What Mic Would Fit Me?

S

SpiderWhale

New member
I want to do commentaries and voice overs for video games, with that said I can be pretty loud. By no means am I an expert on audio; I know very little. I do know however that if your pretty loud you're gonna want a bigger diaphragm on a condenser mic. I want to get the Blue Bluebird and I asked my brother who is currently in school for audio production, what his opinion on the mic is. Because he owns one. He said that if he would have known sooner he wouldn't have bought a bluebird. He said it isn't a bad mic though. I don't have to big of a budget the Bluebird is probably the highest priced mic I would get. I would like your opinion on whether or not this mic would be good for me. I would also like to hear recommendations please.
 
arcaxis said:
- Don't discount a dynamic mic as being a possibility for what you want to do, particularly if the room you intend use isn't acoustically friendly. Condenser mics tend to pickup ambient sound in a room very easily. Dynamic mics may not be as prone to ambient noise and reflections in a room as you generally may work closer to the mic.
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So the biggest problem I would really have to worry about it picking up ambient sound? I have heard from multiple people that a bigger diaphragm would be better for loud vocals because the audio might clip with a small diaphragm.
 
SpiderWhale said:
So the biggest problem I would really have to worry about it picking up ambient sound? I have heard from multiple people that a bigger diaphragm would be better for loud vocals because the audio might clip with a small diaphragm.
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Yes actually. Ambient sound will include keyboard strokes and whatever is making noise in your environment. Computer fans will be picked up more by a condenser mic. Dynamic mics tend to pick up less of that.

You heard false information from your 'people'. It isn't size that matters in regards to small or large diaphragm condenser mics being able to handle a voice or any input level. It would just be dependent on the mic itself and what level of input it can handle.

But then, I must ask where this info is coming from and what mics are they talking about.
 
Yup. I can put a small diaphragm mic in front of a guitar amp or near a drum, (both louder than you'll ever be) and not get clipping/distortion.

The bigger issue, as others have said, will be the acoustics of your room and also how much ambient noise there is. A large condenser mic is always my favourite for voice over work--but only in rooms treated so you don't get "room echo" or ambient noise.

Instead of a large condenser, you might want to consider a large dynamic instead. They pick up a lot less ambient noise and echo--they have slightly less detail at higher frequencies but you've heard this sort of mic on a lot of different radio stations. The sort I'm suggesting would be ones like the EV RE20 or the Shure SM7B. Both would be above your current budget bought new but they do turn up second hand on eBay etc.

Or, considering what's been said about needing an interface, another mic you could look at is the Rode Podcaster--a large dynamic but with USB out. I normally don't recommend USB mics for music recording but for simple voice work the drawbacks don't really come into it.

Or, another or, if acoustically treating your room isn't an option, a large condenser mic with an sE Reflexion filter might fit your bill. Something like THIS would do the job nicely for you...but you'd still need an interface.
 
jimmys69 said:
But then, I must ask where this info is coming from and what mics are they talking about.
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It's something I have heard from friends and people on the internet. My friends have little knowledge on audio and mics etc. as do I, so I didn't think otherwise.
 
Bobbsy said:
Yup. I can put a small diaphragm mic in front of a guitar amp or near a drum, (both louder than you'll ever be) and not get clipping/distortion.

The bigger issue, as others have said, will be the acoustics of your room and also how much ambient noise there is. A large condenser mic is always my favourite for voice over work--but only in rooms treated so you don't get "room echo" or ambient noise.

Instead of a large condenser, you might want to consider a large dynamic instead. They pick up a lot less ambient noise and echo--they have slightly less detail at higher frequencies but you've heard this sort of mic on a lot of different radio stations. The sort I'm suggesting would be ones like the EV RE20 or the Shure SM7B. Both would be above your current budget bought new but they do turn up second hand on eBay etc.

Or, considering what's been said about needing an interface, another mic you could look at is the Rode Podcaster--a large dynamic but with USB out. I normally don't recommend USB mics for music recording but for simple voice work the drawbacks don't really come into it.

Or, another or, if acoustically treating your room isn't an option, a large condenser mic with an sE Reflexion filter might fit your bill. Something like THIS would do the job nicely for you...but you'd still need an interface.
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I know how to reduce ambient sounds so you can barley hear them or not at all. I'm no expert but I use audacity to edit audio and use the noise reduction tool. I just leave a chunk of audio without any vocals and use that as the sample to get the profile. Then I use the profile to reduce the background noise. But I'll look into ambient mics a little more.
 
No! You should NEVER build noise reduction into your standard work flow. It's there as an emergency fix, not part of a proper recording technique!

However, it's not just the noise you have to worry about. It's the "echoey" quality you get in an untreated room when using a sensitive condenser mic. Professional voice booths are treated so they are pretty much "dead" with no reflections; a standard domestic room will never sound good.
 
I haven't looked around too much at dynamic mics but I have heard of the Razer Seiren. I understand some or most people don't like USB mics, but it would be convenient for me since I wouldn't need an interface.
Any opinions on this? With a dynamic mic would I have to worry about loud vocals or sounds ruining the mic or sound clipping?
 
SpiderWhale said:
I haven't looked around too much at dynamic mics but I have heard of the Razer Seiren. I understand some or most people don't like USB mics, but it would be convenient for me since I wouldn't need an interface.
Any opinions on this? With a dynamic mic would I have to worry about loud vocals or sounds ruining the mic or sound clipping?
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No! The LAST thing you need in a dodgy room is a fig 8 or Omni mic pattern! Waste of money.

I have just found the Alesis i02 and the AKG P170 SDC at $99 each at Sweetwater and you will find even cheaper small D capacitors but few with a 20dB pad (although I think you are worrying unnecessarily about clipping with your voice. You DO know the average level should be around -18dB (FS)? This is marked on the Audacity meters. Do not peak above -6dB ever.)

What people forget about USB mics is that no matter HOW good they are at recording they give either no monitoring facilities or at best a headphone output and a mankey little control knob.

The i02 (better the Steinberg UR 22, best the NI KA6!) gives you headphone out AND line out to monitors, vital if you are to progress, all very controllable and avoiding the computers sound system.

Plus of course you can beg, borrow or otherwise obtain, other microphones to try!

Dave.
 
Just curious but isn't that microphone meant to be used to record instruments? (sorry didn't mean to post this twice, didn't realize there was another page.)
 
SpiderWhale said:
Just curious, but isn't the AKG P170 SDC a instrumental microphone?
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You could say the same about the SM57! THE classic cab mic but plenty of people yell at 'em!

But in fact I just used the 170 as an example of a decent mic with a pad at a lowish price, there are no doubt plenty of others that would suit. Anyone know of a good LDC with pad sub $100?

Dave.
 
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