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i think that he feels that his vocals arent as clear as they should be, as in the actual sound quality of his vocals aren't up to par with what he expected from the mic.
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I'm not sure I understand the part about "actual sound quality of his vocals". Put in 10 different records in 10 different genres of music and the vocals sound absurdly different. As long as the music works, the engineering did it's job. You may be saying that the engineering is getting in the way of the music. Well then he needs to look deeper into why.
Listen to any Beatles record. Would you say the vocal tone was of "low sound quality"? I wouldn't. There is something magical about the vocal sounds that I've never gotten.
If we assume that ultra hi-fi vocals which I consider to be mid scooped and bright are of "high sound quality" then the Neuman U47 (one of the most diserable mics on the planet) would be of "low sound quality". When Michael Wagener showed me his Soundelux Elux47 (which is a $4,000 clone) everyone in the room snarled their nose up as if a skunk just hit us. However, that mic has probably been used on more records than any other microphone on the planet. It has to do with how the vocal fits in the mix.
Load up 10 songs from totally different albums and listen to this "quality" thing you are thinking of. You'll have a whole new philosophy on the subject.
My first gut feeling is if he feels that his vocals lack clarity, then he isn't mixing them to sound clear in the mix. I'll define clarity as being able to easily hear X in a mix. If the vocals aren't clear I would blame mixing skill before I blamed a microphone.
Watch a modern live concert DVD. Those guys are using SM 58s or Beta 58s and sound amazing. While a lot of modern concert DVDs are overdubbed, I watched a Foo Fighters acoustic DVD the other night and it was clearly real but still sounded amazing.
A vocal wouldn't be clear for a few reasons.
Reason #1 is the vocal track itself isn't clear.
- This could be using the wrong microphone.
- This could be the vocalist isn't performing clearly (the biggest reason)
- This could be the vocalist is too close to a cardiod mic and gettings lot of proxmity effect.
Reason #2 could be due to the rest of the track fighting with the vocal. You have to carve out holes for your vocals. If you can't hear a vocal, you are done. The song will fail. So you must cut something. That could be anywhere depending on the arrangement and tone of the vocal.
If you can, have him post something. I could help more if I heard the music first.
Brandon