What Brand For A Good Studio Microphone ??, for vocal... Options

[binus]

Hi everybody,

Of these three microphones, notwithstanding the price (which will be taken into account however !!) which one do you consider the best for recording a singer ???
- AKG C 4000 B
- AT 3060
- Studio Projects TB1 (the latter being said as yielding as best results (or very close) as Neumann mic...

Thank you in advance

[lepetitmartien]

Well… nobody uses mics in the English forums?

I vote for Studio Projects (as being a C1 owner myself) but as there lots of good mics around, you must know good ones worthwhile.

[kaboombahchuck]

I do not use any of the mics listed, so I can't really give feedback on them. However, for the price, the Octava MK 319 does the trick for me.

[rickenbacker]

I don't use any of the listed mics either. I do have an AKG C1000s, but I don't really like it. I also have an Audio Technica 4033a, which is pretty good. I also have a Sure Beta 57a, which is quite flexible in terms of use. I am also very tempted to try the new SE Electronics mic - the top-end one, I can't remember the number, but it comes in a wooden briefcase (!). It got very good reviews anyway, particularly for vocal recordings, and is under £300.

I hired a Neumann once, the classic vocal mic. Amazing. Never got results as good since.

[binus]

I hired a Neumann once, the classic vocal mic. Amazing. Never got results as good since.

What was the model of this Neumann ??? U87, TLM 103 ???

[lepetitmartien]

His Majesty U47 (guess)

Certainly… way out of the price range.
Needs definetly a recording environment worth the diamond you use.

TLM 103 are great too. That's the "consumer model" of Neumann.
It draws the limit where you must have a decent recording place.
The Blue Baby Bottle hasn't been named yet. Now it is.

Another thread in the EN section talked about a Microtech Gefell…got to find it again… umt70s…

Note that this thread has a parallel one in the French section with a lot of answers already. But opinions are most welcome.

[binus]

TLM 103 are great too. That's the "consumer model" of Neumann.
It draws the limit where you must have a decent recording place.
The Blue Baby Bottle hasn't been named yet. Now it is.

Blueberry mics have very good reviews in US. Do you know where they can be found (and tested) in France. ALthough they are rather on the pricy side...

[lepetitmartien]

Best is to call "Mille et un Sons"
Distributors of Blue oustide the USA

If you have Bruce on the phone, you come from Macmusic He's a cool guy (got to watch my mouth, he's around here too

They carry Blue mics and they must now where is a shop near Tours carrying them or a studio using one. But I think you'll have to make some km to try them anyway, it's not usual stuff like a SM57.

I don't know the Blueberry (even the cartoon but as long as it's not the Blue Sphere…

[binus]

Thanks for the information !

[/QUOTE]I don't know the Blueberry (even the cartoon but as long as it's not the Blue Sphere… [QUOTE]

The Blueberry mic belongs to the same family as the Baby Bottle: BLUE !!

[rickenbacker]

You got it, LPM - it was the U47. Fantastic. I think it cost us around £80 to hire it for a weekend. At the time, they cost over £1,000 new. Don't know if it's the same these days, but I imagine it is.

As for the recording location, umm, it was a top-floor flat in a residential area of London (near Islington). We were recording in the bedroom. Not exactly Abbey Road, but we got a lovely sound out of the mic all the same.

[lepetitmartien]

The Blueberry mic belongs to the same family as the Baby Bottle: BLUE !!

I've seen…

Looks good too
(they have good designers)

One of the MM teamers has 2 U47s, you should see him when he opens the boxes

A U47 right now is in the 3000-4000 € range… (a refurbish one is 4100 €)
The tube itself is in the 2000-2500 €

What I was saying upon the recording venue is that even if you can use a U47 in yoiur bedroom, some of the advantages you can draw from high end mics will flourish only in a strictly controlled environement. Think about noise (especially with old mics), tonal balance, they will sound even better in a studio.

Now, you can use a Tandy/ratshack mic in Abbey Road or a U47 in your bedroom, but sometimes it won't be up to your expectations. This said, it's not forbidden by law.

Islington… well, it's rather quiet once you're off the main roads
(had a boyfriend there

[PristineRec]

My main microphone is the BLUE Dragonfly. It sells for about $800 US.
It sounds amazing on just about anything. I use it for all vocals and acoustic guitars. I've used it on cellos and contrabass with fantastic results as well.

[binus]

What I was saying upon the recording venue is that even if you can use a U47 in yoiur bedroom, some of the advantages you can draw from high end mics will flourish only in a strictly controlled environement. Think about noise (especially with old mics), tonal balance, they will sound even better in a studio.

Thank you Petit Martien !!
If I clearly get what you state here: buying a beautiful flat shoe is waste of money if you don't have the sexy carpet to step on... that's it ??
More seriously, what you say just takes me back to the beginning of this thread and I think I can summarize a bit now after all I picked up here and there:
1/ price range from 300 up to 600 €, or so... (if higher the environment would not fit...)
2/ brand names: Studio Projects (C1, TB1, T3)
RODE NT2, NTK
Blue Baby Bottle
V69Mogami (I could not where to find it in France... reviews on US forums are quite enthusiastic...).

Now what is your point, just before you come by here to have a little taste of Vouvray ??

[lepetitmartien]

Choose the best reasonably priced and the most allrounder. you'll can buy higher end later, have a(n even) better pre later but don't go too low as there's real s…t around too.

Now in the 300-600€ you should be fine

I will tell here the site one of the FR members just gave: The Listening Sessions
(look if it's the links here, if not, add it… it gives points

Mic and pre recordings to have an idea… great!

The Mogami looks like one of the SE… certainly the same factory.

In the short list, I'd go Blue baby or SP
I don't know the Mogami, and I like less the big RODEs, Add the SE too. Sorry not to be definitive, but I limit to the ones I know and for a few advice from people here I trust (mic gurus

Also you can call me LPM for short

[binus]

I will tell here the site one of the FR members just gave: The Listening Sessions
(look if it's the links here, if not, add it… it gives points

I did not look, but I thanked Lepurestyle just before you did !!

OK, I think I am getting nearer and nearer to SP mics, or Baby Bottle !!

Peter

[binus]

Excuse-me: what does "SE" mean ???
Should I blush in confusion ???

[rickenbacker]

I presume it's a reference to SE Electronics, whose mics I mentioned in one post and LPM is commenting further on them.

I've not used one, but they got good reviews last year for giving a pretty decent sound at a spectacularly low price (low being relative - £300 or £400 for the top of the range).

If you live in England, you can get them on a week's free trial from the distributors, Sonic Distribution.

Now, LPM, about this friend with the two U47s. What did you say their address is...?

[lepetitmartien]

It's our teamer heral
He's a bit far from you, but Eurostar+TGV should do it

Upon SE, They are acclaimed, and I won't be that surprised all this stuff comes from a one and only chinese factory.

Even John Oram buys them there, but his Trident mics are assembled by hand in UK (he gets the parts only) so that he can control quality (and price goes up accordingly)

[NeoAle73]

I just bought a Rode NT2000 and I think it may suit your needs. Great sound (not a Neumann of course, but it is way over the other brands in its price range, which is about €500), very flexible (it has a cantinuously variable polar pattern from omni to cardioid to figure-of-eight, so whink of the possibilities...). In one word: GREAT.

NeoAle73

[binus]

To all, since I had to make a choice after all I have read here and there, I broke for the SP T3, whose reviews are very very good anywhere on the net. I have it since two days only and I can't compare it to other mics of the same class or price range since I am unexperienced, but condisering my previous mic (an ATM10a), it is absolutely gorgeous !!
All I have to do now is just to re-record what I once looked upon as pure wonders... !!