Voicemaster Pro or Symetrix 528E?

Erik Sheppard · **Voice Talent** Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 1317

I have some cash burning a hole in my pocket and I want to get something to enhance the sound of my rig. I currently use a RE20 -> Edirol UA-25 -> Dell Inspiron notebook -> Adobe Audition 1.5. I think I have it narrowed down to either a Focusrite Voicemaster Pro or the Symetrix 528E voice processor. I have heard good and bad things about both, most notably that the Focusrite sounds tinny but others rave about it. I have been getting steady work lately and I want to make sure I can give my clients the best sound I can afford (and also ensure that they don't insist on dragging me into their studios, working from home rocks.) Does anyone out there have an opinion on either of these two units? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. I have attached a sample of my voice in case that helps.

Allen Scofield · **Voice Talent** Joined: 13 Jul 2005 Posts: 181

I haven't personally heard the Focusrite unit so I cannot comment on it's sound. Since you're using a broadcast mic, a 528E would be a good fit as it's a broadcast voice processor. Colin can explain more about the 528E as he has one. I'm sure there are others here who use both.

I prefer a quality condenser mic and a nice clean mic preamp. I do all my processing in post.

Brian Hart · **Voice Talent** Joined: 07 Jan 2006 Posts: 326

Allen Scofield · **Voice Talent** Joined: 13 Jul 2005 Posts: 181

Colin Campbell · Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007, 17:49 (GMT) Post subject:

Well, it's no secret that I like the 528e. Don't have any personal experience with the Focusrite. The 528e is a bit "old school,." It's analog and there's no presets but they keep making them because people keep buying them. They SOUND GOOD. I was particularly astonished that I could not beat the preamp in the thing for quality when I tried. You have to take time to set it up right. The manual is excellent as a total primer on voice processing. (If it is included in the box, mine wasn't but another one I bought for a friend did have a manual. At any rate, you can download the .pdf from www.SymetrixAudio.com.)

Todd Schick · **Voice Talent** Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 63

I don't know what it is.....but so many people use that RE 20.

It's a well known fact that pros use condensor mics. Walk into any professional recording studio to do VO....there will always be a condensor on the mic stand, whether it's a Neumann, Rode, Sennheiser, Manley, Geffel, AKG, Audio Technica, Blue, Shure.....whatever.

Anyone out there disagree? Can anyone remember walking into a pro recording studio and seeing an RE on the stand? It happened to me once....but the studio was far from pro....and the guy running it was using that mic because he had a really crappy booth.

RE 20's are Dynamic broadcast mics and (in my humble opinion) have no place in a VO talent's studio. A condensor mic will open up a whole world of frequencies in your voice that you never knew you had. Using an RE20 with an expensive pre-amp is tantamount to buying a Pentium Dual Core processor, and running the motherboard on 256K of memory. If you truly want to deliver the best sound, you should be looking at changing your mic first, then decide on a processor.

Be picky about your choice of a new mic. Find a place that has a booth or a retailer/wholesaler who will let you take a few home to try out.

If you got the bucks, get the Sennheiser MKH416 - sounds great on any voice, and more and more VO talent and pro studios are using them. If you don't have the $$$....try a Rode NT1000, NTK, or K2 as part of your testing.

This year I'm personally making the upgrade to the Sennheiser and a Focusrite Red 7; I've been using that mic everyday at my TV imaging gig......and I simply can't deny the fact that mic and processor combination kicks some serious butt!

Here's a sample: http://www.toddschick.com/flash/Simpsons.mov

Please forgive the bad singing....it was a Simpsons promo so I can do whatever I please....LOL!

TS

Brian Hart · **Voice Talent** Joined: 07 Jan 2006 Posts: 326

Todd Schick · **Voice Talent** Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 63

Hey Brian....

Yeah. The thing really sounds nice. The engineer at Global won a Juno (Canadian equivalent of a Grammy) for Recording Engineer of the Year last year - he really knows his stuff and designed the signal chain for Post Audio.

He did mention another mic pre that he actually preffered (or thought was just as good) over the Red 7, which was about $1000 less than the Red 7. I can't remember the name, but I'm going to drop him a line right now and ask him....he's a great source of info.

I can't wait for the Sennheiser.....what a fantastic mic. I've been using a Rode K2 for about 3 years - I love it....but it can't hold a candle to the MKH416....and I'm still using my cheapo dbx286a for a pre - great little unit for the price....but, it's time to retire it.

Brian Hart · **Voice Talent** Joined: 07 Jan 2006 Posts: 326

Todd Schick · **Voice Talent** Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 63

This just in from my engineer...

I've had wonderful results with the new UA Audio stuff

http://www.uaudio.com/products/analog/6176/index.html

Also the UA Audio LA-610 is quite good. The AMEK CIB
is awesome as well....and of course the Focusrite RED
Range...

Brian Hart · **Voice Talent** Joined: 07 Jan 2006 Posts: 326

Todd Schick · **Voice Talent** Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 63

Yeah...

I did this one session a while back - this guy was soooo freakin' particular about my sound. He went on and on about my room and the pre-amp and the mic....so I said to him:

"Let me try something here...."

I came back to the mic a minute later and read the same copy. "That's fantastic!" He exclaimed. "What did you do man?"

I told him I adjusted the compression and de-essing.

The fact is....I did nothing at all....other than a simple experiment in human behaviour. He wanted to hear something better...and therefore - he did. I always knew my sound was excellent; there was nothing wrong with it - but this guy decided that he "heard" something he didn't like and therefore had to do something about it.

The moral of the story is - don't tell producers and engineeers what you're using unless they ask. If it sounds good, then leave well enough alone. Don't beat yourself over the head trying to satiate the desires of a handful of guys who spend far too much time sequestered in little padded rooms disecting your sound.

Tube schmoob. Regardless of what you get, if it sounds good to you....then it sounds good. Be comfortable with that. You're the one that has to listen to it everyday.