The
Shure SM58 (or SM57) with the upgraded TAB Funkenwerk transformer over at
www.mercenary.com would be a strong temptation for me, or else a Beyer Soundstar M400.
Have the Beyer, and I trust Fletcher's evaluation of the transformer modification on both the Shure's.
IF you can find a "Made in USA" SM58 (or 57), or a 545 series, they can be excellent too
on the cheap. By the time they moved manufacturing off to Mexico the original dies were worn out, and the new ones generally are of lesser fidelity (just ask Jim Williams).
Some rock singers with a deep voice, like Jim Morrison or Eric Burdon, sound(ed) terrific on these microphones.
Did sell a particularly good "Mexican" SM57 to one of the members here a few a years ago.
But that one was cherry picked (had a friend who worked at Guitar Center then).
Don't laugh but on some deep male voice (like mine), with a heavy midrange, the SM48 can sound really good. Unfortunately-myself included-there's a human tendency to judge via abstraction vs. "If it sounds good, it is good" (Joe Meek). Anyway the absence of an impedance matching transformer in the SM48 makes the midrange thinner/cleaner than a
SM58. Tough for me to accept on a mic bought for $30 new!
If your room isn't properly treated acoustically, as you may know, a dynamic mic may be wiser.
Chris
