Voice over microphones?

[Glenn Chan]

Hey Ty,
I think the main reason is this:
The studio had 2 AT4040s, and only one Neumann.
To record two talent, you obviously need two microphones. So it’s just easier to leave the AT4040s in the shockmounts all the time.

That, and I believe the AT4040 is more accurate / less coloration. As in, it doesn’t do anything “funky” to the sound that clients may not like. They also had a compressor in the chain, so maybe that didn’t make much sense.

It wasn’t exactly a high-end VO studio, so they may not be doing the same thing as everyone else.

At the end of the day, I think particular sub-$100 mics are more than good enough from a technical standpoint. The S/N ratio probably isn’t “bottlenecked” in the mic (need to consider background noise, preamp, A-D converter).
Then it really comes down to the microphone’s sound, which is subjective and depends on the talent and the voice you’re looking for.
Neutral mics obviously can’t have a negative effect on the sound.

[Ty Ford]

Yah. Contrary to some folks thoughts, a Neumann isn’t always better. A TLM 103 is a wonderful mic but it has a very wide pattern and a tipped up top and bottom. In a less than amazing studio with a lot of hard surfaces and plugged into the wrong preamp, it will suck.

Regards,

Ty

[Acmeharpoon]

Has anyone had any experience with the Blue Dragonfly Microphone? I will be using it strictly for radio voice-overs and I was wondering if you would recommend it.

Thanks for your time on this, Gang.

[Ty Ford]

Hi,

How much do you want to spend?
What kind of space you you want to use it in?
How quiet is the space?
What kind of preamp do you want to plug it into?

Regards,

Ty Ford

Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. More at: https://home.comcast.net/~tyreeford/AudioBootcamp.html
or https://www.tyford.com

[Acmeharpoon]

Dear Gang (and Ty,

I will be plugging the ‘Dragonfly’ (should I buy it, that is), into a Mobile Pre USB box and recording with either GarageBand and/or Pro Tools software. I would record in my small home studio with not much in the way of sound-proofing save a small isolation tablet built around the mic’d area.

My recordings are for demo/audition purposes only and are specific to radio commercial voice-overs and narration gigs.

I am currently using the AT 3035 (which has been a fine work-horse), and now wish to ‘upgrade’ a bit.

Any new thoughts on this?

Thanks, Gang (and you, Ty)…

[Ty Ford]

Honestly, I’m not sure you’ll gain that much from a dragonfly given what you have.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. More at: https://home.comcast.net/~tyreeford/AudioBootcamp.html
or https://www.tyford.com

[Brendan` Wolsteiner]

I agree that a few of the inexpensive condenser mics are not of the finest quality. However, the majority of the problems arise from lack of experience from the user. Even the most modest of “true condensers” not the cheap back eletrets from Samson etc are capable of very good performance.

[Ty Ford]

Yes, well…..

I had a long chat about electret condensers versus “true condensers” a few years back with one of the leading tonemeisters in Germany.

In that conversation I specifically asked about the differences among electret and “true condenser” mics.

It was his opinion that there was no reason to suspect a mic simply because it was of electret design. He mentioned a few to me (and there were a few I found later) that are usually regarded quite well. I don’t have names, but I do recall the conversation.

Regards,

Ty Ford

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