mics for an acoustic blues gig?

B

bluesmouse

New member
Hi all,
I'm about to do some live gigs as an acoustic blues artist and I would like some advice please.
I need a cheap dynamic microphone purely for vocals for around $50 max. and I need a cheap microphone that is good at micing up an acoustic guitar, again for about $50 max.
Any suggestions? My local shop has Behringer dynamics, AKG mics, and Brand X mics (I think these are made by Audio Technica?). Any advice on these or other suitable mics would be appreciated.

Many thanks,
Bluesmouse.
 
Why not spend $80-100 and get an SM58?


If all you want to spend on a mic is $50.00, then just about any $50.00 mic will do.

Look at AKG, EV, Shure, Audio Technica

Avoid Behringer, Nady, Carvin, Radio Shack

Or how about a used SM58 on Ebay? Dried saliva and all? Hey it adds character!
 
BTW Carvin makes a Small diaphragm condenser that I think sounds pretty good on acoustic guitar, and it takes a AA battery or phantom power.

Here's one on Ebay now!
 
Try to haggle a price on an AKG D770. It is to the D880 as the SM57 is to the SM58. I think you'll find it's a very good vocal mic, and if you unscrew and remove the screen and put it on the 12th fret, it's not a bad mic for acoustic blues. Check ebay. That or a used SM57 is your best bet. $50 is tough, $80 is easy.-Richie

Try this link- http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2552780399&category=41465#ebayphotohosting

I think someone has replaced the screen with the screen from a D880, all the D770's I've seen, like its predecessor, the D690, has a wind screen that is flattened at the end, good for harmonica. For your purposes, it doesn't matter. Why don't you see if you can steal that auction for say, $40. Good luck.
 
I do primarily flat-picked acoustic guitar/singing gigs and my mic of choice is the Electrovoice N/D series. I have two of the first NDs that came out - the ND457 and ND257. I bought them years ago and still use them exclusively today. I use the 257 for vocals and the 457 for my guitar. I own SM57s, several Audio Technicas, various condensers and have tried many others over the years, but I simply can’t find anything to beat the NDs. Here’s a couple of eBay auctions:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2551937993&category=41465

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2552780667&category=41465

EV now has a COBALT series of mics that seem to be good for the money. I haven’t tried them, but I hear they are good and inexpensive.
 
Shure Mics

Find a shop that has Shure mics and demo them. The old standard SM58 now has a little brother in the PG58, likewise the SM57 and PG57. Try to see if you can tell the difference. Their PG series covers most all of their standard mics. Have a look at: http://shure.com/microphones/performance/pg/default.asp
From Shure you can also consider their SM57 as being the universal mic. You can go to just about any mic locker in the world and pull out two or more of them, top studios included.

I do agree Shure is not the only game though only the easiest most recognizable mics to describe for a stage mic. When I first started out I put a lot of money in my main gear and had little left for mic choices. I needed several mics so I bought a multipck of Samson R11 truned out to be a very acceptable mic and somewhat comparable to the SM58 at a lot lower cost. Agreed it's not the most well know or talked about but it was there for me when I couldn't do better and I still use them. Fact is one place that uses my gear for live sound the talent wants them rather than some of my better choices. Here's link to it: http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=113&brandID=2 Street price is about $70 for a three pack.

Hope these ideas are not under you. I'll probably get flames from the Samson idea truth is it's curve and price look bad, but the dang thing works great for live sound work and it's a bargain. I stuck my neck out on that one because I know it worked here and was a good buy.

Good Luck
 
bluesmouse said:
Hi all,
I'm about to do some live gigs as an acoustic blues artist and I would like some advice please.
I need a cheap dynamic microphone purely for vocals for around $50 max. and I need a cheap microphone that is good at micing up an acoustic guitar, again for about $50 max.
Any suggestions? My local shop has Behringer dynamics, AKG mics, and Brand X mics (I think these are made by Audio Technica?). Any advice on these or other suitable mics would be appreciated.

Many thanks,
Bluesmouse.
Click to expand...
Shure SM57/58's for the vocals and Marshall MXL603S's for the acoustic guitars.
 
Blues, two traditional combinations for Bluesmen live have been an
Electro-Voice EV 635a omni dynamic on your acoustic guitar,
and either a Shure Unidyne III (SM57 or 545 series), or an Electro-Voice
EV 664. Sometimes you can also score the Electro-Voice EV RE15 or RE16
for under $50 on e-bay too. They will work well for vocals and/or acoustic
guitar too. The EV 664 has a grittier sound than the Shure's BTW-sometimes
very cool for blues.

Chris

P.S. If you find a book with pictures of Blues' artists playing, you'll find
quite a few shown with the microphones mentioned above.
Just starting to build my Blues record collection now :).
 
Blues, I have a spare Shure Unidyne III AKA Shure 545S (has on/off switch),
and mic clip, that you could buy for under your $50 budget.
(assuming you live within the 48 States of the USA)
Send me a PM (private message), if interested, for more details.

Chris
 
Yo Bluesmouse! Listen to the nice Chessparov. Because your budget puts you into the used mic class, you're much better off buying a classic with a known history from a known homerec'er than playing the ebay pay and pray game. Just do it!-Richie
 
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