main vocal mic upgrade

[Richie Monroe]

Hello guys. I'm doing a studio upgrade in a couple of months, and most of the gear choices are set. I'm still torn on a main vocal mic addition. Before I throw out the current candidates, understyand this.- I am moderately hearing impaired, 90% hearing loss in the left ear, can't hear above 6500hz in the right. so- having me audition mics is a semi-waste of time unless I bring some great ears that always see things the way I do. Of course, that isn't realistic. So I depend on other people's ears more than I would like to. Secondly, although I'm looking for a main vocal mic, it isn't just for me, and may not even be primarily for me. I work with several female vocalists, a somewhat strident mezzo, a Broadway-type Alto, and a deep, rich chaunteuse-style contralto.
They universally sound bad through B.L.U.E. Kiwi, which works very well for me. Consider me as a cross between Jonathon Edwards and Neil Young. My budget is pretty much no more than $2500. I have a lot of mid range mics, and I'm not looking to add more cheap mics. Current vocal options include the Kiwi, Rode NTK, Shure SM82 and SM7B, Oktava MK319 and ML-52, AKG C414B-ULS and C2000B, Studio Projects B-1 and C-3.
I'm mostly torn between a tube mic upgrade, Lawson L251, L47MP MarkII, or Soundelux U99, vs. a versatile FET mic such as Soundelux ifet7. Yes I know any mic in that price range will have a bunch of applications other than vox. Strings is an area of need. As a rule, it will run into an Avalon AD2022, with occasional use of a Joemeek twinQ. The material is wicked eclectic, but basically neopsychedelic Celtic folk rock blues fusion. Clean vocals, with harmony, much acoustic guitar with some electrics, and some classic R&B. I'm interested in whether I've overlooked major options, and what the thoughts are of the deeper Gearslutz here. So whaddya think?-Richie

[fishtop_records]

Have you seen how Lawson has a quick change ability, so you can switch from a 251 to a 47 capsule on the same body?
Very cool, and not too expensive.

Of course, I'd have to also suggest
you look at some Royer or AEA ribbons.
I love my pair of AEA R84s. (altho they
do want a preamp with a fair amount
of gain.)

I'd look hard at spending something
like $1500 on the mic and the other $1000 on a channel of preamp.
YMMV...

[Richie Monroe]

Excuse me, Fishtop, did you read my post? Does an Avalon AD2022 have a problem producing gain that I am unaware of? And what $1000 single channel is going to do significantly better?-Richie

[kevinc]

I`d go with the U99.
I just got one myself and immediately tracked a guy playing acoustic guitar and singing. I had the U99 on his voice but the guitar bleed sounded so good through it I ended up pretty much scrapping the other guitar track. He`s got a fairly small sounding tenor voice but when he sang through that he sounded like a real belter in comparison with what was actually going on in the room. I was excited to try this mic out and it definately met my expectations plus added the "larger than life" kind of quality you hear about with good tube mics.
If your into super accuracy it`s probably not the best mic in the world but most people I know want to sound better than they actually are and this thing seems to deliver in that department.
I`m a skinny white boy and I sound like B.B. King (without the soul) when I sing through the U99 with my Manley tube pre.
Love the thing.

Kevin

[fishtop_records]

Originally posted by Richie Monroe
Excuse me, Fishtop, did you read my post? Does an Avalon AD2022 have a problem producing gain that I am unaware of? And what $1000 single channel is going to do significantly better?

I don't have first hand experience
with the Avalon. And I didn't slam it.
If you like it, great.

A single channel of John Hardy
M1 is what I was thinking of. He
will tweak it for more gain if you want,
altho 60dB is usually enough for
about any ribbon.

Of course, with any of the LDC mics,
you don't need as much gain as
with ribbons. That is what the tubes,
FETs, etc. do for you.

"I'm interested in whether I've overlooked major options"
... include ribbons in my book.
Nice on a lot of voices and
acoustic guitars and sometimes
even nice on electric guitar cabinets.

[Richie Monroe]

Well, the AEA R84 seems to get high marks for an affordable ribbon, and I'm also considering Microtech Gefell. I assure you the Avalon can produce 64db of disgustingly clean gain, 2 channels of it. I don't think my preamp is a problem. Of course, additional options are good, but that isn't what we'll be upgrading right now.-Richie