By Keith Brunson
We all know Stevie Nicks, the singer for Fleetwood Mac. We know her songs; we know her voice. But none of us know her microphone. Yet this mechanical object is the only mic she will sing through and is a small part of why she has such an amazing sound when she sings into it.
But isn’t a mic a mic? Not at all. Just like people, microphones are all different and are engineered with specifications that deliver amplification and recording for various purposes.
The microphone itself was first invented by Emile Berliner with Thomas Edison in 1876. Historians say it was Alexander Graham Bell. Before then, audio had never been recorded. In 1892, a legal squabble between all parties resulted in the Supreme Court ruling that Thomas Edison would be forever credited as the inventor of the microphone we know today.
There’s so much confusion about what the correct microphone is to use for the voice over artist. There are many choices, and they’re all microphones. So, today we will explain it and dig deep into why the microphone is such an important choice for voice talent.
But first, what exactly is the microphone, and how does it work? Here we go. A microphone or mic is a device-transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. The vibration of an object causes its surrounding air molecules to vibrate. This vibration creates a trajectory of changing air pressure that travels until it inevitably loses energy and comes to a halt. And so, due to electromagnetism, a concept of physics that involves electric conduction moving in a magnetic field to generate an electric signal.
That’s the explanation. If you understand that, you are rare. Most voice actors, musicians, and sound engineers make a calculated choice as to what kind of mic they use and why they use that mic.
There are four types of microphones: dynamic microphones, large-diaphragm condenser microphones, small diaphragm condenser microphones, and ribbon microphones. And dynamic microphones are the workhorses of the microphone world.
Which mic to choose for voice work? Out of the four types available,
dynamic microphones are used the most.
It’s highly technical and goes on and on. But today, we’re here to learn how to choose the right microphone and reveal the choices of some of America’s professional vo artists.
There are many experts, but Susan Berkley is one of the countries ultra-successful voice artists, “and I use the Bottle baby blue and the AKG 414,” says Susan. “We had a shootout among colleagues, and the baby Blue wins.”
Conversely, Tom Taylor of Austin, Texas, a cinematographer, uses “the Sennheiser 416, and it gets a really great sound for interviews and cutting television show voice tracks.” Tom is a nationally known videographer who has shot and recorded some of the nations’ most well-known television shows.
Podcaster Joe Rogan uses the Shure SM7B, as did Michael Jackson. Dr. Dre uses the Akai MPC 3000 or the Neuman U-87 TLM 193. But voiceover artist Jeff Lillicotch uses the StellarX2 by Tech Zone. “The XLR large-diaphragm made my voice sound much better,” says Jeff, who reinvented his life following a television career. “It just made my voice sound really good.” Jeff, 51, is a commercial production specialist who lives in Houston, Texas, and comments with confidence, “That mic just works for me perfectly.”
Jeff is the go-to guy for automotive advertising. “I get compliments on my voice when I use that mic,” says Jeff. “It really is a great microphone.”
Cinematographer Tom Taylor (left) uses a Sennheiser 416 microphone for TV voice tracks, while voice over artist Jeff Lillicotch (right) prefers the StellarX2.
By now, you are probably wondering how do I get the right advice? The answer is to learn. “We teach microphone technique,” says voice coach Mike George of The Voice Shop in our class “The Fundamentals of Voice Over.” However, other classes that teach how to construct an In-Home Studio are offered and instruct the very best microphone choices based on your vocal timbre.
Learning microphone techniques is part of The Voice Shop’s curriculum.
Now, if you think your voice is not good enough to be a VO artist, here’s why. It’s called Vocal Disparity. We’ve been listening to ourselves our whole life, “from inside our heads where the bones of our skull distort our voice,” says Susan Berkley. And that translates to the fact that you may have a voice of value to the world market. In other words, you could very possibly have a place in voice-over work but not know it. “We sound differently to ourselves than we sound on a recording,” says David Dee. David is a former magician who reinvented his life as a professional speaker in marketing.
For voiceover artists, the workhorse of the VO world is the TLM 103. And that’s the microphone Howard Stern uses. And Voice Over Artist Andy Pearson chimes in on the 103 “It’s what I used when voicing for Eaton corporation,” he says, “I know it improved my voice.”
Former Magician-turned-professional speaker David Dee (left) and voice over artist Andy Pearson underscore the importance of getting the right microphone for your voice.
That microphone is revered by many artists of the voice who wants a good clear sound. Yet, even more, choices remain. How many? Quite a few.
So now that you’re overwhelmed, where can you find out what to buy, how to use it, and what you will learn? One place is Creative Media Design , a voice over production studio and their sister company, The Voice Shop. Here, the student can obtain one voice course or a host of voice courses that train the aspiring voice-over artist from concept to completion on all voice-over matters. “Classes there changed everything,” comments Victoria Mussalli, a graduate of The Voice Shop. “It changed everything,” she says.
And so there you have it. The microphone is quite complex but made easy to understand and used to enlighten the qualities of your voice. And as for Stevie Nicks, she uses the Sennheiser e935. Word has it from her touring sound engineer David Morgan, “Stevie won’t sing without it.”
