Character/vintage vocal mics under £1000

[grahamgrant]

Yup, another one of those what’s the best mic threads! I’m looking for a general purpose vocal mic and have up to £1000 to spend - looking for something with a distinct vintage vibe to it, but don’t want one of the usual u87/u67/u47 clones. Happy to buy second hand, but needs to be available in the UK. Thank you!

[Aled Hughes]

I’ve never tried one, but the SOS review of the Sontronics Aria rather piqued my interest- perhaps worth trying out?

The LDC I have most experience of in that price range is the Austrian Audio OC818, which is great but not particularly ‘vintage’ sounding (though can mean different things to different people!)

[Drew Stephenson]

Maybe consider a ribbon mic? Lots of decent contenders in the £600 - £1000 bracket.

[zenguitar]

JZ Microphones just slip in to this bracket.

https://intshop.jzmic.com/collections/all-products

However, periodically they have very good sales. And if you have already purchased mics and registered you get regular offers for 50% off (or a little more) on future purchases.

I have a four of their mics. And all purchased direct at the offer prices. Haven't had much use for any mics recently, but they are very well reviewed and well made.

Andy

[Tomás Mulcahy]

Audio Technica 4033a does the bright vintage vocal mic thing really well (that was the design intent). It is more flattering on voice than its multi-pattern relative the AT4050 in cardioid.

[Aled Hughes]

Maybe consider a ribbon mic? Lots of decent contenders in the £600 - £1000 bracket.

Good call. Studiocare often have b-stock AEA R84s for under £1000 - it’s how I got my pair. They have one currently. The R92 also comes in under budget, which perhaps might be better suited for close vocal work. I only have experience with the R84 but from what I understand, the R92 is similar but with better controlled proximity effect.

[Hugh Robjohns]

Yes, the R92 is specifically designed for closer working. Plus, the front and rear have distinctly different tonalities — a brighter side and a darker side. They are very versatile.

[Tim Gillett]

No disrespect intended to anyone but what do people mean when they speak of "character" and "vintage" in relation to sound?

[Arpangel]

I'd get this,

https://makenoiseproaudio.co.uk/collect ... dio-set-13

I know, it’s above budget, but its’s worth reaching out for, it holds its price, you can make it sound "vintage" whatever that is with any post processing.
Don’t mess about, one decent mic in your studio is an essential purchase.
If money is that much of an issue, this takes some beating,

https://kmraudio.com/products/vanguard- ... ne-b-stock

I couldn’t believe how good this sounds, for the money, a fave of Hip-Hop guys as it has a very up-front, "present" sound, not OTT, just a great intimate realistic type sound.

[jaminem]

No disrespect intended to anyone but what do people mean when they speak of "character" and "vintage" in relation to sound?

My interpretation
Character: saturated or mildly distorted, with an ‘unflat’ frequency response - usually a bump in low or high mids

Vintage: a not massively extended top end.

[Tomás Mulcahy]

No disrespect intended to anyone but what do people mean when they speak of "character" and "vintage" in relation to sound?

"For those who haven't heard a 4033, both it and the newer 4033a produce a warm, flattering sound which somehow combines the solidarity of a really good dynamic mic with the transparency and detail of a top‑end capacitor model. There's a flattering fullness to the sound, which goes some way towards emulating the sound of a tube mic, although it falls just short of the real thing — tube mics often sound a little compressed, for some reason. However, if you make use of a tube mic preamp, or pass the signal through a channel with a tube processor in circuit, you can get very close indeed to vintage perfection."
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/au ... ca-at4033a

[progger]

I'm a fan of both the AEA mics and the AT4033 already mentioned. I've also been very good things about the JZ mics lately – I understand they may have suffered from some QC issues in the past but those may have been largely sorted out, reputable people have been really liking them recently. I've never tried one personally, though.

But I do want to give a shout-out to a very, very good lower-cost mic maker who does the "vintage character" thing extremely well. And that's 3U Audio, the company that makes capsules for a lot of boutique mic makers, but he also makes his own mics and they're excellent for the price. I have one of his "Warbler MKID" models, aiming for an original U87i sound, and I still like it quite a bit even with much more expensive mics at my disposal.

His model descriptions are a bit confusing, but here's my understanding of his "Warbler" model numbers:

MKI and MKII: Neumann-family sound, MKI is K67 and MKII is K47
MKIII, IV, V: AKG-family sound, CK12-style capsules
MKVI: More modern Neumann/K67 sound (Sony C800g or U87ai)

[grahamgrant]

Thanks all for the suggestions: I already have an at4033a which is lovely, so something that would offer a different flavour would be good. Also have some low cost ribbons, but am hankering for a tube multi pattern, but frozen with indecision!

[tea for two]

hankering for a tube multi pattern, but frozen with indecision

There's a fair amount to choose from.
https://www.soundonsound.com/search/art ... ion%3A6970
Understandable you are frozen with indecision.

Start of this year there was a thread on ere forum to help choose between 8 different microphones for vocal : voice recording from each was provided.
My first choice from those 8 was a ribbon.
My 2nd choice was this tube multi pattern.
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/subzero-sz-v12c

[progger]

I'll also say – if I were in the market for a good-quality but lower-cost tube mic, specifically, my top specimen to investigate would probably be the Vanguard V13. That's a very cool company. Genuine geeks who are obsessed with what they do. Compared to other tube mics in that price range, they seem to hold up well in professional situations, too: the Warm Audio mics often sound good but have components fail within a few years. Vanguard seems to have their QC in excellent shape, by comparison, and they simply produce fewer mics. Respectable folks, from what I can see.

[Arpangel]

I'll also say – if I were in the market for a good-quality but lower-cost tube mic, specifically, my top specimen to investigate would probably be the Vanguard V13. That's a very cool company. Genuine geeks who are obsessed with what they do. Compared to other tube mics in that price range, they seem to hold up well in professional situations, too: the Warm Audio mics often sound good but have components fail within a few years. Vanguard seems to have their QC in excellent shape, by comparison, and they simply produce fewer mics. Respectable folks, from what I can see.

The Vanguard mic's just sound good, you can tell that straight away, they’ve got it right, well worth the money.

[Drew Stephenson]

They've got a B-stock multi-pattern tube mic on their site at the moment that stretches the OP's budget by just a bit: https://shop.vanguardaudiolabs.com/prod ... er-b-stock

[Arpangel]

There's a V4 here that’s in budget.

https://kmraudio.com/products/vanguard ... ne-b-stock

If he doesn’t take it I will.

[tea for two]

If can't afford a Bentley get a Vanguard. Cause looks like Vanguard copied Bentley logo lol.

I'd like to hear what this £1.4K Vanguard V13 tube multipattern gives over £200 SubZero SZ V12C tube multipattern.

[Drew Stephenson]

I'd like to hear what this £1.4K Vanguard V13 tube multipattern gives over £200 SubZero SZ V12C tube multipattern.

Possibly it's what it doesn't give you, i.e. that whispery over-tone that James P and Tomás M identified from the Sub-Zero on the vocal recordings thread from a while back.
Which does remind me that I need to audition a 4033 at some point.

[James Perrett]

I'd like to hear what this £1.4K Vanguard V13 tube multipattern gives over £200 SubZero SZ V12C tube multipattern.

I must admit that, from the outside, the one that Tony linked to earlier does look a bit like it has been put together from standard Chinese parts but most mics in that style are valve mics so I'd guess that they use their own electronics.

The trouble with the cheap tube mics is build quality and inconsistency. You may find one that sounds great while the next one will sound different. The late SimonZ from this forum was an expert on taking these cheap mics and making them as good as they could be if they had been built with the attention to detail that someone like Neumann would give them.

[James Perrett]

Which does remind me that I need to audition a 4033 at some point.

I tried a 4050 the other week and was impressed. It was one of SimonZ's mics so I don't know if it had been modified from standard.

[tea for two]

hankering for a tube multi pattern, but frozen with indecision

Although not multipattern Lewitt Pure Tube won 2024 SoS readers choice awards.
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/20 ... ds-results
Review.
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/le ... -pure-tube
"promises valve tone without the noise."

Essential set or Studio set either are well under your £1K mark.

[jxnWHITE]

I've got 3 of the JZs, use them all the time, great workhorses. The most "non-vintage emulation" might be the BB-29, but it can be a bit on the bright side. The United Studios Technology Twin 87 is more than just an 87 clone with two different and very usable voicings (and a boat anchor of a transformer). I like this one.

The Vanguard V13 and Chandler Type L are next on my list.

[alexis]

Audio Technica 4033a does the bright vintage vocal mic thing really well (that was the design intent). It is more flattering on voice than its multi-pattern relative the AT4050 in cardioid.

I have the 4033a, and certainly no complaints (though I'm surprised/amused I own something that it is in a conversation about character/vintage sounding mics!), but I was wondering if you could tell me what you mean "flattering on voice" please ... thanks in advance if you're still reading this!