Can't live without it!!

Juliana Bery · **Voice Talent** Joined: 15 Mar 2004 Posts: 16

Just starting a list out of curiosity... PRETEND you must choose only one. What is the single most important and impressive (for your own purposes) tool, discovery, upgrade, whetever that you have as a VO and would recommend to every other VO on the planet to have. One of those... I-can't-believe-I-didn't-get-one-long-ago types of elements that's really made life easier, more spunky, efficient, clear, improved, dainty, yada yada...

(Alright, to be fair, let's assume the huge contender of membership to Voice123.com and then list other things Wink

Begin!

Me: Mac Mini

Richard Wilkinson · **Voice Talent** Joined: 14 Aug 2006 Posts: 6

Before I disclose my favorite studio tool you gear nuts should subscribe to my favorite audio mag. It's called Pro Audio Review. You can get it free. This monthly magazine features every new audio gadget from the most expensive to the cheapest, all reviewed by the worlds top engineers and recording gurus.
Now to my favorite piece of gear. Many of you have stated that the microphone is the most important and that may be true. Your sound can be no better than your mic. I have some vintage mics, RCA 44bx and 77dx. Three U-87's and a number of others. The problem is finding one that fits you. After all, we are presenting our voice and not recording a band. For the money and the nearest sound to a U-87 is the AKG Perception 200. It sparkles and costs about $250
Let's get to what I think is the most important tool in my studio. In the past it was fun to have all kinds of fancy gear hanging in racks and perched on cabinets. Lets face it....you need a lot of stuff. Two years ago while shopping in my fav pro audio store, there before my eyes stood a mixer that had all the stuff hanging in my studio built inside one unit. Too good to be true...all digital limiters, compressors, gates, eq, effects, etc. they can't be any good. This has to be a pile of junk. Wrong! The store had one unit left and sold it to me for $900. MSRP is about $1300. It is the Behringer DDX3216 Automated Digital Mixer. Now I use Pro Tools LE on a PC and the Mbox has a SPDIF port on it.....the DDX3216 has one as well. Hummm.
After connecting the Mbox to the mixer with 2 cords, changing Pro Tools to SPDIF, selecting the correct sample rate and setting up the mixer the same way, you only do it one time, I had the most compact and best sounding system ever. In the past I had used and was impressed with the quality and price of Behringer products. This system is so quiet it's scary. Get the best sound for your voice with the built-in tools, store a snapshot of your settings (100's of them) and you never have to fool around looking for that perfect eq, compressor, or gate setting again. Turn it on the next day and it's there, ready to go. Your audio stays in the digital domain from mic to speaker.
In one of her postings, Juliana Berry had commented on noisey surrondings. The DDX3216 has a gate that will knock out all background noise when set properly. It sounds like you're in a black hole.
I am posting this comment because our job, with all the competition, is tough enough without a mess of wires and outboard gear to screw with all the time. My DDX3216 has made things simple.

Juliana Bery · **Voice Talent** Joined: 15 Mar 2004 Posts: 16

Wow, Richard! Thanks so much for the insider's tip! It sounds like a tool many of us could need. I'm going to research it a bit more and find out who sells them around here.
Thanks so much!

Richard Wilkinson · **Voice Talent** Joined: 14 Aug 2006 Posts: 6

Look it up on the internet Julianna. Behringer.com. You will find a better discription than the one gave you and maybe locations where you can find one.

Jerome Pennington · **Voice Talent** Joined: 12 Oct 2006 Posts: 7

There's one, previously owned, on eBay right now for $650:

Behringer DDX3216 on eBay

Would you recommend purchasing a used mixer?

Richard Wilkinson · **Voice Talent** Joined: 14 Aug 2006 Posts: 6

Just like buying a used car. Most people don't sell unless there is something wrong with it. Buying things on Ebay are at best iffy. If you can talk to the person selling and get a guaranteed return, maybe. I would not. The unit is like a computer and has a lot of features and a lot of things can go wrong if it has been abused.
P.S. There are tons of Behringer products but this mixer is not that easy to find. Most dealers do not carry them or will have to order it for you.

Jesse Angelo · **Voice Talent** Joined: 07 May 2006 Posts: 7

From the top of the line gear to the bargain basement, I have found that musiciansfriend.com is a great place to shop for gear. They stand behind everything they sell and the prices are great! There are plenty of user reviews on most products and the shipping is free (with purchase of $100 or more).

Anyway, I thought this info could come in handy for someone who needs good equipment on a shoestring budget.

Skid Trax · **Voice Talent** Joined: 14 Aug 2003 Posts: 6

Hi Folks,

Great forum. I buy all my gear from BSW. www.bswusa.com Great prices and they will price match anybody model for model. When you call a rep at bsw they will give you a lower than list price. Happy voicing y'all.

Skid

Russ McLamb · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Jul 2003 Posts: 62

My top three I buy from...

www.atlasproaudio.com
www.vintageking.com
www.sweetwater.com

Russ

Stan Davis-Potopa · **Voice Talent** Joined: 15 Jul 2005 Posts: 15

Hi, all...

Some great info here. My 2¢ worth...

To paraphrase Elmer Fudd, be vewy, vewy wawy of eBay. I got boned twice last year, once on software, once on a hard drive. Sent the money, didn't get the merchandise. Says eBay: oops! No relief.

You lucky Neumann owners...I don't think I paid that much for my first car! But, you're right. If you can get one, it's the best. That aside, take a look at the new condenser mics from MXL. Very affordable and not bad sounding. Getting good reviews. My favorite mic (although I don't have one): an old RCA BK5B ribbon. Man, does it purr!

As far as anything else goes, I go with the three Ms: Macintosh, Mackie, MOTU.

Thanks! Good luck!