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.
I use a Neumann U87ai
If I only had £150 --- I'd pick up a 2nd hand AKG C2000b or an ADK Vienna Edition
very good quality for the money
you'll need phantom power though
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.
I don’t think it sounds bad rather but there’s mics considerable cheaper that sound just as good. I never use mine but just keep it in the studio cause I know some people think they’re great. I just can’t think of anything I’d use it for before another mic. I don’t mind spending money on a mic - I love my U67’s (my favourite mic) but I think the U87ai is a very boring, overly bright sound that feels too pokey for me. It’s just a fine back up mic if all the others a being used already. Once it’s gone through some tube stuff it sounds much better but I just don’t get the hype at all…
Heard a lot of good things about the Soyuz 017s though! Thinking about replacing mine for one of them… the get one sounds great and the tube sounds even better!
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.
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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