if you could only use one mic-pre for vocals

[msquared]

Originally Posted by assassin

everybody has different answers :(

...and that is the most important thing you'll probably get from this thread. There is no one answer. There are several right answers and depending on circumstances, very few wrong ones.

Everybody has different mics, there are different pieces of gear coming after the mic pre in the chain imparting their own color, and we all have different mixing goals as well as ways to hit those goals.

On top of that, vocalists all have different voices and a wide range of singing styles. Don't forget that the styles of music have an effect on things. Recording Billie Holiday is going to demand different gear than recording Mikael Åkerfeldt.

This is why there are some of us saying that if there is only one choice, it would be a neutral piece. The color you're looking for would happen elsewhere.

[assassin]

yea i definitely understand that msquared. but everyone here has also had a lot more experience with great equipment!

I'm sure any of these will be a huge upgrade from the pres in my C24

For just a one channel pre to start, i think i'm going to start with a LTD-1 1073 (because it has EQ) over a Great River ME-1NV.

I almost feel like compressor/limiter would be more desirable than EQ (which you can just use waves-plug ins for).

msquared you mentioned you would get a lunchbox with 2 colored pres - which ones would you get?

[taherbert]

Originally Posted by assassin

i'd probably be using an AKG414 for now and a U87 down the line.

also, not really going for a "neutral" sound, want something to make the vocals come out on top, very colorful/compressed sound. the type of stuff i'm producing requires the vocals to sound almost "artificially" clean/colorful if that makes any sense at all?

thanks for the responses

Honestly, the mic and compressor are going to make more of a difference than the preamp. People love to debate the virtues of various preamps, and you can notice a difference between different ones, but it's really like saying which kind of sea salt is a better finishing salt for your steak. Most of what you're tasting is steak.

And in terms of getting vocals to sound colorful/compressed and on top:

What does colorful mean to you? Snarly, breathy, bassy? There's a lot of colors. Compressors can emphasize breathiness and/or bassiness, and get pushed into midrange snarl. A lot of people choose compressors for the frequency coloration, not just dynamics. You can also push certain preamps to get some pleasant distortion.

"On top" has a lot to do with mic choice and EQ, followed by compression. Often it has more to do with cutting competing frequencies out of other instruments to give the vocal more room than it does boosting the vocal's volume or what preamp was used during tracking.

Also, if you're having trouble getting a vocal to cut through a dense mix, you might try using a dynamic mic like an SM57 (or a SM7 if you have access to one). They're voiced mid-forward but can kind of self compress a little without sounding too harsh in the upper mids. You won't get the "intimate" and "detailed" sound of a condenser, but you also won't have to worry as much with dessing and dealing with lot of frequencies you'd shelf off later anyway.

[CaliTone]

Originally Posted by FreshSkweez

If you had to have just one I'd go with a 1073. I'm yet to hear a voice or a mic it wouldn't work with...

+100

[assassin]

taherbert, so are you suggesting something with compression/EQ like an Avalon or Manley Voxbox?

[jasonwagner]

I love these threads, might as well just ask for a list of mic pres.

My vote is shadow hills gama with the switchable out transformer, the different metals change the sound quite a bit and gives a good amount of options from vocalist to vocalist.

[Jimbo]

Something clean/clear.

[SHIRK]

Shadow Hills GAMA . . usually set to Iron.

[ABBA]

Forssell SMP-2!!!

Yes, I have compared it to Pacifica, API, Great River and lots more.

I'll say it again:

FORSSELL SMP-2

[ssprod19]

my Aurora sounds quite nice