Microphone Question

[KChapple]

Hey, I'm Kyle...

I'm a friend of September Day Leach. She referred me hear. I have a quick question about mics. I have an audix i5 and I'm not sure if I can use this to do voiceover work. Is there a mic out there under 300 dollars that would sound good to do voiceover work?

Thanks for the help

Kyle

[Mike Sommer]

Could you do Voice over with it - Yes. Would I - probably not.

Mice under $300.00: The Studio Projects - C1, is a great little condenser mic. After that it can be hit and miss, other wise
you're stuck with a dynamic like a Sennheiser MD421 U-5, Shure SM7B.

VO Mic Tests

[Kenneth_Bruce]

Depending where you live, visit a guitar center.

I was using a shure sm58 until I recently bought an AKG Perception 120. It works great for me, gives me a crisp and clear sound. And I got it brand new for 99 bucks at guitar center.

Other people might think, psssh, 99 bucks? It must be bad.

I'm a poor college student, who happens to work at the radio station there. The microphone I use is up to par with the 500 dollar microphones we have at the studio.

[Mike Sommer]

SM 58 is a great little mic, an industry standard for stage and live performance for years, and will do in a pinch.

[JoeActor]

Originally Posted by Mike Sommer

SM 58 is a great little mic, an industry standard for stage and live performance for years, and will do in a pinch.

I'll second that - it's my current audition (and sometimes gig) mike.

Depends on your voice, the preamp it's paired with, etc.

Works for me,
Joe

[Emorgan_Voiceovers]

Heck, the Rode NT1 is well under $300. If you look around you can also find Audio Technica AT4040 for under $300 as well.

[Jacoby]

What Emorgan said...

[FLZapped]

Originally Posted by KChapple

Hey, I'm Kyle...

I'm a friend of September Day Leach. She referred me hear. I have a quick question about mics. I have an audix i5 and I'm not sure if I can use this to do voiceover work. Is there a mic out there under 300 dollars that would sound good to do voiceover work?

Thanks for the help

Kyle

The Audix could work. You just have to be aware that there is a huge peak at 5kHz, which may or may not do good things for your particular voice. It also appears to be a super cardioid, so the pick-up pattern is narrower than most cardiod mics and you'll need to pay attention to how the sound may change as you get off axis. Finally, it isn't a very high output mic, so the preamp you use with it should be pretty low noise.

There are tons of mics at or under that $300 price range. A couple large diaphragm condensers I can think of in the used market: The Shure KSM27 and KSM32. The KSM27s have been going used for about $150 on Ebay, and used KSM32s right at $300. You'd be amazed at how many people buy mics for a particular job and then turn around and sell them.

If possible, go audition as many mics as you can along with someone really familiar with your voice and see which one looks like it would require the least amount of post processing to get the sound you're looking for.

Also, if you poke around here some, I think you'll find links to web sites where many different mics have been tested to get an idea of their personalities.


-Bruce

[KChapple]

Okay I've got a lot of responses.... Thanks for the help.... Last question, My voice is kind of deep. I'm black. I dont know if that makes a difference. Would that narrow down a mic?

Thanks again

Kyle

[FLZapped]

Originally Posted by KChapple

Okay I've got a lot of responses.... Thanks for the help.... Last question, My voice is kind of deep. I'm black. I dont know if that makes a difference. Would that narrow down a mic?

Thanks again

Kyle

Hi Kyle,

You just have to remember that every directional mic has a condition called "proximity effect" that boosts the lowest registers of your voice as you get closer to it. Some mics have more of it than others, which is why it is important to go try some mics.

If you download the PDF user guide to this mic, they actually provide a graph on page 2 detailing how this particular mic responds as you get closer to it:

Shure - Microphones - Beta 57A Instrument Microphone

It should give you a decent visual representation of proximity effect.

-Bruce