My Sennheiser 416, 6 Years Later
Updated: Sep 9
My 6th Sennheiser 416-aversary!
A little over six years ago, I bought a Sennheiser 416 microphone (FYI that's an affiliate link). I got it because as much as I love my old AKG 420, I needed something much more portable. I wrote a blog about a mic shootout I put together and it is by far my most popular blog entry. I mean like it has thousands more hits than the next most read blog entry. I guess a lot of people Google the 416 or maybe it's just so well written. Probably the first one.
"Vague goals give you vague results. Specific goals give you specific results." - Tom
6 years later...
The 416 is still da bomb. I have had virtually no issues with it. At one point, the XLR port got loose so I sent it in and they fixed & returned it super-fast with no problems. Oh, and I custom-built a carrying case but it got flagged by the TSA way too many times so I had to get rid of it. Looking at the picture, you'll see why:
And no, the Str Wars stickers didn't make it look innocuous enough.
Tip Of the Week
The key to getting the most out of a Sennheiser 416 is positioning. There are many articles, blog posts, and YouTube videos out there and I suggest you check them out. I can't give you specific advice on how to set it up because I don't know which genres you regularly narrate, how loud or soft you usually speak, or the dimensions of your booth. I will say that you should experiment to find your sweet spot, then mark where your chair and/or mic stand is.
As to pop filters, there are as many opinions as there are voice actors. Some voice actors are more "poppy" than others so needs vary. Some use the pop filter it comes with, but some argue that's it's not very good and eventually it degrades and the particles can get in your mic and mess it up. I don't know if that's true. Others use no pop filter at all. I use the OCTO 842S Pop Filter made by The Hook Studios. It's very popular right now as it's small, fits right on the 416, is easy to travel with, and is reasonably priced.
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Tom Dheere is the VO Strategist, a voice over business & marketing coach since 2011. He is also a voice actor with over 30 years of experience who has narrated just about every type of voice over you can think of. When not voicing or talking about voicing, he produces the sci-fi comic book Agent 1.22.
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