There are many best value microphones out there. If someone paid $12,000 for a great sounding U47 and because of that it brought in $180,000 worth of business in the first five years I would say that would qualify. Personally, I chose four microphones for my studio that I felt were the best value and that would cover the greatest amount of ground. I'll list them and give a very brief explanation of why I picked them. I will first agree that the sm57 is the iconic utility microphone that is a must have in every studio. That said, ...

Gefell UMT70S: One of the two that I bought new. I have used U87's both old and new and when I listened to my voice with the UMT70S I heard almost the same thing but only better. It is wonderful on everything I have put it on, great on my voice with omni as well as figure 8, I can capture mid/side and also get up close and personal in omni without any proximity effect. It costs over $1000 less than the 87, and for me an amazing value.

Gefell m930: I bought it used for about half the price of new in perfect new condition. I love this microphone for percussion, acoustic guitar, cello, background vocals. What I find very special about this mic is it's off axis response combined with it's long reaching proximity effect (just the opposite of the UMT70S which I can get close to without rattling the walls) which gives me sooo many choices with mic placement to vary the sound of anything. I can rattle my keys at 45° and 2 feet away for instance and the highs are super sweet, not broken glass shattering harsh.

Audio Technical 4051b: I got this older original without the pad version for cheap cheap. When I want a guitar, be it steel string or nylon to take the reigns in the upper frequencies in the mix and not have to eq, then this is what I reach for as the transients are captured without harshness. Think the sound of Cat Stevens guitar then you'll know what I mean. It makes a nice mid to the UMT's side.

Electro Voice RE20: When I first started getting back to recording five years ago this was the first mic I bought because it is just a great microphone and it works on so many sources, and at the time my room wasn't at all treated, and for all this mic knows, I could be in Abby Road Studios the rejection is so great for close mic'd sources. I prefer it on my voice over the SM7b and the Sennheiser 441. With the rolloff switched out it is magnificent on deep percussion as well as...on just about everything. Because the RE20 needs about 60db of gain to live up to its potential, I always use a Triton Fethead as the extra 27db of clean gain let's this mic shine for vocals and other quieter sources. For congas or kicks the pad in the preamp enables creative use of gain staging, letting me choose how much color to paint with.

There you go.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Sep 28, 2016

Lewitt LCT940 or Slate VMS. $1600 and $1000 respectively, but easily the best VALUE for a microphone in terms of flexibility and performance.

 

Ive got bot the NT-1A and the TLM-103 both are great quality mics..really worth the bucks

 

I did some blind tests with a number of owned and borrowed mics 15 or maybe even 20 years ago, and for vocals (my voice) I liked the Studio Projects C1, so I bought a couple. Since then I've also bought a T1, which doesn't get much use, and a pair of C3's which are magic on accoustic.
Check out the SOS reviews on the C1, it might sway you.

 

Audio Technica AT2035

 

It was a sad, sad day when I had to sell my original Rode Classic way back in 1996. Paired with an old Joe Meek VC1 it was sooooo freaking great, the vocals sitting perfectly out in front of the mix. Actually, anything and everything, from tenor sax to flute, acoustic guitars and as a room mic for drums was gorgeous. I would love to duplicate that chain one day.

 

Yes to the Rode NT1-A .. been using one for years for broadcast and corporate voice-overs. The only slight problem with the Rode is that is is a little too sensitive to atmos sounds, I mean it's so good it picks everything up. One side question. What mics do performers use on stage for gigs? And are they cheaper? Does a lot of post work go into making live vocals sound so good on albums? Do any artists use the same mics on stage as in the studio?

 

Thankful :-

One side question. What mics do performers use on stage for gigs? Pretty much always dynamic mics.
And are they cheaper? Yep.
Does a lot of post work go into making live vocals sound so good on albums? Normally yes, occasionally no.
Do any artists use the same mics on stage as in the studio? Rarely.

 

Last edited: Sep 28, 2016

the warbler MK1 from 3u is in the same ballpark as the lewitt for a fraction of the price and it even sounds very similar. but the lewit is tube and fet mic where the warbler is fet only but with a very nice transformer circuit and all high quality parts and the warbler has 3 different voicings in one mic. and imho sound wise they are comparable despite their huge price difference. (i think warbler with different directional characteristics is around 350$)
the slate i have read many very positive reviews but also some that say they clearly hear the cheap highs that are the problem of most cheap condensers. i havent got into it myself so i cannot comment on that one but it might be really good. that said im more interested in Sphere from Townsend Labs as it has some features that i think are very very usefull and unique and that slate is lacking like controlling the proximity effect and other really cool stuff. also the presentation of the thing is (to me) more professional and not so hyped up like slates product. but all thats just imho of course.

 

Last edited: Sep 28, 2016

I have one and I can't make it work for my voice. I guess i have a muddy voice because I always have to scoop out !50hz and add a bunch of top end to hear me

 

These are some serious mics bro ! I bought 1 of the Gefell UMT70S used from a studio that closed down years ago but this is a seriously top of the line piece of kit. I didnt even really know how good this mic was untill i used it in a recording project an wow its a beautiful piece forsure ;) The Electro Voice RE20 is another one i purchased from the same studio an also a pair of Neumann KM84i mics that i would never part with lol ... I bought 2 Heil PR40's and 2 Royer R121's that are some of my favorite mics to use on pretty much anything... All these where used kit tho so i got good deal on the lot ;) some other mics i have are from Sterling, Beyer, Sennheiser, Cad, Audio Technica, Shure, Audix an some others but they all have and get their use ;)

 

For xtra 50 bucks for the Nt1A Rode try the Studio Projects C1, its identical to the U87 Neuman, best bang for the buck I had a rode Nt1a and sold it it was to tinny
bright rather ive tried a lot and the C1 Studio Projects hands down the best Mic Around

 

I feel the same way every time I remember mine. I wish I never had to part with it. the quality and weight it gives to the sound is excellent.
I am sure you had to struggle to find the right shock mount. That thing was too heavy

 

some best budget LDC

Stellar CM6, CM5, CAD M179, Studio Projects CS5, MXL V67g, MXL 2003

others :

Shure SM7B. Shure SM57, 58, Betas, Line Audio OM1 SDC, Blonde SDC, Golden Age Ribbon, Cascade Fathead II w/Xfmr

 

Last edited: Sep 30, 2016

ive heard the c1 is a decent mic for its price. but its nowhere near identical to the u87.

 

+1 for the stellars. they are serious mics. but they where more bang for the buck when they came out. i think the c6 was 350$. but since those warblers were released i would go for one of those.

 

Agreed on the 3U mics, from what I've been hearing. I think that I might have to try one out.

Yeah, the Stellar still gets used here!

 

Has anyone used the 'new' Rode NT1, the black one without the 'A' (and stupidly named after the old NT1)
I don't get why a company keeps confusing costumers with a totally stupid naming scheme, but some say that new NT1 doesn't have the harshness of the NT1A.

 

Yes, even new the UMT70S is a great bargain as well as all of the Gefell line. I had auditioned the Neumann 102, 103, 107 and the m930. The Gefell ate them all for lunch. I liked the 102 over the 103 and 107. Just holding them in my hand I can feel the quality ooze out of all the Gefell's sweet aural pores.

 

It was so amazingly present that I remember being actually afraid to use it, true story. I had bought a heavy duty mic stand and bought a pair of sandbags for the base so it wouldn't tip over. I didn't use a shock mount but rather rolled it off on the board before going into the Alesis ADAT. I NEVER use a pop filter. If I need to be that close I aim away from the capsule. I dislike what a pop/windscreen does to the sound. I have recently bought a Rycote InVision pop filter that fits onto the Rycote shock mounts that I use for when and if someone else sings through my mics. I don't want them spitting all over the capsules and shortening their lives if they have not the technique to do otherwise.