Female vocal mic choice

[LevinGuitar]

Hi! Can I ask for your advice on a budget diy mic for a thin and airy female voice like Mariah Carey in "My All"?
If I go in the 87 way, would the "ai" (160pf) work or it could be too dark?
Or maybe a Rode capsule with less highs?

I have no way to try it by myself (on the singer) to find the best option.

Thanks!

 

[Electrobumps]

I'm currently mixing a session with a budget mic on the guest vocal. I've attached a picture of my filters to show you how much top end I am removing to get this to sit in the mix properly.

I prefer adding top end to a mic rather than cutting it. I can choose what curve and style of EQ I add. Rather than removing super hyped top ends in many modern and not always budget mics.

If you have the budget for an 87 it will be a real asset to your recording chain and is a super versatile mic. It will also retain value.

Regardless of mic type you can get to this place with the correct EQ curve. The vocalist and other elements of the mix will ultimately determine your EQ curve.

Compression such as an 1176 can add top end especially the blue face (same in the plugin world) and of course reverb will help create and add air and brightness.

 

[LevinGuitar]

Well, the user as far I know is using a usb mic, so no much eq is goona be applied, I would like to set the curve of the mic as best as posible to use little and easy eq. I was thinking of a diy one matching the curve of the U87, not an original Neumann mic. And don't know if the actual AI version is a good mic for that kind of voice. Thank you!

 

[Whoops]

I was thinking of a diy one matching the curve of the U87, not an original Neumann mic. And don't know if the actual AI version is a good mic for that kind of voice. Thank you!

Any U87 will be good being it Ai or non-Ai, it doesn't matter, both are good.
Build a clone and have fun, it's a great microphone

 

[Whoops]

I prefer adding top end to a mic rather than cutting it. I can choose what curve and style of EQ I add. Rather than removing super hyped top ends in many modern and not always budget mics.

For sure.
It's much easier to solve something that it's slightly dark and you just need to brighten it up a little bit than trying to remove all the nasty frequency peaks in over-bright microphones.
Also if you use a compressor between the Mic Pre and the A/D converter, the compressor will even make that nasty sibilant peaks worse. (Sibilance is now closer to the highest peaks, so it increased sibilance problems)

When you try to correct it with EQ in the DAW after, you have will have already a bigger problem than just the what the mic gave.