Curious about your 87s? Are they original or reissue? Cuz the new 'ai' versions suck on vocal, but the originals are amazing. It's such a difference I'm mad that they didn't change the name.
That being said, don't sleep on the 47fet. Take that thing off your kick drum and use it on anything else cuz it slays.
If cost isn’t an issue the Neumann U87ai is industry standard for voice work.
Neumann also reissued their U 47 FET microphone which is relatively clean and handles big/deep voices very well.
I’m a also a big fan of Brauner mics for a cleaner more neutral sound and the Myburgh M1 for a richer “Neumann” flavor.
Your technique, vocal delivery, and the sound of your room are as important as the mic.
I’d reach out to a reputable dealer where you can try two or three different high-end mics in your space to compare.
Yeah. I’ve done a lot of studio work and they are almost never used. 414s are way more popular. FET47 is the real go to for that kind of mic. When you have access to KM86s, 54s, U47s, etc. the 87 doesn’t leave the drawer very often.
Fet 47 is essentially a non tube U47 and basically the original 87. I’ve heard United Studios makes a good clone.
Neumann KM86 is a side address small diaphragm FET condenser. Very popular on acoustic guitar. Has multiple patterns, fig8, omni. All around cool mic. Probably hard to find a clone or something comparable these days.
Neumann KM54 is another side address small diaphragm. It is tube. I believe it shares the same capsule as a KM84. A fun mic. Probably not going to find any modern mics like this one either. ATM450 is a good sounding SDC that is side address, but I wouldn’t put it in the same league as the previous 2.
Sennheiser MK4 is my favorite <$500 mic. Very natural sounding.
Yeah. I’ve done a lot of studio work and they are almost never used. 414s are way more popular. FET47 is the real go to for that kind of mic. When you have access to KM86s, 54s, U47s, etc. the 87 doesn’t leave the drawer very often.
An old 414 (brass ck12 capsule type) can be pretty great. For modern and bright be JZ black hole is amazing and handles sibilance well. I also love a fet 47 on vocals particularly male rock vocals.
87s already very hard to get right. i despise the 87uis, and never heard an 87 i liked to record with til i got to use a real vintage one. even then i preferred a 67 or 47. I think moreso the 87 is the outlier here because the wa251 is amazing too. dont expect it to be a full 251 sound but if u supplement it itb you can achieve the same sound. which is the purpose of WA mics. get you as close as you can in your budget then supplement from there.
also for the youngsters i think its a great way to familiarize yourself with “mic sounds” on a budget. Need to go in knowing its not the real thing but very few get to work with a c800g, vintage 47, or anything above 10k without having great working knowledge.
Top External Microphones on Reddit
1
Shure
SM58
79% positive of 377 users
Indestructible live workhorse; but muffled for studio vocals.
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