Hi. I'm looking for a darker toned mic to compliment my Rode NT1a and Studio Projects B1. I have narrowed my choices down to the MXL V67g or KEL Audio HM-1 or HM-2d. I will be using the mic for recording vocals mainly. I do a lot of work with a pro mezzo soprano gospel singer (Aretha Franklin Style) who can really wail and I'd like the mic to sound less harsh and brittle than the NT1a & B1 and sound warmer with excellent detail.
Which would you recommend and is there a mic out there within this budget that I've missed?

Thanks

None of those are going to be truly darker. What would be darker would be something like a Shure SM7 or an EV RE20. They are both over your budget (guessing from the mics you're looking at). Really, the Shure SM58 is not a bad vocal mic and neither is the SM57.

I believe Aretha's mic of choice on her classic recordings as an EV mic.

Good luck.

Find an RE16, RE15, RE11, PL11, or RE10 - all made by Electrovoice...they have all been discontinued for some time, and all of these models have been used on hundreds of records by many classic artists...

They were the favorites of Nashville and MoTown for quite some time...low gain models, focusing on tone instead of volume (completely opposite of today's mic market)

as already mentioned, you can never go wrong with the EV mics, they have a color and tone i love.
another mic so often over looked is the Audix OM-2, it has a nice color to it as well, fairly flat and i would say color wise it is in-between the EV sound and the say the Sure SM 57s 58s.
you might look for a EV PL-80 they are very affordable.