Since the question of "which microphone should I choose?" is one of the most common questions voice actors ask each other, it's definitely worth reading if you don't already know the answer to the question.
On the side, I think I have an unattributed quote in the article.
Okay, let me clarify that statement. I don't like most microphone shootouts, especially for voiceover. Here's a few reasons why:
Most people doing them don't know how - I'm sorry for having to be the one to say it, but I am. You need to maintain a certain standard of quality and impartiality when you do any kind of comparison, and normally I just don't see it in the shootouts people use on most boards and websites.
Different sources are used for different microphones, which makes it impossible to judge any of the microphones used - I want you to think about this. How can you know how one microphone sounds when compared to another when two different sources are being recorded. A microphone sounds different from person to person, so once you've injected two people on two different mics, you've just invalidated your experiement and any conclusions that you draw from it. Sure, mic A might be darker than mic B, but if one of the sources is a low baritone and the other is a tenor 2, then how much difference can I really tell is between the two mics tested? The answer is "not much".
Different mics are used on different recording chains - If reason #2 didn't point out the problem, then the fact that so many "shootouts" and "comparisons" use different preamps, cables, DAWs, EQs, etc. (i.e., your recording chain) should raise a big flag to you. In the recording chain, your microphone and preamp are two of the biggest factors in the quality and characterization of sound that are going to affect the recording of your source (the source itself and the environment of the recording space are the most important things to any recording, but for the recording chain, your mic and preamp are the biggest factors to take into consideration IME). If I'm recording a U87 using a John Hardy preamp and trying to compare that mic to an AK-47 recorded through a D.W. Fearn, then I'm going to have a really difficult time being able to determine where the line is drawn between microphone and preamp. It's going to be impossible to properly compare the two microphones. You need to have consistency within the recording chain so that when you change one element within that chain (the microphone) to compare it to another, the listener can habituate everything else in the chain and concentrate on the two items being compared. Makes sense, right? And yet few people compare microphones that way.
Observational bias and sound quality - If you don't like one brand of microphone, then you're going to be hard pressed to be subjective about it when your compare it to other brands. That's observational bias and it's a common trait. If you're human, you've got it... accept it and move on. There's not a whole lot you can do about it unless you're the listener, in which case you need to learn to recognize when you're doing it. The quality of recording though... different story. Most microphone shootouts I hear use MP3 formatted clips. It's a lossy format, so I know from the start that I'm not getting the full sound that I ought to be getting. That's kind of bad. What makes it worse, is that some folks reduce the bit rate of the recording to the lowest level they can in order to save space. Listen, I know that you don't want folks to have to download a 100MB file just to hear a pair of microphones, but the more you take away from the quality of the recording, the harder it is for the rest of us to be able to judge the difference in the two sounds. In the attempts to make life easy for the listener, you've just taken away our ability to properly critique what you're doing. It's not worth it.
It's not you that they're recording - This is the most important factor to consider when dealing with a microphone shootout. Everybody sounds different, so every microphone is going to sound a little different. The same holds true for your recording environment. Put it together, and you quickly realize that the best way for a person to understand which microphone is going to work best for them is for them to take the microphone into their own place and record it with their own voice. It's going to be the most accurate way to learn how two different microphones affect a source. Microphone shootouts (when done properly) can give you a good starting indication, but until you get some face time with the tools themselves, you're working from a generalized point of view instead of your own working knowledge of the device,
Transom Tools has one of the best microphone shootouts I've ever heard. That the shootout is over three years old and is still considered to be one of the best comparison of voice over mics out there is a testament to the care and quality they put into their testing. If you're looking for a mic shootout, I can't think of anything online that is as well done as what these guys put together.
If only they could have offered the files as WAV... still, they're light years beyond anything else I've found online.
Rate card for voiceover talent? It's a start to understanding the terrain.
A lot of folks have been chatting about this, and while I hate to jump on the bandwagon this particular item is worth repeating.
Seems that the folks at Edge Studio took the time to take some rates and put them together into a very nice list that the average voice talent can use.
I recommend that any voice actor take the time to learn what the rates are in their local area and spread out from there, learning about the rates and general working conditions of whatever areas they're working in. Quite simply, you wouldn't plan a trip cross country without having a map would you? Then why would you try to work someplace without knowing what the rates, etc. are?
Don't believe me? Well Sun Tzu thought enough of it to dedicate a good chunk of "The Art of War" to warn the reader:
You need to be aware of the terrain and its affect on your soldiers, as well as the enemy. This will allow you to fight with advantage. From a position of this sort, if the enemy is unprepared, you may sally forth and defeat him. But if the enemy is prepared for your coming, and you fail to defeat him, then, return being impossible, disaster will ensue. knowing these things is a test of a great general.
Carl von Clausewitz also believed it to be a crucial factor towards victory, and I think that anyone who want to succeed in business should understand the advantages and constraints of the terrain/environment in which they operate.
The good folks at Edge can't know all the different rates across the country, but their rate card is a very good start (though I'd like to know the specifics behind the census they used... it's the engineer in me). It's a great resource that a lot of talent can definitely use, especially if they're trying to establish an online presence with any of the P2P sites out there right now. Don't get me wrong, some of the online sites are genuinely working to provide a service in an equitable manner,as you can see here or here, they might not totally sync up with what the rates are in your neck of the woods.
I guess the long and short of it is this, Edge Studio put together a nice resource, and there are others out there which I've linked to this post. Don't be afraid to use them, but don't be defined by them either. You are the CEO of your voiceover business. Don't be afraid to take command of your position, or your rates.
