Bullet proof mic, A/D coversion & mic pre chain for voice over?

juicylime · 7th December 2007

I'm doing some work with a firm that does voice overs in different languages. Their gear is abysmal, a €45 mic on a jack lead into a creative audigy soundcard. It's so noisey it's a joke. I've tried explaning how bad their gear really is but it falls on, surprise, surprise....deaf ears.

They badly need an upgrade. I haven't done a whole lot of voice over stuff. Any suggestions on putting together a good all round chain starting a few €00's going up to a few €000's?

James Lehmann · 7th December 2007

FWIW my basic v/o chain is...

Microtech Gefell M930 >> Metric Halo ULN-2 >> Mac

Add a Pauli SuperScreen, a K&M Mic stand, a Vovox mic cable, Sony MDR-7506 cans, a RealTraps Portable Vocal Booth, some MicroTraps, a desklamp and a script-holder and you're really in business.

Then I just need a pencil and glass of water!

This whole set-up works extremely well and reliably for me, and sounds as good as all but the classiest commercial studios I go into. Not much change from €3,000 though - it all depends how 'pro' you want to go.

yoink · 7th December 2007

Echo Audio Fire 4 and a 57/58 and a pop filter would be cheap and far far better than what they're currently using and much cheaper than above. $400 tops.

tINY · 7th December 2007

I'm not too slutty when it comes to converters, so I'll leave that to you.

But, the Safesound P1 has a good clean sound and amazing dynamics control. I would definately look at putting one of those between the mic and converter....

-tINY

DeathMonkey · 8th December 2007

I dunno 'bout voiceovers, but the API A2D (A/D with 2 mic pres) got a great review in the latest Tape Op. Add a TLM103 or decent front fire dynamic, and you'd be good to go for around 3k USD, maybe even less depending on the mic.

That said, check out the Samson (and others ) Podcasting USB mics, That might actually work for what you're doing for far less.

jowillie · 8th December 2007

We are asking the same questions here:
VO Mic Tests
VOMicTest blog

Let us know what you decide.

7th December 2007	#1
juicylime Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Dublin, Ireland Posts: 801 Thread Starter	Bullet proof mic, A/D coversion & mic pre chain for voice over? I'm doing some work with a firm that does voice overs in different languages. Their gear is abysmal, a €45 mic on a jack lead into a creative audigy soundcard. It's so noisey it's a joke. I've tried explaning how bad their gear really is but it falls on, surprise, surprise....deaf ears. They badly need an upgrade. I haven't done a whole lot of voice over stuff. Any suggestions on putting together a good all round chain starting a few €00's going up to a few €000's? __________________ Saved. By the buoyancy of citrus. www.HamletSweeney.com

7th December 2007	#2
James Lehmann Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Europe Posts: 2,309	FWIW my basic v/o chain is... Microtech Gefell M930 >> Metric Halo ULN-2 >> Mac Add a Pauli SuperScreen, a K&M Mic stand, a Vovox mic cable, Sony MDR-7506 cans, a RealTraps Portable Vocal Booth, some MicroTraps, a desklamp and a script-holder and you're really in business. Then I just need a pencil and glass of water! This whole set-up works extremely well and reliably for me, and sounds as good as all but the classiest commercial studios I go into. Not much change from €3,000 though - it all depends how 'pro' you want to go. __________________ James Lehmann Voice-Over Artist - Project Studio Jockey www.jameslehmann.net · Use your real name - keep Gearslutz authoritative, accountable and courteous. · Stop the superlatives madness - just say no to gear threads with the word 'best' in the title. · Words or WAVs? The former are interesting, the latter are convincing. Recession-busting initiative - trade goods for services: I will record voice-overs for you in exchange for gear.

8th December 2007	#5
DeathMonkey Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 832	I dunno 'bout voiceovers, but the API A2D (A/D with 2 mic pres) got a great review in the latest Tape Op. Add a TLM103 or decent front fire dynamic, and you'd be good to go for around 3k USD, maybe even less depending on the mic. That said, check out the Samson (and others ) Podcasting USB mics, That might actually work for what you're doing for far less. __________________ Screaming Monkey Studio - Seattle, WA teebes on Soundclick www.MySpace.com/djteebalicious www.MySpace.com/thissoilisdiseased

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7th December 2007	#3
yoink Gear addict Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Montreal, Quebec Posts: 320	Echo Audio Fire 4 and a 57/58 and a pop filter would be cheap and far far better than what they're currently using and much cheaper than above. $400 tops.

7th December 2007	#4
tINY Gear Guru Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Orygun Posts: 10,206	I'm not too slutty when it comes to converters, so I'll leave that to you. But, the Safesound P1 has a good clean sound and amazing dynamics control. I would definately look at putting one of those between the mic and converter.... -tINY

8th December 2007	#6
jowillie Gear maniac Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: NC Posts: 231	We are asking the same questions here: VO Mic Tests VOMicTest blog Let us know what you decide.