With a thousand dollars to bid farewell....

[wheelema]

Would you say hello to one 'pricey' microphone, or hello to several more 'reasonable' microphones?

I know what I'm going to do but I would love to hear the ideas/reasoning of others. Right now all I have are a couple of Marshalls and I am recording female vocals.

[chessrock]

Depends on your goals, and what you are hoping to accomplish, ultimately.


If all you're going to be tracking is yourself or someone else, then get whatever mic sounds best on that voice and/or works well on what you are tracking, regardless of price.

If you're going to be trying to open your doors to outside business, then a more diverse collection is going to be necessary. There's just no way around it, because you don't necessarily know what you're going to be working with.

But even then, it's going to be important for you, I think, to have at least one somewhat impressive vocal mic or something along those lines . . . if for no other reason than it will be a selling point.

It's too bad you don't live in a major market. Here in Chi-town, I have at least two places I can call on and rent several good mics for the day for $30 or so a piece.

[Dethska]

Southern California isn't a major market?

[matty_boy]

Dethska:

Have you heard of a studio in Ft. Collins called The Blasting Room. It is run Bill Stevenson and Stephen Eggerton from All and The Descendants. I have heard some recordings from there, and have been really impressed.


Sorry to highjack the thread.

[chessrock]

Originally posted by Dethska
Southern California isn't a major market?

My bad.

Why aren't you renting Wheele?

[CanopuS]

Donations are accepted....

[wheelema]

...posted by chessrock
Why aren't you renting...

Well, first I hadn't considered it, but now that you brought it up, I would sure hate to rent a super nice mic (e.g., Blue, Neuman, whatever), find a sound I just LOVE then convince myself that it is okay to skip one or two mortgage payments to buy one. I suppose if I was going to cut a demo and wanted the best this would be a good idea, but the girls aren't there yet.

...posted by Dethska
Southern California isn't a major market?

Well, where I am at isn't too major... 1/2 way between San Diego and Los Angeles. If your an optimist, I am equally close to both markets, if you're a pessimist, I'm hell and gone from everything!

...posted by chessrock
If you're going to be trying to open your doors to outside business, then a more diverse collection is going to be necessary. There's just no way around it, because you don't necessarily know what you're going to be working with.

Well maybe downstream, one or two years, lots more experience, this will be a great idea. I'm buying 6 1/2 acres so with good soundproofing nobody would hear Blue Man Crew practicing.

...posted by Matty_boy
Sorry to highjack the thread.

Help!

[DJL]

Originally posted by wheelema
Well, where I am at isn't too major... 1/2 way between San Diego and Los Angeles. If your an optimist, I am equally close to both markets, if you're a pessimist, I'm hell and gone from everything!

Humm, that would put you somewhere near Orange County... you shouldn't have any problems renting mic's in your area.

[Innovations]

Originally posted by DJL
Humm, that would put you somewhere near Orange County... you shouldn't have any problems renting mic's in your area.

or, if further inland, near temecula or the sort near I15. If he is on 6 and a half acres and is not a millionare it is most likely inland.

Returning to the original question I would not blow a thousand dollars on a mic without looking at the rest of the signal chain and room accoustics as well.

[Richard Monroe]

You ask a tough question buddy, because first of all, the real dreadnought class vocal mics can't be touched for $1000. On that basis, I'd probably buy more than one mic, and start saving for the real deal. If I were recording female vox (anybody familiar with my music knows I do that a lot), I would probably spend the grand on a Shure SM7B, a Rode NTK, an Oktava ML-52, and an Oktava MK319. Combined with your MXL's, one of them should make almost any woman sound pretty good.
For the big bucks, I would be looking at Soundelux ifet7, Neumann U87, U47, B.L.U.E. Bottle/Cactus, Lawson L47, Brauner Valvet.-Richie

[wheelema]

Originally posted by Innovations
or, if further inland, near temecula or the sort near I15. If he is on 6 and a half acres and is not a millionare it is most likely inland...

BINGO! It is near Temecula. Don't I just WISH I was a millionaire... actually, given inflation, make it a multi-millionaire.

Originally posted by Innovations
...I would not blow a thousand dollars on a mic without looking at the rest of the signal chain and room accoustics as well

The room is not yet built out. Starting on 420 sq. ft. in January with a contractor/musician friend of mine. The rest of the signal chain will be a RME Multiface/RME QuadMic into Sonar. Downstream I am budgeting for a Langevin Dual Vocal Combo.

[wheelema]

Originally posted by Richard Monroe
You ask a tough question buddy, because first of all, the real dreadnought class vocal mics can't be touched for $1000. On that basis, I'd probably buy more than one mic, and start saving for the real deal. If I were recording female vox (anybody familiar with my music knows I do that a lot), I would probably spend the grand on a Shure SM7B, a Rode NTK, an Oktava ML-52, and an Oktava MK319. Combined with your MXL's, one of them should make almost any woman sound pretty good.
For the big bucks, I would be looking at Soundelux ifet7, Neumann U87, U47, B.L.U.E. Bottle/Cactus, Lawson L47, Brauner Valvet.-Richie

Richard,

I was leaning towards a Sennheiser MD441-U, and a Shure SM7B, with a SP C3 as soon as finances allowed. I would LOVE to get a good ML-52 but Octava seems to have disappeared from the marketplace. Where do you shop!?

[Richard Monroe]

Oktava hasn't disappeared from the marketplace. It's a Guitar Center exclusive. Mostly Musician's Friend, the on line arm of GC, has gotten out of Oktavas. I suspect that complaints about QC, both real and fabricated, have caused a lot of complaints/returns, and they'd rather have the brick and mortar people handle them so you can return them more easily. The Sound Room in Connecticut handles Oktava, but with superb quality control for which you pay a significant price increase. The ML-52 was on sale for $200 recently at GC- they sold it to me for $175. I'm not sure I'd buy a Sennheiser 441 *and* an SM7B. They are both great mics, though. Hell, I'd take the 441.
I'll promise you this though- Even if you buy a $1000 mic for vox, there will come a day, a song, a key, a woman, where the MK319 will sound better for $99. At the price point, it's a no-brainer.- Richie

[wheelema]

Richard,

I truly appreciate the career counseling. The two Oktavas are now in my future. Here's the (wannabe) lineup:

Sennheiser MD441-U dynamic
Oktava ML-52 ribbon
Studio Projects C3 condensor
Oktava MK-319 condensor
Studio Projects C4 matched pair small condensor (for maximum accuracy)


When the job market heats up....

AEA R84 ribbon
Royer Labs R-122 Active ribbon
Langevin Dual Vocal Combo


When I win the Lottery....

... heck, I'll just buy Mercenary and let Fletcher retire.

[Middleman]

I have seen some used U87s for around $1500 if you can come up with some additional cash. Here's one for $1400. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=41466

Occasionally you can find one of the old CMV53s which sound close to a U47 for $1200.

I would save some more cash and step up to a good used mic if I was in that price range. Or, put that money down a more expensive mic and make a few payments.

If you can rent or go somewhere that has a collection that is excellent advice as others have said.

[wheelema]

Middleman,

That is a beautiful mic, no question. Damn shame escrow doesn't close until January... and it's a damn shame my wife is a fair hand with a shotgun.

Think I better stick with the Oktavas!

[darrin_h2000]

You know that every returned octava comes thru KC ultimately. thats where MF friends returns go...I can buy them for just a fraction of what you guys can.

Id go for the $1000 mic...hold out till feb and the Steven Paul mic will be here. They are saying 1300 but PMI usually sells for 80% of what they list.

[wheelema]

Darrin,

You're using shorthand that I am not familiar with...

... posted by darrin_h2000
..every returned octava comes thru KC ultimately

What is 'kc'?

... posted by darrin_h2000
...hold out till feb and the Steven Paul mic will be here

February is just about right! Where can I learn more?

and... last not but not least...

... posted by darrin_h2000
...PMI usually sells for 80% of what they list.

What is PMI?

Thanks!

[Middleman]

KC is Kansas City, darrin_h2000s home town and mine and he is a lucky dog to be near the return center.

I was back home in June and could not find their location.

[Richard Monroe]

PMI Audio is the parent company of Toft, Joemeek, and Studio Projects. Last I heard, the estimate in the Stephen Paul mic had increased to about $1800. While not having been built yet, it's vaporware, but all indications support the idea that it will be a very, very good mic. The list you gave is pretty good. I own all of them except the 441. I can say this about the C-4's. The supplied shock mounts suck, but the mics are great.-Richie

[wheelema]

Damn Gentlemen! I'm getting excited!!

[DJL]

Originally posted by wheelema
Here's the (wannabe) lineup:

Sennheiser MD441-U dynamic
Oktava ML-52 ribbon
Studio Projects C3 condensor
Oktava MK-319 condensor
Studio Projects C4 matched pair small condensor (for maximum accuracy)

Have you auditioned the 797 Audio/Studio Projects mics or are you just going on what you've read about them... you might want to call the studio's near you and see if any of them have some you can hear before you buy any.

[wheelema]

DLJ,

The Sennheiser and the matched C4s are going to be my reference mics, the first on the list. The girls and I will get real comfortable with how they sound on those. Then we will get down to Gutar Center for the Oktavas, take 'em back to the 'studio' (hopefully the italics can come off by summer), and see what we think. The C3 will come last. If we don't like it, well, maybe I can use it as a credit to getting a KSP8 (pant pant!).

[DJL]

Humm, a Sennheiser MD441 and 797 Audio/Studio Projects C4's as reference mic's... good luck. Personally I think you'd be better off using something like Shure SM81's as reference mic's... and a Shure SM57 is a good mic to use as a starting point to compare other mic's with.

[wheelema]

The Shure's look very nice, and would be much easier to audition, but I am bumping against the budget here.