Microphone for R&B/Jazz vocals

[jbroad572]

What do you guys think will be a good all around mic for jazz vocals and r&b (both male and female). This mic will also be used for a lot of spoken word type stuff (Poetry with a bass line/beat). I would appreciate all recommendations. I'm sure there will be other type of uses for the mic, like some soft rock, guitar, and a few other things, but my main interest with this particular mic would be the vocals. I'm looking at around $200 give or take if it's worth it, but cheaper is always a better .

 

[chessparov]

Either a new Electro-Voice RE16 (also spelled RE-16), a used RE16, or used RE15. Around $200 new, and good used mics run about $150 or so.

It's been a standard voice-over mic for many years, and has been used on many jazz or R&B hit studio vocals. If you wish, I can name some examples of records you could listen to for reference. It has a smooth tone like a ribbon and does relatively better than a Shure mic on a budget mixer or mic pre.

Chris

 

[jbroad572]

If I were to up the budget do you think the Shure SM7 would be worth the upgrade? I'm just starting out in this world of recording, but just want to get the best that my money can afford at the moment. So, maybe I should keep it simple now and upgrade later.
Thanks for the sugg.

 

[chessparov]

Only because you're recording different performers, go for the EV.

The "variable-D" feature helps an inexperienced studio singer (like me!) to not have to be so concerned about working the mic due to proximity effect.

In fact, a world class AE (Bob Ohlsson) posted about how recently a RE16 beat his primo Neumann U67 on a male vocalist. He said he'd forgotten how good these mics can sound! They were designed by EV to sound similar to the
mighty RCA 77 ribbon, which has also been on tons of hits.

The SM7 is also a classic dynamic, but takes a higher quality pre than a EV
needs to show its stuff. If I didn't have a similar sounding Beyer mic, that'd be a must buy for me too. It's a Beyer Soundstar MKII (Model 400).

The Beyer, like the Shure, also requires better mic technique than the EV BTW.

Chris