A Mic for voice-over and podcasting

I have been researching large diaphgram condenser mics for podcasting, some vocals and some acoustic guitar . I am looking for a mic that is quiet, warm as opposed to bright for the voice work. My budget is about 150-250.I will be plugging the mic into a Behringer 1204FX mixer.Here are some that I have looked at (on-line) and some with my comments- the comments are based upon reading reviews as I have not heard any of these-I wish I could.
AKG Perception 200 - $200 Warm low end
Audio Technica $99.00
Audio Technica 3035 - $199
Rode NT1A -$229 Great mic but is very stark-
MXL V67i - $149 some issues with quality
Also, I would like a mic that would reject as much sound as possible after about 4-5 feet directly in front as well of course as from the rear, due to some noise in the room - is that possible, as some mics better at this than others.

redshift,
Here's just a brief idea of the difference:
For a remote broadcast mike, you want a mike that:
-Picks up the frequency range of the human voice, but not the other frequency ranges;
-Has a very pronounced Proximity effect (meaning it picks up sound much better close, and not well at all far away);
-Is Unidirectional (picks up sound well directly in front of it, not well at all behind or to the side).
On the other hand, a studio mike could be any mike, depending on the application.
For voice and guitar:
-You would definitely want a mike with a broader frequency response, for example,to pick up the overtones (the upper harmonics) of the guitar, as well as the resonances of the lower notes.
-You also want a mike with greater sensitivity to dynamics, and the ability to accurately reproduce the sound of the voice or instrument.
WH
old G4 Mac OS X (10.4)

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Recommend Mic for Voice Over

I need to do a Voice Over with a customer and wondering about an affordable mic recommendation.
Or is there a better quality way to record a voice track than a mic hooked up to the audio in port?
thanks,
Al

Al,
You can use almost any dynamic mic (via the audio-in port on your Mac) or a USB based mic. Of course better quality mics will yield better results. I use a pair of AudioTechnica Pro4A's that I got off eBay. And you can't go wrong with a Shure SM58 which you can get for $89 at B&H PhotoVideo.
The Blue Mic Snowball USB mic is very popular and often recommended.

External mic for voice overs

I am making a small instructional video in Final Cut Express HD and am to the point where I need to add some voice overs. I guess I could use the built-in mic, but would really like to have something a bit better. Any recommendations? Also, would the mic plug into the line-in port or would it be USB? Thanks.

I've tried a variety of things and ended up doing this--buying a good quality sanyo digital voice recorder and good karoake mic--record the vo seperately--import with itunes--then import to fce timeline and cut\paste
dialogue exactly where i want--sounds complicated but it gives me precise control over timing with video and other audio files--importing with mac built in mic was tinny and noisy--mic into mac no better as mac fan motor generated low hum--doing it this way i could completely isolate myself from external noise(quiet room)and have added advantage of a small portable recording system--good luck

Using Mic for Voice Recording - and listening...

Alright.. I have a MacBook and a Snowball USB mic. The Snowball works a-ok, the only thing is is that I can't hear myself while I'm recording. I can only hear it on playback. This might seem normal to some but I was hoping to have this set up like I'm accustomed to in an actual studio where you can actually hear your own voice through the headphones or even the speakers. I'm also using Garage Band. Anyone have any ideas on how to enable this? Is it just a simple little setting that I'm not noticing?
Thanks in advance.

If you're using Garageband then you should be able to hear yourself. Make sure the 'monitor' function is set correctly for the corresponding Garageband track by opening the right-hand panel and choosing it from the proper menu. Garageband also has a great 'Help' section in its top menu.

I use Garageband 09 to record voice overs via podcasting, female narrator noisy, but keep getting an intermittent clicking sound. It's not the metronome. I have a good quality external USB mic plugged in. Any ideas?

I use GarageBand 09 to record voice overs via the Podcasting then Female Narrator Noisy utility. I have a good quality external mic plugged in. I keep getting an intermittent clicking sound on the audio track. It's not the metronome as that is turned off. I have to edit out the clicking after recording. I can see the spikes on the waveline. Any ideas how I can prevent this happening?

Hi again and thanks so much for replying.
The 'mic jack' on the old mic is both wide and large, measuring about an inch and a quarter from the base (where it comes out of the black encasing) to the edge of the tip (sort of cone shaped). As I can't plug this in directly to any port in the back of the Mac, I thought it might be possible to to buy some sort of adapter so that I could plug in the jack at one end, with a USB connector at the other end to go straight into the Mac. But I see from your comment that you are suggesting a smaller jack itself (i.e., large size jack to small size jack and then plug in to the small round port, instead of jack to USB port)?
At the Mac shop I bought a USB adapter to connect up a second monitor (screen). I've just dug out the package and it's called a mini display port to VGA adapter. But back to the mic issue, I don't want to use the old mic really, I'm just trying to eliminate whether or not my usual mic, or its USB cable, is at fault and causing the clicking.
I looked on Amazon for a suitable adapter but there was mention of these little gadgets having a sound card. As the Mac obviously has its own internal sound card, I couldn't see the point of another (exernal) one, unless it was actually required to convert the sound from input to output (playback) or something. One review said sound quality was lost but the person had a problem with his speakers, not a ticking sound while playing back recordings - which is obviously my problem.
I do have a headset that I used to use for Skype. It has a pink and a green jack. I could plug one into the "headphones symbol' port and try recording again with Garageband. At least the jack is the right size. Again, this is just for the purpose of eliminating whether my good mic on a stand with the anti-popping sheild is at fault.
While my Mac does have both inbuilt speakers (I don't need external ones) and an inbuilt microphone, the latter is not of a high enough quality for voice overs, hence buying an external mic etc. But whatever is causing the clicking or ticking is obviously affecting the quality of my recordings. As you can imagine, it is very time-consuming to edit out the ticking spikes and if the noise appears during speech, you can't edit it out at all.
Please keep the suggestions coming. I am determined to get to the bottom of this for my sake and everyone else who is suffering from the same problem!

Sountrack or Logic/Logic Express for voice over recording?

Hello,
I am wondering which software is best for voice over work? Sountrack or Logic/Logic Express?
Any input would be great. I would add the standard effects/filters to certain voice overs and add sound effects and music.
I have a midi/guitar and garage band is enough for me. I would not want to use Garageband as my software of choice for voice over work. I want markers and other more advanced tools?
Thanks,
Erik

Thanks for the answer.
I was looking at the Dialogue Tools in Sountrack and they appear to be perfect.
My main questrion is can record into Sountrack with a mic right? I have an m-audio saphire with a m-audio preamp.
I saw a demo of Soundtrack at NAB and all the effects looked perfect for voice over. I think Logic Studio is overkill but Sountrack and Logic Express( for my guitar) might be a perfect 1-2 punch. I will get Sountrack with The Final Cut Studio as I need video tools as well.
Thanks,
Erik

Satellite A200-27R Integrated microphone for Voice over IP

The product description (see excerpt below) for a Satellite A200-27R states that the A200-27R has an Integrated microphone for Voice over IP. I have not been able to access this(e.g. with Skype, Live Messenger, Control Panel) nor is there any sign of it externally on the computer. The Control Panel > Sound > Recording tab says Microphone Realtek High Definition Audio not plugged in.
How do I set up and use the Integrated microphone for voice over IP?
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integrated microphone for Voice over IP

Hi
The built-in microphone depends on the webcam.
As far as I know the Satellite A200-27R PSAE3E was not equipped with internal webcam and therefore the internal mic is not available.
Try to use an external headset with mic or only the single mic.
Regards

Use of inline external mike for voice overs

Hand held microphones have insufficient volume for voice overs. Was told to buy the iMic. It does not help. Would a condenser mike, or a mixer give me amplification? The built in mike does not pick up female voices, etc.

The iMic should work OK ..it's essentially a USB input amplifier to let you plug in other audio input devices, such as any variety of mics.
Another mic on its own would not normally have sufficient power to give reasonable audio into your Mac, and a mixer would not be as efficient as an iMic (..or other USB input device). A condenser would generally be way too underpowered without an 'iMic' to boost it.
The early iVoice - similar to an iMic - didn't properly separate its own mic's audio from any other audio coming in through its little 3.5mm input socket, so I opened up mine and snipped the wire which connects them, so that it would use only its external mic socket ..and then plugged other mics into that. The more recent iVoice II works OK.
When you've attached one of these USB audio input devices, check your System Preferences>Sound, click on the 'Input' tab, and make sure that the USB device is selected and is working properly.

IPod is using voice over and won't scroll. What setting did my child click? It will allow me to use voice control, but i need to know what's wrong first so I can give the correct command.

My daughter's iPod is using voice over and won't scroll. What setting did my child click? It will allow me to use voice control, but i need to know what's wrong first so I can give the correct command.

VoiceOver is an Accessibility feature while Voice Control allows you to control the Music app via voice.
To turn off VoiceOver triple click the Home button and go to Settings>General>Accessibility and turn it off. Use three fingers to scroll if necessary.
iPhone: Configuring accessibility features (including VoiceOver and Zoom)
iOS: Getting started with VoiceOver for accessibility

Unable to turn off voice over and all of a sudden the touch screen is extremely slow to respond.

I am unable to turn off Siri/voice over and the touch screen is nearly unresponsive. Brought it to Best Buy to have the geeks look at it and and weren't really receptive unless I ponied up some cash for a service plan. Was hoping someone could help me out. Thanks!

- What hapens when you
Triple click the home button and try going to Settings>General>Accessibility and turn VoiceOver off. You may have to use three fingers to scroll the screen to get there. I
- Next see the following for how to turn off via iTunes:
iPhone: Configuring accessibility features (including VoiceOver and Zoom)
- Then try:
- Reset the iOS device. Nothing will be lost
Reset iOS device: Hold down the On/Off button and the Home button at the same time for at
least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears.
- Reset all settings
Go to Settings > General > Reset and tap Reset All Settings.
All your preferences and settings are reset. Information (such as contacts and calendars) and media (such as songs and videos) aren’t affected.
- Restore from backup. See:
iOS: How to back up
- Restore to factory settings/new iOS device.
If still problem, make an appointment at the Genius Bar of an Apple store since it appears you have a hardware problem.
Apple Retail Store - Genius Bar

Voice Over and Touchtype on Numpad

I am using numpad keyboard for entering amounts. When I am using Voice Over and Touchtype I have to double tap to enter the value but on the standard keyboard I can do the one tap. Is there a work around for this, any help would be appreciated? I don't want my customers having a problem switching how they use different keyboards.
thanks

I very cheaply recorded some audio with the lens cap on as I needed a little bit of a voice over
Sounds like the audio rate from the camera and the Easy Setup in FCE were mis-matched.
Al

Config 2811 with NM-HDV-2E1-60 module for Voice over IP

Hi,
How should I config 2811 with NM-HDV-2E1-60 for voice over IP?
Which IOS I should use?
I can't define "Controller e1".
Can any one send me a configuration example file?
Tanx

Can you provide more info?
How are you trying to use this? Are you going to use this router as a CallManager express or in conjunction with CallManager server?
Can you provide a sh ver and sh run and a sh diag from your router? Do you have a design document of the set up that you have in mind?
Also please note that if you want to change the feature set of IOS that comes with the router, you need to purchase the software from Cisco, as you need to be able to upgrade to another IOS. This upgrade is not free.
Looking forward to hear more about your set up to be able to help you.
Regards,
Farbod

Microphone for voice over.

My standalone isight that I have used for voice overs has finally given up. (I'd developed a technique whereby I held the lens to my chin and pointed the isight down at about 45 degrees-but I digress) can anyone recommend a reasonable alternative, around $100 would be reasonable, I'm no pro but it has to be a reasonable quality.
I've bought and tried a microphone a day now for about a week and none match up to my experience with my old isight. I'd prefer one that needs to be close to the source sound so as background noise is not a huge problem and I'd also prefer it to be USB or firewire, I need to take on the guise of a ferret to get to the back of my mac.

I tried the logitech one from the  store, it didn't have the same quality as the isight but I could have lived with that I suppose as it wasn't as bad as some of the others I've tried. I don't know whether I got a faulty one, I don't think I did, because it seemed to work with Quicktime excepting the quality issue, but when I used it with FCE, it was awful.
Not sure if FCE has its own background noise cancelling feature that interfered with the background noise cancelling feature of the logitech but it was way to quiet 90% of the time and when it wasn't it was too loud, there was no middle ground. Overall too quiet, with odd words that were obviously said a little louder being clipped.

Sountrack or Logic/Logic Express for Voice Over work?

Hello,
I am wondering which software is best for voice over work? Sountrack or Logic/Logic Express?
Any input would be great. I would add the standard effects/filters to certain voice overs and add sound effects and music.
I have a midi/guitar and garage band is enough for me. I would not want to use Garageband as my software of choice for voice over work. I want markers and other more advanced tools?
Thanks,
Erik

Hi Erik,
I haven't used Logic or Logic Express, but I recently switched from Pro Tools to Soundtrack Pro 2. (I'm an independent producer/host for 2 weekly shows on Connecticut Public Radio.)
All I can say is this-- Soundtrack Pro has shaved hours off my Pro Tools workflow, is much more intuitive, and is (obviously) Mac-friendly, so I've been singing its praises ever since I made the switch.
In fact, I think Apple should be marketing it directly to radio stations!
Hope this helps,
Bruce
www,barberproductions.com
www.rlsguide.com

Voice over and misic loaded is distored by static

followed instructions and all i get is voice over and downloaded music distored by static

Hi petes ipod,
Have you attempted to use different headphones or earbuds with your iPod? Does the same issue occur when you do? If so, your iPod Shuffle may need to be serviced. The following link should help you get started with the process and has links with additional information on topics such as warranty and service pricing, battery replacement, and express replacement service.
Apple - Support - Service Answer Center
Thank you for contributing to Apple Support Communities.
Take care,
Bobby_D

A Mic for voice-over and podcasting

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