Microphone advice wanted for Female vocals & voice over recording

[Patrick B.]

Hi,
I'm looking for 2 or 3 microphones that will cover most of my applications.
I normally record female vocals (rock, pop, dance)
And so far mostly male voice overs on top of music bed (radio spots)

I used to own a akg 414 (nice but flat mic), akg c2000 (too bright), ST55 (too dull)
My recording acoustics are not so good so I don't really need a multi pattern mic and could use a dynamic maybe even for the vocals.

How would the sm7b or re20 work on vocals? I have a motu ultralite so I'm not shure if it will have enough gain for the sm7?

What 2 - 3 (or more at this budget)? mics could I get spending about $1K or so total and cover most of the above? Any SDC's to consider over LDC's?

[stagefright13]

Well with the mics that I own and use every day I would suggest:

Cad M9 tube mic. $300 dollars well spent and sounds great on alot of female vocals. Haven't tried it on voice over tho. Even better with a tube swap.

SM7B great all round mic. The output is not all that low! It is a dynamic not a condenser. So naturally if you switch between the 2 the condenser will be way hot. You probably won't have a problem. Good up close without popping. Not my first choice for female vocal. But a VO staple.

Cad E100. SDC Great on female vocals. And most other voices or instruments. Hot signal directional without alot of room bleed. Haven't tried on voice over.

Audio Technica 4033 LDC hot signal with the AT sound. Usually good on female vocals. Would need good pop screen for voice over.

AKG Perception 200 LDC? Good on female vocals. Pretty hot signal. Little on the bright side. But sometimes is just right. Or use deesser. Never tried on VO.

MCA SP1 MDC? Hot signal incredible price. ($40.00) Good on some female vocal. And I have heard VO samples that have been done with it and sounded very good. Also later you can have Jim Williams mod it to the next level. But very good as is.

There are others that are great. This list is endless. But you should be able to get 3 from this list and be happy. I would get a Cad M9, SM7, and E100. You might even have enough left over for an MCA SP1. That would cover ALOT of ground.

Shameless plug I have an E100 for sale in classifieds.

[jowillie]

I go along with Stagefright's advice above and only add that you take a look at the MXL V88. I have had very good results lately with the V88 recording female voiceover and narration, and male voiceover where lots of presence is needed.
Vo Mic Tests

[Yoda117]

I'll also toss in the MXL V88 for consideration.

We're forgetting some obvious choices though:

R0de NT-1A
Studio Projects B1 and C1
EV RE-27

All but the RE-27 are commonly found in home VO setups. The RE-27 is found more in broadcast environments, but I've found it to make an excellent VO mic in situations where the acoustics are less than ideal.

YMMV

[GordZilla]

Originally Posted by rusty1

You can hear some microphones here to give you an idea


Microphones audio clips | Gear Audition

Awesome! Thanks Rusty... great site

[Yoda117]

Also, transom has some good stuff too.

Transom Tools: Transom Mic Shootout - Blindfold Test

Rock on!

[AnAverageJoe]

Originally Posted by Yoda117

I'll also toss in the MXL V88 for consideration.

We're forgetting some obvious choices though:

R0de NT-1A
Studio Projects B1 and C1
EV RE-27

YMMV

The NT1-A is to bright sounding for me. The only time I like it is when I use it with a dark pre.

The C1 is still bright sounding, but a bit more natural at the same time. The NT1-A sound thin IMO.

[Whitecat]

The two best cheap mics I've heard lately on girls have been the CAD M179 and the Karma K6 ribbon... no joke...

It helps both to have a good pre, mind you...

[DSMrehearsal]

RE 20 - can't go wrong

[dan p]

Skip the cheap sh**t and save up and get sumthin in the 1000-1750 range.Try neumann m49,Pearlman tm1 or tm2,Peluso,Lawson,Bock,are all good in this price range.You will get more bang for your buck and a good preamp will add that xtra you're lookin for ay.!!

Dan P

[BigMike]

I say go for an RE-20 if you are doing voice over work. They work pretty well for both women and men.

As far as vocal mics for little cash...
I have heard good things about the Rode NT-2 and Groove Tubes MD1bFET. I have also heard good things about the Shure KSM-27.

I have used the Audio Technica 3060 on female vocls before and it sounded pretty good.

You also might want to look at something like the sure SM86 or SM87. They are both designed to be "live use" condensers. So they should work well on a wide range of vocals and cost less than $300


You could also consideri popping for an ADK A6 or S7 both are really great mics for less than $300. I like the S7 because the mids are a little more up front than the S6. They just sem to stand out without being overly agressive, harsh, or bright. However, the A6 has a more round mid range with a slightly more airy top end.

You could get both ADKs and an RE-20 for about $950.

Just my $0.02 worth of opinion to add to the good sugestions already made.