TLM 170 R

Ur first and only mistake was using the tlm 103 for vocals, shit is the KING of creating sibilance issues Try an Austrian Audio OC818, around the same price as a 103, and it's bright too, but without any of the trashness. If you wanna spend double, Nordic Audio Labs NU 24k is genuinely amazing and might be the best vocal mic on the market. It's up there, and it's only like $1800ish. Or if you want a duller, darker sound, Audio Technica AT 4047 or Neumann U89i/TLM 170R/TLM 193. Using dark mics isn't bad. You have eq lol, just make it brighter in post. But you can't really fix a shitty sounding bright recording from a bright mic once it's recorded.

In order, I’d try- Backing off the mic a bit Making sure I wasn’t blowing up the 1073 too much Doing less gain reduction with the CL-1B Swapping out the 1073 for something really clean **Trying a more neutral mic like a TLM-170** Trying a bunch of neutral mics including dynamics and ribbons

When I think workhorse, I think original U87s. If you like your U67s but not those, there's a good chance you just don't like the solid state sound. You might get more from a modern 'clean' valve mic, like an M149 or Lauten Eden. Still, there's some solid state LDCs that are worth trying. * Original C414s are real workhorses (Comb, EB, C412s) - but they've gone very expensive for what they are. Some swear by their C414 ULSs, but ours never won a shootout on vocals. Skip anything newer than the TLIIs. * U89s / TLM170s are good if you want something modern / neutral. They're the opposite side of the scale to your M49 - but do their thing very well. * Some people really love the Soyuz 017 - but its capsule is a k87 copy, so the FET version could be too similar to the U87 for your tastes. * I haven't tried the newer Gefell stuff, but a producer brought his MV-692s in (with M62 capsules), and they sounded beautiful. Really, anything old with a nickel capsule is worth trying for vocals. They have a smoothness and 'air' that's often lacking in FET mics. But before going out and renting a bunch of mics, try some of your SDCs. They get overlooked a lot these days, but you'd be surprised how great they can sound on vocals. Often they do the "cut through a dense mix" thing better than a FET LDC.

I’ve heard plenty of TLM 170s, they’re often the standard on scoring stages for big orchestral recording for feature films. They’re incredibly transparent and the only thing that differentiates them from the cheaper TLM series microphones is that they have a ton of added electronics such as multiple polar patterns, filters, and a pad. The more of that stuff that is added to a mic build, the more expensive it’s gonna be to manufacture. My comment still stands true, you can find mics at that same price that have way more character. And you can find mics at half the price that sound cooler, in my opinion. They aren’t “poorly” made at all, they’re just not worth the money. And I would consider that in the “overrated” category.

I am working for a radio station in germany and we have 8 „vintage“ U87 i use to hear for 13 years now. I have problems with eq-ing them. I prefer TLM 170 for now. But sometimes its the only right mic, but often the bass does not roll off „correctly“ for me. Its a mess sometimes