In the Voiceover Studio: The Well-Positioned Microphone – Tuesday VO Tech Tip

When it comes to the quality of effects available for use in our home voiceover studio, we live in the time of true riches. Something like Waves Clarity Vx can address the types of background noises which in the past meant having to rerecord, tools like NOVA EQ from Tokyo Dawn do much more than they say on the package, and Izotope RX’s Mouth DeClick tool…? As I’ve stated before, RX has saved me so much time that it’s worth every penny. 

However, no matter the quality of those tools or corrective fixes, it’s important to appreciate the power of setting things up right to begin with. If we get our microphones located in the right spot in our booth, and then position ourselves well, that may mean we don’t have to lean quite so heavily on those “fix it” tools. 

There has been a consistent flood of voice actors sending in studio audio samples for my review. As you would expect, that quantity of samples provides a wide range of quality and levels of experience .  Some are testing things for the first time in their voiceover journey, while others are measuring incredibly infinitesimal differences as they fine tune a professional setup. 

In every case, there’s improvement to be found by refining the position and placement of the microphone, as well as how we interact with that microphone when performing. Our room, the microphone, and our voice all combine to create the instrument. The more hours we spend in our setup the deeper our understanding of that instrument will become. Controlling those parameters make us better voice actors. 

Consistency in microphone setup is an asset

One of the hidden benefits of moving to a permanent recording setup is that we no longer have to re-rig everything each time we record. If our space is the same, and the microphone is basically in the same place, that reduces a lot of variables. I have a mark on the floor where my right foot goes, so I can control the position of the “source instrument.”

Distance from the microphone: There’s no magic number

If you spend any time researching online, you’ll encounter a lot of “facts” about how far a mic should be positioned from a voice actor. Six inches? Eight inches? The “hang loose” (extended thumb and forefinger) distance? None of those are wrong. Conversely, none of those are absolutes. 

I’ve encountered a few VO’s who were told they had to be exactly “X” number of inches from the mic, which confuses me a bit. When we physicalize during our performance, we will move around. Even if there was a specific ideal distance from the mic, it would be pretty difficult to maintain while recording. In almost any case, there’s a three dimensional “sweet spot” in front of any mic. Think of it as a sphere floating in front of the mic. Leaning in towards the mic, we’ll emphasize lower frequencies of our voice which can add of authority. Too close and it very quickly becomes overwhelming and muddy sounding. As we back off the mic, we’ll start to lighten things up again. Though too distant and we begin to sound very thin and flaws in the space will become noticeable. But there are a lot of places to play inside that sweet spot. 

When you get a new microphone, it’s always worth taking some time to figure out a position where it compliments your voice. Sometimes it can take a few weeks or more to discover where you sound good as you build understanding of your instrument.

Avoiding clicks, smacks, and particularly percussive plosives

Large diaphragm condensers are the most-recommended type of mics for voiceover studios. Those silver-dollar sized capsules do a magnificent job of capturing nuance of tone and texture. They also will capture all kinds of sounds you didn’t know you made. Lip smacks, mouth noise, and popped-p’s are the bane of every self-recording voice actor. 

If you were in a large studio with wonderful acoustics, it would be a much simpler task. The quality of the room would allow you to be further back from the mic itself. In our world, however, we usually have to deal with non-optimal spaces – both in terms of size and treatment. That causes us to work the mic a bit more closely. The key thing here is to acknowledge our tendency to be near the mic. If we’re doing that, it helps to move the mic out of the direct line of our mouth. 

I generally recommend inverting the mic and mounting it on a boom arm from above. That lets it be raised up out of the direct line of our mouth. How high? Look through the grille of your mic at the capsule (it will generally be a large disc visible in the middle of the microphone). I’ll try to put the capsule at roughly the same height as the bridge of my nose. That lets me speak “under” the microphone if my chin is level. When I’m the proper distance from the mic, I’ll then angle it so the capsule is aimed roughly at my chin. Then all those spitty, clicky sounds, and percussive plosives go beneath the mic. 

The voice actor’s challenge

Because we work in smaller spaces, most voice actors end up frequently working the microphone too closely. That tends to make things a bit bass heavy and we capture all the physical sounds that have nothing to do with our vocal performance. By fine tuning our mic position and distance, we can reduce those “extra” bits which often cause us so much trouble in our quest for clean and competitive sounding recordings. 

More Microphone Resources

Looking for more information about effectively using a microphone in your home voice over studio?

Here are some of my most popular resources on the JustAskJimVO.studio site –
A Guide to Voiceover Microphones and recommended models

Microphone pick up patterns – What does that shape mean?

Messing with microphone pickup patterns

Three thoughts about shotgun microphones

The Myth of the Microphone

Buying a new mic: The Winter of our microphone discontent

Want to receive these resources (and more!) the day they come out?
This information recently went out directly to my email community. Each week I send out a new article about using recording technology in your home voiceover studio, and how to balance those technical challenges with the need to be creative behind the microphone.
If you would like to join in to receive those emails the day they publish, please take a moment to share your contact information through this sign up form.
Thank you!