U67 Alternatives?

4

4tracker

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Hey guys.

Can you give recommendations of a mic similar to the U67 (reputation of slightly dark, yet good for female vocals) for under $1200?

Or, are those U67 DIY kits actually legit? I could buy one and have someone build it if they are.
 
After doing some more googling, I fear this was a stupid question...haha. Looks like question has been asked, and the consensus is "nothing".

But I am still curious about those DIY kits. Would one of those (maybe replace the stock tube with a Telefunken tube) get close to a U67?

This Jolly mic (TCM-1050) sounds good, too.

Award-winning microphone engineering from Michael Joly

Does anyone here own one?
 
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I don't have one myself, I wish I did, but BeesNeez have some mics that may fit the price, in the Studio series. They get very good reviews.

Alan.
 
...I have two different M269 clones (the M269 was a modified U67)...I have the GroupDIY D-M269c: Neumann M269c Clone : D-M269C Tube Microphone Build Thread +(sample)
...I actually purchased that very prototype from Dany Bouchard who designed the kit: Vintagemicrophonepcbkit.com

...I also have the RMS Audio RMS269: RMS269

...both mics were purchased, as you have referenced in your post, for tracking female vocals...and while they are both beautiful recreations of the classic Neumann, I'm going to recommend something that I believe may sound just as good on female vocals, at least it did on the two singers I produce...rather than a condenser mic, consider a long-ribbon mic...they add weight to the female voice and smooth out strident frequencies with a velvety smoothness...and they take EQ beautifully, so a shelf boost at around 15K adds just enough "air" to give sheen to a female vocal...

...the specific mic I'd recommend is the Cascade Victor with Lundahl upgrade:
Cascade Microphones Victor Long Ribbon Microphone 100-L B&H

...the Cascade ribbon mics are modified in that they remove the inner fabric sleeve, they also remove the headbasket's inner mesh, they rewire with upgraded wiring and they check and adjust ribbon tension before shipping...the Lundahl tranny upgrade adds extended frequency response, both on the top and bottom end...these mics sound wonderful!...

...if your preamp isn't up to the task of driving a ribbon mic, as many are not, I suggest you consider adding a Fethead or Cloudlifter to add 20-25dB of clean gain to your mic pre...this will assure the best performance by the mic and diminish any likelihood of self-noise issues...

...if you'd like to hear what the mic sounds like on female vocals I can provide links...
 
kidvybes said:
I'm going to recommend something that I believe may sound just as good on female vocals, at least it did on the two singers I produce...rather than a condenser mic, consider a long-ribbon mic..
Click to expand...

That's really interesting because I was tracking my lady, and we went through all the mics, and when we got to the ribbon, we both agreed it was the best she's ever sounded. I use the LRM-1, which is a great mic that should be 3x the cost, but thankfully JPG doesn't have marketing costs and all that. It actually looks exactly like the cascade.
 
4tracker said:
That's really interesting because I was tracking my lady, and we went through all the mics, and when we got to the ribbon, we both agreed it was the best she's ever sounded. I use the LRM-1, which is a great mic that should be 3x the cost, but thankfully JPG doesn't have marketing costs and all that. It actually looks exactly like the cascade.
Click to expand...

...Yes, JP is a friend and his mics sound good...but if you don't have the Lundahl upgrade (which he also offers) you may be missing that little bit extra on top that opens up the vocals a bit more...IMHO, it's important on a female voice...

...if you really want to do it right, you can send your LRM-1 to Mark Fouxman of SAMAR Audio...probably one of the finest ribbon mic builders in the world...mark wrote the book on ribbon mic modifications...he's the master...he modded one of my Victors, and you'd be hard pressed to differentiate it from a high-quality condenser mic, other than it has this sweet velvety mid texture that's classic ribbon...he winds his own toroidal transformers, and bulids his own acoustic plates that frame out the ribbon element...for about $350 in mod fees, you'll have a ribbon mic that rivals the best boutique or vintage ribbon mics money can buy...here's Mark's site: Home
 
Or, if you want to try something very nice and stupidly inexpensive, check out this new 3U CM-1 FET mic with a C12-type capsule...this mic has a very ribbon-like tone and texture...the edge-terminated capsule offers extended top and bottom response that center-terminated capsules can't duplicate...it's very rare to see a real C12 replica capsule in such an inexpensive microphone...the designer of the mic specifically tuned the capsule to flatter the female voice as well as acoustic guitar...
3U Audio Teal CM1 Condenser Microphone Acoustic Guitar Vocal Instrument Pro Mic | eBay

Check out my thread in this forum:
https://homerecording.com/bbs/equip...eran-audio-engineer-worth-look-listen-379996/

I plan to track some female vocals on this mic very soon...you can listen to the VO and male vocal tracks on the CM-1 and you'll hear how big and smooth it sounds...no harsh or brittle top-end...a bit dark, but with air on top...almost like a 251-style voicing...

That same brand 3U makes some higher-end 67-style condenser mics, but I have not had the opportunity to test one yet...the designer of those mics has been responsible for capsule designs in some very high-end, well-respected microphones, so it's definitely a brand to watch...
3U Audio GZ67FET Condenser Microphone Vocal Instrument Home Recording Studio Mic | eBay

More info here: 3U Audio Microphones,Condenser Microphones
 
kidvybes said:
...Yes, JP is a friend and his mics sound good...but if you don't have the Lundahl upgrade (which he also offers) you may be missing that little bit extra on top that opens up the vocals a bit more...IMHO, it's important on a female voice...

...if you really want to do it right, you can send your LRM-1 to Mark Fouxman of SAMAR Audio...probably one of the finest ribbon mic builders in the world...mark wrote the book on ribbon mic modifications...he's the master...he modded one of my Victors, and you'd be hard pressed to differentiate it from a high-quality condenser mic, other than it has this sweet velvety mid texture that's classic ribbon...he winds his own toroidal transformers, and bulids his own acoustic plates that frame out the ribbon element...for about $350 in mod fees, you'll have a ribbon mic that rivals the best boutique or vintage ribbon mics money can buy...here's Mark's site: Home
Click to expand...

Thanks I will check out all the info you posted.

JP mentioned the Lundahl was better for classical, and the standard better for most other styles of music. We discussed that before I bought them, so that's why I went with the standard. The frequency response chart for the standard mic doesn't show the top end being rolled off, but I did notice it was a bit dull up there on the female vocal I did. Overall I love the LRM-1, though. I feel it's the value buy of our lifetime.
 
The 67 is above my pay grade. I recently got an 87 but I haven't tried it on female vox yet - so far it has worked well on two male vocalists and not as well on a third. I used a Blue Kiwi on a somewhat shrill female voice for background vocals recently and that was a mistake (the Kiwi sounds great with a lot of smoother voices on lead, though). I have a Joly modded Oktava MK 319 that I should have used on that female vocalist - it's a great mic, and well within your price range. That said, I have to concur that Mark Fouxsman does amazing work. I have a tube ribbon mic from the group buy here a few years ago and now I'm thinking about sending it to him - already sounds good, truth be told, and it would have also been a great choice for that shrill voice I bet.
 
Lawson L67. Not a cheap copy- A damn good knockoff. And it doesn't come particularly cheap, either, but *is* cheaper than a U67.
 
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