Looking to upgrade home studio vocal mic.

The ISA is a very good preamp and works well for digital recording.  The transformer gives it a nice umph but still modern sounding.  The Warm preamp (I don't know if Sweetwater carries it) is much the same, but a more vintage taste. 
 
Shure mics are good - many here and elsewhere like their 32.  My preference here at home is an Oktava 319 modded by Joly.  He was moving last month and had some good deals on Oktavas and other mics he mods.  The 319 mod is outstanding - I've taken it to major studios and it held its own head w/ various tube mics - manley, etc.  The bock fet 195 is another mic that is a great all-arounder for about a grand in us dollars.  Like the Oktava you can find better mics for this or that, but you are dealing with inches, not feet.  The latest entry is the Lautin Atlantis.  Andy Hong at Tap Op loves it.  Not just in the review, but in his engineering work.  I havent' used one but believe him.  It is very flexible w/ different settings.  But both these last two are $1000 or plus, in the case of the Atlantis.
 
Any of the above (combos) ought to set you right.  Any of the above is something you'll keep, even if they strike oil in your backyard.  The shure mics (I believe they both are transformerless) ought to work well w/ either preamp, which is useful to have.  If you want a clean modern sound I'd go for the ISA.  If you like a more vintage tone on your voice, the Warm.  If you could try the mics on your voice you would have a better idea of best, but any of the choices should work.  Esp. considering your mic now is one of the first low cost mics pushing the edge of its lifespan.  Personally, I'd love the Atlantis - even not having heard it. If I could come up w/ money in 6 months to a year for a solid preamp (the Roland's are good enough), that would probably be the best way to go.  I've never regreted spending the money for a really nice piece of hardware.
 
Good hunting.
 
@

I've got a Focusrite ISA One and can testify it's performance - it sounds like it should be a lot more expensive.
 
I think pairing that with the KSM32 would be a good match. You'll have a great front end which probably won't need upgrading until such time as you're in a really good sounding room

If you want vintage warmth, I like the Summit Audio 2BA-221, which you can easily and quickly control the warmth. There's also a good number of awesome tube mics on the market for cheap. I compared an Avantone CV-12 to an AKG c12, and I'll say, they were both really strong, with the cv12 being warmer. The real c12 had a slight sweeter upper mid for female vocals, but the Avantone was really good! I've also compared a couple of good Peluso mics with a Telefunken ELA M 251 and a U47.  Don't overlook the underground. Check recordinghacks.com for reviews. 
 

Don't expect a world of difference between interface preamps and a standalone one.  the differences are ... wait for it .... sublte, but real.  The biggest change is in gain, so you can use the mic farther away.  Alternate positions, as well as the preamp handling the louder bits w/o crapping out.  It will make a difference in your miking, and as you learn to use that your sound should improve.  Added to technique, you will get a slightly rounder sound (from the transformer) that I've found helps take some of the edge off of digital recording.  But other than the placebo effect coming from spending big bucks on equipment, don't expect a world of difference.  There is usually "Oh, I can hear the money" period, then when you listen to previously recorded stuff you think "that was pretty good did I need to drop a grand on this equipment?"  No, but the small differences will grow on you and at some point you'll get it as you continue to use your new purchases.
 
Good listening.
 
@

I have a\b'd the 2 singing the same 2 songs, (rock then ballad) same exact settings, etc. The main difference is the Shure is crisper,  for lack of a better term-not much, but I can hear it ----- volume is even. I may have been a little too hard on my trusty old C1. (It has the 797Audio logo on the front)
 
I have mentioned here before that when I bought this (`1 of the 1st 100 made) there was an uproar of how the Chinese had copied the U87
 
I searched and found an article of interest for my old circa 2000 mic. : Well I think of interest. Reviews from 2001
 
 
Studio Projects C1
Cardioid Condenser Microphone
The C1 is a fixed-cardioid, large-diaphragm FET condenser mic with a transformerless output circuit.
The capsule is a 34mm K67 derivative from 797 Audio. It has a 26.9mm diaphragm, likely only metallized on the front diaphragm, and is center-terminated.
The C1’s impedance conversion circuit, according to Brent Casey of PMI, is linear.
                        The first version of the mic, which shipped through 2006, differed from the current production version in the following respects:

• The original C1 had no pad.      Subsequent versions had a one-position pad (-10dB).
• The original C1 had no      high-pass filter; subsequent versions, even before the redesign, had a      one-position HPF (-6dB@150Hz).
• MSRP for the original C1 was      $299.99.
• The XLR jack on the base of the      original C1 was offset to one side.
• The revised C1 (circa 2007)      uses stronger metal mesh in the headbasket.
• The shockmount design changed      from a spring-loaded design in the original to a screw-in style in the      current version.
• The original C1 was cobranded      with the 797 Audio logo.

 
 
*The original C1 was the first Chinese condenser microphone to invite comparisons to the Neumann U-87 — a practice that continues today, e.g. with the Gauge ECM-87.
 
ProRec.com, 2001
Peggi started singing into the 87. Awesome, that classic Neumann sound that is heard on probably 90% of the records ever made. She then moved over to the C1 and sang into that. EXACTLY the same, no difference. We were all amazed.
The Studio Projects microphones have a reputation for using premium electronic components.
 
DigitalProSound, 2001
Ultimately, each of the Neumanns had a signature sound, as did the Studio Projects C1. Not even taking the price of the C1 into consideration, this mic stood up to some rather hefty opponents, and emerged as a contender. For any studio that runs out of mics quickly, or just doesn’t want to bust out the name brand mics for a generic session, it would serve them to have a pair of these around.
PCB photo: Dren MacDonald
The Studio Projects C1 is also known as: C-1.
The mic was released in 2000.

 

Yes, undoubtedly I expected more from the Shure KSM32 in comparison to the C1.Guess I buried the C1 too soon. Did some more stuff and they are very much the same. I was not looking for a a sideways upgrade but I fear that's what I have. The mic is for vocals ONLY. I record my elec and acc guitars direct using the axeFXII-beautiful results.
So I am guessing if I spent $1,000 on a mic the same would apply.
A tube preamp was mentioned to pair with the mic-is that a good choice? I can return the KSM32 if need be without penalty or fee. But where to go?
 
I could swing the AKG 414xl. Hmmm-Well Saturday will be a day of testing and comparing.
The pres in the Roland octa capture sound pretty darn good btw.

Link doesn't work

Although you are dealing w/ Sweetwater you might could find a local store that would let you "test" some vocal mics.  Or a studio - which is always a worthwhile thing.  Go down and see if they got anything that floats your boat.  It sounds like you are wanting something that sounds different in class from the C1/KS32.  Both are transformerless, I believe, large diagphram condensors.  Mabye you are wanting some iron in the mic?  There are plenty of botique  mic makers who have a LDC w/ a transformer.  Makes them darker.  But I think they ususally run over $500.  Even the russian (not chinese capsuled) Okatava 319 is close to that price.  Maybe even a ribbon.
 
Just remember that the difference won't be great, but most often the more expensive mic (or whatever) wins in the longrun.  The apochryphal stories of an sm57 being the perfect mic for a vocalist over a vintage Nueman/AKG/Telefunken etc. are just that - stories told to scare engineers around the camp fire.

Running real recordings is better than testing.  So yea, give it a try.
 
the standard addage is the closer the source the more impact the tool.  Thus a mic will have more influence than the preamp, which has more than the converter, and all of which have less to do with the sound than the performance.  My vote would be to put the money into the mic, tho I'm not sure how much more bang you are going to get for a couple of hundred extra dollars.  I know that I'm pretty sure I could hear the difference when Michael Joly modded my 319.  But I didn't really appreciate the difference between my old FirePod and new TCK 48 until I had used it for a while.  A lot of it frankly, has to do w/ your ears getting more attuned to recording or mixing. 
 
But I've learned that it is never bad to spend money on good equipement - you can go overboard, of course, but something solid like the ISA One is a great investment.  I take it you haven't tried any new preamp w/ the ksm32 but are using your interface.  I like to mix things up - transformerless w/ transformer, that kind of thing.  The Warm preamp is another solid midprice unit, but like I said above it is more vintage - thicker if that makes sense.  I've also got a pair of Warm's new preamp, the Tone Beast, which has all kinds of variables - different transformers in the output, opamps in the mic pre, etc. etc.  It is lots of fun since you can mix and match w/in the preamp.  I was recording bass w/ it last week (DI'ed) and I got a completely clean sound that worked on one sound while on the next song I put a growl into the bass using the gain/output knobs.  I mean, who knows what you'll like.  Again, your best bet is to try some stuff out yourself (you are recording your own voice, right).
 
As for the summit audio preamp - that is the one w/ the variable tube input, right? About $700?  I've heard good things - I'm sure it is a capable unit.  I must say I've never used the summit.  Some of their other stuff, yes, tho I'm not really all that familiar w/ the line.  But for that type of money ($600)and adding some variable sound the Tone Beast would be my pick - simply because I've used it - a lot.  I got a second one for sending stereo signals as well as mastering.  But I don't know if that kind of saturation is what you are looking for - the distortion you can get is better for instruments.
 
If you can't try before buying you are probably best off getting a good mic preamp and a good mic.  I've used the ISA one and like it.  I'm sure the Summit would be good, too.  But it might take a while to fine the perfect mic for you at a reasonable price - you would probably sound great w/ a vintage Neuman.  But in the meanwhile you won't be going backwards while you figure out what you want in a mic.
 
@

I see 3 options for me:
 
1. Keep KSm32 and buy $700 t0 $850 Tube mic pre That gets me the warm tone beast, Summit and another one-tube also.
2. return KSM32 and buy $1200 or so Condenser mic, maybe tube.
3. Keep My trusty old (Hardly used never abused) Sp C1 original since I cannot hear a huge difference between the 2, return KSM32 and buy a tube mic pre for my U87 clone, almost
 
Advice welcome
 

Keeping the mic and now deciding on a pre amp. Warm audio WA12 is very much in my price range I started out at. Not at Sweetwater but that's OK. Also looking at the Summit I mentioned and the Warm TB.
I can not verbalize (is that a word) what I feel is missing but I do feel that I want to be able to "color" the vocals when I feel like it.
Thanks Guys

Mojave MA200-Funny you say that because I was just going to post this:
 
New KSM32, didn't hear much difference at all compared to my Studio Proj C1 (Had the C1 for 13 years.
 
KSM32 was $500. Will $1200 to $1500 get me a vocal mic that I actually will hear a nice difference. Loud powerful voice, Kind of Bob Seger meets Roy orbison I have been told-with a touch of Van Morrison. I am tired of this back and forth Want. I have been reading the big changes come with the Mic and not the pre.
So, $1,000  -  $1500.
 Thinking AKG, Lauten, Mohave. Lauten I can charge no interest at Sweetwater-but I do not have to use Sweetwater.
 
Sorry I am all over the place here-but it took much reading, listening and googling to get to this point. The mic is the change-Tube seems better suited for me

@Rocky
 
Thanks for the input. Thing is I have a little home studio and the only recoding I do are vocals (all mine) and guitars (all mine).
 
I have been sequencing bass and drums with a keyboard for 20+ years. I have tons I have done over the years and some done by friends and band mates of old.
So the mic is for my vocals, only, nothing else. I have an AxeFXII which is a killer for recording electric or acoustic guitar.
 
Something is missing for me-and I have narrowed it down (with lots of help) to the mic.  I sound confused because I am. I'd spend $1,000+ on a mic if I knew it would be what I want-
The vocal tracks are not strong or full enough and I have a very powerful voice-for better or for worse.

I have emailed Sweetwater asking for an RMA# to return the KSM32. No matter how I try, the difference between the Shure my 12 year old SP C1 is pretty much "none".
 
So I continue on with a lesson learned. I will be ordering a Wave WA12 or the Tone beast. That way I will already have a pre amp should I outgrow my vocal mic.
 
Really leaning towards the tone Beast
 
Thanks again folks

Recent review in tape op::::
http://tapeop.com/reviews/gear/96/600800-large-diaphragm-condenser-mic/
 
http://www.monoprice.com/     amazing stuff for almost no money
 
Other reviews of monoprice thangs:
http://tapeop.com/reviews/gear/96/602700-602710-mic-clips/  mic clips
 
http://tapeop.com/reviews/gear/91/dj-style-pro-headphones-item-8323/     headphones
 
http://tapeop.com/reviews/gear/96/603410-music-mount-for-ipad/      ipad mount
 
And:::::::: very important articles about how impedance matching/mis-matching affects frequency response.
Taming the Shure (57)
Shure SM57 Impedance Modification
A simple gizmo makes a big difference
http://www.recordingmag.com/resources/resourceDetail/330.html
 
When Mikey Met Ohmy
The effect loading has on the sound of microphones...
By Paul J. Stamler
http://www.recordingmag.com/resources/resourceDetail/266.html