VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Rob Ellis]

I have to concur here, esp since the DBX has a gate/expander which may help with noises in your environment.

And if you end up not liking the 416 (some don't) the resale on them is pretty good, or Sweetwater has a pretty good return/exchange policy

[Steve Knight]

Annnnd I have a DBX 286-A that wiling to part with..

[Steve Knight]

Ooops I meant to say "that I'm willing to part with"...LOL

[Quicksilver]

Nearly all will agree that mic choice has very little to do with success. The best advice is probably to pick something decent, stop thinking about gear and worry about your performance. I agree with that but I love gear, so I'll type for a while and you can stop reading whenever you've had enough.

My primary mic the last 2 years has been a 416, it gets my vote. I've used RE20's for years in radio, owned a Rode NT1A Condenser that I didn't like and I've used a U87/TLM103 in several pro studios.

Here is how I see it...

Dynamics, i.e. RE20, SM7B...

-Great to have around if you do your own editing and you clients aren't the type to know the difference between mics. Car dealer spots, E learning, etc. I have one I use occasionally, just for stuff like that. You can have a noisy computer in the same room and beyond the basics, you won't need to worry too much about sound treatment compared to a condenser. Those Chrysler adds with Eminem were recorded with an SM7B. Great for audio books and long form, too. There are people here who make great money with dynamics as their primary mic and you can't ever argue with that.

There are real cons though. The biggest, IMO, being that you will be in trouble when you book a job and have to record in a studio with a nice condenser. Dynamics won't ever teach you the discipline needed to control your F's, S's, P's, T's the way you need to in front of a nice condenser, you'll never learn good mic technique if you only use a dynamic. Dynamics are like a trusty hammer that anyone could use with good results, while nice condensers are more like a scalpel that is much better, when used correctly but...only for those who are trained to use it. Surely there is a better analogy but anyway. You'll also sound very "radio" on dynamics, as well and that label is hard enough to shake without using radio gear. Don't get me wrong, I think the RE20 is an amazing mic, smooth as can be on almost every voice and has near ZERO proximity effect (not what you want if you know how to use proximity effect but great for people who don't know how to speak into a mic and really impressive engineering) but what's great about the RE20 is the bad speech artifacts that it OMITS and that's not a mic characteristic that helps show off your talent.

Condensers....

are amazingly detailed, they'll pick up a rusty bearing in your neighbors air conditioner. You pay thousands for that kind of detail and must have a very quiet room with lots of well thought out sound treatment to make them sound good. If you neglect to do these things they will sound horrible, magnitudes worse than even a cheap dynamic. But a good talent in a good room with a good engineer makes condensers more than worthwhile.

Shotguns...are the best compromise you can make, IMO.

well, the 416, I know nothing about any others, although I hear the Rode NT3 is good for around $600 Benefits include being...

- Detailed like a condenser so they will encourage good mic technique and teach you to watch your F's, T's, P's etc.
-Tolerant of bad rooms, not as tolerant as a dynamic but they split the difference. You can make it work in a Holiday Inn, or a car if you have to.
- Professional. Joe Cipriano, Scott Rummell, Brian Lee, Harry Legg, Chris Fries, Steve Stone....and leagues of other big name talent all use the 416. No producer will ever be put off by a 416. RE20's may sound great but will always be an unusual choice for pro VO and scream radio DJ.
-Affordable...~$850 if you're savvy on Ebay
- Really, really sturdy. They were made to swing around on booms in the wind and rain, they come with a case but you probably don't even need it.

All of this IMO and I welcome any corrections. I've only been at this a couple years and most on this board know far, far more than me but that's my take.

Good luck!

DC

(*Edited by moderator. It's serious to some and silly to others but as a kindness please mask your obscenities. Many thanks.)

[georgethetech]

+1 what DC, Captain, and Bish said.
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[Philip Banks]

You have to trust your ears and if you attend Faffcon, VOICE or any of the other VO type mixers you will notice that ....MOST VO PEOPLE DON'T ****ING LISTEN!

MKH416
Neumann U87

Pick one, either will do just fine

"Awesome Philip but what does everyone else think?"

I'll tell you ...The same as me, they're just too polite to tell you.

SIGNAL CHAIN - The truth.
Two mics tend to tell the market that you take yourself seriously. They are the two listed above. For the most part, most people really don't care as long as you sound ok. The problem is that you will never hear from the people who think your sound is awful, they will simply never hire you and possibly tell other people your sound (not voice) is awful.

Serious question. Has any VO ever attended a VO session during which the engineer offered them a choice of mic or changed the mic "coz the one set up wasn't quite right for their voice"? It has never happened to me and in over 21 years I have never heard about it happen to anyone else.

If you're a gear junkie, that's great! It can be fun and you can spend loads enjoying yourself. Don't confuse gear addiction with making a living as a VO or what you need to set up at home.

The above patronising lecture is available as a suppository or delivered via hypordermic dart. $19.95 payable by check, cheque, czech or if you're feeling flush using a downloaded upload whilst online through our offline cistern.

[Rob Ellis]

hey Philip, no need to pull any punches with Zach. He's a big boy, he can take it.

[heyguido]

Wow, Dave.... You may not think you know much, but your comments on the differences between dynamics and condensers and mic technique are spot-on.

Especially the RE-20. I remember the 1st time I encountered one years ago.... After years of being the smooth FM guy with the soft growl, I slipped up on the RE-20, whispered in its ear.... And got nuthin'.... No satisfaction. Not the least bit. Worst. Proximity. Ever. Never again. Not for me.

And Banksy's one about engineers changing out mics? Damn straight.

There's good advice here, Z.... Welcome to the madness.
_________________
Don Brookshire
"Wait.... They wanna PAY me for this?"

[captain54]

the question remains, do the people who are actually in a position to hire you have ears to hear mic/signal chain differences? i think not. Ive booked a national radio from auditions done on a usb condenser. would I have booked others if those auditions had been done on a 416? impossible to know, but I would say their focus was more on the read

Now, if u get to where u are doing in home sessions with the Big Boys, as opposed to recording home sessions for local/regional Joe's Super Market type spots, that a whole other issue altogether.
_________________
Lee Kanne
www.leekanne.com

[Philip Banks]

The "Signal Chain" has little or nothing to do with what anyone hears in the context of what messages (signals) you send ..Subtle eh?

When I set up my home VO Huttie, the sound and thingyness (technical term) was based on a studio in London's Soho called The Tape Gallery. Reason? When the Big Boys came a knockin' they knew what they wuz gunna git.

"Philip is your studio sound to broadcast specs?"

"No, it's actually very good!"

[Lee Gordon]

[ccpetersen]

When I bought a mic from Sweetwater (admittedly via the Interwebs and phone thingie), they offered me a 30-day return guarantee. Not that I needed it, but it was offered. See if they still do that. I like Sweetwater.
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Charter Member: Threadjackers Local 420

[ZNCramer]

Many thanks for all the responses and advice so far!