How Do You Define An “Appreciable Difference?”

well hey there hero it’s David H
Lawrence the seventeenth and today I
want to talk to you about microphones in
particular there was a video that I did
recently that made sure everybody kind
of understood if USB versus studio
microphones were confusing that the
microphone that I use and then I
recommend the at2020 USB plus yes that’s
right I recommend that and I use that
question was what kind of interface is
best to use with that and the answer is
there is no interface that goes with it
because the interface is actually in the
bottom of the microphone itself so you
plug it directly into your computer and
one of the comments on that particular
video was from Jeff staight sir who said
great to know already have that but I
also have a focus right and I went ahead
and I splurged and I got an 80 20 20 20
35 which is higher on the pecking order
of microphones and it’s a studio
microphone it’s not a USB microphone so
it has an XLR connector on the end that
plugs into the focus right and the
question that he asked was is there any
appreciable difference between the two
microphones and the answer to that is
interesting because sure in terms of
specs absolutely there’s a difference
and it’s appreciable it’s a better mic
it’s more expensive it’s got a richer
fuller sound to a degree very small
degree but to a degree that pickup is
better constructed the microphone itself
is a little bit better in terms of
quality of materials and and so on but
having said that that doesn’t mean it’s
going to make an appreciable difference
in your voiceover career because the
difference between the 2020 and the 2035
although it can be measured is not
something that you go oh my gosh yes of
course your voice is so much lovelier on
the 20:35 there is a little tiny bit of
difference and it may not be a
difference that you welcome because if
you’re recording in
face that you know isn’t soundproof or
at least sound treated then whatever
advantage the 2035 has likely won’t show
up on your auditions and your finished
work now if you’re in a booth if you’re
in a studio bricks or if you’re in a
whisper room or if you’re in one of our
booths you know then it’s possible that
you might hear a difference but again
it’s not the kind of thing once you get
it down to a 128k mono audition or even
a 192k you know crunched audio book body
is going to be that recognizable there
are so many other variables that would
make a bigger difference in how you
sound using the twenty thirty five
versus the twenty twenty your attack on
the mic the the the addressing of the
microphone where you are your your
talent I mean that’s the big elephant in
the room if those things are all the
same then I would say yes there’s a
pre-civil difference in terms of the
specs but I don’t think you’re gonna
hear those appreciable differences when
you actually use the microphone and
again it depends on so many other things
but maybe that’s why you ask the
question in the way that you did is
there an appreciable difference and
that’s still a great herb that you know
what is appreciable to one person may
not be appreciable to another a few DB’s
difference in terms of a frequency
response curve or a quietness level in a
microphone usually doesn’t have much
effect on the person’s performance or
the person’s submissions it’s just a
tiny tiny little bit better and it kind
of comes back to the whole notion of
it’s not the mic it’s the person using
the mic because you could be using a
even worse selection than the 20/20 but
if you have incredible talent the mic
will make almost no difference
whatsoever certainly you want to enjoy a
read and you want to enjoy a great bit
of equipment use to complement that read
but I think that in general if you’re
happy with the at2020 I think you might
be happier with the several hundred
dollars you’ll get back if you sell the
Focusrite and the 80/20 35 and again I
don’t know what space you’re working in
if you’re working in a very quiet space
a booth then maybe the other way is is
what you want to do is is go ahead and
use the 2020 for travel or sell the 2020
I don’t know I wouldn’t know enough and
even if you had all of those things
again appreciable not so sure I know I
don’t know if that helps I hope it does
does it raise more questions for you
Jeff or for you watching this video let
me know I’d be happy to help you out
with that if you want to be on my list
I’d love to have you on that as well if
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really appreciate it I’m David H
Lawrence xvii I thank you so much for
watching and I will talk to you tomorrow.