It's ain't the Pre...It's the Mic !

I can't take it...

I'm on my third world-class preamp (two of which many of the members here contributed toward helping me choose...for which I'm still very grateful)...& it turns out the buzz in my vocals is caused by my mic (an AT4050.) I don't know this to be a technical fact, mind you...but let me put it this way: my vocals are buzzing with my (year old) Universal Audio 2-610 & now my (brand new) Grace Design Model 101...& I don't remember anyone giving me the nickname "Buzz" for any of my vocal shortcomings (there may be another reason...but never mind...)

Anyway, I'm calling Audio Technica tomorrow to get either a return or repair authorization...but I'm wondering...where should I turn now if I want to grab a mic that will fit my pipes. I'm a mid-tenor with a lot of strength; & am capable of some pretty powerful resonance. In other words...on the "fog horn" scale...I'm only a few notches down from opera. And I'm afraid I might be vibrating the diaphragm to too great an extent, even at the proper distance.

Are there any mid priced large-cap studio condensers around that are built tough enough to capture a big mouth & still provide clarity & detail?

How about the following:

Rode NT2-A, NT1000
AKG C-414
Shure KSM27, 32, 44
Blue Bluebird
Neumann TLM 103

The Neumann's a bit out of my price range...but it's supposed to be the best at handling big SPL.

I don't know what in the hell I should do. How are the Shure's & the AKG's?

Does anybody else have this problem...a voice that may be too big? If so...what do you use?

Thanks,

mark4man

ORIGINAL: bso
You could try a dynamic mic.. electrovoice re-20 or a shure sm7 sennheiser 441.

I'm no expert, but a trying a dynamic is not a bad idea.

It's possible you may need to back off the mic. I was getting a strange warbling sound with my TLM-103. It turned out I was too close. Now I stay anywhere from one to two feet back from the mic.

I heard that Robert Plant used a SM57 in the studio...

Yeah, I knew an engineer that did an overdub session with Plant and Page at one point (early to mid '90s, perhaps?). He said Plant eschewed the more expensive mics that he had pulled from the mic locker in favor of an SM57. (Just to corroborate your observation.) The engineer also said that Plant specified his EQ and delay settings to monitor with! I guess if you've been recorded that much, you know "your sound."

Anyway, sorry for the intrusion!

Say, there are certainly a number of condensers that handle some extreme SPLs. It seems like you should have a number of options, despite the fog-horn.

It's hard to recommend a mic without hearing your vox, but I use a MXL 909 and an old AKG C3000 and love 'em both for different things. I know they're not top drawer as far as price goes, but they have worked well for me. You can hear some samples by following the Artists link at http://www.blind-dog-audio.com ; Bill was done with the C3000 and everyone else (except my tracks) was with the 909.

Sometimes throwing up a Beta57 or 58 will be just what the doctor ordered.

Kevin, Larry & Chaz...

Thanks.

I checked out the C3000; & although it's usable in sound fields as high as 150dB...I think if I were to go with another LDC, if it were an AKG it would probably be the C 414.

Going back to bso's suggestion on the RE 20...I was thinking...I already have an ND 767. I wonder how that stacks up against the RE 20 (& someone told me once that Chrissy Hynde of The Pretenders would only use an RE 20 in the studio...which is pretty fair accolades for a broadcast mic.)

Thanks again,

mark4man