Which is your favorite Mic for vocals?

[ArtieRod]

I love the 414 AKG but wanted to get some feed back on Mics. I have an Isolation booth and love the 414, I'm planning on getting another vocal mic but can't seem to decide. You feed back may just help me in my decision. I'd greatly appreciate it.

Artie

[rodger1811]

Shure SM7B and the Mojave MA-200 are two of my best mics and have earned the place of "go-to" mics in my cabinet. I have lots of mics but I'm most impressed by these two!

[willheim]

i always end up using the same set up - AKG C12VR (even though it doesn't get alot of respect, mine sounds amazing) thru a Brent Avril vintage neve mic pre, into an LA2 compressor limiter.

This is a very expensive set up and I am grateful to have it.

I have an RCA 77D that sounds amazing on the right voice. I have like my AKG 414 as well. Used it before I got the C12.

Blue makes some interesting lower cost nice mics - I have the Woodpecker.

Check out the Cascade mics, they are supposed to sound great and are certainly affordable.

Very budget dependent question.

[Frodo]

Mojave MA-200

Dude!! Wicked.

With what pres?

[davedempsey]

Current fav is Sontronics Helios thr Peach Audio M196se pre

[James Steele]

I love the 414 AKG but wanted to get some feed back on Mics.

Hmmm... you're likely to get a bunch of answers that say "one size does not fit all." And that's pretty much spot on. Not sure which model of the AKG-414 your talking about, but I can tell you I bought a 414-B/ULS as my first vocal mic and it turned out to be a rather poor choice for my particular voice. I spend money having the mic modded to be a TL (transformerless) and it seemed a little better. One day, I borrowed a friend's Red Type B (made by Blue microphones) and it was incredible the difference. This mic fits my voice like a glove. When I came in and listened to my first track cut with the Type B I was so blown away, I ordered one immediately!! I need practically no EQ when using this mic.

Now the bad news... and the pointless part of this email. I believe they stopped making them. You could get one and the R8 capsule for $700 total. I think the problem was these mics were so good they were eating away at Blue's own higher end offerings. Now the R8 capsule (and others are available) starting at $600 when they used to be $300 for the R8. Ugh...

Just looked on eBay... none listed. Should you ever have a chance to get one... do it... don't think about it... do it. If you don't like it, you'll have no problem selling it to someone else. Keep in mind the mics were $700 new, so don't pay crazy money for it though.

[rodger1811]

Mojave MA-200

Dude!! Wicked.

With what pres?

I know that there are a lot of AVALON haters but the one pre I really love with the MA-200 is the AVALON Vt737sp! I also own the AD2022, the Manley Single, Focusrite Red 7, Focusrite Octopre, and a dbx376! Of all of the pre's I have available, the MA-200 sounds best with the Vt737sp by far to me! I hardly use the 737 unless I use the MA-200! I actually have a Neumann U 87 and I swear I like the MA-200 better! For those of you unfamiliar with the Mojave MA-200, it's designed by David Royer (I know everyone's heard of Royer unless you're from another planet) and it's simply put a BEAST! On the surface it looks like many of the cheap Chinese microphones that are out there but under the generic exterior is a mic that is simply amazing! I have over 40 various microphones but the MA-200 and the SHURE SM7B are for me hands down my must haves! The SM7B paired up with my Manley or the AD2022 is also KILLER!

[Frodo]

I know that there are a lot of AVALON haters but the one pre I really love with the MA-200 is the AVALON Vt737sp!

I never understood the Avalon hatred. Invariably, people bring up price as a point of contention, but few ever talk about Avalon quality. I just did a session at Skywalker Sound. They had a rack of Avalon stuff to die for. Then they started playing back tracks through this gear, made with this gear. I don't get the animosity.

I also own the AD2022, the Manley Single, Focusrite Red 7, Focusrite Octopre, and a dbx376! Of all of the pre's I have available, the MA-200 sounds best with the Vt737sp by far to me! I hardly use the 737 unless I use the MA-200! I actually have a Neumann U 87 and I swear I like the MA-200 better! For those of you unfamiliar with the Mojave MA-200, it's designed by David Royer (I know everyone's heard of Royer unless you're from another planet) and it's simply put a BEAST! On the surface it looks like many of the cheap Chinese microphones that are out there but under the generic exterior is a mic that is simply amazing! I have over 40 various microphones but the MA-200 and the SHURE SM7B are for me hands down my must haves! The SM7B paired up with my Manley or the AD2022 is also KILLER!

Thank you, thank you, thank you-- for the info. I might say you have no idea what it means, but I think you do.

What I understand is that this info is not to the exclusion of others, but rather-- this info is *a result of* any exclusions of this info from other reports

Manley? Please. You may as well have said "Maui".

[rodger1811]

I know that there are a lot of AVALON haters but the one pre I really love with the MA-200 is the AVALON Vt737sp!

I never understood the Avalon hatred. Invariably, people bring up price as a point of contention, but few ever talk about Avalon quality. I just did a session at Skywalker Sound. They had a rack of Avalon stuff to die for. Then they started playing back tracks through this gear, made with this gear. I don't get the animosity.

I also own the AD2022, the Manley Single, Focusrite Red 7, Focusrite Octopre, and a dbx376! Of all of the pre's I have available, the MA-200 sounds best with the Vt737sp by far to me! I hardly use the 737 unless I use the MA-200! I actually have a Neumann U 87 and I swear I like the MA-200 better! For those of you unfamiliar with the Mojave MA-200, it's designed by David Royer (I know everyone's heard of Royer unless you're from another planet) and it's simply put a BEAST! On the surface it looks like many of the cheap Chinese microphones that are out there but under the generic exterior is a mic that is simply amazing! I have over 40 various microphones but the MA-200 and the SHURE SM7B are for me hands down my must haves! The SM7B paired up with my Manley or the AD2022 is also KILLER!

Thank you, thank you, thank you-- for the info. I might say you have no idea what it means, but I think you do.

What I understand is that this info is not to the exclusion of others, but rather-- this info is *a result of* any exclusions of this info from other reports

Manley? Please. You may as well have said "Maui".

You're welcome Frodo! I've been a member of this forum for quite a little while now and as you can see from my post count, I haven't had a whole lot to say. Certain subject matter gets my immediate attention and microphones is one of them. I think so many of us get caught up in the "Brand Name" game and I think it's ridiculous! My suggestion to all is to do your homework and spend your money wisely. Who cares what's on the label because I say, (borrowing a phrase from a famous mix engineer) if it sounds good, it is good!

I know so many aspiring musicians and engineers that don't have a clue and don't want to listen. I know quite a few established musicians who don't want to listen as well! Recently, I had an artist come to my studio and this person proceeded to tell me/demand what microphones and pre's he wanted to use. As you can guess, all vintage, highly recognizable stuff. Of course I accomodated his request but not without suggesting that I felt like another chain would be a better fit. After we tracked the material, he wasn't quite happy with what he heard. Not that is was bad but he expected more given the gear that was used. I then suggested that we cut again with my suggested chain that I felt would be best for him given his style and tonal characteristics. When I pulled out the SHURE SM7B he was nervous but he went along with it. After we tracked one song, he was completely BLOWN AWAY!

The thng is, as an engineer you must know your gear and what works best with various situations. Mic placement, signal chain, gain structure, and a solid performance are absolutely critical. OK, I'm done with my rant for now........

[Timeline]

A bit late to the party but Telefunken North America sells new ELAM 251 mics for about 8 grand that can be ordered with original CK12 capsules. These are about as good as one can do although they also sell U47's with EF14 tubes so I would choose one of these over anything out there right now. I know this is a more expensive purchase but this type of mic will always hold it's value and may increase when inflation kicks in in about a year. It's like buying gold really IMHO.

The 414, if it is a real early silver one, had the Brass CK12 capsule and is amazing. Many musicians who got hold of one of these early mics were sold completely on them thought all 414s were the same. There not. I had two until one got stolen and that did in my matched pair. The other one's capsule died eventually. The good news is there are a hand full of mics that are privately made that are less expensive and VERY silky smooth. Dave Pearlman is totally in the ballpark here and has remade the Cine Church mic which is a copy of the first U47 tube mics. These were great and Dave sells them at half of Telefunkens U47 price.

The Blue line of mics has good and not so good choices in their line but the choices are many and are pretty cool too. If you want old school HF clarity ebay os selling a pair of mint Sennheiser 405 mics which are as vintage as one gets for $1100. I have 5 of these and will always keep them for micing marshalls and drums. They literally compress electronically, internally when driven hard especially on toms. The word explode fits here.

I bought a new SM57 from a German seller the other ebay so I had one here in LA for overdubs. All my gear has been shipped to my new house in Wisconsin so I only kept a few things with me for the moment. Anyway, I think it was a knock off. The funny thing is it sounded better than what I remember 57s sounded like. Had to laugh big time.

[Rainman]

I have a couple of c 414's that I use occasionally for vocals but mostly for acoustic instruments and overheads as they seem just a little too bright. Sometimes they fit for a voice that is darker and maybe less articulate. Years ago I was fortunate enough to purchase a U-87 from a guy who was "moving on". It's the one that gets the most use, although a while back I ended up using a Senn 451 on a female vocalist cause it just worked with her voice.

[kwiz]

Another +1 for the MA-200. I sometimes use it with a Avalon 737 but lately, I've been using it with the Liquid Channel "Dunk" setting which is an emulation of the Manley SLAM mic pre, and the "Leveler US Classic Tube 3" which is a LA-2A emulation on the compression side. That combo sounds very smooth and transparent on vocals. I've also borrowed a friends M-149 and did a vocal session using the Avalon 737 for tracking a female vocal and that sounded incredible.
The M-149 has been slammed for being over priced and over hyped because it's a Neumann but if I had the extra $$$, I'd buy one. Right now that's my favorite mic for vocals.

[Timeline]

I have a couple of c 414's that I use occasionally for vocals but mostly for acoustic instruments and overheads as they seem just a little too bright. Sometimes they fit for a voice that is darker and maybe less articulate. Years ago I was fortunate enough to purchase a U-87 from a guy who was "moving on". It's the one that gets the most use, although a while back I ended up using a Senn 451 on a female vocalist cause it just worked with her voice.

If the c 414's have the original CK12 brass capsules I would offer $2400 for the pair. If you wish, PM me with info.

[TheHopiWay]

M49

[Siryne]

the 2 mics that get the most use from my mic locker (for vocals) are, my Brauner VM-1 (Original) and my Soundelux E47. I usually put them through my Manley VoxBox or Pendulum Quartet depending on the sound and compressor I want.
Peace!