VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Jowillie · Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 8:20 pm Post subject: Need a Deal on a Mic?

I haven't accepted ad spiffs on our blog and am not getting anything for sharing this... But I got an email from a rep from a major gear company offering the VO Mic Test crew (that's you and me) a special deal on the AKG C414-XLS. Basically, as I understand, he will knock off another $100 off the sale price and throw in a pair of AKG K271 headphones. Email me and I'll send you the contact info.
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Wild Willie Edwards
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Yoda117 · Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 8:28 pm Post subject:

Willie, I don't remember if you ever put up a post regarding this mic, but I know that Chuck Roney uses it (he's a biggie in the VO world here in Philly) and swears by it for the $.

The ever popular mic shootout at Transom (http://www.transom.org/tools/recording_interviewing/200508.mic_shootout.html#) has it in their mic shootout for those wanting to hear it.

Like everything else, YVMV (your voice may vary)
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Voiceovers by Gregory Houser
Philadelphia based Voice Actor

Blog - A man, a martini, and a lot of microphones

Jowillie · Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 8:41 pm Post subject:

Yes, we have a test of the 414 BXLS here. And you are right, a lot of folks swear by the "honesty" of this mic for VO. It is retail priced right around the same as the Neumann TLM103.
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Wild Willie Edwards
www.hometowntvtoday.com
http://vomictest.blogspot.com

Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2281 Location: Atlanta

Sometimes I prefer the 103 when it's on its own and unprocessed. When all is said and done (pun intended) with processing and the mix I love the 414 xls. Thanks for the offer, it's quite tempting.
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kgenus · Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 12:23 pm Post subject:

After looking at that poge, all I can say is IF you're basing a purchase off of that shoot out, perhaps you might want to follow up with something a little more scientific, consistent and methodical. I highly recommend Lynn Fuston's 3D Mic CD Listening Party (http://3daudioinc.com/mics.html). He's also done the same with preamps as well (http://3daudioinc.com/3daudio_prelp.html).

"In November 2000, Lynn Fuston assembled a dozen engineers, a male and female vocalist and 49 of the best vocal mics ever made at Classic Studios in Franklin, TN. These mics ranged in price from under $100 (Shure SM-57) to over $20,000 (Telefunken 251). Most were current production models, but also included some vintage classics like the Neumann U-47, U-67, M-49, AKG C-12 and more. The objective was to listen to all these mics in a carefully calibrated environment with accurate performers, allowing us to hear them side-by-side and evaluate the similarities and differences in their sonic characteristics. Never before has such an extensive (and expensive-over $150,000 in all) collection of mics been assembled for the purpose of a listening comparison. Each of the mics was level-calibrated by Dan Kennedy of Great River and run through identical signal paths (we used Grace and Great River preamps on the male and female vocalists, respectively) and the listening sequence was determined randomly by picking the names out of coffee mugs. Since the purpose was to compare the "sound" of the mics, I decided it would be more interesting if no one but the tech staff knew which mic we were hearing.So all the listening was done "blind," and we had no idea which mic was which (or its brand name or price) as we wrote down our impressions of how each sounded. We covered the control room window so we were unable to see the mics as we listened. After the listening tests were complete (it took six hours per singer), the listeners compared notes about each mic and then the identity of that mic was revealed. It was a fascinating and revealing exercise as you will discover.
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