I need a mic for female voice and congas

chingon

New member
I need a mic for an R&B female vocalist. From my search in the forums it seems that the SP C1 is a great mic for the value and is within my budget. I have read that its great for male vocals but haven't read anything about it being great for a female voice. The SP B1 recieved some good reviews for female vocals and I was also considering purchasing this mic.
Which of these two mics would be suggested?
Would any of the two mics also be good to use to record a pair of congas? I am hoping for some versitility with either mic.

thanks in advance!
 
At 4050's are supposed to sound pretty sweet on vocals. you can get them for under $400 on ebay. Im really pleased with mine but have realy recorded very few female vocals so i dont have much of a reference point.
.... ohh yeah and dont over look the good ole sm57 on congas and other types of hand percusion.. they sound great :)
 
Thanks for the info people. THe AT mics sound good the only thing is they are out of my budget. Thats why I'm looking at getting either the SP C1 or B1. Have any of you tried these out to record female vocals?
 
The answer to this greatly depends on the sound of the singer you're trying to record - nasal, smooth, lack of highs, lack of lows, excessive mids, too much edge, too dark sounding, etc.

The Marshall MXL V67b (available at Sam Ash for about $90) is a nice sounding mic that's not quite so "hyped" sounding (added highs) as some of the other budget mics out there. If the vocalist and songs would benefit from a more "aural excited" sound, purchase accordingly.

The CAD mics are also a pretty good bargain to consider.

Don't discard the option of the ever trusty SM57 -- sometimes a perfect fit for a vocal and it will certainly be a great bet on congas.

There's really nothing better than to listen to some mics and buy using your ears.
 
chingon said:
Thanks for the info people. THe AT mics sound good the only thing is they are out of my budget. Thats why I'm looking at getting either the SP C1 or B1. Have any of you tried these out to record female vocals?

I own both, and my wife (alto) likes them. :)

But, if under $200 is you budget, the Studio Projects B3 for $160 is the one you should checkout, because its omni, cardioid, and figure eight, plus it has a high pass filter and 10dB pad.
 
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I've been very pleased with my Oktava MK-319 ($149) and BLUE Baby Bottle ($499) for female vocals. Both are warm and respond very strongly to proximity. The BLUE is more accurate, and provides a bit more detail. The 319 can be artificially warm...

I have not recorded a gospel or R&B style vocalist yet - the timbres can be quite different, so I'd try to be ready for anything! Along with LD condensors, I would try my MC-012 or Sennheiser 421 or SM-57 before going to buy anything new.
 
If a used or grey-market Beyer M160 is within your budget, you might want to check that out. It may or may not be the sound you're looking for and it's probably not the most versitile mic around, but on certain vocalists it's absolute magic. And it's even better on congas.
 
You might want to consider the Marshall V77 ($299). I heard it is a very nice mic and compares VERY well to a Neumann TLM103. Also other mics to consider are B-1 ($79), Audio Technica 4033, or maybe a Marshall 2003.

If I were you, for flexability, I would get a couple SM57's for congas, and a B-1 for vocals. If you already have a couple Sm57's then go for the C-1.

Beezoboy
 
A Rode Ntk would give a very beautiful sound on female voice. There are some examples on their website with a very talented singer. I would wholeheartedly recommend checking those demos out.
 
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