I'm working on a project that stylistically needs bright sounding vocals. At the moment we're using an AT4040 but I'm finding it to be a bit grainy at times. It's also too clinical (accurate) picking up mouth noises and not really flattering the singer. I'm looking for a nice bright mic with an airy quality that sounds smooth and is forgiving. And is not too sibilant. It has to be in the mid price range costing less than a grand. It's for a male singer with a deepish tone.

Brauner VM1 - or phanthera for a lower budget.

Hi
Have you heard or try the ‘Studio Projects T3’?
It’s a nice tube large diaphragm mic(variable pattern,very useful),middle budget.You can find the first version for cheap or buy the new one(in my opinion,they just changed the design/packaging+price…).And it’s a mic you can use for everything else too…

http://studioprojects.com/t3.html
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb03/articles/studioprojectt3.asp

Hope it helps…
Cheers!

Sennheiser MK4 might be worth a try at the budget end. It's a nice open mic with a high end lift, but classier, that is, not as grainy up top as some.

Bob

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www.bickerton.co.nz

The Gefell M930 and Brauner Phantom mics are great for this but pretty expensive.

On the cheaper side I've been extremely impressed with the performance of my Neumann TLM102. Whilst I wouldn't call it the brightest of mics it is very neutral and clear.

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www.richardpenrose.com

I know a software solution has not been solicited, but I recommend trying a free plugin by Flux, and it is called "Bitter Sweet." It is a transient designer. Learning it takes an ear and a little experimentation, but it could be just the thing for you.

It makes a couple of rather grainy LD mic's I have quite tolerable that otherwise wouldn't be. It can work well for ratty mic's and, well, less than optimal choirs. It smooths without compressing. (It can also go the other direction, too, increasing transients.)

Also, there is an unusual equalizer that permits quite delicate shaping or reshaping of a microphone. It, too, is a free plugin called "niveau" by Elysia. It is distantly related to a tilt box, and the *slightest* adjustments made at the right points-which are often counterintuitive-can make something useable that might not otherwise be.

Both plugins, though free, are of very high quality.

Try the transient designer first. As you might imagine, these plugins work very differently, have different effects, but one or both might be useful for you. And you wouldn't have to get another mic-for awhile.

Yet another suggestion for mouth noises-try a declicker. For grosser mouth noises, there's always RX2.

To answer the question you posed:

Try the Milab DC-196. Very nice. Not cheap. Not expensive.

There are a few active ribbons that are deliberately voiced to be brighter than traditional ribbon designs and which might thus be up to the job. The Blue Woodpecker, for example would fall within budget. The SE RNR1 too, though that would be a bit over budget, even second hand. Whether it's the right kind of bright for you, I don't know.

Or just pick the mic with the right transient handling, and just use a decent EQ with a high-shelf boost to add some air. Another free EQ to try is TOGU Audio Line's Tilt EQ (or whatever it's called since they changed the name) which allows you to select a tilting point and then boosts the high shelf and cuts the low shelf either side (and vice versa).

Shure KSM32 or higher in that range - I've used them on sessions when our studio's AT4040s were too dull (balanced) and they've worked really well. Rode NT1A worked ok but it might be a little metallic sounding.

Groove tubes GT-55 is also great especially when you want to add a bit of gain/warmth and push the mic.

When in a bind I've also used a Shure SM57 - recently did that with a singer whose voice was too sibilant and was being captured unfavorably by the higher end mics. It brought a certain degree of grit and bite to the sound, which might be with less detail but overall pleasant and flattering to her voice.

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www.descentintomadness.com

Thanks for all the advice. I've met success with using a transient shaper to smoothen vocals. And also the tilt eq works well to change the sound of recordings. Dunno why I had never heard of them before.

I've decided to save up for a few months for a Brauner Phantera. But in the meantime someone has offered to sell me either an SE Z5600a for £200 or Z3300a for £100. Anyone with experience who can describe their tonal difference

The z5600 is brittle. As I've said in another thread it's the one SE mic wouldn't touch with a barge pole. It's bright, but it's harsh bright.

Quote narcoman:

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The z5600 is brittle. As I've said in another thread it's the one SE mic wouldn't touch with a barge pole. It's bright, but it's harsh bright.

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Ok thanks. Picked up the Z3300A.

Had to clean it up because it smelt of smoke then tested it for about 25 mins. Very nice mic so far, with a tighter cardoid pattern than the 4040, but seems a tad sibilant.