Editors Keys Vocal Booth Pro 2 and SL150 Mic Bundle
Typically when I need to record a voice over for an OliviaTech video, I simply read or speak into a lavalier clipped onto the lapel of my shirt. I’ll use one of our Sennheiser G3 wireless microphones and record directly into a Zoom H4N. With this workflow, the audio files then need to be transfered from the external recording device onto a computer. Aside from this type of workflow, the quality of the voice recording isn’t exactly up to par with professional voice overs recorded in sound booths, as I’m speaking into a lav microphone in an untreated room.
There are a multitude of better alternatives out there and in the video above, we explore one of them. Editors Keys sent over their Vocal Booth Pro 2 and SL150 Mic Bundle. This kit was easy for me to set up and there was no software to install. I plugged the SL150 straight into my computer, altered the “audio” settings so the input was “Editors Keys SL150″ and then simply hit record on Final Cut Pro X, which was the software I happened to be recording my tests with.
The USB mic sits in a shock mount and the included dual layer pop filter helped to deaden the plosives that can occur when harsh bursts of air are picked up in the microphone with P’s and B’s.. Peter Piper Picked a Pickled Pepper. Plenty of plosives present there.
Quick Specs
The vocal booth works by allowing the sound to pass through individual layers of foam and aluminum. The ‘Portable Vocal Booth ‘ gently diffuses the acoustic waves surrounding the microphone, preventing the sound from bouncing back towards the mic. This can change the sound of your recording. The booth’s design is made to improve the detail and sonic character of your recordings and give vocals a crisp and clear quality of sound. Turn your speakers up, play the video, listen to the audio comparisons few times over, and let me know what you think.
There are a variety of home and studio recording kits from Editors Keys and can be found at their website at http://EditorsKeys.com.
wow… that sounds really clear. although the highs on it is a tad on the high side, nothing you can’t edit on post.
Was there anywhere to mount your script? Overall that is audio you can easily work with. Thanks for the test.
Jared, there was nowhere dedicated to mount your script.
Wow, that does sound really nice. Could you tell me your perception of how much of this quality increase is from the mic/popfilter (which should be superior to most lav’s I expect), and how much is from the fact that you have the “vocal booth” in front of you? The price is a bit above my budget (for the whole kit), since I have so many areas I need to improve on. I already do have a good pop-filter, and the tascam DR40.
Thanks!
Tom, I will try to do a follow up video of the audio quality of the SL150 w/o the audio booth and w/o the popfilter. When I performed the tests prior to our taping, the popfilter rendered the most significant difference in audio quality. It really deafened the plosives.
Thanks Olivia, much appreciated!
I wish i known about this long time ago, now its sold out. Thanks Olivia for making an awesome article about this, its a must have for me.
Perhaps it’s just me but I do prefer the sound that comes from the lav as it’s more balanced to my ears. The sound from the Vocal Booth Pro 2 comes out ‘brighter’. The latter wins hands down in cutting down workflow time though.
Thanks for showing the comparison, Olivia. Great work!
Seams a nice idea and practical one too. But the test done are a little bias. They use different mics so it’s not comparable. To test the booth you need to record with and without the booth and with the same mic. Then you can do the same with the lavalier. After this test you can for sure compare the mics and the effect caused by the sound booth.
Thanks Vico, but we were merely showing two different ways we use to do voice overs for people to hear the difference. We were not attempting to compare each piece of equipment.