VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Andy · Guest

I spent yesterday afternoon at a local recording studio. The studio owner, along with a web site designer and myself are in the early stages of forming our own multi-media company.

Anyhoo, yesterday's session was primarily a shake down to see what mics work best with his system and to try out the new vocal booth he built. He's set up with four Audio Technica 4050 condensor mics. To my pleasant surprise, we discovered my dynamic, Sennheiser 421-II is much better suited for voice over work. We liked it better than the RE-20 he managed to borrow from his church (Rich church, it's set up better than some pro studios I've seen in Dallas). Both the AT mic and the RE-20 were more "tinty" compared to the Sennheiser.

He's set up pretty good, himself. He's a got really cool duel drive, Alesis ADAT HD24. One of the drives he uses as an FTP site. We were able to "warm" me up quite a bit, as his Behringer 24 Ch. mixer has much better digital EQ presets than my bottom line Mackie. However, you really gotta crank up those Behringer preamps to get any response out of 'em.

We got to thinking that a tube microphone preamp/voice processor would really "ice the cake". I've been wanting one myself. But such a purchase would certainly result in my relocation to the Community Y. But I did come across this little number:

http://www.musiciansbuy.com/phonic_t8100_tube_vocalmax_mic_pre_amp_with_free_t8100kit.html

It's a fairly new company in the US market. I've read a couple of reviews on it, and the reviewers are quite impressed with it given the low price.

Such a purchase would perhaps put me on the couch for a couple of nights. But it's better than sharing a bunk with Otis at the Y.

Any thoughts?

kgenus · Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2005 1:27 pm Post subject:

Andy, what's your budget?
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Genus

Andy · Guest

Kevin, the really good mic preamp/processors, as in Symetrix, etc., are between $700 to $1,000. The one linked above is in the $250 range. I could get away with that with just a minor ass chewin'. Plus, I'm going to have to build a new computer here very soon, as my Win 98, Pentium II system barely allows me to do what I'm doing now.

BBeen · Guest

Don't know my stuff like you guys, but seems like it might be a good option for a first studio setup, since it includes the mic, and is very reasonably priced...any thoughts? What else would I need besides a decent sound card and monitors?

Andy · Guest

Gee, Bud. I didn't even notice the free mic offer with that preamp. I'll have to check the specs on that. If they're givin' away free mics with this deal it makes, at the very least, a pink flag go up. The mic can't be all that great. Probably pretty noisy.

kgenus · Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2005 5:01 pm Post subject:

Never buy on price alone. Test, test, test.

You've already got a good preamp in that Mackie, you'd probably be better served with a tube compressor to fatten up the sound, even if you just need to run the signal through it without any compression, plugins may have the same result.

Kevin
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Genus

BBeen · Guest

What kind of specs SHOULD I look for in a good beginner mic?..For my furture reference...course I'll probably drive to VA and take Kevin shopping with me when I get ready..LOL

Charlie Channel · Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 11:52 am Post subject: Re: Interesting Afternoon

Andy · Guest

Asking what microphone to buy is like going to a woodworking forum and asking, "What's should my first table saw be?" You'll get 100 different answers and a few dog fights as they argue about it.

When I wen't looking for my mic, I had one in mind. It was a vintage, Sennheiser ribbon mic. It was in use at the main studio at my first radio job. God, I loved that mic. It gave one helluva rich, warm sound. Alas, they make them no more, and I couldn't find one on Ebay. I settled on my 421-II. A good second choice for me. But it ain't like the one I loved. I believe Johnny Carson used one on his desk for many years.

billelder · Guest

At some point doesn't the voice have to take reaponsibility? My mentor used to say "It's the pipes...you gotta take care of the pipes" and he sounded great even on an EV 635.

kitstern · Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2005 9:59 pm Post subject:

I tried about five different mics before I bought the Gefell. They all were good mics, but I sounded different on all of them. When I played back what I recorded with the Gefell even my kids said I should buy it. I guess the point is, you should buy what makes YOU sound good, and it can vary quite a bit.
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