Mic pre and compressor for Voice-over recording

[VoxPro]

Hello Friends!

I need advise about best combination of Mic pre and a Compressor for a U87Ai for Voice-over recording.

I am considering:

AVALON M5
MILLENNIA HV-3

UNIVERSAL AUDIO LA-3A
UNIVERSAL AUDIO LA-2A
DISTRESSOR EL8X

or other sugestions and or other gear that you guys may recommend will be welcome.

Converter is a Rosetta 200

All advise and comments will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[ozraves]

I did a VO with a Blue Baby Bottle into a Millenia TD-1 tonight. I loved the sond but I think it stemmed more from the Baby Bottle than the Millenia.

[matt82aust]

I can just reccomend getting the cleanest possible pre you can, something totally neutral, balanced. We go through a Amek systems 9098, and its beautiful. We use to use Joe Meek VC1Qs, but the colour and character was a masive enemy for voice over work.

[VO-Guy]

An Avalon M5 or a Grace 101 depending on your budget. I've heard a John Hardy M1 is pretty clean too. Joe Cipriano uses a U87 with an M5 and it sounds great.

[Jamz]

You may want to look into the Millennia STT-1.
A few years ago in a media room I remember choosing it over an Avalon 737 while doing audio books, VO and ADR work. Talent voices ranged from the likes of Bruce Willis to Morgan Freeman. It worked well.

[doug_hti]

I'm not sure of the newer 87s, but using a bit older ones...just make sure the pre has plenty of quiet gain...more important than transparency IMO...I would also get something with a fairly flexible eq.

As far as the compressors. I have the choice of any of those(but the vintage ones), and lately I have been going to the distressor. I may follow the distressor up with a la3a, and I can't think of the last time I used a la2a for voiceover work.

[Sonicvalley]

I dont do a lot of voiceovers, but i do know that the Avalon 737 is used a lot. Also check out anything millenia.

[Ty Ford]

You have a good list.

I've used lots of different mics for VO; Gefell M71, Neumann U 89, U 87, TLM 103, Sennheiser 416, Schoeps CMC641, EV RE20.

The new Neumann TLM 49 is sort of nice. I'll be using it on a radio spot tomorrow.

I like GML, Millennia Media STT-1 and Aphex 1100 preamps.

Regards,

Ty Ford

[Thumper]

John Hardy M-1s would be great for a VO app. Clean, but not sterile.

As far as a compressor, I'd think that a DBX 160 a or x would work great.

[Ty Ford]

Hardy's are close to GMLs. I like the Jensens John Hardy makes as well.

Ty Ford

[bing81]

All of the above .. but I would have thought the three comps you've listed are too much "character" comps for VO work. Think clean ... some listed here, but perhaps also some of the Focusrite comps or all-in-one-boxes .. loathe though I am in some respects to recommend Focusrite.

You need something fast and neutral.

B

[robmix]

Anything clean - Daking, Avalon, GML, Millenia, Focusrite ISA, etc.

As for comps, if you're recording professional voice over talent you probably won't need it. If not, I'd look for something transparent again - Daking and GML would be my first choices.

[Bishbashbosh]

Originally Posted by bing81

but perhaps also some of the Focusrite comps or all-in-one-boxes .. loathe though I am in some respects to recommend Focusrite.

You need something fast and neutral.

The Focusrite RED is a popular choice in UK and Ireland VO studios..... Very clean and boring, but perfect for this application.
Plays nicely with the 87.

[MrVelvet]

It depends on the kind of voice overs you do mainly...

If you're doing movie trailer stuff most of the time, a "bigger" (i.e. more coloured sound) will be fine, so the LA-2A would be nice for this (tough I'd go for a tube mic first if you're after weight and size) - other than that, a fairly clean sound with some options will be fine.

For me, the Cranesong Flamingo would be fine for this - fast, but not boring at all. You also have the option to fatten things up if needed - I like the "tranny" switch.

Also, a D.W. Fearn VT-1 would be handy, tough colored. But it's not a vintage color that clouds everything, it sounds "refinded" and hi-fi to me.

@Focusrite: Never tried their higher range, so I can't commend on that. But I didn't like the Platinum series at all, very boring and thin sound. Neutral yes, but in a very negative way. Also, I remember using a TL Audio combo unit that sounded boring and lifeless as well.

[Ty Ford]

Originally Posted by Bishbashbosh

The Focusrite RED is a popular choice in UK and Ireland VO studios..... Very clean and boring, but perfect for this application.
Plays nicely with the 87.

The various Focusrite Reds are not the same. In addition, the Focusrite Red 2 does NOT play well with a Neumann TLM 103.tutt

Regards,

Ty Ford

[Bishbashbosh]

Originally Posted by Ty Ford

The various Focusrite Reds are not the same. In addition, the Focusrite Red 2 does NOT play well with a Neumann TLM 103.tutt

Regards,

Ty Ford

The RED 2 is an EQ.....
The RED 7 is the most ubiquitous model in top line UK VO studios, usually paired with an older 87.

The TLM103 is a poor mic for most applications except toms, where it shines, IMO.

[danno812]

Clean and uncolored is the way to go. Be sure your room is sounding good though. You would be very unhappy spending that kind of money on nice gear if all it did was bring out a bad sounding room.

Be advised that there are some less expensive, yet excellent sounding options if cost is a concern. I really like the Presonus VXP. Its an all in one box that is flexible and sounds great.

Good luck!

[danno812]

I should've mentioned that, if cost is not a concern, then I'll second the vote on the DWFearn VT1, and coupled with a Brauner VMA....NICE!

[Ty Ford]

Originally Posted by Bishbashbosh

The RED 2 is an EQ.....
The RED 7 is the most ubiquitous model in top line UK VO studios, usually paired with an older 87.

The TLM103 is a poor mic for most applications except toms, where it shines, IMO.

The Red 2 I'm referring to is a two channel red faced Focusrite mic preamp. As to it's ubiquity in the UK, that may be. On this side of the pond things are quite different.

I've successfully used the TLM 103 on any number of sources, voice, choirs, harp come to mind. When used with a vintage Neve or, curiously, an HHB Radius 40 preamp, (don't remember what TL Audio calls it on your side), the TLM 103 and C414 sound thick and meaty. Quite surprising really.

But on to today's work..reviewing the Neumann TLM 49.

Regards,

Ty Ford

[AmekGuy]

Hard to beat the older Symetrix SX pres for voiceover, since they are somewhat of a standard among radio broadcasters, plus they are dirt cheap on eBay. Add a TLA 50 levelar to the mix, and you will have a nice fat sound for under 1k.

[AmekGuy]

Originally Posted by Ty Ford

I've successfully used the TLM 103 on any number of sources, voice, choirs, harp come to mind.

The TLM 103 and MG930 are two of my favorite transformerless mics. If you can hum, they will both deliver stellar results.

[Ty Ford]

The 930 are quite good

As for combo boxes, the dbx 286a is quite nice, especially for the price. It should cost more.

Ty Ford

[xj32]

Even though I own a Millennia HV-3 now and use it, the True Systems P-Solo and / or P2 analog are both stellar at voice overs and do a great job of "staying out of the way".

Also the Blue Bluebird is a great voice over mic.

just my opinion...

Paul

[James Lehmann]

This is turning into a debate about mics, although the original poster said he's already using a U87ai!

I confirm that the Focusrite Red is/was a very common mic pre choice in many studios I've worked in. The Symetrix and BBE compressors I've also seen used a lot.

Then again I just did some voice-over work for a major multinational in a 'studio' packing a B*hringer desk and an AKG Solidtube, and the client seemd quite happy with the result (although I was battling a desire to throw up on principle in the booth!).

(If anyone is interested I did my own mini shoot-out of 3 popular V/O mics here.)

[soundawg]

Voice-overs make up a lot of what I do, I record my voice thru the EV-RE20 into an Avalon 2022. Works great!

[danno812]

Originally Posted by James Lehmann

This is turning into a debate about mics, although the original poster said he's already using a U87ai!

I confirm that the Focusrite Red is/was a very common mic pre choice in many studios I've worked in. The Symetrix and BBE compressors I've also seen used a lot.

Then again I just did some voice-over work for a major multinational in a 'studio' packing a B*hringer desk and an AKG Solidtube, and the client seemd quite happy with the result (although I was battling a desire to throw up on principle in the booth!).

(If anyone is interested I did my own mini shoot-out of 3 popular V/O mics here.)

James,

Thank you very much for posting this, I've been involved in my own mic shootout recently and am really enjoying hearing the nuances. I work with over 100 VO talents, all with different variations of equipment. Its nice to hear the same chain, with the same talent, and the same read at the same time. I've been doing the same thing with my shootout but it has involved some lower cost mics.

FWIW. I liked the m930 the most. Overall it was smoother in the highs but the proximity to the mic is obviously a bit more of a concern as I noticed it seemed more prone to plosives. The TLM 103 was my next pick, and the Brauner seemed the harshest of them all in the highs.

Again, thanks for the post.

[warhead]

My (very biased) opinion is the Safe Sound Audio P1 was made for all types of vocal work...speech, singing...screaming. It remains transparent but can reign in dynamics like a champ, very unique comp / limiter.

War

[dbbubba]

In an past life I recorded thousands of V.O.s for radio/TV.
These were national spots, Home Depot, Taco Bell, Circuit City, Tom Bodett (sp?) or Motel6, on and on and on.... You've heard 'em hundreds of times.

When you really get deep into V.O. work on a full time basis and if your clients are doing the big stuff you will be recording voice talent in your studio or recieving elements recorded in another studio. It all has to intercut seamlessly and more often than not the transistion between takes happens in mid sentence. This is especialy true for product slugs where say Home Depot will have many shells built for spots in a "donut" form that will have a :10 space in the middle for the product read. The copy will go along and the V.O. will say "At Home Depot you'll find great lawn products like..." The voice talent will record a number of product inserts at a later date as required by Home Depot and they have to match up. The transistion will be after the word "like." I'd say that 95% of the work in national spots uses this system and VERY few V.O.s are straight reads where the talent reads the copy straight through. This isn't to say that real voice talent doesn't do straight :60 read because they do more often then not not. The 95% part is edited because the spot will be revised. Radio and TV spots now have a life of several months to years and only the product inserts are modified. This is what digital production changed in radio/TV spot production.

You can't have a different mic/EQ/compression sound and a different room tone will mess things up too! It has to be VERY close, so the big V.O. production houses use equipment that sounds VERY close. They also record in extremely nuetral, dead booths. The company I worked for had eight studios that all used U87s, John Hardy and UREI 1176s. We had AKG414s and a Senheiser shotgun (one goofy place in L.A. used it, so we had to have one, too!)

If you get serious into radio/TV spot production there is absolutely no time to screw around and have to experimnet with matching stuff up. The ad agencies are used to working at places that know how to do it from the get go and book time accordingly. They book just enough time to make it work and there isn't time to fix mistakes! If you do have to fix stuff and make it work it'll be on your time and they'll know you are not very experienced. There is a protocol. You might think it is great sound, but it needs to match everything else.

If you go U87, John Hardy M1 and 1176 you'll be covered.
That is the standard sound in the U.S.

Also notice... NO EQ!
That is done at mix and almost NEVER during tracking.

If you get into V.O> work you will probebly start working with other studios via digital linkups or exchanging files. If your stuff is difficult to work with by the established production houses (and they are picky!) you won't get a good reputation.

If you intend to do occasional V.O. work and don't have really picky clients who do one off stuff you could use whatever sounds good. If you intend to get serious you need to do it like the big boys. You won't waste your money with the u87, John Hardy, 1176 chain.

I have set up home rigs for several big name voice talents and they all knew to ask for the u87, M1, 1176 chain.

There you go!

Danny Brown

[VoxPro]

Originally Posted by Jamz

You may want to look into the Millennia STT-1.
A few years ago in a media room I remember choosing it over an Avalon 737 while doing audio books, VO and ADR work. Talent voices ranged from the likes of Bruce Willis to Morgan Freeman. It worked well.

Thanks for advise.

You are 100% right! Actually I sold all my 2 Aavalons 737 fast attack mod and bought a MILLENNIA ORIGIN, But I don't like the COMP on the Millennia ...that's why I am asking for guidance...I like a COMP with more ATTITUDE ! since the HV-3 is so CLEAN..what do you think ?
Thanks again !

[dbbubba]

I don't think you want a compressor that has "attitude" for real V.O. work.

When 1176s were getting scarce I tried some other pieces and while I liked them for recording music, they had too much personality for V.O.

I broke Anthony Demaria's heart because he demo'ed me two of his early units and we didn't buy them. I liked them, but I did music work. They voice over room guys imedeately said, "nope!" Anthony said, "But why?"

We found that the Lengevin comps that Manley make were pretty good for a stereo comp on mixes. The little balance knobs was really handy, too.

If you don't intend on doing work coming from or going to other facilities it won't matter as long as your client is pleased. On the otherhand, if you hand them a tape that has to be intercut with work done in another facility and you are the "new guy" you are going to look pretty bad if you have your "own thing" going on sound wise. Trust me on this because we ended the careers of a few studios that were used in emergency situations. I still hear a spot (I won't mention what it is) where a fairly big name artist recorded and mixed the music in a studio and sent it to us. It was "wrong" so we had the agency request the master and I re-mixed it. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't a radio/TV mix. It was cut in a big name (Clinton) NYC studio. They just approached it like a record date. I'm sure they could have mixed it for broadcast, but it wasn't like the other music the huge client used on thir other stuff.

I could see the Avalon work.
Truthfully, any good transformer, discreet design mic pre should work.
The John Hardy M1 uses a Jensen 990 which is close to the Sphere, Quad8, Electrodyne stuff.

I'm tryin' to help ya' here!

When in Rome do like the Romans do.

Danny Brown