Slaytallica
New member
Thanks so much everyone for all of your feedback and help. I really appreciate it.
Peace
Slay
Peace
Slay
Best Vocal mic for Under $1000.00
- Thread starter Slaytallica
- Start date
emergencyexit
New member
Robert D said:
Going to have to strongly agree with this one.
Ben
I have owned most of the mics discussed so far in this thread. If it were me, I would put my kit and kaboodle into the best mic I could afford at first. No matter which mic you choose though, It will sound great on some singers, and not as good on others. Here are my impressions.
AT 4050 - Good solid all around mic. A little dark on occasion, and in general an "unflattering" mic for a LD condensor. This can be good at times, but given your description of what your goals are, I would scratch it off the list.
Shure KSM series - Once again, a good balanced mic, but doesn't really offer that something special. It will never sound bad though.
AKG 414 - This is an excellent workhorse mic. The AKG seems to offer a depth of field that the mics I have already mentioned don't usually seem to cpature as well. The ULS version is a little brighter on top, but pretty natural through all of the mid range. This would certainly not be my primary vocal mic of choice, but when I am struggling to find the right mic (i.e. a certain singer just doesn't seem to mesh well with my other choices) the AKG is often the one that provides that magic. It's a great mic to own a pair of, but would not be my choice for a first and primary vocal mic. The TL version though would be a little more fitting in my opinion. Much more solid mid range that does not seem to get quite as brittle as easily.
Neumann U87 - Excellent chocie. Good luck finding a used one for $1000 though. On first listen it is very detailed, good depth, but often lacks that "magic" we all want. However, in a mix it seems to really grow and stands out much better than the initial listen may have revealed. Personally, find a non ai version of a U87 if you decide to go this route. They seem a little smoother to me and less tilted towards the "airy" side of things.
Blue Blueberry - Another excellent vocal mic choice. Lacks the options (pattern control, roll off, pad etc...) that some of the other mics do, but has an incredibly forward type of sound. The Blueberry is also a much more versatile mic than a lot of people realize. Playing with mic placement on the Blueberry seems to really change the way it sounds quite a bit more than other mics. It also maintains its general character when singing slightly off axis into it, but still remians clear and focused, just empahsizing different parts of the audio spectrum a little. My Blueberry has gotten hundreds of hours of use on Vocals, Percussion, and Acoustic guitars over the last 4 years. It is one of my favorite mics I have ever owned, and one of the only ones I have never considered selling during my fits of gearlust and money raising.
Soundelux U195 - Another one of those mics that just keeps prooving it's worth. Very solid microphone, well built, and surprisingly affordable given it's sonic character. As a first primary vocal microphone in this price range it would probably be my reccomendation. When you factor in the "FAT" switch, it just adds to its usability.
There are other mics out there as well. I have never been as impressed with the AT4060 as much as some others, and the MXL line does offer a surprisingly good mic for the price, but in my opinion not really a contender against some of the other mics I listed above. I have not personally heard the Peluso's, the Charter Oak, or the Peralman yet, so I can not say anything there except that I have heard good reports from people. Brauner is another option that I have not heard the cheaper model of yet, but my gut says that Dirk Brauner will not put out anything bad and that even the cheapest Brauner is probably an excellent mic. I could be wrong though.
Now, all of these mics are going to change a bit based on what preamp you use them with as well. You mentioned that you have purchased an Avalon preamp. I have never been a huge fan of the Avalon stuff, but there are certain compbinations I have found that just seem to sound amazing with the Avalon stuff. First, the Neumann TLM 103. The TLM 103 is a decent mic, but seems to be missing "that Neumann thing" that all the other Neumann mics share. However, the TLM103 just seems to sound much better when paired up with an Avalon preamp. The U87ai seems to benefit from the Avalon's in the same way. I have also noticed that the Soundelux seems to really find its own with the Avalon also. My Blueberry and 414's though don't seem to get the same benefit from the Avalon preamps that the other mics do though. Neither does the 4050 or the Shure KSM's. Not that they sound bad, but there just seems to be some intangible thing that the Avalon preamps seem to do when paired with certain mics. I guess it would be important to mention though that I am referring specifically to the Avalon 737 and it's preamp. The topology of the one you purchased is bound to be different, but the same results may be had.
Good luck
AT 4050 - Good solid all around mic. A little dark on occasion, and in general an "unflattering" mic for a LD condensor. This can be good at times, but given your description of what your goals are, I would scratch it off the list.
Shure KSM series - Once again, a good balanced mic, but doesn't really offer that something special. It will never sound bad though.
AKG 414 - This is an excellent workhorse mic. The AKG seems to offer a depth of field that the mics I have already mentioned don't usually seem to cpature as well. The ULS version is a little brighter on top, but pretty natural through all of the mid range. This would certainly not be my primary vocal mic of choice, but when I am struggling to find the right mic (i.e. a certain singer just doesn't seem to mesh well with my other choices) the AKG is often the one that provides that magic. It's a great mic to own a pair of, but would not be my choice for a first and primary vocal mic. The TL version though would be a little more fitting in my opinion. Much more solid mid range that does not seem to get quite as brittle as easily.
Neumann U87 - Excellent chocie. Good luck finding a used one for $1000 though. On first listen it is very detailed, good depth, but often lacks that "magic" we all want. However, in a mix it seems to really grow and stands out much better than the initial listen may have revealed. Personally, find a non ai version of a U87 if you decide to go this route. They seem a little smoother to me and less tilted towards the "airy" side of things.
Blue Blueberry - Another excellent vocal mic choice. Lacks the options (pattern control, roll off, pad etc...) that some of the other mics do, but has an incredibly forward type of sound. The Blueberry is also a much more versatile mic than a lot of people realize. Playing with mic placement on the Blueberry seems to really change the way it sounds quite a bit more than other mics. It also maintains its general character when singing slightly off axis into it, but still remians clear and focused, just empahsizing different parts of the audio spectrum a little. My Blueberry has gotten hundreds of hours of use on Vocals, Percussion, and Acoustic guitars over the last 4 years. It is one of my favorite mics I have ever owned, and one of the only ones I have never considered selling during my fits of gearlust and money raising.
Soundelux U195 - Another one of those mics that just keeps prooving it's worth. Very solid microphone, well built, and surprisingly affordable given it's sonic character. As a first primary vocal microphone in this price range it would probably be my reccomendation. When you factor in the "FAT" switch, it just adds to its usability.
There are other mics out there as well. I have never been as impressed with the AT4060 as much as some others, and the MXL line does offer a surprisingly good mic for the price, but in my opinion not really a contender against some of the other mics I listed above. I have not personally heard the Peluso's, the Charter Oak, or the Peralman yet, so I can not say anything there except that I have heard good reports from people. Brauner is another option that I have not heard the cheaper model of yet, but my gut says that Dirk Brauner will not put out anything bad and that even the cheapest Brauner is probably an excellent mic. I could be wrong though.
Now, all of these mics are going to change a bit based on what preamp you use them with as well. You mentioned that you have purchased an Avalon preamp. I have never been a huge fan of the Avalon stuff, but there are certain compbinations I have found that just seem to sound amazing with the Avalon stuff. First, the Neumann TLM 103. The TLM 103 is a decent mic, but seems to be missing "that Neumann thing" that all the other Neumann mics share. However, the TLM103 just seems to sound much better when paired up with an Avalon preamp. The U87ai seems to benefit from the Avalon's in the same way. I have also noticed that the Soundelux seems to really find its own with the Avalon also. My Blueberry and 414's though don't seem to get the same benefit from the Avalon preamps that the other mics do though. Neither does the 4050 or the Shure KSM's. Not that they sound bad, but there just seems to be some intangible thing that the Avalon preamps seem to do when paired with certain mics. I guess it would be important to mention though that I am referring specifically to the Avalon 737 and it's preamp. The topology of the one you purchased is bound to be different, but the same results may be had.
Good luck
up-fiddler
Taming the World--for now
Ditto. I'd take two very good mikes for one great mike if I didn't have a bunch of other mikes already. If just one, then the 4050 or the 414. As always, that's just my opinion, Dave. 