Mic and Preamp

  • Thread starter Thread starter Take Two
  • Start date Start date
Too bad you arent by KC, they are blowing out (blem) 319's for $40 at the Musicians friend clearence center.


Mine had a minor dent in the top of the grill, but sounded marvolous with my Low voice.

The Vtb-1 is an OK pre.
 
DJL said:
Take Two...... your last post just hit me in the heart like a ton of bricks and is bring tears to my eyes... if I knew how to get Harvey back to this BBS mic board I would do it in a frickin second.
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Do you think your behaviour on this thread will encourage Harvey to come back???


Take Two, I'm not sure if anyone has said this yet but you really need to go to your local store and try some mics. Everyones voice is different and we can never be exactly sure of what sound you are looking for. Go out and audition the mics that some have recommended (and any other mics available).
 
Take Two, Harvey also liked the V67's bigger brother, the V77 tube mic. Marshall also sells another tube mic, the V69 that has been getting very good reviews on this Board and in some mags. Both sell for about $300, which IMO is a steal. I would give these a serious look (I mean listen) before buying.

And, yes, there have been an awful lot of well-intentioned people (on all sides) acting like weenies around here lately.
 
Take Two.....Your post on honoring those who through their experience and grace and kindness in sharing their knowledge with us was right on the mark.There are so many younger folks on here who dont seem to have a clue about this and it saddens me.

I've read all of your posts here and have recommended a couple of things and am now getting a very clear take on your requirements.Most on here have not done much voice-over work and dont really understand the difference between this and 'broadcast'work.

That being said, for an inexpensive and quality condenser, I would recommend the ADK AREA 51 tube mic. The site is adkmic.com.Combine this mic with a decent pre and you have your voice match and the detail you desire without paying the neumann price. good luck
 
I don't know if you own a plane or just rent when you fly for fun... but either way I bet it's not cheap... so I would think you can afford just about whatever mic you want really.... yes/no?

Also, if those mic's on the PMI website are used (demo) mic's that their sellling... I think the prices are a little high for second hand mic's.

Anyway............

I believe the Marshall MXL V67G big brother is the Marshall MXL V69. And yea, you may also want to take a listen to some ADK micc's.

But, I just thought of another mic that might be right up your alley..... the SE Electronics 3500.

As for the radio station compressing the heck out of what you heard when you used the EV RE20 in the old days.... you know they still do that today, so after you send them your work you'll still hear your voice over the radio like your use to hearing it, so that doesn't matter.

Good luck with your mic searching.
 
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When I started to work in commercial radio, back in the 70 's, I could choose almost any song I liked. We called it "free form" rock radio.

When the Abrams format came into vogue in the 80's, my choices started to disappear, and when PC's started appearing in the music director's office, all input from the jock came to an end. At the end, I was presenting a radio show decided by a computer, based on surveys and focus groups.

After radio, I went back to my old hot rodding skills, and attained four ASE master certifcations. I had a little money, so I decided to consider flying again, as I had done with my father when I was a kid. Had I been smart, I would have become a pilot at 16, and I'd BE that high time Delta captain now.

Getting the private license costs between three and five thousand, depending on the student mostly.

If you rent a Cessna, expect about a hundred an hour for a late model, including fuel. Add another thirty to forty dollars per hour for an instructor. Over a thousand hours in my logbook were earned by instructing or flying for hire, including several hundred hours in the jet. It isn't cheap. Britney paid about $2,000 per hour for the Lear when her charter manager would call my company.

Economically, it's still a wash at this point. I'm not in debt, but I'm not currently working, and my unemployment covers my cell phone, my voice coach, and the demo I'm putting together.

This is why I'm looking for the inexpennsive studio stuff at this point. When I am ready to hang out my shingle as a stay-at-home booth annoucer, cranking out movie trailers, commercials, up-nexts, and image drop-ins, then I will have a Mac running pro tools and an $800 preamp, a $600 mic, and a bunch of nice signal processing goodies, along with a codec box and ISDN line.

But, that's down the road apiece.

In July, I'll be going to florida for 10 days of intense training in the simulator, then out to Oshkosh for the big avaition get-together called Air Venture, and back in August for the final recording of the new voice demo reel.

After that, I'll see what's happening. If I get a lot of work (unexpectedly) then I'll focus on the voice and acting work, and fly when I like. If not, I'll fly cancelled checks at night, and take auditions once or twice a week in the daytime.

I appreciate the advice on the mics. I think $99 for the 67G is a good investment compared to $250 for an RE-20 right now. The initial purpose for the home studio is to respond to out of town audition requests by reading the copy and sending out an mp3 file for the casting director to present to the client. If I'm picked for the job, I'll go to a local studio that has ISDN and do the session there live.

Thanks.
 
I got my first class commercial license back in the 70's, I also hold an extra class ham license and two of my very close friends own little Cessna's so I have an idea how much it cost to fly and etc.

Anyway, cheackout the SE Electronics 3500 mic.... it's the same one that Howard Sterns (spelling?) uses and he has a pretty deep voice..... so, it may work well for you too.

Take care and I wish you the best.
 
Se electronics, huh?

So many new brands since I was in the loop...

I'll check it out.
 
Yea, the SE 3500... but the Marshall MXLV67G is probably cheaper.
 
Take Two said:
I'm not sure what to make of you guys. Are you always like this when a new guy asks a question?
...snip...
Are you guys just working too hard?
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Maybe not working at all. It seems some folks don't have anything else in their lives but to sit on this board. If they do have a job it must be one where they're making no useful contribution to their workplace, as they spend most of the time making acerbic, antagonistic comments to knowledgeable and helpful members of this board, who get frustrated and go elsewhere. Anyone who makes any mention of a certain brand of equipment is accused of being a shill for the company.

Welcome to the funny farm.

For your application I think the V67 would be a good place to start. To my limited knowledge it has a full sound for male voice, and a notable proximity effect. The black V67M version was $80 recently at samash.com, though I believe they've sold out, and I've heard it can be had brand new on ebay for the same price.

Best of luck.
 
I'm not one, normally, to recommend the v67G.

In a busy mix, it tends to get a little murky.

But for voiceovers, I was really pleased with it. Unfortunately, I don't do a lot of VO work these days, so I really had no use for it.

But the proximity effect on that little guy is pretty bitchin.' For a 100 bucks, I'd call it a really good bargain for a VO condenser. The CAD M177 is also a personal favorite. It has basically the same capsule as the Equitech 350, which has been picking up many fans in the broadcasting and vo community.

I think there's also a mic that Chessparov likes that was made by Peavey. I think it's a PVM 500 or 520 (something like that), that gets a lot of positive press. I've heard it refered to it as a poor man's RE-20, and it gets good marks, overall, for VO work.

As for a good, solid, yet inexpensive mic pre, I would look for a used Symetrix 520 on ebay. They're very durable, versatile, good-sounding, etc. Probably the most popular vocal channel for voiceover and broadcast there is. You've probably used one before, I'm assuming, if you've been doing this for a while.
 
Yeah it's a Peavey PVM 520i.
It won't work for Art, however, as it's brighter than a Sennheiser 421. (more "bottom" than SM57 and "top" than MD421)
Although...

It's less bright than the current 421 MKII model!
The 520i is best suited for when you want to chop through a mix.

If you want to stick to the RE20 idea, the EV PL20 is the same microphone with a different paint job. They run about $75 or so
less used, than a used RE20. Be careful! If the element needs
replacement, it's over $200. A good practical alternative is the
EV RE15 and RE16 (has foam pop screen). Both fine warm vocal
and VO microphones as you may already know as a DJ.

In dynamics, another excellent microphone for basses is the
Beyer M88 (or M88TG). It has a massive proximity effect if you
start closing in on it. Haven't had the pleasure of trying a SM7
yet, but that could be another winner for your voice type.
The M88TG allows me to "cheat" and sound like a REAL bass!:)

I also like the Studio Projects B1 when singing (high bass) as it
has a nice firm "bottom" (think J-Lo:)), and relatively neutral
response. A lot of selection can be based on your engineering
skills (or lack thereof in my case). Many advanced pro engineers
like a condenser with a more hyped top end response like a C1
or V67, then they'll "de-ess" the signal during mixing etc., to fit
it better in the mix. I'd rather just simply lay down anything destined to be serious, and take it to a local pro studio to have it mixed and mastered properly.

The main reason I like the VTB-1 so much is that it's very quiet,
even when you run it at/near full gain for dynamic microphones.
It shines particulary with the Sennheisers and Beyer's which
are rated at 200 Ohms, and does very well with the EV RE16 too.

One advantage of some of the voice channels, like the Symetrix
520 (or 520e), is that could pick one up on the cheap used.
Then you could have Jim Williams at www.audioupgrades.com
beef it up down the road to a higher sonic standard.
IMHO, the VTB-1 pre is superior to the "stock" 520 pre's BTW.
Less critical if you'll be using condensers, like the guys have said.

Chris
 
I have two SP VTB-1 preamp and IMO it's a step up from the Mackie preamp and not bad for a little budget preamp.... but I also think all the little budget preamps under $200 are pretty much the same, give or take a little. One thing nice about the VTB-1 is the impedance switch, and the low noise factor.
 
You should audition an ADK A 51 (type III) if you get a chance. About $150 bucks, but very nice on voice for a cheaper condenser--if you are still stuck on going the condenser route. The thing that I like about this mic is that its clear and warm but pretty immune to sibilance problems. Thats important if you are doing voiceovers. Nothing worse than sibilance to ruin a decent performance. The V67 is nice also, but a little less forgiving of sibilance and brighter sounding.

As mentioned before, the downside of condensers is that they pick up environmental noise much more than dynamic mics. Is your recording environment dead quiet? If not, I would spring for the RE20/PL20. If you send somebody a demo that has background noise, that will really be a strike against you. If you use a compressor, it will rise in level during silence and augment the background noise even more.

Thus, when we get to the subject of preamps, you might want to think channel strip rather than just a preamp. Something with an expander/noise gate and a decent compressor and perhaps some EQ so you can dial in the perfect sound for your voice and mic of choice. My take, which may be different than others is this: the right mic for your voice is 90% of the battle. The preamp doesn't have to be some $2000 job--just able to get you a level without adding noise. Things like EQ, expander and a compressor would probably be very valuable tools to help you get the best results. If you are on a tight budget, look at the Behringer Ultra-Voice Pro, model VX2000. Its around $150 bucks and has all the tools you need for voiceover work.
 
crawdad, just brought up a very good point about background noise...... do you have an isolation booth?
 
No, I don't have an isolation booth.

I like the idea of having an ajustable gated compressor. This can establish a threshold , ie: I'd have to generate a voltage with my voice in order to turn on (or cut in) the compressor so that it doesn't "suck up" the entire room when I pause for dramatic emphasis.

Thankfully, sibilance has never been a problem for me. If I lose a little focus I can soften my closing consonants, though. :)

Thanks for the input.
 
If you are on a tight budget, look at the Behringer Ultra-Voice Pro, model VX2000. Its around $150 bucks and has all the tools you need for voiceover work.
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I just spent some time reading reviews of the VX2000. Some said they had been disappointed with the tube emulation, and another suggested the unit was not structurally tough. A third said it would be better if the compressor would be adjustable.

What is the next "step up" for a channel strip or multi feature preamp?
 
I can't completely answer your question because I haven't used other channel strips, per se. As far as the tube emulation on the VX2000--yeah, its pretty useless, but you don't need it for voiceover work and wouldn't desire it either. Just defeat it and leave it alone! :D

The nose gate/expander works really well. The EQ is subtle but well tuned to tweak a voice--anything more would probably be overkill. The optical compressor give you control over the release and a choice between fast and not so fast attack. It also has a threshold control to determine how much of your input gets compressed. As for reliablity, I can only tell you that I took mine out of the box and rack mounted it. Its been happy and well ever since. Buy from someone you can return it to. Chances are, if a behringer product is bad--its bad right out of the box. If all is well, it will probably stay that way. Its not like you are going to take it across the country in a rack or something. It will sit vibration free in your studio.

The unit also accepts an insert, so if you wanted to patch in a compressor like the RNC later on, you could do that. Save your pennies and get one down the road.

I'm just offering you a budget solution that would fit your budget and your needs for right now. Ideally, you might want components--a preamp, a compressor and a gate. The Joe Meek MQ3 ( I think a new version is on its way--(check with SP Audio)--is nice for the money. It has a decent preamp, a compressor and three band EQ--but no noise gate. So, you'd have to fork out more dough for a gate. Again, I'm just trying to get you in the game with the bells and whistles you need to do good work at home. There are a ton of preamps that are really nice--in the $500 to $1000 range.

Obviously, this isn't the only solution. I'm sure others will have some ideas and those ideas will be more expensive ones. Maybe you SHOULD up your budget, but if you can't at this point, the old VX2000 will cover you until you get into the big voiceover money. Then, you'll probably go to studios and not even have to worry about the gear.

For the record, I have a JoeMeek MQ3, A DMP3, a Tube MP, a Mackie board and The VX2000. Yeah, I'm stuck in the $200 preamp range!:D They all do the job. If I recorded you through all of them, I doubt you could tell much of a difference--if any. Thats about as much as I can offer you. Good luck!
 
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