best microphone - top end expensive..

whats the BEST microphone that can be bought, or the industry standard, for rap vocals? been borrowing an expensive AKG one recently which i think is dope, recording through my 828 the vocals sound real nice.. been reading up reviews n stuff but i keep finding best mic for under $200 etc.. what dyou guys rock/think is the best? peace

when i say top end, lets say about £1000/ $2000

cant go wrong with Nuemann, usually between 750-1500 USD, great mics. BUT if you really wanna rock it old schol, find an old RCA ribbon Mic on e-bay, they sound absolutely amazing warm. But yeah, as far as still in production, nuemann has some out there that are awesome. BUT YOU NEED A GOOD PRE!
with that said, im goin to music go round, see what I can blow a couple hundred on.

^yessir, Neumann has some of the dopest mics. one that gets a lot of use in hiphop is the u87. i see a lot of indie cats with the tlm 103 which is like a stack, cheaper if u can buy used.
also a GOOD preamp is recommended.

neumann U87 going into an avalon 737 like 5,000 dollar pair





going into an



Best I've ever recorded with, was recomended in recording engineering/production school too.

fasttrackpimp wrote:[b][color=darkgrey]I see the sony c800gpac

Yeah, that shit is like $10G's. And it's got a **** cooling system!

^wurd i saw one at a studio in Jersey City, sh*t was crazy
i've seen them for like $4k used.
there are companies that make clones of those classics that cost crazy money for a lot less, check peluso, advanced audio mics, bees nees, etc. there are a few that mod cheap mics with better components and make them sound like crazy expensive mics
i recently bought a modded mxl v67g and it sounds super nice, check oktavamod, or jj audio mics, etc

Your mic is worthless without a great pre amp behind it. You can get better results with a inexpensive mic and a good pre as opposed to a high end mic plugged into an mbox. Food for thought....my studio has a Rode and Focusrite combo. Not "high end" or boutique however the mixes translate well at the end of the mix.

^^^^^^^
I agree. You guys named some great microphones. I have a very nice highend microphone. It is the Blue Bottle. Im selling it,but its dope and has 8 changeable capsules for it. Each capsule is modeled after a different popular vintage mic.

The Neumann U-47 is one of the best mics ever. Alot of artists use the neumann U-87 mic.

Here is a picture of the Blue Bottle. It cost $6000.

at those prices

I just use an old sm58 that I got at a garage sale for $5

pounds absolutely right. Much more important to have a nice pre amp if concerned with great mics. Also the combination of Mics and pre amps. Tube on tube is no beuno.

Also to add, There is no magic bullet. It all depends on the client or source material. Certain talent sound great on high end mics and sometimes certain talent sounds great on a 57(58). Most certainly in my opinion the U87 is more than a safe "go to" microphone. Plus the U87 sounds great on many things besides vocals.

Sony C-800G
The industry standard for Top ends Mics,also used by Dr.Dre
8900$

get a mojave ma-200 tube mic, a neve pre (great river, neve, vintage design etc) and call it a day. neumann tlm-10

i wouldn't worry about a u47 or sony c-800g.

Probably the best modern microphones can be found here: http://www.brauner-microphones.de/en/

Brauner microphones are used by top studios. Their "entry" level model starts at around 1000 pounds. See here http://www.thomann.de/gb/search_dir.html?xsid=4a37ffc49c3b82be8ae6fb583b9f1cd4&sw=&x=12&y=5&gk=MI&bn=BRAUNER

They just sound awesome!!! Wish I could afford one!

What you've gotta keep in mind is that mics come in different flavours - at the top end one might not be clearly "better" than another, just more suited to certain voices.

One theory I've heard is "mismatching" your mics ie using a harder sounding mic on a softer voice and a softer mic on a harder voice....

well good luck, if you drop a few grand you'll no doubt be happy and own a great mic!