bump :D

TCW wrote: Hi,

I own a Rode NTK. It's a tad too hyped in the upper frequency ranges...A little too 'essssssy'. My style of music is: Coldplay, Live, Radiohead, U2, so I'm singing in a variety of mixes (sparse/slow tunes all the way to fairly heavy rock). My preamp is a FRM Audio RNP (solid state...pretty clean). Looking for a mic for around $600 that will have clarity and a little character. I'd like high-end detail, but a little smoother than the Rode.

Right now I'm thinking about replacing the NTK with:

M-Audio Sputnik
AT4047
AT4060
ADK Hamburg (cheap) AND Shure SM7

Any opinions on that list?

Suggestions?

Thanks!
TCW :D

p.s. It's my 1st post!

Welcome!

Based on what I have read here and in your post, I would make the recommendation of the ADK Hamburg AND Shure SM7. Hard to go wrong with that. Second vote goes to the AT 4060.

MadTiger3000 wrote: [quote=TCW]Hi,

I own a Rode NTK. It's a tad too hyped in the upper frequency ranges...A little too 'essssssy'. My style of music is: Coldplay, Live, Radiohead, U2, so I'm singing in a variety of mixes (sparse/slow tunes all the way to fairly heavy rock). My preamp is a FRM Audio RNP (solid state...pretty clean). Looking for a mic for around $600 that will have clarity and a little character. I'd like high-end detail, but a little smoother than the Rode.

Right now I'm thinking about replacing the NTK with:

M-Audio Sputnik
AT4047
AT4060
ADK Hamburg (cheap) AND Shure SM7

Any opinions on that list?

Suggestions?

Thanks!
TCW :D

p.s. It's my 1st post!

Welcome!

Based on what I have read here and in your post, I would make the recommendation of the ADK Hamburg AND Shure SM7. Hard to go wrong with that. Second vote goes to the AT 4060.SM7 everytime for me

SM7, very solid mic. May or may not work well with you current preamp. It needs lots of clean gain.

If it's good enough for Michael Jackson, it's good enough for you! Shure SM 7, sweet.

Can't stop till you get enough!
Ms. Remy Ann David

I mean that's not exactly a cheap microphone either, the SM 7. It's well over $300 US but then Michael Jackson could afford that.

Maybe that's a little too expensive for Steve Tyler and Bono as they opted for the SM58 to cut their studio vocals with. So they saved $200 each!!! Obviously they are smarter than Michael Jackson? Are you?

A 1945 Shure 55 for me (it also looks like the Buick that came out that year) Buy the new one and itcomes equipped with a SM58 capsule and all that beautiful chrome just to take you back to your childhood. Remember? Before you were born?

Born too late
Ms. Remy Ann David

I'm curious how the SM7 compares and contrasts to the RE20.

The SM7: A bit more midrange, the bass only gets "big" when used close-up due to its proximity effect, the pick-up pattern is slightly wider, and, to my ears, the top end isn't as extended.
The RE-20: Smoother response, designed to be "big"even with NO proximity effect due to its "Variable-D" design, and it is a tighter pattern to keep the "room" out of it more.
Both are great vocal mics. The SM7 likes to "eaten", and has that integral foam windscreen around it for that. The RE20 is a go-to mic for lots of other uses as well, especially big horns, bass amps, kick drum,etc.

"eaten"

The SM7 likes to "eaten". What does that mean?

And what mike does for the male voice what the KSM32 does for the female voice?

...Ahem..."Eaten"= up close and personal...The KSM32 doesnt always do that thing for female vocals. In fact its a much better instrument mic than a vocal mic per se. There are no rules so this is a subjective take....

The SM7 doesnt have the 'gain' the EV does and needs to be used in an close miced setting. Your RNP doesnt have the kind of gain you may need to get the most out of an SM7 but , again, this may not be true for you.

Either mic is a great mic and being able to add a condenser as an option due to your budget is a great deal. Whatever you decide, try out the new ADK Vienna II or the Hamburg II. The originals were very very good and the new mics are simply killer.

Another dynamic to consider would be the Heil PR40 or PR30.

An answer to your comparison question about what mic does for male vocals as opposed to female vocals....Neumann U47. peace

Interestingly and perhaps going beyond the scope of this thread? The capsule that is mounted within the SM 7 is almost identical to the capsule in the SM 56/57/58. The SM 7, unlike those other three models, has both a low-cut filter and a flat or presence rise option switch. Most interestingly, if you remove the foam pop filter from the SM 7, you'll see the perforated metal cage that the pop filter sits upon. You'll also notice that the capsule is approximately halfway down the metal cage. With this configuration and the foam pop filter in place, it actually keeps the vocalists lips nearly 3 inches from the capsule at all times. So its proximity effect isn't quite as deadly as eating an SM57 without a pop filter. Which produces a better quality of sound as that keeps most fools from getting too close. Maybe if they had given Michael Jackson an SM57, instead of an SM 7, he would've left those little boys alone??

I always know a Shure bet when I hear one!
Ms. Remy Ann David

About the Vienna and Hamburg, which Davedog touts on another thread (which I can't seem to find right now), I find the Vienna Pro priced anywhere from $240 to $300 - but I saw something called the "ADK Custom Shop Hamburg IIa Class A Condenser Microphone" at $995. Which is he talking about: the regular or the custom shop stuff?