Sennheiser MKH 416 Twitch Stream Setup help

[Gonza]

Hi Im currently making it my mission to get the highest possible quality out of this microphone while streaming, im a novice to how mics work and decided to get the best mic but have no idea if the Yamaha MG10XU 10-Input Stereo Mixer will be a good fit for it and if im maximizing my quality here im a complete novice and dont want to waste money on a mixer if it doesnt compliment the mic

and this might cause some of you to cringe but just to be sure all i need to make this mic work fine is the stereo mixer right? and xlr male to female cable, this is the first xlr mic i have ever purchased currently being delivered

 

[DaleVO]

Gonza,
I don't see a need for a stereo mixer. But then again, I do not know what all you have planned for your Twitch-cast. I would think that if you are going to use $1000 mic for Twitch, you will want a quiet AD/DA converter.
I do not make enough money VOing to warrant a 416 and have no experience, with the what many VO artists consider the holy grail of mics, I do know a few who use an Audient iD22 or Apollo Twin, in their Sennie 416 chain.
Dale

 

[rob aylestone]

If have two 416s we use for our video work, and a couple of other shotguns. They are the absolute last mics we'd use for voice overs because they're real not designed for it. They work of course, but you could do a voice over with a kick drum mic too. They need VERY accurate aiming because the polar pattern is sharp. They have strange lobes that can give emphasis to problems in the room. They need very good wind shielding if you use them close. P and B breath sounds can be amazingly loud. They need really good physical support as they are very sensitive to handling noise. I tried one once in a angles poise style boom arm without elastic suspension and the spring noises made a great sound effect. Most vital though will be a really dead room, because they're great at picking up reflections from hard walls. It would never happen in our studio that we'd use these for VO duty. Almost every other mic we have sounds better. Cardioid or even omnis sound nicer than the 416 in close. Equally, I'd never take ours out of their Zeppelin windshields and put a cardioid in for duty on a boom.

I know some people do use them indoors in ordinary rooms and like them. Maybe they have somebody in the next room who can listen hard and make sure the speaker's mouth stays exactly in the same place, because if you move an inch, your vocal timbre changes so much.

 

[Gonza]

If have two 416s we use for our video work, and a couple of other shotguns. They are the absolute last mics we'd use for voice overs because they're real not designed for it. They work of course, but you could do a voice over with a kick drum mic too. They need VERY accurate aiming because the polar pattern is sharp. They have strange lobes that can give emphasis to problems in the room. They need very good wind shielding if you use them close. P and B breath sounds can be amazingly loud. They need really good physical support as they are very sensitive to handling noise. I tried one once in a angles poise style boom arm without elastic suspension and the spring noises made a great sound effect. Most vital though will be a really dead room, because they're great at picking up reflections from hard walls. It would never happen in our studio that we'd use these for VO duty. Almost every other mic we have sounds better. Cardioid or even omnis sound nicer than the 416 in close. Equally, I'd never take ours out of their Zeppelin windshields and put a cardioid in for duty on a boom.

I know some people do use them indoors in ordinary rooms and like them. Maybe they have somebody in the next room who can listen hard and make sure the speaker's mouth stays exactly in the same place, because if you move an inch, your vocal timbre changes so much.

To be honest thjis microphone is becoming the holy grail of youtube/twitch videos, MKBHD always uses a sennhe as do alot of top tier youtubers, I personally just want the microphone because I like its natural sound, not to much bass or untrue sound of my voice (i feel like other microphones add this) and most importantly its out of shot i dont want a pop filter and mic taking up 20 to 30% of the screen and compared to the rode ntg2 it doesnt need the gain cranked all the way to 8 when not that far away to pick me up okay ish i can keep it at around 5

 

[Gonza]

Gonza,
I don't see a need for a stereo mixer. But then again, I do not know what all you have planned for your Twitch-cast. I would think that if you are going to use $1000 mic for Twitch, you will want a quiet AD/DA converter.
I do not make enough money VOing to warrant a 416 and have no experience, with the what many VO artists consider the holy grail of mics, I do know a few who use an Audient iD22 or Apollo Twin, in their Sennie 416 chain.
Dale

would the quality be noticeably better or worse if i useda mixer MG10XU vs AD/DA Converter?
I wanted the mixer because it adds the option to add effects to the microphone which could lead to some entertaining moments in some games, also I like the ability to control the mic in real time while streaming

 

[DaleVO]

Gonza,
As Rob said, I have heard, from many VO artists, about how finicky the 416 is to address and stay consistent, for recording. I do not foresee ever owning one, since all of my stuff is long-form recording. I get along just fine with my RE20 and 7B for what I do.

I will have to defer to others about the Yammie quality. I have a Mackie 1202-VLZ Pro that works for me.
Dale

 

[rob aylestone]

Dale - I have an EV here and for voice overs, it's simply streets ahead of the AKG.

o be honest thjis microphone is becoming the holy grail of youtube/twitch videos, MKBHD always uses a sennhe as do alot of top tier youtubers, I personally just want the microphone because I like its natural sound, not to much bass or untrue sound of my voice (i feel like other microphones add this) and most importantly its out of shot i dont want a pop filter and mic taking up 20 to 30% of the screen and compared to the rode ntg2 it doesnt need the gain cranked all the way to 8 when not that far away to pick me up okay ish i can keep it at around 5

It is the Holy Grail of people who have no idea what a good mic sounds like. You cannot draw conclusions without comparison. If you buy one, and like the sound - that's fine, but it does not make it remotely the best in quality, or the best in value. It is a shotgun mic. It is designed to work at a distance, and be very narrow in acceptance angle. All the things voice overs don't want. If you want good quality without being seen, then an omni miniature clipped on is better. Shotguns are problem solvers, and many people have tried to use them for all sorts of things they are not meant for, by design - and until they realise they wasted their money, they're happy. So many people on youtube have totally awful audio, that a 416 might sound good by comparison - but off-axis they are thin and weedy.

You're happy, so that's fine and dandy. PS - the bass thing is a feature of cardioid mics used close. Only a very few have designs that reduce this. If you need to pickup sound from a further distance, then you have little choice but pick up room sound. Perhaps you even like it. Youtube is not broadcast, and bad habits from people unskilled in audio are very common. If you watch broadcast TV, it's very rare to see 416 length mics being used in vision. The reason is easy - they're simply not very good at it, because a lav mic is nicer sounding. Even your President uses a iog standard cardioid mic, even though it's ugly. If a 416 worked better, I guess they'd give him one, but they don't.

Lovely microphone, just horrible for indoor use.

As for the quality of the mixer and or interface? I think that the Yamaha will probably do the job for you fine - and any small differences between it and a separate interface will be too small, especially with the mic compromise you have.

If you are happy with it, that's all that matters. Your voice and your channel.

 

[cyrano]

To be honest thjis microphone is becoming the holy grail of youtube/twitch videos, MKBHD always uses a sennhe as do alot of top tier youtubers, I personally just want the microphone because I like its natural sound, not to much bass or untrue sound of my voice (i feel like other microphones add this) and most importantly its out of shot i dont want a pop filter and mic taking up 20 to 30% of the screen and compared to the rode ntg2 it doesnt need the gain cranked all the way to 8 when not that far away to pick me up okay ish i can keep it at around 5

The MKH416 (and it's predecessor 816) are "the sound of the movies". True. But what they don't tell is that it is true for outdoor recordings. It was hardly ever used indoors, and these studio's were much bigger than your room. Also, the reason it was used a lot, is that the MKH's have a very important advantage to other condensers: there are moisture resistant. A typical condenser attracts moisture, because of the DC electrical charge on it's diaphragm. When condensers get wet, they break. Usually after hours of wasted crackling recordings. MKH's are AC fed and don't attract moisture. That they became the sound of the movies is merely by accident.

When it comes to commentary on Twitch, or Youtube, as others have already pointed out, the MKH416 is simply the wrong mic.

Did you consider a lavalier? Especially if you don't want to sound like a dark-brown US radio DJ voice. The reason these sound so bassy, is that they use a simple cardio and they eat it. Proximity effect will amplify low frequencies, which they often fortify with some EQ. The SM7b is another example of a podcaster's hyped mic. It's a dynamic cardio, looking like a condenser. But broadcast wanted that kind of setup, because they couldn't teach their voices to use a regular cardio. Their voices wanted an upside-down mic that looked like the famous tube mics their heroes were pictured with. And since broadcast buys hundreds of mics at a time, Shure obliged and the SM7 was born.

For voice-overs, most mics will do, but you need to find the one that fits YOUR voice. That "fitting" requires experience with recording. So simply go along, record as much as you can with different mics. And these don't need to be famous, hyped, or expensive. The Sony F-96, for example, was a cheap mic included with Sony tape recorders. It's still used in studio's today. And it costs more on ebay today than when new.