Help with airy female vocal (live & studio)?

[SoundChances]

My band is making a major change in our sound with a change in our vocalist.
She has a fairly airy type voice and the SM58 we have been using for rehersals is not cutting it.

I haven't recorded a female voice since 1992!!! So help me out here.

First off, Mic choice, note that I'm posting this in the Low End so keep those prices down.
My main concern right now is for a live mic for rehersals and to take to gigs and if it could be used for recording too, even better!

Recording mic, tips, tricks, technique suggestions would also be appreciated...

[Jamstudio]

i Like beyer m400 (soundstar II), senn 421 is cool to
a kms105 is great for 'airy' vocals but not realy 'budget'

Remco

[kenm]

My band has a very sweet sounding female vocalist. I tend to use either a Marshall V67G or Studio Projects B1 to record her. She also sounds good with a 57. Live she uses whatever is available, but usually a 58. You might try a Beta 57 or 58 if you don't think a regular 58 is cutting it.

You can hear her here: http://www.loyaltyday.com

Be well,
Ken

[jmossmusic]

mmm... This brings me to a question to yours. What type of a sound are you going for. Are you trying to keep her light, and airy, or are you trying to add something a little deeper, and give her more of a warmer tone, or is she not cutting the mixes/rehearsal, and needs a little more edge, or whatever?

[kidvybes]

Originally Posted by kenm

My band has a very sweet sounding female vocalist. I tend to use either a Marshall V67G or Studio Projects B1 to record her.
Ken

...I have to second those recommendations...I also have had some excellent results with the MXL V67 and SP B1 on "airy" female voices...at those pricepoints (less than $100. per mic), why not start there...either or both mics would be an excellent addition to any mic locker, for very minimal dollars...

[SoundChances]

The problem with the 58 during rehearsals is she is sounding kind of muffled; the "air" in her vocals does not come through worth crap.

We did some recordings Wednesday night and I tried a Rode NTK and that worked out pretty good.

I do have a SP C1 as well, I'll give that a shot next time since the B1 got a recommendation.
I've always had sibilance problems with the C1 in the past though, but we'll see...

Thanks for the info so far guys, it's appreciated....

[kidvybes]

Originally Posted by SoundChances

The problem with the 58 during rehearsals is she is sounding kind of muffled; the "air" in her vocals does not come through worth crap.

We did some recordings Wednesday night and I tried a Rode NTK and that worked out pretty good.

I do have a SP C1 as well, I'll give that a shot next time since the B1 got a recommendation.
I've always had sibilance problems with the C1 in the past though, but we'll see...

Thanks for the info so far guys, it's appreciated....

...I find that the NTK has much more in common (darker sounding) with the B1 and V67 than with the C1...try the NTK mounted upside-down with the capsule slightly tilted toward the singer, level with the bridge of the singer's nose (or a bit higher), so that she has to slightly extend her neck with her jaw tilted upwards...this opens the throat (giving the airy voice a bit more body and projection) and greatly reduces sibilance...I think you might be good to go like that...

[SoundChances]

Ha!
That's exactly how I set the mic up the other night.
Which is generally where I start any time I'm doing vocals....

I'm really looking to stay away from the really low end(unless it does the trick) so if ya'll have some other suggestions in the $300-500 range, I'm all ears.
Though I have been considering getting a V67 or 2 anyway because of all the good things I hear about them.....

[kidvybes]

Originally Posted by SoundChances

Ha!
That's exactly how I set the mic up the other night.
Which is generally where I start any time I'm doing vocals....

I'm really looking to stay away from the really low end(unless it does the trick) so if ya'll have some other suggestions in the $300-500 range, I'm all ears.
Though I have been considering getting a V67 or 2 anyway because of all the good things I hear about them.....

...keep in mind that all of these suggestions are primarily for recording mics, not live gigging mics:

...the SE 2200A is also a terrific mic for vocals but cost about twice the price as the V67...it's actually designed on the same circuit as the V67 but with better construction/capsule with the addition of high pass and pad switches...I sold my V67 after getting the 2200A because of the similarity in sound...

Here's a review:
http://www.sonic-distribution.com/2/...um%20AWARD.pdf


...for a bit more dollars, the Rode NT2A (little brother to the K2 Valve mic) is also a killa mic with the addition of totally variable polar patterns...the capsule is a newer design than that found in the NTK...

...check out this review:
http://www.musictechmag.co.uk/mtm/reviews/nt2-a

[aussie_techie]

Originally Posted by SoundChances

My main concern right now is for a live mic for rehersals and to take to gigs and if it could be used for recording too, even better!

try a Beta 57a and a beta 58a see which one works best. beta58 is generally a betetr vocal mic but ive found the beta57 to be realy good on certain vocals and its cheeper and more versitile

[cdog]

Shure BETA 87A (condenser) or Senn 421 with the low cut on....

[doug_hti]

For live and on budget, absolutely a beta 87 (A or C). Although if she is light and airy, you can have trouble with sound from the backline (drums) with the looser C pattern.

I'm sorry, but if a regular 58 is not working well, a 57 or beta 58 will NOT be a huge difference. 58s and the sort definately DO NOT work on everyone. Of course you can give me a couple grand worth of comps/eqs/preamps and the 58 will be fine.

[aussie_techie]

i hardly call a beta87 cheep but if you get it at a good price then ok
if you want to go into condensers, the Rode NT3 is my favourite live vocal mic but in most situations its simply unusable
there are many things you need to consider in live situations which studio oriented people often forget
1) are you mixing the band or are you playing
2) how are you going to power the mic if its a condenser, do you power it from the FB desk or the FOH desk and do they have clean individualy switchable phantom. (many older desks in installs go unserviced and can start to have problems and often it is in the phantom power, i have seen some strage problems in a beta91 due to power problems)
3) are you going to be able to get the venues early enough to EQ foldbacks for you different mic
4) if she wants a stand is it going to fit a standard cradle
for these reasons i would always stick with a common dyanmic mic, which is realy only SM57 SM58 Beta57a or Beta58a. i know these mics can be kind of limiting sometimes but if you cant get a decent sound out of them with a bit of EQ then you have other problems