Mic Check… one, two… What to do when your VO Mic doesn’t work – Tuesday Tech Tip

Check these 5 things if your voiceover microphone is not sounding right

Stepping into your voiceover recording booth, you give a brilliant performance. But when you listen back to the audio – it sounds weird, hollow, or maybe there’s no waveform at all! What do you do when things sound strange in your recording? Here are five quick things to check on your voiceover microphone when the audio sounds bad.

No matter how long you have recorded VO, these simple microphone issues can trip you up. Whether you suddenly have no sound in your audio file, or the recordings have strange new problems, go through the items on this checklist to address the most common studio missteps.

Additional Resources for you – VO Microphones: A multi-part series

Want to learn more about voiceover microphone basics?
Check out my multi-part series on VO mics – it starts right here. I talk about what makes a good VO microphone, how mic models differ, explain why some of them cost so darned much and end up with recommendations for specific models, both USB-Direct-Connected and traditional XLR Large Diaphragm Condensers.

Looking for information about audio interfaces in the voiceover studio? Here’s what you need to know.

Voiceover Truth: You can’t work if you can’t record

Even though a microphone is a fairly simple piece of equipment, if it doesn’t work, you can’t work. What I’m talking about here are those instances where you hop into the booth to record and the microphone either isn’t working – there’s no input getting to your computer – or things just sound “strange”.

Before you start swapping wires or ordering a new microphone, check these things first:

A quick 5-item checklist for troubleshooting your microphone

Microphone Check Item #1 – Uh… is this thing on? 

Confirm that your mic is providing input into your recording software 

Just because your mic worked last time you recorded something, that does not mean it will do so the next time. If you suddenly sound very far away from the microphone and have a difficult time increasing the volume, it may be that your computer decided to switch inputs without telling you. This occurs more frequently if you regularly detach your computer from your interface (or USB direct-connected mic). Windows OS computers also seem to do this more often. For any number of reasons, your computer isn’t “seeing” the microphone/interface and has switched back to the internal mic – which is why you sound like you are in the other room. Most DAW software has a menu choice or preference item where you can confirm that your booth mic is chosen. If you don’t see your interface on the available devices, a quick restart (with the interface or mic plugged into the USB port) often fixes things.  

Microphone Check Item #2 – Which side round? Or…to everything, turn, turn turn…

Confirm that you are talking into the correct side of the mic 

Several times, I have swapped a mic or moved the microphone position a few times, only to have audio suddenly sound “hollow” and weirdly muffled, even though I’ve confirmed that the correct mic is chosen in software. Take a quick look at the microphone itself – is it possible that you shifted the position and accidentally turned it around? It’s an easy thing to do. I know I’ve done that more than once (uhhh…”many” times more than once…). Printed or adhered on the body of the microphone, most mics have a “heart” shape, logo or dot on the side where you should be speaking. The most common pickup pattern for a VO mic is a “cardioid” shape – which means that the “other” side of the mic picks up almost no sound.  Or, if it does permit any sound to come through, it will sound like you are speaking from the bottom of a well.

Microphone Check Item #3 – Know your switches 

Confirm all switch positions 

Some microphone models have more options – for example, the Vanguard V4 (above) has a pickup pattern switch you can see in the top image. It can be set at omnidirectional, Figure-8, or cardioid. But, it also has a second switch on the back which enables a high-pass (low-cut) filter to reduce rumble or engages a -10 dB “pad” against loud sound sources. Some mic manufacturers make these options annoyingly small and provide entirely cryptic icons for the various settings (Vanguard is actually quite good, as you can see). If your volume is suddenly much less than it used to be, this is one place to check – it can be easy to turn on the pad switch to drastically reduce input volume. Make a note of the right settings for your mic.  

Microphone Check Item #4 – More power ?

Confirm that power is getting to the microphone 

“48V” or “Phantom” could hardly be more cryptic. Yet, that’s the way most interface manufacturers label the 48 volt phantom power switch. Your condenser microphone needs power to work. USB direct-connected microphones get their power from the USB cord, while an XLR interface has a switchable circuit that supplies the power to the mic. It’s often easy to accidentally turn that off. Know where that is and check that it’s on. (Less commonly, one USB port on your computer might be supplying less power than it should – often swapping to a different port can help).  

A Niche Item to check – Are you, like, totally tubular?

If you have a tube-based (or valve-based, if you are in the UK) gear, set a schedule to check for tube/valve aging-related failure

Most of the equipment we use in our home studio is “solid state” – which means that it uses transistors and such rather than a tube for amplification. While all electronics can fail over time, tubes tend to do so slowly. Since we’re focusing on your performance, we’re likely not to notice that slow change in tone until it gets audibly noisy or creates other issues. If you have a tube microphone or preamp (and if you aren’t sure, you probably don’t – it’s definitely less common), it’s a good practice to record a reference audio every 3-6 months.  The simplest way is to use the same script and energy, then balance the levels and compare to the last recording. If things are suddenly sounding different, or if you hear higher levels of electronics noise, that may be a sign that your tube is aging. 

Microphone Check Item #5 – Check your connections

Unplugging/Replugging can often fix things 

If you hear static or crackling or popping when recording, it’s worth unplugging and replugging all the XLR cables (both ends). If you have not removed and reinserted the cables, you can build up corrosion on the connections. Also, sometimes you may not have fully connected the cable the last time you attached things.  

Finally – Check your personal space

The steps above are all dealing with sudden changes or issues with your sound. As you know, the space in which you record will often make the most difference in the quality of sound, so double check that nothing has changed in your setup – environmental noise sources change, damping material may shift or fall off, mic positions slip and it’s easy to line up differently on your mic when you are focused on performance. If you went through all the above items and things still sound off, take a step back and look at the big picture. The recording space will always have the greatest influence on your sound, followed by the mic. The interface is a variable, but usually not the biggest factor in the quality of your sound.  

After all of that, if you are still having trouble – please send me a sample for review.

Each week, I send a “Tuesday Tech Tip” to my email community. It includes technical tricks I’ve come across, refinements for voiceover workflow, and insights gained as a working voice actor and VO technical audio consultant. If you would like to receive these as soon as they come out, please take a moment to sign up here. Thank you.