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Lance Blair Voice Talent - Voice Seeker

Joined: 25 Apr 2005 Posts: 591
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007, 21:46 (GMT) Post subject: |
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Ok, now check this out:
The following sample is of the same sentence read twice. The first one is with a AT4040 ($300) while the second read is with the MKH416 ($1100 or higher). I'm 4-5" away from each mic. Both are going through the Joemeek OneQ, with the same compression I mentioned before, and no EQ or processing.
The MKH416 is better with transients: but what do you think??? The 4040 is muddier with a bit of proximity effect, but that's nothing a little eq tweak around couldn't fix. Hmm...
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AT4040vsMKH416-01.wav |
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Last edited by Lance Blair on Fri Aug 03, 2007, 23:26 (GMT); edited 3 times in total |
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Kim White Voice Talent - Voice Seeker

Joined: 05 Jul 2007 Posts: 345
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007, 21:48 (GMT) Post subject: |
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Andy,
Thank you for your sweet comment. I feel like such a newbie here, but I refuse to give up.... just hoping I'm not pestering people in the meantime, because I'm seeking more advice than I can give (especially with the technical stuff -- it's really hard for me to hear the differences you all are talking about. To me, it either sounds good or it doesn't).
Blessings!
_________________ Kim White |
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Andy Quiñones Voice Talent

Joined: 19 Feb 2006 Posts: 187
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007, 22:34 (GMT) Post subject: |
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s..
_________________ Live truthfully under imaginary circumstances....--Stanislavski
Last edited by Andy Quiñones on Fri Feb 15, 2008, 03:25 (GMT); edited 2 times in total |
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Kim White Voice Talent - Voice Seeker

Joined: 05 Jul 2007 Posts: 345
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007, 23:28 (GMT) Post subject: |
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Andy -- Never offense taken. I'm here to learn and improve.
Yes, I have a good pair of headphones, and agree with you about the quality.
What I'm talking about are the subtle nuances between mics.... it seems very subjective to me -- one person might like my voice on one type of mic, while another person suggests a different mic.
Since I have a USB mic, it seems the best thing for me to do is 'play with it' until I like how it's equalized. I've tried several preloaded examples, but they all seem to lack 'richness.' It's hard for me to know whether it's the mic, or I'm equalizing improperly.
Thank you for taking the time to give me honest feedback -- as long as it's not a personal attack, I actually welcome it.
_________________ Kim White |
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Jacob Ekstroem Voice Talent

Joined: 23 Jul 2007 Posts: 721
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Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007, 00:00 (GMT) Post subject: |
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| Lance Blair wrote: | Ok, now check this out:
The MKH416 is better with transients: but what do you think??? The 4040 is muddier with a bit of proximity effect, but that's nothing a little eq tweak around couldn't fix. Hmm... |
Definately preferred the sound of the 416 here, but as you said, a little tweaking around with an eq could level it out a bit.
_________________ Regards,
Jacob Ekstroem
- "Try the delightful Danish..."
SaVoa No. 07008 |
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Ed Gambill Voice Talent

Joined: 04 Jun 2007 Posts: 585
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Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007, 01:44 (GMT) Post subject: |
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The reason for the question is that many believe that Dr. George Neumann was the inventor of the condenser. This link [url]http://vintageking.com/site/files/12mics.htm [/url] provides information about 12 significant microphones and their impact on microphone development.
Dr. E.C. Wente of Western Electric/Bell Labs developed the first modern condenser microphone in 1917. While it is true the concept was in existence until the vacuum tube was invented in 1915 no one had put the concept in to commercial use. These microphone were use in radio broadcast, therefore attain commercial usage. The moving coil microphone an invention of Siemen’s soon became more popular in the U.S.
Neumann did build on Wente’s work and make substantial improvements. Mostly because the Dynamic microphone was so popular in the U.S. no company was taking the condenser forward.
I put my money on DR. E.C. Wente as the inventor of the first commercial condenser microphone.
The one thing that has always bothered me personally is the design of Neumann diaphragm. I always think of a microphone diaphragm being like a human ear drum. I have never seen a wire stuck in the middle of the ear drum. Now then the C12 has no wire attached in the center. Maybe that’s why the vintage Telefunken ELAM 251 (built by AKG) and the AKG C12 microphones are so high priced, costing in $9,000 to $14,000 price range according to published reports.
Gregory
From you Avatar I assume you have a 44 in your closet. Please post a sample. As mine is by my own admission long in the tooth, I’m hoping yours is closer to stock and we can hear some differences maybe.
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Jacob Ekstroem Voice Talent

Joined: 23 Jul 2007 Posts: 721
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Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007, 02:19 (GMT) Post subject: |
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| Andy Quiñones wrote: | Jacob—I happened to know that you are considering the TLM these days so I decided to post these for you brother! Really. |
So nice of you, mate - thanks! You're right, I am considering the TLM 103 as my next mic, but as I have mentioned, the Microtech Gefell M 930 has been bitch-slapping it in microphone shoot-outs lately here in Denmark, allthough other reviews I've read states, that they do sound very similar. But the M 930 has one BIG advantages: the fact that it is NOT big! It's really tiny for a large diaphragm mic, and that makes it perfect for radio and voiceover purpose - you can actually see past the mic, not having to move your head off-axis to be able to read your script
I've edited my post to include a picture, that illustrates the size of the M 930 - isn't it just a cutie??
The Neumann isn't a big mic either, but the 930 is considerably smaller, and even priced a bit lower than the 103 (at least in Denmark, that is), so if I can afford it, I want it. But then again, I have so many other things on my wishlist, an iso booth being one, so in the end, a new Rode NTK or K2 could be the compromise... it still is a great mic for about 1/3 the price of a Gefell, but you know how it is: once a geek...
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_________________ Regards,
Jacob Ekstroem
- "Try the delightful Danish..."
SaVoa No. 07008 |
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Amy Snively Voice Talent

Joined: 04 Jul 2005 Posts: 1028
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Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007, 03:08 (GMT) Post subject: |
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I'll play...
AKG Perception 200
PreSonus TubePre
M-Audio MobilePre
Adobe Audition 1.5
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micdemo.mp3 |
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183.37 KB |
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276 Time(s) |
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Amy Snively Voice Talent

Joined: 04 Jul 2005 Posts: 1028
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Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007, 03:28 (GMT) Post subject: Re: Blue Snowball USB Mic.. |
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| Kim White wrote: | | Here's a sample of my Blue Snowball USB mic. |
Kim! It all sounded like crap until the very end when you got two inches away. You found your starting position, my friend. Get right up on top of that bad boy!
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Kim White Voice Talent - Voice Seeker

Joined: 05 Jul 2007 Posts: 345
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Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007, 03:40 (GMT) Post subject: |
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Thank you, Amy! After this little test, I did all my reads today kissing the thing (lips nearly touching the popscreen). Definitely 'printed' better for editing. Trouble is, I'm very animated.... so I'm afraid I'm going to knock the thing down! LOL!
_________________ Kim White |
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Lance Blair Voice Talent - Voice Seeker

Joined: 25 Apr 2005 Posts: 591
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Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007, 04:28 (GMT) Post subject: |
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| Jacob Ekstroem wrote: | | Lance Blair wrote: | Ok, now check this out:
The MKH416 is better with transients: but what do you think??? The 4040 is muddier with a bit of proximity effect, but that's nothing a little eq tweak around couldn't fix. Hmm... |
Definately preferred the sound of the 416 here, but as you said, a little tweaking around with an eq could level it out a bit. |
Yeah...inspired by your post I tried some EQing, and you just can't turn one mic completely into another (but I got close to doing so). The MKH416 is better than the AT4040 on so many levels. Then I remembered the reason why I bought the AT4040: I had heard that it was very popular in the UK for some broadcast applications as well as internet-only content and podcasting. Whenever I get a website or DVD only job, I turn to the AT4040, it actually has more presence and subtlety on prosumer equipment than the 416. It has a large bump at 7 and 10 kHz that brings out mouth noises which read as vibrant airiness in the prosumer realm. So far, my web clients think the AT4040 sounds great.
I hate the AT4040 on my studio speakers, but I prefer it to the MKH416 on my laptop speakers or prosumer headphones.
Oh, and good luck, Kim!
Also, thanks for the picture of the M 930, Jacob. It's like an optical illusion. I'm so used to thinking condensors are of a certain size that your hand seems to be gigantic. It's a worthy point about how a smaller mic clears one's sight-lines to the script. One thing that's great about the 416 is that it's a skinny shotgun pointing down from above the script. One hardly notices it.
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Andy Quiñones Voice Talent

Joined: 19 Feb 2006 Posts: 187
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Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007, 07:12 (GMT) Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Kim wrote:"I'm talking about are the subtle nuances between mics.... it seems very subjective to me" |
Ah ok—I was fearing that you couldn’t detect ANY differences—you’re right about it being subjective in terms of which sounds better and so forth.
also Kim re: | Quote: | | I've tried several preloaded examples, but they all seem to lack 'richness.' |
This is could be because you are not using a preamp?
Jacob--I like that M930 for size and viewing area.
_________________ Live truthfully under imaginary circumstances....--Stanislavski
Last edited by Andy Quiñones on Sat Aug 04, 2007, 09:28 (GMT); edited 2 times in total |
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Jacob Ekstroem Voice Talent

Joined: 23 Jul 2007 Posts: 721
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Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007, 08:53 (GMT) Post subject: |
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| Lance Blair wrote: | | Also, thanks for the picture of the M 930, Jacob. It's like an optical illusion. I'm so used to thinking condensors are of a certain size that your hand seems to be gigantic. It's a worthy point about how a smaller mic clears one's sight-lines to the script. One thing that's great about the 416 is that it's a skinny shotgun pointing down from above the script. One hardly notices it. |
Yeah exactly, the 416 won't be in your way at all, because it should NOT be in front of you
Regarding the M 930, I actually think the size of it alone has been one of the reasons that it took a while, before it had it's breakthrough - people looked at it and went: "THAT little thing??? Come on...!!!!" but then, the big stations and production companies began to hype it, size being an important factor, and the rest of us had to give it a second look (and listen). Now, its' everywhere.
The gigantic hand isn't mine, by the way - it's just a picture I found on the net.
_________________ Regards,
Jacob Ekstroem
- "Try the delightful Danish..."
SaVoa No. 07008 |
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Kim White Voice Talent - Voice Seeker

Joined: 05 Jul 2007 Posts: 345
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Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007, 14:11 (GMT) Post subject: |
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Andy, using a USB Blue Snowball.
On your photo... do popscreens work best when aimed at the forehead....LOL! I knew I was missing something...
_________________ Kim White |
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Bobby Knight Voice Talent

Joined: 18 Oct 2006 Posts: 67
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Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007, 15:48 (GMT) Post subject: |
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OK lend me your ears..
my chain:
Neumann TLM-103
DBX-286A (with just a wee bit of comp/EQ)
M-audio Fastrack
Adobe 1.5
Can anyone hear a noise in the background?
| Description: |
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LTK91019280317X - Bobby Knight - Custom Demo.mp3 |
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286.53 KB |
| Downloaded: |
276 Time(s) |
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