Neumann - M 49

For finger picking, either the 67 or 49 into the TG2. If it needed comp or EQ, 73E and the Hazelrigg (mainly because I wanna hear that thing...love Fearn's gear, so i assume their stuff will be good too). But I also feel like I could pick gear out of a hat with that list and be pretty happy with any combo that came out. Edited to add, if the guitarist requested stereo, I'd go with the R88. I tend to prefer mono acoustics myself though.

That’s pretty fair. I find pretty much everything lacking on vocals when up against a really good 251, 47, or M49

Dude, with a setup like that I’d just have fun experimenting. If it were me, I’d probably start with a couple combos just to see what kind of character comes out: * Royer 121 + U67 blend: Put the 121 around the 12th fret, 8–12” out for warmth/body, then pull the U67 back a bit off-axis to grab articulation + room. Pan or blend to taste. Ribbons keep it smooth, condenser keeps the detail. * AEA R88 as a main stereo capture: About chest height, angled down at the guitar. It’ll give you a natural stereo image and gorgeous midrange. Then spot mic with a small diaphragm (your 260’s) if you want more definition. * Might even throw a Coles 4038 in a weird spot, like pointing up toward the bridge from low, and pair it with something brighter (M49 or even the C800G) to see what textures you get. On the chain side, I’d probably keep it simple: Neve 1073 into a Rev D 1176, just catching a dB or two for some snap. Or maybe TG2 into a Pultec for that extra mid sparkle. If I wanted a little grit, parallel comp through the Fatso could be cool.

Those are great for shows/touring. But for vocals, you definitely want a condenser. I used the MXL for years, and then I got a VERY good deal on Amazon on a Neumann.

I have an mxl condenser mic that works well, but just bought a Neumann condenser mic off Amazon. In the studio, they always said they used the $4k Neumann on me. Not sure that it is a knock off, but supposedly the same one Billie eillish uses and it sounds great. Under $400.

It matters massively and you’ll see that with experience your ears will learn to recognise the difference. It doesn’t matter how much you process a 57, it won’t compare to a Neumann, no matter what you do to it. It might sound cool in a different way, but you won’t get the high fidelity of a top notch condenser, if that’s the sound you’re going for. Think about this: If you go for an “expensive” vocal sound and have a U 87 and maybe a nice compressor, you won’t need to process it much, maybe a bit of eq and some reverb / delay. In that case you’d be MIXing. If you have a 57, you’ll have to use a ton of processing to make it sound more “expensive”. You’ll have to use multiple compressors, color eqs, cut resonances, etc. in that case you would be FIXing. Makes sense?