I’m a big believer in always trying to learn new things in order to consistently improve.
Whether it’s something personal or something in my voice over business, I strongly believe in bettering my life through improving myself.
By making small improvements often, we can:
- Become more efficient
- Become better voice actors
- Provide better service to a client
- or just have our business run smoother.
To achieve those things, I’ve made it a goal to learn at least one new thing every week.
Making it a goal is important because if I don’t set specific goals (see voice over marketing tip #3), then it’s harder to track and I’ll probably end up not going to reach them.
What I Learned This Week
So today I’m going to share one thing that I learned this week.
Some weeks the thing I learn is a big thing, while other weeks, it could just be something small.
Today it’s kind of a medium thing for me because it involves a problem that I was dealing with.
A few months ago I made this post.
The post covered what I used for my studio setup when I was recording on the road while on vacation.
It was a list of the exact equipment that I had purchased, which worked very well.
There was only one issue that I was having though, and that was with the microphone that I was using.
The problem was it sounded a little boxy to me.
It didn’t sound exactly like my everyday studio microphone, the Neumann TLM 103 that my clients are used to hearing.
I still recorded on the road with that setup and thankfully nobody said anything about it. I knew it wasn’t a problem for my clients but for me personally, I wasn’t 100% sastified with the sound.
It’s not terrible by any means and it’s a great mic to use in an emergency.
But I was looking for a mic that sounded more like what I was used to using everyday. So even while working on the road, I would have the same sound quality as when I’m in the studio.
I mentioned the issue to my buddy Chris who also uses the Neumann TLM 103 and he told me about another mic, the MXL V67G.
I ordered that microphone to test it out, and I’m happy to say that I was very impressed with it and how it compares to the TLM 103.
Click here to listen to a short sample of the TLM103 vs the MXL V67G.
I think the MXL sounds very similar to the Neumann. And best of all, I’m not hearing that boxy sound I heard before.
The MXL costs about $80. It makes a great mic for the road or even as a main mic.
It’s a very affordable microphone for the quality, although I’m not crazy about the green and gold design:
For about $150, you can upgrade to a different color, but for me, I’m only going to use it on the road and I’m not going to have to look at it everyday.
So my lesson for the week is short and sweet:
Spending more money doesn’t always get you a better sound, and it pays to spend the time to perfect your setup.
I was very happy to see that this $80 microphone sounded very close to what my Neumann TLM 103 microphone sounds like in the studio.
As I start preparing for an upcoming trip, I know I’ll be using the MXL V67G microphone on the road.
What Did You Learn This Week?
I’m going to make it a goal of mine, to share something new every week. Whether by video, blog post, or just as an email sent your way, hopefully it is something that can help you out as well.
If you think back to this past week, what is one thing that you learned?
It could be personal or it could be voice over related…
Something to improve your workflow or your efficiency, or something to improve your sound.
What improvement did you make or what did you learn this week that is going to make next week even better?
Let me know in the comments below.
Hi Jason, in the pic, which shockmount and pop filter is being used with the MXL V67G? I’d like to purchase that accessory. Thanks!
Hey Tim, It doesn’t look like that exact one is available anymore, but here’s one very similar:
https://amzn.to/3xIgHan
Just out out of curiosity, what was the boxy sounding on-the-road mic that you used which you decided to change out?
It was the AT875R
Hi Jason, thanks so much for all you’re doing! I don’t know how old this article is, but clicking on the link to the Amazon page, the mic is now up to $106 (that’s what happens when the word gets out, I guess!). That is still a good price, but there are several other versions of this mic on the same Amazon page. Are there any others on that page that you would recommend over the V67G? I imagine that maybe some are for certain types of applications other than VO, and the V67i looks interesting because of the ability to quickly switch from rich to bright tones. Also, the V67G HE looks really cool, but is it any better than the V67G, or is the markup more for the nostalgic design than the quality? I figure you could tell better than I with just a glance at the features, as I am still very new to all this. Thanks very much!
I would stick with the V67G. I don’t think I’d use the rich/bright tone switch.
Ok, thanks!
Great info! Thanks for the tips!
Thanks Ingrid!
Hey Jason! Great info! Very useful and to the point. Im just getting started. Havent spent a dime yet, just taking lots if notes. Do u offer coaching/training? Ill check ur website also. I just viewed the “10 Tips..” video. Thx a ton. DH. Ohio.
Thanks Damon. I don’t offer 1-to-1 coaching but do have some advanced training programs.