Microphone for voice over. (Software - vocabulary)

[sebo106]

Hello,

I am developing a PC software for learning vocabulary and need to record the words to be played in the software. As there are a lot of recordings needed in at least 2 languages I decided to give it a try to make a home studio. The quality which I need I could describe as high but not the highest. The recorded voice must be very clear and sounding naturally.
I am looking for a microphone for such purposes. Initially I think I would need something like SP B1 with Phantom power. My budget for the microphone isn't high - 150-200 $.

My other question is about the recording. I have a Zoom H4 recorder equipped with phantom power. Would recording on this device with external semi profesional microphone give me high quality result? (the records on it withbuilt in microphone is good itself) Is it a good idea? I could also buy a device for the PC but I would need to struggle with the noice from the computer and so on. So I think (in my amateur mind) that there shouldn't be any signifficant differance between recording on a PC or ZOOM H4. Am I wrong?

I will be very very grateful for your advice on above 2 issues,
BR,
Sebastian,

[Bobbsy]

The zoom H4 is capable of fully professional recordings. Frankly, before investing in a separate mic I'd experiment with the built in ones that might be enough.

Now to mess things up for you. You WILL need to think about room acoustics. Background noises and reflections off walls can do nasty things to the intelligibility you need. For music the usual advice is to invest in things like bass traps etc that leave some room tone but remove the nasty stuff. For pure spoken word though, you just want things as dead as possible. As a stop gap, build yourself some kind of frame (folding room screen, purpose built frame made from PVC pipe, that sort of thing) and put it BEHIND you as you record, covered with a couple of layers of duvet or movers blanket. Other soft stuff on the wall behind your recorder (but somewhat distant) is the other half of what the experiment with.

Do some testing and good luck.

[sebo106]

Dear Bobbsy,

Thank you for your reply.
So is there a chance that the bilt-in microphones could have even as good quality as an external mic (kind of a Behringer C1, MXL 990 or SP B1)?

I was aware of the necessity of doing the acoustic improvements in the recording place. I will follow also your advices and see the results with built ones.

Maybe meantime I will find out about a good microphone for my needs in case it fails.

BR.
Sebastian

[kip4]

The H4 is idea for your needs. Me thinks
Keep it simple. You probably wont like the sound of the C1 or the 990 for voice over work.
The H4 is a good solution because then you can spend some money on room acoustic treatment and a single boom mic stand Will do. Everythhing packs away into a very small area and you wont have to spend so much time learning all the other gear that goes with the studio.
Mic preamps, Interfaces, Monitoring will be easy to playback too. Get a cheap Daw (Free trial full featured and cheap to buy the license) Called Reaper.
It might be a bit of a steep learning curve for a start but your needs will be minimal compared to a studio that records all differant types and genre of music on any given day.
In theory you might be able to kinda develop one signal chain (effects in the box (ITB)) for your voice over work and set and forget.
Good luck i hope you find what suits your needs best.
Welcome to the forum.

[kip4]

You can check out acoustic room treatments in the Studio build section.
Lots of helpful info there.

[Bobbsy]

Dear Bobbsy,

Thank you for your reply.
So is there a chance that the bilt-in microphones could have even as good quality as an external mic (kind of a Behringer C1, MXL 990 or SP B1)?

I was aware of the necessity of doing the acoustic improvements in the recording place. I will follow also your advices and see the results with built ones.

Maybe meantime I will find out about a good microphone for my needs in case it fails.

BR.
Sebastian

Sounds good.

There's no doubt that there are better microphones out there...but you'll need to spend a bit more money for any significant improvement over the H4 built in ones. The H4 mics are small diaphragm condenser cardioids which should be pretty good for the clarity you need.