The ULTIMATE Voice-Over Mic Shootout
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.ค. 2024
- Testing 9 voiceover microphones to find the best microphone for voice acting. 🎵 EpidemicSound 30 Day Trial: www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
🛒 RodeNTG3: geni.us/tiELO
🛒 Neumann TLM103: geni.us/kZ1Oi
🛒 Peluso 2247LE (U47): geni.us/PYKxB82
🛒 AKG C414XLii: geni.us/G3tvABg
🛒 Aston Spirit: geni.us/NbLU
🛒 AudioTechnica AT4040: geni.us/fBaN7p
🛒 Synco Mic D2: geni.us/itsf
🛒 AKG P420: geni.us/lElWXKy
🛒 Peluso P12 (C12): geni.us/PYKxB82
🎥 Gear I Use to Make Videos: kit.co/randyrektor/my-gear
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Table of Contents:
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0:00 - The plan
1:00 - Microphone lineup
2:00 - Recording samples
3:03 - First Listen
5:55 - Challenge
6:28 - Narrowing down
14:12 - Top 3
14:17 - The reveal!
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Twitter: / randyrektor
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My wife, Bailey Pelkman and I - www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsKt0...
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#microphone #micshootout #voiceover
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Which was your fav?!? (and why?) 👂
I would choose the NTG3, it performed well and it's other uses and applications make it SO useful :)
I've had mine for 12 years now and couldn't be more happy with it!
My top 3...NTG3, P420, C414 (P12 a close 4th?!). Whoa, that Aston & AT4040 were kinda bad 🤨.
Yes, I'm right there with you for those pics! Also I KNOW!? I was really surprised, especially from how much hype I hear Aston getting. I think the AT was kind of what I expected, but I'd be interested to try some more of their upper-mid tier stuff! Quality feels insane on the 4040, it's a brick. @@JeyBott
The 414 has become my favorite mic of all time over the past couple months, which is when I got myself one. And I'm glad to say, in this video I thought it sounded the best. It was clear and full. What's interesting is that the XLII is the bright variant of the 414 yet it didn't sound overly bright at all compared to the other bright mics in this video. AKG has really done an excellent job at capturing the tone of the holy-grail brass capsule 414 EB from the 70s with the XLII. The XLS version is great too. But I am still tempted to get a vintage EB. BTW, you should look into the Telefunken TF51. It's a bit of an ELAM 251 clone, which is basically a 414 on steroids. Super rich sounding.
This was so fun! Thanks for including me! 🎙
Fantastic! Very entertaining. 👏👏👏
Well that was a complete practical comparison. Really liked it🎉.
Thanks so much! Sometimes feels like splitting hairs, but I’m glad the video was worthwhile :) 🙏🏻🙏🏻
This is very helpful and cool. Thank you for doing this.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for this video. I use a warm audio 47jr because it fits my voice perfectly. Later when I'm hitting it big in VO, I'll upgrade.
Ooooo I’ve heard great things about warm audio, but I’m yet to get my paws on one to try!
This is one of those videos that makes me realize there are whole worlds of complexity that just pass right by me. Even straining, I couldn't make out differences in those recordings, let alone specify quantitative differences in them. It's a great example of why it's important to have people who know what they're doing handling audio tech professionally.
What an incredibly humble and self-aware response! It’s interesting to hear this perspective, and to be fair, I’ve been in audio since ~2005 and I was having trouble hearing the differences. I think because they are in a treated room, the differences are much more minor. It’s this mindset why I refuse to try to fix my car lol! So much nuance in a career of experience that I can’t even begin to understand.
Nice shootout. I'd like to point out that the least expensive mike made it to the top 6 and is a decent intro mike for someone just getting into VO. Of course the best mike is going to vary for each person depending on the qualities of their voice.
Synco really did deliver a decent mike at a great price.
Good point! This is a great reminder for people getting started!
Subscribed !
Thank you for this amazing masterpiece.
Thanks so much for watching and the sub!
Such a great video. My favs in order were #4, #2, and #1
Thanks for watching :)
More Bailey! An interesting experiment for sure. Now do a twist, try her favorite mic, but different headphones to see if she can 'hear' the difference in how she monitors it maybe?
Ooooo great idea! I should also try playing them on computer speakers.. I bet half the people that hire her are listening on computer speakers, I hate to say… lol
@@randyrektor yep…the possibilities, computer speakers, monitors, head phones, blue tooth…lol
Since Bailey liked the AKG Mic's; it'd be worth her trying out Austrian Audio OC18 and OC818. Same heritage and condenser design, but sound closer to what's actually coming out of the mouth. Fun episode by the way. Uh, sure, yes....more Bailey!! :-)
Oooo interesting! Thanks for the insight. I actually hear the Austrian Audio recommendations a lot! I'd love to get my hands on one to test out.
Well if you're ever around Charlotte, NC, give me a ping. You can borrow mine :-)@@randyrektor
This video was super helpful, I'd love to see a video like this with more condenser mics under
Noted! Thanks so much for the feedback :)
I feel accomplished knowing that a professional who has been in the biz for a long time picked out the same mics as I liked when listening. My favorite is the AKG C414 XLII, and I think I'm going to get it!
Wooooo that’s awesome!! I’m glad this video was of some use. I know it can feel like splitting hairs sometimes, but the subtle differences matter imo :)
Great comparison and yes, Bailey was an awesome addition, I'm a VO actor as well!! Cheers Randy!
Awesome, thanks for the kind words! Great to hear from a VO talent :)
Great video!
After listening to all 9 initially, and not really paying much attention to the microphones, there are definitely differences. But No CLEAR winner to me. (Listening on headphones). Like Bailey said you could edit them all to sound really good.
It just shows that a talented VO artist with a great voice (yeah Bailey!) is always going to sound great on a microphone of reasonable quality in a proper environment (yeah Studio Brick!) with proper gain structure etc.
so it’s a great test for a Professional artists, but also shows that the microphone isn’t really going to make or break your home or studio VO setup.
Further!
A alternate test would have been in a less than ideal environment, lets say a beginner person with some blankets put up and their laptop humming away close by, maybe some sounds in the distance they can’t get rid of.
I wonder in a less than ideal environment would any of the ones that worked then fall apart vs the top ones? (Maybe the shotgun could get oinky with it’s polar pattern and the room reflections, or a large diaphragm not giving any rejection and hearing too much BG?)
I am happy that the shotgun performed well. I ONLY have a Sennheiser 416 that I still use for everything, and it still does great VO when I need it, and matches well for ADR when needed. It also has a long history of a great foley mic. So if someone was going to get ONE mic for lots of things (location dialogue, SFX field recording, studio work) a high quality shotgun is a good choice.
Also, some of the ‘too bright’ aspects of some of the mics might help out someone like me who is kind of mumbly in their speech.
Also, hilarious choice of line reading. Must…. subscribe……
Also also AKG hook them up!
What an incredibly well thought out response! I'm completely with you that each of these mics performed really well. My initial thoughts with making this video was that it would be an awesome demonstration of the differences, but after I got the files from Bailey, I panicked a little because they are all SO close.
I think you're right that in different environments, the differences would really start to show. That would be a really interesting experiment.
We tried to get a 416 to add to the mix! My guess is that the 416 and/or MKH50 would also be in her top choices, but I love that you've picked the mic based on the versatility! Smart play.
Thanks so much for the kind words :)
This was such a great comment! Very true about the environment you're recording in. It's a good lesson for beginners to make sure that you're focusing on getting the recording environment right first, and the mic is secondary to that! Would definitely be an interesting test to see how these mics perform outside of a sound booth.
I really liked the AKG C414. I wasn’t a big fan of the Peluso mics but if we didn’t hear them all side by side I probably wouldn’t hear that much of a difference. Cool shootout! Editing to add what I liked about the AKG. It sounded well balanced and warm. Some of the other mics sounded a bit brittle / tinny.
Great assessment. I'm totally with you on the other mics sounding a bit brittle!
+1 on the AKG 414. Beautiful mic with good high end, that doesn't get messy. There is a beautiful CLARITY in the top end with that mic. So key.
More Bailey Please!!!!! (hi Bailey 😃!) Thank you guys - you both totally rock! I'm looking to replace my RODE NT1 with an AKG - this was soooo helpful ! Loved the analysis - I couldn't (but actually could) believe it when Bailey immediately recognized her own mic! 😛 Peace my friends! 🤗✨
Thanks so much for the kind words! I’ll be sure to have her in some more vids :) I was so surprised with the C414. I used them before on strings in a studio format and ended up swapping them for others. But I’ve never used them on voice and was super impressed! Hope this helped with your search!
@@randyrektor Well, it certainly confirms my vocal recording AKG desires! haha Still trying to find a good recommendation for recording the whole range of a baby grand piano ensnaring all the rich acoustic tones without muffling the bass notes or pinging the top end too much. My piano is pretty bright on the top end as it is.
Didn’t she talk for Google maps?!? You’re both too humble!
She’s crazy!
you should’ve used a hard limiter to compensate for the difference in peaks and then did a normalization. Otherwise it’s very difficult to make a comparison because there’s just too much volume variation between them.
Hard limiting then normalizing would leave large fluctuations in rms and average loudness. I matched them on short term LUFS which is a cleaner method that has less degradation on the audio.
Nice video, thanks
Of course! Thanks for watching
More Bailey please! 🔥She's a great addition with pro ears! The AKG C414, which I usually don't care for, sounds really nice on her voice. Great choice!
I was in the same boat! I only ever used it a few times and always found them to be a little shrill? Pleasantly surprised. Thanks for the kind words :)
Great video. Love the C414 (though I recently replaced mine with an Austrian Audio OC18 that sounds just about perfect to me). This video definitely proves that buying an expensive microphone is not the key to success. Absolutely wild the career she's been able to build with the humble AKG P420 for all these years!
Oh interesting! I've yet to get my hands on any Lewitt or Austian Audio mics, both I've heard such great things about. Some other commenters mentioned that a further experiment in an untreated environment might make for some obvious winners. Either way, the P420 has served her well!
@@randyrektor The Lewitt mics are an incredible value - I had the 240 and 420 and they are both really great but I think based on this video you'd find them too bright. They kind of bake in the "Lewitt sound." The OC18 (and 818) is a bit more of a faithful representation of a vintage 414 with the brass ring capsules.
@JohnScottB fascinating insight! I’m going to have to try to get my hands on one!
Great shoot out! I was impressed with Bailey’s longtime mic.
I was also impressed with the 414’s heft… 🤔 I have one of those… might have to revisit it! 👍
It really stood up to the heavy hitters well, didn't it? You know what's funny, I had one 'bad' experience with a 414 on strings where it was just SUPER bright and I didn't like it. I basically wrote the mic off in my brain, which in retrospect was really dumb because it sounds awesome! Funny how a little unfavourable experience can really shape bias!
@@randyrektor I had exactly the same experience, except with vocals…
It might have been the Avalon 737 combination being too bright… not sure…
But I also have the Townsend L22 modeling mic, and I always found myself gravitating to to the 414 preset. Especially for guitars… just more presence in the middle mids, and less sizzle in the highs. My current (personal vocal combination preference…) is the Slate modeling mic, (just using the mic with no preset) with a Neve 1073. Just my weird preference. 😂
Oooooh you're a man of class, I see! That sounds like a lovely chain@@tabodee
@@randyrektor The Slate just works for me on most tunes…
I can understand how Bailey would quickly recognize her familiar mic of 10 years…
I loved and used the inexpensive Samson C1 with great results for longest time…
It worked nicely with the 737. And it had great noise rejection… They can be a little inconsistent from mic to mic, but at $79, I can’t complain! I use to refer to it as a poor man’s Neumann! 😂
@tabodee I made my entire first album with a pair of those! They came in a drum mic kit, and I used them until they fell apart lol!
Very entertaining and informative. I think you know what Bailey wants for Christmas, Randy...
I was thinking more like socks and scented candles? Basically the same right? 😅
LOL, um, yes? (You know she can see this, right? 🤭)
*removes comment* 😂
hmmmm $1300 worth of microphone... or $1300 worth of scented candles... it's a hard choice!! 😅
Nice and useful video, Bailey is charming, thank you!
Thanks for the kind words!
They all sound AMAZING! Sorry, I can’t choose!
Bailey makes them sound pretty darn good
you sound amazing 😉
It would be really interesting to hear the EarthWorks Ethos and ICON Pro for comparison, especially on a female voice. Cheers for the fun video! p.s. More Bailey
Yessss! Totally agree. I’d love to get my hands on some earthworks mics. They’ve been doing some really cool things recently and I’m here for it! Thanks for the kind words
Enjoyed
Thank you!
Great shootout, thanks for sharing it. My favourite was the C414. I found it more full bodied than the rest. Can I ask what polar pattern you had selected?
Thank you! Yes of course, they were all cardioid -with the exception of the shotguns which are super card and hyper card.
@@randyrektor Cheers, thanks for clarifying Randy.
Haven't finished the video but the akg c14 sounds amazing
The foreshadowing is outstanding :)
very clever to have us listen to a promo for your channel 50 times lol
lol I’m so sorry 😅
I like how the Synco mic sounds. It´s smooth and pleasent to listen.
It’s great for the price too!
Only the 414, 4040 and maybe the Peluso seemed to have much balance. The others veered between horribly scooped and ouch ssssibilant, which maybe has a zingy wow factor on its own but in terms of usability for processing into a mix is a nightmare. Compare most of these to the pro standard-setting U87 and they sound way hyped.
Also, some fairly pumpy compression going on and....AC noise in the recordings?
If you want to level match between files use LUFS not peak levels ;)
I totally agree with your assessment on these. I was surprised how much I didn't enjoy the Aston mic. The compression was caused by TH-cam. All of the tracks had no processing on them. Also any noise was coming from our computer and microphone when we were playing back. I muted that during the listening examples though. I normalized to -23 LUFS according to broadcast standards, but they still sounded a little different from time to time and had to do some manual matching.
@@randyrektor interesting, thanks for the response. I love tube mics but for VO the self-noise can be an issue, esp when you start adding compression....hello spectral denoise!
Yeah I totally get that. I just find the change of tone throughout the warming up period to be annoying. Also having to replace tubes is a hassle.
Yeah, you really have to have excellent hearing to pick them out. I'm 100% with her analysis - they are all good enough that any issues could be resolved with a bit of EQ work. So, why spend lots of money if you don't have to?
Yeah that’s a really solid point. It’s actually an interesting example for people (mostly me) to stop spending money on gear haha it’s splitting hairs at this price-point.
@@randyrektor As someone with a dozen mics, I can relate to that. LOL
Fantastic! More more more! Another blind test with...U87, MKH416, NT1A and other "vo standards"?!? More AGK...they sound good too! Lastly, who's thumping upstairs during the TLM103 take?!? #voproblems
Yeah I was hoping to get my hands on some more options, but I was limited to what the guy at Long&McQuade was willing to rent out lol! Interesting, I don't hear what you're hearing! Maybe something on the live mic we were talking into while we were listening back? There were some mouse clicks in some of the samples because we were trying to line up the performances spot on and never cleaned up the punchins :p
@@randyrektor "...whisper cool (thump) tech and audio..." - my ears are TUNED to thumps. It's one of the only noises that gets into my booth. Children jumping/playing directly above in the dining room. 🤦♂
OHHHH yes I hear it! I think that was actually just a bit of air on the mic. She was living wild n free with no pop filter. I was sitting right outside and didn't hear anything, so I'm sure it was just bad placement/no filter :p
@@randyrektor ah wind, could be. it sounds identical to my son running above me ;) I'm pop filter free. Mic placement over pop filter....hot take?!? haha.
@JeyBott yeah, Bailey usually does without a pop filter and just places the mic above to avoid. I think you and her have the luxury of getting off the mic because you’ve put so much into your space! Must make reading copy nice too eh?
What audio interface is that? This is such a cool video!
We were recording with a Sound Devices MixPre 6. The interface in my wife’s booth is a Universal Audio Apollo Solo
@@randyrektor Oh, sorry no, I meant which software were you using to play back each vocal take? Sorry for the confusion!
@MK_2023. Oh no worries! That’s ProTools :) hope this helps!
@@randyrektor Thank you so much! I'm used to using Adobe Audition, but Pro Tools looks interesting to me! Thank you again :)
Revisiting this cuz I’m condenser window shopping
I’d suggest checking out a window store for better options
Why is there a light click between sentences in the audio of all of them?
Not sure what you’re hearing. Could be switching one mic to the next
Are you still busy in VO?
She's very busy! Working full time but taking some time off soon for our second baby.
proprietary cables
Bailey probably said “I hate the proprietary cables” 14 times in 2 days lol
PRO - PRI - ET - ARY ✨🤪
Good grief I hate Aston and Peluso mics. Won't ever even consider breathing on one of those. AT and Rode will always punch above their price point, love equipment like that.
I use both the Synco and the Spirit. All I got to say is oof.
Oh no haha sorry! They are all great mics with amazing results :)
I think she will really like the Audio Technica 5047
I’ve never used one but I’d love to try. I will say, their build quality is exceptional in my experience
@@randyrektor It's sounds accurate. Not as nice as Neumann or Telefunken for music but for specifically her voice. It sounds accurate because it's a 4x small diaphragm capsule. Small diaphragm mics are more accurate while large diaphragm has lower self noise. So by using a 4x small diaphragm and having four of it, it's accurate and has low self noise. It's not my favorite mic for my voice but for her voice. It's going to be perfect.
Oh fascinating, I've never heard of that. I'm going to check it out for sure!
make the cut get cut
Audio class > English class
@@randyrektor lol I just love that you leave it all in