You’ve spent months or years building out your music production studio, including collecting a workable collection of microphones. You’ve assembled a basic microphone locker with some dynamics, a ribbon mic, and a pair of large-diaphragm condenser mics. To your ears, the condensers deliver good value for their modest price. They perform well enough on acoustic guitars and as drum overheads. But, when it comes to all-important lead vocals, they sound, well, a bit lackluster. You’re thinking it may be time to step up to a high-end vocal microphone.
Justifying the Cost
Does a $2,000 microphone sound twice as good as a $1,000 one? Although that calculation is, ultimately, in the ear of the beholder, we would make the case that every studio worth its salt needs, at least, one superstar mic. In the mix, a spectacular-sounding condenser mic covers a multitude of sins. When listeners’ attention is on the shimmering presence of that ear-candy lead vocal, you can, in fact, get by with relatively inexpensive mics on your drums and guitars. This approach makes sense from a cost/benefit perspective, which is why professional recording facilities employ it. And, while engineers at world-class studios typically enjoy having a panoply of high-end vocal mics to choose from (because no one microphone will be optimal for every vocalist), the paradigm still applies.
Capturing the “Original Instrument”
The human voice presents a unique challenge to any microphone set before it. While your ears may “accept” the recorded sound of, say, a saxophone captured with a decent budget-friendly condenser mic, they may well take exception to a vocal captured with that same microphone. The reason has to do with the very essence of the human voice — and the way our ears perceive it. It is the most organic of instruments, its sound produced by the passage of air through the vocal cords and shaped using the singer’s facial muscles, tongue, teeth, and lips (embouchure in wind-instrument terminology; from bouche, the French word for “mouth”). Due to their all-organic nature, no two voices are alike. From before birth, babies are “imprinted” with the sound of their mother’s voice and can distinguish it from all others. Therefore, the human ear is intrinsically hypercritical when it comes to vocals, with the listener subconsciously judging the “validity” of every vocal recording. This is an excellent reason to own the highest-quality vocal microphone you can afford.
Specs Don’t Tell the Whole Story
You might think impressive specs would be a solid indicator of a “magic” vocal mic; but, unfortunately, this isn’t necessarily true. Some of the most coveted vocal mics in history were “flawed” from a technical perspective, meaning they offered far from a flat frequency response. Indeed, many golden-eared engineers allege that certain classic vocal mics sounded as good as they did precisely because of their individual quirks. When post-WWII-era tube microphones like the legendary U47 and C12 were made, manufacturing tolerances were not what they are now, and no two mics fresh off the assembly line sounded exactly the same or measured identically. Yet, vintage microphones like these are the targets (or, at least, the inspiration) for many modern high-end designs. One spec you do want to pay particular attention to, however, is max SPL (maximum sound pressure level), especially if you record hard rock or metal.
Your Ticket to Ear-Candy Vocals
So, how do you go about choosing a high-end vocal microphone for your studio? First, determine your needs and budget. You may be interested in features such as switchable polar patterns and onboard pads that increase a mic’s versatility and maximize the value of your investment. (After all, an amazing vocal mic will also be a studio workhorse that performs admirably across a wide range of sources.) Then it’s time for research. General consensus among the pro audio cognoscente is the best place to start. You can scour the Web, hoping to find reliable info on which mic was used on your favorite artist’s latest hit — or you could call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer for expert advice tailored to your specific requirements. The world’s best vocal mics are in daily use here at Sweetwater Studios, and many of our Sales Engineers have put them to the test in their personal studios. So, give us a call at (800) 222-4700 and get the lowdown on the high-end vocal microphone you need to take your studio to the next level.