right, totally. Did you use a shock mount or a plosive stopper or a reflexion board? Or just clothing closet?

-I

Kristin Lennox · Flight Attendant Joined: 30 Apr 2011 Posts: 858

I have a tiny mic-stand, so the mic just sits on my Macbook (which I read the script from). And I do have a pop shield, but I found just playing with my mouth position took care of 90% of them, so I don't use it.

My set up was in a closet, surrounded by a blanket, sticking my head into a pillow fort built over my Macbook. :0)
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Dee doo. Dee doot doot doo dee doo.

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DenaliDave · Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 9:16 am Post subject:

Don't fall for the marketing hype on that Kaotica Eyeball thing.

It might work well if you're a singer and belting out powerful vocals for a song, but spoken word? Not so great. I found it added a muddy, muffled sound.

Sure it decreased any ambient noise (I ran a fan to check) ... but the quality of the voice recording suffered.

I think using a closet is a great idea! As I said though, you might want to inform people you're hiding in their closet to avoid surprises!

I also read somewhere about a guy that found recording in his car to sound amazingly good!
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"The wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve." - Buddha
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Jason Huggins · Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 1:59 pm Post subject:

When I've had to do stuff in hotels I try to book a room with two beds. Then I get a luggage cart, stick it in between the beds with a chair in the cart, put all the bedding over the cart, then stand both mattresses up so it makes a little A-frame over the cart. I travel with a tripod for photography so I attach my 416 to the tripod as a stand and hop into the A-frame. I use my phone or iPad for the script and just hit record on the Macbook before I jump into the "booth." Then I'll process with the SPL De-Verb plugin and it's good enough. I did two paid jobs that way when I was at a hotel recently (telling the client obviously). Clients were happy with what I gave 'em.

The blankets deaden reflection and the mattresses do block a good bit of sound...especially road noise.

Moosevoice · Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 8:32 am Post subject:

Apogee MiC is perfect for the travel bag. Everything fights right in the case it comes with. I cut a swatch of window screen out, rolled it up and stuffed into case. It works great as a pop filter.
Stack them hotel sheets, curtains and pillows or find a good full closet and you should be good to go.
I'll bring it with either my iPad or iPhone or Macbook Pro for longer trips. That pluse the Twisted Wave a Hobo Tounge

means I'm golden.
James Arnold Taylor and Joe Cipriano both use the Apogee MiC for traveling. That, in and of itself, is a good enough endorsement I think.
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Jen Gosnell · Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2016 9:32 pm Post subject:

MBVOXX · Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2016 4:04 pm Post subject:

My small road rig fits into a briefcase and gets thru airports without a hiccup:

Gefell M930 w/Rycote shock mt & pop filter, home made PVC mic stand (folds flat), 3Ft XLR cable, Shure X2U, Ear buds, MacBook Air, Audacity, WiFi Hot Spot. This rig works tremendously well. The biggest challenge, as always, is deadening down the room if in a hotel. But I usually use the vanity area with a creative array of blankets and pillows, which works out. I always request a room in the interior of the bldg away from outside traffic noise, laundry service, elevators, or ice machines.

My medium road rig is basically the same but with an Apollo Twin Duo and a heavier mic stand, which I use when traveling with the travel trailer.

sdaeley17 · Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2016 6:07 pm Post subject:

I know a lot of people are happy with the Apogee Mic. Mine paid for itself, but became quite noisy after awhile, so I gave it away. The at2020 usb+, irig mic studio, shure mv51, and rode nt usb are all possible alternatives.

There are some talent who prefer a mic/interface combo, usually a shotgun, over a usb mic. A lot of the affordable one channel interfaces (scarlett solo, steinberg ur12, shure x2u or mvi, mic port pro) work well for this. I've had great results with a 416 and the new audient id4.

While I don't think any of the travel solutions are ideal (I would never travel with the porta-booth, carry on vocal booth, or eyeball as carry on luggage), out of the three, the Carry on Vocal Booth easily sounded the best, and was most effective at reducing room reflections. A little pricey at 375.00 but it replicates a home studio sound really well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hot673dEGDk
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sdaeley17 · Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2016 6:07 pm Post subject:

I know a lot of people are happy with the Apogee Mic. Mine paid for itself, but became quite noisy after awhile, so I gave it away. The at2020 usb+, irig mic studio, shure mv51, and rode nt usb are all possible alternatives.

There are some talent who prefer a mic/interface combo, usually a shotgun, over a usb mic. A lot of the affordable one channel interfaces (scarlett solo, steinberg ur12, shure x2u or mvi, mic port pro) work well for this. I've had great results with a 416 and the new audient id4.

While I don't think any of the travel solutions are ideal (I would never travel with the porta-booth, carry on vocal booth, or eyeball as carry on luggage), out of the three, the Carry on Vocal Booth easily sounded the best, and was most effective at reducing room reflections. A little pricey at 375.00 but it replicates a home studio sound really well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hot673dEGDk
_________________
"There's Magic all around us; you just have to see it. And the most wonderful Magic of all, is just bein' alive." -Uncle Montork, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

AlanTaylor · Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2016 10:42 am Post subject:

I've successfully used the Audio Technica AT-875r shotgun mic with a Scarlett 2i2 interface and my MacBook as a travel rig. I may pick up a Scarlett Solo so I won't have to take my 2i2 out of my booth for travel and it can serve as a backup if I have problems with my 2i2.

Jack Daniel · Cinquecento Joined: 23 Jun 2016 Posts: 585 Location: SoCal

sdaeley17 · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2016 5:57 pm Post subject:

Thank you, Jackson. I'm so glad you're finding it helpful!
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"There's Magic all around us; you just have to see it. And the most wonderful Magic of all, is just bein' alive." -Uncle Montork, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe