ratboy (or is it Ben?), IMHO the easiest dynamic mike I've used for live use and recording is
the Sennheiser e835. That's because it has a more forgiving proximity effect than the SM57 or SM58. Don't get me wrong-I love the sound of those two mikes, it's just you need to be more careful using them. The e835 has a street price of $100 or under, and Guitar Center has them for sale sometimes at about $20 less or part of a mike/stand/cable package. It has a very nice mid and high range boost too.
A more "agressive" dynamic mike than the Sennhesier e835 is the EVC09, part of EV's
Cobalt series. It has more of a pronounced mid-range than the e835, runs about $75 (!) on sale at Guitar Center, and is well suited for hard rock style vocals. It also has a
more extended high end response than the Shures (not a better mike-just different).
Actually, you can also use a condenser mike in live use. I have
a Shure Beta 87,
and that mike works best for me with a tube microphone pre, as it is very bright.
The Beta 87 works particulary well with male tenor voices/female soprano voices.
Audio-Technica's 40 series also has a handheld condenser that's supposed to sound excellent for live and home recording. Neumann has
the KMS105 handheld condenser that's the "Rolls Royce" of these mikes-also supposed to sound great!
What are you using as a mic pre now, and do you have phantom power?
P.S. The Studio Projects C1 is a great mike (I have one), however, it's not suited for
live performance (too sensitive). Welcome to homerecording.com!
