Best Microphones Under $1000: Vanguard V4 GEN 2, Chandler Type L, Soyuz 1973
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- Опубликовано: 25 июл 2024
- Full Session Files:
drive.google.com/file/d/1H_mB...
These are three of the best microphones you can get, all WELL under the $1000 mark! The Vanguard Audio Labs V4 GEN 2 is low noice, open in the high end with a nice character. The Chandler TG Type L is mellow on top and offers System A and B to go from classic TG style harmonic saturation, to high headroom smoothness that claims a "ribbon" like quality. The Soyuz 1973 oozes character with a strong mid range focus and the ability to tame harsher sources and push things through a busy mix.
All three are very different microphones with different strengths. Depending on your preferences and needs, one is sure to stand above the rest for different reasons. Don't forget to download the full session files and deep dive into each one!
Time Stamps:
00:00 Intro and Walkthrough (Talking)
07:49 Acoustic
10:14 Gryphon
12:09 Vocals
15:27 Electric
17:54 Bass
19:22 Shaker
20:13 Tambourine
21:10 Cymbal
22:00 Kick
22:50 Drums
27:13 Full Song Montage 
Видеоклипы
Great Vid Matt... As it went along I found my understanding of what each mic does, growing... entertaining and definitely useful. THANKS for always making quality stuff! -Marty
Fantastic demo and song! Chandler in my future. Thanks for all your videos.
Man your videos are so good! Thank you for sharing these stuff with us!
By far the best mic comparison I've seen on RUclips, thank you! Loved the Chandler.
What a spectacular song and demonstration. Thank you!
Very cool to hear them all in context at the end. Super interesting. Thanks for the great video.
Incredibly thorough comparison, and killer performances. Great work, Matt.
I love how knowledgable, sincere and thorough are in this video. Looking forward to checking out some more
Great work, thanks! Hearing them all in a nice, dynamic song really showcases them well. 👍👍
well they all sound amazing.... nice one!
The Chandler is pretty magical. Great song also.
I Feel the vocal opening with the chandler wow
Great Video. Really highlights how important it is to choose the right mic for the right job. And also how everything is relative to everything else, i.e comparing the Soyuz to the Chandler, it is mid-rangy. The Type L sounded best in most applications, but when the song came together it was too muddy; the V4 and 1973 songs were more present and clear. As an all round vocal mic I would take the Type L. For guitars I'd take the 1973. The V4 might be useful also. Thanks
I need this song on my playlist, Chandler version, Its a vibe
I might go back through, pick my favorite mic on every source and do a fresh mix at some point. I’ve been messing around with this song for a while, I still don’t know if this is how I want to do it for a release.
@@MillSounds to be honest i do really like how you mix the song sound so natural with great effect in the moment that should be. In a moment when surprise me like ooo i think spect that reverb to Come at this moment and how everything opens.
Im more that type of person that like when artist have their own sound and doesn’t feel like any other artists you have that.
You sound you
Btw i download everything and i do prefer the Chandler but maybe is my taste.
That’s going to be my next mic
In one of your older video recently we talk about api preamp but i forgot a question, The api 500 serie preamp is the same sound as you api console ? And what is your opinion about CAPI ? Is there any preamp of them that you can recommend that have a similar sound?
@@MillSoundsThis would be very interesting to hear!
Thanks for your videos man! Love them! And you come across like a super nice guy!
I like the warm sound of the Chandler on the vocals in the mid forward position! And the general openness auf the Vanguard! But the way the Soyuz carves out the low end on acoustic guitar and creates a pocket for the vocal in the midrange, nails the lower mids and has just the right top end without harshness is indeed something else.
So my Choice would be the Soyuz on acoustic guitars and the Chandler on vocals.
Did you use the Chandler in the 2nd position on electric guitar? I preferred the Chandler on electric guitar too. It might be a choice of whatever sound you are after and what song and vibe someone wants. The Chandler sounds warmer within the low mids, the Vanguard open balanced with less charcter and the Soyuz little dialed back.
Liked the Chandler on Shakers as well!
Its indeed challenging the think how the Soyuz might fit certain instruments better in the mix. The Chanlder sounds fuller and warmer and might quit a bit more EQ.
Do you have specific experience yet about how they, especially the Soyuz and Chandler sit without and with EQ in the mix with certain instruments? Really curious for that!
Surprisingly liked the Vanguard the most on Kick follwed by the Chandler but thought there were the least differences.
On the full set I liked the tightness of the Soyuz and the Body and warmth of the Chandler.
All in all - and in the full mix - I really loved the Chandler the most! All great tools tho!
Thank you again for the video and the work you put in! Much love from Vienna Austria, Tom
Chandler was in System B for guitar and bass. As far as things sitting in the mix, I would encourage you to download the session files and mess around with them yourself. It all depends on how you mix and the sound you’re going for! You do you!
I came for the mic comparison, but just wanted to say great song/performance/recording.....really excellent! That said, I like the Chandler.
Thanks for posting this comparison. I'm leaning towards the Chandler for my taste but they are all good sounding mics and have their place.
If the Type L had come out at the same time as the first TG mic, I think I would have happily saved money and gone with the Type L. I love the warmer voicing, and that TG character is still there in all the ways I like it. Great mic for the money!
@@MillSounds /yes I really like the voicing of this mic aswell. I'm currently looking for a decent versatile FET mic to go with my Vanguard V13. I really like the Austrian Audio OC818 for it's wide variety of features and it's sound. However, the Chandler Type L is now in the mix! Have you had any experience with the OC818? I really like how how smooth the top end on the Austrian Audio mic sounds and how well it handles sibilance. I have a few other LDC's - Shure KSM32, JZ V11, AT4040 and Miktek MK300. Out of all of these, I really like the Miktek but the top end can emphasize sibilance on vocals. The KSM32 is a nice darker sounder workhorse but I'd like something that's voiced in between these.
@@richardpenrose1968 I have both a v13 and OC818. It would depend on your application. I like the AA mics in stereo on acoustic instruments, and for overheads, but it’s not got a ton of vibe for singing into. It’s just my 2c, but I think vocal mics should have more of a colourful sonic character. Chandler or a V4 could be good!
@@joshbarr2024 Thanks. I really love the V13 on vocals. The Chandler is certainly very tempting but the OC818 could be more versatile.
Cool video! I enjoyed the Chandler the most listening back on headphones. Vanguard was fine to. The soyz might work in context but didn't sound that great here in comparison. Keep up the great work 🎉
You did a lot better on the falsettos this week than I did 😂. Thanks!
@@MillSounds haha 😂 I think we both need to practice 🤣🎉🎉
I like the Soyuz tonal picture for this genre of song the best. Is it my favourite sounding mic from the 3? No. Its probably my least. But like you said, sometimes it just happens to be amazing. My first pic mic wise is the Chandler. Its open, yet full and rich. The Vanguard also sounds good to me, so I could take any of the 3, but the Soyuz wins on this song overall imo. But that Chandler beats them both for clarity, and overall sonic qualities at that price point. I own a REDD and its hands down the best mic I have used, and heard in recent times.
GREAT VIDEO!
You should grab the Type L, it would be a good alternate to your REDD Mic. I sold my OG TG mic after having the Type L for a bit, it has a lot of the same character but is just warmer overall, which I prefer.
@@MillSounds Yeah, im going to shortly. I will probably us hit on kick out, or a mono room. Might need two! Lol
I think Chandler mic is suitable for all instruments and vocals, the sound is in between modern and vintage vary smooth top-end, a combination of U47,c12 and elam 251
I personally like the chandler, vanguard, in that order.
Soyuz and chandler sound great. Do I say the chandler might sound a little more natural? Are you running through launcher deluxe in saturation mode?
Nope, everything running through API preamps on my console for this one. I have not had a chance to run the Chandler through the Launcher yet, I'm sure I will at some point!
Do you normally use saturation mode when running the 1973 or if you do the chandler?
Vanguard seems to have more clear tone...for rnb pop and rap..soyuz seems more for rock performers...hard thicckkk and freakish gritty...while the chandler more for classic...sang from heart..or country I would say for vocals....
Damn I am interested in Vanguard seems it has body and clarity with high end presence for cutting the mix for tracks that have multi layered instrument track....
Gotta upgrade from my se2200 lol Vanguard seems nice for my option for rnp and melodic hip hop
My initial reaction was that I would choose the Vanguard for solo acoustic guitar, finger picking, singer songwriter. I would choose the Soyuz for acoustic guitar that's in a busier mix, layered with electric guitars. Gryphon the Soyuz cast a pleasing light on the upper voice, I really liked. I suspect it would sound good with Flamenco guitar or spruce concert classical too. Probably not Chandler for either acoustic guitar.On vocals, Vanguard was pleasing, but my personal taste goes slightly more for the smooth sounding Chandler for solo - but Vanguard maybe in the mix; not so much of a fan of Soyuz on sung vocal; though I like it for clear spoken word. On electric guitar, hearing this I think confirms what I heard on your other videos Soyuz for electric guitars in a mix is great. Maybe Chandler on system B for more solo electric guitar, or sparser mixes (thinking of something like the sound in the early Low records), Vanguard less my choice for electric, it's too extended in range, and brings in frequencies I'd rather tidied away, like the Soyuz does in the bass, or the Chandler does in the extended treble. On bass and drums, I liked the Vanguard's extended range, brought depth and clarity - and I'd rather keep all the frequencies in, and shape later. So yes, I think the answer is ... all 3, for different things. I just bought a JZ Vintage 67, and really liking it. I hear it as more in the ballpark of the Chandler system B sound - smooth, and without harmonic distortion.
I agree with pretty much all of that. The Vanguard still works on amps perfectly fine when I'm in a pinch, just have to darken up the amp a little bit. The Chandler is still great on amps, but I agree. I "might" still give the 1973 a slight edge when you're stacking a lot of amps and fighting for space. The extra octave of low end on the Chandler could be great in more stripped down country/americana or cleaner parts with body. Between the 1973 and Type L, I think I'm way more than "set" on electrics!
Download the session files and play around with the Chandler on drums. I didn't mention it in the video, but the one mic drum part was intended to be smashed and dirty/a bit distorted. If I weren't doing a video demo, I would have committed on the spot and used some UAD stuff on my Apollo with some tape saturation and something like the Chandler Zener limiter. Even in plugin form, it worked really well for the single mic drum track (it's what I used in the mix). Push them all a bit and I think you'll hear that special thing the TG's do on drums. Even looking at the wave forms, you can tell a big difference.
@@MillSoundsYes, definitely the Chandler was also excellent on electric guitars, just different. Whereas I only liked the Vanguard on the bass, loved it on the acoustic - and vocals in the mix, because the extended treble was feeding the nice reverb more to work with. I have very little experience recording drums. So, I think my personal approach would be take the clearest, cleanest, most extended range and least coloured sound. Then, I'd have to experiment a lot after to get it to sound right. Thanks btw, now that I've heard this, I'd actually probably choose the Vanguard to fill out my mic collection. I have SM57 pair and SM7 for electric guitar / vocal. JZ Vintage 67 smooth vocal and also electric guitar. Line Audio CM4 stereo pair are good for steel string guitar, percussion, piano, strings and Earsight stereo omni set for field recording / room. But, what I could do with is a nice open sounding vocal mic, for articulate female vocal, bass guitar and maybe nylon acoustic guitar. Because the mics I've chosen are on the smooth side, like the Chandler. Telefunken TF11 FET might be another option, but not sure if it sounds as nice as the Vanguard.
@@compucorder64 If you can swing it and could use a stereo mic, Vanguard is having a nice sale right now. You can save a lot of money getting a stereo V44S. V4 is on sale for $599 and V44 for $1099. Price on the V4 is obviously awesome, but the V44s is insanely versatile. Between my V44 and AEA R88, I don't see myself ever buying any stereo mics, regardless of the price.
@@MillSounds yes, was thinking stereo vanguard would be best, to cover the solo nylon guitar
@@compucorder64 That's my cedar toped Taylor 714, it's over 20 years old at this point. I had silk and steel strings on it and played pretty lightly, really doubled down on that mellow sound for this song. About as close as you would get to strumming a classical guitar on this song with a steel string.
price aside, you’d take those over AKG 414 or Austrian Audio 818?
First off, both of those mics are well over $1000 (I think my stereo Vanguard V44 was about the same price). I’ve used a few of the Austrian Audio mics and thought they were great, but for my preferences I would still pick one of the three mics in this video. I’ve used 414’s for years and glad to move on to some other options.
I don’t think the 818 or 414 are bad mics, I’ve just found a lot of other options that I like/prefer for less money. However, all the pattern manipulation you can do with the 818 was pretty amazing!
@@MillSounds thanks for replying. as I said, price aside. I’m interested in finding the ultimate 3 FET mics for pop vocals under 2000 dollars. This is the possible list I’m looking to find in studios and try:
- AKG C414 XLS
- AKG C414 XLII
- Austrian Audio OC818
- Neumann TLM 103
- Lewitt LCT 640
- Lewitt LCT 940 (FET)
- Audio Technica AT4050
- Audio Technica AT4060
- Lauten Audio Atlantis
- Vanguard V4
- Chandler FET
- A soyuz FET
- Sontronice Aria (FET)
- Sony C80/C100
- Townsend/UAD Labs Sphere 22
- Aston Spirit
- Rode NT1
Off the top of my head, I would add the Gefell UMT70 and Mojave MA300 to that list.
@@MillSounds do you have these mics in your studio? I might have to fly over to arknsas and try them
@@mojoiam I don't have a Gefell or Mojave at my studio, but a few places I worked in all the time have them and they are great options. I don't have a ton of mics right now. For vocals, I'm using my Vanguard V13 tube mic, the larger and more expensive Chandler TG microphone, and an old RCA PB-90 ribbon microphone from the 1930's. Those three microphones cover anything I need to do for vocals.
If you're after a more modern sounding vocal mic with a lot of different sounds, the more expensive Chandler TG microphone is another great option. It's technically a solid state microphone, but has it's own power supply so you're getting a lot more voltage to the capsule and circuit. I've got a video review of that mics I did a few years ago, and another one comparing it to this newer Type L.
What is the title of this song and is it released?
I usually use my own songs for these reviews, this is one I wrote called "The Cycle" (very original, right? 🤣). It was fun doing it this way for the review, but it's not one I've released yet and probably not how I would do the song in ideal circumstances. It might get released one day, I occasionally release stuff under the band name "Good Ol' Boys International".
@@MillSounds It's so nice it should be released!!! The current version is going into my playlist now!
Chandler on electric guitar was stunning. Really like the Soyuz on bass.
Guessing you don’t claim to be a drummer ;-)
Haha, no not even close to being a drummer 🤣. I can lay down a simple beat when need be, but that's about it.
@@MillSounds Well it's working for you. I like your songs and videos. Appreciate your work!
I would like to add the Rode NT1. Years ago, I was able to demo nearly 100 microphones with a friend in B&H's incredible mic room. I sang and tested every mic with him. We both concluded that the Rode was perhaps the closest in character to the $5000 Neuman. No doubt, it was subjective, but for under $500? An incredible value.
the vanguard sounds terrible 😅
I'm starting to get the impression you don't like Vanguard mics. 🙃
You're kidding yourself there. It sounds great. However, the Chandler rules!