I'm looking around for a type of mic that suits my vocal style best. So far, I've tried a Cad GXL220 and a Cad M179, both excellent mics for the price, IMO, though I favor the M179 because it doesn't have such a large swell around the 7-10 kHz area (although it still has one), which accents sibilance on both mics. Of course, that can be remedied with proper mic placement (go figure!). However, the problem is that my voice is generally loaded up with frequencies around 2-4 kHz, so when I belt out certain notes (especially a medium-high C# or D), it can be deafening, and makes dogs within a five mile radius howl like banshees . (OK, maybe not that bad). My vocal style (I'm often told) resembles that of Mac Powell from Third Day, only slightly higher and without the southern-ness. I'd like to bring more of that earthy quality out, and less of the dog-killing quality. What would be a good mic (that I could afford without selling vital parts of my anatomy) that would accomplish this?

Sorry if this is the obvious question, but could you use an eq and cut those offending frequencies a bit? Put that in line with some good compression, and I'd think you'd be set. Otherwise, you really will just have to keep trying mics until you find the right one for you.

Well, I do that too, but it sometimes leaves my voice sounding empty/thin, depending on how much I have to cut or how wide I need to make the bandwidth. There's just something about those two mics that doesn't sound natural with my voice, especially toward the upper mids and highs. I recently bought a tube pre-amp and I'll see how that smooths me out. It did sweet things for the instruments I tried it on. I can't really afford to keep buying mics to try out.

You don't necessarily need to keep buying mics just to try them. Local retailers may let you try some in the store.

Funny thing happened, actually. I was driving in my car singing along with some CD (I think that makes me a dork!) and I hit one of those resonant notes, and something caused me to briefly contract a muscle in my throat that I didn't even know I had. That in turn caused my throat's shape to become slightly smaller, thereby (I assume) changing the resonant frequency of my throat and cut out the shrillness I have in that range. If I can get that muscle under control more regularly, it ought to help a ton. Interesting how learning about mixing helps me develop technique I wouldn't have otherwise been able to even recognize to correct!

Plus the tube pre (Presonus Bluetube DP) I bought did indeed help bring out a more natural sound to my highs, particularly adding more "earthiness" to my breath.