Need high-quality mic for spoken speech

[alanhuth]

Can anybody recommend a good microphone for capturing the details of spoken language? This will be used for recording language training and accent reduction materials. The mic must be able to pick up the T, S, P, etc sounds very clearly. From looking at some of these forums, it sounds like a good mic pre-amp is important too. Any recommendations there for spoken speech?

Thanks,

Alan Huth

[kimik]

Try the Microtech Gefell tube M-990 or the M-900 for perfect definition.

[midlandmorgan]

Sennheiser MD441, Shure SM7, EV RE-20 are all very good for that application..that's probably why you see/hear of so many of them used in radio stations and TV...

Presonus is very popular for radio mics, as are Symetric, dbx286A, and Aphex...

FWIW: I have a rather pronounced baritone speaking voice, and have had some success with an ADK 51 SerIII into a Mindprint Envoice for that "Breathe Deep" kinda stuff....:D

K

[michaelhoddy]

I usually use a (gasp!) Neumann U87 for voiceovers, through an Avalon pre. The M149 is also a good choice.

The radio stations I have worked with use lots of Shure SM7's, Sennheiser MD421's, and AKG C414's. I've also seen quite a few EV RE20's and RE27's. You'd be hard-pressed to go wrong with any of these.

The Avalon 737 preamp is not my favorite on everything, but I've found it to work well for voiceovers, especially since the EQ and compressor are right there as well. Almost without exception, I'll pair it with a solid-state mic like the U87.

It seems fashionable to poo-poo the U87 right now, especially by people who have never used them. But it's a great sound in this app.

[David Klausner]

A number of the dynamic mics mentioned above (RE20, MD421, SM7) are very popular with broadcast folks because in addition to being relatively flat, as dynamics, they don't exhibit the kind of issues with plosives that condensers do, especially as people get up close on the mic. I would think that in a recording situation, where the object is to let people hear plosives and fricatives very clearly for accent reduction, a good condenser paired with a nice, clean detailed pre would do a better job. Just be sure to keep them 8" or so off the mic and use a pop filter of some sort.

[alanhuth]

Yes, I do want to hear fricatives and plosives. Is a condenser considered better for that, despite most radio studios using dynamic mics? If so, what would be a good choice for a condenser mic to fill this role and an appropriate pre?

Thanks to all who responded

Alan Huth