Me too.

I was going through mics the other day for my vox. I started with a U67, the OC818, then on down the line through a bunch of EV and Beyers, M88, 635a and finally settled on a 3U 1. Obviously your voice will be different story.

With no EQ it was closest to what I needed. And for the price, if it isn't your thing, dump it. No biggie.

That's wild the 3u got picked over a u67! Just goes to show how situation/vocalist dependent mic selection can be.

I recently purchased a Beesneez b67/269 which I've been using as my main vocal mic. I'm still kind of interested in a pair of warbler 1's, though, just because the price is so good. Since you just compared them, can you speak at all to the similarities and differences between them and the u67? Just want to make sure it won't be more of kind of the same flavor.

As an aside, your options for vocal mics are quite similar to mine. I'm usually deciding between a b67, gz251 fet, m88 or 635a.

Fortunately/unfortunately…
No “simple life” with mics for me either.
Depends on Vocal Registration/Key etc.
Chris

The U67 has a lot of low end. People call it dark because of that, and cheap copies will sound dull. I do find myself fighting the lows with vox, but as a mono OH it can be very nice (even if still too much low end). Along with lows, it has a beautiful mid and high range. Sometimes I use the 28k button on my MA5 to add a little something to the top. The sound is velvety and smooth. I never sounds bad. It just needs tinkering to fit right.

(I'm no good a describing mics)

The 3U takes EQ well, and it doesn't have nearly the huge bottom end that the 67 does. There is more of a mid/upper-mid presence that keeps it forward in the mix. I wish I had an 87AI to compare. The reason I used it over the 67 was that it worked without a bunch of messing around. With a little eq post-tracking, it sat nicely in the mix.

If I were buying again, I would get the STAM 87T. From what people say, that looks like a winner. And the price is right. I'm not sure I would buy the U67 again, but wouldn't sell mine either. When I need a top notch expensive sound -- that's it.

Sorry for the weak descriptions.

Does anyone else go back and listen to music they recorded years ago and wonder what microphones were used and why all this fuss about mics even matters? I know we like to argue about mics here, but honestly, when I listen to stuff I recorded years ago, no matter what mic I used, it all still sounds like the same variation of my voice. I think, and I could be wrong, that with some EQ'ing, just about any modern condenser that isn't garbage will get the job done on about any source. If you're like me, the differences in microphone tonalities seem huge at the time of recording, but in hindsight (many years later), those differences seem tiny.

Thanks for the comparison, they're very helpful! I'm surprised about your comments on the low end of a u67. I have limited experience with the real thing, and only a reissue. But my understanding was they had a pretty controlled low end, compared to something like a u47 or 251. Is yours vintage or reissue, and is it stock?

Mine is the TLM with the Max Kircher mod. Basically a reissue.

This wasn't session/client work either. This was just me, and I have a pretty deep voice.

I do.
Am naturally fussy!

As some of you know... Lovin my Beesneez stuff.
Along with U195/Oktava 319.

In LDC's.
Chris
P.S. U87ai or TLM 67 w/Max Mod is slightly darker than U67.
My B67 is a tad darker, than the 3 U67 RI's I tested.

I can't exactly give that level of an endorsement, but I can say that I've owned several mics at one time or another that were in the $600-1K range and of the bunch, the Warbler MK1 ($300) is one of the easiest to work with in a mix. Boost a little in the midrange and the track pokes out with a certain zing (youthful energy?). Higher frequencies sound pretty natural. Proximity effect clears up nicely with a high-pass filter. Minimal futzing.

Disclaimer: I just use it for vocals and occasionally acoustic guitar. I only use LDCs in general on a few tracks here and there (for a little zing).

Sounds about right.

Yeah -- comparing the two wasn't really my point above. I needed the right mic for a song out of my key that needed a specific singing approach, and for that, the 3U worked best.

A U67 up against a 3U is not a fair fight. At all.

I mean, you're totally right, but it's also in the context of a forum dedicated to gear. So naturally you get a bunch of nerds arguing (sometimes politely!) about stuff that doesn't matter *that much*. At least not to the end product, and definitely not to the listener. But it matters to them.

For my part, I just wanna spend my money as well as wisely as possible. But it's very easy for that to turn into an obsessive quest for something that makes like a 5% difference I'm pretty sure I've made my decision, but ask me again in a month, and we'll see if I've stuck with it.

This is true sometimes.

But ...

Can also think of a song where I literally forgot what mic I used and I look back and think "damn, why didn't I keep notes?" because it really sounds good on that track.

And the opposite has happened ("Uhgghh" )

Before I learned their frequency responses and how they interacted with my voice (or other source), there was a lot more futzing going on. So it may be a situation where I'm like "Oh yea, it sounds good because I spent 2 weeks finding the right processing/positioning."

Over time, I've found the flatter the response, the more time I save processing, because it's just less time spent finding the troublesome frequencies and odd resonances i.e. minor nails on chalkboard moments. That includes fret scrape, sibilance/plosives or just moments where the voice hits an errant frequency and sounds "squeaky." With the right tool, what once required a punch-in, now just needs a little massaging with dynamic EQ.

Now suppose you're dealing with an old MXL mic, for example, who's frequency response is full of very narrow peaks and valleys. And that one note or fret scrape just happened to resonate sharply with one of the peaks.



Now you're looking for the needle-in-a-haystack frequency and your plugin instance looks like an add for Pro-Q 3.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Fabfilter, or 3uaudio. Just having a fun rant.

I totally get it! I enjoy trying out new mics as much as anyone!

I bought a couple of different pairs and it seemed important for him to match the pair.
One of my mics developed an issue early on, and after troubleshooting by email and verifying that there was indeed a problem, he chose to send me another fresh pair for replacement, instead of just sending me one mic to replace the one with issues.
With no cost to me, I might add. He definitely seems like a stand up guy.
I love the mics, wish I could buy more.

Whatever you guys end up with...
For the Adventurous, get a Hornet!

Usual "one take" below, with some free and low cost Plugs thrown on top

Color dialed to around 10AM.
Just as Pete at Useful Arts recommend (between 9 and 10).

Oh yeah a $100 P120 here too.
Chris

Has anyone compared the Warbler against similarly priced sE condensers? I have a buddy who’s in the market for a cheaper ldc. I’ve already recommended the 3u stuff, but wanted to give him some other options. The samples I’ve heard of the t1 and 4400 sound pretty good to me and not harsh, but wanted to see if anyone had first hand experience with both those and 3u.

The SEs are pretty nice for what they are, but they don't offer the same value. The 4400 is voiced a little differently and not as harsh as some of the others, but they're also transformerless, surface-mount, and don't offer multiple voicings, so you're not getting the same value, nor is it as faithful to the Neumann u87 sound/vibe (the transformer and capsule voicing are a huge part of the sound).

For what it's worth, I think the Lauten LA220 is pretty high quality and comes close to nailing the u87 sound. Lauten are a little more boutique than SE in my experience.

Now if we were talking about small diaphragm condensers, that's a slightly different story, and I think the SE-8 is at least on par with 3u's SDC offerings.

This video has a real good set of clips and the u87, SE and 3Us are all included. And overall, it's pretty valid; i.e. the differences are illustrated well. If, for some reason, the SE 4400 really stood out favorably to someone in these clips, then it would be worth factoring that in to your purchasing decision (I like less sizzle in the cymbals, hence my preference for the 3U in these examples).

Okay, thanks, that’s kind of what I was thinking. 3u can be a hard sell for people who don’t know them, because they hardly have any visibility and the website looks kind of janky haha.

Correct. You're not paying for marketing. All of the $$ 3U isn't spending on branding and distribution channels get passed on as savings to the consumer. Moreless.

Hello, just starting a search for overhead mic’s in my hobby recording studio, they will be over my Yamaha stage custom set.
My first recording will be a 3 piece drums bass(me) and guitar session doing Autumn leaves.
I woukd like a matched pair, and suggested was the 3U MKIV….. i know nothing about microphones but these really get good comments like this thread. Your input is welcome.

My guess they would be a nice pair for recording vocalist and acoustic guitar.

While not directly answering your question, I have a pair of the Warbler MKID and a pair of the Warbler 127 SDC, and for overheads I prefer the 127 (SDC cardioid) in my low height, little studio room.
MKID goes in front of kick often.
Both are great mics.

The MKIV is supposed to be more C414 inspired. It's frequency response is pretty flat and it is transformer-coupled, so I'm guessing it is aiming for the C414 B-ULS version.

Some older discussion on it here:
3U Warbler MKIV: Good utility mic/C414 alternative?

Looks to be more of a swiss army knife type.

For overheads, I would gravitate towards the SDCs like Lowerback mentions, but if you're looking for the all-rounder, and it's anything like the C414 (which it likely is), I don't think you could go wrong.

As an aside, you also might look at the Line Audio CM4, also, if overheads are the application. Similar bang for buck as with 3uaudio. Similar word of mouth business model.

I downloaded the files from this test, Wow the warbler MK1 is pretty close to the vintage U67 more so than the U87. Warbler series is incredible for the price and holds up with the best easily. Now I really dig the coles 4028 as well.

Apples and oranges. The Warblers are great value for vintage-voiced mics, but the SE stuff is not barking up the same tree at all. I can vouch for the T2 as a great all-around modern, full-range mic. I’ve got one parked as mono overhead right now.

The difference between the u87 and u67 in this vid is pretty striking. In the trashy cymbal frequency area, at least. The warbler does seem closest to the response of the u67. Again, for the price to performance ratio, Warbler gets my vote.

Do they say what voicing the Warbler was in?

It was in V1 (I probably should have tried all three, but...waaaaaaay too late now!)

I haven't A-B'd my Warbler MKID with a U67, but from memory, it's definitely much closer to that than to my U87ai (with which I have indeed A-B'd the Warbler). The Warbler has mellower top end and more "warmth" or "color" than my Neumann – which one could also reasonably interpret as graininess or lack of detail. But sometimes that's exactly what you want, when the Neumann is just being a liiiiittle bit too honest about what's in front of it...

I actually think the Warbler is probably more "warm" and "vintage" (saturated, etc) than the U67s I've used in the past. GZ's transformer does a lot of work in that circuit, clearly.

Ladies and Germs,
We are just a couple of short weeks away from the 10th anniversary of the starting of this thread by the late, great Kidvybes.

Ah man. That feels weird.