Warm Audio W87 vs Aston Spirit?

[BoneDigger]

I already own an Aston Spirit and a Shure SM7b. Would a Warm W87 add anything that the other two won't give me? I am mostly concerned with male vocals (mine). Thoughts?

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

I already own an Aston Spirit and a Shure SM7b. Would a Warm W87 add anything that the other two won't give me? I am mostly concerned with male vocals (mine). Thoughts?

There are no one-size-fits-all microphones and an opinion what any mic will give you is going to vary. That said, I believe the Aston Spirit is supposed to be an 87-ish mic, so my best guess is you're not going to get so much of a difference that it would be worth the outlay.

What are you looking for in a mic that you're not getting from the Spirit or the SM7b? Maybe we can point you in a better direction.

[gwlee7]

I have a WA87 and its an okay mic. I am becoming more of the opinion that at this price point, I may be better off not buying something that is trying to “be something else”. $600 can also get you some other not clone mics that sound pretty good. I have decided that I will move up a little higher up with my next purchase.

Don’t mind the singing or playing but this is me using my WA87. I like it fine as an instrument mic. It’s okay for vocals but my singing shouldn’t be the “source” for determining if a mic is good or bad:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HTn...w?usp=drivesdk

[KevWind]

I am kinda with Jim on this
#1 What is it you perceive as lacking in you current vocals , or compared to what you are hearing in your head (or reference track) as to where you would like it to be ?

#3 Have never used an Aston Spirit or a Warm 87 but also as Jim mentions both look to be somewhat similar (from the frequency response charts on both Aston and Warms web sites ) both have a slight rise starting about 3 k up to about 6K so just from the frequency response charts (only part of the story) they are likely to be more similar than not.

So like Jim I would also guess that you are not going to realize a significant gain in sound performance, with Warm 87 over the Aston.

Vocal mics are arguably the hardest type mic to get a handle on, simply because the individual human voice may well be the most divergent sound source to try to capture.


#2 listening to a couple of the songs on your web page the vocal sound is actually pretty good there is a decent upper mid presence. What mic are you using on the two covers, and Lexy Dunne and I can only Dream ? And again what aspect are you looking to improve. ( thinking you may want to first look at perhaps a different mixing paradigm) before spending money on a new mic

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Vocal mics are arguably the hardest type mic to get a handle on, simply because the individual human voice may well be the most divergent sound source to try to capture.

Very true, and for many years I was headed in the wrong direction on that front. In fact, the type of mic that works best for me wasn't even on my radar. I went through a lot of mics in my search ...AKG 414, AKG Solidtube, MXL V69ME, Blue Kiwi, a bunch of mics from a group buy... for the most part they all worked okay for me, some better than others, but none stood out as special in any way.

About a decade ago I put a thread up on the GS site that steered me in the right direction. It was a demo version of a song I'd written and I asked people to tell me, based on the voice they heard in the demo, what mic they'd be inclined to reach for first. Most of the responses were suggesting some version of a 47-ish mic, something that wasn't on my short list ...and not even on my long list. Much patience and research and I eventually zeroed in on the Flea 47. The price tag was scary and it took me years to get comfortable with the idea of plunking down that much cash on a microphone. In retrospect, however, it worked out well and I'm no longer searching for the right vocal mic for myself. I have it.

Asking opinions isn't a foolproof method. You'll get plenty of opinions from people who have no idea what they're talking about, so you have to do your homework and figure out who's knowledgeable and who is not.

Another way to avoid spending tons of money on mics that may not be right for you is to rent time at a studio with a great selection of mics and tell them you want to try out a bunch of different vocal mics to get a sense of what you like.

Zeroing in on the right vocal mic is a journey.

[Al Acuff]

Since you already own a condenser mic and a dynamic mic and you find yourself wanting something that sounds different why not try a ribbon microphone?

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by Al Acuff

Since you already own a condenser mic and a dynamic mic and you find yourself wanting something that sounds different why not try a ribbon microphone?

Two things to be aware of if going in that direction:
1. Most ribbon mics are figure 8 mics to you need a good room because the mic will pic up everything on the other side of the vocalist.
2. Most ribbon mics require quite a bit of gain to get a usable signal, so a quality preamp is needed for the best results.

[BoneDigger]

I appreciate the replies! The two covers were with the SM7b I believe. The other two were with the Aston.

I believe I am just going to skip the new mic and work more on my recording.