Which way should i go

T

tank

New member
Hey all my wife is using at this stage a senheisser e965 for a vocal mic and she sounds great through it (she has almost a big black church type vocals only she is white) I am looking at getting a new radio mic for her and i am thinkin of either a sm58beta or the 87abeta. I am out of my area of knowledge here wrong side of the sound desk for my understanding. Any help would be nice or if there are other mics that are around that type of price and would do the job much appreciated:p:p:p:p
 
When I hear the word radio, the first thing mic wise that comes to me is the SM7. It's a little pricey though. But more importantly, Henry (moresound) is right, you need to audition the mics.
 
The SM7 rocks on stage! Depending on the voice and the mix you need to cut through, you may (or may not) find the midrange presence boost helpful, which I pretty much never use in the studio. It isn't handheld though, so it really has to live on a mic stand. It's been my main live vocal mic for 10 years or so. For a radio mic, you pretty much can't beat SM7b, EV RE20, and Sennheiser MD421. None of them are meant to be handheld.-Richie
 
witzendoz said:
By radio he means radio live mic, not for on radio? Don't senheisser make a radio plug in for cable mics? Why not keep the mic you like and get one of these?

Alan
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Just repeating myself, I believe he wants a stage mic that is cordless, a radio mic, not a mike to make radio shows with. If I am wrong can tank put me right, actually where is he, no posts or comments since the 1st post?

Alan.
 
Hey guys thanks for all your input, yes it is for live stage sorry for not making that clear. i am also thinking of Sennheiser EW135 G2 as well to many options sorry but the stores near me have a pretty limited range some times. I am plannin on doing this as a gift so bit hard to get her to try it which can make it more difficult:(
 
If you're happy with the Sennheiser sound, why not go for one of their excellent radio microphones?

You don't mention your budget but their EW100 or EW300 G3 systems are very good value for money and should give you a similar sound to your 935 but in a radio microphone.

I'll behave myself and not express my thoughts on the SM7B even if there's a wireless version....

Edited to add: as usual, I hit reply on page 1 and didn't notice we were onto a second page. The EW 135 G2 is a fine mic if you get it at a price that reflects it's been replaced by the G3. If the shop hasn't mentioned the G3 and offered a discount, tell them off for being economical with the truth!
 
Bobbsy said:
If you're happy with the Sennheiser sound, why not go for one of their excellent radio microphones?

You don't mention your budget but their EW100 or EW300 G3 systems are very good value for money and should give you a similar sound to your 935 but in a radio microphone.

I'll behave myself and not express my thoughts on the SM7B even if there's a wireless version....

Edited to add: as usual, I hit reply on page 1 and didn't notice we were onto a second page. The EW 135 G2 is a fine mic if you get it at a price that reflects it's been replaced by the G3. If the shop hasn't mentioned the G3 and offered a discount, tell them off for being economical with the truth!
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Bob you need to go into your settings and expand the post views per page to the max -20 I believe is the max - it helps a bit.
 
Good idea...I'm now showing 40 posts per page.

I'll still get it wrong--but only on the longer threads now!

It's long been a bugbear of mine that vBulletin (and most other forums) don't give a clearer warning that threads have gone onto another page though. Or maybe I'm just senile....
 
Bobbsy said:
Good idea...I'm now showing 40 posts per page.

I'll still get it wrong--but only on the longer threads now!

It's long been a bugbear of mine that vBulletin (and most other forums) don't give a clearer warning that threads have gone onto another page though. Or maybe I'm just senile....
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:laughings:

Now all you have to do is to keep an eye on the post count any thing over 40 post and our on page 2 ... 80 post page 3 and so on.
 
You want me to keep an eye on things? At my age, staying vaguely conscious is hard enough....
 
Duh! A *wireless* mic, not a *radio* mic. All I can say about that, with apologies to MADD, is "Friends don't let friends use wireless mics". You'll notice that even on great (read big money) live sound stages, such as the Superbowl halftime show, there's two clear groups. The latest, hippest performers from Katy Perry to Lady Gaga will use wireless or even headset mics, sometimes because it supports their massive stage show with 12 costume changes and the coordinated dancers, and sometimes because they don't know any better. The old timers, from Paul McCartney to the Stones, come with cables, and sometimes demand them. As home recordists, we have to ask ourselves- Why would we go to the trouble to capture sound, turn it into an electronic signal, and then turn it into FM radio, digital satellite high energy photon beam transmission or whatever, making it more subject to EM interference (while surrounded by a ton of electrical equipment), when it could be transmitted by a good shielded cable?
Yeah, it's all about money. They got Stephen Tyler to sing with a wireless mic on American Idol. My point? Affordable wireless mic systems suck because they sound like crap, and are more prone to reliability issues. That problem can be largely defeated by tons of money and expert engineering. Lady Gaga gets it, and your girlfriend *doesn't*. Cheap wireless systems work OK for business meetings. Mid-priced systems are overpriced/overkill for the business meeting, but they are mediocre at best for live music. Good luck. If a wireless mic system is what you are really looking for, I'd say spend the money elsewhere.-Richie
 
There's a truism in the live sound industry: "You can spend £3000 on a wireless microphone system that will sound almost as good as a £10 cable".

And that's true. I'll use wired microphones in an place I can. However, there are a good many situations where cabled mics are simply not suitable, ranging from the stage musicals I work on to something as simple as a performer who is energetic and moves a lot.

I would never recommend cheap wireless systems. They are more trouble than they're worth.

However, once you get to a certainly quality level--and take some care with frequency selection, antenna spec and placement, etc. etc., radio microphones can work well and they are far from mediocre in sound quality. A KSM104 capsule on a good Senneheiser transmitter can sound far better than a crappy SM58 on a cable any day of the week. FM transmission is a mature technology and, done well with the right equipment, can sound just fine.

The last theatrical show I worked on had 22 head-mounted miniature mics plus a collection of handhelds. The all worked fine and the show sounded damn good.

This is a recording forum and we are likely not best placed to handle queries about radio mics for live use. I certainly wouldn't advocate trying to use wireless mics in a studio situation. But to say "affordable wireless systems suck because they sound like crap" is, to use your own words, crap advice. Sure, it depends what you mean by "affordable" but if you're talking something on the level of a Senneheiser EW100 or 300 (or above) or the Shure or Trantec equivalents, their sound and reliability is FAR from crap.

Radio microphones have their place in the live sound industry and they are a proven technology that works well day in, day out all over the world. Practically every TV show or film you ever watch uses radio mics and they certainly do NOT sound like crap or even mediocre.
 
Bobbsy, in our own way, I think we just agreed. A Neumann KSM104 is not what I'd call "affordable". I agree that wireless works if you spend a lot of money, and have good engineering. (the careful frequency selection referenced above, along with professional EQ/feedback control). I also would pick that KSM104 over any wireless headset on the planet. Then, of course, you need the in-ear monitor system (more money). I don't think the original poster has a clue what the entire system involves. No, the sound system on American Idol is not "mediocre". But- the wireless system a middle classed person buys at Guitar Center *is*, and the difference involves thousands of dollars (not including the soundstage- 6 digits or more) and years of engineering experience.-Richie
 
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