What's a great microphone to record video-tutorials?

[stubbsonic]

No. You could install it into the mic if there's enough room.

When I loosen the XLR connector from the mic, there does appear to be room especially for a small 1/4 watt resister. I like the idea of just making this mod & forgetting it. Very cool tip!

[mikehalloran]

Do one first and see how you like it.

One of the reasons that these are go-to mics on toms and guitar cabs is the way that they respond with a 1:15 impedance mismatch.

I recall a 'folk producer' bringing a project to me saying that, though the performances were great, there was something just not right about it. Halfway through the first song, I asked why he used SM57s on the voice and guitar (was he nuts? Of course I could hear it). Well, the artist insisted on using his own mics and bla, bla, bla... Say what? What's the job of the producer if not to talk the talent out of bad mic choices?

Anyway, I ran those tracks through an Antares MM-1 mic modeler. It's the only time I ever used it having paid $100 at a GC closeout the year before. I charged more than $100, you can bet. It didn't do a great job but a bit of eq and the end result was better—everybody was happy. I sold that MM-1 on eBay last year and got my $100 back plus a bit more. Nowadays there are plugs for that.

Speaking of plugs, I used the Mouth De-click from RX 6 on a track over the weekend and I am very impressed. It was one of those new tools (RX 6 & 6A) that I sort of dismissed when I read it in the list. This was on a child's voice and the clicks were annoyingly obvious. One pass at the 50% setting was all I needed.

[sayatnova]

Lots of great info in this thread. Thanks to all, with a nod to Mike...

~Shea

[Killahurts]

Speaking of plugs, I used the Mouth De-click from RX 6 on a track over the weekend and I am very impressed. It was one of those new tools (RX 6 & 6A) that I sort of dismissed when I read it in the list. This was on a child's voice and the clicks were annoyingly obvious. One pass at the 50% setting was all I needed.

Wow, I will investigate that! I always wanted a dedicated tool for mouth noise.. as we keep compressing vocals more and more these days, those little clicks can become a big problem fast.

[mikehalloran]

Speaking of plugs, I used the Mouth De-click from RX 6 on a track over the weekend and I am very impressed. It was one of those new tools (RX 6 & 6A) that I sort of dismissed when I read it in the list. This was on a child's voice and the clicks were annoyingly obvious. One pass at the 50% setting was all I needed.

Wow, I will investigate that! I always wanted a dedicated tool for mouth noise.. as we keep compressing vocals more and more these days, those little clicks can become a big problem fast.

Here's a pretty good pr piece on it.
https://www.izotope.com/en/community/bl ... click.html

I was asked if I could fix a track that can't be redone. I was listening and these noises were just obvious as hell. Then I thought, "I think I bought a tool for that a few weeks ago... can't hurt to try, right?" I was listening to a stereo master so I popped the track into the standalone and selected the Mouth Declick Tool and let it roll. The standalone tells you how many clicks it finds — 48 on this one 46 second track. Ok! I'm now going to have access to the tracks and get to remaster the whole album. I passed the audition as it were.

Both RX and RX Advanced have plugs and work in standalone. All plugs are in the app but not vise versa. In RX, there's one plug—you can activate the tools you want place them in order you need. The Advanced has more tools and splits them into individual plugins. Although I have Advanced, im fairly convinced that, with v.6, music engineers are probably fine with the standard version. De-plosive, Dialog Denoise and De-verb used to be found in Advanced and are now in RX 6. It can be a miracle worker when you need it. Sound for film and audio restoration are best served with Advanced. Here's a comparison chart.
https://www.izotope.com/en/products/rep ... anced.html

[stubbsonic]

I've ordered some 680 Ohm resistors, and will try that mod in one of my 57s. Just curious, would the occasional phantom power would cause any problems? My mixer is all on or all off, so if I needed to use a 57 along with a condenser would I be inflicting any damage to the 57 or my mixer?

[mikehalloran]

No. Phantom travels up 2 & 3 and back through 1. A resistor between 2 & 3 will have no effect.

Never apply phantom power to a passive ribbon, though.

[stubbsonic]

Got it. Thanks, Mike. I'll report back once I do the first mod.

[FMiguelez]

The podcasting crowd loves the Samson mics, and an inexpensive Audio Technica one that has botsxh a USB output and on-board headphone jack for hardware monitoring.
This review hits all the ones that are popular these days, but the Samson Meteor and Audio Technica AT2020 are likely the best values.

http://www.micreviews.com/guides/top-10 ... podcasting

I use a Shure Beta 87a, pointing directly downward just over my head and it produces very good audio with no EQ or anything applied. See this video to see it in action in a tutorial I'm doing on Voicemeeter (the video manual).

Terry!
Nice to meet you!

That is exactly what I want to do. Your video is exactly the kind of video that I enjoy watching.
I have "selective" misophonia, unfortunately, so I REALLY appreciate NO MOUTH NOISES.

Still, the secret to no mouth noises is to drink only water (no coffee, tea, soda, etc.) before and during the recording event. Hydration is KEY. It also took much discipline to stop myself from "ticking" with my tongue between phrases. (Many people HATE that!) Stay off the mic enough that saliva noises are not being picked up.

Nice tips!
Yes, many people have degrees of misophonia without knowing it. For instance, the sound of people eating, when I'm not eating, can make me vanish from a room instantly. I can't help it.

Also discovered that no "boom mic" on a headset I could/would afford sounded particularly good.

(I've done 170 videos so far! Wow! So, feel free to ask me for any other pointers or assistance, like perhaps a listen to your test videos.)

Terry

Wow! Thank you for your generous offer, Terry. I will take you up on it with my first video.

You seem very relaxed and comfortable when speaking. Are you improvising, or do you have some kind of script? Or just some talking points like a good orator?

In my first trial I was surprised at how much I suck at doing it improvising. I mumble and stutter and get annoyed! It's not as easy as it looks...
I read lots of heavy duty vlogers use detailed scripts during their recordings.
How do you do usually do it?
I take it you use Screenflow?

Thanks!

[FMiguelez]

I was thinking it might be easier and more effective to first record only the audio spoken word, and THEN record the video footage over my own voice as a guide...
Do you think it's an effective approach?

I should try that.

[terrybritton]

You seem very relaxed and comfortable when speaking. Are you improvising, or do you have some kind of script? Or just some talking points like a good orator?

In my first trial I was surprised at how much I suck at doing it improvising. I mumble and stutter and get annoyed! It's not as easy as it looks...
I read lots of heavy duty vlogers use detailed scripts during their recordings.
How do you do usually do it?
I take it you use Screenflow?

Thanks!

I actually use OBS to make my recordings. There is now a Mac version. (Free, always.)
http://obsproject.com

I have an entire playlist at my channel on how to use the "Classic" version of that software that translates pretty seamlessly into the new "Studio" version.

I've been doing this long enough that improvising to a well-organized outline works far better for me than attempting to read a script and still come across as relaxed and off-the-cuff. Reading a script comes off as extremely stiff and "announcer-like" unless it is well marked up with accent marks like the pros do. Plus, several rehearsals, of course! Speaking extemporaneously from an outline works far better, and is faster, plus you can be doing your screen-grabs live. The OBS software allows you to set up zooms and layouts with the touch of a key on the computer keyboard.

That is not to say I have not done my share of recordings that had to be scrapped and done all over again from scratch as I missed things from the outline! By the third take, it is always a keeper, though. The first two (if it takes that many) make for "rehearsal" takes.

Terry

[terrybritton]

I was thinking it might be easier and more effective to first record only the audio spoken word, and THEN record the video footage over my own voice as a guide...
Do you think it's an effective approach?

I should try that.

That works as well, and can make for a shorter video if planned well. But it is usually easy to just know what screens you are needing to present and talk as you are presenting them as well. The two types of video come across entirely differently, IMHO. It is easy if recording the audio to forget to leave enough time for the screens to be shown long enough, making for a "rushed" seeming presentation. So, watch for that. Doing rehearsals and just getting practice time in over time smooths these details out, though!

Terry

[stubbsonic]

BTW, I ordered some 680 ohm resisters and tried the mod on one of my 57's. Took about 5 minutes. I compared it to my other 57, and it seemed to both clear up the top end and flatten out a particular spike in the mid-mid. I liked it, so I did the other one too. Pretty painless little operation.

[mikehalloran]

BTW, I ordered some 680 ohm resisters and tried the mod on one of my 57's. Took about 5 minutes. I compared it to my other 57, and it seemed to both clear up the top end and flatten out a particular spike in the mid-mid. I liked it, so I did the other one too. Pretty painless little operation.

Back to the OP... Does it sound better to you as a voice over mic?

[stubbsonic]

Not really. It's not the right pick up pattern and is a bit too fussy about proximity. The mod improves the flatness, but doesn't address the other features.