- Pairing vocal types with mic types -

Mad Silly

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-Pairing vocal types with mic types-

In general, which types of mics work well on what types of voices?
For example, "brighter" mics with higher pitched/softer voices, "dark" mics with deeper, more authoritative voices.

I realize this isn't an "always", that's why I said "in general", and that the determining factor will more than likely be any unique characteristics of the vocalists voice and how they apply it, technique, and use of, maybe even the track and what it's going for. What mic types, however, do you find to consistently work well on what types of voices? This could just be a preference, or simply what producers consider universal, whatever you can say on the subject from your experience. Even if you've "heard" anything from a reliable resource, throw that in too. Even point out mics of these types, or point out other types, if you'd like:

I would consider a "bright" mic would be a microphone such as Rode's NT1, where emphasis is often on the highs. These mics may even be considered to be "harsh" by some users. Some of these may work well with a de-esser so a false lisp doesnt occur. They may or may not give a voice star-like rich quality.

A dark mic, such as Octava's MK319, has a sound much different than a "bright" mic, whereas oftentimes a dark mic tends to emphasise opposite "bright" mics, often eliminating overly sounding highs and "honky" mids as well. In some cases they will have a limited frequency range which is responsible for their "dark" sound, but this is not always the case. These mics may or may not sound dark yet simultaneously beautiful.

Any response will be greatly appreciated and likely an interest to us all.
 
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In General

In general if I thought the voice was going to be problematic I would match opposites. I would pick a dark mic for a high bright voice, and I would pick a bright mic for a mushy soft vocalist or instrument. The authoritative voice ... probably a nice tube mic!
 
I never walk into a vocal session with any preconception of what may or may not work for a given singer [unless I've worked with the singer a few times... in which case those are educated guesses]. Any mic can work for any singer on a given song. Period. I did an album a couple of years ago where we had 5 different vocal chains set up at all times... we're not talking about chains for the faint of pocketbook either... each chain was probably between $20 and 40k worth of hardware... some serious top notch shit.

The first song on the album was recorded with a handheld Shure SM-57 in the control room through the consoles mic pre. No shit. We tried a couple of times, but could never beat the performance of the scratch vocal that was cut with the 57 in the control room... so that's what's on the album.

Stop intellectualizing and start recording. Set up a line of like a half a dozen mics... have the singer sing into all the mics along with the track... pick the mic that best suits their voice and move on.

It's not brain surgery.
 
Fletcher said:
...Set up a line of like a half a dozen mics... have the singer sing into all the mics along with the track... pick the mic that best suits their voice and move on.
Good advice. That's what I typically end up doing.
 
It helps to make the volume of each microphone approximately the same
when you're comparing them. Otherwise the loudest one tends to win.
I think a valid thing thing to avoid would be microphones with a hyped
top end for sibilant singers, since they aggravate that situtation.

Chris
 
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