What mic would be the best male voice?

[peterpan]

Hello everybody ! I am new on this site....At the moment I would like to have some full advice about which of these studio microphones is the best (for a male voice that could be compared to Elvis', Sinatra's....)

1/ AKG C 400 B
2/ AT 3060
3/ StudioProjects TB1

Thank you in advance...
Peter

 

[jazzman_in_pa]

None of the above.

IIRC, Sinatra used a U47. The closest mics to that today are the Soundelux E47 or the BLUE Cactus or BLUE Bottle with the B7 capsule.

 

[Rod Gervais]

Peter,

this forum is the acoustic forum.

Your question would be better suited in the beginner's forum.

So i am going to move it over there - you can look there for some input.

Thanks,

Rod

 

[musicalhair]

Hey peterpan, why are they the only choices?

I have an AKG C4000B and I like it on my voice, but I like the Blueberry a lot better, and I like a MD 421 better on my voice. I had a guy in here that liked the Blueberry best, the Beyer M88TG next on his voice but I didnt' try the AKG because I had a feeling he'd flip for the Blueberry and he did-- I had put up other mics as he was also interested in live mics and after a little while talking and listening I knew the blueberry would be the right one of what i got.

I don't have the other mics you listed, but there are a lot of mics you could be choosing from-- why limit to those three?

 

[Mbira]

I really like the c4000b for female vocals. I've found it to have a really nice breathy quality to those kinds of singers. Joel

 

[peterpan]

I hope you 'll accept my apologies !!
When I discovered this forum, and posted here for the first time, I already had started this same thread on other sites.... (UAD forum: Art of recording: Which brand for a mike (vocal)** Macmusic.org: (English section: Studio hardware: same title...). And it turned out that this subject captured the interest of lots of people, many rather brilliant.... so that I spent most of my spare time on these sites... once again : sorry ......
(This is not a suggestion for you leave this forum !! don't mistake !!
As of today, here is where I am at:
it appears that the following mics are the most frequently recommended ones:

- Studio Projects: C3, TB1, T3.
- RODE NT2, NTK
- V69 M (Mogami)

At the upper floor:
- Neumann TLM 103
- as musicalhair put it: the big choice would be Blueberry...

My question now is:
- regarding to the price/quality ratio, which one of these would you choose ??
- regardless of the price which one would be your choice ??
Consider that the voice to be recorded is something between Elvis, Sinatra, and Dean Martin....
Thank you all for the replies you posted !!

Peter

 

[peterpan]

I hope you 'll accept my apologies !!
When I discovered this forum, and posted here for the first time, I already had started this same thread on other sites.... (UAD forum: Art of recording: Which brand for a mike (vocal)** Macmusic.org: (English section: Studio hardware: same title...). And it turned out that this subject captured the interest of lots of people, many rather brilliant.... so that I spent most of my spare time on these sites... once again : sorry ......
(This is not a suggestion for you leave this forum !! don't mistake !!
As of today, here is where I am at:
it appears that the following mics are the most frequently recommended ones:
- Studio Projects: C3, TB1, T3.
- RODE NT2, NTK
- V69 M (Mogami)
At the upper floor:
- Neumann TLM 103
- as musicalhair put it: the big choice would be Blueberry...
My question now is:
- regarding to the price/quality ratio, which one of these would you choose ??
- regardless of the price which one would be your choice ??
Consider that the voice to be recorded is something between Elvis, Sinatra, and Dean Martin....
Thank you all for the replies you posted !!
Peter

 

[peterpan]

Hi Jazzman....
Wandering through the web, I saw that Brauner boasts Sinatra recorded with a Brauner mic (I forgot whether it was a Phantom C....) maybe he just tried for a while !!
Thank you anyway !!

Peter

 

[Bill Park]

Originally posted by peterpan:
these studio microphones is the best (for a male voice that could be compared to Elvis', Sinatra's....)


Peter

Peter,

If you can compare it to Elvis, how can you compare it to Sinatra? And vice versa?

Budget?

A lot of studios thsat do not have the good fortune to already own a stack of vintage Neumanns and AKGs are buying mics from Brauner, Korby, Lawson, etc, each of whom makes fine mics in classic styles from the past. You won't go wrong to investigate these choices if you have the budget to support them.

Otherwise, look at the oprions in your price range and ask again.

Bill

 

[CaptainMark]

If I had a limited budget but wanted to capture that kind of sound, I would try a Shure SM7. I think that's a better bet than a budget condenser mic - they tend to sound a bit harsh.

 

[Davedog]

In the same vein would be the EV RE20....deep rich and resonant.SM7 very good....One of the nice aspects to a great dynamic is the low self noise.Through a decent preamp a quality dynamic can go places with a voice that only the highest end condensers can equal.

An relatively affordable condenser that may be able to give you that dark clarity would be the ADK A48....Under a grand on the street.Voice would probably be its strong suit more than instruments and a particular voice may be more to its liking.This is a mic that wont sound 'right' with just any voice.But on the right voice it is golden.

 

[chessparov]

Hi Peter, here are some examples of what Elvis and Sinatra used;

Elvis: RCA 77 (Sun recordings)
Electro-Voice models RE15, RE16, EV 635a
(RCA recordings)

Sinatra: RCA 44 (Columbia)
U47 tube (Capitol)
Beyer M500 (Reprise)
Shure 546 (Reprise) his main mic there
EV RE15 (Reprise)
Shure SM57 "Duets" (label?)

As Bill basically said, Elvis' voice and Sinatra's were quite different. Also Sinatra's microphone technique was phenomenal and Elvis was much weaker
in that regard. (both great singers certainly!)

My voice is pretty much the same range/tone as Sinatra's albeit somewhat mellower.

At NAMM, the Studio Projects T3 sounded like a knockout on it FWIW. Stood right up to my other
faves, the Telefunken USA reproduction of the
'251, and the Manley Reference Gold. They were terrific too, each with different coloration.

Hope this helps.

Chris

P.S. Just scored a mint Shure 546 off e-bay, due
to arrive soon.

 

[chessparov]

Just remembered...

"Duets" was on Capitol.

Chris

 

[peterpan]

As Bill basically said, Elvis' voice and Sinatra's were quite different.

Of course I agree with that statement !!
But I did not say that my voice was LIKE Elvis or Sinatra's !! I said it was between... just a way to say that, depending on the tune it sounds sometimes like Elvis' and sometimes like Sinatra's... does that make sense to you ??

 

[peterpan]

I am still going on my quest...
My price range is from 400 to 700 $. So I think (Hi Chessparov ! ) The T3 could be a real good choice, that's it ??
On the other hand, I heard so enthusiastic comments about the Blue mics, specially the Blueberry, that maybe I could wait a while and save money to buy it ???
I'll look on the web about the EV, which I never heard of...
Thanks to all,
Peter :c:

 

[peterpan]

Just to let you know that this thread is going on on this Forum at "Mixing, Tracking..."

 

[peterpan]

Hi Peter, here are some examples of what Elvis and Sinatra used;
Elvis: RCA 77 (Sun recordings)
Electro-Voice models RE15, RE16, EV 635a
(RCA recordings)
Sinatra: RCA 44 (Columbia)
U47 tube (Capitol)
Beyer M500 (Reprise)
Shure 546 (Reprise) his main mic there
EV RE15 (Reprise)
Shure SM57 "Duets" (label?)

Thank you for the info Chessparov.
How come you are so aware of all this ???

Regards

Peter

 

[Bill Park]

Originally posted by peterpan:

...it sounds sometimes like Elvis' and sometimes like Sinatra's... does that make sense to you ??

The reason why that doesn't make sense to anyone but you is that you hear yourself in a certain way, but we have only heard Sinatra and Elvis, not you. Sinatra was a very bright and open-throated singer, who articulated every sylable and was a master of the phrase. Elvis mumbled. They are pitched differently. We have no basis here.. it's like saying, "Well, its somewhere between black and white...." Right. We got it. Not. Can you see our trouble?

You might look at some of the AT offerings in this price range. I'm not familiar myself, but Lynn Fuston seems quite taken with the line, and often recommends them.

Bill

 

[maintiger]

blue mics can work wonders on certain voices but don't sound so good on others- in your price range (and your vocal range) I would rent a baby bottle (500 street) dragon fly (700) blueberry (1K) and see if one of those do the trick- sometimes the baby bottle is just right...

 

[chessparov]

Peter, my thinking is that if certain microphones worked well for certain singers, then they would probably be fine on me with a similar sound-hence the research.

For example, a singing friend of mine sounds reminiscient of Steve Tyler and Paul Rodgers, so I expected him to sound excellent on my SM57 (he did) as both these singers do.

With a $700 budget, I'd make sure to include trying the SP T3. There are probably dealers out there with a liberal return policy if you don't have a local dealer handy. If you get good dynamic microphones, like the ones listed, used you can normally get what you paid for them (sometimes more!). So those are easy to try out with hardly any risk involved, if you're careful.

What kind of mic pre and/or mixer are you using?
You'll need phantom power on most condensers.

Chris