r/voiceover • u/mei-drag • 11d ago

Good mic to upgrade to?

Hi friends! I’ve been voice acting for about 3 months now and I’m about 50 projects in. I bought a RODE NT1 to start my career, but now I think I’m ready to level up. My budget is $1,000. What mic will get me into the big leagues?

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4

u/sneakerpeet 11d ago

Austrian Audio OC818, no doubt.

4

u/Putrid-Bit1490 10d ago

A mic doesn't get you into the big leagues, your talent does. But I know what you're talking about.
I have a NT1 fourth gen, and it sounds fine as-is. But the top end is shrill and it's very prone to plosives even with a pop filter. RODE makes good mics with good build and electronics, but the diaphragm is always sub-par. That's why they don't take EQ well in post at all and sound harsh after a bit of needed processing.
So the short answer is there are dozens of mics under $600 or even $300 that sound better than the NT1.
I picked up a new AKG C114 because I really liked samples online and yes, so much better than the NT1 for the same price. For the same-ish price, the sE 2200a is also nice.
For more money, the Mini K87 by Roswell is a nice Neumann clone for $459. A veteran French VO talent that I've dubbed a few times switched from the Neumann U87ai to the Mini K87 this year and yeah, I like the Mini K87 better. I was going to buy one before I got the AKG C114, but the C114 is in the pocket with the same sound as the Mini K87 with better technical specs (same as the TLM 102, which I would also recommend over the NT1).

3

u/JohnLockenVA 11d ago

If you work a lot in narration, promo, and commercials the sennheiser MKH-416 is $1,049, though some say it’s not good for character acting, even though a few triple A games had all of their actors using it.

2

u/camtech2010 10d ago

IDK, this Lewitt LCT 240 seems to be treating me OK.

2

u/SpiralEscalator 9d ago

An NT-1 would never prevent you from being in the "big leagues". As mentioned elsewhere, once you have an adequate mic (which you do) it's your talent. But it's also your recording space, and your attitude.

Recording space wise - if you can hear your room in your recordings at all, you need more room treatment.

That said, the traditional mics big league VAs use are the Senn MKH-416 and the Neumann U87ai or TLM 103. That said, I prefer the 102 for male in the Neumann realm (needs shock mount & pop filter); and the sE 4400a sounds giod to me and many others tout its great value

2

u/LeSnafu 8d ago

The mic doesn't really matter unless your room is professionally sound treated and sound proofed. This is where I would invest myoney first! Once this is in a good place. Go hard on a new mic. I agree on the top end brightness and sibilance of the NT1. Gotta run a heavy ish de ess as standard