VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Yoda117]

Heya folks,

I didn't make any small bones about heading over to Mercenary Audio during my vacation. All I can really say is WOW!!!. Cool folks, great gear, and I learned some tricks I wouldn't have thought of on my own. My own personal proclivities were towards finding a new tube mic for use in several industrial applications as is usually needed by the type of VO I do for my regular customers. As such I figured that I'd get a small lineup of mics to choose from, with the emphasis being on the upper end stuff.

Boy was I wrong. Not only did the shootout exceed my expectations, but I can honestly say that each and every one of the mics that were presented to me were awesome and a good choice for nearly any home studio, depending on what you were looking for.

Here's a brief example of the initial selection



Left from right we have the following:

Brauner VM-1 KHE: without any tweaks or processing this was by far my favorite of the bunch. It took all the awesome qualities of all the mics and bundled them all up in a nice clean package. Only 100 of these mics were ever made, and I can understand why... the detail to which Klaus and Brauner worked to make these mics something truly special really shows.

Microtech Gefell UM-75: With it's antiqued finish and sound, it's got all the benefits of the U57, with none of the drawbacks. This mic has a really beautiful character, and quite a nice "grit" to it. While not the best choice for my needs (due to it's coloration), it was definitely worth looking at several times during the shootout.

Microtech Gefell UM-92.1s: In my opinion, this was the cleanest and perhaps most neutral sounding mic in the lot. That's not a bad thing, just different IMHO. I liked the sound I got out of it, as it was very similar to the UM-75, but without the "grit" I had mentioned earlier. For under 3K, it's an awesome choice for anyone looking for a quality valve-based mic.

Soundelux E49: This one definitely surprised me. I liked the sound, as it reminded me of my older Neumann tube mics. Nice, warm, and really present in the mids. This mic is a great one for people with higher ranges that are looking to add a bit more body to their VO. If you don't mind having a major bump in the mids from the opening gate, this is an excellent microphone.

Horch RMJ2: Easily my second favorite, as it has such beautiful characteristics either in fixed mode (which gave it a truly distinctive vintage tone) or in variable mode (which allowed one to have a much cleaner sound, and depending on how your adjusted the pattern, a rich creamy tone). Without any additional processing, the bottom was rock solid, and nearly as dark as the Manely Gold Reference. What set this mic apart from all the others was it's versatility. Using a Great River pre, it was easily the best sounding mic aside from the KHE, but with something like an LMNOPre, it's true versatility burst forward and I was able to get every sound I wanted and then some. Clean? No problema. Colored? Sure thing. Dark? You betcha. Bright? Got it right here. With a strong EQ, there's little this one can't do.

Manley Gold Reference: This mic just looks like a work of art. From the shockmount, to the 24K plating, to the way the grill is designed. This mic was cleaner than the UM-92.1S, and darker than anything else in the lineup. It made it to my top three picks without hesitation, and despite being the first mic I tried out, it was one I kept coming to over and over and over again. I had my doubts about this mic, after hearing all the issues that people had with it's little brother, the Reference Cardoid, but I was throughly impressed with this little monster. It was truly impressive in all aspects of operation.

well, that's about it for now. I need to make an appearance at work today (after 10-12 days, they might think I've gone rogue or something...).

I'll add more later tonight.
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Voiceovers by Gregory Houser
Philadelphia based Voice Actor

Blog - A man, a martini, and a lot of microphones

[JimRon]

thanks. i'm looking for a new mic (have a seinnheiser and was looking towards an re-20). gonna use this info to help.
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Jim Feldman
www.jimfeldman.us
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jimfeldman
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JimFeldmanVoiceovers

[kgenus]

[Bruce]

At prices of $7,000 to $8,000, if you can get one, the Brauner VM-1 KHE sounds like quite the investment!


B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[louzucaro]

Ok, this may be an idiotic question, but do mics care if they're upside down? All the mics in that picture are "right side up" but I've recorded at places where the capsule portion is down and the cable attachment is at the top.

Is either better / worse and if so, how come?
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Lou Zucaro
http://www.voicehero.com

"Well, yeah, there's my favorite leaf!"

[sdelgo]

[Yoda117]