VO Microphones Wrap Up – Tuesday Tech Tip

Thank you for coming along during the deep dive into VO microphones over the last 6 weeks. I’ve appreciated the comments and feedback. This has been a project which seemed to expand the more I worked on it. 

It has always felt like an incomplete answer to simply supply a list of microphone models when a voice actor asks “what mic should I get?” There are a lot of good options out there – as I say, we do live in a time of riches for recording equipment

Knowing a bit about what goes on inside of a microphone can keep things in perspective and let you adapt as trends and tastes change over time. 

It also lets us focus on the stuff that matters: the choices we make when in front of that microphone. 

Moving forward, remember that you can always make your microphone sound a little better than it does today. Over the years, I’ve made a myriad of tiny little microphone placement adjustments, and have gained a more nuanced understanding of how to “play” the mic – what it likes and what it does not. Since your voiceover “instrument” will always include the space in which you record, It takes some amount of time to dial in any new microphone in the most familiar of rooms. Experimenting and listening to the results can lead to better results. 

Presonus Revelator io24 “Under the Hood” video

Any XLR microphone is going to need some sort of audio interface in order to get sound into your computer. Recently, Presonus brought out their Revelator io24. I’ve been messing around with one for the past couple weeks and shared some interesting features in this video – https://youtu.be/HQhlOWi71Uo

The Revelator io24 presents like a basic 2 input USB audio interface, but adds the ability to add inbound processing. While I don’t recommend that in most VO setups, there are some workflows where it might be worth considering. It does let you directly change the input gain settings through a software control interface. That means you can make recording input level changes without leaving the booth. I go through a few of those features in this video. While you are there, don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Keep in mind that your current interface is probably working just fine. In terms of equipment priorities, the audio interface tends to have much less of an effect upon the quality of our recordings than the room or the mic.

Microphone Basics – Microphones Pt. 1 – can be found here.

Types of microphones – Dynamics, Ribbon, & Condenser – Microphones Pt. 2 – can be found here

Condenser microphone capsule designs – how that influences sound quality – Microphones Pt. 3 – can be found here.

What exactly makes a “good” microphone for VO? – Microphones Pt. 4 – can be found here.

Recommended USB Microphones for VO – Microphones Pt. 5 – can be found here.

Recommended XLR Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphones for VO – Microphones Pt. 6 – can be found here.

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