Voice Over Microphones
Audio Interfaces &
DAWs
When it comes time to get your first mic or upgrade to a better mic, the choices can be overwhelming to say the least. That's why I've tried to keep this list simple instead of showing you everything that is available in the world of VO mics.
To help you understand the mics better in terms of price, value, characterisics
These are popular choices for most voiceover work and are best suited for the types of environments that we record in.
Buying a microphone is kinda like buying a pair of shoes - in that it's really best if you "try before you buy." We all have different voices and there is no one mic that is perfect for every voice type out there.
It's great if you can find a place that will let you test some microphones out, but be careful getting advice from the employees there.
Podcasting, live music performance, and even home music recording have different microphone needs from home studio voice over. Chances are that whomever you speak with in a store isn't going to have VO experience or an understanding of the particular challenges you will be facing with your clients and your recording environment. Therefore, whatever they recommend for you will not actually be what you need.
If you find that you just can't make up your mind and need to know more, don't hesitate to send me an email and I will be glad to help answer any of your questions.
Price Group : High
Neumann U87 Ai
I want to warn you right off the bat that this is the most expensive microphone on the list and unless you have already booked a few hundred thousand dollars worth of voice work, or just happen to have a very rich uncle who owes you a couple of years worth of birthday presents, you might want to just scroll on past this mic.
Seriously, the other mics in this section are amazing and you can get three of them for the price of just one of these.
But... if you have the means, you should absolutely purchase this microphone and never look back.
Simply put, the Neumann U87 Ai is to recording vocals like Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks are to acting.
Sennheiser MKH 416
There is so much to love about the Sennheiser MKH 416, it's hard to know where to start singing its praises. It is my preferred mic for almost all of my voice work.
Some of my favorite things about this mic are;
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It's unmatched ability to exclude unwanted sounds
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solid durable construction and amazing portability (perfect for travel)
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high sensitivity (giving you a lower noise floor)
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fantastic sound quality and response (sounds better with less EQ work)
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reputation (tell people that you use a 416 and they know you care about quality)
Just like the Sennheiser 416, the Neumann TLM 103 enjoys a stellar reputation. And while the TLM 103 doesn't travel as well and doesn't reject unwanted sounds like the 416, it does make up for it with sounding as smooth and warm as melted butter.
This mic is the second most expensive on my list, but it is worth every cent for the way it wraps voices up like special gifts and delivers them with such accuracy and precision.
I like to say that it's the perfect mic for the words that work wonders.
Price Group : Mid-range
The Rode NTG 3 was introduced to me by a friend who has been doing voice over about 10 years longer than I have. At the time, I was a bit of a snob about the Sennheiser 416, simply because it is so often referred to as a "gold standard" in the voice acting/voice over community.
After trying out the NTG3, I was reminded of why I love the Rode brand as much as I do. For vocal ranges of tenor through mezzo soprano they have serious game, and if that’s your range, you don’t need to lay out all that cheddar for the Sennheiser 416 (unless you do a bunch of character voices in falsetto or voices with a gravelly low end).
You may be tempted into getting the NTG2 or NTG4, but resist those temptations. Those mics are really best suited for live video recording rather than studio work.
The Shure SM7B is a wonderful mic for people with a challenging recording environment or for those looking for a darker tone instead of a more detailed high end.
If you need something that rejects background noise but can't spring for the pricey shotgun mics, this may be your salvation.
There is a richness and fullness to this mic that you don't get with the Rode mics, but you sacrifice some upper frequency clarity and definition.
The SM7B is also great for spaces that are hard to treat or larger than a typical recording booth size and won't put a big dent in your bank account.
The sE Electronics sE4400a is wonderful if you need versatility. I find it very useful for voice acting for a video game or a characters in an audio book, because you can use the same mic to record omnidirectional, cardioid, distance, proximity, and as if that wasn't already crazy convient, there are also toggles for high pass filter along and a 10 or 20 dB cut . Going from a whisper to a scream and moving around your recording space freely, allows you to capture your most visceral performance with the flip of a switch.
If you have the budget, space, and electronic capability, I suggest getting these in a matched pair which will allow you to record in stereo for a 3D performance without having to create a spacial effect artificially in your DAW