Terms like “authentic” and “believable” are part of voice-over, like “on fire” and “feeling it” are part of sports. They mean a performer is tapped into a common flow that permeates all experience.
But as much as voice-over directing and casting invoke “main street” as a performance goal, the industry is inundated with tools and product brands that have a semi-religious following. Certain microphones and other gear are understood to be wear-tested, decade-defining, and billions-delivering. They charge a premium because of thrilling production stories and insider provenance. The best studios provide them. The best projects use them. They are elite, royal tools of the voice-over trade.
Anybody pursuing voice-over confronts an uncomfortable contradiction: it can be pricey to sound ordinary. Sticker shock can hit every part of the signal chain from your vocal cords to the client’s ears. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and inundated. You wish a Sensei could teach you how to fight back. You don’t need to learn a martial art like Karate or Krav Maga, but some unromantic and life-altering craft like “Advanced Savings Technique: Pro Sound For Savvy Budgets.”
Well, not to worry: I’m going to tell you how to sound like royalty with a main street budget.
Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone
Royal Standard: Neumann U87, Neumann TLM-103
Savvy Standard: TZ Stellar X2, AudioTechnica AT2020
Large diaphragm condenser microphones have a special warmth. Their default “heart-shaped” cardioid pattern picks up just a bit of “room sound.” This is the sound your voice makes reflecting off nearby surfaces. This doesn’t mean you want to record voice-over in a parking garage or gymnasium. Even in a treated environment, this type of microphone gives subtle coloration.
With the rise of social media and endless out-of-studio content, the cultural expectation of “real” performance has drifted towards a tad more room sound than in prior decades. These savvy standards can hook you up for as low as one-twentieth the price of top royal standards.
Hypercardioid (“Shotgun”) Microphone
Royal Standard: Sennheiser 416
Savvy Standard: Audio-Technica AT875R
Hypercardioid microphones achieve a focused, directional audio pickup pattern. This reduces the pickup of room sound in favor of a “right between your teeth” presence.
Historically, these microphones were most associated with a classic “announcer” sound. Other factors aside, they can make a performance seem more precise and stylized. Their proximity effect (amplification of bass frequencies with closeness) is legendary.
The savvy standard here costs one-fifth of the royal standard. It won’t compete with the royal standard for recording penguins mating in Antarctica, nor doing a two-year documentary on front-line firefighting. However, it is very similar in most voice-over situations.
Audio Interfaces / Mic Preamps
Royal Standards: Apogee Symphony, RME FireFace, Neve 1073
Savvy Standard: MOTU M2 USB-C Audio Interface
Decades ago, premium microphone preamps were light-years ahead of affordable ones. The “preamp” is the first part of the physical path your microphone uses to get its sound to your recording.
Not all preamps are audio interfaces (which convert an analog signal into digital information for a computer, phone or tablet). With the rise of USB microphones (including versions of the AudioTechnica AT2020 mentioned earlier), not all microphones even need a separate preamp. They have one built-in.
To complicate things further, other common products like mixers, compressors and digital signal processors each technically have preamps. Line-level and mic-level signals add another factor.
Because the majority of buyers encounter preamps tied to sound interfaces, it’s common to hear “preamp” describe sound interfaces in casual use. “Preamp” can be a generic term for “the box you plug a mic into to record it digitally on a third device,” usually using an XLR cable.
This term spaghetti boils down to a key takeaway: today’s affordable sound interfaces have great preamps. My favorite savvy standard clocks in at one-fifth to one-twentieth the price of top royal standards. Take it from me: the sound is almost indistinguishable.
P.S. If you haven’t yet taken our introductory voice-over class, where we go over everything one needs to know about getting started in the voice-over industry, sign up here!
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