Upgrade vocal mic???

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frist44

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I currently have an mxl v67 that I use for vocals. I'm most interested in vocal and acoustic guitar tracks. The v67 is going into a mindprint envoice. I've recently sold a few items and have some money I could put towards a new vocal mic if I think it's justified. I was wondering if you guys thought I would get that much more performance from a mic in the $500 range. Some examples being:

Neumann TLM103
Rode NTK
Studio Projects T3/TB1
Marshall v69 or whatever their tube is
or any mic similar. AT?

Some examples of vocals takes with any mics in this range would be super helpful

Thanks as always,
Brandon
 
Hmmm. If you're looking to do mostly vocals and accoustic guitars, I would say you would be doing yourself a favor by picking up an extra mic to use on the guitar. I like the v67 a lot as a vocal mic, but it wouldn't be one I would consider for accoustic.

My first thought would be an Oktava mc012 with LOMO head. This would give you not only an awesome vocal mic, but you can also change the head/capsule and you have a much better option for accoustic guitar (and just about anything else, for that matter). Seriously, check this one out. If I had to do it all over again, knowing what I know now . . .

I'd also take a look at a Shure sm81, or one of the AKG's.
 
Id go with a pair of Marshall mxl603's for acoustic guitar.....

as far as vocal mic, at $500 ($300-$400 more than the v67), you can get a better mic, but i dont know if it will be $3-400 better......

the mics you listed (the Marshall tube is the v77) are all pretty nice sounding......i would probably look at a different preamp for flavor.......

my last bit of advice....Id NEVER put out $500 on a mic unless it was personally auditioned, and with the preamp Id be using it with.....
 
I'd definitely choose the Neumann TLM 103. IT's the best all around mic I've used, and I've used/tried a lot of the under $600 condensors available (with the exception of the recent Shure line of mics)
 
In terms of guitar mics, i hadn't thought that much about getting new ones because i have a set of mxl 603's and a set of ECM8000's. so between the two i figure i could get a decent guitar sound. In the next week or two i'll have my brand new larrivee D-09E so with the combination of a stereo miced guitar and the fishman blender, i think my guitar sounds will be well on their way. At least much better than i've gotten in the past with laminate guitars. Anyway...i had looked alot at the TLM103 for awhile and heard alot of examples of it used on vocals and like the "classic" warm sound it produced. That's more than i had planned on spending, but if it's worth it, i wouldn't mind.

Thanks,
Brandon
 
I've auditioned the LOMO head for the Oktava, which I use (the SD version) and I was not particularly impressed. For $500, I'd buy a Studio Projects C3 *and* an Oktava MC012. That way, you get a multipolar large diaphragm and a workhorse small diaphragm that you can use at the same time. Add an omni capsule for the Oktava, and you can use it for close mic'ing with the SP for more distant ambient mic'ing, if you have the room for it. If you're going to buy just one mic, I'd say go for the Neumann- Richie
 
I too would pick up an extra mic like the MXL 603 for good acoustic sound.

As far as the others, I have an NTK I really like a lot:)


heylow
 
Brandon,I don't know if this will help but I picked up a TB-1 last week and along with sounding very good on vocals it also sounds surprisingly good on acoustic guitar.Of course you are looking to spend about $500 so you could always buy a TB-1 and a pair of Mxl 603's for stereo miccing acoustics(and whatever else).
 
The magic words are 'if I think it's justified'. Well, the V67 is probably doing a good enuff job, so I would take that $500 and jump on a plane down to New Orleans with a guitar strapped to my back and check out how musicians should live. You'll probably pick up knowledge and experience there worth 100 mics and have a good time doing it. Just a thought...
 
To review, I believe he said he has a couple MXL 603's already.

Brandon, if you're getting a TLM103 you can probably find them on the used market a bit cheaper. Having said that, I've seen them selling new for around $700, and that strikes me as very reasonable for the quality. Just wish I had it to spend.
-kent

PS-I bet it doesn't cause near the "esses" you get with the V67.
 
knownuttin-

I did get some wicked "esses" with the v67. After awhile of experimenting, I got around it as best I could with some plug-ins and mic positioning.

anyway...i do have (2) mxl603s and (2) Omni SD in the behringer ECM8000's i'm good in that department.

I would like to hear the comparison and any opinions of the SP T3, TLM103, and Rode NTK.

~Brandon
 
if you are looking at the TLM103 then you should check out the Shure KSM44 , also a nice choice..Multi pattern {cart.,8,omni}Where the TLM103 is cart only..Both are nice mics..I tried them and got the Shure..But you got to check them out to see what is best for you.Good luck

Don
 
frist44 said:
...In the next week or two i'll have my brand new larrivee D-09E...
Click to expand...

Yummie. But I think the blender system is more suited to live performance. With my D-05E I was always able to get a better "acoustic" sound with microphones. I didn't have the blender, though.
 
tdukex-

I'm not definitely still going to mic the guitar, but i did recently get to play on the blender and i must admit i was pretty skeptical before I played it. I figured there was no way some electronics could reproduce the sound of a miced guitar, but boy was i wrong. the blender system is real nice. The built-in pickup sounds much like....well a pickup, but the internal mic gives a great touch to the sound. I had the mix mostly on the mic, so i figured it would be a good thing to have in the mix. Worst case is i don't use the track, but it sounds ten times better than the conventional saddle pickup. I play live every once in a while so that's why it was more of an issue. If it was just for recording, i don't think it would have caught my eye as much.

Brandon

The larrivee crushed the equivalent taylors and martins i played. It was really sweet, I didnt think i would notice that much of a different, but the larrivee is so smooth.
 
frist44 said:
tdukex-

...but the internal mic gives a great touch to the sound. I had the mix mostly on the mic, so i figured it would be a good thing to have in the mix. Worst case is i don't use the track, but it sounds ten times better than the conventional saddle pickup.
Click to expand...

Ahh...I didn't realize it had the built-in mic. Mine only had the piezo under the saddle. Sounds like you got yourself a winner.

Love those Larrivees!
 
get a ECM8000 for the acoustic.

and I don't really know about the vocals so i have to say if you don't have one get a 57
 
Brandon:

I've been using a RODE NT2 for vocals about a year and a half and I love it. Crisp and great reproduction. Nice presence boost up around 12k. Runs about 400.00. On the other hand, I was going to get another one to do sterio miking on my baby grand when I came across the Behringer B2 mic. Same specks, same polar patterns, same 110db rolloff, same case, even the CE stamp is in the same place. $199.00. I went ahead and got one and did a side by side comparison of the NT2 and the B2. I hear absolutely no difference between the two mikes and the Behringer is half the price. Both require 48v phantom power. Check one out. It's worth it!

Hope this helps,
PAULIII
 
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