Would AT4047 be a good alternative for C1 owner?

[Mr Funk]

Hi there

I currently own an SP C1, which I like a lot and use for all my vocals, through a VC1Q. Do you think that an Audio Technica AT4047 would give a very different sound on vocals and thus be a welcome addition to the mic locker?

Would this sound a little too dark through the Meek? i also have the DMP2 pre's in my Omni Studio!

Cheers

 

[Track Rat]

I have a 4047. I wouldn't call it a dark mic but the tranny in it does give it a color. While I never used a C-1 it would be my guess that they're VERY different sounding mics.

 

[tigerbomb]

I don't have a C1. But I do have a AT4047. It's unlike any other mics I have. It's fairly colored in lower mids, but it's also fairly hyped. I've found it to be a mic that definitely chooses the source for vocals.

Once I found it to work really nice on a baritone voice. So I tried it on alto female voice and was shocked at the unpleasantly harsh husky sound we got. I guess this sort of thing is expected to some degree when matching mic and source. But the gap in greatness/badness was a bit astonishing.

We tried different placement, but didn't see much improvement - althogh that may be due to my limited expertise.

So, it's quite different, and it can be a really cool alternative. But you may be a bit disappointed as your 'step up' or alternative mic if the mic decides to not like your voice.

YMMV. Try it out and let us know.

 

[chessrock]

The yin and yang of the 4047 . . .

What really struck me about the 4047 after playing with it for a little while is that is certainly isn't what you'd call neutral. And I highly doubt it was intended to be. What goes in is definitely not what comes out.

The C1 isn't particularly neutral either, but what I've noticed is that it (C1) exaggerates both the extreme highs and lows. The 4047, on the other hand . . . pretty much exaggerates everything. You have to be careful with something like that, because if your voice is nasal, the 4047 will make it even nasalier (if that's even a word), and if your voice is naturally sibilant, the 4047 will exaggerate that too, and ditto for a lower voice.

The beauty of it is that on a really good singer, it will also exaggerate/highlight all of the outstanding qualities. And it can certainly spice up an otherwise dull or bland voice.

That's kind of the yin and yang of the 4047.

 

[mixsit]

This is an interesting reading as the 4047 is one of the few (nice) mics that I have, and have gotten very good milage out of it. (So I'm sort of flipping this post around in the oppsite direction..)
Also a lot of what I'm recording is in the Blues/R&B/Rock range. I was looking for something fuller and with a bit of attitude on vocals, and it's been a very satisfying mic in gereral. My options were (so far) C-3000A (easy to beat), RE-20, QTC-1 (a flat but moldable reference , so I am interested in some options to balance it out.
In retrospect, I'm surprized how well it's served.
The 'exaggerates everything' is an interesting angle. I wonder if this mic in some ways makes up for not having 'attitude' pres?
Wayne

 

[LI_Slim]

I like my 4047 too. I also agree that it depends on the person, and that goes for all vocal mics in that general range. If at all possible you should go somewhere where you can try it out along with a bunch of other mics of comparable price.