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Tom,

Welcome to the forum, first post? This is pure opinion and preference, but I prefer to match up a tube microphone to a solid-stage pre....and a solid state microphone to a tube pre. HOWEVER, this isn't always an exact science. For example the sound you get from that of a Universal Audio LA610 is quite different than that of an Avalon VT737. Likewise the sound you get from a Vintech X73 is quite different than one of my favorites, the Focusrite ISA220/430mkII. The thing about the MA200 is it has a warm, lush sound that's not over-powering....while being smooth on the top-end. When the MA200 came out, I honestly didn't want to like it....but I fell in-love with it, and have been a MAJOR fan ever since. I've personally sold more MA200's than anyone else out there, I'm proud of that.... because that means I can provide my clients with an affordable solution that really does perform! Personally....there was a $3k tube microphone I was using until the MA200, I started using the MA200 instead when it became available. It wasn't that it was better than that $3k mic, but it gave me 90% of the performance, so I sold that microphone and went with using the MA200 instead putting the rest of the money into a good pre.

That's the other part here....I've said it many times, and I'll continue to do so...it's about the COMBINATION OF MIC AND PRE, NOT JUST THE MIC OR THE PRE. While the VT737 is a very good channel-strip, personally I lean towards the Focusrite ISA220/ISA430mkII with the MA200. HOWEVER the Vintech X73 you ask of would also make an incredible match, although you have no compressor or de-esser. IT comes down to budget..... there are many ways to go, depending on that.

I love the ADK custom Shop modells. I have several in my studio and they sound fat, warm and expensive.
I have and use many different studiomics in all price ranges.. (Neumann, AKG, Röde, Blue, Shure, JZ etc..) but I must say the best sounding mics in my collection are the ADKs. They really stand out and impress my clients every time we testing out mics before vocal recordings!!
Check out ADK Custom Shop Hamburg IIAU Edition ( GK67) and the ADK Custom Shop Vienna IIAU Edition (GK 12).
They sound wonderful, like valves.. they can take a lot of pressure, they just get fatter!
"ADK Hamburg II-AU and Vienna II-AU models are based on a unique FET circuit that saturates gradually (unlike most condenser microphones which tend to clip abruptly)"....

http://www.adkmic.com/catalog/customshop/

For female vocals, I use the CAD Trion 8000 and TLM103 along with focusrite preamps to get a very open and soft sound. There is alot of harmonic detail though on the hign end using the TLM103. For male vocals, my favorite is the Audio Technical CM5 and 4033. The 4033 is very flat in the midrange and perform well as a go to mic. The CAD Trion 8000 is very good on male vocals as well.

For the TLM103 you could spend about $1000 or more
For the CAD Trion 800 you could spend about $400. I would consider this tube mike a value for the sound as would depend on your preamp type. I am using the Focusrite Liquid Channel on this baby.
For the Audio Technical 4033 and CM5 I am using the Focusrite Green Three channel. Vocals really set in the mix with this setup

Sm58, period. It's so basic. I love it, love it, love it! It's like the Independent Trucks of microphones. It's such a basic, balls-to-the-walls mike. It sounds great without being at all fancy or extravagant. And you can grip it up when you sing. The Sm58 can take a beating and keep coming back. And I'm talking about in the studio, too! My music's inherently violent, so I bang up my gear when I'm recording. Grabbin' that thing in the middle of recording. It gives the music such a live, urgent feel.

Way more fun than some delicate condenser mike.

Cubehead 666 wrote:Sm58, period. It's so basic. I love it, love it, love it! It's like the Independent Trucks of microphones. It's such a basic, balls-to-the-walls mike. It sounds great without being at all fancy or extravagant. And you can grip it up when you sing. The Sm58 can take a beating and keep coming back. And I'm talking about in the studio, too! My music's inherently violent, so I bang up my gear when I'm recording. Grabbin' that thing in the middle of recording. It gives the music such a live, urgent feel.

Way more fun than some delicate condenser mike.

Try a Beta 58

My fave vocal mic is whichever one that's in the stand, wired up and ready to go when the singer is. I hate missing those inspired early takes whilst trying to decide which mic imparts the nuance that is so unimportant when compared to the performance itself. And don't forget, proximity makes a huge difference in the way most (directional) mikes sound, and we have EQ and other plug-ins for a reason.

Now, I don't mean to say mic selection doesn't matter, I just want to encourage engineers to remember the artist's performance is of paramount importance. It is what will be remembered long after the mic used to capture it is forgotten.

But I guess it's more fun to talk about mics.

No way. It's more fun to talk about performance. Treat that studio performance just like a live one. Grip up that mike stand. Flail about. Do everything you need to squeeze every last ounce of soul into your performance.

Kurt Cobain smashed a guitar while recording Endless, Nameless. And no, he wasn't rich at the time.

maswot wrote:The nicest sounding vocal mike I ever had the pleasure of using was an old U-67 going through an old Neumann tube pre. That set-up had real warmth and a very bright but smooth top. Hard to find these days, alas.

Yep.

Umbrella wrote:

maswot wrote:The nicest sounding vocal mike I ever had the pleasure of using was an old U-67 going through an old Neumann tube pre. That set-up had real warmth and a very bright but smooth top. Hard to find these days, alas.

Yep.

Interesting....that's what the MA200 is based on

Cubehead 666 wrote:No way. It's more fun to talk about performance. Treat that studio performance just like a live one. Grip up that mike stand. Flail about. Do everything you need to squeeze every last ounce of soul into your performance.

Kurt Cobain smashed a guitar while recording Endless, Nameless. And no, he wasn't rich at the time.

Yessss!