mic placement

Caryn Clark · **Voice Talent** Joined: 27 Mar 2005 Posts: 1000

I never wondered about this till last night. Just never occurred to me.

I was at my mentor's/vo coach's house yesterday recording. She has her mic set up on a boom (is the the right term?) so it's hanging in front of her.

I have mine on a mic stand, tilted up at me (not down like it would be on a boom) at a 45 degree angle.

Is there a benefit to having it hanging? What's the difference? Anything?

THANKS!!!!

Keith D. Milby · **Voice Talent** Joined: 01 Feb 2007 Posts: 570

Well, what I have seen of Don La Fontaine on clips and stuff his is perched. If you have a habit of blowing air down on the Mic, I could see it as a good thing if the Mic was hanging instead of perched.

Joe J Thomas · **Voice Talent** Joined: 16 Nov 2004 Posts: 1521

It also depends on the mic you have.

Different mic's have different pick-up patterns.

Mine came with a small chart...
(and I use a stand)

Joe

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

Mine hangs on a boom.

Caryn Clark · **Voice Talent** Joined: 27 Mar 2005 Posts: 1000

I have a Sennheiser MKH416. My friend whom I referred to has a Manley, and a Sennheiser. Both are hanging. ?

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

Philip Banks · **Voice Talent** Joined: 23 Jun 2003 Posts: 404

I took a pic while voicing .....

Think of it as the Zen voice over mic placement position. On head of grinning, elderly, bald, unshaven MVO - Beyerdynamic DT100 headphones. In front - popper stopper attached to boom and a Neumann U87 in a shockmount - Source of shock to shockmount - grinning, elderly, bald, unshaven MVO. The angle of the tilt should be roughly the angle of your nose and the mic should be no closer to the mouth ... Yours, not mine.

Maya Kuper · **Voice Seeker** Joined: 04 Oct 2006 Posts: 97

Most studios put a mic on a boom like this:

so they can fit a music stand (script stand) under the mic, and the VO can still get nice and close to the mic, like this: