Mics for Radio Show

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tonsofquestions

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Hi!

I'm working on starting a radio show (podcasting it too) with 2-3 other people. I've decided on the Alesis MultiMix 8 Firewire mixer to get the sound into my computer.

My next question is which mics should I buy? They need to be under or not too high above 100$ each. Which have the best sound for speech?

Thanks!
 
heil pr 20 150$
sure sm 57 (or 8) 90$
thems about the good choices.
 
I was thinking more along the lines of a condenser? I dont see many radio shows using dynamics.
 
tonsofquestions said:
I was thinking more along the lines of a condenser? I dont see many radio shows using dynamics.
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Actually, probably two of the most popular "radio" microphones are the Shure SM7b and the Electro-Voice RE20, both of which are dynamic microphones. But they are not in your sub $100 price range. They're also both excellent microphones for other studio recording applications.
 
I can only think of one radio show

I've ever seen that used a condensor.

It's almost always, always, always, an RE-20 or SM-7.

I don't know anything about the Heil, but I would guess an SM-57 also, unless you're looking at used, which changes the playing field somewhat, but probably not much.

That $100 limit is really going to, well, limit your choices.

I've heard of guys having success with the MXL V67 as a voice-over mic, but that's an application that's more different from yours than you would think.

What kind of radio show, as in one host, one guest, a group discussing sports, a morning comedy team thing? How many people are going to be on the air in the same room at the same time? Is it going to be the same people every time, or will you have a rotating group of guests? What I'm getting at there is can you pick a specific mic for the person, or will the same mic have to suit a bunch of different people?

Here's what you have to take into consideration:

Voices
Meaning, what works best for a big loud guy might not work best for a quiet, sultry girl. Those are extremes, but you get the idea.

Location
If it's just one person, or one person interviewing a guest, then you can take more control over the environment to exclude extraneous noise, in which case you might be able to get away with using a condensor. If it's a bunch of guys cutting up, you're going to want dynamics, or all you'll hear is a bunch of background noise.

Just my opinion.
 
notCardio said:
I've ever seen that used a condensor.

It's almost always, always, always, an RE-20 or SM-7.

I don't know anything about the Heil, but I would guess an SM-57 also, unless you're looking at used, which changes the playing field somewhat, but probably not much.

That $100 limit is really going to, well, limit your choices.

I've heard of guys having success with the MXL V67 as a voice-over mic, but that's an application that's more different from yours than you would think.

What kind of radio show, as in one host, one guest, a group discussing sports, a morning comedy team thing? How many people are going to be on the air in the same room at the same time? Is it going to be the same people every time, or will you have a rotating group of guests? What I'm getting at there is can you pick a specific mic for the person, or will the same mic have to suit a bunch of different people?

Here's what you have to take into consideration:

Voices
Meaning, what works best for a big loud guy might not work best for a quiet, sultry girl. Those are extremes, but you get the idea.

Location
If it's just one person, or one person interviewing a guest, then you can take more control over the environment to exclude extraneous noise, in which case you might be able to get away with using a condensor. If it's a bunch of guys cutting up, you're going to want dynamics, or all you'll hear is a bunch of background noise.

Just my opinion.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the great input...

It's going to be more of a comedy talk show. Some yelling and loud laughing sometimes. There will usually be one guy and two or three girls.

Guy - Normal pitch voice, loud speaking. (Always there)
Girl 1 - Lower voice for girl, usually quietly spoken. (Always there)
Girl 2 - Average voice, loud at times. (Rotated)
Girl 3 - Average voice, loud at times. (Rotated)

Guy and Girl 1 are the only two microphones I'm really concerned with. The other two microphones are more of guests who will be rotated.

The location is a pretty echo-y bedroom situation. The guy (myself) will be at a computer talking and controlling the equipment. The other hosts will be scattered across the room on couches, or where ever they're comfortable.

We're willing to spend a little more money if it means much better sound.

Thanks!

PS - And I guess I'm wrong for assuming about condensers... Sorry for that!
 
For what it's worth, the post studio I was at for a while used a Sennheiser (if I remember correctly) shotgun mic for voiceovers, but this is definetly out of your specified price range.
 
tonsofquestions said:
Thanks for the great input...

It's going to be more of a comedy talk show. Some yelling and loud laughing sometimes. There will usually be one guy and two or three girls.

Guy - Normal pitch voice, loud speaking. (Always there)
Girl 1 - Lower voice for girl, usually quietly spoken. (Always there)
Girl 2 - Average voice, loud at times. (Rotated)
Girl 3 - Average voice, loud at times. (Rotated)

Guy and Girl 1 are the only two microphones I'm really concerned with. The other two microphones are more of guests who will be rotated.

The location is a pretty echo-y bedroom situation. The guy (myself) will be at a computer talking and controlling the equipment. The other hosts will be scattered across the room on couches, or where ever they're comfortable.

We're willing to spend a little more money if it means much better sound.

Thanks!

PS - And I guess I'm wrong for assuming about condensers... Sorry for that!
Click to expand...

Have you considered getting lav mics for everyone? (wireless or wired)
 
tonsofquestions said:
Would they have the same sound quality?
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There are plenty of high quality lav microphones on the market, including many from Shure (the company I work for). They're used all the time for TV interviews, theater, and concerts, anytime you want to be mobile, and/or don't want a mic to be easily seen. You can get wired versions if movement will be limited, and you can easily hide the cable, but don't want to also get a wireless transmitter/reciever system.
 
RAK said:
There are plenty of high quality lav microphones on the market, including many from Shure (the company I work for). They're used all the time for TV interviews, theater, and concerts, anytime you want to be mobile, and/or don't want a mic to be easily seen. You can get wired versions if movement will be limited, and you can easily hide the cable, but don't want to also get a wireless transmitter/reciever system.
Click to expand...

Hmm. Never heard of this.

Will it still sound as good as any other microphone that I would use? Is the price much different?
 
tonsofquestions said:
Hmm. Never heard of this.

Will it still sound as good as any other microphone that I would use? Is the price much different?
Click to expand...

Absolutely. This is just a clip on lavalier microphone, anytime you see someone get interviewd on a talk show, and you see a mic clipped on to their shirt, this is what I'm talking about. As I stated in my previous post, they are used far and wide in a variety of professional applications.

Here are a few examples of what Shure offers, but there are definetly plenty of options out there.

Wired Lav Mic
http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Products/WiredMicrophones/us_pro_MX183_content

Wireless Headworn/Lav Mics (and other wireless mics)
http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Products/WirelessMicrophones/index.htm

If you go wireless, you'd also need a reciever/transimitter system, but they are available as full systems with the microphones.

I would say your simplest options are to stay with wired mics, either clip-on lavs or full-size dynamic microphones similar to what has already been suggested. Something like the SM58 or similar mic will do just fine for your purposes.
 
I had some pretty good luck doing some on camera interviews and some voice overs using this mic, which is a lavalier type, like mentioned above:

http://cgi.ebay.com/AUDIO-TECHNICA-...ryZ41469QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD9VQQcmdZViewItem

They are selling it here for $21.

If you could do the job with Lavalier mics, it will save you money on mic stands, plus I can't see how after something has been compressed to stream as a podcast you could hear the difference between any two mics. You should at least try one, you might be pleasantly suprised.
 
tonsofquestions said:
The location is a pretty echo-y bedroom situation. The guy (myself) will be at a computer talking and controlling the equipment. The other hosts will be scattered across the room on couches, or where ever they're comfortable.
Click to expand...


Oh Jesus Christ. Why don't you just say it's for a Podcast?

Are you trying to impress people by calling it a freakin' radio show?

For crying out loud. It's a feckin' Podcast. Who the hell is going to even care what kind of mics you use? Your audience will be streaming / downloading this crap to their laptops or IPODs. I'd just get a bunch of those cheap Marshall mics they're blowing out at Guitar Center and call it a day. They're actually not half bad, in fact.

.
 
chessrock said:
Oh Jesus Christ. Why don't you just say it's for a Podcast?

Are you trying to impress people by calling it a freakin' radio show?

For crying out loud. It's a feckin' Podcast. Who the hell is going to even care what kind of mics you use? Your audience will be streaming / downloading this crap to their laptops or IPODs. I'd just get a bunch of those cheap Marshall mics they're blowing out at Guitar Center and call it a day. They're actually not half bad, in fact.

.
Click to expand...

You must not understand what a podcast is. The sound quality of a podcast is acctually higher than that of any radio. So, in theory, you'll need better equipment. Its also going to be streamed live, which makes it internet radio.

Why are you so fucking angry?
 
what!?

knock knock knock... anyone home? Anyone with EARS home?! Heard a podcast lately?!!?!?!?!? God Bless
 
Michael Fowler said:
knock knock knock... anyone home? Anyone with EARS home?! Heard a podcast lately?!!?!?!?!? God Bless
Click to expand...

Is this to me saying they need to sound good? Most podcasts sound good... the good ones sound good. If you think the sound quality is shit then you probably havent heard the best.
 
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