I have to record a voice over and make them sound like a football commentator...

Can anyone recommend any tips & tricks to emulate the lip mics they use?

It's short notice so we'll be recording on a U87...

  • Close as you can, lots of pop shield, with rolloff, would be a start. Maybe switched to figure 8 or omni to temper the proximity effect. Not something I've ever tried to make a strict comparison of, so just as a quick comment. – Tetsujin Apr 26 '17 at 11:14
  • How about a desk fan for wind simulation? :-) – Simon Bosley Apr 26 '17 at 11:37

Well... first things first: you have to mimic a football comentator of course. Maybe watch a couple of matches and see how their voices change, depending on the situation of the match. You'll notice that a lot of them have a very simmilar way of expressing excitement, tension and so on.

Sendondly: From a sound engineering view, the right mic does a lot to your voice. Now for fat, colored recordings, I would generally suggest a tube mic. Now there are other classics like the shure sm7b. Your U87 isn't a bad choice. It's just much more linear and will require a little more post production.

Finally: The post is always important, when it comes to sound design. Comentators are usually boosted in bass and sub bass frequencies (50 - 200 Hz) at around 3 to 6 dB, depending on the recording. The tube or the sm7b would have a similar effect, but this is a good way to make a voice "fat". If you have a higher voice, don't just shift the boost towards your frequency spectrum, but try to open up the Q in order to still be able to catch some of that bass. Oh and naturally: lowcut at 20Hz to reduce wabbly noises. If your Voice is still "too weak", then try to boost frequencies at around 6-13 kHz for about 2 dB. Naturally, you are gonna want to compress the **** out of the voice to kill as much dynamic as you can.

Good luck!!! :)

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  • That's really odd... I was disagreeing with almost every setting you were suggesting until it dawned on me... American commentators. My brain was firmly entrenched in British which is quite a different sound, trying to kill the over-proximity & bass-lift & arrive at a much more 'naturally-spoken' feel. – Tetsujin Apr 27 '17 at 20:36
  • Absolutely! I find that they do boost bass frequencies in a lot of countries and not just America, but you're defenitely right: The Americans are somewhat iconic when it comes to bassed vocals. If the approach was a very clear recording, then the U87 is perfect, in my oppinion. An other characteristic of those "naturally-spoken" voices CAN be a mid-frequency boost though. Only for 0.5 to 3 dB, but this will give it more of a "old-school, talking into a box" flavour. – Xaphas Apr 28 '17 at 3:42

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