Ian C Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 I have a microphone that I've been using for voice recording, but although it's ok-ish and was £30, I really want something better. the drawback is that you have to get your mouth within like 1" of the mike to get a decent recording, and this means it picks up all the plosives. Much closer and it clips, a bit further away and it's too quiet, basically it's not ideal. I'd like a mike that can pick up voice from a foot away or so, a stand for it so people can stand up to talk, and maybe some recording software that acts as a compressor or whatever it is - so that the recorded sound is at a constant volume even if you whisper or shout, like on the radio. I know what I want but I have no idea what I need to achieve it or any technical terms Surely there must be some people here who know about such things. I don't care about brand names, I want cheap and useful, call it £100 tops for the mike. The software I just need the name of -Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 Software wise, I'd recommend CoolEdit Pro (Now called Adobe Audition), it will allow you to do wonders with the audio. Decent mic? have a look on ebay, I used to use an AKG freestanding mic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian C Posted August 4, 2008 Author Share Posted August 4, 2008 I know of Microphones but I don't know what's good or bad I've read stuff that says "15 to 50hz" and "150ohms (310ohms actual)". Got any pointers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Behringer-Composer-MDX-2100-Compressor_W0QQitemZ200241821071QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item200241821071&_trkparms=72%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.l1318 These are good for the money for vocals, they do pretty much what you need on the fly as well being two discrete channels. We used to use these at the radio studio a lot and they are nice and reliable without distorting the audio too much. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AKG-PERCEPTION-100-Condenser-Mic-Microphone-XLR-Lead_W0QQitemZ150276543535QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item150276543535&_trkparms=72%3A638%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.l1318 These are very nice but they will require a hot source to power up the mic. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160266209005 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian C Posted August 4, 2008 Author Share Posted August 4, 2008 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Behringer-Composer-MDX-2100-Compressor_W0QQitemZ200241821071QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item200241821071&_trkparms=72%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.l1318 These are good for the money for vocals, they do pretty much what you need on the fly as well being two discrete channels. We used to use these at the radio studio a lot and they are nice and reliable without distorting the audio too much. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AKG-PERCEPTION-100-Condenser-Mic-Microphone-XLR-Lead_W0QQitemZ150276543535QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item150276543535&_trkparms=72%3A638%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.l1318 These are very nice but they will require a hot source to power up the mic. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160266209005 You see you've lost me Hot sauce? Like gravy? Will the first one record stuff at a reasonable range and does it sound like someone talking or someone at the bottom of a well? Not sure if I want stereo, that might confuse matters - is that wat two channel means? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 I have no idea what mine is. Some kind of Philips thing that's linked up to bighand which is the typing pool thing. Ermmm no help at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 I'd like a mike that can pick up voice from a foot away or so, a stand for it so people can stand up to talk, and maybe some recording software that acts as a compressor or whatever it is - so that the recorded sound is at a constant volume even if you whisper or shout, like on the radio. Can't help with the mic, but have you tried to see what normalising some of your existing recordings does? You sould find normalisation under the tools section of almost any decent audio software. Nero Wave Editor has it if you want to run some quick tests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian C Posted August 4, 2008 Author Share Posted August 4, 2008 Well even with the mic gain on and the volumes cranked up to 11, the waveform it records is really quiet unless you're snogging the mic So it's either a gash soundcard or the mike... I can edit the volume upwards but of course the quality can suffer as you start getting background noise and hiss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lbm Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 The best mic by far (which I use) for voice recording is a PZM. (Check here if you want to for all vocal tracks) http://www.myspace.com/littlebigmanmusic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snooze Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 Get a decent pop shield! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 You see you've lost me Hot sauce? Like gravy? Will the first one record stuff at a reasonable range and does it sound like someone talking or someone at the bottom of a well? Not sure if I want stereo, that might confuse matters - is that wat two channel means? Hmmm, let me see what I have in the loft, I may have a spare mic or two in the loft which you are welcome to. Just need to find them The behringer unit is excellent at cleaning up voices, think of it as an SAFC for audio, it fudges the audio to be more useful be it making it louder (expander) or quitening it down (compressor) in places. Have a go with adobe audition though, you may find it will do a lot of what you need. Going forward, if you are going to be doing a lot of voice work, you definitely want to get a decent compressor mic and associated gubbins The behringer is 2 channel not stereo...(however you can use the two channels tied together and get stereo that way) I knew my music production work would come in handy for something eventually Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Massey Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 i use a software called audacity. iv used it when teaching voice procedure lessons on the radio for the army and never had a problem, ive used various mics and even played a recording and used the mic to record from a 2 way radio and its been perfect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren-K Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 Hya Ian, can you clarify please how the mic will be used,is it just for recording ? Is it for voice overs on film etc ? i can help as i was a sound engineer for 10 years with a big theatre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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