What's your favorite vocal mic?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Han
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Paul Rodgers used a SM57, singing to the monitors in the control room, while Eddie Kramer would record him.
No headphones either, big plus for most vocalists.

Plant's on Unidyne III's for live recordings, like "How The West Was Won". Normally a U47 (tube) for their records.

Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) uses a SM57 for all his studio and live vocals-including the flute solos! Heard it's something to see him live doing that.

Tom Petty's (pre-Wilbury's) stuff was mostly done on the '57 too.

Hall & Oates lead vocal on "Sarah" was done on the SM57 and it
sounds pretty "good":) to me.

My attitude is that if it was good enough for Bill Putnam (with Sinatra), or for Brian Wilson, a Unidyne III is good enough for me.

Chris
 
Han, how good of a pre (in the mixer) were you using?

That "How The West Was Won" CD sounds pretty damn good IMHO. Would you expect less as they had Eddie Kramer at the
helm for a...live concert!

Chris
 
I've never compared it to any mic costing more than a grand, but
I can attest to what Chessparov is saying about the Unidyne III. I keep it plugged in and use it all the time to do scratch tracks or ideas as i get them...and I am always surprised when i hear the stuff later...." i didnt use that old thing, did I?"...the mic sounds "bigger" than it ought too! I guess i got one of those voices it works on too....
 
I have seen the 3D Mic CD before, but never really considered it. Is it worth the money? What about the 3D Pre cds?
 
GoneinUS said:
I have seen the 3D Mic CD before, but never really considered it. Is it worth the money? What about the 3D Pre cds?
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's worth it if you are really into recording mics. Haven't heard the pre cds, but I bet they are ear openers to.
 
Han said:
Chris, I was a FOH engineer for more that ten years and I've worked with a ton of 57's...
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Han, have you ever seen Jan Ackerman play?
 
Han, lol all you want... but I still like the Shure SM57 and so do a lot of artist... I have other favorites too. Anyway, good luck finding the mic your looking for.
 
Flatpicker said:
Han, have you ever seen Jan Ackerman play?
Click to expand...

Yep, I sure did! Jan is also known for his very bold statements about Thijs van Leer (Focus)

One of those statements: "that man is so huge, he's grown out of his own hair".
 
I saw Jan Ackerman in about 1972 at the Wiskey a-go-go when he was playing with focus. He was a blur back then.

I also saw Ian Anderson about that time and he was using a Senn 421 for his vocals and flute.

Blessings, Terry
 
Yeah, sorry to get off topic, but it just hit me that you must've seen him play, being in the Netherlands. I love his style.

Terry: Cool you saw Focus back in 72. I saw lot's of bands back then, but I missed Focus somehow. Knoxville may not have been a popular spot for them. I know what you mean about it being a blur.

Anyway... back on topic.
 
Focus eh? probably one of the best dutch bands ever. Try to figure out the Hammond part of 'Sylvia', for example.
 
I thought TP used 441's A LOT.

BLUE Cactus is my top-end mic. Capsule is based on the U-47 design. The 9 patterns offered are a lot like an EQ or "tone" adjustment, with of course F8 having the most proximity effect. The Cactus has a smooth mid with a nice amount of "air" on top. Riley sounds like an angel through it. I sound like dogs being dragged down the street behind a car.:mad: Of course, that's exactly what my voice sounds like!

Personally, I think the NT2 does a lot better job making MY voice sound better than it is. I have an NTV too, and it's noticably darker than either the NT2 or the Cactus.
 
Soundelux U195. These are better sounding than any of the 'new' choices from Neuman and are less than half the money.The consistency from mic to mic is truly incredible.

The mics used at Woodstock were,for the most part,Shure 545's and PE56's.Finding one of these in good condition now, would assure you of having a quality 'go to' mic that would most likely cut it in all situations including those that other more expensive and certainly more German just wont.The UnidyneIII's, made in the USA are more than a match for many of todays inexpensive condensers.The real trick with them as with any dynamic mic is to couple them with a pre that has a variable impedance at the input and some iron on the out.Its then that the good dynamic begins to sing like nothing else.This goes for ALL dynamic mics.An SM7 Shure through a Great River or a Chandler or a Vintech is something to hear indeed.
 
CAD VX2, between the dual tubes and dual humbucking transformers on board this baby's got vibe on anything you point it toward. :)

War

Warren Dent
www.frontendaudio.com
 
Warhead said:
CAD VX2, between the dual tubes and dual humbucking transformers on board this baby's got vibe on anything you point it toward. :)

War

Warren Dent
www.frontendaudio.com
Click to expand...

Ditto. It's an incredible mic. Typically goes for less than $1,000 used on eBay.
 
Mostly, I use B.L.U.E. Kiwi, because it works for me. As an alternative, I use AKG C2000B, Shure SM7B, Rode NTK, or AKG D320B. The D320 is a classic dynamic. I use it for what most people would use an SM57 for. The Kiwi works for me, but most of the lady singers in my life (there are several) prefer the Oktava MK319, NTK, or C2000B. We all sound like hell through a C414B-ULS, but it is a great acoustic guitar mic.-Richie
 
Han said:
Yep, I sure did! Jan is also known for his very bold statements about Thijs van Leer (Focus)

One of those statements: "that man is so huge, he's grown out of his own hair".
Click to expand...
Lol. I litterally bumped into Jan Akkerman once (at Feedback, Rotterdam). He played there that day but I didn't catch that..

Btw, the reason why a lot of dutch engineers would consider using AKG1000's is that I think that the available and affordable microphones on the dutch market have been very limited until recently.
When you were in the market for some SDC's and went to a store you basically had the AKG1000 and the NT3 to choose from and that was it.

Another example is the the AKG3000 which was one of the most affordable LDC's with a decent name on it for quite a while. You still see people ask for them in ads while everyone on this bbs knows that you can get much better mics for much less when you know what to look for.
 
<I'm still waiting for someone with the message: the XX mic, type YY sounds better than a Neumann and costs only $ ZZ
Utopia?>

Han,

Sorry to bring it back, but listen to these two tracks. One is recorded with quite expensive tube mic, using original Neumann K87 capsule. Another one is recorded with Nady 1050 I just finished modding, which uses 3um Chinese capsule. Even after modification it is well below $1000. Try to pick which is which:



 
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Oh yeah, to have an idea what we are talking about here is the stock Nady:

 
I'm not sure of course, but I think 1 is the Neumann capsule. Am I right? (I hope so):D
 
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