VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

jrkaiser · Guest

I can get a really nice deal on this combo... any thoughts on either peice for VO... realizing that mic choice is subjective to tonal/vocal qualities...

Edo · Guest

Justin,

If it sounds good to you, then you could go that route. I (being a fan of condenser mics for studio purposes) would be hesitant to buy a dynamic microphone for VO use, but it can still work.

Frank F · Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 7:58 pm Post subject:

What Edo said... Go Edo!

FF
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Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2281 Location: Atlanta

Hey Justin,
I see from your studio write-up and from pics you have a Bluebird, & "Sennheiser, Shure, EV, and Heil microphones, Avalon and Focusrite preamps".
I don't think you would like the BCM705 over the RE20/27, SM7b, or Heil Pr40. From what I can tell from only a few samples, Neumann/Sennheiser took some of the MD441 technology and rebranded it without making it sound as rich as a MD441. For that price, I'd look at Beyerdynamic first.

It seems for a lot of what you do, a solid dynamic through a very good preamp will do the trick perfectly, and I have no reservations about putting top dynamics with a great preamp against many excellent condenser set ups for higher energy reads (also, I think American voices work well with dynamics, whereas I understand and respect why condensers are preferred with Northern European voices). If you are looking to upgrade from a Platinum Focusrite for a dynamic mic, then the 230 might work...but I'd think about a John Hardy, Great River, or Speck first for a little more dough.

Maybe try a different flavor of condenser from the nice but bright Bluebird...like perhaps an AT4047 or AT4050 (neutral with more hyped low end).
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jrkaiser · Guest

Lance, thanks for the time to write this up... Here's what I use on a daily basis...

Bluebird dry into an Onyx Pre for agency reads
PR40 with Focusrite (originally purchased for Bluebird) for braodcast reads

I've also got a Shure KSM32 which "was" driven by the Avalon, however, I've needed to send it in for repair for some time now... This isn't a bad little mic dry into an Onyx pre-amp.

Other mics on the shelf are the RE20, SM7b. I did have an MKH 416 but traded it for the Av M5.

I've also got a couple of Behringer condensor guest mics when we use the studio for podcasting or radio interviews on a TB101/dbx combo...

I'm just a couple of hours from Sweetwater, so I'm heading over there today to test out some equipment. I really don't need to add another mic, but over the past few days I've started to have some major issues with the Focusrite and will need to send it out for repair... I'll be ordering the 230 (or something else) today. Too bad they raised the price $100 on the over the past couple of months.

I've had a lot of people tell me over the years to process in software not in rack. I'm still just not comfortable doing so... I haven't found the right combination of in software processing yet...

I appreciate the input on the BCM... I just saw the price of $500 for a Neumann and thought it might be a serious consideration. If it's similar to either of the other Dynamics I've already got it's not worth the investment.

Eddie Eagle · M&M Joined: 23 Apr 2008 Posts: 2393

You might shop price at B&H Photo. Great prices, service and products.

todd ellis · Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:02 pm Post subject:

love b&h. however they just sent me not one - but TWO 1500 page catalogs!!!

why would they waste the $$$ on that? i buy from them online ... and find everything i need/want.
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SkinnyJohnny · Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 2:06 pm Post subject:

jrkaiser · Guest

I've only ordered from B&H once... no problems. JR.com has been good to me... But my 2 main choices are BSWUSA.com. Gary Beebe is my sales rep and is awesome! And periodically I'll head over to Sweetwater and purchase there. I'm 2.5 hours from Fort Wayne, so it's convenience to go test. Barry over at ProAudio.com is my third favorite.

I may head over there tomorrow. I've been talking with Gary about some different combinations and hope to try out the following tomorrow...

AT 4040 and AT4047, MKH416, Grace 101, an Avalon I can't afford, as well as the Aphex which I've used only briefly in a loud environment and fell in love with.

Justin

SkinnyJohnny · Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 2:52 pm Post subject:

Yeah, the guys at Sweetwater and Mercenary are really good. In my experciences I've found that the prices are a little more, but the service from both companies is well worth it.
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jrkaiser · Guest

I know this has been discussed before, however, after a recommendation I want to compare a couple of shotgun mics...

Anyone have experience with either of these?

Eddie Eagle · M&M Joined: 23 Apr 2008 Posts: 2393

Rode mics are quite impressive. I use the NTK tube mic and love it. It's the knockoff of a U87. The guy at Rode has come up with circuitry and design that others have a hard time matching. He's quite the electronic engineer. He's also pretty meticulous about the manufacturing even though it's done in China, which is why his prices are so competitive!

I did a session at a local studio here recently and he had the 4071 and I had taken my 415 in for the session. The 4071 seemed to have a bit more mid range punch side by side unprocessed and uneq'd than the 415.

ricevoice · Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 4:14 pm Post subject:

I too love my Rode NTK, especialy since I replaced the tube with a Telefunken NOS. Also a big fan of my recently purchased 416.

btw, if you're a Sweetwater customer they will try to price-match... I ordered my 416 from B&H because they had it for $200 cheaper than Sweetwater but I found out after the fact that my guy at Sweetwater would've let me have it for the same price as B&H... something I'll definitely keep in mind for future purchases.
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SkinnyJohnny · Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 4:55 pm Post subject:

jrkaiser · Guest

OK, I spent a quite a bit of time at Sweetwater today... Thanks Monte! I tested several mics and pres today and it came down to the following... After trying several pres I'll keep my Aphex 230 It's a really nice clean sounding strip that will doubles well for broadcast use on my PR40, Bluebird, and KSM 32 and for general VO.

I tested out the following mikes...

AT4047 - This was a full bodied sounding mic...

Rode NTG-3 - Frank said the NTG-2 was clean and pure. This was as well... Just didn't have the oomph I was looking for.

Audio-Technica AT835b - Seemed a bit thin as well...

Sennheiser ME-66/67 - Didn't have one, I really hoped to try this based on Franks recommendation.

Sennheiser MKH416 - A nice clean sound that seems to cut through. Proximity effect gave me a very close sound to the AT4047.

Mojave Audio ?? - OK sounding but just not what I was looking for.

Sputnik - This was again a nice full bodied sounding mic... very comparable to an AT4047...

I'm told the 4047 sounds a lot like a U87... unfortunately they didn't have one in stock to test and even though I wanted to check out the TLM 103... both were out of my budget.

The final tests were done on the built in mic pres on the Pro Tools HD system... the head to head combat came down to the 4047, Sputnik, and 416...

I really liked the sound of both the 416 and the 4047 for different reasons. The 416 because of the cutting sound that can still sound like a Large condenser and I liked the full sound of the 4047... At this point in the decision making process, emotion took over. I've wanted a 416 for several years now... so that was my final decision... The 4047 goes on my short list for next year...

I'll post some audio over the next few days... The decision is subjective, I know, so we'll see what it sounds like in my environment with my equipment...