Q It Up: What mic do you use for your commercial and/or imaging production? What are your likes and dislikes about the mic? If you had your choice of ANY mic, what would you choose and why? Feel free to add any other related comments.
Rob Frazier [robnokshus[at]yahoo .com]: There are three different mics in my studio and I use all 3 for various things. At the operator position, the mic that I use all the time for my voice is a Neumann TLM 103. Nice, warm and versatile, it’s about 2-years old — a great mic for about a third of the cost of a U87, which is what resides at the guest-2 position. This is the mic that I record everyone else on. Great mic. At the guest-3 position is a good ol’ RE-20. Since the RE-20 is the mic we use on air, every studio here is equipped with at least one, though I rarely use it.
All 3 mics run through Eureka mic processors. I spent a good 2-weeks once we moved into our new studios tweaking the settings on the TLM-103 until I was satisfied with the sound. The other 2 mics use the settings set by our Chief Engineer, Lynn Duke.
John Pallarino [JPallarino[at]entercom .com], Entercom, Greenville, South Carolina: We currently have five production rooms using the traditional Electro Voice RE20 with a Symetrix 528E processor. Our main production room where most of the commercials are produced and voiced has a RODE NT1000 condenser mic which has temporally replaced the Marshall MXL2003. There are also four EV RE20’s in the room as well for interviews and shows.
The Electro voice mics are great for broadcast but too flat for commercial production. They have no presence and don’t carry the low end very well. The RODE is great for VO and really captures the high and low end well. But for the money, I would have to say that the Marshall MXL 2003 is my favorite. It’s been said to be a Neuman knockoff at fraction of the cost (about $150!) Try it, you’ll see!
My choice of mic would of course be a Neuman U87, combined with a Sennheiser MKH416. Both mics have a unique sound to them that can really capture some great VO. One of our voice guys (Brian Lee) uses the Sennheiser for all of his work and it really has a nice mid range crisp sound to it that works great with his voice but may not work well others. Mics can be tricky, so I think that’s why most engineers stick with the beloved EV RE20 when setting up a studio.
CJ Goodearl [cj[at]realrock1011.com, www.cjgoodearl.com], Clear Channel, Orlando, Florida: For comedy bits, I use the mainstays: station-owned EV RE-20 or RE-27. Like the proximity effect, low distortion, decent midrange. Don’t like the lack of sensitivity — not great on some female voiceovers, tends to turn some jocks into “pukers,” that is, they may feel they have to project more. For promos/commercial work, I own an AKG 414, and LOVE IT. Like the price, (bought it for a song from Jeff Laurence, thanks Jeff!) — also, built very solid. Dropped it last week and almost had a stroke until I realized there was no apparent damage. No dislikes really. (Well, OK, the gold grill may be a little too much “bling!”) Recently bought a Rode NT-1. What a bargain! Sounds almost as good as the AKG — not quite as much top end, but great overall. Only criticism is no polar pattern switches or pad, but I still love it. Looks like a Neumann U87 if I turn the dimmer switch down low enough. Let’s see... if I could use any mic, I’d probably go for whatever Chris Corley uses! Fantasy mic would be a Neumann U87, vintage Telefunken, or maybe one of the Manley models. That reminds me, I have to play the Lotto this week.
John Mangan [John.Mangan[at]cptc .edu], KVTI Radio, Tacoma, Washington: I’m afraid we’re not very exciting when it come to microphones. All the studio mics are EV RE-20’s (time-tested, tough and clean). When we need something more directional, we have some RE-16’s. And 635A’s for out on the street. We also have a small but pristine collection of old (working) RCA ribbon mics that are too fragile for everyday use (77DX, 74B, BK-11A).
Jason Skaggs [zackl[at]zrgmail.com], Zimmer Creative Services, Joplin, Missouri: We built new production rooms here in Joplin about 2 years ago — the walls are angled, new B&W speakers, it’s awesome. When it comes to mikes, I choose Studio Projects C1. Let me tell ya, I’ve worked with a lot of mikes (and even a couple of guys named Mike). The C1 is the best prod mike so far. It looks good, it sounds even better. And the shocking part is, (whisper) “it’s dirt cheap.” You can get the Studio Projects C1 for around $200 to $300. I’d put it up against a $4000 Neumann any day, for everyday prod work.
Richard Stroobant [bigdick[at]cjay92. com], CJAY 92/VIBE 98.5/AM 1060 CKMX, Calgary, Alberta, Canada: We are extremely lucky here. We have Neumanns — either a couple of U87’s and U89i’s in all our production rooms. If I had a choice of all the mics out there, my choice would be... either a U87 or a U89i.
Gary Michaels [michaels[at]wask.com], WASK/WKOA, Lafayette, Indiana: Here at the stations, we primarily us the good ol’ RE20’s, in production and on-air — great all-purpose studio mic. You can work this mic as close or as far away as you like without loss. Now if only I can get the jocks to leave the processors alone! One production room is set up with Shure SM7’s — another fine all-purpose mic, but has a much tighter pattern. In my own production studio I use an RE20, for consistency of sound, and my fave, a Shure KSM27. I LOVE this mic as the proximity effect is incredible. If I want to do the voice of THOR, I can get into that mic and do it without it bringing all the breathing to the front. It’s a durable little guy and is my go-to mic for most production applications. Requires phantom power though.
I don’t have experience with many others other than some Sennheiser 421’s that I’m not too savvy on. If I could try new mics, I might opt for an RE27 or an AKG 4500. Perhaps an AT4040 — just to try different diaphragm mics for subtle nuances.
Franklin Raff [fraff[at]radioamerica .org], Radio America Networks, Washington, D.C.: Please don’t tell the strudel-slurpin’ technocrats, but I own a Neumann honkin’ Gefell, and I wish I didn’t. It just doesn’t give me what I want. What I want is extreme sensitivity — the ability to feel tones deep inside the nose and voicebox — even at the expense of some funkdienst expertenfuehrer’s idea of pristine dynamic balance (which can be altered in post anyway). For this purpose, one of the best and most unusual mics for the buck is the humble phantom-powered Marshall MXL 2001 (Affordable — I’ve got four!). The Marshall is a lot like the Rode NT mikes, but the diaphragm is just a few millimeters bigger and the case is steel: it’ll pick up that whispery sort of ether that the best-trained voice talent know how to get close enough to evoke. (This is terribly important with women and celebrities, the latter because one needs a tremendous range to work with in post.) But a hypersensitive mic is detrimental to the product if it’s used by ‘plosive-poppin’ talent (I don’t make monkeys, sir...), if it’s shrouded in pop filters (perhaps we should ditch the windscreen and try a corset, madamoiselle?), or if one has hard drive/HVAC hum or The Water Cooler Show bleeding through the walls. So I keep the aforementioned heavy artillery at my agency studio. Sadly perhaps, and especially in the era of consolidation, the venerable RE20 is the right tool for the job in most noisy, bustling production environments.
Johnny George [vo[at]johnnygeorge .com] CSI-Susquehanna, Indianapolis, Indiana: I’m using a Rode NT-2 at work going through a Symetrix limiter/compressor/gate. It could use a tube preamp to warm it up a bit more. I just added a PreSonus Tube preamp in my home studio for my AKG 414B. It really did warm it up. Both mics are very crisp & clean without any sibilance problems. My main problem is I have more of a mid-range voice with not a lot of bottom end grovel as some do. (My Prod. Director comes to mind.) If I had my choice of any mic, I’d most likely go with a Groove Tube mic or the smaller, stubby Neumann. They both have a smooth, clean resonance. And obviously, I’ve now become a tube pre-amp fan — better late than never, huh?
Justin Taylor [studio[at]voiceimage .com], Voice Image Productions, Orlando, Florida: My studio’s main VO mic is the Neumann TLM 127. I also use the AKG 414 from time to time or the EV RE-20. The RE-20 seems to cut through on imaging use better than the Neumann’s broader sound, but for commercial and narration applications I stick with the Neumann.
Equally as important as the mic is the pre-amp. I use the Universal Audio M-610. It features nice adjustments for warmth and signal saturation.
All in all, it’s still not the sound I want. I know it when I hear it and I haven’t been able to achieve it at my place yet. But I’m working on it. There’s a certain sound I am shooting for and when I get it, I will know it.
I’m always searching for that full, rich, crisp sound that once in a while you get a taste of. If any comrades know what it is, please email me at studio[at]voiceimage.com. I would greatly appreciate it!
Many years ago I had a session with an old Neumann U-89 using an old tube pre-amp. Now that was warm and very punchy, but considering the guy bought it used at the time (15 years ago) for somewhere around $4k, it would have to be way up there by now.
I always roll off the bottom end but I still wanna have some punch, warmth, and fullness. Onward I search.
Craig Jackman [craigj[at]canada.com]: Here at the station, most of the mics in use are EV RE20s and RE27s, and I have to say that I just despise these! Carry-over mics from the previous company are Beyer MC-740 large diaphragm condensers, and these are much better to my ear, reproducing through the speakers what I hear in the voice booth. The best I can say about the EV’s is that they are idiot resistant. It was interesting so see the jocks in the new combined company who are so used to working the RE20’s so close that they are almost swallowing it, have to learn to back away from the mic to avoid popping. We installed Popper Stopper spit screens so that they had to back away from the mic, which helped open up the sound by removing the wind socks. For my home use I have an old MicroTech Gefall that works for me. Again, it’s a large diaphragm condenser mic. The best mic I’ve ever had the chance to use was an AKG SolidTUBE which was (you guessed it) a large diaphragm condenser with just a touch of tube warmth.
Reggie “C” Crawford [reggie.c[at] citcomm.com], Citadel Broadcasting, Charleston, South Carolina: Here at the station I use the ‘industry standard’ ElectroVoice RE20 – it actually performs pretty good when you have the right process chain. For myself, I would love to take a test drive of the Neumann U-87 or U-67. I hear they are a MUST for voiceovers!
Laurent “kiwi” Boulet [kiwi[at]choi radiox.com], Radio-X: We use Neumann microphones — TLM 103 in production as well as on air. The advantage of the big Neumann diaphragm, their usual warm sound without the adjustment buttons. This way people who don’t know what they are doing won’t get a chance to fool around with the adjustments!
Dave Foxx [DaveFoxx[at]ClearChannel .com], Z100 Radio, New York, NY: Choosing a mic seems like such a hard decision. Does it warm up? (Is there a proximity effect?) Is it accurate? Does it use phantom power? Is the pattern adjustable? Then, of course, is it expensive? (Can I afford it?) They¹re all questions that are pertinent, but the end results are as varied as the number of people who buy microphones. I happen to have two solutions that work extremely well, although oddly, the less expensive one gets better reviews.
When I bought the Neumann M-149, I was certain I had purchased the best mic in the world. Perhaps I did - for a studio application. At the checkout counter, it drops most people’s jaws at 5 grand, but it’s certainly one of the most accurate microphones I’ve ever heard. It is incredibly versatile too, although it cannot take the abuse that something like the RE-20 can handle. When volume starts to exceed 80db, it starts to “crack” a bit and it’s extremely sensitive to “handling” noise, so you must use some kind of butterfly mount. Because it’s a powered microphone (with its own power supply), I run it directly into my Pro Tools setup and boost the gain to something useful, without a real pre-amp.
My home studio has a much more basic setup with a SHURE SM-7 microphone with a Stüder D-19 micVALVE Tube Mic/Line Preamp. When I made the purchase, some 10 years ago, the price tag was just about half of what the Neumann ran, but the reviews are actually better. I used to periodically do demonstrations of the Pro Tools systems both at the Spring NAB show in Las Vegas and at special Digidesign forums held here in the New York area. Invariably, when I would use one of my “home studio” sessions for the demo, I would get questions about the mic chain. Eyes would widen when I'd tell them it was an SM-7 with the Stüder box. My sales rep at the local electronics outlet would call me once or twice over the next few weeks to thank me for getting him sales on the Stüder pre-amp, but couldn’t I please start using a more expensive mic?
After all the money spent, I have to say I get better results with a less expensive mic with a really awesome preamp shaping the sound. The SM-7 has a real proximity effect that can warm up a vocal without making it muddy sounding. The Stüder box can really fatten the vocal across the spectrum. Together, they're really hard to beat.
Dan Zullo [Dan[at]VoiceGalaxy.com] VoiceGalaxy Productions, Sagamore Hills, Ohio: I love the AKG C414-B-ULS — fabulous mic, my favorite. Very warm, easy to EQ, and brings out my best. I have also used an Audio-Technica 3530 — nice mic for the money. I recorded a VO at another studio about a year ago. They had a Lawson. I had never used one before; it even made me sound good. When I win the lottery, a Lawson it is!!
Ian Fish [Ian.Fish[at]chrysalis.com], Heart FM, United Kingdom: All out studios are fitted with Beyerdynamic MC740s (http://www.beyerdynamic .co.uk/datasheets/mc740.pdf), a fantastic studio condenser mic that I wouldn’t change for any other.
Our station voice uses a Neumann U87 as standard, which sounds nice, but “affected” by that famous “warmth.” The Beyer’s give a beautifully real response that sounds crisp and clear right through all the effects and processing right up to “on air.” I realize that the Neumann name carries a lot of weight in broadcasting, and it’s become the aspirational microphone of choice, but I’ve always enjoyed looking for my own microphones (and headphones and DAW and mixer) and doing the research to find the best products for ME to work with... regardless of name.
We do a lot of session work with voices, and artists performing acoustic sets, and most users comment on the clarity and quality of sound. I’d certainly recommend the Beyerdynamic MC740 to anybody looking for that detail in their voice work, and personally wouldn’t try anything else. But that’s just me.
Drake Donovan [drake[at]drake donovan.com], Drake Donovan Productions, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Well, my studio at the radio station is a very old RE-20 running thru “God knows what” under the board. It was originally designed three or four Production Directors ago, and all the processing is in a covered lock box. So I’m at the mercy of the engineer to adjust it. (I’ve been in the studio for over a year and it still hasn’t happened yet.) Since I do very little voice work there, it’s not such a big deal. My home rig , however, is a RODE NT-1000 running thru a Yamaha O1-V. I’m very pleased with its performance. I use the DSP in the board to add a little reverb, compression, and gate; then I do all of the EQ-ing and add some more compression with plug-ins in the computer.