Is it worth spending $2000 on Mic?

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bobbyD62

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I own a project studio with a fairly decent signal chain. I am running an Avalon 737 into a Apogee Rosetta into a Roland VS2480. Drums are recorded direct using Roland Vdrums, Electric Guitars are recorded direct using a Mesa Boogie Recording preramp and a Rocktron Prophesy. Bass Is recorded direct through the Avalon. I currently own 1 microphone--an AKG 414 T11 which I use for recording vocals and acoustic 6 & 12 string guitars. I need to buy a 2nd mic that will be primarly used for recording my vocals and also for acoustic guitars. I definitley want to buy a tube mic and I was told that the Soundelux U99 is the way to go. I am wondering if $2000 is too much to spend on a mic. I guess my question is, are mics like the Audio Technica 4060 which sell for $1000, comparable to the "higher end" mics like the Soundelux which are twice the price? Are there other tube mics that I should be looking into that record male vocals and acoustic guitar fairly well? Is anyone using a Soundelux U99 or an Audio Technica 4060 with an Avalon 737?

Thanks for your response

Bobby
 
I've never tried any of these mics, but I'm guessing if they're selling for $1k more and are selling, there's a $1k difference.
 
Why be limited to a "tube" condenser, the AEA R84 ribbon for example,
is said to sound first rate on vocals and acoustic guitar (other instruments too).

Contacting Fletcher at www.mercenary.com would be a smart move for his
feedback regarding comparing various condensers and ribbons.
He's a very experienced pro AE.

My understanding is that the AT 3060 uses a hearing aid "tube",
whereas the 4060 is a "true" tube.
Besides AT, some other manufacturers of tube condensers are
Studio Projects, Marshall, and ADK.

Chris

P.S. Another BBS that'll have more members familiar with top end
microphones is www.gearslutz.com as it's pro oriented.
You may want to post your question there too.
Welcome to this one in any case. :)
 
I have a Neumann M149 ($4k?), an MXL V69, a V77, a SP B1 and lots of other classic mics like Beyer, Sennheiser, AKG etc.

I am amazed how good an inexpensive mic can sound these days.
The Neumann is a great mic, but it doesn't sound 50 times better than the B1.

The V77 comes pretty close to the "German sound".
 
A $99 Shure SM58 may be the best sounding mic for your vox, or it could be a $5k U47 - the only way you can be certain is to actually test them out. If you're looking for a vox mic to use on a mixture of voices, the Soundelux U99 is a great mic.

________________
Post indie electronic
Meriphew
www.meriphew.com
 
bobbyD62 said:
are mics like the Audio Technica 4060 which sell for $1000, comparable to the "higher end" mics like the Soundelux which are twice the price?
Click to expand...

A good case might be made for that particular mic, and a lot of people might say that is indeed true. The 4060 is very well-liked, and AT is the kind of manufacturer that tends to make a lot of mics that perform well beyond their price point.

However, if you test out the 4060 and to you, it doesn't quite compare to the Soundelux . . . then it doesn't match up. Plain and simple. If it does, then it does. Nothing more to it.
 
bobbyD62 said:
I own a project studio with a fairly decent signal chain. I am running an Avalon 737 into a Apogee Rosetta into a Roland VS2480. Drums are recorded direct using Roland Vdrums, Electric Guitars are recorded direct using a Mesa Boogie Recording preramp and a Rocktron Prophesy. Bass Is recorded direct through the Avalon. I currently own 1 microphone--an AKG 414 T11 which I use for recording vocals and acoustic 6 & 12 string guitars. I need to buy a 2nd mic that will be primarly used for recording my vocals and also for acoustic guitars. I definitley want to buy a tube mic and I was told that the Soundelux U99 is the way to go. I am wondering if $2000 is too much to spend on a mic. I guess my question is, are mics like the Audio Technica 4060 which sell for $1000, comparable to the "higher end" mics like the Soundelux which are twice the price? Are there other tube mics that I should be looking into that record male vocals and acoustic guitar fairly well? Is anyone using a Soundelux U99 or an Audio Technica 4060 with an Avalon 737?

Thanks for your response

Bobby
Click to expand...

What kind of acoustic guitar are you recording? There can be a difference in what mic works best. I just record acoustic fingerstyle guitar, using high end instruments, and after two years of searching and trying many, many mics, my "acoustic guitar" mic closet contains:

2 x KM 184
TLM 103
M 149
AEA R84

Tube mics I've tried and liked (again for fingerstyle playing) are the ADK TT, Lawson MP47, Neumann M147 and AT 4060. I haven't had the pleasure of trying any Soundelux mics.

I record with a pair of SDs and a LD in the center channel. Sounds good to me.
 
For a quality sounding Tube mic, try the Rode NTK. Very nice and warm. I run mine through a Grace 101 and it sits in the mix naturally. No EQ, nothing.

And with a price tag at about $500, you could get a couple of them... :)
 
DJL said:
Is it worth spending $956,000 on a house or will a condo do?
Click to expand...

My 325,000 dollar house sounds just as good with my voice as any million dollar mansion I've sang in (sometimes I use a little reverb to make up for less 'room').
 
?

Does everybody here think that people who can pay 4k for a mike, live in a 350$ appartement?

huhuhu. I have 14 mics. Some over 1000$. I also rent a few mics and pres...

I like my C1. Pretty sure that my C1, thru my voice master pro, to my Audiolink give more than "decent" results.

These days, it depends, to me, 50% way it's used/quality

anyway...I'm pretty sure people who can afford more expensive gear think that it's way much better than it's really is.

It wasn't the same thing 10 years ago!

anyway!

ciao!
 
?

Does everybody here think that people who can pay 4k for a mike, live in a 350$ appartement?

huhuhu. I have 14 mics. Some over 1000$. I also rent a few mics and pres...

I like my C1. Pretty sure that my C1, thru my voice master pro, to my Audiolink give more than "decent" results.

These days, it depends, to me, 50% way it's used/quality

anyway...I'm pretty sure people who can afford more expensive gear think that it's way much better than it's really is.

It wasn't the same thing 10 years ago!

anyway!

ciao!
 
In case the DJL humour passed some by - he is basically making a great analogy that asking whether X mic or Y mic is better is the equivalent to asking if one should get a house or condo. In other words - it totally depends on the individual and what they need. Do we know what mic would sound best on a certain persons voice, a voice that we have never heard? Prolly not. Do we knows where one should live or in what kind of place they should live? Prolly not.
However - I think the real heart of one of the questions lies in - will I notice a difference between Mic X and Mic Y. The answer - who knows. Alls I can say is to try them out.
 
?

Does everybody here think that people who can pay 4k for a mike, live in a 350$ appartement?

huhuhu. I have 14 mics. Some over 1000$. I also rent a few mics and pres...

I like my C1. Pretty sure that my C1, thru my voice master pro, to my Audiolink give more than "decent" results.

These days, it depends, to me, 50% way it's used/quality

anyway...I'm pretty sure people who can afford more expensive gear think that it's way much better than it's really is.

It wasn't the same thing 10 years ago!

anyway!

ciao!
 
coloradojay said:
My 325,000 dollar house sounds just as good with my voice as any million dollar mansion I've sang in (sometimes I use a little reverb to make up for less 'room').
Click to expand...

Is it worth spending $325 on a house or will an apartment do?
Click to expand...


Where Jay lives, $325,000 gets you an apartment.:D
 
Scinx said:
In case the DJL humour passed some by - he is basically making a great analogy that asking whether X mic or Y mic is better is the equivalent to asking if one should get a house or condo. In other words - it totally depends on the individual and what they need. Do we know what mic would sound best on a certain persons voice, a voice that we have never heard? Prolly not. Do we knows where one should live or in what kind of place they should live? Prolly not.
However - I think the real heart of one of the questions lies in - will I notice a difference between Mic X and Mic Y. The answer - who knows. Alls I can say is to try them out.
Click to expand...
That's right.
Is it worth spending $2000 on a mic or $956,000 on a house.... or will a $200 mic and $325,000 house do... is everyones answer going to be the same... I don't think so.
 
Some 200 dollar mics do the job well enough to get you your sound...so the question is are those small neuanses going to push you to purchase a mic that is over 10 times the price, expecially when the technology is only getting better.
 
In general I think technoloy is getting better too... but is everyones answer to your question going to be the same... I don't think so.
 
Last edited:
Well, I just finished some vocals about 20 minutes ago, and for some loud screamy stuff we tried and Sm57, Beyerdynamic Soundstar II, Senn MD-421, Senn MD-441... couple of real nice mics there... and then we tried my Soundelux U195 ($1200) and the clarity and openness of the mic was pretty much unrivaled by the others.
I dont know about $200+, but there is a big difference when using this $1200 mic.
Nuff said, I guess.
 
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