Is there any mic better than the Neuman U87?

keith.rogers said:
The AKG C214 is a decent mic - it was my only LDC for a while, but it is not the same as the C414 (any version), by all accounts. It can be a little bright, but it's fairly easy to tame IME. These days I use it for acoustic guitar. My other LDC is the Miktek MK300, which I find to be smoother and just a bit nicer for voice. It works well for acoustic guitar, too.
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I was going to suggest the Miktek C7e. I have their C1 (cardioid only) and it's one of my better vocal mics. Transformer coupled and it has an internal switch that allows two settings of bias voltage on the capsule, so it's kinda like having two different mics.

"In addition, the innovated head amplifier design features a unique circuit that allows the engineer to switch the capsule bias voltage from +44 to +60 volts. This proprietary circuit implementation essentially provides the mic with two voices; allowing you to choose between a classic and modern microphone. At +44 volts the capsule’s diaphragm is under less tension, so it’s able to react to extremely subtle changes in sound pressure; enabling the microphone to capture the slightest nuances in any performance. When the bias voltage is set to +60 volts, the C7e is extremely accurate and articulate."
C7e | Miktek Audio
 
I think it's great that there are online samples of what different mics sound like, but I don't see how that could tell you how it sounds on your source. I suppose you could listen to a sample of a mic you have and compare, but there are still a lot of factors that doesn't account for (placement, acoustic environment, preamp etc.)
 
bouldersoundguy said:
I think it's great that there are online samples of what different mics sound like, but I don't see how that could tell you how it sounds on your source. I suppose you could listen to a sample of a mic you have and compare, but there are still a lot of factors that doesn't account for (placement, acoustic environment, preamp etc.)
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Truly! I hear some guys sometimes testing mics out at Long and Mcquade (our music centre here) so maybe I'll do that, despite how awkward it is singing with a bunch of employees around you. Haha.

& geez, thanks everybody for the information. For a newbie, it's really great. I have a nice list here of mics to test out:

Shure Sm57

MD421

RE20

TLM102

Miktek C7e

[quote="TalismanRich']One thing that confirms to me is that those minute difference can be swamped with a bit of change in your recording setup. A touch closer, and the proximity boost will warm things up. A turn of the head can cut some of the sibilance.[/quote]

In the meantime while I'm shopping for a new mic, I'll try this out. I have the Rode NT1-a, and man it is funky. Must be that big presence peak you were talking about. I'll see what I can do. Maybe get one of those foam mic shields. Haha.
 
Grimm Holiday said:
I have the Rode NT1-a, and man it is funky. Must be that big presence peak you were talking about. .
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You talking about room reflections? Like ambient reverb on your voice funky? Hang/staple gun thick moving blankets from the ceiling and walls. Then packing peanuts on the floor..
 
There's one mic permanently on a stand in my studio - a 414. All the others in boxes and on shelves. Very rare to need to dig them out. I'm happy that there is no BETTER, just appropriate to what you point it at. Until you buy a really, really expensive one, you always feel there is better, then often, when the expensive one doesn't quite work, you discover something much more modest keeps you happy. It's a sobering day when you have to agree that the SM57 really does work better than the car price mic sitting there glistening. Once this has happened to you, you suddenly get the real story - they're just tools, they're not magical, or special - the people and instruments are the special ones. The mic just a good match to capture it. My two 414s made a really good swap for one Neumann - both of us feel we got the best deal, and we probably did. He got a mic for vocals that he likes and I got a stereo pair which is more useful for me.
 
Any mic will capture a vocal source unless it's broken......

Whether it's the RIGHT mic for that particular voice in that particular environment through that particular electronic chain is anyone's best guess.

A home recordist who primarily records only them selves in their own space SHOULD invest the time researching which mic is going to be the best for their individual usage and not worry at all about what everyone else is using for their projects. I have always found the answer to this, for an individual, to be surprising as to what actually works and gives the artist/recordists their best "bang for the buck".

I could give you a list of the vocal mics (of course they are all good on lots of things) that I primarily choose for use in my studio, but I record a bunch of different voices and as such require a mic locker that reflects this. You require only one mic which, BTW, you already have a decent model of. Perhaps it's not the mic that is the problem but rather the "newbie status" you claim and this is what's keeping you from getting the tracks where you want them.

Over the 40 years or so I've been putting mics up for folks to sing and play into, I haven't found very many instances where buying something cured the lack of knowledge about the problem.

But I do understand having choices in your mic locker can be beneficial to creativity. Might be one of the reasons I have accumulated the number I have. One thing I HAVE learned is to know what each style of mic does, how it's polar patterns are shaped and what sort of frequency response is within these shapes, what the electronics of mic may mean to sensitivity and frequency response, and how aim the damn things........

Before I go, I want to tell you about the "hidden gems" that are out there just waiting to go home with someone....A previous poster suggested the Studio Projects T-3. I agree. You don't hear much about them these days but 10-15 years back these were the home recordist's best friends. Still are if you can find a clean low milage one from that era. Groove Tubes mics. Specifically any of the GT series from the early to mid 2000's. Very good mics and built like trucks. ADK mics. Larry has built so many different models over the years that it's hard to choose. But they are all real good. Any 40 series Audio Technicas. You could equip a whole studio with a bunch of these. The Shure LDC's. KSM's. KSM44 is around the same retail as an AKG 414 and will ALWAYS be a better mic for vocal captures in most cases.

So what do I use? I have a Cathedral Pipes U67 clone, an original U87, Two ADK TT tubes customized ...one to a Neumann U47 and one to a Telefunken ELA M 251, AKG C414 EB, Cathedral Pipes Seville Ribbon, Royer R 101 etc etc
 
cavedog101 said:
Any mic will capture a vocal source unless it's broken......

Whether it's the RIGHT mic for that particular voice in that particular environment through that particular electronic chain is anyone's best guess.

A home recordist who primarily records only them selves in their own space SHOULD invest the time researching which mic is going to be the best for their individual usage and not worry at all about what everyone else is using for their projects. I have always found the answer to this, for an individual, to be surprising as to what actually works and gives the artist/recordists their best "bang for the buck".

I could give you a list of the vocal mics (of course they are all good on lots of things) that I primarily choose for use in my studio, but I record a bunch of different voices and as such require a mic locker that reflects this. You require only one mic which, BTW, you already have a decent model of. Perhaps it's not the mic that is the problem but rather the "newbie status" you claim and this is what's keeping you from getting the tracks where you want them.

Over the 40 years or so I've been putting mics up for folks to sing and play into, I haven't found very many instances where buying something cured the lack of knowledge about the problem.

But I do understand having choices in your mic locker can be beneficial to creativity. Might be one of the reasons I have accumulated the number I have. One thing I HAVE learned is to know what each style of mic does, how it's polar patterns are shaped and what sort of frequency response is within these shapes, what the electronics of mic may mean to sensitivity and frequency response, and how aim the damn things........

Before I go, I want to tell you about the "hidden gems" that are out there just waiting to go home with someone....A previous poster suggested the Studio Projects T-3. I agree. You don't hear much about them these days but 10-15 years back these were the home recordist's best friends. Still are if you can find a clean low milage one from that era. Groove Tubes mics. Specifically any of the GT series from the early to mid 2000's. Very good mics and built like trucks. ADK mics. Larry has built so many different models over the years that it's hard to choose. But they are all real good. Any 40 series Audio Technicas. You could equip a whole studio with a bunch of these. The Shure LDC's. KSM's. KSM44 is around the same retail as an AKG 414 and will ALWAYS be a better mic for vocal captures in most cases.

So what do I use? I have a Cathedral Pipes U67 clone, an original U87, Two ADK TT tubes customized ...one to a Neumann U47 and one to a Telefunken ELA M 251, AKG C414 EB, Cathedral Pipes Seville Ribbon, Royer R 101 etc etc
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Thank you very much for the info, cavedog. I envy your mic collection! + I've added all the ones to my ever-growing list of mic's to check out now! Very cool, very great. Appreciate it. Cheers!!
 
If budget is a consideration - and I will assume it is - Warm Audio makes decent quality copies of the U87 (WA87), and C414 (WA14).

Might be worth a look.
 
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