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microphone for voice actors
Author
Hi folks,
I just got a new audigy sound card and its got a microphone jack on the back. I figure I''ll get a microphone and record some voice acting and for some sound effects. My question is, does anyone have a recommendation for a microphone to get that will fit this purpose well?
TIA
a
Funny, I was looking into this just yesterday.
There are basicly two types of mics you can get, Cardiod and Unidirectional.
Cardiod picks up sound very well in one direction. This is good for single vocalists, and to prevent feedback in some situations (which won''t affect your case).
Unidirectional picks up sound equaly in all directions (pretty much). This is primarly used for multipul vocalists. This is probably what you would want, as they are good general purpose.
You will probably want a relitivly high quality one. I am not too sure about this, but for a high quality mic you want a high sensitivity, wide refrquency responce, and a low impedance.
As far as connections go, they vary. You can get all manner of adapters. A standard mic input on a sound card is a mini-jack plug, it is a pretty safe assumption that is what your sound card has (Live has it, not sure about Audigy). Most mics have either XLR (Cannon) (3 pin) or jack connections. First get the mic, and then get the adapter. Modifying a cable to have the correct terminations should also be a relitivly trivial precedure for anyone handy with a soldering iron.
There are basicly two types of mics you can get, Cardiod and Unidirectional.
Cardiod picks up sound very well in one direction. This is good for single vocalists, and to prevent feedback in some situations (which won''t affect your case).
Unidirectional picks up sound equaly in all directions (pretty much). This is primarly used for multipul vocalists. This is probably what you would want, as they are good general purpose.
You will probably want a relitivly high quality one. I am not too sure about this, but for a high quality mic you want a high sensitivity, wide refrquency responce, and a low impedance.
As far as connections go, they vary. You can get all manner of adapters. A standard mic input on a sound card is a mini-jack plug, it is a pretty safe assumption that is what your sound card has (Live has it, not sure about Audigy). Most mics have either XLR (Cannon) (3 pin) or jack connections. First get the mic, and then get the adapter. Modifying a cable to have the correct terminations should also be a relitivly trivial precedure for anyone handy with a soldering iron.
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Bear in mind that you will (probably) be converting from a abalanced to an unbalanced signal as well, so convert *just* before it goes into your soundcard (e.g. don''t run a 10 metre langth of XLR cable, then another 20 metres of unbalanced jack, because that kinda defeats the object fo having a balanced connection. Convert it at the back of your comp). And bear in mind that if you get a uniderctional, it *may* be a condenser, in which case you have to power it somehow. Your soundcard might have a built in phantom power unit, but I dunno (I haven''t got a condenser). If it hasn''t you''ll need to buy one. But that shouldn''t be a problem - a couple of good single direction dynamics run rthough some sort of signal combiner (I dunno, a few adaptors and a headphone splitter should do the trick - just be careful of your input levels) should be good enough for your purposes. Bear in mind that you shouldn''t spend a fortune on a Shure SM58 if you''ll be reducing your sounds to 22KHz 8 Bit or something. that''s kinda silly 
BTW: you wanted suggestions Oops
I have a Philips MD190 ''vocal'' mic. It ain''t a professional bit of kit at all. It has a minijack output and three volume levels and an on/off switch, so it DEFINITELY ain''t a professional bit o'' kit. Especially for 20 quid. But for my purposes (vocals - usually growls and screams) it suits fine. It hasn''t got the best quality, but for that price, you can''t expect it. I got mine from Comet (a big electrical goods chainstore) from their hi-fi/music section. So I guess they''re easy to get hold of. there''s only a short cable, and no stand, so if you''r doing V/Os you could really do with a stand. It is a *bit* noisy sometimes.
Of course, you can always create the illusion of having a really good mic by using an EQ program to replace the missing frequencies
For professional kit, I think the Shure SM58 is still the industry standard (I think...correct me if I''m wrong), and the vocalist in my band uses it well, so it must be OK. He''s a bit picky about his sound ;P That has an XLR out, so you''ll have to buy an XLR cable and then some kinda XLR -> Jack and then Jack -> minijack converters.
Helpful?
Oops I have a Philips MD190 ''vocal'' mic. It ain''t a professional bit of kit at all. It has a minijack output and three volume levels and an on/off switch, so it DEFINITELY ain''t a professional bit o'' kit. Especially for 20 quid. But for my purposes (vocals - usually growls and screams) it suits fine. It hasn''t got the best quality, but for that price, you can''t expect it. I got mine from Comet (a big electrical goods chainstore) from their hi-fi/music section. So I guess they''re easy to get hold of. there''s only a short cable, and no stand, so if you''r doing V/Os you could really do with a stand. It is a *bit* noisy sometimes.
Of course, you can always create the illusion of having a really good mic by using an EQ program to replace the missing frequencies
For professional kit, I think the Shure SM58 is still the industry standard (I think...correct me if I''m wrong), and the vocalist in my band uses it well, so it must be OK. He''s a bit picky about his sound ;P That has an XLR out, so you''ll have to buy an XLR cable and then some kinda XLR -> Jack and then Jack -> minijack converters.
Helpful?
I have used allsorts for recording from Headphones to cheap Kareoke mics to expensive pro equipment. Experiment with different stuff as you can get some interesting results.
A couple of tips.
If you are using a cheap mic do not hold it in your hand while recording or you will get lots of movement noise.
If you are recording speech, make a shield to put in front of the mic to reduce popping and hissing. This can be done using a pair og tights (or stockings) wrapped aroung a wire coathanger.
A couple of tips.
If you are using a cheap mic do not hold it in your hand while recording or you will get lots of movement noise.
If you are recording speech, make a shield to put in front of the mic to reduce popping and hissing. This can be done using a pair og tights (or stockings) wrapped aroung a wire coathanger.
I dropped about 40 dollars on a Sony F-V320 microphone, picked it up straight out of Best Buy. Certainly not professional, but it isnt a piece of crap, and for my purposes(recording vocal samples for video game sound effects) and coupled with my sound card(SB Live! Platinum), worked out quite well!
Author
Thanks for all your tips folks! I think I''m going go with a cheap one for now and see what my sound card can do with it.
Much luck to you!
However, if you''ve got good sound cad equipment, its only sensible to splurge a little bit on a half-decent mic, because the chain of quality is only as strong as its weakest link. Post-production with good software will do wonders, but it cant make a bad sample good.
However, if you''ve got good sound cad equipment, its only sensible to splurge a little bit on a half-decent mic, because the chain of quality is only as strong as its weakest link. Post-production with good software will do wonders, but it cant make a bad sample good.
Well, all the technical stuff has been said (I did a search for ''Shure'' when I loaded this up, just to make sure it was mentioned
), so I won''t go into that.
If you''re interested in recording and editing your voice, check this tutorial out.
http://www.samods.com/index.php?cmd=article&aid=18
''How to be heard - A voice recording and basic editing tutorial''- by yours truly. :D
[/advert]
), so I won''t go into that.If you''re interested in recording and editing your voice, check this tutorial out.
http://www.samods.com/index.php?cmd=article&aid=18
''How to be heard - A voice recording and basic editing tutorial''- by yours truly. :D
[/advert]
Well, I''m new to this forum and as a music and sound guy myself, I must say that I''m some what impressed with the knowledge some of you game designers have pertaining to sound. Let''s just dispell any misconceptions: first off if you care about your sound on a pro level, get a pro card. Anything soundblaster is great for playing games, but not creating them. It''s all about the D/A converters in the card. Soundblasters'' are garbage, I know, I have one (but I''ve learned to just use mine for the midi interface only) The audigy D/As are better, but if you want the best "signal to noise" ratio (meaning as high of a gain level without peaking) you are still going to need a mic. pre-amp (whether you use a dynamic like an sm58, or a good condenser mic.), and a Compressor (Before you get to the card''s converters, Not after). A pop filter, for those "P"losives and "S"ibilance, you can make out of your mom''s (or yours) panty hose and a needle point frame holder thingy. And yes, get a mic. stand, for god sakes, I guarantee that it''ll get a lot of use, especially if you''re also thinking sound FX.
I''m realizing that perhaps I''m going into too great of detail here so let me just cut short in recommending this ideal (relatively cheap) signal path setup and if you have any questions which you''d like me to elaberate on, feel free to ask me:
Sm58 - Preamp - Compressor - Soundcard.
The 58 is an all around rugged mic. and none of these pieces of equipment are very expensive (below $150.00 canadian). If you take your sound seriously at all, you NEED a compressor. Cheers, Matt
I''m realizing that perhaps I''m going into too great of detail here so let me just cut short in recommending this ideal (relatively cheap) signal path setup and if you have any questions which you''d like me to elaberate on, feel free to ask me:
Sm58 - Preamp - Compressor - Soundcard.
The 58 is an all around rugged mic. and none of these pieces of equipment are very expensive (below $150.00 canadian). If you take your sound seriously at all, you NEED a compressor. Cheers, Matt
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