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I'm looking for some recommendations on a decent "portable sound booth" for voiceover work. It would be used to record VO for training videos. The recording would be done at the editors residence in the "best possible" room available in the house. 

 

HERE IS A LINK to the type of product I think might help in whatever situation we might end up with. Willing to spend a little more money if the product offers decent improvements. 

 

My experience is mostly ENG and I plan on using my 416 or similar to actually capture the audio. But if someone has a recommendation on a decent table top mic with a price range under $300 that sound better for stationary VO, then please don't hesitate to recommend. 

 

I greatly appreciate any advise!!!

 

Damen

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The Acousti-shield would help in a decent room to begin with, but wouln't magically turn a bathroom or other acoustically compromised space into a VO studio.
Some VO artists I've encountered swear by the 416. But these guys are pros and it doesn't mean the 416 would work for everyone.

That said, the normal 'go-to' VO mic would be a LD condenser. They are lots of choices in your budget range. A stand, shock mount, windscreen and headphone/monitor system should be factored into the cost.. as well as a good quality quiet pre-amp.

There are also USB mics available that allegedly sound 'decent' and would eliminate the preamp cost.  FWIW, Electronic Musician magazine has a review of six of the LD USB mics in the April issue. Print only for now, but will be available on the internet around the 1st.

There is more discussion on DIY VOs on the DVinfo and DVXuser audio forums.

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For me the most important part of doing a good location v.o. (Wich is not ideal from the start but hey.. ) is working on the acoustics of whenever you re gonna do that. What i recently did with sucess was build a cube made of sound blankets and put subject sitting down in the middle. All you need is 6 blankets, 4 c-stands and minimum 4 metal clips. It s gonna damp any acoustic issue you might encounter. Did that in a truck cube and in a bathroom too. I might be wrong but i think it works better than some small device as the one you mention. My .02

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I'm looking for some recommendations on a decent "portable sound booth" for voiceover work. It would be used to record VO for training videos. The recording would be done at the editors residence in the "best possible" room available in the house.

HERE IS A LINK to the type of product I think might help in whatever situation we might end up with. Willing to spend a little more money if the product offers decent improvements.

My experience is mostly ENG and I plan on using my 416 or similar to actually capture the audio. But if someone has a recommendation on a decent table top mic with a price range under $300 that sound better for stationary VO, then please don't hesitate to recommend.

I greatly appreciate any advise!!!

Damen

I made a super simple portable sound booth for when I travel on a series and post needs a specific couple of lines to make a cut work or they cut the show intro or a trailer or whatever. It's a drastic improvement over nothing at all, and that's a big and easy first step. I'll let the other guys chime in with mic suggestions. I used my Schoeps because its what I had on me.

http://texassoundguy.blogspot.com/2013/01/portable-sound-booth.html

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I've also had good success with a furnie pad booth as was described earlier. 

 

Here's a line of products that have some passionate followers.  I haven't used the Porta-Booth but can vouch that the HH large diaphragm mic is a good value for the money:

 

http://voiceoveressentials.com/

 

On the microphone page there is a variety of voice samples comparing the HH mic to several standard VO mics.

 

http://voiceoveressentials.com/content/vo-1a-voiceover-microphone.htm

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I have a PVB from RealTraps as well. I was a pre-order customer on their first run; I still use it. Here's a brief review after 6 years with the thing:

 

Overall it's great for location VO work where you don't have any other options. Some clients just won't come to you and this option works to a degree.

 

However this biggest drawback with it is that it's temperamental, mic choice and positioning (like any other time you use a mic) is critical; too close to the back and the sound takes on an unpleasant quality; too far out and you loose the advantage of the absorption to an increasing degree.

 

Also paramount is the talent's position. Is that a really a surprise? 

 

Just right and it can sound OK, depending on the room. Ideally you'd also have a person-high set of traps behind the talent (or a sound blanket or two in my case). But all that diminishes the "portability."

 

The really sad part about the PVB is that it doesn't work well for most VO work because there's no room to put your notes and/or script. (To hammer home the point, look at the above photo, which is right off of the RealTraps website).

 

I have on occasion used a Steadman gooseneck thingy to hang a sheet of paper but there are several issues:

- sound reflections at annoying frequencies from the promixity of the paper, even worse when it's off-set and your affecting the left or right side of the rear of the mic pattern (ie asymmetrically)

- even if you do get a decent sound with a script hanging from somewhere it's rarely at a position that's condusive to comfortable VO work. The talent has to crank their neck and or the close promixity of the script to the mic means they move away from the mic, which affects both the general quality (since many times you really have to "eat" the mic) and moves the talent out of the PVB sweet spot, which is small.

 

Don't get me wrong, I still like it and still use it, but I think it's a band-aid for a situation which already has many other issues: uncontrolled locations/rooms often used with talent that's not really trained "talent" and while it can be a useful tool in the kit, it's not the end all or be all, and the unit in the OP is even worse.

 

sE makes a similar product which I bought and tested and returned. I wrote about it a couple of years ago and thought it was still pertinent and reposted it here:

http://slrdwrds.shiftfocus.ca/2013/03/15/repost-a-few-hours-with-with-the-reflexion-filter/

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Oh, and I would add one other thing, while a large diaphragm condenser would be a studio-style VO mic, often a dynamic mic in a bad room will be a better choice as they tend to capture less of the ambiance and you can often spit right into them. RE20, SM7b, MD441 (heck even an MD421) are some choices I would consider bringing on location in addition to my usual suspects which might be too sensitive for poor rooms.

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I agree with you Petros.  I like it because it helps in most situations and is easy to transport compared to the flexion products.  Yes it is awkward to handle the scripts.  For me easier than several C stands and sound blankets to carry.

 

As always YMMV.

 

David

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  • Every voice sounds different in a particular mic, so although I could provide a list of mics, you really need to try them out.  That said, common VO mics are in that price range are:

EV RE20

Shure SM7B

Rode NT1A (consider modding by Michael Joly for extra $$)

CAD E100s (not the E100 or other models)

MXL VO1-A "Harlan Hogan" VO Mic

 

 

As far as a portable sound booth, instead of lugging 4 c-stands around:

buy a Matthews 4 x 4 gel frame for under $100.  Clip on 4 sound blankets to form "walls"  Toss one over the top.  Mount that in a nice HD stand...perhaps something with a wider base than a C-stand

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For me, location VO is still location sound, not studio VO.  Thus I tend to use the same mics I use for dialog because I want the same amount of BG rejection for the VO.  I tried bringing along various cardioid LDCs for this, and found that my boom mic worked better generally.  For an improvised booth, I've found that more is better--ie a bunch of furni pads is better than one of those goofy diffuser things from SE mostly because there is more stuff to soak up the reflections.  Another common place I end up for this sort of thing is in cars (or, on commercials, "pass. vans").  Again, the shotgun is your friend here since you want as little reflection picked up as possible.

 

philp 

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EV RE20

Shure SM7B...

"

not as familiar with the others listed, but

the New RE-320, a variant frankenmic hybrid of RE-20 and RE-27 technologies, is an excellent choice/value

Senn MD-421

 

" location VO is still location sound, not studio VO "

though it is for VO purposes, typically different from wild lines that might be a PMP ADR...

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  • 2 years later...

Fury has been looking at a portable ADR setup and wonders if anyone can be of help , with the following concept.  Feature a 4' X 4" or 4 " diameter (all approximate) booth, with double Sound Blanket walls, separated, by 4-6".  Anyone done anything like this/have ideas on the home depot level of this undertaking, for example?

Thank you very much

Fury

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I've recorded many a v/o using a boom mike in it's Rycote shield very close and placed

to one side of the actor's mouth to avoid popping.

Use a bedroom or well upholstered lounge of even inside a vehicle.

It does not need to be complex!

Also a slotted tube mike is best as a big diaphragm condenser used close will pick up

tongue and mouth slap and/or maybe the actor will need a glass of water to help.

Try it!

mike

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whats wrong with her legs??

you tell us. the marketing department probably have stats showing the proposition to the consumer 'sounds' best when presented with this image and as much as i might not agree this is hardly exceptional.

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