Neumann - UMT70S

AT4047 is nice, but I think an AT4050 is even better. If you really want a U87 sound, get a Gefell UMT70S.

>If you really want a U87 sound, get a Gefell UMT70S. They're just wonderful mics. Love 'em to bits. Silky top end, it's elevated but never too bright. Switch to figure 8 or Omni and they're flat. Great capsule and electronics. Their size belies their abilities.

While not every mic is for every voice, I have found the umt-70s (I own it) on my voice, to be extremely present, with a very detailed, pleasing mid-range push.

I came here to say this. This mic is amazing!

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?