All the greats are bald. Bruce Willis, Jason Statham...me. :) Jokes aside thanks for another great video. I have literally been debating the 286s for multi-person vlogs & podcasts if a NYE sale happens. I have six tabs of 286s open now and asked for it to be a topic at this Wednesday's Orlando Podcast Meetup. For the nonprofit project I'm working on in Gainesville I'm hoping to avoid or at least greatly reduce the software solution for time savings.
Buzz it Mike! Just say no to the combover! Bearded, Bald and Bold here! Thanks for the info btw, getting back in the game as a freelancer after leaving the broadcast booth after almost 30 years. You offer valuable, sage advice. Appreciate you!
Is that THE DANIEL THRASHER? Yá know, THE REAL DEAL? Talent fairy, piano playing, singer, rapper, música judge, comedian DANIEL THRASHER???? 🤪🤪🤪 Luv your stuff man, keep it going!
Jajaja good luck if you are using windows and try to record 48 khz or over jajaja , I had the same interface and after a year of fighting with audient because drivers will not work correctly in 3 different pcs and in some cases id app will not even install, I sold it for $180 abd got the motu m2, sir the headphone pre am was able to handle my dt990 250 ohms and software was working flawlessly at 44 48 and 96 khz. Audient has the greatest gear but software has down syndrome even in 2021 the release the evo and new id14 makr with the same sofware issues.
Mike, Just finished my first demo. All morning in a closet, afternoon spent recording a drum track for my engineer (payment for the closet time) and just finished my first demo rendering on Reaper. Have been gorging on your videos. Took the plunge last week after 20 years of the idea of toying with doing VOs, got an EV RE20, a Scarlett 2i2, some headphones, and poured my deep ol' baritone voice into a new laptop. My wife didnt recognize my recorded voice! Will bore you more later, but for now, THANK YOU! Couldnt have done this without YOU, man! I feel very complete, and your vids are making this transistion so easy. I probably won't get anything for awhile, but who knows! Best wishes.
Hey Mike! I just wanted to say that I've been a voice actor for years and thanks to you I've finally built my own home studio. If it weren't for your technical knowledge about the equipment and sound I don't know that I ever really would have been able to figure it out. So thank you and keep on doing what you're doing.
Note: the Zoom H5 does have a line out (right above that monitoring headphone jack) which can function as an independent soundcard output for studio monitors!
@@alexeysivokhin9613 yeah, but it won’t change volume from the unit, so if you plan to plug other headphones in there you have to deal with a fixed volume which happens to be increddibly soft.
I like the way you explain things Mike. I've was in broadcasting for 20 years and my own home studio for 15+ but you always seem to give me something i can use and I never feel being talked "down" to. You have a gift of explanation. Very useful...always... and entertaining. Thanks.
Hey Mike, it's so great to see back making videos! I'm a professional photographer and video editor. Your content is such a wonderful reprieve from the average audio-focused content on RU-vid. I really appreciate that you fully grasp the entire spectrum of audio recording from professional VO to streaming on Twitch. It's REALLY rare that RU-vidrs making this kind of content cover the full gamut. It always seems like they're knee deep in multi-thousand dollar speaker cables, or barely understand what an XLR cable is. As someone that's been doing this stuff for 15 years, I don't really need the technical info your videos offer, but I LOVE watching them. Your booth build video was fantastic. And I really enjoy your mic comparisons. It's a pretty cliche thing to say these days but your content deserves way more attention. Your approachable, informative, and no bullshit approach to audio content is a godsend on this dumpster fire platform. Thank you.
I love your videos and voice! I just recently rented 3 mics with a Zoom H6 to test out this exact question. I have a small bedroom closet where I'm wanting to record audiobooks. I was struggling to get the noise floor low enough for ACX with my laptop in the space with me. I don't have space for a preamp or interface or the computer for that matter! After testing three high quality mics, I also tested the XY mic that comes on the H6. I found the audio on the H6 actually sounded better and my levels came out much cleaner, with less silibance. This workflow also works really easy because I can just pop out the SD card and download the files, and keep the recorder in the same position so all my files will maintain the same sound. I think this portable recorder can do the job, provided the space has a low noise floor to start with.
Leah, I mean this in the kindest way, and I'm not sure what mics you were testing, but that XY mic sounds really awful compared to just about anything. When you're first starting out, your ears might not yet be trained well enough to hear the difference, but an experienced listener will cringe at that mic. The other problem with it is that it records in stereo, so if you move, your audiobook listener will be able to tell you've changed position. Plus, your file sizes will be double. You really only want stereo in audiobooks if there is music or special effects like in some of the bigger productions (like the Star Wars books). Even then, the VO is recorded in mono with a single mic. If you want a great mic at a low price that also has a really tight pickup pattern so it won't pick up unwanted noise, watch reverb.com and eBay for the original CAD e100. Be careful not to get the e100 2 (terrible mic) or the current e100s. I've bought them for a little as $150 to $200. I have a few because they are comparable to some of the legendary mics in quality and I use them for everything from voice over to recording drums, cellos, and even grand pianos, and they stand up to legendary mics that cost over $10K. You can hook it straight into your Zoom H5 and record straight to the SD card, just like with the XY mic, but you'll have immeasurably better quality. I hope I managed to pass this info along with the spirit of helpfulness with which it was intended. I'm just looking out for your best interest. That XY is just really, really bad for audiobook or VO work for so many reasons. Best wishes to you!
Hey, Mike... I'm a great fan of yours ;-) I'm all the way down from Brazil, from a cozy, historial but bloody hot city: Recife, Pernambuco. It's in the Northeast of Brazil. I have no words to thank you for your videos and demonstrantios... They're worderful and well done so as I am addicted to your chanel, now... I'm starting with my voiceover steps and I am following all your words to get good results. Thanks a lot and please keep on doing your best - as always! ;-) Say hello to your wife and say thanks to her coz I/we know that wives are a great support for such a lonely work as a voiceover...Hugs!
*I have the CAD as my back-up mic, but now I use the Sennheiser MKH416. The CAD is ok for audio you may only hear once, but for voice over, as it is a "flat" mic, it requires a ton of EQing to get crystal clear, broadcast quality audio.*
You should try the original. It's probably one of the best mics ever made. They're had to find, but you can pick them up from $150-400. Built in metal pop filter behind the mesh, the capsule is suspended from an internal shock mounting system that actually works, and it comes with rechargeable batteries that boost the power above 48v if needed to capture transients with total clarity. Super flat FR curve with just a nice, smooth presence and air boost. I got a chance to do a side-by-side test with an original Neumann U47 on a grand piano, and it sounded remarkable. It's not just amazing for VO, but it's great on snares, kicks, any instrument, really-especially the cello. It makes the current 100s sound like a RØDE NT1a. Amazing mic. I'm only telling people about it now because I've already got a few! He did a e100s v e100 video. Doesn't quite show off the full range of the mic, but gives you a good idea of the relative warmth and richness. The e100s sounds brittle in comparison. If you want more highs out of the e100, it sounds way better to boost them than it does to cut them from the e100s. It's like butter!
One thing I have to add because people get this wrong all the time: The preamp noise performance of the dbx 286s and the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 are virtually identical. If you use a dynamic mic you will get very low noise recordings with both of them!
Which generation of 2i2? That's certainly true for the latest 4th gen, but those didn't exist when you commented. I think the 286 still held a bit of an edge back then. Sound Devices clobbers them all, of course.
Maybe this has been mentioned already, but the 286 or similar channel type strip offers "analog compression ". Very important as a digital compressor is seeing the signal after the A to D conversion.
Ayyyy yay more videos. :) The first gen of Focusrite 2i2 had terrible driver latency issues on Windows. The Behringer UMC stuff is solid. I love my MixPre-3 for recording, used a Tascam DR40 before that. I run my RE20 through a DBX 286s into my mixer for normal day to day shooting. Love it a lot - but it's limiting. I can't EQ to save my life, so I'm fine with "set and forget" on it, lol. I really wanna try that mic, though... hehe
I use the DBX with my TLM 103! Seems to work a charm! Though I needa' upgrade my UR12 to an Audient iD14 I dare say. Would most likely unlock this mic's true potential. Also got my eye on the MKH 416. Seems like a lovely mic for commercial.
I have become addicted to sound. I also have the Mixpre3 , H6 , MM1 and bunch of mics. Sometimes i just pick the h6 couple with the MM1 via quater inch cable to record my audiobooks and the sound i get from that matches the mixpre3 recorder, very high quality audio when using dynamic mics. I set the MMI on the dynamic setting and get studio quality sound.
Dude you are an absolute godsend. I used to upload videos and you've gotten me excited enough about audio to want to do it again. And not a single one of these videos isn't useful.
Mike, I can't possibly express how amazing and important your videos are to me. I've recently decided to free myself from the horrible chains of a job I hated and dive into the VO world. I've recorded a few audio books and done a couple of VO recordings for indie games and, oh god, I don't know how I could have done it without your videos. You are a fantastic communicator, teacher and artist, of course, and I am deeply grateful to you. A lot of love, respect and good vibes from south america.
So what I did, I have Audacity on both computers and I just networked the computers. Save the project in the network folder and go to the other computer to edit. I'm not sure why someone would need a dedicated interface in both places. I just do because I record in both places. My office space computer has a camera and that's where I vlog
Mike. the Zoom H6. Has all those things the H5 doesn't. Fast start up. Low, low noise floor. Line output. Use as a direct interface. Record to card. Great price. etc. etc. Please try one. and.... BTW... you are a great inspiration. You show Integrity & Sincerity. Don't usually see it much of that on this medium. Thank you. pb from Australia
Thank you for adding clarity. I do both live streaming shows and prerecorded interviews. Your videos have helped me understand the different hardware and software requirements and signal paths for each.
Now you tell me. Just kidding - I bought the ZoomH5 based on your earlier videos. My inexperienced ears don’t hear any preamp noise at +5 gain. I do hear an atrocious low frequency resonance caused by the AC/heat pump compressor which seems to be somehow coupled to my entire house. Can’t escape it. But Reafir, the noise reduction widget in Reaper, seems to be able to extract and quash it without distorting my voice. We’ll know for sure when I get past the fantasy stage and begin trying to submit demos and finished product to prospects/clients. Reafir and how to use it properly might make a suitable topic for your series.
I don't think we'll see a video on that topic because you really can't get away with using any kind of noise reduction software when doing professional VO work. Even RX, the industry standard, still leaves artifacts that are audible to anyone with even a little ear training. It's okay for podcasts, and It'll get you by the ACX algorithms if you're doing audiobooks, but the hit to quality is very audible. ReaFir or RX are great in pinch if something sneaks into an otherwise great recording and you need to clean up just a second or two, but using them on the whole file isn't gonna fly if you want to do this professionally. If it's a really low frequency rumble, a better option may be to use a high pass filter. You can just use the built in EQ in REAPER and cut out the low frequencies altogether. As long as your voice is not in the same frequency range as the rumble, this is a much better solution than noise reduction. A lot of my voice is in the 35-70Hz range, so I can't get away with this, but most people can roll of everything under 80Hz without effecting their voice. I'm not sure if what you're describing is noise that the AC is causing in the wiring or if it's ambient noise. If it's in the wiring, there are power cleaners you can get that will get rid of that. If it's ambient noise, there are a lot of options for blocking it out. In any case, it's something you really need to resolve BEFORE you record, not after.
X S Thanks. The noise problem is ambient. RX does seem to do an even better job than Reafir, but I realize and agree that the real answer is noise abatement rather than trying to fix it in post.
Thanks so much for the useful information. I've been recording audiobooks for several years now and knew only what I "needed" to know to record and edit. I'm looking to upgrade equipment and you have simplified and clearly explained all my options. Greatly appreciated!
I never get tired of listening to your explanations, you’re very good at getting your message across in a very clear and concise way. Thank you so much for this one Mike!
My studio is a treated walk-in closet but w/ a medium table. For me, using a portable set-up all the time is a better work process. No computer or fan noises, etc and no “fiddling” around with equipment. Learned about the portable setup from one of Mike’s first boothjunkie videos (he had more hair too...smile). Thx Mike... I’m still at the budget mic level but looking fwd to a CAD-100. Be well.
Mike... you da man. I start a video, and can't stop! You don't read from a damn script, you obviously have the voice down, and your energy is on point! Thank you RU-vid for letting us learn from this fella!
So glad to see these kinds of videos on the channel again! You're right, the DBX is great for creating solid live audio. I use and love the ID22 for voice over. Fantastic quality for the money.
Just pure gold. This video "covers all my microphonics needs". Because of BAD elecricity supply issues, my solution for recording is ZoomH5 + Feathead, and for listening or live stream/recording a YamahaAG03. Mics: SM7B and RODE NTG1
Just got a condenser mic and this video answered all my questions. I was looking into the zoom h5 or an audio interface - this was perfect to highlight all the niches they are good for.
I'm in the process of building my own booth and until then any take is going to be garbage. so every time you say "go record something great" it is like a painfully inspiring surge to finish the booth when I get home! Been watching a lot and I just wanted to say thanks. I appreciate you. keep it up man!
I really enjoy your videos. Explanations I can understand. I had been shopping for a USB audio interface to do 2 things - an audio interview with my elderly mother, and try my hand at an audiobook recording. Your comments about the Zoom H5 have pointed me in that direction.
Very close to my second setup. I ended up buying a E100S, Scarlett 2i4, and a dbx 286s. I chose these after watching about 40 hours of your videos. I am extremely happy with the result. It is a little more expensive than most people can afford, but the results have been fantastic for the work voice overs I've done for my own small company's productions. Thank you for making so many informative videos that helped me learn and choose quality hardware! (secondary) Bedroom studio here.
Wonderful video. With Zoom H5 & H6 you have a line out, which can be used to connect your studio monitors! You can use Y cable for such connection (3.5mm to either TS/RCA/XLR).
This past weekend I produced an audiobook. Recorded in the cedar closet in the attic through an XLR condenser mic plugged into a popular H5 competitor. Then took the SD card to the basement and edited in Reaper on my MacBook. Then I watch this and I hear, "If you're going to record upstairs in your closet, because that's where it sounds really good, but you're going to edit downstairs in your basement because that's where your computer is... " Glad to know I had it right. (As an aside, I use the 2i2 when recording in the basement.) Love these videos, Mike, and glad as hell the beard's back.
Geez, Mike, I just bought the H6 yesterday for $250 after watching the two videos where you loved it so much you practically slept with it, plus 20 more hours of your advice! I did buy the H6 at our local Guitar Center for the Amazon price of the H4 because Guitar Center honored my veteran's discount. That said, maybe one way to sort your playlists would be beginner audience and experienced, getting paid and ready to upgrade fans?
Good overview. I want to mention a particular USB interface that in my mind stands out for someone who is budget minded and still wants great quality. After years of using a Scarlett interface, I picked up a Mackie Onyx Producer. Functionally, it does the same thing as the 2i2 that you mentioned, but the preamps are soooo much better. They have more gain, but most importantly, they have almost no noise. I really think that they stand out for the price. I really think it's a great product, and it changes the trade-offs that you mentioned because it has pre-amps that rival something much more expensive.
I've just recently purchased a Tascam DR-40, and couldn't be happier. It's freed me from my laptop, which has allowed me to record in my clothes closet. No more fighting with room boominess, the connections required, and, more importantly, no more worrying that the electricity will cut out, as it does where I live every now and again. The DR-40 provides phantom power for my condenser mic, and the amps are clean enough.
I have been super happy with a Behringer X18 for both its pre-amps on dynamic microphones, and the ability to have the effects in hardware for live stuff or just get good recording and integration with Reaper (18 channels has let me do some really cool stuff like live effects with Reaper)
Guys, use a hardware channel strip but keep it transparent, you should use at least some mild compression before the AD converter, just to keep the levels nice
Actually the best package you can buy reasonably priced, is the Yamaha MG10XU, giving you a single knob all in one for the compressor, and a lot more. Hope you can showcase it a later time
Great information and clear on the question I had. You exceeded my expectations. I am a fan and plan to see more of your videos especially about using Reaper. Thanks.
I love how for all the suggested videos placed by RU-vid under this one, the only video suggested that isn’t created by Mike himself - or isn’t about voice over in general - is an extended interview with Mark Hamill released within two months of this video.
After years of learning and fiddling around with hardware and software I got the Rode Procaster on a Scarlet Solo and finally the dbx286s. BEST COMBO EVER for streaming and podcast recording. There are good tutorials on setting it up. I have absoluteley no background noise whatsoever. I had garbage trucks picking up the garbage directly behind my window and it wss completely filtered out. Screaming kids and my wife on the phone - no problem for a live training session wirh a paying audience. And best of all I have zero post processing effort needed for recording. That means zero work afterwards for cleaning it up. The only problem is that my ears are getting spoiled and it is getting harder and harder to listen to less professional audio recordings.
*The DBX 286S can be a pain in the ass **#UNTIL** you figure out the proper settings. Once you have that figured out, it works like a charm !!! Since I can't afford a "Whisper Room" right now, I call it my "Whisper Room" in a mechanical box !!! That is exactly what it is - and more !!!*
Yeah! It's a good piece of tech! The settings are different for each person. So you just gotta' jimmy and experiment. I'm looking to use it in conjunction with a treated room (setting that up now)
I'd never use something like that to record. That's only really valuable in a live setting. As someone who works both sides of the mic, there is nothing more frustrating than getting a file from someone who has used something like the dbx 286s to record. Keep your files raw and fix them non destructively if you have to. I'd much rather use something like RX in a pinch than have someone who doesn't know how their file is going to be used in the final product "enhancing" it. Using something like that to track a recording is a total rookie move. If you're live streaming or performing, then, yeah, you need hardware that will do it in real time. Otherwise, use your DAW. Your "perfect" settings on the dbx could become a problem if ANYTHING changes. They tend to cut off breaths in the middle, which sounds awful, or sometimes lose the beginning of words that start with "th" or "ch", and cut off the ends of words if someone happens to back off the mic a bit or turn to the side. These things should come with a big warning on the box that says "INTENDED FOR LIVE APPLICATIONS ONLY!" so that people don't think they are a Whisper Room™ in a mechanical box. Plus, the quality of the signal processors in the dbx suck. Pretty much every DeEsser except for FabFilter DS and Airwindows DeEss (the best there is), is just a frequency specific compressor. Even worse, most of them compress everything above a certain frequency which ruins the sound quality. You're SO much better off getting FabFilter, Klanghelm, and Airwindows plugins and doing non-destructive editing.
@@xaosnox *I totally get what you are saying, but you are classifying **#EVERYONE** who uses a DBX in the same category. I used to be one of "those guys" sending out bad files because I didn't have the settings right. It literally took me 6 months of tinkering with it to get it to sound perfect. It was good enough to land my first ever National TV ad !!! I also have RX6, but I find its "isolate dialogue" function leaves noticeable fade ins. Besides, when you have a partially deaf 82 year old mother-in-law blasting CNN in the next room, the DBX is a God send !!!*
I recommend the scarlet ... it's just an amazing interface, everybody is using it and you can hook a guitar to it and play. That's why I got it and I don't plan on changing it
This is great. I record VO with the Adobe Audition, scarlett 2i2 and DBX at home but I want to have a good portable option for working when I'm not at home. I'm pretty clueless about the plugins so thank you.
Mike you should check out the Lewitt LCT 441 Flex. $400 and it has Cardiod, Wide Cardioid, Super Cardioid, Omni, and Figure 8. There's also additional patterns where the rear of the capsule is polarized for the cardioids so you can record backing vocals (with less mixing) or record an amp without turning the microphone. It also has a self noise of 7 dB A.
Hey Mike! I was wondering if you might find the time to do a video comparing the Audio Technica AT865R to your glorious Senny. The idea of a shotgun mic for voice-over work is something that's _very_ appealing to me [and probably to many others] but the MK416 is way out of my pitiful price-range. It would be interesting to hear the two mics in a head-to-head and see if the AT can produce, say, 75% of the Senny's sound quality at 1/5th of the price.
Hey Mike, I love your channel and content, especially this video in particular. It was so relevant to my current situation. I have a an upstairs linen closet that is now a converted studio. My wife and I basically used foam mattress toppers as sound dampeners and it really gets the job done in my opinion. My microphone is a Senal Sc-550, which is a lesser known condenser mic. I got it for about $100 off B&h. Before last week, I was going from the mic straight into the Zoom H4n, I realize not as many features as the H5, but I like it for what it does. I've got my editing software one floor down in my house. Recently I just got a DBX 286s to give me a nice preamp with compression and noise reduction. After one week, I LOVE IT! The noise floor is so low now, and I got the settings near where I want them to where my voice doesn't sound processed. With noise reduction in audacity, I just wasn't getting the result I wanted. It was ok, but I knew it could be better. Anyway, love your channel!
I have a 286s, I use it for one thing and one thing only, I keep everything off except the gate, which works soooo much better and seamlessly than a software gate, however, the others, like the compressor and de-esser I find are more functional in software.
The Zoom has the added advantage of being way easier to use when travelling. I picked up an H4n Pro for under $100 used. (Yes I know the preamps aren't quite as good as the H5 or H6, but still sounds pretty good after running through my DAW.)
