New Converter or New Preamp for VO Work?

[clos.gonzalez@gm]

Hey guys,

This is my current signal chain. Sennheiser 416 Mic going through a Studio Projects VTB-1 into a 002. I have got about 1000 bucks to spend, but I would love some feedback on what would give me the most noticeable difference for recording Voiceovers. I have got a friend selling an Apogee Mini me for 600, which sounds kind of tasty. But, I have also been looking at the John Hardy personal M-1 Preamp which runs about 1000 new. I can only buy one of the two right now, so which one would be best. High End Preamp or Converter/Preamp?

C

[Fletcher]

The 416 is very much a standard in the VO world... the VTB would be the weaker link of the two tools you have at the moment.

Peace.

[Brent Hahn]

Fletcher's right - a better pre is the way to go with $1000.

Are you an engineer/producer with VO clients, or a VO talent?

Generally engineer/producers (like me) want a clean pre with a 416, like a Grace 101 (well under 1000.) But VO guys usually want a "male enhancement" pre, meaning something with transformers. The Hardy is a transformer design, but the sound is only semi-aggressive. You might also look into the single-channel Great River. It's a bit more than you want to spend, but you can turn down the output while cranking the input and pound the daylights out of the output stage, the result being what some would call "ballsy" and others would call "distorted."

In any case, a high end pre will give you a subjectively bigger sound than you're getting now. The difference a fancy converter makes is more subtle.

[clos.gonzalez@gm]

Thanks for the responses guys. Sorry I failed to mention, but I am VO talent.

I definitely want a more 'well rounded' recording, but not distorted/Balsy. What about an Avalon M5?

[Vietstylistic]

Invest on a Mic Pre first. M5 is good, I also liked the Grace Design for clean sound.

[billgennaro]

back when i was engineering vo's about a decade ago, we used sennheiser mics and john hardy pre's. we got wonderful results with that combination. the hardy pre's were very impressive.

[Yoda117]

I'm just jumping on the pile here. But yeah. If the 416 is working for you, then just go with a better preamp (Hardy seems to fit the budget), and it's pretty kick-ass for VO).

[mikevarela]

i just got a TL audio 5051 channel strip. nice clean and rounded pre with lots of extra gain, a comp and eq. I got it because i do both vo and music, so i needed the comp on the input stage, though with vo, i have to say that i almost never use the comp.... only on the music front.

i'd spend the cash on a nice pre, forgoing the compressor and bells. check out the UA 610, which you can over drive if you need to. also, and i've seen this used in a few studios and can attest to the sound.... the brent averill 1073 mockups. though they're about 1200, there very nice and clean.

otherwise the standard avalon will always work

[seansolo]

+1 on the Grace - I have a V3 that goes everywhere with me, and it's clean (and the converter is great when I need it.) I cut VO all the time with Red-7's or even API 512c's (usually with my 416 or the studio's old 87's). It can depend on the talent's voice - but in most of the VO suites it's a Red. I know that's a little off the price range point, but definitely check out the Grace.

[inthere]

On the used Mini Me for $600........Apogee themselves have stated here on Gearslutz that the pres for the Apogee Duet are better than the Mini Me's, and a new Duet costs $499. It also has the same converters as the Apogee Ensemble, which is a $2000 interface.

I own a Duet myself and vocals are pretty great with it. Just trying to save you some cash!

[FBM]

Hi, D.A.V. electronics No:1 cost € 760 .
You will not believe the sound for that price!
Cheers David

[thisgoestomark]

All the advice you're getting here is very good, I will just add my 2 cents.

You've got a perfect mic for VO, now changing your pre is the single most important thing you can do. Of course the D.A.V.'s are great and so are Millenia and several others, but if you end up buying this M-1 you'll never have to worry about your pre ever again.

Working at a leading post house in NYC -- using a Hardy Twin Servo with a Summit DCL-200 we constantly get asked by other studios what our setup is, they are just blown away -- over an ISDN no less.

[Daniel Antix]

a lot of love here for the 416... here's something you might find interesting Sennheiser 416

i'm not saying that i agree with him or not... but don't rule out that a new mic is what you want... maybe go try a few. I record voice overs all day everyday and we have a TLM103 here which does the job well... I just bought a Baby Blue Bottle and tried that out here at work for some voice overs... wow blew the TLM103 out of the water and it's a fraction of the price.