AValon 737SP and AKG414 TL-II

W

Willymac

New member
Help! I'm scared :(

Need a front-end for B-room.. $3G in budget. I expect primary use to be R&B vocals and Hip-hop. (save the good stuff for A-room)

Is Avalon737sp and Akg414 a good combo?

Have Drawmer 1960 and U-87 in A-room and love it. But I think this is overkill, and possibly not best solution for this Genre.
Image and re-sale value not a factor, just SOUND.
REad good posts about Pendulum, RNP, Focusrite...
Bottom Line, will I regret getting this preamp?

All opinions welcome.. thanks!
 
Avalon Yes, a great pre-amp.


AKG 414 no. This mic is not a good vocal mic. You would be better off looking at the BLUE series of mics.
 
I've done some studio work on exactly that front end. The Avalon - in my limited experience it's fab. The 414, well, it's versatile and sounded sweet as sugar on an acoustic guitar. It also worked on vocals for the singer I was working with, a powerful baritone (who also sounds good through the SP B1, which is all of $79!)

HOWEVER, I don't think the 414 is the best vocal mic choice. It's just sort of crispy on some voices, it seems to me. For suggestions on a better mic, listen to others far more experienced than me (and my Studio Projects and Marshall mics!) Yup, I'm a bottom dweller....


Fab
 
I used a 737 on a session and it didn't really impress me all that much. The comp isn't very aggressive which is good or bad depending on your style. I would think a more aggressive limiter would be better for rap.

I don't do rap but I would think a few different dynamics would be nice if you are going to have the rap newbies in there who may not have very good mic technique.
 
How about a Universal Audio 6176. You get a good pre amp (610) and a great compressor (1176)?? It will cost you about $2200.00 and if you save another $330.00, you could also get a soundelux u195
 
The 414 can be very nice on vocals, and sounds amazing on acoustic. Its star has dimmed recently, as there are many mics available for less that achieve similar results, personally, I think its still a great mic and has an openness and mid-mid clarity that I dont hear in many cheaper mics. Its more 3d. Given the oppty I would take a 414 TL-II over most of ATs stuff, and Shure condensers. Then again its still $400 or so pricier than AT. AKG should really lower the price of the 414 to $600 or so and they would own that price range instead of struggling to compete with the TLM-103, soundeluxe, gefell and other mics in that range.
 
Thanks all for the prompt replies! Just the input I was looking for.
And thanks for steering me away from 414.. I was weaned as an engineer on that mic, I think I can live with it's harsh upper end as the responsiveness is great in my opinion.. But I lust for something better in the pricve range..

So it looks like soundelux u195.. NO bad reviews. I hate testing Mics at the store.. gotta get it home 1st.. So I'm off.
The Avalon seems like a go too. Maybe not the best, but I don't se myself REGRETTING it later.
Wish me luck.

http://www.wrightwayonline.com


stop by maskedman72. Buy u a cookie :)
 
ah! another detroiter! good luck with your chain if you go with the u195 and the 737! that would be a great combo!
i like cookies.
 
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