I want the best sounding microphone for loud voice

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T800

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I am looking for the best microphone for a loud vocalist.

Needs to have thick gooey highs and heavy color in the character (but not too vintage or washed out, I am NOT looking for that washed out beatles sound at all, but instead more of a modern kind of thick warmth).

Those audio technicas have whey too brittle highs. I was then referred to an SM7b but i think the proximity effect might be too bassy. And I dont think its gonna capture much room tone I got coming off off the diffusors.

Do I need a neumann if I want real character in a mic? What else has that chartacter but can be used for yelling too because I think a U87 might be too sensitive.
 
i can't imagine this mic sounding as good as a U87. But U87 is too expensive for my pre. is there a similar mic to a U87 thats lower priced? because there is no sense in buying a 3000 dollar mic for a 700 dollar pre.
 
Have you considered an EV RE-20? It's a dynamic mic that's every bit as good as the SM7, but has a clever little design twist that greatly reduces proximity effect. Might be worth reading up on. (And yeah, I've got one. Love it.)
 
WhiteStrat said:
Have you considered an EV RE-20? It's a dynamic mic that's every bit as good as the SM7, but has a clever little design twist that greatly reduces proximity effect. Might be worth reading up on. (And yeah, I've got one. Love it.)
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Me Too ! :D
 
For a screamer, a SM-58 would do. An SM-7 would probably rock. I've had good luck with an MD-441.
 
Actually - I found the right mic which is the thickest possible sounding mic i have ever heard in my life. The Neumann TLM49. Pricy - about 1600 - but definetly fits the bill. I am renting it for now.

Here is how i found out. I was looking into modded U87s, and I asked Klaus Heyne by email on what mic or U87 mod can be the thickest possible gooiest mic with character. He is a reptuable U87 mic modifier in germany. Hold me neither, and that the TLM 49 mic will do exactly what I am looking for, will provide heavy character, warm in a modern way, and is good for accepting loud voices.

And when exposed to higher spl like yelling - it will create a odd harmonic (3rd mainly) distortion that will color before cracking, which means as vocalists get louder, a sort of warm tuby sound can be achieved.

It is definetly colored - but definitely not in a vintage and washed out sort of way, as such descriptions are misguided. It sounds warm but in a HUGE way!

Then I did some more research and found out that Cypress Hill started using these mics a few years ago.

here is a comparision between an SM7b and the TLM49

YouTube - Shure SM-7b

YouTube - Neumann TLM 49 Microphone
 
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WhiteStrat said:
Have you considered an EV RE-20? It's a dynamic mic that's every bit as good as the SM7, but has a clever little design twist that greatly reduces proximity effect. Might be worth reading up on. (And yeah, I've got one. Love it.)
Click to expand...

The EV RE-20 and the SM7 were my two first choices for my heavy voice after doing a little reading. I bought both and after trying both for a while I decided the EV was best for me. My voice is also fairly deep, and I have heard these suit low voices best but I can only speak from my own experience.
 
1200,1600,6000 bucks for a mic...damn...you guys have deeper pockets then I do.I have found in my home recording studio that EQing has alot to do with how a mic sounds in recording as well as on stage.Shures SM-58 is an old stanby and can be bought for a whole lot less then some of these mics you guys are talkintg about here.I can dial in just about any sound I want with some good EQ.
 
nrand said:
The EV RE-20 and the SM7 were my two first choices for my heavy voice after doing a little reading. I bought both and after trying both for a while I decided the EV was best for me. My voice is also fairly deep, and I have heard these suit low voices best but I can only speak from my own experience.
Click to expand...

Here's a funny thing...I was recording a big project--a double CD with a female singer, just her. Some harmonies but still all female vox. I'd recorded her before, on smaller projects--and with a smaller selection of mics. I wanted to make sure we got the best possible sound out of the gate, so on day one, I had a bunch of mics all queued up and ready to audition. A couple different condensers, a tube condenser, and a ribbon or two.

She was kinda having fun trying out all the different mics, and said, "What's that one?" pointing to my SM7 (I didn't have the RE-20 yet). It was still set up from the last gig, a post-punk kinda band with big male vocals. I just KNEW the SM7 would be all wrong for her, but I thought it would make picking the tube condenser (which I was rooting for) an easier choice.

So she sang the same couple lines with the SM7. And she loved it. I wasn't sold, and she trusts me as a producer, so I asked her to do some scratch takes of whole songs--with the SM7 and the tube condenser.

I spent the next week mixing those vocal tracks with piano, guitar, some strings, etc.

Long story short (I know, too late)--we did all 24 songs with the SM7, and it turned out great. As much as I liked the mic, I was stuck in the notion that it's just a guy's mic. Nope, it's just a great mic. Clean, quiet, and takes EQ really well. It's now the first mic I audition for each project.
 
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