VO Tips on Mics: Condenser versus Dynamic
And we’re back with another VO Tips on mics: condenser versus dynamic! You’ve probably noticed I’m wearing the same shirt—because I decided to do two videos back to back. Get over it!
Anyway, I promised to make short videos and so they shall be! We’re gonna start with the topic you probably need to know about first: microphones.
The Importance of mics:
Yes, everyone starts with mics, and people will likely poopoo this beginning topic. Most amateurs fret too much about their mic and not enough on acoustics or actual performance. But I don’t care. Because you’re not actors. You don’t need to start with understanding the motivation of your character or digging into your soul to bring truth to your performance. YOU just need to record your voice quickly and effectively.
Condenser Mics:
You could write a whole book on microphones, so I’m going to focus this video simply on explaining the difference between condenser and dynamic mics in a way that the lay person understands. In short, condenser mics are high quality and meant for very detailed audio recording, like in studios. This sensitivity also means they pick up everything—so you better be in a sound-proof, acoustically treated space like this. The major exception to this generalization are super-cardioid condenser mics, like this one here which has a very tight pickup pattern. It blocks out a lot of side and rear noise, and people use them for on location recording—think of any film sets. The guy with the boom arm looking like he’s feeding ferocious actors and trying to keep a safe distance is using a shotgun mic.
Dynamic Mics:
The other type of mic is called a dynamic microphone, which is what radio stations use and what performers use on stage. These are great because they only pick up sound very nearby. This is why you have to talk more closely to them and also why you don’t hear the crowd in live performances. They’re also very rugged, meaning you can perform a wonderfully cliché mic-drop and not necessarily hurt the mic.
What Do I recommend?
So, what do you need for your audio? I’d recommend a dynamic mic if you don’t have a very soundproof or acoustically treated space. Or a super-cardioid mic like I have here—which I’ve used to record a small role in a video game in a Fiat 500 while on vacation in Italy—it was certainly not as sexy as a Fiat commercial would have been. There was a lot of sweat though since it was about 90 degrees…outside the car.
I’ll have more VO Tips on mics on the future, but if this just overwhelms you and you’d rather have a professional voice talent take care of it, feel free to email: joe@joepassaro.com
