Wow, theres quite a gap between your pre/converter and your mic!! I love those trak2's although Apogee conversion usually just ain't my thing.

I would say this...your audio is never going to sound better than the mic you use. Muddy water upstream only turns to muddier water downstream. It's the first and most critical point in the signal chain. You already have pristine conversion and preamps....I would get the mic, and get some decent compression out of PT or just ride the levels.

Surely you have heard better mics thru your rig than NT1....get a better mic and I bet you will laugh at yourself for the torture you have endured.

Ha ha I knew I'd get no mercy, but thought I'd tell the truth anyway!!
No I haven't heard a better mic yet through the Trak2, but I soon will when I narrow down the mic options to demo. I'm expecting a marked improvement. Tee hee.
So what's your advice then?? Which mic's shall I shoot out?
Renie

Maybe this thread belongs elsewhere. I just thought that as so much PT management is about getting the right complimentary gear for it that some one might want to discuss this or help out! It would be appreciated-I'll be patient then move on!
thanks
Renie

It's so subjective you just have to audition mics. Whats your price range?

It's so subjective you just have to audition mics.

Most things discussed here are rather subjective! And yes I plan to audition mic's. Just looking for some pointers.

Whats your price range?

I can budget for an M149 if needs be, however if a mic half the cost is 95% as good I'll go for that.

Renie

Hi Renie,

A quality condenser which I really like that doesn't get mentioned too often is the Beyer MC740. It's very flexible and definitely worth adding to your list of mics to audition.

Greg

HI Renie
How are things? If you dont want to spend the earth, I have always found TLM103's to be very good indeed, but like all these things, only in certain situations. If you do check out a few, include it and see how it shapes up.
Jack

Thanks Greg and Jack,
I appreciate the help. I will check those two out. I am curious how the TLM 103 will compare to the higher end Neumann's and I look forward to trying the lesser-spotted Beyer!
Renie

Hi Renie,

I'm usually very cautious about giving advice on mic selection because the sound of a mic is so dependant on all the other gear in the studio as well as the room acoustics. So it's entirely possible for one person to think a particular mic sounds great and another to think it sounds crap, and for them both to be correct! However, in this instance I'm not so concerned as you are going to audition the various mics for yourself.

With the above caveat in mind: When I bought my 740's I A/B'ed them against a C414 and a U87. The C414 wasn't in the same league as the 740 and U87. I found the 740 to be much cleaner than the U87 with a substantially lower noise floor. There were obviously differences in character but overall I preferred the 740 on almost every level. BTW, I went into the test expecting to prefer and order a pair of U87s.

When you've auditioned your mics I would be interested in hearing your opinion.

Greg

Renie I recently got a tlm 103 and i like it. I auditioned it in a loud enviornment and am tuning the acoustic room so a real acid test has not been done yet. but in front of the Avalon sp737 it is awesome even in a noisey enviornment I own a pair of old Beyers as well the ones that came with the old advent deck. I think nachamichi made it it was early on. I will probably get another Tlm 103 Transformerless mic 130 db spl Some of the newer mics are having their capsules made in China Neuman has always been about Quality. BAE Ariel Studios
post script : There was a thread on the digidesighn users conference that went into some detail about this

I also like the TLM-103 into a Neve 1272 or Avalon 737. Two different but usable (and contemporary) vocal sounds.

Hi Renie.

Yep, Neuman's for sure, but that's a given.
You might like to check out the higher end Rode Classic 11 though. The Rode you're using, as you know, is not in the same league as these "higher" end mic's - it's not meant to be.

In my humble experience, no mic, not even the Neumans, will suit all female vocals. Ideally you'd have a couple of mics which you could audition for each vocalist.(Yeah I know, it's an ideal world, right?)

Some vocalists will pick a mic which goes against your own wisdom here. Sometimes it's best to go with their own opinion. If they like the quality of whatever mic they like - go for it. I've found that this makes them feel more at ease, and helps them give a better overall performance.

I've auditioned vocalists through Neuman's and other thouroughbreds that I thought the person would love, and they've gone instead for something like an AKG. For whatever reason, they find something that they find, in their opinion, is flattering, and feel more at ease, giving, as I said, a better overall performance, in terms of the emotion etc that they then bring to their performnce.

BTW on your wish list, or to file under wow that looks v..e...r...y interesting, if you haven't already, check out the Chandler "EMI" range. The EMI Lg 12413 limiter/compressor and their Lg 12428 "Beatle" pre amp - rack mount reproductions of stuff found on "classic" custom EMI/Abbey Road recording and mastering consoles.
Kind regards :cool:

Oh yeah, one more thing. re your query about my ghost.
Check this out when you have a spare couple of minutes:
(Dead Link Removed)
RO X FILES: EDGAR ALLEN STEDEL[/url]

I like the m149 on acoustic guitar and perc. stuff (Flamingo pre) Has anybody heard Paul Simon's latest album You're The One? He used an m149 for his vocals on the entire album...Definitely worth a listen...great album! I'm starting to wonder if my voice isn't more of an sm57 kind of thing...I'm getting great results with the Shure too! The m149 would be a cool place to start building a collection...When you're ready to start going overboard, why not grab a Neumann on your way down?