Using the wrong microphone is the most common error made by voice over artists, including some professionals. It might ruin your work. If you promote yourself on Voice123.com or Voices.com, using the wrong microphone will ensure that you either do not get hired or that the same person will not hire you again.
We'll go over the three most common kinds of microphones, their advantages and disadvantages, costs, and how to choose one or more of them.
After discussing the various types, we will examine specific brands, models, and prices. ingridvoiceover.com
The most important thing I can say to you before we begin is that your microphone is the most crucial component of your entire audio chain. It doesn't really matter how great the equipment downstream from the microphone is if the microphone doesn't work. On the other hand, if you start with inexpensive equipment and a great microphone, you'll end up with better audio.
What do you intend to accomplish? Do you want a mic that is soft and silky, or do you want one that is sharp and direct? Are you a man or a woman? A different microphone is needed for movie trailers, screaming car dealer ads, and realistic “guy or girl next door” voice work than for standard announce voice work. Consider the following kinds of microphones:
Live vocalists (singers) typically employ dynamic dynamic microphones, which can be found in radio stations. They are durable, sound reasonably well, and work well with most voices. This means that one might not sound great with your voice, but it won't sound bad, unlike other types, including some very expensive microphones. Additionally, a dynamic lacks nuance. A coil of wire is connected to the diaphragm, the part that picks up your voice; The sound's air movement causes the coil to move between magnet's poles. Small sounds are blocked because the sound must overcome the coil's mass.
They aren't bad because of this. The Golden EIB microphone worn by Rush Limbaugh is dynamic, and the majority of radio stations employ them as well. They are widely used by voice over professionals due to their versatility. You can use them in almost any style and they work equally well for male and female voices.
A dynamic is the only option if you're on a tight budget because the other two cost a lot more. You don't need one of the other two because there are cheaper alternatives!
Therefore, if dynamics are so useful, why pay more for a ribbon or condenser?
Condenser There are two kinds of condenser microphones: transistor and tube, or “valve” in Europe. A condenser microphone does not have a moving wire coil attached to its diaphragm. It alters the electrical current that is produced by an external power supply (found in the majority of computer interfaces or with an external power supply; inquire with your dealer for more information, or internal batteries). A condenser is much more sensitive to nuance and, as a result, sounds much more intimate because it does not have to overcome the mechanical resistance of a dynamic microphone's coil.
There are two types of condensers: tube and a transistor. Although there are less expensive models that are useful as paperweights but not as microphones, tube condensers are almost always the best option. Tube condensers have a great upfront sound without being aggressive and sound intimate and full. They require a pop screen (check with your dealer) and are frequently affected by difficulties caused by hard speech components like “f,” “s,” and “p.” Tube microphones also produce harmonic distortion, which we don't notice but is what causes “tube warmth” (which has nothing to do with temperature!) and sounds very personal.
There are two additional types of condensers: both a large and a small diaphragm. When you want a big, intimate sound, large diaphragms are best. The accuracy of small diaphragms is said to be better. However, after recording for several minutes with each (more on this later in the article) and determining which one is more exhausting or simply sounds better to you, you'll know which one is right for you. Rules do not apply. For voice over, both types are utilized.
Tube condensers are favored by many voice over artists over transistorized ones, but in all cases, you should get the one that sounds best with your voice. How to pick a microphone? We'll get to that shortly.
Ribbon This is the third type, which belongs to its own class: the microphone with ribbon. A ribbon microphone “hears” with a short, narrow, and very thin piece of corrugated aluminum “foil” suspended between the poles of a strong magnet, whereas dynamics and condensers “hear” with diaphragms.
You've seen the massive microphones in the shape of pickles on Letterman and Larry King's desks. They are 1930s-era RCA Model 77 ribbon microphones, which were used as props in this instance. For half a century, they were all over. In the 1970s, RCA stopped making ribbons. An innovative genius named Wes Dooley bought all of RCA's stock ribbons—the ribbons themselves—and probably brought the ribbon microphone back to the US market on his own. His business is called AEA, and even the design of the AEA logo is similar to that of RCA. Ribbon microphones are now made by a number of companies.
Ribbon mics have a warm and smooth sound that jazz musicians like to record with. They are great for female voices and give certain male voices a nice, satisfying depth. They also have a low output, so you need to turn up your system's input to get a good level from them. However, increasing the input increases the noise floor, which can result in a recording with hissing in the background. However, this issue is well-managed by Wes and other ribbon mic manufacturers, and some companies are producing preamplifiers designed specifically for ribbon mics (check with your dealer about this).
You can't tell for sure if a ribbon microphone—or any microphone, for that matter—will sound good on your voice without actually using one. Ribbons are extremely sensitive to air movement; If you blow into one to see if it's on, the ribbon will almost certainly be destroyed. In order to prevent ribbon damage from the air passing across them as they were moved, ribbons were “bagged”—a fitted bag was placed over them—when they were commonly used in studios.