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Post by jacobamerritt on May 29, 2019 18:37:55 GMT -6
I’ve been looking for a serious multipattern workhorse microphone... As we all know there are about 3571 options for a ‘Sub $1000’ mic that ‘beat the classics in a shootout at some famous producers studio’. I’ve been recording for about 15 years, used/own a number of those mics (that shall go unnamed) and get tired of all the semantics and marketing.
At what point does the cost of a microphone actually get you a significantly better sound? Is getting a $1400 Telefunken that much worse than a $3000 Flea? I know, I know- depends on the purpose. I’m talking a solid workhorse multipattern condenser that’s generally not sibilant.
FWIW my current favorite microphone is the JZ V67 (Vintage voicing). I would buy more JZ stuff, but they only make 1 multipattern mic that’s a bit bright for my taste. And none of their mics have pads or HPFs.
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Post by svart on May 29, 2019 18:51:08 GMT -6
I’ve been looking for a serious multipattern workhorse microphone... As we all know there are about 3571 options for a ‘Sub $1000’ mic that ‘beat the classics in a shootout at some famous producers studio’. I’ve been recording for about 15 years, used/own a number of those mics (that shall go unnamed) and get tired of all the semantics and marketing. At what point does the cost of a microphone actually get you a significantly better sound? Is getting a $1400 Telefunken that much worse than a $3000 Flea? I know, I know- depends on the purpose. I’m talking a solid workhorse multipattern condenser that’s generally not sibilant. FWIW my current favorite microphone is the JZ V67 (Vintage voicing). I would buy more JZ stuff, but they only make 1 multipattern mic that’s a bit bright for my taste. And none of their mics have pads or HPFs. I'm not sure there's a strict cutoff for price.. one could say that lewitt mics at 500$ outperform others 3x the cost, and some might say that Telefunken mics aren't worth their cost.. the used market dictates prices where a real u47 might be 10k$, but a clone of one might only cost you 1000$.. I think the only real valid option is to see what the pros use over and over. Those are time tested and proven performers, and while they might be more $$, they'll never let you down.
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Post by Johnkenn on May 29, 2019 19:24:35 GMT -6
I know some people on here think it’s a cliche, but I think the sm7 is an outstanding mic.
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Post by Tbone81 on May 29, 2019 19:35:02 GMT -6
If I had to pick a price point I'd say $1500, give or take a few hundred (or more) depending on new/used etc.
I just got a Gefell UMT70s for $1400 that fits the description. The hardest part is there are so many options these days and todays $600 is yesterdays $1000 mic
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Post by Vincent R. on May 29, 2019 19:37:33 GMT -6
I would say you need to know the kind of mic you are going for. If you’re looking for something 67ish there are options. You may not want to spend 7k on the reissue and I get it, but there is the TLM67, Peluso P67, Stam, etc. Once you know what kind of mic you are looking for it’s easier to figure it what your options are in your budget.
I’d say there are some great workhorse mics in the $1500-2k range that will do a great job. I like my TLM67, but I don’t expect it to be a U67. I have a TLM170 which is turning out to be a real nice workhorse, albeit I do classical, Broadway, and jazz. So it works really well for the music I make. Svart mentioned Lewit and by all accounts they are great utility mics. Roswell Audio gets a lot of praise for their Delphos, etc. Then there are the Gefells which get nothing but praise, and are often overlooked.
Mics by Telefunken, FleA, Bock, Wunder, etc are boutique. These are the mics you get when you want a vintage mic, are willing to spend some decent money, but don’t want the hassle of maintaining a vintage mic or dealing with its unpredictable behavior. Now if you want one great mic then these are places to look, but the old classics do very specific things, so you better really know what you want before you spend that kind of money. I’m a professional vocalist so it made sense for me to have that one big 4K mic that shines on mine and my wife’s voices. I fell in love with the M49 sound, demoed a few variations of the FleA and decided it was right for me.
You can also go the custom build route with the vintage classics. Companies like Signal Arts Electronics, Barbaric Amplification, etc, will make you a nice mic to your specs which depending on how you spec it could rival the boutique mics. You’ll spend in the 2k range, but resale on the mic may be tough if you decide to sell down the road. Just something to consider.
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Post by chessparov on May 29, 2019 19:38:09 GMT -6
Studio Projects CS5, ought to be on your short list. I'm sure the Vanguard V4, should be a serious consideration too.
Fantastic post Vincent! Chris
P.S. If/when I record at a Commercial Studio, planning to bring my U195 & Oktava 319. Both sound better on me, vs. a U87ai.
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Post by jacobamerritt on May 29, 2019 20:10:31 GMT -6
I know some people on here think it’s a cliche, but I think the sm7 is an outstanding mic. For sure, I’ve used it often.
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Post by christopher on May 29, 2019 20:54:36 GMT -6
15 years ago I was going to buy a neve 1073 for 5k and a u47 for around 10-15k, and just use my cheap interface and make ITB stuff. Right before I made the purchase though, I got cold feet and decided to see if there were any clones that could match that sound. Luckily someone had posted a shootout of all the tube mics at that time. So I setup my blind test and rated them best to worst. I renamed all the files with a number code, mixed them up and later decoded my results. U47 was the clear winner with a low mid thing that was what I wanted, followed by 251, C-12, u67, all the classics.. sadly the clones I was really wanting, and also really expensive ones, were rated pretty low in my results. It was pretty easy to hear vintage from new. Except for one surprisingly I had rated next to the vintage mics. I was in shock, it was only $1100. Used the money I saved to get a 24 track, and then a console instead of a 1073. So for me I guess the cost/performance.. if it’s close enough to be a cousin of a great mic, and costs 90% less.
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Post by jacobamerritt on May 29, 2019 20:55:45 GMT -6
chessparov Vincent R. Tbone81 svart - Thanks for all the feedback! I guess what I'm trying to get at is - I own or have used a number of the $500 - $1000 microphones that always seem to come up... Are the 3U, Mojave, Miktek, Vanguard, Roswell, Lauten (and others in that budget Ive tried) etc etc offerings good enough that stepping up to the $1500ish range is kinda redundant, and just wait until I can spend $3000 on something REALLY special? I use some nicer LDC and ribbons (414s, Coles, JZ etc) but I havent seemed to settle on a more versatile 'flagship' mic. I have found that when I started upgrading to Manley, Locomotive, Vintech and the like for my preamps/compression I definitely noticed a significant improvement over 'prosumer' pres and compressors I was using.
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Post by Tbone81 on May 29, 2019 21:19:04 GMT -6
Well, in my experience there are a lot of $600-$1000 mics that sound as good or better than the $1500 range. Keep in mind I’m considering used prices here as well. Sounds like you already have some really good stuff so you’d probably be better served by saving your money and getting something special in that $1500-2k plus range.
Again I’d recommend a Gefell. Even though I’m still in the middle of putting mine through it’s paces, im massively impressed so far. Other good contenders would be a used u87, or a 414eb (not sure the version you currently have).
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Post by chessparov on May 29, 2019 21:30:38 GMT -6
An excellent/used U89,for around $1600, is hard to beat. I really dig the Heiserman H47 FET too. Chris
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Post by lpedrum on May 29, 2019 21:54:09 GMT -6
I know some people on here think it’s a cliche, but I think the sm7 is an outstanding mic. If you own five or more mics one of them should be an SM7.
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Post by johneppstein on May 29, 2019 22:18:19 GMT -6
I know some people on here think it’s a cliche, but I think the sm7 is an outstanding mic. If you own five or more mics one of them should be an SM7. Really?
Why?
I own a LOT of mics. For some reason I've never felt the urge to buy an SM7. Maybe it's because I neither moonwalk nor do modern metal.
If I'm going to use a dynamic to record I'd much rather use an RE-20 or an M88.
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Post by lpedrum on May 29, 2019 22:25:49 GMT -6
If you own five or more mics one of them should be an SM7. Really?
Why?
I own a LOT of mics. For some reason I've never felt the urge to buy an SM7. Maybe it's because I neither moonwalk nor do modern metal.
Should I list my reasons?
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Post by johneppstein on May 29, 2019 23:20:36 GMT -6
Really?
Why?
I own a LOT of mics. For some reason I've never felt the urge to buy an SM7. Maybe it's because I neither moonwalk nor do modern metal.
Should I list my reasons? I dunno.... Why not?
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Post by chessparov on May 30, 2019 0:03:45 GMT -6
Does anyone else hear the distant sound of the... Theme from "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly" playing now? I'll "see" all your SM7's, RE20's, and M88's. And "raise you", with the mighty 441! Checkmate! Oops, wrong game. Chris
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Post by stormymondays on May 30, 2019 1:35:04 GMT -6
Sorry to disappoint you but it takes a LOT of mic to beat the JZ V67, which was my main mic. In my case, I had to step up to a U67 reissue. The Soyuz would beat it too if you don’t mind a brighter sound (but not too much).
I’d be surprised if you found something in the $1,500 range that beats it. I totally understand why you want multipattern though.
A complementary mic (and affordable) would be the Vanguard tube mic.
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Post by timcampbell on May 30, 2019 2:48:46 GMT -6
It's hard to beat the used market. I agree with everyone else when it comes to a used Gefell a UM7/UM70/71 can't be bested for more than triple the price, but also brands like Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser, Electrovoice. Ribbon mics like Samar are a great bargain and are so useful.
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Post by indiehouse on May 30, 2019 4:41:03 GMT -6
The Soyuz 017 is a superb mic and I happen to know a guy who has one for sale at a great price.
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Post by Vincent R. on May 30, 2019 6:18:30 GMT -6
Sorry to disappoint you but it takes a LOT of mic to beat the JZ V67, which was my main mic. In my case, I had to step up to a U67 reissue. The Soyuz would beat it too if you don’t mind a brighter sound (but not too much). I’d be surprised if you found something in the $1,500 range that beats it. I totally understand why you want multipattern though. A complementary mic (and affordable) would be the Vanguard tube mic. I’ve been itching to hear the JZ V67 myself. JZ has really been pushing it lately. There have been a number of demo videos hitting different channels on YouTube. Glen Fricker put it on piano and it sounded great. It really is disappointing that it’s not a multi pattern microphone. I’ve been real curious how it sounds next to a TLM67, but I haven’t been able to find any clips of anyone doing that.
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Post by Johnkenn on May 30, 2019 6:48:43 GMT -6
If you own five or more mics one of them should be an SM7. Really? Why? I own a LOT of mics. For some reason I've never felt the urge to buy an SM7. Maybe it's because I neither moonwalk nor do modern metal. If I'm going to use a dynamic to record I'd much rather use an RE-20 or an M88.
Kind of a dumb take
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Post by Ward on May 30, 2019 6:53:42 GMT -6
I know some people on here think it’s a cliche, but I think the sm7 is an outstanding mic. An SM7 is to microphones as a Big Mac™ is to steaks.
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Post by Ward on May 30, 2019 7:07:11 GMT -6
I know some people on here think it’s a cliche, but I think the sm7 is an outstanding mic. If you own five or more mics one of them should be an SM7. Why? To make the others sound better? I mean, sure, I guess....
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Post by brenta on May 30, 2019 7:08:44 GMT -6
I know some people on here think it’s a cliche, but I think the sm7 is an outstanding mic. A lot of cliches come about because they’re true. I’ll take it a step further and say that the SM7’s little brother, the SM57, is an outstanding mic as well. It gets slagged often by what I have to assume are mostly home recording novices. One of my least favorite phrases on GS is “(Mic preamp x) is so good it EVEN makes an SM57 sound good!” Well I’d argue that the 57 is one of the best mics of all time. We all know that most of our favorite electric guitar and snare recordings were done with a 57, but that’s not all. Ryan Hewitt said that for the Avett Brothers recordings he used 57’s on the acoustic guitars and SM7’s on the vocals. 57’s wouldn’t be my 1st, 2nd, or 3rd idea for acoustic guitars, but while we’re all obsessing about km84’s and Gefells (and rightfully so), Ryan Hewitt has created what are probably the most successful Americana recordings of the past decade with a pile of old Shure mics. Madonna used an SM57 for vocals on at least her first album and I think Bono uses one for all of the U2 recordings. Admittedly that has less to do with the tone of the mic and more about the fact that they prefer to sing in the control room with the music blaring out of the mains. Point is, cliche or not, 57’s and SM7’s are great mics.
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Post by Vincent R. on May 30, 2019 7:54:32 GMT -6
jacobamerritt out of curiosity what mics do you currently have in your locker? What are you looking for in this new workhorse mic? I think that would be a great place to start this discussion properly. I’ve never used an SM7 and have never had a desire to, but I’ve done enough recordings with budget mics; sm57s, AT3525s, etc to know that you can make a good recording with just about any ok mic. Placement and mix ability are the key. My friend is recording his new solo album with an SM57 on all his vocals and it sounds great. It’s all about the style of the song and genre, but even in jazz or cabaret where I do much of my work, all of those live albums are all through some kind of dynamic mic usually. Go listen to “Sergio Franchi Live at the Coconut Grove” and tell me his vocal sounds bad. Does it sound as good as his albums done with a U67? No, but does his vocal sound great? Abso-fricken-lutely!
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