Female Vocal Mics

[XHipHop]

Alright, i'm looking to expand my cabinet a little...

What would your choices be for female vocalists in the following price ranges?

Under $500 -

Under $1000 -

Over $1000

I'd also appreciate more choices and some sleeper choices out there. I'm just trying to get a broad picture of different mics i should try out and which are "must haves".

[XHipHop]

Hey Neve Sucks!,

I read in a review that the Baby Bottle brings out a lot of high mids and it sounds harsh on female vox. I'm wondering if you've had this problem (it was printed in mix so i'd trust almost anyone's experience over theirs..but i still have to ask).

Also, which capsule of the Bottle do you like on females?


THANKS@!

[Screws]

Just my experience...

Under $500 - CAD E-350 or Rode NTK depending on the voice

Some female voices (like my wife's) are very hard to get right and the mic is critical. I'm probably looking at Stephen Paul's new Wonder Mic or a Soundelux U99 as my next mic purchase for this specific goal.

[chessparov]

In the "under $500" catagory, be sure to try out some dynamic microphones too,
like;
1) Electro-Voice EV RE20 (or PL20)
2) Shure SM7
3) Beyer M88
4) Sennheiser 441
etc...

Chris

[Bobalou]

Originally posted by Neve Sucks!
The Baby Bottle doesn´t sound very harsh in my ear,

Thats why we all dont use your ears!..

the rode NTK doesn't sound like crap BTW....!..I've had real nice results with a TLM103 on female vocals. very smoothe yet with a bit of upper sheen for a touch of character.

[jspartz]

Neve Sucks - Just wondering what mic preamp are you using with it that makes sound so good on female vocals?

I have good luck using a TLM-103 and the VMP-2 mic pre for female vocals. I do agree, don't overlook the dynamic microphones as well.

jason

[Drumsound]

Off the cuff answers:

Under $500
AT 4047

Under $1000
Beyer 834

Over $1000
vintage U87

[e-cue]

Under $500
SM7b (on heavy stuff, Vipre into a Level Devil into a GML8200 is very nice), AT 4047 (pretty stuff, works nicely with A Design's MP-1 and an LA2a), SM58 (Moded Sytek into a distressor works nice, but can be too hyped on the top end for the breathy vocalists, also try unscrewing the windscrean from the top) MXL-2001 with Royer mod (great with anyone of the Neve ripoffs into an 1176)

Under $1000
The U195 (works very nicely with the Crane Song stuff!), AKG 414 TLII, TLM-103, RE20(on heavy stuff,and worked great with a Langevin Dual Vocal Combo I tried at Soundcastle once) Possibly the AEA84 ribbon (mine isn't here yet)

Over $1000
vintage C12, Sony 800G, Elam, and lately my U47fet has been doing a great job on female vocals to my suprise.

[covert]

Currently tracking female vocalist with a Beyer M500 ribbon. Really smothed out some screech.

[Jules]

Not female and OT but I found a male vocal that a needed to muich de-essing did well on a Royer 121..

Must get a Viper one day...

Anyone find a Fatso usefull on female vocals?

I once heard Tina Turners vocal solo'ed - she sounded like an angry mountain cat! AWESOME! Total respect to the great woman! (It was also one of the most astoundingly siblant recordings I ever heard.)

[Midlandmorgan]

We have great results with the Shure SM87...but there again, that mic seems to work wonders on just about anything vocal-wise...

[robdarling]

I'm hands down choosing the Blue Bottle with either the B6 or B7 as my first choice female vocal mic currently in production.

[Screws]

Originally posted by Jules


Anyone find a Fatso useful on female vocals?

YES! First time I ever tried it was just this past week. CAD E-300 to Peavey VMP-2 to Fatso with Tracking Comp, no Tranny, no Warmth. Very smooth, lots of air and rich tone. I was going to buy an Origin for handling tough female vocalists (and will still do so) but now I can get a better mic first. Fatso to the rescue once again!

Steve Cruz
Cruzified Music Productions
Florida

[Fletcher]

Originally posted by Neve Sucks!
The Baby definitely kicks the competitors ASS!! Rode is the worst ****ing crap ever made! Don´t go near ém.

How about trying to compare them with a real microhone?

[ROBB007]

I have tried alot of Mics 103 *tlm 193* sm7 *u87 and the best results we have had is with the Shure ksm-27 the same mic the Dixie chicks us live *** not the 44 although I love this mic as well .I had the same problem the 103 had to much of a peak in the top.The sm7 was a bit to milky .The [27} 3 different females no eq no de-essing .The complete answer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[Smarts]

Hi, I'm new here, I was just searching for an answer to my female vocals problem and chanced across this topic...

All the suggestions so far sound good but my worry is the artist in question has a very sibilant style of vocals. She's doing rap style vocals and when she's enunciating certain words the sibilance becomes really bad. I'd rather not spend hours editing the vocal tracks for this kinda thing and when I run a de-esser over it it sounds a little better, hopefully if I can find a more suitable mic I can avoid most of the editing all together. Does anyone know a good mic for a sibilant female rapper?


p.s. one of the ones already mentioned may well be a good one for my purpose, I dont know jack about half of them though so I wanna double check, like

[brownmouse]

Originally Posted by XHipHop

Alright, i'm looking to expand my cabinet a little...

What would your choices be for female vocalists in the following price ranges?

Under $500 -

Under $1000 -

Over $1000

I'd also appreciate more choices and some sleeper choices out there. I'm just trying to get a broad picture of different mics i should try out and which are "must haves".

under $500............. shure sm-7b, cad m-9, beyer m-201, sennheiser 441, beyer m-88, shure sm-57/58, ev re-20, etc...
under $1000.......... aea r-84, gefell m-930 (ok, its a few bucks more)
over $1000......... soundelux e49, e250, ifet7, u-195, e47, gefell um-900, horsch , etc.. etc...
good luck,
joshua

[T_R_S]

Over 1K = AKG C12VR, Manley Ref. Cardiod, U87 Followed by a Good Pre amp.

[moeses]

i've tried a lot of different mics
and for female jazz vocals, the rode ntk kicks ass
so you can say it's a shitty microphone, but it has some great uses

[Ollie]

under $500............. shure sm-7b,Ev re-20, etc...
under $1000.......... gefell UMT70S (a bit over 1000)
over $1000..... Neumann M49, Gefell UM900, Vintage C12, Elam 250, Korby convertible

Good luck