Vocal mic for "thin" voice

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WagTheDog

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Looking for some advice on a vocal mic.....I have a somewhat "thin" voice, kind of a Paul Simon tone. I have a Studio Projects C1 but haven't used it much at all since it sounds (to me) very very bright.....probably will end up selling it.

I know that the Marshall V67G gets some "thumbs up" from several people here......does it have the same characteristics of a C1 or a different voicing?

Any advice for an inexpensive-to-moderately priced mic for me? Thanks!
 
I had a C1 that I was indifferent about, you may fall in love with the Oktava MKL2500 tube mic. I've noticed it has a nice "thickening" effect if that makes any sense.
 
Audio Technica 4040
CAD M179
Shure SM7
or some ribbons are getting good press lately
 
A ribbon may be just the ticket. I have one of the chinese cheepies, and while it is not dark, and is arguably a little bright, it generates creamy, flute-like highs, not piercing or abrasive highs. It may accentuate your voice perfectly, rather than masking it's idiosynchrosies.
 
I've never used a ribbon mic.....did a search on Google.......if someone is using a ribbon and accidently flips the phantom power switch, does the mic meltdown? ;)

From my reading, sounds like the output is kinda weak....true? I will be plugging into a MOTU 828mkII.....also have a Mackie VLZ mixer if I need further gain....
 
WagTheDog said:
I have a Studio Projects C1 but haven't used it much at all since it sounds (to me) very very bright.....probably will end up selling it.

I know that the Marshall V67G gets some "thumbs up" from several people here......does it have the same characteristics of a C1 or a different voicing?
Click to expand...
To answer your original question, the V67G definitely sounds darker than the C1 (as does just about anything else...). Something like an AT3035 is probably a happy medium, and good value.

If you go the ribbon route, you'd better have plenty of useable gain from your preamp. I've never connected a ribbon to a phantom power source, but I understand bad things can happen if you do...
 
Beyer M88. Wide frequency. Lots of proximity effect. Good enough for Phil Collins.
 
I have seen phantom power masks (forget what they were officially called) linked somewhere from this forum. They go in-line to the mic and safeguard no-phantom mics from any accidental or global phantom power. Not sure if they adversely affect (or effect?) the tone... but I thought they were neat (for lack of a better word).
 
I think p power 'can' bugger up some older ribbon mics, probably worth doing a search under Harvey Gerst's name, I know he's explained it before; probably more than once.

Regardless of the mic, proximity effect is your friend when it comes to thickening up a source (unless it's an omni of course).

Edit: saved you the bother:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=27071&
 
The Apex, Shiny Box, Nady ribbons have a nice thick sound to them. I have this one http://www.shinybox.com/ShinyBox23.php (standard one) I guess compared to the SP C1 it would be on the dark side of things. Siny Box has a new version of the 46 with a nice looking shock mount, and adding the cinemag transformer might just give you what you want. Other wise the standard 23 is a great option.

And about the phantom power issues read this: http://www.shinybox.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7

Other wise a MXL V69ME (which I also own) could be great option as well. Not as dark as my SB 23, but being a tube mic you get that well tube sound that can help thin voices.

Hope that helps a little.
 
The KEL HM-1 is awsome. Thick and with no sibilance. The inexpensive
condenser mic that has Shure SM-7 characteristics. I use an RE-20 all day
at work (radio) and the HM-1 at home. Love it! It now comes with a shockmount for $129!
 
I'd say maybe look in to one of the popular voiceover mics. I'm thinking along the lines of an Electrovoice RE-20, or perhaps one of those shotgun mics used for location recording. I know that probably sounds strange, but they are very popular for the voiceovers and movie trailers.

.
 
Thanks to all for the replies.....the ribbons sound interesting but the gain requirements and fragility worry me a little. I went to KEL's site and listened to some of their clips.....the HM-1 and HM-4 sounded good....the EV RE-20 looked like a possibility as well.

Thanks again
 
the MXL V67 is one of the mics i may put on a vocalist with a thin voice, if it works for the voice and song context. it's got a weird (cloudy? hashy?) low-midrange thing going on, which works on some folks and really interferes on others, and it's got TONS of proximity effect, so you might could use that to your advantage. but it's VERY hit or miss. still, at $99, it's hard not to pull the trigger and see. i figure if it works for a couple vocalists on a couple tracks, then i've spent my $100 well.

the MXL V77 can also do some good things for a thin sounding vocalist, depending on the type of "thinness" in the voice. it's excellent on "mousey female types" who need a little boost. it's a transparent mic, though, and won't really "enhance" much outside of "making what already sounds good sound great".

both of those mics (as well as numerous others) need to be auditioned before i can tell you "which works" on the voice. and even if the mic works on the voice, there's no guarantee that it'll fit the song or production. i've got a number of mics that "work" on my voice as well as a number that "don't", and you'd be surprised how many times i end up using one that "doesn't work" on my voice just b/c it better fits the production.

without hearing the voice, though, i would probably recommend an EV RE20 or a Shure SM7. paired with a decent pre, it's pretty hard to get a bad sound out of either one of those (assuming the vocalist isn't the source of the bad sound :D).


cheers,
wade
 
WagTheDog said:
Have you heard any of the KEL's ????
Click to expand...

i have not, sorry.

they do look interesting, though. and some of them have received some good reviews from folks around here. might be worth looking into!


cheers,
wade
 
Do you have any firsthand experience with the EV RE-20? It looked like an interesting choice.
 
The RE20 is an excellent mic and may be exactly what you're looking for.

as with all mics, i'd buy from somewhere you can try it out before you purchase--or online from someone who will let you return it if you find that it's not for you.


cheers,
wade
 
WagTheDog said:
I've never used a ribbon mic.....did a search on Google.......if someone is using a ribbon and accidently flips the phantom power switch, does the mic meltdown? ;)
Click to expand...

IF your cables are standard, phantom power can be switched on and off with no damage to the ribbon. The danger lies in improperly-wired cables OR in the possibility that one pole may connect a tiny bit earlier than its opposite when connecting/unconnecting a ribbon mic to phantom power that's already turned on.

The RE20 is a great mic. But it's designed to minimize proximity effect. That's a good thing unless you WANT proximity effect - which you might. The crooners of the 1940s consciously used that proximity effect in their ribbon microphones. They sang rather softly close to the mic, and the pronounced proximity effect of figure-of-eight RCA ribbons made their voices sound much bigger than they really were.

If you want proximity effect in a dynamic mic, I'd go with the Beyerdynamic M88, Sennheiser MD421 or MD441, Shure SM7, or - for good and cheap - an Electrovoice N/D 367.
 
AGCurry said:
or - for good and cheap - an Electrovoice N/D 367.
Click to expand...

the harmonica player in my band uses an EV 357 for his vocals. it's the previous model of the 367. he's got a VERY thin voice and the 357 *really* treats it well. we stumbled on the 357 after trying out numerous flavors of shure and sennheiser mics, and there was no doubting that the 357 was "the one" for him. the description of the 357 tells that it was designed with female vocals in mind. makes sense, given the freqs it seems to "help" with.

his singing on the other hand......:eek:


cheers,
wade
 
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