Shure 58 Beats Neumann TLM-103. Why? Help!

[TMonkey]

Me and my partner Mike were recording some vocals just this past Saturday in my basement studio using Mike's new Neumann tlm-103 through a Focusrite Platinum vocal pream into an Akai DPS16 when Mike asked why the live vocal foldback in his headphone monitor sounded stilted and lacking in presence. He pointed out that when he records at home with a Shure 58 Beta on his Boss BR8 that the very same headphones return a much richer and more present sound. The focusrite settings were all fairly 'tame' but I switched off all but the pre-amp section with no improvement. Finally, I pulled out one of my Beta 58's and guess what? It sounded much better, no matter what I set the focusrite to!

Can anyone explain how this $170 dynamic mic sounded so much better than an $800 condensor mic?

The Neumann is not mine (I usually use an AKG C3000B) so I have little experience with such an expensive microphone. With this level microphone, do you need to change something about your usual approach? Could room acoustics cause this? Help.

 

[Sabith]

Well....... prob one, you using headphones to judge which one sounds better, not monitors.....

and are U sure it sounds "better" or does it sounds more like what your used to hearing??? Plus it could be what the Akai that your recordin onto, why don't U bring the boss over and see how that sounds.

Mic positioning and/or singing techique could be another prob.... And sometimes, certain mics are just better suited for a persons voice. That could be the problem as well.

Good luck findin which prob it is =)

Sabith

 

[Tonewoods]

$$$$$ has nothing to do with what mic sounds the best in a given application...
I frequently tuck a Beyer M500 next to a U47, and wind up using it as the sole vox mic in the mix. Folks love singing into the 47, but the M500 is still one of my fav mics, especially for the girls...
That's 200 bucks blowing away 5K in the mix...

 

[vox]

The Beta 58 and the SM 58 both have a 'presence peak', essentially a frequency boost between 3khz and 6khz designed to make vocals more intelligible and help them cut through the mix in live situations, if your friend is used to this sound in his phones and you were using a 'warm' preamp as well, maybe it just seemed 'muddier' than he was accustomed to.