| Author |
Message |
Sue G. Wilkinson
Guest
|
 Posted:
Wed Nov 24, 2004 6:06 am Post subject:
Best medium priced mic for female vocals |
|
|
I'm looking for the best medium priced mic for female vocals. I'm a
soprano and my dynamic range is extremely wide along with my volume
levels. My lower notes tend to be more breathy and my higher notes are
very loud and belted out.
I have two different projects: one more ambient in nature, and the
second a heavy R&B sound that is reminiscent of Staxs Volts stuff.
Please give a listen at www.suewilkinson.com. I've taken home a Rode
K2 which sounded fairly good at Guitar Center run dry through pro
tools. I've also brought home a Eureka E2 preamp. I tried several mics
and narrowed it down to the cheaper Neunamm which gave me a more
"true" version of my voice I thought, but the k2 sounded warmer, but
with less personality. I also wondered what you might think of the AKG
414? Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. BTW, this is
for a home studio. I have a korg D1600. Thanks.
Sue
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Neil Henderson
Guest
|
| Posted:
Wed Nov 24, 2004 6:06 am Post subject:
Re: Best medium priced mic for female vocals |
|
|
"Sue G. Wilkinson" <sue42155@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:5dfa6183.0411232118.a255b80@posting.google.com...
| Quote: | I'm looking for the best medium priced mic for female vocals. I'm a
soprano and my dynamic range is extremely wide along with my volume
levels. My lower notes tend to be more breathy and my higher notes are
very loud and belted out.
|
Then a B.L.U.E. Blueberry might be a good mic for you, especially if you
like to work the mic close-in. It can take the high SPL's on your higher
notes without sounding raspy, and it has a bit of rolled-off sound on the
low end, which means your breathiness will come through without having
proximity effect issues on your lower notes.
| Quote: | I have two different projects: one more ambient in nature, and the
second a heavy R&B sound that is reminiscent of Staxs Volts stuff.
Please give a listen at www.suewilkinson.com.
|
Have anything on mp3 or .wav? I disdain using the Real Audio virus.
| Quote: | I've taken home a Rode
K2 which sounded fairly good at Guitar Center run dry through pro
tools. I've also brought home a Eureka E2 preamp. I tried several mics
and narrowed it down to the cheaper Neunamm
|
Are you referring to the TLM-103?
| Quote: | I also wondered what you might think of the AKG
414?
|
Personally I like 'em a lot for certain things, but I've never found a lead
vocal that I couldn't find a better mic for.
Neil Henderson |
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Sugarite
Guest
|
| Posted:
Wed Nov 24, 2004 10:05 am Post subject:
Re: Best medium priced mic for female vocals |
|
|
| Quote: | I'm looking for the best medium priced mic for female vocals. I'm a
soprano and my dynamic range is extremely wide along with my volume
levels. My lower notes tend to be more breathy and my higher notes are
very loud and belted out.
I have two different projects: one more ambient in nature, and the
second a heavy R&B sound that is reminiscent of Staxs Volts stuff.
Please give a listen at www.suewilkinson.com. I've taken home a Rode
K2 which sounded fairly good at Guitar Center run dry through pro
tools. I've also brought home a Eureka E2 preamp. I tried several mics
and narrowed it down to the cheaper Neunamm which gave me a more
"true" version of my voice I thought, but the k2 sounded warmer, but
with less personality. I also wondered what you might think of the AKG
414? Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. BTW, this is
for a home studio. I have a korg D1600. Thanks.
|
Upgrade the tube in the K2 before ruling it out, and don't ignore the
NT2000. I'm no fan of the 414 for vocals, but it has worked well in a few
atypical situations. It comes down to what works best with your voice.
There are mics that sound good on a lot of different voices but there are
"best mics" at different budget levels for every voice, and it could be
anything under the sun. The TLM-103 is certainly a contender, though an
NT2000 or even an NT1000 should give it a run for its money (or half it's
money). |
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Paul Stamler
Guest
|
| Posted:
Wed Nov 24, 2004 10:05 am Post subject:
Re: Best medium priced mic for female vocals |
|
|
"Sue G. Wilkinson" <sue42155@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:5dfa6183.0411232118.a255b80@posting.google.com...
| Quote: | I'm looking for the best medium priced mic for female vocals. I'm a
soprano and my dynamic range is extremely wide along with my volume
levels. My lower notes tend to be more breathy and my higher notes are
very loud and belted out.
I have two different projects: one more ambient in nature, and the
second a heavy R&B sound that is reminiscent of Staxs Volts stuff.
Please give a listen at www.suewilkinson.com. I've taken home a Rode
K2 which sounded fairly good at Guitar Center run dry through pro
tools. I've also brought home a Eureka E2 preamp. I tried several mics
and narrowed it down to the cheaper Neunamm which gave me a more
"true" version of my voice I thought, but the k2 sounded warmer, but
with less personality. I also wondered what you might think of the AKG
414? Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. BTW, this is
for a home studio. I have a korg D1600. Thanks.
|
If you're looking for a warmer sound, see if you can find a used Beyer M260
on ebay, or, yes, check out the new AKG C414B-ULS. For a brighter sound,
maybe the C414B-ULII might be worth looking at, but here's a suggestion out
of left field: see if you can try a Beyer M88. I think if I were going to
record you with a Neumann, it'd be a U-87, rather than one of the
less-expensive ones.
By the way, I liked your voice on the site; very mobile, esp. on the R&B
songs.
Peace,
Paul |
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John L Rice
Guest
|
| Posted:
Wed Nov 24, 2004 10:06 am Post subject:
Re: Best medium priced mic for female vocals |
|
|
Hi Sue,
I listened some of the samples on your site and I think you are quite a good
singer. I particularly enjoyed the pop/alternative/ambient selections.
While it's always best to try stuff before you buy, and it's really a big
'guess' to recommend equipment for someone with only hearing lower quality
examples on computer speakers, common sense has never stopped me from
recommending stuff anyway. ;-)
If you were to come over to record at my place I'd want to try an
ElectroVoice RE-20 on you first, or a Shure SM7 or Stedman N90. I think you
might be surprised by one of those.
Also what Neumann model do you have, the TLM103? If so you should compare it
to a Neumann TLM 193, which I think might be complementary on your voice.
Also try a Soundelux U195 if you can.
And consider a CAD E300 or E350 ( may not handle really loud passages well )
and a BLUE Blueberry ( may have too much 'presence' for your voice )
Best of luck Sue!
John L Rice
Drummer@ImJohn.com
"Sue G. Wilkinson" <sue42155@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:5dfa6183.0411232118.a255b80@posting.google.com...
| Quote: | I'm looking for the best medium priced mic for female vocals. I'm a
soprano and my dynamic range is extremely wide along with my volume
levels. My lower notes tend to be more breathy and my higher notes are
very loud and belted out.
I have two different projects: one more ambient in nature, and the
second a heavy R&B sound that is reminiscent of Staxs Volts stuff.
Please give a listen at www.suewilkinson.com. I've taken home a Rode
K2 which sounded fairly good at Guitar Center run dry through pro
tools. I've also brought home a Eureka E2 preamp. I tried several mics
and narrowed it down to the cheaper Neunamm which gave me a more
"true" version of my voice I thought, but the k2 sounded warmer, but
with less personality. I also wondered what you might think of the AKG
414? Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. BTW, this is
for a home studio. I have a korg D1600. Thanks.
Sue |
|
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|
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Mike Rivers
Guest
|
| Posted:
Wed Nov 24, 2004 6:13 pm Post subject:
Re: Best medium priced mic for female vocals |
|
|
In article <5dfa6183.0411232118.a255b80@posting.google.com> sue42155@yahoo.com writes:
| Quote: | I'm looking for the best medium priced mic for female vocals.
|
I'm looking for the best medium-priced female. Like microphones,
they're all different and you need to find one that's best for you.
| Quote: | I'm a
soprano and my dynamic range is extremely wide along with my volume
levels. My lower notes tend to be more breathy and my higher notes are
very loud and belted out.
|
Microphones and their associated preamplifiers (preamps) have
sufficient dynamic range to handle any voice, however reproduction
systems rarely do. Whether for live performance or recording, you
really can't use the full dynamic range of your voice - you have to
control it yourself. Learning to "work" the microphone is part of that
skill, and different microphones work differently.
| Quote: | I tried several mics
and narrowed it down to the cheaper Neunamm which gave me a more
"true" version of my voice I thought, but the k2 sounded warmer, but
with less personality. I also wondered what you might think of the AKG
414?
|
It sounds like you're getting a sense of what to listen for. Because
it's been made for more than 20 years and has gone through several
variations, the AKG C414 "sound" is all over the map. I'd go for the
mic that gives you the most accurate representation of your voice, and
then try to tailor that a bit in the recording and mixing process.
When spending your own money, it's better to work with something you
can use rather than try to find the perfect mic.
--
I'm really Mike Rivers (mrivers@d-and-d.com)
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me here: double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo |
|
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|
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Twist Turner
Guest
|
| Posted:
Wed Nov 24, 2004 6:13 pm Post subject:
Re: Best medium priced mic for female vocals |
|
|
I'd try the BLUE B6 lollipop capsule on a used(the older version where
the capsule screws off)AKG451. The BLUE vintage store posts the
capsules on ebay at 1/2 price sometimes, so your looking at about $450
for the capsule and a couple hundred for the 451. So far the
combination has worked really well for alot of female vocalists that
didn't sound so good on anything else.
Twist Turner
http://tinyurl.com/ul70 |
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Kurt Albershardt
Guest
|
| Posted:
Thu Nov 25, 2004 2:02 am Post subject:
Re: Best medium priced mic for female vocals |
|
|
Twist Turner wrote:
| Quote: | I'd try the BLUE B6 lollipop capsule on a used(the older version where
the capsule screws off)AKG451. The BLUE vintage store posts the
capsules on ebay at 1/2 price sometimes, so your looking at about $450
for the capsule and a couple hundred for the 451.
|
If you can find an A60M thread adapter, they sound great on a modified C460B (and presumably with a C480B as well.) |
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Sue G. Wilkinson
Guest
|
| Posted:
Sun Nov 28, 2004 12:16 pm Post subject:
Re: Best medium priced mic for female vocals |
|
|
"Neil Henderson" <neil.henderson@sbcglobal.netNOSPAM> wrote in message news:<e7Vod.36705$Al3.13896@newssvr30.news.prodigy.com>...
| Quote: | "Sue G. Wilkinson" <sue42155@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:5dfa6183.0411232118.a255b80@posting.google.com...
I'm looking for the best medium priced mic for female vocals. I'm a
soprano and my dynamic range is extremely wide along with my volume
levels. My lower notes tend to be more breathy and my higher notes are
very loud and belted out.
Then a B.L.U.E. Blueberry might be a good mic for you, especially if you
like to work the mic close-in. It can take the high SPL's on your higher
notes without sounding raspy, and it has a bit of rolled-off sound on the
low end, which means your breathiness will come through without having
proximity effect issues on your lower notes.
Hey Neil, |
Thanks for responding Neil. The B.L.U.E. was actually what everyone
was high on at the store and I also heard Sting uses one of the really
expensive ones with all the bells and whistles. Unfortunatley, it
didn't sound that good with my voice, but from what you've described,
that is exactly what I need in a mic, so when I go back to get the
Neumann, I'll try the B.L.U.E. again.
| Quote: |
I have two different projects: one more ambient in nature, and the
second a heavy R&B sound that is reminiscent of Staxs Volts stuff.
Please give a listen at www.suewilkinson.com.
Have anything on mp3 or .wav? I disdain using the Real Audio virus.
|
I could email you a couple of things.
| Quote: |
I've taken home a Rode
K2 which sounded fairly good at Guitar Center run dry through pro
tools. I've also brought home a Eureka E2 preamp. I tried several mics
and narrowed it down to the cheaper Neunamm
Are you referring to the TLM-103?
Sorry for my ignorance, but as far as I can see it's called Rode K2.. |
It's the condenser mic that comes with the power supply and shock
mount. It has omni, cardioid and figure eight polar patters.
| Quote: |
I also wondered what you might think of the AKG
414?
Personally I like 'em a lot for certain things, but I've never found a lead
vocal that I couldn't find a better mic for.
|
It doesn't seem to impress many people any more, but I've gotten some
vocal performances that were pretty good on it.
btw, are you familiar with the PreSonus Eureka preamp? I'm not at all
familiar with preamp, so I just went with what the salesman suggested.
|
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|
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Sue G. Wilkinson
Guest
|
| Posted:
Sun Nov 28, 2004 12:16 pm Post subject:
Re: Best medium priced mic for female vocals |
|
|
"John L Rice" <Drummer@ImJohn.com> wrote in message news:<10q8aava9vrq285@corp.supernews.com>...
| Quote: | Hi Sue,
I listened some of the samples on your site and I think you are quite a good
singer. I particularly enjoyed the pop/alternative/ambient selections.
|
Thanks John for responding, and also thanks for the cudos. Yes, I'm
hoping to have an entire CD's worth of that stuff out in the next half
year or so.. Sympatico got around 50,000 downloads on mp3.com so
people tend to respond well to that particular tune. It's definitely
one of my personal favorites.
| Quote: |
While it's always best to try stuff before you buy, and it's really a big
'guess' to recommend equipment for someone with only hearing lower quality
examples on computer speakers, common sense has never stopped me from
recommending stuff anyway. ;-)
If you were to come over to record at my place I'd want to try an
ElectroVoice RE-20 on you first, or a Shure SM7 or Stedman N90. I think you
might be surprised by one of those.
|
I called and talked to the salesman, and they don't carry any of these
guys. There is a smaller store that is more specialized, so I'm gonna
try over there and see if I can't track some of these down. Are they
older models?
| Quote: |
Also what Neumann model do you have, the TLM103? If so you should compare it
to a Neumann TLM 193, which I think might be complementary on your voice.
Also try a Soundelux U195 if you can.
|
I'm pretty sure it's the TLM103. I believe it's the lowest priced
Neumann. The TLM 193 is more expensive isn't it?
| Quote: |
And consider a CAD E300 or E350 ( may not handle really loud passages well )
|
Don't have these guys either, but I'll put them on the list.
| Quote: | and a BLUE Blueberry ( may have too much 'presence' for your voice )
|
I tried the BLUE, but it didn't sound very good with my voice. I think
I'm gonna try it again when I go back to pick up the 103 because
people keep recommending it.
Thanks again John,
sgw
| Quote: |
Best of luck Sue!
John L Rice
Drummer@ImJohn.com
"Sue G. Wilkinson" <sue42155@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:5dfa6183.0411232118.a255b80@posting.google.com...
I'm looking for the best medium priced mic for female vocals. I'm a
soprano and my dynamic range is extremely wide along with my volume
levels. My lower notes tend to be more breathy and my higher notes are
very loud and belted out.
I have two different projects: one more ambient in nature, and the
second a heavy R&B sound that is reminiscent of Staxs Volts stuff.
Please give a listen at www.suewilkinson.com. I've taken home a Rode
K2 which sounded fairly good at Guitar Center run dry through pro
tools. I've also brought home a Eureka E2 preamp. I tried several mics
and narrowed it down to the cheaper Neunamm which gave me a more
"true" version of my voice I thought, but the k2 sounded warmer, but
with less personality. I also wondered what you might think of the AKG
414? Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. BTW, this is
for a home studio. I have a korg D1600. Thanks.
Sue |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Sue G. Wilkinson
Guest
|
| Posted:
Sun Nov 28, 2004 12:16 pm Post subject:
Re: Best medium priced mic for female vocals |
|
|
"Sugarite" <nobody@home.com> wrote in message news:<KfWod.15971$14.2718@read1.cgocable.net>...
| Quote: | I'm looking for the best medium priced mic for female vocals. I'm a
soprano and my dynamic range is extremely wide along with my volume
levels. My lower notes tend to be more breathy and my higher notes are
very loud and belted out.
I have two different projects: one more ambient in nature, and the
second a heavy R&B sound that is reminiscent of Staxs Volts stuff.
Please give a listen at www.suewilkinson.com. I've taken home a Rode
K2 which sounded fairly good at Guitar Center run dry through pro
tools. I've also brought home a Eureka E2 preamp. I tried several mics
and narrowed it down to the cheaper Neunamm which gave me a more
"true" version of my voice I thought, but the k2 sounded warmer, but
with less personality. I also wondered what you might think of the AKG
414? Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. BTW, this is
for a home studio. I have a korg D1600. Thanks.
Upgrade the tube in the K2 before ruling it out, and don't ignore the
NT2000. I'm no fan of the 414 for vocals, but it has worked well in a few
atypical situations. It comes down to what works best with your voice.
There are mics that sound good on a lot of different voices but there are
"best mics" at different budget levels for every voice, and it could be
anything under the sun. The TLM-103 is certainly a contender, though an
NT2000 or even an NT1000 should give it a run for its money (or half it's
money).
|
Thanks for responding...I'm not familiar with the NT2000 or the
NT1000. Could you tell me the brand on those
Thanks,
sgw |
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JK
Guest
|
| Posted:
Sun Nov 28, 2004 2:04 pm Post subject:
Re: Best medium priced mic for female vocals |
|
|
| Quote: | If you were to come over to record at my place I'd want to try an
ElectroVoice RE-20 on you first, or a Shure SM7
|
Both may be a good choice...I've used the SM7 for female vocals with good
results.
| Quote: | Also what Neumann model do you have, the TLM103? If so you should compare
it
to a Neumann TLM 193, which I think might be complementary on your voice.
|
The TLM193 is usually my first try for a female vocalist...the bit of
"darkness" of the mike gives that nice breathy sound without being too
sibilant..
| Quote: | And consider a CAD E300 or E350 ( may not handle really loud passages
well ) |
Depends on the mic...I've found quite a bit of INconsistency with these
mics...they all sound quite different from each other...you have to listen
to the individual mic.. |
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Mike Rivers
Guest
|
| Posted:
Sun Nov 28, 2004 6:19 pm Post subject:
Re: Best medium priced mic for female vocals |
|
|
In article <5dfa6183.0411272349.4c5c2259@posting.google.com> sue42155@yahoo.com writes:
| Quote: | If you were to come over to record at my place I'd want to try an
ElectroVoice RE-20 on you first, or a Shure SM7 or Stedman N90.
I called and talked to the salesman, and they don't carry any of these
guys. There is a smaller store that is more specialized, so I'm gonna
try over there and see if I can't track some of these down. Are they
older models?
|
With the exception of the Stedman, more like old chestnuts. They might
have a PL20 which is the same as an RE20 but sold to the live sound
market rather than the broadcast or studio market (different box). The
SM7 is pretty specialized, as is the Stedman so you're not likely to
find one of those easily. But don't be afraid to try other dynamic
mics like the trusty Shure SM57 or SM58 (what do you use for live
performance?), or something from Beyer, or a Sennheiser MD441.
--
I'm really Mike Rivers (mrivers@d-and-d.com)
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me here: double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo |
|
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|
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hank alrich
Guest
|
| Posted:
Sun Nov 28, 2004 6:19 pm Post subject:
Re: Best medium priced mic for female vocals |
|
|
Mike Rivers wrote:
| Quote: | The SM7 is pretty specialized
|
But versatile with those swithcable response curves.
--
ha |
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Sue G. Wilkinson
Guest
|
| Posted:
Sun Nov 28, 2004 6:19 pm Post subject:
Re: Best medium priced mic for female vocals |
|
|
mrivers@d-and-d.com (Mike Rivers) wrote in message news:<znr1101300303k@trad>...
| Quote: | In article <5dfa6183.0411232118.a255b80@posting.google.com> sue42155@yahoo.com writes:
I'm looking for the best medium priced mic for female vocals.
I'm looking for the best medium-priced female. Like microphones,
they're all different and you need to find one that's best for you.
|
Hummm...the best females are priceless and if you are a nice guy
(which I'm sure you are) you deserve a priceless female! :)
| Quote: |
I'm a
soprano and my dynamic range is extremely wide along with my volume
levels. My lower notes tend to be more breathy and my higher notes are
very loud and belted out.
Microphones and their associated preamplifiers (preamps) have
sufficient dynamic range to handle any voice, however reproduction
systems rarely do. Whether for live performance or recording, you
really can't use the full dynamic range of your voice - you have to
control it yourself. Learning to "work" the microphone is part of that
skill, and different microphones work differently.
|
I know this much from working live for many years.
| Quote: |
I tried several mics
and narrowed it down to the cheaper Neunamm which gave me a more
"true" version of my voice I thought, but the k2 sounded warmer, but
with less personality. I also wondered what you might think of the AKG
414?
It sounds like you're getting a sense of what to listen for. Because
it's been made for more than 20 years and has gone through several
variations, the AKG C414 "sound" is all over the map.
|
So it is, or was it a popular recording mic for vocals ??
I'd go for the
| Quote: | mic that gives you the most accurate representation of your voice, and
then try to tailor that a bit in the recording and mixing process.
When spending your own money, it's better to work with something you
can use rather than try to find the perfect mic.
|
In that case, out of all the mics I tried the cheaper Neumann gave me
the truest representation of my voice. So instead of trying to find
something that "warms my voice up" your saying I sould do that with
maybe effects instead of ending up with a mic that would color my
voice in some way? That way I wouldn't be stuck with the same sound
each time I recorded? |
|
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