Tracking Tips: Voiceover with Guy Michaels and the DynaCaster

The DynaCaster is a multipurpose dynamic broadcast microphone. Designed to a quality standard far beyond the still-ubiquitous broadcast mics of decades past, the DynaCaster is destined to be a favorite among singers, podcasters, and voiceover artists.

One such industry name is British Voiceover Artist Guy Michaels, whose sophisticated timbre and exemplary recording skills have made him a top-tier professional for over two decades. In the following series of videos, Guy brings you into his world. As the Owner of Voiceover Kickstart where many of the world’s leading Voiceover Artists acquired the chops to begin their career, Guy provides insight to the demanding nature of the VO business, especially in terms of recording quality and background noise.

Looking for sound samples? Hear additional DynaCaster sound samples from Guy demonstrating the EQ switches, pop filter and DYNAMITE pre in various configurations below.

For voiceover artists who have invested in a completely isolated and highly-treated recording space, a condenser microphone is the obvious choice. The polish and detail of a condenser provides that “finished” sound, but if you’re not in the perfect space, they will often pickup unwanted background noise.

Guy Michaels makes the point that voiceover artists deliver their work “naked”: a single voice track with no way to hide any imperfections. Traffic sounds, a refrigerator compressor, neighbors from the next apartment, etc, can ruin a perfectly delivered voiceover. Voiceover recordings demand a quiet and non-distracting environment.

The DynaCaster’s integrated three-layer pop filter is efficient for two reasons. Most importantly, the pop filter prevents any plosives or powerful wind blasts from disrupting a recording. Also, the DynaCaster’s integrated pop filter is also easily disassembled and sanitized, built with quick-drying components that don’t soak up liquid. Additionally, the clever pop filtration system provides opportunity for obstruction-free camera angles allowing for shots that are impossible to capture when a pop filter is in the way.

“I found the mic very difficult to pop, these examples prove its ability to deal with plosives.”
– Guy Michaels

What if you could get the detail of a condenser without the worry of background noise, and the smoothness of a broadcast mic without the notoriously low output and high noise floor?

At the flick of a switch + phantom power (48V), the DynaCaster’s integrated DYNAMITE preamp instantly provides an +30dB of clean and transparent gain. This means you won’t need to crank the gain knob of an interface or mixer to get a clean signal. This is helpful because the more the gain on an interface or mixer’s preamp, the more noise is introduced.

With the DynaCaster’s +30dB of gain, your interface / mixer preamp gain can be set at its quietist setting so that the DynaCaster can provide clean, transparent gain – making every voiceover session as noise-free as possible.

Consistency is crucial in any industry and as Guy Michaels has explained, voiceover is not an exception. Having the essential components that ensure consistent sound quality in fast-paced broadcast settings or even mobile rigs has always been a challenge in the voiceover industry.

The DynaCaster’s design is intended to solve these issues to provide voiceover artists and engineers alike a level playing field no matter the environment or equipment (interface / mixer / preamp) to ensure superb quality in a single compact system.

Any professional engineer would suggest capturing the source at it’s best before any processing. This not only ensures that what you record is captured in the most natural way but also helps minimize any post-processing as that can introduce additional noise into the mix. So, having 6 EQ configurations built into the DynaCaster helps in a few ways. While minimizing the potential of proximity effect or sibilance, maintain a fuller or richer sound before the signal is processed by any additional plug-ins or outboard gear so the raw recording is pristine in itself.

Plus, for high-paced environments, the DynaCaster’s EQ switches are recessed to ensure your setting will remain untouched even in the most demanding environments.