Recommend vocal mic in $500 range

  • Thread starter Thread starter nuemes
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nuemes

nuemes

Be Here Now
My recordings lack pleasing vocal tone.

I record different men & women usually using a C414 ULS which is a bit too nuetral in most cases for many singers. Also use a Baby Bottle but I find it's got a slightly brittle midrange in comparison and distorts quicker then the C414, so I'm thinking of selling the Baby Bottle and getting a mic that can compliment a wide range of people on lead vocals (another I-need-one-mic-that-can-do-the-impossible post but so be it for the home studio these days).

My ideal would be a $500 or less mic that can help a somewhat thin voice sit powerfully in a pop/rock mix. I specify this because the vocalists I have the most trouble recording have a thin tone. Considering the number of mics on the market right now there's got to be something that can come close to this(?)

Please respond if you'd had direct experience with the mic you recommend.

Current signal chain: C414 > Avalon M5 > RNC > Digi002

Maybe the current chain is too clean to beef up a vocal track? But I figure better to begin with the mic - maybe I'm off on this?

Here's what I'm working with for reference:

MICS
AKG C414 ULS
Blue Baby Bottle
Audio-Technica ATM25
MXL V67
MXL 603S
Shure SM58
Shure SM57

PRE'S
Soundcraft M8
Avalon M5
Mackie 1202VLZ
 
Shure SM7 or EV RE20 should do nicely. Both are world class dynamic mics and well within your budget.
 
i love my ntk - use it on vocals, acoustic guitar, various percussion instruments and even as a drum overhead.

i got mine brand new on ebay for $375 and it even came w/ a nice hard case for mic, cables and preamp.
 
Second the NTK; also the AKG Solidtube, or the SP T3.
 
freshmattyp said:
Shure SM7 or EV RE20 should do nicely. Both are world class dynamic mics and well within your budget.
Click to expand...

and stomp a 414 on most vocals. i used a 414 for years before discovering the dynamics freshmattyp mentioned. get a pl20 instead of an re20 and you can get both for 500...

oh and no offense to the rnc - but try taking that out of the vocal chain... see if that helps the thinness.

Mike
 
When I hear the words "vocal" and "mic" and "$500" I think AT4047.
 
...also very overlooked is the Cascade V55 Valve Microphone...Oversized capsule design coupled to a vintage Mullard tube give this mic a "phat warm" sound...great on a broad spectrum of voices...I love this mic!...well worth the $499. asking price, but a real steal for Bayview's Ebay asking price:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Cascade-Microph...ryZ64449QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
(at this price you could also purchase one of the retro-styled Chinese ribbon mics like the Nady RSM2/Shinybox...GREAT on thin voices!...and still be in the $500. range for both mics)

...highly recommended...
(the mic is very reminiscent of the earlier Rode tube mic designs like the Classic and NTV...built by SE microphones, but priced better than their own tube mics)

Review here: http://www.proaudioreview.com/october04/Cascade_V55.shtml
 
nuemes said:
My recordings lack pleasing vocal tone.

I record different men & women usually using a C414 ULS which is a bit too nuetral in most cases for many singers. Also use a Baby Bottle but I find it's got a slightly brittle midrange in comparison and distorts quicker then the C414, so I'm thinking of selling the Baby Bottle and getting a mic that can compliment a wide range of people on lead vocals (another I-need-one-mic-that-can-do-the-impossible post but so be it for the home studio these days).

My ideal would be a $500 or less mic that can help a somewhat thin voice sit powerfully in a pop/rock mix. I specify this because the vocalists I have the most trouble recording have a thin tone. Considering the number of mics on the market right now there's got to be something that can come close to this(?)

Please respond if you'd had direct experience with the mic you recommend.

Current signal chain: C414 > Avalon M5 > RNC > Digi002

Maybe the current chain is too clean to beef up a vocal track? But I figure better to begin with the mic - maybe I'm off on this?

Here's what I'm working with for reference:

MICS
AKG C414 ULS
Blue Baby Bottle
Audio-Technica ATM25
MXL V67
MXL 603S
Shure SM58
Shure SM57

PRE'S
Soundcraft M8
Avalon M5
Mackie 1202VLZ
Click to expand...

If you're recording for a living, then buy a Neumann. Contrary to all the hype I hear about budget mics, Neumann has decades of experience and excellent patents to draw from, and they continue to set the industry standard. Take a leap of faith, you won't regret it.

TLM 170 (the .45 ACP of mics)
TLM 103 (many applications)
 
ADK Vienna
CAD M9
Audix VX10 (I agree with Deepwater, very nice vocal mic)

Those are maybe a few to look at, but you're going to need to hear your voice through the mic to really know. A $99 mic could win! Find somewhere you can demo some stuff.

War
 
nuemes said:
My ideal would be a $500 or less mic that can help a somewhat thin voice sit powerfully in a pop/rock mix. I specify this because the vocalists I have the most trouble recording have a thin tone.
Click to expand...

I don't think a lot of the suggestions here are considering your requirements. Except for freshmattyp, who I totally agree with: Shure SM7 or EV RE20. Heck, have you tried the SM57 or SM58?
 
I think too often we jump on the condenser mic bandwagon. One of the most valuable things I learned here was to always have a high quality dynamic mic around. Two things you'll find in every pro studio in the world are the SM7 and the RE 20.

This is not to dismiss any of the other choices mentioned. I especially like the CAD M9. I based my suggestion on the voice type mentioned and the other mics in the collection.
 
Yes, I've used the SM57 & SM58 for vocals and found they weren't particularly helpful with thin vocal sounds.

I'm much pretty sold on the SM7 & RE20. The SM7 is considerably lower cost; can anyone compare the two sound-wise?

Also, the CAD M9 does have great reviews; that looks like a good option after the SM7 or RE20.
 
reshp1 said:
Try the Groove Tubes GT66, an underrated darkhorse that hardly anyone ever talks about.
Click to expand...

I agree.....GT-66 is an underrated mic
 
nuemes said:
Yes, I've used the SM57 & SM58 for vocals and found they weren't particularly helpful with thin vocal sounds.

I'm much pretty sold on the SM7
Click to expand...

If an SM57 isn't working well for you on a source, the SM7 won't be the answer.
The SM7 takes the same basic sound of the SM57 and makes it... "better." A little more hi-fi. It's not a big tonality change though, and thin/harsh voices still tend to have similar characteristics.
 
bleyrad said:
If an SM57 isn't working well for you on a source, the SM7 won't be the answer.
The SM7 takes the same basic sound of the SM57 and makes it... "better." A little more hi-fi. It's not a big tonality change though, and thin/harsh voices still tend to have similar characteristics.
Click to expand...

Yikes. I'm glad to hear you say that as I was thinking a SM7 would be my next mic. I haven't heard anyone else say that though; anyone else chime in on the SM7 being a glorified SM57? bleyrad, what would you recommend that can help a thin voice for under $500?
 
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