Miking a REALLY high voice.

[Trevor B.]

An opportunity for me to record a true "coloratura" soprano was confirmed earlier today. This particular soprano can sing up in the stratosphere where even Concord jets dared not go. While not the most powerful voice in the operatic pantheon (coloraturas never are) her voice is nevertheless a good deal more powerful than most pop singers. So here's the question: what kind of mic (dynamic, LDC, SDC, etc) would folks here on the AGF recommend for this kind of voice?
Thanks,
Trevor

[donh]

My daughter can sing up that high when she feels like it. She also gets a great kick out of singing low harmony to my voice. Her fav at the moment is the Heil PR35. We tried a Beyer M201 and she loved it until we put it in a mix and it dissappeared. The Audix OM6 would be the second choice among the ones we tried. I suspect the Audix Micros series would work if the situation allowed distance mic techniques.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Trevor B.

An opportunity for me to record a true "coloratura" soprano was confirmed earlier today. This particular soprano can sing up in the stratosphere where even Concord jets dared not go. While not the most powerful voice in the operatic pantheon (coloraturas never are) her voice is nevertheless a good deal more powerful than most pop singers. So here's the question: what kind of mic (dynamic, LDC, SDC, etc) would folks here on the AGF recommend for this kind of voice?
Thanks,
Trevor

Hi Trevor b…

I prefer large diaphragm (25-26mm) condensor mics on the cardioid pattern for vocals (at about 14-18" with a wind screen), and I own two decent ones. AKG-414, and Shure KSM-44.

I tend to prefer my AKG-414 for tenors and sopranos, and my Shure KSM-44 for baritone/altos. That is not a hard/fast rule, just the starting point when I'm setting up to record.

If a voice is edgy at all (which some singers exhibit in extreme ends of their range), then the KSM-44 is smoother on the extreme high end than the AKG-414. It is likely there are other similarly priced ($800-1100 mics) which are equally good for vocals.

I capture vocal recordings them using a moderately priced ($500 range) tube preamp straight to the interface, and recorded with no tone adjustment in a dampened room (not a vocal booth).

If you don't have access to gear, is possible you could rent mics/preamps to record with as opposed to purchasing gear.

[Bob Womack]

I regularly get the opportunity to record lyric sopranos, those with a higher 'tessitura" or general range than the typical coloratura sopranos. In fact, my own wife is a lyric, and has given me some experience in that. Like Larry, I tend to favor a large-diaphragm condenser mics for the job. The AKG C414 is a good choice. I don't have access to the Shure KSM44 but Larry's experience is a good bet.

I do have access to other mics. I favor the Neumann TLM170 for that sort of voice, but it is a bit expensive. In lower price ranges, the new Rode NT-1 (without the "A") has a refined but moderated upper end when compared to the previous NT-1A model and has a lovely sound.

The main thing you need to do is to get outside of the proximity zone so you can get some "air" without tipped-up bass, but you want a mellow, pretty mic to reduce the "hair" if the voice has some. My wife's voice, for example, runs at least an octave higher than the typical coloratura and is very pure (no "hair" or overtones) but has lots of "air" to it. I usually have to manage the upper-mids a touch.

Have fun with it and enjoy learning!

Bob

[Trevor B.]

Originally Posted by donh

My daughter can sing up that high when she feels like it. She also gets a great kick out of singing low harmony to my voice. Her fav at the moment is the Heil PR35. We tried a Beyer M201 and she loved it until we put it in a mix and it dissappeared. The Audix OM6 would be the second choice among the ones we tried. I suspect the Audix Micros series would work if the situation allowed distance mic techniques.

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi Trevor b…

I prefer large diaphragm (25-26mm) condensor mics on the cardioid pattern for vocals (at about 14-18" with a wind screen), and I own two decent ones. AKG-414, and Shure KSM-44.

I tend to prefer my AKG-414 for tenors and sopranos, and my Shure KSM-44 for baritone/altos. That is not a hard/fast rule, just the starting point when I'm setting up to record.

If a voice is edgy at all (which some singers exhibit in extreme ends of their range), then the KSM-44 is smoother on the extreme high end than the AKG-414. It is likely there are other similarly priced ($800-1100 mics) which are equally good for vocals.

I capture vocal recordings them using a moderately priced ($500 range) tube preamp straight to the interface, and recorded with no tone adjustment in a dampened room (not a vocal booth).

If you don't have access to gear, is possible you could rent mics/preamps to record with as opposed to purchasing gear.

Thanks, Don and Larry. I probably should have mentioned that my mic collection, though not big enough to call a locker yet, includes a couple of dynamic mikes, one LDC, a stand alone SDC and a couple of matched pairs of SDCs. Anna (the soprano) will be singing to guitar accompaniment. My recording room is small but fully treated acoustically (wall panels, clouds, full height corner bass traps and a pair of free standing gobos).
So Don, you're recommending dynamic mikes while Larry is clearly stating a preference for condensers. That's really the meat of my question. In the final analysis we can simply try tracking the same material with different mikes and pick our favourite but it's always useful to get input from people with more experience.
Larry-you mentioned that the Shure KSM-44 has a smooth high end. Sounds like that would be a good match for a "coloratura". Yes???

[Trevor B.]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

I regularly get the opportunity to record lyric sopranos, those with a higher 'tessitura" or general range than the typical coloratura sopranos. In fact, my own wife is a lyric, and has given me some experience in that. Like Larry, I tend to favor a large-diaphragm condenser mics for the job. The AKG C414 is a good choice. I don't have access to the Shure KSM44 but Larry's experience is a good bet.

I do have access to other mics. I favor the Neumann TLM170 for that sort of voice, but it is a bit expensive. In lower price ranges, the new Rode NT-1 (without the "A") has a refined but moderated upper end when compared to the previous NT-1A model and has a lovely sound.

The main thing you need to do is to get outside of the proximity zone so you can get some "air" without tipped-up bass, but you want a mellow, pretty mic to reduce the "hair" if the voice has some. My wife's voice, for example, runs at least an octave higher than the typical coloratura and is very pure (no "hair" or overtones) but has lots of "air" to it. I usually have to manage the upper-mids a touch.

Have fun with it and enjoy learning!

Bob

Thanks for the input, Bob. At present my only LDC is a Miktek CV4 and I love it for my own voice. Given that I'm an aging dude who can still sing tenor but don't mind anymore if I don't have to, it occurs to me that my Miktek may be a bit too warm and fuzzy for the soprano coming in. I looked up the Neumann
you recommended but it's a bit pricey, at least for the time being. Before I bought the Miktek I went to several local retailers and recorded some very brief tracks of the same a cappella excerpt using a different mike for each track. A Neumann TLM 103 and an AKG 414 were among the prospective mikes along with the aforementioned Miktek. At the time I was looking for a microphone to record my own voice. That said, the Neumann was my second choice and by quite a wide margin. It had really great clarity and balance, but lacked the warmth of the Miktek. I'm thinking that maybe renting the Neumann TLM 103 for the session(s) might be worthwhile.
Thanks again for your input. Much appreciated!

[Michi]

Trevor,

if possible / in the budget, try to rent a TLM67. It has a better capsule, and to me sounds much smoother in higher frequencies without hiding something. It has a kind of "intimacy" and 3D-sound (yes, I know its impossible because its mono) that is hard to describe. Perhaps "silky" is a good description, in comparison to the TLM 103

Michi

[Bob Womack]

Yep, the high end of the dual-diaphragm mics such as the U-47, U-67, TLM-170, and TLM-67 are prettier than the single diaphragm mics.

Bob