Beyerdynamic M500

dialatron

dialatron

New member
Hi ! I am looking around for a reasonably inexpensive microphone as my main vocal mic, I know that these things are pretty subjective really and
voices vary so much. I keep getting drawn to the Beyerdynamic M500 ribbon microphone. I already own a Beyerdynamic M400 soundstar dynamic mic which is a fantastic general purpose microphone.. I don't wan't an LDC mic as I am trying to keep the room out of the recording process as I am set up at home. The only other mic that has caught my attention is the Heil PR35..
I have been offered a good deal on the M500 and it is in nice condition..
I just can't seem to make a choice between these two as they both seem to be well designed and constructed pieces of engineering and are within my budget and are not Chinese...
Anyone have experience with the M500 as a vocal mic...
 
One of my favorite vocal mics. The best Beyer ribbon for vocals IMHO. Ideally, you should have the opportunity to try it before buying it, to hear what it sounds like on YOUR voice. You might want to consider trying an SM7 as well.
 
pohaku said:
One of my favorite vocal mics. The best Beyer ribbon for vocals IMHO. Ideally, you should have the opportunity to try it before buying it, to hear what it sounds like on YOUR voice. You might want to consider trying an SM7 as well.
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In the U.K. the Shure SM7 averages around the £350/$600 mark which is quite a mark up from your home price in the U.S. The Heil PR-35 in the U.S. seems to be around the$250/ $300 mark and this makes it more attractive to buy here as it hasn't accrued that extra mystery levy $£$£ because it has traveled next door.. Not sure if it Shure themselves who dictate that dealers of the SM-7 charge this much for sales abroad but for example the SM57 is almost the same price here as in the U.S. ! Maybe its the hype of the thriller connection, forget the expensive processing and that pre-amp that costs more than your car its the must have mic for perfect recordings, there is definitely something that puts me off the SM7 which may be a great mic but I can't give my hard earned money to Shure for it. Its a bit of a strat.. Am I looking at this the wrong way....Or feeling disenfranchised maybe.
 
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Didn't mean for it to turn into an anti SM-7 rant, I am going to go for the M500 as its a great deal because I know the Heil mic will be there in the future without that huge markup just because it has crossed the pond and Christmas is only 4 weeks away so "Heil Christmas"..
Himmler couldn't have said it better..
 
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The M500 is a lovely mic. A wonderful open sound with a very nice subtle presence peak. Although the one bad thing I'll say about it is that you have to pamper Beyers for live shows (i.e. do not hammer things with them or throw them at people recreationally).
 
There is something about Beyer that is so appealing, Audio Technica, Revox, BMW, Mercedes ? Some companies just get it right their engineering standards offer just that little bit more..I can't put my finger on it..Shure were once in this league but somewhere along the way they lost it.. I am just glad jackson didn't record triller with an m500, as if it was the mic alone that gave it that sound. And now he's dead he never will, what a relief..
I haven't any plans to use it live i was just looking for a good quality ribbon mic to use in my home studio. I bought a Reslo once and my voice never sounded better then stupidly sold it, have bough a few since but they were never as good and they weren't cheap either and still have one in a drawer someplace , to expensive to repair. I guess aunty found it in the loft after watching fiddler on the roof and thought her ship had come in..
 
dialatron said:
In the U.K. the Shure SM7 averages around the £350/$600 mark which is quite a mark up from your home price in the U.S. The Heil PR-35 in the U.S. seems to be around the$250/ $300 mark and this makes it more attractive to buy here as it hasn't accrued that extra mystery levy $£$£ because it has traveled next door.. Not sure if it Shure themselves who dictate that dealers of the SM-7 charge this much for sales abroad but for example the SM57 is almost the same price here as in the U.S. ! Maybe its the hype of the thriller connection, forget the expensive processing and that pre-amp that costs more than your car its the must have mic for perfect recordings, there is definitely something that puts me off the SM7 which may be a great mic but I can't give my hard earned money to Shure for it. Its a bit of a strat.. Am I looking at this the wrong way....Or feeling disenfranchised maybe.
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My bad. I wasn't paying attention to where you are located. Yeah, I don't understand some of the pricing in the EU compared to the States. The mark up is really incredible. I would expect you would have more Beyer mics available there than here as well. I'd go with the Beyer M500 if you have a good deal. You won't regret the purchase.
 
dialatron said:
There is something about Beyer that is so appealing, Audio Technica, Revox, BMW, Mercedes ? Some companies just get it right their engineering standards offer just that little bit more..I can't put my finger on it..Shure were once in this league but somewhere along the way they lost it.. I am just glad jackson didn't record triller with an m500, as if it was the mic alone that gave it that sound. And now he's dead he never will, what a relief..
I haven't any plans to use it live i was just looking for a good quality ribbon mic to use in my home studio. I bought a Reslo once and my voice never sounded better then stupidly sold it, have bough a few since but they were never as good and they weren't cheap either and still have one in a drawer someplace , to expensive to repair. I guess aunty found it in the loft after watching fiddler on the roof and thought her ship had come in..
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I totally agree with your assessmnet.
You might also like the M260 for that, especially one of the older ones. As a beyer nerd myself (160, 260, 500), the 260 is probably my favorite out of the three for vocals. For guitars, the 160 hands down. Of course I have older ones so I can't speak for what the new ones sound like.
As far as Shure goes, don't discount those old Shure ribbons. They can be pretty great.
 
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