Advice needed for high end condenser

[zepurcel]

I am currently building up my home studio with some better quality products. I am searching for the right condenser... First my budget is between 3-4k maybe a little higher if one is highly recommended. I will be using it mainly for vocals and acoustic guitar (but vocals are my emphasis for this mic).

I have a baritonish tone, and a style similar to amos lee (if you aren't familiar with his work then try combining norah jones's acoustic throwback style with adele's power and then imagine it from a male voice lol). They are extremely talented so by no means am I putting myself self on their level, just trying to explain the type of style and sound since of course certain mics are better for certain styles.

Someone recommended the Miktek CV4 but i feel like that is still on the amateur side and I more want to buy a true quality mic that i can use for years to come. Also the Neumann 149 was recommended but i read many mixed reviews. I was close to buying the 149 but due to mixed reviews and not living in a place where i can demo them myself i decided to hold off until i get better advice. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

[Doc Mixwell]

Originally Posted by zepurcel

I am currently building up my home studio with some better quality products. I am searching for the right condenser... First my budget is between 3-4k maybe a little higher if one is highly recommended. I will be using it mainly for vocals and acoustic guitar (but vocals are my emphasis for this mic).

I have a baritonish tone, and a style similar to amos lee (if you aren't familiar with his work then try combining norah jones's acoustic throwback style with adele's power and then imagine it from a male voice lol). They are extremely talented so by no means am I putting myself self on their level, just trying to explain the type of style and sound since of course certain mics are better for certain styles.

Someone recommended the Miktek CV4 but i feel like that is still on the amateur side and I more want to buy a true quality mic that i can use for years to come. Also the Neumann 149 was recommended but i read many mixed reviews. I was close to buying the 149 but due to mixed reviews and not living in a place where i can demo them myself i decided to hold off until i get better advice. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

I have been using the new Josephson C716 on acoustic's and vocals, [a truly amazing solid state microphone] and I think it would be a seriously excellent option for you, though the price for this mic is at the top of your budget @ $3,995. Having been simply floored by its quality, I would suggest this LDC would be out of this world for those types of applications/aesthetics. I am a big fan of Amos Lee, and artists like Norah Jones, Melody Gardot, Lizz Wright, etc, more dynamic stuff, with a clear, but smokey vibe.

Anyway, The C716 is incredibly smooth sounding to my ear, but detailed, sharply defined, with a crystal clear sound, and zero sharpness with regard to consonants. It has great plosive and p-blast resistance and you can really belt it out in front of this thing, without issue. I am hearing this microphone capture unreal nuance with the intimate and quiet stuff, but seems able to handle a loud source, and not beat up the preamp at all.

Overall it is a blissfully, airy & bright texture that has mid-bottom fullness/warmth and body, without any top end resonances, "tiz", or "rasp" to transients..A great noteworthy feature as well is the incredibly pleasing off-axis rejection quality, [as all Josephson mic's feature] with no hint of weirdness. I would consider it to have an "exacting", and "precise" type of pickup quality, but with great flattering upper octave presence, and I think the mic is incredibly musical, elegant/beautiful texture wise.

For me, I think it hearkens a little of the insane "sparkle" you can find with a C700A in cardioid mode, as well as the amazingly unique character of the limited edition and now rare C720. Kind of a twist of worlds, all working with great symmetry. I personally couldn't be happier with this offering, as the C700A has been on my sights for a LONG time, and I think this microphone will get me where I want to go for little bit less coin. I am very pleased with this! Though I will still have a C700A someday! Ah, one can dream.

If you may require a slightly different aesthetic, perhaps a highly pleasing top end softness, with a mellow, thicker LAMP sound, than the Josephson C715, might be a great system to investigate. It is also in the same price range as the C716 @ $3,795. My friend Sean @ 37ft Productions used this microphone on the most recent Sarah Blacker Record, "Come What May", for her vocals on 10 outta 12 of the songs, and she told me that it was the only mic that had the "Im there" sound for her.

[aremos]

Originally Posted by Roc Mixwell

I have been using the new Josephson C716 on acoustic's and vocals, [a truly amazing solid state microphone] and I think it would be a seriously excellent option for you, though the price for this mic is at the top of your budget @ $3,995. Having been simply floored by its quality, I would suggest this LDC would be out of this world for those types of applications/aesthetics. I am a big fan of Amos Lee, and artists like Norah Jones, Melody Gardot, Lizz Wright, etc, more dynamic stuff, with a clear, but smokey vibe.

Anyway, The C716 is incredibly smooth sounding to my ear, but detailed, sharply defined, with a crystal clear sound, and zero sharpness with regard to consonants. It has great plosive and p-blast resistance and you can really belt it out in front of this thing, without issue. I am hearing this microphone capture unreal nuance with the intimate and quiet stuff, but seems able to handle a loud source, and not beat up the preamp at all.

Overall it is a blissfully, airy & bright texture that has mid-bottom fullness/warmth and body, without any top end resonances, "tiz", or "rasp" to transients..A great noteworthy feature as well is the incredibly pleasing off-axis rejection quality, [as all Josephson mic's feature] with no hint of weirdness. I would consider it to have an "exacting", and "precise" type of pickup quality, but with great flattering upper octave presence, and I think the mic is incredibly musical, elegant/beautiful texture wise.

For me, I think it hearkens a little of the insane "sparkle" you can find with a C700A in cardioid mode, as well as the amazingly unique character of the limited edition and now rare C720. Kind of a twist of worlds, all working with great symmetry. I personally couldn't be happier with this offering, as the C700A has been on my sights for a LONG time, and I think this microphone will get me where I want to go for little bit less coin. I am very pleased with this! Though I will still have a C700A someday! Ah, one can dream.

If you may require a slightly different aesthetic, perhaps a highly pleasing top end softness, with a mellow, thicker LAMP sound, than the Josephson C715, might be a great system to investigate. It is also in the same price range as the C716 @ $3,795. My friend Sean @ 37ft Productions used this microphone on the most recent Sarah Blacker Record, "Come What May", for her vocals on 10 outta 12 of the songs, and she told me that it was the only mic that had the "Im there" sound for her.

Adam,

It's the closest I've ever "heard" a mic w/o trying it.
But all kidding aside, I'm really impressed w/ your description ... and you should get into writing - full time!

I agree about the Josephsons. Both are incredible mics. The 716 has the capsule that's in the Gold and all the other 700 series but I'll give the edge (& just a little), as a vox mic, to the 715.

Ariel

[jrakarl]

Yep, dito.. great description of mic responsiveness and character.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Gearslutz.com App

[pieter]

Josephson are superb mics indeed !

As an altrenative I like Brauner who make also very solid and versatile mics (Valvet X is very cool in your price range).

In your case, I would recommended for the most versatile option as you won't have 10 mics to choose from. For example I have a Horch RM2J which is brilliant but not a good choice for everything.

[Earcatcher]

Originally Posted by zepurcel

I have a baritonish tone, and a style similar to amos lee (if you aren't familiar with his work then try combining norah jones's acoustic throwback style with adele's power and then imagine it from a male voice lol). They are extremely talented so by no means am I putting myself self on their level, just trying to explain the type of style and sound since of course certain mics are better for certain styles.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Given your description I would blindly bet on a Brauner Phanthera V. It has enough vibe to create that mildly smokey sound, yet is extremely detailed and up-front due to the built in transformer. Since you can switch patterns it has the versatility that you need to record more than just voice.

[Lee Cardan]

Gefell UM930 will treat you well