The really best way is to call a professional recording studio and book an hour or so of their time, and have them set up an array of mics and test read you on each one. It’s infinitely better to match the mic to your particular (and unique) voice than to get just anything and try to make it fit using equalization (Google “equalization for voiceover” and read it!). I recommend you test no fewer than five mics, making sure to include all the ones listed above except the Shure SM57 / 58. When you listen to yourself recorded on each one, the best one will usually make itself plain, and it’s a good idea to ask the recording engineer’s opinion, for s/he knows what to listen for.

But don’t try this test in an amateur home studio. They almost certainly will not have the mics you need to make the test meaningful, and the person recording you will almost certainly not be competent to evaluate which mic to use for voiceover; most home studios exist for the purpose of recording music and sung vocal, not voice acting and voiceover.

What if you don’t have a studio within 50 or 100 miles, or their rates are too high (though I think paying $100 to test several thousand dollars’ worth of microphones will save you unbelievable headaches, sending mics back, etc.)?

Here’s what to do: if your budget allows,good hair day straightener, buy either a Neumann U-87 or a Lawson L-47MP II. The Lawson is a few hundred bucks less than the Neumann. The Lawson is the mic I have used for nearly 10 years. It sounds like Disney, but even more importantly, I have yet to record a voice on it where it doesn’t sound really good. The only other microphones I’ve used in the past 25 years that have that quality is the Electro-Voice RE20 and the Shure SM57, which is a $100 singer’s mic that never sounds bad but doesn’t sound incredibly stupendous either, and you have to think about that big bad competition using $2000 condensers. The SM57 will, however, work in a pinch. The Lawson is sold factory-direct through a fella named Gene Lawson in Nashville. Google “Lawson Microphones.” If you call them, you can talk right to Gene. He’s a great guy.

I also recommend Mercenary.com. They are not the least expensive, but it’s worth paying another maybe 5 percent to get the best advice out there, and I say that most sincerely. Go to their site, get their number, and call them. Tell them everything you want to do, what other gear you have, what to buy if you don’t have any gear yet. They truly give a great big rip about their customers and about the pro audio business in general. I can’t say enough good about them. In case you’re wondering about all this nice stuff I’m saying about Lawson and Mercenery, not only am I not getting paid by them, neither knows I’m writing this article These were to name a few. But apart from these, some other popular brands of microphones also exist. They are equally good like the ones mentioned above. Nady Microphones, Sennheiser Microphones, Shure Microphones, Peavey, Roland, Gemini, Electro Voice etc are some other popular brands.