What Microphone Accessories Should I get?

Don't Let Bad Accessories Undermine a Good Microphone

We all love talking about the star of the show: the microphone. We debate the Neumanns, the Sennheisers, and the boutique brands that promise audio gold.

But what about the mic's entourage?

It's easy to treat pop filters, shock mounts, and stands as a afterthought, but neglecting them is a good way to make a $1,000 microphone sound like a $100 USB mic plugged straight into a laptop.

With that in mind, check out these recent purchases…

My Pop Filter

I got the OCTO 842S. I had been using the Stedman ProScreen XL for years and I love it but I wanted one that’s more travel-friendly (easier to pack and doesn’t get flagged by the TSA). I’ve noticed they’re about the same when it comes to reducing pops.

My Shock Mount

I got the Eggsnow universal shock mount & mic clip. One of my mic clips broke (I like having one for home and one for the road) so this replaced the home mic clip quite nicely. It was $9.79.

BTW the microphone is a Sennheiser MK416. I blogged about it when I first got it and you can read that here. I’ve had it for over 4 1/2 years and it’s a workhorse.

My Mic Stand

The mic stand is a Proline MS235 floor mic stand. I don’t remember how much I paid for it back then (I don’t even remember when “back then” was!) but now you can get it for under 50 bucks.

When I travel, I use an On-Stage DS300B Posi-Lok 7″ Mini Desktop Microphone Boom Stand. I would have bet money they don’t make it anymore (I got mine in 2006) but they still do! Nowadays it costs about $30.

Want More Tools In Your Voice Over Toolkit?

Stop guessing which microphones, hardware, software, and books are worth your investment! I’ve built a curated resource page with the professional tools I trust to save you time and help you make smart decisions for your business.

Please note: As an affiliate partner, I may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Get my curated list of essential VO tools here.

NEWS AND NOTES

RIGHT NOW!!! I was a guest on the Voice Acting with Veronica Barerra podcast. Check it out here!

Thursday, November 19th @8PM EST: My next Business and Money 201 webinar will be ‘Managing your Money’. In this one-hour webinar, we’ll talk about what to do with your paycheck, how to manage your finances, credit cards, insurance, and retirement. This webinar caps at 25 attendees and sells out fast.

Wednesday, December 9th @8PM EST: ‘How do I Market my Demo?’ I got my shiny new demo YAY!!! What the hell do I do with it?! In this 90-minute webinar, we will discuss general marketing strategies and some specific tactics to help you determine how to get your voiceover demo into the right hands! FYI if you have produced your demo with me or graduated from the Mentorship Program, you get 50% off! Sign up here.

December: My next Marketing 201 webinar will be ‘Thriving in a Smaller Market City’. In this one-hour webinar, we’ll talk about how to build a successful voiceover business without living in a metropolitan area. This webinar caps at 25 attendees and sells out fast. Registration opens soon…!

December: My final Business and Money 201 webinar of the year will be ‘Goals’. In this one-hour webinar, we’ll talk about how to design your voiceover business model, craft a plan, and stick to it. This webinar caps at 25 attendees and sells out fast. Registration opens soon…!

HAPPY HAPPYS

Happy Homemade Bread Day and I Love To Write Day!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid. Epicetus

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Tom Dheere is a voice actor who has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. In addition to voice acting, he is a voiceover business and marketing consultant known as the VOStrategist. When not voicing or talking about voicing, Tom produces the comic book “Agent 1.22”. You can subscribe to his weekly blog and the monthly VO Strategist Learnin’ Stuff Notice here.