Live Microhpone.

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Roozter

Roozter

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In an attempt to one-up all the seemingly same rappers in my area who flood our venues and make following up with a small acoustic performance impossible Ive decided to take a page out of their book and sing to my CD which has all my songs in their fully vamped forms.

All the venues Ive played with have had me use less than desirable mics (beat up SM58's with too much low end and random mics they come across that are smashed to hell). I sound like a high-school principal trying to give a speech, and generally I dont like the industry standard SM58 anyway.

I figured id be better off just buying my own live mic for myself thats picked out especially for my voice. Like a higher end dynamic mic.

In the studio I generally never sing close to the mic unless Im doing an acoustic song, and I would say my voice is something close to Lenny Kravitz.

Any suggestions?
 
Having your own mic is not a bad idea, not only from a sound perspective but also because it's more sanitary. Check out the Sennheiser e835/e845/e935, EV PL80, a variety of 57s (SM57, Beta57a) and stuff from AKT, A-T, Heil etc.

That said I don't have any problem getting decent vocal sound from an SM58. The system has to sound okay and the singer has to use it properly (sing into the mic). If the singer is right on the grill (necessary for loud bands) then quite a bit of eq has to be applied to compensate for proximity effect, but that's true to some degree for almost any other live vocal mic.
 
Ussually the people who do the sound at smaller venues don't know what they're doing. They're too parcial to bass, have no ear for harmony and basicly applied for the job to get free beer. You can't win.

I've tried quite some mics and always came back to the SM58, allthough the mentioned EV 80 was good too. A little compression and a high pass fillter do wonders though. You could bring your own.
 
I'd suggest you try an Audix OM5 or OM6 (similar mics, one with a tighter pickup pattern). The SM58 is a 40+ year old design and never been a favourite of mine. I tend to go to Audix for similar uses as the 58 but it has a warmer, more natural sound without the extreme EQ I find I need to make an SM58 sound decent. To date, almost everyone I've persuaded to try an OM5 when I'm mixing has liked the mic and many have changed themselves.

Otherwise, from your description of what you want, you might want to consider a live condenser. It would add clarity and detail that no dynamic can match. If your pockets are deep, the Neuman KMS104 is a superb mic for vocals. A bit cheaper (but still very nice) would be a Rode M2 or a Sennheiser 865.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
Having your own mic is not a bad idea, not only from a sound perspective but also because it's more sanitary. .
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^^^^ this this this ^^^^^^

I NEVER let anyone sing on my mic ever!

If people sit-in I remove my mic and put my 'anyone can use it' mic on. If they ask why I tell them I don't let anyone use my mic that I wouldn't kiss.

I'm a fan of EV mics for live use myself.
 
Any thoughts on the Shure SM55's sound quality and nuances? Ive always liked how it looks, and I hate actually holding mics and having them pointing right at my face. Thats why I never really wanted to front a band, I just feel awkward left standing alone with a microphone.
 
Roozter said:
Any thoughts on the Shure SM55's sound quality and nuances? Ive always liked how it looks, and I hate actually holding mics and having them pointing right at my face. Thats why I never really wanted to front a band, I just feel awkward alone with a microphone.
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Kinda like a 58 sound wise.

Now if your into it then go for the SM7b - you'll be much more happier! ;)
 
Roozter said:
Any thoughts on the Shure SM55's sound quality and nuances? Ive always liked how it looks, and I hate actually holding mics and having them pointing right at my face. Thats why I never really wanted to front a band, I just feel awkward alone with a microphone.
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That would be a nice choice. Beware of "the attack of the clones" though.
It's bigger than your typical vocal dynamic mic, so that could help the awkwardness of being on a stage with a tiny mic.
Here is a sound sample of this guys recording of the SM55 (the only one I could find. Sorry for the creepiness of the "watching her" title. Very pedo'ish. But like I said it's the only one I can find).
But then again, listen to the other guys. I'm just new to the myself :D

Good luck!
 
The modern ones (actually known as a Shure 55SH, not SM55) are a modern mic (the Beta 58 capsule) in a classic looking case. As such, they have a nice cardioid pattern and an impedance that is well matched to modern mixers.

I did a show a while back where the singer brought his own and it worked well--decent sound (though I didn't do a direct comparison to other mics--just plugged his in and used it) and pretty reasonable feedback rejection. I didn't have to use huge amounts of EQ to get a good sound.

One caution would be to know the source of your 55SH. There are some cheap far east knock offs floating around that sound pretty nasty. Also, if it's a used one, make sure (or is that "make Shure"?) that it's a modern mic. Many of the originals used connectors and impedances that would make them difficult to use in a modern setting.
 
Roozter said:
Any thoughts on the Shure SM55's sound quality and nuances?
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When I was in a band with my wife she wanted one coz it looked good / cool, well it did look cool but I never liked the sound of it and the PA guys never liked it either. I tried a few mods to it but still never sounded quite right. It might be fine for a caberet act out front of some jazz but in the end we sold it and I bought her a beta SM58 and she was very happy with the sound of that.

If you don't like SM58's, have a look at the Sennheiser e845 or for a bit more money the e945.

Alan.
 
That makes sense since it's a Beta 58 capsule. A lot of SM58 users don't like the Beta 58 sound and vice versa. In my experience, it depends on the voice--for some things the Beta 58 is a good choice, other times it can be major suckage.
 
Yup. In fact the modern version is only a cardioid as far as I know. Don't forget it's the case design, not the capsule, the mainly controls the pick up pattern.
 
Actually the sm55h my wife had was fitted with a SM58 capsule, maybe that later ones had a beta 58 capsule. I think the early ones had a high impedance Unidyne 545 capsule.

The problem I found with them is that the proximity effect is different due to the distance of the capsule from the screen and that the mic does not feel as nice if your face is planted in it which in turn means there is less vocal volume and more spill getting in. The beta 58 we replaced it with was hugely better.

Alan.
 
My vocals are drenched in modulation and reverb in the studio, and I usually have 1 main vocal track and then 2-3 backing tracks to tighten up the vocal and just give it a nice sound and my music in general has a very vintage vibe. That live PA sound doesnt seem like it would blend well with reverb drenched vocals and modulation. Are the any mics or tricks I can do to help with this? I guess thats a better description of what im looking for.
 
Don't know your budget but the Heil PR35 is a really nice sounding live mic.
 
Roozter said:
My vocals are drenched in modulation and reverb in the studio, and I usually have 1 main vocal track and then 2-3 backing tracks to tighten up the vocal and just give it a nice sound and my music in general has a very vintage vibe. That live PA sound doesnt seem like it would blend well with reverb drenched vocals and modulation. Are the any mics or tricks I can do to help with this? I guess thats a better description of what im looking for.
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Well then live - do you have your own sound guy? This would make a world of difference in achieving your goal.
 
moresound said:
Well then live - do you have your own sound guy? This would make a world of difference in achieving your goal.
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At the venue I play at im sure I could talk to the sound guy enough to at least get his opinion on it. Or use some kind of chain effect (like a stomp box for guitar) to get reverb on my vocals, I bet they make those.
 
Roozter said:
At the venue I play at im sure I could talk to the sound guy enough to at least get his opinion on it. Or use some kind of chain effect (like a stomp box for guitar) to get reverb on my vocals, I bet they make those.
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Make sure you talk with your soundguy before you employ such a device. Done wrong it could send the system into feedback Hell and send your soundguy through the roof.
 
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