VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

mcm

I have just made a deal with the local college whereby I can use their ISDN studio for $50/hour. Up to now it has only been for college business but I went and met with the head of the Media Center and he and his boss decided it was time to open the door to new possibilities. The Media Center is a 1 mile bike ride through the woods from my house, and the ISDN line doesn't get so much use that scheduling will be a problem, and the engineer is included in the $50 (I mean, his services as an engineer are included)

There are some potential problems, which I would like to think can be overcome. Although the sound room is treated with acoustic foam, there's an air vent in there that can't be shut off. I've been told that people have commented favorably about the sound of the room (and there's an extra piece of foam in the room just for putting over the vent), but then, there hasn't been anyone doing commercial VO in there, it's mostly NPR interviews. The microphone in the room is a Shure SM58, which I'm guessing will not be highly regarded by clients I might be working with, and until I went in the room and shut the door and listened, I thought I would just bring my own mic with me. All of my mics are on the high end of the sensitivity scale, however, so I'm thinking about getting one that is not so sensitive (which is why I'm selling a couple of mics). I've heard that the AKG 451 is a good mic for rooms that are not silent. And since Kara's post about her new Lawson I looked up its specs and it isn't super sensitive either. If I got one of those, I could sell my regular studio mic too (Soundelux U195) and use the Lawson at both places and even have some money left over.

Wonder if anybody has any thoughts- I would greatly appreciate some advice.

Deirdre · Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 10:11 am Post subject:

The RE20 is a jim dandy for good sound and a real tight pickup.
It's not as bright as some other mics, but it's a dynamic mic-- and that's what I think you should look for under any circs.
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KaraEdwards · Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 10:21 am Post subject:

I don't understand any of the specs I read about (I'm very limited in my techy knowledge) so I just waited until I heard a mic at an outside studio I liked.

For me, I love that the Lawson doesn't change my voice (some mics warm you up- I always thought the MXL sounded a little mechanical). I also loved the price! I was worried I have have to spend at least twice that amount to get a mic I loved...so I'm still very pleased on day 2 of using the new mic.

I always hear about the U87- but for me, when I use it at a local studio...I'm not in love. Just goes to show everyone has different tastes!

I still wish someone would invent a mic, pre-amp, interface, and editing system that was fool proof and worked with absolutely every voice...then it wouldn't be so $$ to gamble!
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bobsouer · Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 10:46 am Post subject:

Mary,

Since they are currently using a dynamic mic in the room, have you double-checked to be sure they have a way to supply phantom power to the mic you bring with you?

As Deirdre noted, the RE-20 is used in a lot of studios. It's not super bright, though its (also dynamic) cousin the RE-27 is a bit brighter.

One other thought is the Sennheiser MKH-416, though I don't know how that would be on a woman's voice. It is used by a lot of guys. Dan-O has one, I know.
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mcm · Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 10:51 am Post subject:

Bob, I'm going back to the Media Center tomorrow with my own preamp and mic and will try out their equipment as well. Maybe I will post samples here. Wouldn't it be nice if the SM 58 sounded just fine.

Kara, did you get your mic directly from Lawson? Did they let you try it out with a money-back guarantee?

Jeff McNeal · Guest

The ubiquitous SM58 is a fine dynamic microphone. That's one reason why it's so ubiquitous. Melissa Etheridge has been known to record with one (as told to me by the man that recorded her) if that makes you feel any better. If it can take what she dishes out and still deliver a stellar performance, you should be fine. Plus, dynamic mics seem to work very well in higher ambient noise environments.

bobsouer · Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 11:56 am Post subject:

Mary,

I'd take Jeff's comments about microphones 20 times more seriously than mine.
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mcm · Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 11:58 am Post subject:

Jeff, that does make me feel better! I do have hope that maybe it will all sound just fine. That would certainly reduce the amount of luggage I'd have to take to sessions.

And I could save money and continue to channel Bill Elder Smile

Jeff McNeal · Guest

bobsouer · Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 12:24 pm Post subject:

Jeff,

Thank you for your kind remarks. I promise, I'm not selling myself short. Mostly I was trying to underscore what you said, using my usual self-deprecating form of humor. It probably didn't come through as clearly as it should have.

And I'm very glad you made the point about the SM58. It's a fine little microphone and I think it might work very well for Mary.
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KaraEdwards · Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 12:49 pm Post subject:

Well, it all sounds worked out...but just as an FYI, I bought the mic from the site www.lawsonmicrophones.com (I think). It took 3 weeks to make (they are made by hand) and I have 10 days to decide if I love it (which has already been decided). Of course, I had already used it during a 4 hour session, so I had very few doubts.
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Yoda117 · Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 1:03 pm Post subject:

todd ellis · Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 4:21 pm Post subject:

well - i hesitate to post after master-yoda, but ... having spend many years in completely crappy sounding radio studios - with all the fan noise and less-than-perfect acoustics that most station production studios have - i would also lean toward the EV 20/27. i still have one here and use it occasionally - particularly on female voices.
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Hart · Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 6:57 pm Post subject:

And why does radio use the RE20? Because it sounds decent? I'd say that's a fringe benefit to the 2 real reasons.

1. They are rugged as can be

2.

allensco · Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 8:04 pm Post subject: