Sennheiser - MD 441 U

441 is my favourite mic but fuck those clips.

I would do the 414 over the 103 because a hypercardioid setting can be super useful in an untreated or partially treated room. You'll probably have to De-ess in post but recording with a bright condenser mic and de-essing in post has been standard practice in pro studios for like 50 years. But with that budget I'd also look into Sennhesier MD441. One of the nicest sounding dynamic mics ever made and incredibly tight pickup pattern/room rejection. Blows the SM7b out of the water IMO.

Beyerdynamic M88 on kick out, sennheiser 441 on snare top. I get pissed when I encounter a kit where I can't fit the 441 in on snare. Its delicious and is amazing for hat rejection.

MD441 and a solid preamp

I used a 441 on a Sony TCD5M cassette recorder to record John Doan’s harp guitar for an NPR piece. The editor called me to ask what mic I used because how fabulous it sounded. Love those mics!

The 441 is the one great vocal mic Sennheiser makes. That’s right, I said the 441. Stevie Nicks, Frank Zappa, David Bowie and Elton John agree. https://preview.redd.it/2blyb8xae3ue1.jpeg?width=1164&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0113ac2bc3d73949e72896600a6a55923afddeb5

If I find a vocal is sounding way too bright on usual LDCs I quite like trying an md441

You should then get an MD441. The best, and most condenser-like dynamic mic.

It'll depend on your voice but if you want a high end dynamic with more detail than the sm7b take a look at a Sennheiser 441

MD 441 - HOWEVER, aesthetics are superb, so the looks have a heavy weighting on its price (most of the weighting). From looks alone, this is hard to beat. Even the slightly less-featured yet *sonically-identical* BF 541 is not as cool (and as such, is cheaper, due to aesthetics). The thing is- since MD 441’s release in *fucking 1971*- there are a lot of dynamic mics that can give the same sense of fast transient response and condenser-like crispness. Most affordable I know of is sE V7. And yes- hits were recorded with the MD 441, but that’s also what you’re paying for. So if you’re on the fence— should you pay the price for mostly aesthetics? If you have the money- YES. Otherwise- fuuuck no.