VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

Benjamin Stovall · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:37 pm Post subject: How important is the mic in VO?

After resurrecting an old but interesting thread (http://www.vo-bb.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2033)
(responses to that thread have been moved here. resurrecting ancient threads hurts your admin in the spleen. ~db)

I was pondering over a response to a question I had by Bob Souer. He said:

Philip Banks · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:49 pm Post subject:

You may well be a pro-standard ball player but if you want to play pro-ball you better let everyone see your pro boots and helmet.

Benjamin Stovall · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:58 pm Post subject:

So would you say that it's more just for show then? And that's not to downplay the point at all. If it gets me gigs I'm good with it. But, is that it?

Philip Banks · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 5:06 pm Post subject:

No it is about quality and so a quality mic is going to cost. No one really values my opinion on how my mic sounds but they have an idea about the quality it will deliver. When I set up my home studio I was told to buy the best mic I couldn't afford and the engineer pointed to a Neumann U87 so that's what I bought.

Chuck Davis · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 5:30 pm Post subject:

Lot's of us start "on the cheap"...and then move up. We've talked this one almost to death here but.... It all boils down to what sounds best on your voice and for the kind of performances you're attempting to record.

Philip sounds like gold on the U87. Lots of us like the MKH-416 (or 415 if your Eddie or I). Some sound like gold on other more budget friendly mic's.

Try as many as you can. Use your ears....and those of your educated audio-centric friends.

The big ticket gear is typically better....but.....what sounds best....sounds best.
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Frank F · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 5:35 pm Post subject:

Like a diamond; a microphone can help your voice shine with color, cut, and clarity (the three C's).

Color of the microphone designates whether it is to dark or to shrill or just too...

Cut of your microphone is how well it portrays your voice to the front of the mix. I could go into a lot more detail about other equipment and how those pieces help, but I won't here at this time.

Clarity = quality for the most part. This is how a microphone processes the human voice - your voice. As each voice is different so is every microphone. Your job as a VO Artist is to find a microphone which bring out the strengths of your voice and minimizes the weaknesses.

Recently my studio was broken into and all of my 'toys" stolen. I am rebuilding everything from computers to hard drives to processing gear to microphones. As I result of the loss of income from VO work I am starting over with the basics and the most inexpensive things I can get for now. One of those items is a microphone.

One of the kind people (I will not mention his name because I have not asked him if I could) here on the board has offered an inexpensive Chinese mic which I will re-voice with a new condenser capsule, upgraded electronics and to change the color of the microphone - a new paint job. Wink

Once completed this mic will not sound like the perennial VO mic the Neuman U87 Gold I had but it will have an extremely low noise floor, great color, incredible cut, and good quality or clarity.

Your microphone does not need to be expensive to be good, just make sure it works for you and your voice. Find the one which works for you.

Frank F
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Rick Riley · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 5:54 pm Post subject:

I use the much touted and demeaned Sennheiser 416. That sentence alone should speak volumes on the subject. How can you have a good mic if half wouldn't use anything else and the rest wouldn't be caught dead using it. It must come down to what so many other things are based on... opinion.

My feeling is, price isn't' the point. Once you get into quality, the quality your voice demands, will dictate the money you 'need' to spend.

It's interesting you mentioned the mic you used had no low end, so you eq'd it. IMO, you can't really augment something that wasn't there in the first place. And judging by your description, I probably would have really liked that mic. Why? Because I take the low end OUT of my recordings. Why would I do that? Because I have a low voice and it was explained to me by an engineer friend of mine that bass requires power. There's only so much power in any given production. If my voice uses it, then it's going to have to take it from something else that needs it. So I cut a lot of low out of my voice and that helps my voice cut through everything else, like music beds. I don't need all that low end to highlight the fact that I have a low voice. Here's a spot to illustrate that the 'tone' of my voice is not defeated by removing a lot of the low, power stealing frequencies, from it http://vimeo.com/27588501

I've tried U87's and they are way too dark for me, as are a variety of other Neumann's, which is fine with me because it saves me a whole bunch of money. 30 years of radio had my first purchase become an EV/RE 20. Good mic, but it's kind of a 'one size fits all'. I have a back up of an AT2035. A decent mic, but side by side, the clarity of the 416 stands out.

So in the end, a 416, with my own brand of eq, is what's getting me work these days. And re the eq... in the last two years, I've never had a client ask me to provide the tracks without it. Studios are usually adamant that they want thier tracks unprocessed, but I never bring it up and neither do they. With TV, Radio, Film and Internet, I seem to have found a combination of a mic and eq that provides a sound that works for me.

Hope that helps.
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Jacob Ekstroem

Monk · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 7:03 pm Post subject:

I responded in the other older thread,

Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 8:12 pm Post subject:

In the spirit of Mike Sommers, don't focus on the mic, Focus on the recording environment. You can have the most expensive mic in the world and if your environment sounds like crap, it won't matter how good your mic is.
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anthonyVO · 14th Avenue Joined: 09 Aug 2005 Posts: 1470 Location: NYC

Your equipment will *not* get you work; Your craft will. Your equipment will only help you keep the work.

"Think on." (I heard that somewhere.)

-Anthony

DougVox · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 9:16 pm Post subject:

What Anthony said.
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Eddie Eagle · M&M Joined: 23 Apr 2008 Posts: 2393

Once the artist progresses......State of the art becomes part of the process.

Benjamin Stovall · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 10:18 pm Post subject:

Thanks to all for the valuable responses. It helps to take in varied opinions because it allows me to get a better picture of the way things are outside of my own preconceptions.

Here's what I've taken away from this discussion:

• Quality matters but is subjective.

• Get the best gear you can afford to do the job but, "best" is what works for you in a given situation. As you develop as an artist, better gear will follow.

• Room treatment can make all the difference and is where the initial focus should be placed regarding sound quality.

• Gear will not get you work, your skills will. Gear will help you retain the work you find.

These things have been said before, but they haven't been said to me and it's what I needed to hear right now, so thank you all very much!