Need Advice on Upgrade

[bajanboi]

OK…I’m trying to get out of that habit of buying Guitar Center's flashy budget gear and move into equipment that’s going to give me results that are close to professional. I finally quit using the plug-in compressors and bought a dbx 160A (the guy at GC was surprised maybe even pissed that I didn’t get the Presonus Eureka channel strip he recommended). It’s not an 1176 or LA-2A but lets be practical. The dbx 160A very transparent and I have no complaints, considering the garbage dynamic mic and Yamaha MG10/2 preamps I’m using. I have seen the dbx 160A in many studio equipment lists. I figure that spending more on the mic and mic pre would be more beneficial. So in about 3 weeks a condenser and mic pre is going to eat my paycheck. I’ll be doing mainly hip hop and R&B vocals. Here are my options below….I think that I have adequately slimmed down my prospects.

MIC: AKG 414 TLII (I think that’s it), BLUE Dragonfly, Neumann TLM103, Brauner Phantom C, AT 4047 or AT4060

MIC PREAMP: UA M610, Grace 101

Given the items specified above, which ones would you match up in a final selection or would you go a completely different route. Keep in mind the price range of the items and don’t get carried away…Lets just say I have 2 grand give our take a penny. What are your experiences….I looking for transparent vocals…crystal clear. Let me know your thoughts. Any help is appreciated

[DJL]

Originally Posted by bajanboi

I looking for transparent vocals…crystal clear. Let me know your thoughts. Any help is appreciated

All mics color the sound source somewhat... and all preamps also color the sound source some... so good luck getting crystal clear transparent vocals.

[noiseportrait]

IMHO the Grace 101 and the TLM103 is the best combo for clear and transparent vocals out of the ones you listed.

[chessrock]

If you're going to spend that kind of money, you really need to try this stuff out. If crystal clean and ultra-transparent are your goals . . . then I'd definitely opt for the Grace Design for your mic pre. The UA is VERY nice, but also quite colored in a lot of ways. You can send it over to me, though, because I need one like bad.

As for the mic, it depends on what your voice is like. Any one of them could be a stellar match for your voice, or any one could suck. I love the Dragonfly for a lot of voices, but on mine it pretty much felates hampster genitalia. Yours might sound sound great with it, or perhaps something completely different.

As DJL so politely pointed out, all of the mics you listed are colorful in some way and to a degree. The neumann is pretty bright. The Dragonfly has more of a smiley face mid-scoop going on, while the Audio Technicas are somewhat aggressive in the mids by comparison, and the Brauner you should just send over to me because I'm such a nice guy.

[Big Kenny]

felates hamster genetalia? Did you take an anger management course? LOL
Good advice and desciptions on the mics and pres. You really need to try 'em out. I love my Audio Technicas on every voice but mine. Neumann sounds like that small mammal reference and I have great results with a GT Md1b tube and fet or even the Rode NTK. YMMV. My toft atc-2 has very clean burr browns, ok compression and beautiful eq for a grand, but again, not for everybody or everything. I have two other pres that split about half of the work

[gordone]

No hamster comments here...
If you're looking for something clear and uncolored, look into a Great River MP2 (not the Neve'ish one) I have one for my acoustic/folkie stuff and I get great results with it. For mics, I have a Neumann KM184 and a Soundelux U97. You can hear my stuff at http://www.evangordon.com under Sounds to get an idea as to what they sound like.
Good luck!

Oh, I just noticed you do Hip Hop/R&B, quite different that my Bob Dylan wannabe tracks , but good luck anyway...It's all music, right?

[bajanboi]

Thanks for the help.

I knew that i would have to eventually try the equipment before I bought it but I was just trying to get opions from people with more experience. Good song gordone

[xstatic]

Soundelux U195, it has a fat switch

[Richard Monroe]

Well, I can tell you "crystal clear vocals" are not often a feature of R&B and Hip Hop, which I find confusing. Some of the gear you have selected is pretty clean (Grace 101). Some of it rocks because it is not clean, but brings character to the sound (AT4060, Dragonfly). What each of those mics brings to the table is unique, and either works with the singer, or doesn't.
You want clean? I like the Grace paired with Shure KSM44, which is right in your price range. I like the C414 a lot, but am probably in the minority. For R&B, I'd take the AT4060 or Rode NTK and a Joe meek. For hip hop, Shure SM7B and the Grace.-Richie

[bajanboi]

I guess I wasn't descriptive enough...by clean I just meant that i want every word to cut through....every syllable needs to be very clear. When I look at the frequency response on a vocal i record now it seems like a lot of the high end frequencies (10K and greater) are missing. As for transparent....when the preamp increases the single I just don't wan't any garabage added like i get now with my samson Q7 Dynamic mic and the preamps on my yamaha mg10/2. If a certain "fatness" was added to the signal which made the vocals sound full while still remaining sharp then that would be great.

I guess it's just a rookies misuse of words.

[xstatic]

Personally, from what you have listed, try the Brauner mic with the Universal Auddio preamp. Thats quite a combo Also, maybe even go the TLM103 route, but only if you can find a used Avalon 737. I am actually not a huge fan of either of those, but they play really nice together and in my opinion, when you put the two together, they really compliment each other and make each other sound even better than they are.

[JesseD]

If your dealing with clientele, I guess the word Nuemann gets you an extra point and the 103 is probably about as good as it gets for the buck. Personally, I have a couple of 414's which I use a lot but rarely on vox. Not because there not a good vocal mic, just because they are so versitile. IF your looking for versitility, my vote if for the 414. The 4066 mentioned above is good for female vox (at least that's why I bought one) BUT I always run mine through a solid state pre as it is a tube mic. I'm guessing that may be outta the budget. The Av 737 is a versatile mic pre and it also has a compressor. I use one EVERYDAY that I record almost anything. The 737 works great with a U87 and you might go on a "used" hunt for these. The best advise I read above is that combinations of mics and pre's work for certain applications. Say, you want YOUR vocal. Let the GP pro (p.s., I disagree on any advise that include Presonis) test run a combo over the weekend. It's the only way to really formulate an opinion. There are engineering reasons and budget reasons, but opinions on these combinations should come from your ears.