VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

jrkaiser · Guest

Spent some time at Sweetwater today. I brought home a mic to do some testing in my home studio… I'm curious to hear your thoughts…

I'm still trying to find the best way to address the Sennheiser… A shotgun is a lot different than any other mic I've used.

I'm having major problems with my Focusrite Pre… Getting ready to ship out for repair… no output 1/2 the time… Buttons are not working properly either. In the meantime, I've got an Aphex 230 on the way…

Sennheiser MKH-416 Shotgun - Run through a failing Focusrite Voicemaster Platinum Pre.

http://justinkaiser.com/clients/mictest/justinkaiser_sennmkh416test_20081004.mp3

Heil PR-40 (current main mic… Run through a noisy TB202 Pre (should just take it out of circuit)…

http://justinkaiser.com/clients/mictest/justinkaiser_heilpr40_20081004.mp3

Heil PR-40 before I took the VM out of service…

http://justinkaiser.com/clients/mictest/justinkaiser_pr40onvoicemaster_20080922_justinkaiser.mp3

Heil PR-40 running flat with no compression and everything bypassed…

http://justinkaiser.com/clients/mictest/jusitinkaiser_pr40onvoicemasterbypassed_20081002.mp3

Bill Campbell · DC Joined: 09 Mar 2007 Posts: 621

What is your goal in seeking a new mic?

I like the PR40 running flat best - last file. Hearing your voice, which is nice, I don't think you need a 416. That's a specialty mic for trailers and heavy imaging. Even the greatest trailer voice of all time quit using one.

I used to be a mic freak, I've owned around 50, Your voice, room, and mic technique are the keys to a good sound. Get a quiet, large condensor mic.
I like the Rode NT1A because it is very quiet and honest sounding.
It matches nicely with a DBX286A for light processing and expander.

There's no "magic" microphone! Write that down and post it on your preamp and it will save you much money!

And, keep the PR40, it sounds good.
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Frank F · Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 5:45 am Post subject:

I agree with Bill. Keep the Heil PR-40.

The processing makes you sound boomy on both microphones, my first thought while listening to the processing was - "I hope he can hear how this affects him".

Since your recoding with a noise floor of near -60 db, the chain is sounding good.

Toodles

F2
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Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

I purchased a 416 about a year ago and after a couple of months had some doubts about whether I had the right voice for it.

I asked some people here about the mic and Ben Wilson said it takes a while(6 months at least) to really learn to use it, which sounded kind of crazy to me at the time.

But he was right, only in my case it took about 9 months. I'm now glad I didn't sell it.

That's MY story with the 416, for now. Yours might be different.

Jowillie · Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 6:09 am Post subject:

Match mics to the style you do most. If you do most reads at 6 - 8 inches, there are lots of better mics than the 416 for that. As Bill said, if you are doing a lot of up-close, dramatic, in your face reads, the 416 is hard to beat.

I guess I have been a fan of the PR-40 since the day it came out. BUT, it is easy to "over-process" the Heil. The PR-40 is designed to... (like the old pasta sause commercial) have it all in there right out of the box.

You sound great on both mics. As mentioned, you sound really great at certain "Sweet Spots."

Now...SEND MORE TEST! Laugh

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Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

I find the 416 to be most useful for the hushed, low-volume reads and less appealing at the higher volume, announcery volume level

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

You sound good on the Heil, I use one...I've never been thrilled with its thinner sound without accompaniment, but in a mix I love it. When I use it on its own I EQ the heck out of 2-6kHz area, give it a nudge at 200Hz, and back off the mic a bit. It does have a really present and colored transformer in it, so I switch my output transformer of on my Speck pre and that helps too.
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JTVG · Backstage Pass Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 433

Focusrite Voicemaster Pros are notorious for the problems you're having. Mine started doing the same thing recently. From what I understand, Focusrite is well aware of their shoddy switches (the cause of the problem) but don't do anything to improve the craftsmanship. The units have a great sound, but you really do get what you pay for.
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Frank F · Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 7:18 pm Post subject:

If you have about $17.00 and a little time on your hands your switches can be replaced. Buy some quality switches and replace the bad ones. I did this on an an ART MPA Gold and replaced the tubes and now a buddy has a terrific preamp which works as good and sounds as good as some of the best and more expensive.

Just a thought.

Toodles

F2
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jrkaiser · Guest

I tore into this unit a few nights ago... I literally have to tear the entire thing down to get to the front panel switches. Do you have any recommendations on the switch part number? Are they pretty universal?

Sounds like I need to start practicing with the soldering iron again...

JTVG · Backstage Pass Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 433

Here's a place you can buy them. I haven't taken mine apart yet so I'm not sure on part numbers. In a perfect world, they'll be labled clearly so you know which to replace. Maybe they are, but I doubt it. Might be a fun Saturday afternoon project.

http://trdpartsonline.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_13_41
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jrkaiser · Guest

Hey, thanks... I'll order some and break out the old soldering iron... I appreciate the help.

Nelson Jewell · Guest

I totally agree with Rob Ellis on the MKH 416. It did take a number of weeks to get used to the mic, but I've learned how to work it to get the sound I need for each project.

And like Rob also said, the louder announcery stuff is certainly not very appealing. It gets a bit crunchy sounding. I find that a dynamic mic like an RE20 works best for character voices.

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

This thread helped me to finally get over the PR40 during the past ten days. I was all thrilled about it at first, but using it on four different preamps I never got it to sound anywhere near natural, and could never tame the sibilance and that grating transformer. that could make Perry Como sound like Keith Richards.
Angry

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jrkaiser · Guest

I decided to bring the MKH back. I still like the Heil and am now testing out and working with a Mojave Audio 201 and Summit Audio pre. Frank and Greg have been gracious enough to lend an ear. I'll post some audio in a day or 2 as soon as the tube burns in.