Studio only vocal microphone

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DCL

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Which condenser microphone is best suited for home studio vocals for SOLO voice. I'm looking for a high quality mic which will give plenty of clarity to the voice. Dance oriented music is what I want to compose. Any input is appreciated. I would like to avoid spending over $1000.



[This message has been edited by DCL (edited 06-07-2000).]
 
Ahh, the 3 Q's: Quality, qlarity, and qost (under a grand). Got to be the Neumann TLM 103. It's great on just about everything.

That's my final answer.
 
I personally don't think there is one best mic but for a grand you can get a dandy! You can get a Neumann right at a $1000 maybe a little less.
 
Yeah, I think that's a good point, Track Rat. There really is no "best" mike-especially for vocals. Auditioning a few, if possible, is a smart thing to do.

And the first one I'd audition is that Neumann!
 
DCL:
Definitely no single answer for "best" vocal mic. But look at your need in one of two ways. Do you need *the* vocal mic that goes with *your* voice the best, or one that compromises across a variety of voices to good effect?

If the former, no replacement for trying out a lot of different models just to hear what they do with your particular vocal quality.

If the latter, I find the Nuemann TLM103 about the best sounding across a wider range of sound sources (not just voices, for that matter...). Just an extremely flexible mic--the one I always try first. I think of it as my baseline for building my selection of mics to choose from.
 
Something else you might consider is buying something like a GT AM52 and a good preamp, maybe a focusrite or Peavey VMP.
 
I would audition the AKG 414 B-TLII ($999) and 414 B-ULS ($899). These two are great mics on par with the Neumann TLM 103. I've used the TLM 103... a great mic, but for one vocal mic for $1000, the AKG's would get my attention, because they have multiple polar patterns and a multi-stage low cut filter. The TLM, while being a great mic, is a cardiod pattern only mic with not low cut filter to cut out rumble and unnecessary lows. Sure, you're getting the Neumann sound, but without the other usual Neumann tools (multiple patterns, low cut).

The long and the short of it: the AKG mics have more use (solo AND group vocals) for the same "level" of performance. The B-TLII is specially tuned for the human voice.

Rev E
 
DCL:

Check-out my response in the "KSM32 and other $500-$1K condensors" thread in the same Microphone Forum.

If you want to narrow the list down, might want to get into more detail of your applications like:

*Discribing the characteristics of the voice you'll be usually miking.
*What pre it will be used with most of the time.
*Discribing the room characteristics the mic will be used in most of the time.
*If you'll be using a compressor. If so, which one?
*The medium being tracked to.
 
[This message has been edited by FlametopFred (edited 06-09-2000).]
 
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