Whats the best mic for a thin voice?

F

familiar1985

New member
Im currently using an avalon with a tlm 103. It sounds better with fuller voices though. I want to get another mic preferrably a tube thats warmer then a tlm103. Any suggestions? Price range is up to 5k, i just want the right mic for this application.
 
u87 is hella warm but if the rapper/singer has a breathy voice or talks with a "Sssssss" then u may not like the outcome. its clear as **** though. tlm 103 is dope too.


i can't even lie a good mike for a thin voice is that mxl 990 and it only cost 50 bucks u might as well buy it considering u got 5 gz
 
malki said:
i can't even lie a good mike for a thin voice is that mxl 990 and it only cost 50 bucks u might as well buy it considering u got 5 gz
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The MXL 990 is extremely harsh sounding. Terrible for a thin voice.


I hate the TLM103. Too dark sounding. If you want an insane mic get the Bock Audio 151. It's based on the Telefunken 251. It's a tube mic so it will have a nice clarity and subtle warmth with a smooth thick sound.

And pick me one up while your at it. Please.... :)
 
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ill look into the bock. Im going to try to make a narrow list and then sample the mics and pic one. Ill def test a u87 and a wunder cm7 gt.

Tlm 103 isnt dark at all. Its very bright, obviously you dont have experience with it. Its a really good all around vocal mic. It just isn't big or warm enough for thin vocals.
 
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familiar1985 said:
Tlm 103 isnt dark at all. Its very bright, obviously you dont have experience with it. Its a really good all around vocal mic. It just isn't big or warm enough for thin vocals.
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It's the main mic they use at "The Outfit", a studio once owned by T.I. And I work there as an engineer. I always have to brighten it up with eq. It is not as warm or nice sounding as a high quality tube mic or a U87. The TLM103 isn't the darkest mic I've heard. I just find it a little dark. But sometimes has a nice thick sound. Reminds me of a suped up Blue Dragonfly.

It just my taste. I'd much rather have a Bock Audio 195 over a TLM103 for the same price. And it's know to sound like but better than a U87.

Bock Audio and Mojave are mics that are hand built and are not huge companies so you get what you pay for.
 
i have tracks ive recorded with a U87 and i prefer the sound i got from the MXL over it. dig that. to each his own though - one day you realize its not what you have its how u use it
 
malki said:
i have tracks ive recorded with a U87 and i prefer the sound i got from the MXL over it. dig that. to each his own though - one day you realize its not what you have its how u use it
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One day you will realize you are stubborn and ignorant and that other people have opinions too.

You may prefer a MXL over a U87 for something but I'll take the U87 every time. Maybe you don't know as much as you think.
 
Wow a lot of money to burn on a mic! It would be awesome to have them all in the same place to test out.
 
with "thin" vocals, I think a good preamp is more beneficial than anything. Some clean but heavy drive usually fattens those right up.

To Morning Star, you hit me the same way in another thread. I'm not trying to challenge your opinion, but I've used a gang of mics. It's not "what they cost" or "the quality of build", it's about finding the perfect chain for what you're doing. Sometimes a 990 will fit alot better than a U87 as rediculous as that sounds.

Another sidenote: alot of well recognized professional engineers prefer the sound of the BCM to the U87, that's about $2500 cheaper and is compared to the RE20(often referred to as a cleaner/warmer sounding RE20 that leads to an argument of whether it's worth it's $1000 pricetag when the RE20 goes for around $399).:cheers:
 
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I have used so many mic's it's sad. I have personally recorded with and heard my own voice (the only way to "hear" a mic IMO) on AKG c414, Bluebird, Babybottle, SM7b, Blueberry, TLM103, several U87's, Sputnik, Audix i5, SM-57/58, MXL 2001, MXL 990, MXL v88, MXL v69, MXL v67, Sony c800g, U49, NT-1a, NT-2a, K2, B1, C1, Perception 220, c3000, GT31, GT55, GT66, GT57, AT3060, AT4040, KSM32, KSM44, Bock Audio 195 and others. Either me or my studio partners have owned over half of them and had them in the locker. Don't question my experience with mics. The MXL 990 is one of the harshest and thinnest sounding mics I've ever heard and would never choose it over a U87 EVER! Although there is a mod for it that I heard makes it very usable. But I'm the biggest fan here of MXL mics and that mic is terrible. The others are actually very good.

I'm sorry but anyone that thinks that mic is good isn't experienced with enough boutique mics. BTW, I've used it with a Neve and a Eureka and a large console pre so I've heard it with different pre flavors.
 
I'm not questioning you experience, funny in the process you question mine, lol.

But in all seriousness, if you do have any experience, you still can't help but agree with my last post. You'd also know the way a mic sounds tested on your voice has no usefulness other than when you're recording yourself. I'm in the studio daily and haven't recorded myself since 2004.:cheers:
 
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The Rode NT2 kills the TLM103 in the high range due to the boost the NT2 has in the 12khz range.

If you want a clear-sounding transparent microphone then the NT2 is for you.

You never specified what you want to do to the thin voice. You either want to capture it thin for which the NT2 is perfect for or you want to make it more full, for which it's not.

The best option fot many kinds of voices is often a dynamic mic such as the EV RE20, the Sure SM7b or even the Heil PR40. Forget about condensors and give a dynamic a try. These mics are very neutral and will give you a great vocal sound that is easy to mix and manipulate.

As much as I like the NT2 what I hear is usually what I get. What I mean is that I usually can't change the vocal sound much without screwing it up, in which case I might as well have used another mic. But, with the EV RE20 I find that I have a bit more leeway when it comes to what I want to do with the vocals.

I would stick with the NT2 for silky singing vocals and other uses. If you can afford to have both, the NT2 is a great compliment to the TLM103. What one does horribly the other will do very nicely.
 
the mic is not as important as your pre amp and mix....

but i would suggest the rode nt2 or the BLUE baby bottle for your scenario.
 
Morning_Star said:
The MXL 990 is one of the harshest and thinnest sounding mics I've ever heard and would never choose it over a U87 EVER!
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a thin mic for a thin voice right?

ill put it like this

I had this one track i was gonna push as a single - i tried to re record it at a pro studio through a TLM 103 and a NEVE preamp. spent a lot of money getting it mixed. turns out after all the time and money was spent. the best version of the vocal was my mix (pro tools LE) with the vocals on the mxl 990 (i spent a lot getting it mixed through an ssl didnt even use it lol) dont get me started about that.

its not about how much equpitment u have or how much u spent on it. my ears gonna tell me the truth. your ears are oviously shot anyway you thinkin that a TLM 103 is dark. slap yourself. go home. bye bye now
 
sleepy said:
I would stick with the NT2 for silky singing vocals and other uses. If you can afford to have both, the NT2 is a great compliment to the TLM103. What one does horribly the other will do very nicely.
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this is a good trick


use 1 dark mic, 1 bright mic

combine signals


wala


ultra mic
 
malki said:
a thin mic for a thin voice right?

ill put it like this

I had this one track i was gonna push as a single - i tried to re record it at a pro studio through a TLM 103 and a NEVE preamp. spent a lot of money getting it mixed. turns out after all the time and money was spent. the best version of the vocal was my mix (pro tools LE) with the vocals on the mxl 990 (i spent a lot getting it mixed through an ssl didnt even use it lol) dont get me started about that.

its not about how much equpitment u have or how much u spent on it. my ears gonna tell me the truth. your ears are oviously shot anyway you thinkin that a TLM 103 is dark. slap yourself. go home. bye bye now
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I'm tired of explaining to you that people have different opinions. The mic is darker than most mics. Period. And the 990 is Brittle and harsh anyway you slice it. The build cost of that mic is about $10. Every part in it is cheap. And that gives it the brittle sound. If you choose the right mic there is little to no eq needed to be done. If you are gonna sing about some budget mic hero you picked the wrong mic.

Now you go home, to hell, and learn something about anything.

BTW you must be the best mixing engineer ever. You like your mix better than an SSL mix. You just lost all credit with me or the guy running a million dollar board is an idiot. Don't bother even responding. You can't have an intelligent conversation. I wont' be checking back anyways.
 
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