New mics for around a thousand.

I've started recording with a new female vocalist.  I would like to pick up a mic for around a thousand bucks.  The only problem is I know nothing about mics.  All my guitar stuff runs directly into my DAW.  Is anyone willing to give me a run down on what's what.  What I should be looking for when I read the specs and which brands are good?  Those types of questions.
 
Chris

WHATEVER you buy, I'd urge you to think about buying in pairs.  Once you start using microphones, you'll undoubtedly want to start recording in stereo...an acoustic, a piano, percussion, etc.

That being said, there are many microphones in the $500 range that would allow you to:
1: Record your vocalist
2: Be ready for a decent stereo setup with a couple of similar mics

That being said, there is absolutley no way you go wrong with Bat's suggestion of the Bock 195 or the MA-200.  Hopefully you've got a preamp worthy of these mics?

lots of choices here:

http://forum.cakewalk.com/tm.aspx?m=1866022

CDsymphony


I've started recording with a new female vocalist.  I would like to pick up a mic for around a thousand bucks.  The only problem is I know nothing about mics.  All my guitar stuff runs directly into my DAW.  Is anyone willing to give me a run down on what's what.  What I should be looking for when I read the specs and which brands are good?  Those types of questions.
 
Chris

What is her voice like ? Is it bluesy and smooth or does it get shrill in places ?  In some cases a mic can make shrill worse and you end up with what I call beaming.  If she has a fairly smooth voice a condensor is good. I would suggest the Shure KSM-44.  If her voice can get shrill or squeeky on some notes a good dynamic mic might work better.  A Shure SM7 and a Grace m101 preamp should give good results.

I would suggest the Grace m101 when buying your first good preamp.  It is super clean with lots of gain, even enough for a ribbon mic.  Speaking of ribbons they tend to cut down the shrillness but you also lose the "air" in most cases.

One more thing you can do for shrillness is to teach her to work the mic. Back off and/or go off axis on the problem notes to the mic picks up the sound with a different tone. That can smooth out a vocal.  However, this takes skill and you also have to be a person who would admit you have problem notes in the first place... it's not easy on the ego when recording I'll tell you that, but you will come out a better singer and performer if you listen and learn.

Dave King


You should get a good mic AND a good preamp.

+1
 
Based on your current experience level with mics, you don't need a $1000 mic, IMO.  If you've got a $1000 to spend, get a nice pre-amp for around $500 (suggestion: PreSonus Eureka) and there are plenty of excellent condensor mics for under $500.

I would suggest the Grace m101

 
Don't I need a dual input preamp to record in stereo