Favorite Live Vocal Mics?

  • Thread starter Thread starter arcaxis
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arcaxis

arcaxis

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What mic(s) are you liking for live vocals and is it cardioid, supercardioid, or hypercardioid?

1st - Sennheiser e935 cardioid
2nd - EV N/D767a supercardioid
 
Used to be the SM58 for soooooooo many years for me...........but then...........along came the Sennheiser e935...........your #1 choice as well. It's still my live choice. Cuts through but with great tone. What a surprising mic discovery that was for me. The SM57 is my #2 now. No slouch by any means.
 
The SM58 is so familiar I can pretty much always make it work, and most people know how to sing into it. Otherwise I've found the e835 pretty effective, and I sometimes use my AKG C535B condenser. It really depends on the user. Some people can't stay in the sweet spot of a narrower pattern while others need better rejection than a cardioid can offer. I'm not a fan of the Beta58. There's something harsh about it. I've generally not liked how EV N/D vocal mics sound though that's from hearing older N/D mics. That said I have heard them sound good on certain voices.
 
I'm currently using a Beta 58 but I hear great things about Blue Encore 200/300. Now I want to check out the Sennheiser e935!
 
At the cheap end, the Sennheiser 835 is amazing quality for the money. Last year I did an unofficial shoot out with an SM58 and the Sennheiser won hands down. (The vocalist who brought the SM58 was going to use it until he heard himself with the 835...he bought his own Sennheiser the next day.)

Mid range work horse in my mic box is the Audix OM6 (with an OM5 for when an need a tighter pattern and an OM7 for when I'm fighting stage noise--like a singing drummer). Lovely sounding mics all!

At the expensive end of the buget, the Neumann KMS104 is amazing--especially with female vocalists it has a lovely silk quality. I even use it in the studio sometimes.

Yes, I carry a few SM58s for when they're asked for but they're never my favourite choice.
 
My buddy turned me on to the Samson Q7. Affordable, a workhorse in the SM-58 style and decent rejection. My go to is a Beta 58 and I also have a standard 58, a 58 knock-off and a Senn E835. It always depends on the voice first and situation next (in my opinion, of course).
 
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