sennheiser evolution series?

[schnoops]

hi,
I can get a sennheiser E855 for two thirds of its retails price, with the warranty, gig bag and stuff. the guy who sells this mic told me it was senn's top of the line dynamic mic, and that it had a very large spectrum, up to 18KHz he said.
so my question is, do you think this would be good mic to start with, mainly doing male vocal tracks with it, but the singer's got more of a "jeff buckley like" voice, that is thin and high pitched in intimate parts of the song, but rather standard and loud on choruses or on whole punchy titles...
or would you save a bit more and get a rode NT1.

 

[chessparov]

Based on your description, I'd stay away from a Rode NT1,
as the Rode is very bright, and can sound harsh when used with that
type of voice. (I used to have one)

The Studio Projects condenser microphones are excellent for many vocalists
and start at only around $80(!).

The Sennheiser e855, however, is supposed to be a fine microphone,
per Scott Dorsey, a noted professional engineer.
The other "usual suspects" for quality dynamics would include;
EV RE20
Sennheiser 421 (original series is smoother/MKII is brighter)
Beyer M88 (or M88TG)
Shure SM7 (need a powerful mic pre on this one!)
Shure SM57 (clearer sounding than SM58)

It's easier for inexperienced vocalists to use a regular cardiod polar pattern
IMHO, therefore you may find the RE20, 421, SM7, and SM57 easier to work
with. The Studio Projects all have (at minimum) a cardiod pattern.

A nice condenser and a good dynamic would open up a lot of options for you.
You can use one or the other on different songs for the same singer.

Chris

 

[Sennheiser]

the guy who sells this mic told me it was senn's top of the line dynamic mic,

He lied.

It ain't the top-o'- the-heap from Sennheiser, but it's still a pretty good mic. It's a great live mic. It'd probably be great on guitar cabs and probably HH and snare in the studio.

It might be kind of bright for a studio vocal mic, depending on the source.

 

[schnoops]

thanks, I think I'll stick with it 'till I get more money!
see ya