condensors for live vocal applications

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Richard Monroe said:
The right mic is the one that makes the singer you have sound good, and some singers simply do better with a dynamic.-Richie
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Some of the bands that I work with have singers that I hate to mic-up . They can make my best of mics sound like shyte.

For one of the local guys I always stick up a Shure BG2.1 its the only one that makes his voice sound half decent?

If the cheap Mic is the one that does the job best thats the sucker to use, although explaining that to some artists is fun.
There are still many singers that reckon if it don't say SM58 on it then it HAS to be crap!!!!

Tony
 
wilkee said:
The other issue to be aware of is cables and connections. Because you are always running with phantom power any intermittant loss of contact will show itself as a bloody great bang out of the P.A. system.
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You ain't kidding. The first time it happened to me I just about pissed myself, and spent half an hour troubleshooting before I found a good cable, because the poor connection wasn't readily apparent, it wasn't a broken wire or anything, just a tired XLR.
 
Richard Monroe said:
Quote from the inhabitant-

"I like the AKG 535 but haven't tried much else. Condensers sound best on live vocals. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

I'll tell you otherwise- Not all vocalists were created equal. Mics are like shoes- They either fit or they don't. Some vocalists, including some very good ones, weren't meant to use a condenser, live or otherwise. I can sing through condensers, but in a live setting I find them a little unforgiving. SM7 works for me. It's not a handheld mic, but oddly enough, I usually have a guitar in my hands anyway. The right mic is the one that makes the singer you have sound good, and some singers simply do better with a dynamic.-Richie
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you think the sm7 would work well live for rock n roll?
 
wilkee said:
Some of the bands that I work with have singers that I hate to mic-up . They can make my best of mics sound like shyte.

For one of the local guys I always stick up a Shure BG2.1 its the only one that makes his voice sound half decent?

If the cheap Mic is the one that does the job best thats the sucker to use, although explaining that to some artists is fun.
There are still many singers that reckon if it don't say SM58 on it then it HAS to be crap!!!!

Tony
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Agreed.

My brother has a full singing voice for the blues and rock we play, but it is chock-full o' sibbilance. When we play live, I use a Rode NT-3, as my voice needs a boost in the upper frequencies, but he sounds great through a Nady SP-5 (19.99 for a 3-pack on mf.com).

Those mics are garbage for everything else I've ever used em for, and they sound like balls recorded, but run through the PA for sheer live performance, they make my brother's vocals balanced. Im getting some SM58's for our next show, so we'll see how those treat him, but for the time being, knowing that the mic that works is pretty much 0 dollars net loss if one of them breaks, I'm okay with it.

My brother, on the other hand, while not knowing much about recording and PA equipment, mics, etc., knows these are cheaps mics, and at the first show I tested em out at, he gave the one in front of him an akward glance and said "I'll be using this??"

I said "Yep - get over it". And he used it, and it worked.

As for what you should be using, I can't tell ya. My voice sounds great (the recording quality and balance, anyway :)) through a LDC, with a bit of padding and blankets hung around to block shitty room reverb. I'd say go with the suggestions about hanging some material around ya to remove the room a bit, and go from there. No point in buying another microphone if you don't need to (as much fun as buying new mics can be)

I use the NT-3 live, and that is a condenser (hypercardioid), but only when I am recording the show, since the dynamic vocal mics (those pesky SP-5's), sound muffled and shitty on tape.
 
The SM7 is pretty pricey for live use - I;d say you could easily get by with a dynamic designed for live use that runs around 100 bucks, perhaps one of the Shure standard live dynamic mics. Just seems like you wouldn't need to spend the what? 400 bucks on the SM7 if it is purely for live use. For the studio I think its a good addition to any mic collection, but then, do you want to be hauling it to gigs? Perhaps someone else can weigh in.
 
Stage use condensors

Travis,

I'm seconding the AT4054 recommend. I'm going to try mine outdoors some this spring to see how it deals with the wind.

I have also had good success with the Audio Technica Midnight Blue 4000C. This mic is surprisingly good for a budget mic. It uses batteries or phantom power so if your live rig doesn't have phantom power no problem. I used it outdoors recording a guitar cab and I'm glad I did. The guitar parts were under live but they just made the recording.

Now for the weird part. I have 67 microphones. Some of them cost me over $100. (big bucks)

My current favorite vocal mic is my EV649b dynamic omni lav mic velcroed to my harp rack. I got it for less than 30 bucks.

Who woulda thought?

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
Microphone for this female vocalist?

Would anyone be kind enough to suggest a microphone for hand held stage use, for a female voice. Here is sample of voice:
http://media.putfile.com/AtLast-AnnFisher-PrimeTimeCruise-TalentShow/1024
http://media.putfile.com/Ive-Got-The-World-On-A-String-AnnFisher-1stShow-PrimeTimeCruise/800
http://media.putfile.com/Ann-Fisher-Ms-NY-America-Pageant-SCC-At-Last/800
www.putfile.com/annfisher

Some say an inexpensive dyamic like Shure SM58, or Audix OM-5.
Others say the AKG C535 condenser.

I am looking for that sweet spot, where diminishing returns sets in.

Also, (excuse the newbie question), is there any way to turn a standard XLR connected microphone into a wireless microphone, by plugging into a tranmistter XLR connected capsule to the bottom? I guess it would have to supply phnatom power for the condenser mics. Most wireless I have seen are proprietary and come with the mic. I'd rather find a "generic" solution, if there is one, that does NOT degrade sound.

Hope others will and can respond.
Thanks.
 
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Travis in Florida asks "you think the sm7 would work well live for rock n roll"

Unqualified answer- YES! Best live mic I've ever used, bar none. Clear, rich, feedback and noise resistant. The only downsides are the price, and the fact that it just isn't a handheld mic. If you are also a guitarist, that is irrelevent. Don't leave home without it.-Richie
 
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