What Microphone is Best for My Vocals? (under $1000)

  • Thread starter Thread starter undermind
  • Start date Start date
Well, I just did a roundup of all the mic's I could find locally. Here's what I tested today:

Soundelux E251C
Neumann TLM127
Neumann TLM49
AKG 414 B-XLS
Chameleon Labs TS2
Rode K2
Rode NTK
Rode NT-2A
Groove Tubes GT67
Blue Blueberry
PPA (Pacific Pro Audio) mics - their tube, ribbon, and LDC

The Soundelux and the Neumann TLM49 were the best for me. They really had the right sound for my voice. I auditioned them at different places on different pre's. I would have loved to heard them running side by side. But the TLM49 was definitely the mic that really excelled the most today. It just sounded very natural, very flat, and very nice. Interestingly, the Rode NT-2A was very similar in character to the TLM49. It took quite a bit of extensive A/B comparison to really determine the difference. The TLM49 just had a little more roundness and life. But was it a $1000 difference? I don't know.

The $3000 price tag on the Soundelux takes it out of the running for me, but I would love to hear the U195. But I'm afraid I won't be able to try one out. The NTK and K2 were both surprising to me. They both were much brighter than I expected, especially being tube mic's. The PPA ribbon was very interesting. It definitely took all the harsh edge off my voice, really a cool mic. But rather quiet; I think it wouldn't be as versatile as the others. It takes a lot of gain to get it workin and my mic pre is not silent.. But still a very sweet mic for $199.

So with the Soundelux being out of the picture, it all came down to the TLM49 and the NT-2A. Not what I expected. What I'm curious about is how the TLM103 sounds compared to the TLM49. I got to hear the TLM103 a little bit today, but not enough to evaluate it. Has anyone heard both of these?? I know the TLM103 does not seem to be a popular mic on the boards at all, but I'm curious how these 2 compare.. I know the TLM49 is a newer mic and uses the same capsule as the U47 and M49..
 
Have not heard them side by side and it has been awhile but I remember the TLM103 could sound very bad or very good depending on the preamp. More so than most other mics. I used it with a DMP3 and it was terribly grainy. Then I tried one through a Great River 1NV and it sounded very smooth and airy. Really a wide response like it was not even the same mic. Ultimately I sold the pair I had because I was getting more action out of my Audio Technica and Rode mics.
 
Your room needs a bit of work.

Based on your sample, I'd like to hear your voice through a Shure SM-7. I'm guessing that might be a good match right now; pretty smooth mic, and the room wouldn't play as much of a role.

For the accoustic, I don't really know what to tell ya. The Oktava isn't a harsh mic by any means. Most often, when the accoustic has too much of an edge, then 99% of the time, it's due to poor technique; good accoustic tracks are played by people who know how to pick and strum the right way, and are loose/relaxed, fluid and smooth with their wrist and fingers. You don't have to play the guitar as aggressively when there's a mic jammed right up on it.

But short of technique, if you have a lot of trouble with an edgy-sounding accoustic, then you might look at the Groove Tubes GT-44 SDC. It's really exceptional on rounding out some of the rough edges on certain things. Good luck.
.
 
This past weekend the perfect mic for a female fronted rock band I had in was the least expensive Heil dynamic mic, wrapped in cloth to minimize noise. But one thing's for sure, undermind did the right thing and used his ears!

Kudos.

War
 
chessrock said:
For the accoustic, I don't really know what to tell ya. The Oktava isn't a harsh mic by any means. Most often, when the accoustic has too much of an edge, then 99% of the time, it's due to poor technique; good accoustic tracks are played by people who know how to pick and strum the right way, and are loose/relaxed, fluid and smooth with their wrist and fingers. You don't have to play the guitar as aggressively when there's a mic jammed right up on it.
Click to expand...
I'm a guitarist number one, a vocalist way down the list.. I definitely have an acceptable technique. I tend to actually be very under-aggresive. I don't blame the mic completely on the tone of the guitar. The Oktava is not especially harsh, but there's just something that happens when I've done a mix onto a cd and I'm listening in my living room system, which I know well. The acoustic is always very fatigueing to my ears. It's always been that way. And I've pretty much always used that mic. My pre and converters are better now, so I'm hoping a smoother mic will help. The guitar is very mellow sounding, especially now that I'm recording with the martin. So I don't know..
 
Last edited:
I meant to comment again on the mic choices...

I've pretty much gotten my hands on everything I can locally. So the rest is pretty blind. I will rely fairly heavily on opinions here. What I DO know is that the mic that definitely suited my voice best was the Neumann TLM49. It uses the same capsule as the U47 and M149. Whether it sounds like those mic's I don't know. I just don't really want to spend nearly $1500 on a mic right now.. Especially when the Rode NT-2A shares so much of the same sonic character. So I'm considering it.. My question is, can anyone comment on the sound of the Soundelux U195 compared to the TLM49 or the NT-2A?? I hear a lot of great things about the U195, but I haven't read much in the way of it's sound.. Since I've got a feel for the sound of the K2, NTK, 414b-XLS, GT67, and the Blueberry, a comparison to any of those mic's would help me out too..

Thanks. I'm making a decision this weekend then I'll stop obsessing over it and start working..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top