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FinMac
Lucky 700
Joined: 14 Jan 2013
Posts: 707
Location: In a really cool place...Finland!
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 Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 11:41 am Post subject: Is there such a thing as a VO mic? |
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What is the difference between a "vocal" mic and a "voiceover" mic?
Is there a difference? Are there any mics just made for VO?
i recently came across information about this "vocal" mic. Would it be good for VO?
The frequency response curve of the X1 is just as flat as all other microphone products. X1 is an all-round microphone and can be used for any acoustic instrument or for vocals. However, X1 capsule has been deliberately tuned and the frequency curve shows a slight increase (2-3 d around 5kHz which corresponds to the “presence increase” often sought after, in particular for vocals.
I removed the name of the mic from their information and called it X1.
Your thoughts are most welcome.
Mac
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"If you want to get to the top, you have to get off your bottom". (Unknown) |
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Bish
3.5 kHz
Joined: 22 Nov 2009
Posts: 3738
Location: Lost in the cultural wasteland of Long Island
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| Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 1:44 pm Post subject: |
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Sarcastic reply: Take a mid-to-OK quality Chinese mic, write VO on it and sell it with an extra $100 on the sticker price.
Serious reply: Most (higher-end) microphones are designed with a view to their end use, and can be flattering/suitable for the human voice due to a tuned frequency response curves. Others may be tuned for drums/percussion/whatever and this may also be reflected in their physical constuction.
However, if we take the two big VO guns... the ubiquitous u87 and MKH416... neither were designed for VO. The U87 was designed as a full-range mic for orchestra recording, and the 416 as a location mic for movies-making.
So... go figure 
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Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls. |
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chuckweis
Contributor IV
Joined: 27 Feb 2008
Posts: 136
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| Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 4:54 pm Post subject: |
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Go over to Youtube and search Some Audio Guy Blue Blueberry. He addresses how a mic advertised for "vocals" is really geared for singers and not spoken word peeps.
Who knows if they'll work for your voice, but if you do enough searching, there are mics that pop up that are designed to "typically" work better for what we do, I guess meaning the frequencies are more suited to spoken word, so that they have a little presence boost and not too much on the lows or highs.
But like Bish said, to make it all even more fun, some of the most widely used VO mics weren't even designed for that purpose. |
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vkuehn
DC
Joined: 24 Apr 2013
Posts: 688
Location: Vernon now calls Wisconsin home
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| Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 7:27 pm Post subject: Re: Is there such a thing as a VO mic? |
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| FinMac wrote: |
What is the difference between a "vocal" mic and a "voiceover" mic?
Is there a difference? Are there any mics just made for VO?
i recently came across information about this "vocal" mic. Would it be good for VO?
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That depends on the person or organization using the terminology "vocal" mic.
If it is a person or supplier in the world of recording studios, vocal mic and VO mic might have some commonality.
However, if you are looking at a mail-order catalog with a lot of guitars up front, and their primary clientele are young rock bands and people who do sound for modern day churches, then "vocal" mic probably means the following characteristics:
Tolerates being hand-held without introducing a lot of mechanical noise.
Tolerates being spit on a lot.
Tolerates being dropped on a concrete floor repeatedly.
Has a dull finish and does not reflect bright flashing lights. |
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heyguido
MMD
Joined: 31 Aug 2011
Posts: 2507
Location: RDU, the Geek Capitol of the South
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| Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 7:41 pm Post subject: |
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The Blueberry is a great example of a vocal mic NOT for VO. Killer mic for a soprano or a high quality acoustic guitar.... But spoken word? Not so much. No midrange presence, and the tweaked highs are extremely sensitive to sibilance.
The Blue Mouse on the other hand.... Sounds great on a rich male voice. Its original purpose? Kick drums.
As Bish and Chuck pointed out above.... None of my favorite VO mics were originally intended for vocals, but, somehow, they beat traditional "vocal" mics hands down.
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Don Brookshire
"Wait.... They wanna PAY me for this?" |
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Bish
3.5 kHz
Joined: 22 Nov 2009
Posts: 3738
Location: Lost in the cultural wasteland of Long Island
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| Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 7:41 pm Post subject: |
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... oh, you mean an SM58 
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Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls. |
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melissa eX
MMD
Joined: 20 Oct 2007
Posts: 2794
Location: Lower Manhattan, New Amsterdam, the original NYC
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| Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 8:26 pm Post subject: |
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| You just couldn't get through one thread Bish...... |
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Rob Ellis
M&M
Joined: 01 Aug 2006
Posts: 2385
Location: Detroit
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| Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2013 6:37 am Post subject: |
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IMO it's an individual thing
for example the Neumann TLM 49 is supposedly designed for spoken word/voiceover, but I found it, on me, to be one of the least flattering mics ever.
But some VO people use it with great success.
The U87 doesn't sound that good when you do a shootout like "...testing 123, testing 123, this is the Neumann U87ai....."
But when doing an actual performance, it does an amazing job of capturing the vocal nuances in a clear balanced way.
Ok I'm through.... |
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Monk
King's Row
Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 1152
Location: Nestled in the Taconic Hills
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| Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2013 2:07 pm Post subject: |
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I really want to head over to a studio and try a Lauten Oceanus.. but I don't want to get all spiraled up with G.A.S. again!
I'm FINE, MY STUFF WORKS!…
but Christmas is coming, and I have a friend over at Great River.. and you see.. um.. Gah. I'm hopeless.
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Company, villainous company, hath been the spoil of me...
www.monksvoice.com |
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Lance Blair
M&M
Joined: 03 Jun 2007
Posts: 2281
Location: Atlanta
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| Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2013 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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It's funny, sometimes a manufacturer says they have a mic that's good for voice over, and it's so-so. Then they say they have a cool instrument microphone and it turns out to be great for voice over.
The CAD E100S I use wasn't marketed as a VO microphone, but I saw that it was
a.) supercardioid
b.)with a crazy low self noise of 3.7dBA (although take that with a grain of salt since it has a cold output...you might get some extra preamp noise in the signal chain in order to crank it, but it's still super-quiet)
c.) not hyped in its frequency response
d.) under $500
and I was like "TAKE MY MONEY...I DON'T CARE IF YOU DESIGNED THIS SPECIFICALLY FOR KAZOO AND VIOLAS!!!"
Look at AKG...their cheapest Polish-made mics are better for VO than their project studio microphones, and then some of their mid range microphones are better than their flagship mics for VO. A similar critique can be applied to Audio Technica, in that some of their cheap Tawainese mics are better than their 40 series mics, and their high-end mics now sound dated.
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Skype: globalvoiceover
and now, http://lanceblairvo.com the blog is there now too! |
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Jacob Ekstroem
Club 300
Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 317
Location: A padded room with no windows somewhere in Scandinavia
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| Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 3:52 am Post subject: |
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I'm still waiting for the "MKH 416 - Harlan Hogan Edition".
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Regards,
Jacob - Danish Voice Overs (try it... it sounds really funny, too!) |
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Jason Huggins
The Gates of Troy
Joined: 12 Aug 2011
Posts: 1846
Location: In the souls of a million jeans
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| Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 11:00 am Post subject: |
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| At least it'll be shiny now. I've always thought the 416 looks a little boring...but I guess they don't want a chrome mic reflecting the sun onto a set. |
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chuckweis
Contributor IV
Joined: 27 Feb 2008
Posts: 136
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| Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 11:51 am Post subject: |
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| Lance Blair wrote: |
Look at AKG...their cheapest Polish-made mics are better for VO than their project studio microphones, and then some of their mid range microphones are better than their flagship mics for VO. |
Hmmmm....is there something I might need to know about the C414 XLII? Very close to picking one up, mainly based on a very few sound clips I could find, the specs, and some very little feedback gained from AKG's forum. |
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georgethetech
The Gates of Troy
Joined: 18 Mar 2007
Posts: 1878
Location: Topanga, CA
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| Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 2:15 pm Post subject: |
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Just get the AKG Perception 220, Chuck. Why waste it on the 414?
If it's for a client facing studio, then pay the big bucks, otherwise why bother... I swear most of the time commercial studios make sure they have a fancy German mic in the booth just to impress their clients.
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If it sounds good, it is good.
George Whittam
GeorgeThe.Tech
424-226-8528
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Bish
3.5 kHz
Joined: 22 Nov 2009
Posts: 3738
Location: Lost in the cultural wasteland of Long Island
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| Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 2:57 pm Post subject: |
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Love it. My two current go-to mics getting lots of love.
The CAD e100s (my workhorse) and the AKG Perception 220... and the AKG is as cheap as chips!
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Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls. |
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