$300-$400 studio mic

I bought an AKG C-214. It's great for lots of stuff, including vocals. It is essentially 1/2 of a C-414. I also picked up an EV 320E dynamic mic. It's good for vocals and kick.

I upgraded from the Shure SM-58 I have had for years as a stage mic to a condenser. With the budget I had, I opted to get the Rode NT-2A condenser mic.
 
Since I have limited funds for my studio gear "habit" I have to use this one mic for literally everything.   I use it on acoustic guitar, mandolin, both male and female vocals, and even on my guitar amp.   Personally, I think it does a fine job on all of it. Sure it might be missing some subtle flavors of some of those things but to my ear... it works fine.
 
You should be able to grab a really nice all around mic in the $400 price range. I know, I did. 
 
Also, be sure to get a pop filter with the mic.

Also, I dont have an outboard mic preamp. Running the VS-700R for an interface. I read somewhere that the SM7b prefers a preamp to boost the gain.
 

The sm7b is a dynamic mike and does take a lot of gain for quiet sources.  The Roland preamps should be fine for most uses - the sm7b is used by radio announcers, on drums and bass, those kind of things.  If you have a wispy-voiced vocalist look elsewhere.  Otherwise it is a great value at that price range.
 
One place I'd suggest is look at http://oktavamod.com/  Joly started out modifying Oktava mics (you could pick them up cheap 10 years ago - I have 3 and the 319 he modded sounds as good as most FETs).  He's branched out and puts his own capsules into standard Chinese bodies and many people are as pleased with those as I am with my mod.  The "Hulk" is right at your price limit.  He voices all his mikes to be mid forward, sorta like a U87, which might not be the best mike on everything, but doesn't sound wrong on anything.  It should be more... flexible .... than the shure.
 
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How about one of these?
 

 
http://www.beesneezmicrop...rdioid-microphone.html

mike_mccue
How about one of these?
 

 
http://www.beesneezmicrop...rdioid-microphone.html

They want $100 to ship to the U.S. thanks anyway.

KEL Audio Song Sparrow! It's marketed as a chick mic, but it really is an allrounder, so long as you don't absolutely need the spiky highs condenders in this price range are known for. Silky on acoustic guitar as well!

@McQ: Huh, I was not aware..!

I'm certainly happy with my 3 chinese-made KEL mics, and I must've tried most of the usual suspects in this price range by now. The Sparrow is real special IMO! There might be consistecy issues, I dunno. So the BeezNeez Oliver is wholly Australian-made? Interesting!

dubdisciple
Blue Baby Bottle

Thank you. I picked one up today and I must say ........wow, it suites my voice very good. I'm happy. 😝

late again... things do happen fast here!

I love the Baby Bottle, I also have a Dragonfly and need to get a second one. There are quite a few other Blue microphones I have used, and would not hesitate to buy when the time is right.

No one mentioned the Shure KSM family, the KSM-32 would have been an interesting alternative. It is a very neutral microphone, especially compared the the Baby Bottle, but sometimes that's a good place to start too.

With respect to Mike's comments - I think he has described the marketplace well. In the sub $1000 market (number purely a demarcation, I'm not sure exactly where it falls) there are a lot of not-so-great microphones, unfortunately. Some sound bad the day you buy them, some age poorly. But there are exceptions to the rule, the thing is you need to find a way to audition them to at least rule out the first group, and then you need folks you trust to rule out the second<G>!

My LDC collection is modest, and it was built over quite a few years, and most of them were purchased used. The thing about used microphones is they are a gamble if you do not know their history. AND, sadly, good microphones hold their value - you are not going to get a $1500 microphone for $500 on the used market unless you get very lucky. BUT, a $1500 microphone that you buy for $1000 has probably been well cared for, and will last as long as you choose.

One company that flies under the radar is Michael Joly. He makes his own microphones, but he also modifies inexpensive microphones, sometimes to the extent of replacing even the capsule. His MJE-384K is at the top of my list. He provides WAV file demos, which I find quite useful. I've seen what he does to the Oktava microphones he modifies, and he offers return privileges.

You can't go wrong with the Baby Bottle, I know you are going to have a lot of fun with it... so go make some music now!

brconflict
A used Avantone cv12 (new is $499) is an excellent c-12 type tube mic, great for vocals. I've shot it out with a real AKG c-12. It does a pretty good job, and is even slightly warmer than the older c-12.

Word on GS is that the Stellar CM-5 is basically the same mic (Modded Apex 460) but with better upgrades. Only $400!

This one also has my attention, I've had good luck with Audio Technica. This is sort of like my old one that is dying after 10 years of abuse ;)  It smells real bad too! 
 
http://www.tomleemusic.ca/index.php/recording/studio-microphones/82436.html

 

My first LDC was a KSM 27. I paid $300 new. It served me well but as my mic collection grew the KSM 27 became idle. I sold it on ebay. It wouldn't be my first choice today if I had $500 to spend on a mic.
 
Rocky

still recommend the Hamburg.
 

In response to the OP I recommended the KEL Song Sparrow. Apparently, KEL has ceased production of their budget mics, so this mic will be hard to find. So I will recommend the very similar
MXL 2003a (the 'a' is important, or so I'm told). It is also sold as the Cr24.

I've owned or frequently recorded vocals with many LDCs in this price range: sE2200a, Røde NT1a, NT2 and NTK, MXL V67G, Oktava 219 and 319 and the AKG c214. I strongly feel that the MXL2003a is superior to all of them regardless of who is singing!

The mic does lack the high-freq lift of most of the mics I mentioned, but I've never missed the excess (IMO) highs!