Neumann M49 - check it out!

My feeling is that the M49 might have been the best all-around mic ever made. Many will disagree and say a 251 is more versatile, but I think you can boost the high end on an M49 and it opens up nice. I'd rather do that than to do a lot of deessing on a 251. But that's just my feelings. Of course, I've used vintage M49s but I don't own one.
Great video as always

Sounds great on your voice. big and rich.
not really into the long verb.
the chain promotes intimacy.

At the very end the audio is missing

And who was it who pushed you in that direction 😁

One thing that I didn't bring up in the video is that the M49 pickups perform beautifully in a live setting. Even at 2 meters away, you get a very balanced, up-close sound, and you can easily balance the guitar and vocals by adjusting the mic position. I never heard that in a microphone.

The REDD is more in the 251 vein. Quite bright in the midrange but nice lowmid bloom.

The M49 is one of the smoothest microphones I've used. I hope I can test the new M49v this fall.

That's the smoothest your voice has sounded. Personally I'm not a fan of loud singing from such a distance unless it was Aretha Franklin, I prefer a closer, smoother proximity in general so you still have somewhere left to go. Like classic singers such as Marvin Gaye.
I remember telling David Byrne to lay back and I thought this gonna sound better or I'm going to get fired but he was really open to using dynamics and it sounded much cooler and conversational.
With it so drenched in reverb sometimes it's hard to understand the words so it's good to have the solo voice and guitar to reference and the lyrics do miss some clarity, it depends how important that is.
Since I first stared engineering in the late 80's it seemed some people suited AKG 414's and some Neumann U87's. Stereotypically Girls suited the brighter AKG and Males on the 87. It sounds like you found your Neumann here. It seems perfectly balanced for your tone.

The 251 does seem to be a rap trend like the overpriced Tube tech CL1B's which do nothing for me, I guess it's because Sony's got silly. I really like the 251 as a Telefunken 47 replacement though it seems to sit well between the the C12 and the 47. You don't have to hate on it though if it doesn't suit you, we've just reached a point where quality clones like mics version, the Upton and the Heiserman are a far more reasonable price than the extortionate companies like TFunk USA. 
I love the CK12 capsule it's a work of art. The M7 has that instant vintage sound but I personally prefer vintage K49's or even new ones. My M7 heads sit in the locker but I may experiment some more.

I finally got a chance to hear this at the studio. It sounds great. I've used the M49. few times, and I agree with your assessments. If you ever record Dobro, put it about 2ish feet above (if playing with the instrument flat) and set it to omni. It's a glorious sound.