Live vocal mic upgrade (from 58) recommendation?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Slowjett
  • Start date Start date
S

Slowjett

New member
Hey guys,
I use an sm58. Im currently looking for a mic thats a bit fuller. I sing mostly acoustic type rock (http://myspace.com/JoshNoone). Anyway what would your recommendations be?

Thanks so much.
Josh Noone
 
Yo Josh! I've got a few questions, First- does the mic have to be handheld, or are you a guitarist-singer? Frankly, the best live dynamic vocal mics I've used are radio mics that weren't meant to be handheld, such as Shure SM7b and Electrovoice RE20. Second question- How big is the group, and how big are the audiences? There are a lot of really good condensers that work well for say, a solo acoustic artist wjth a crowd of 75 in a coffee house that will be feedback monsters with a good sized band and a crowd of 400. Third question- what will it be plugged into, and who's running it? It's one thing if you have a good board, phantom power, and sophisticated EQ with a good sound man dialing out troublesome feedback frequencies, and another if you need to plug it in, set your levels, and forget it.

For smaller gigs playing solo, or with a good sound man and a good board (that provides phantom power) in a small club, I like a good condenser, such as AKG C535 or Neumann KMS105. For point and forget, I like Shure SM7b. I'm a guitarist, so frankly, I don't give a damn that it's not handheld. It doesn't feed back, and it never sucks. If it has to be handheld, for larger gigs and louder bands I like Sennheiser e935. Finally I never use Shure SM57 or SM58. It's not because I don't like those mics. It's because they don't like *me*.
The SM57/58 invariably makes me sound awful. No clue why, but I know it's not the mic, because they work for plenty of people, including people I work with. It's simply a shoe that does not fit my foot. I've always done better with AKG dynamics, such as D390 and D770, and with Sennheisers, such as e835 and e935. Beats me. Good luck-Richie
 
Like Richard said, what kind of venue and what kind of music? And, the all important question -- how much do you want to spend?:D
 
I mostly play smaller venues/clubs solo or with a drummer/bassist. A lot of my gigs will be without a sound man. I generally use a Yamaha EMX 2000. It has phantom power. I got it and 2 passive 15" JBL EONs for 300 bucks flat. I've thought about upgrading the board because there are no plastic things on faders and some broken off pots, but everything works so good why bother. :) Anyway I generally dont handle the mic very much at all. I play guitar and sing. An sm7b would be kinda neet, but Im thinking something that can take a little handling. I dont think thats a tough mic? Maybe something you wouldnt worry a lot aobut that would end up missing at a show? I do want an sm7b for recording though =] hmm people been asking me for an xmas list.

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

l_5dd680e6195c1d93295f08b45238bac0.jpg


-josh
 
OK. Choices. It sounds like you could use a decent condenser for your gigs. Ones I like, in descending order are Audix VX-10 (@$300 used), AT-4054 (@ $140 used - the current model is the AE5400 which is about $300 new), and AKG C535eb (@$160 used). All will require 48v phantom power and will be pretty sensitive. The AT-4054 is rolled off. The AE5400 has a roll-off switch. The C535eb has a roll off switch and a pad.

For dynamics (less sensitive and fiddley) and in no particular order, I like the Audix OM-6 as a good set and forget type mic. Much better than an SM-58. (@$120 used - the OM-5 is good too). Other good dynamics include the previously mentioned Beyer M-88 (substantial proximity effect but a really nice full range mic @$250 used - used by Phil Collins FWIW), Sennheiser MD431 (@$180 used - used by Prince), Sennheiser MD441 (@$350 used - used by Zappa, Elton John, Stevie Nicks, etc). The Beyer Soundstar MkII is a good mic that's sort of a sleeper - sounds somewhat similar to the SM7, but in a hand held package (@$110 used).

There are others I'm sure, but of the mics I have, I like those the best and they have worked pretty well with the talent when I've done live work. Ideally, you should have a chance to try some of them and hear what sounds best for your voice.
 
Neumann 105
Beyer 500
Shure Beta 87
Senny 845
AKG (somebody help me here with the number)
Beta 58
Beyer 88 (Probably the best "more fuller" of the bunch)
 
+1 for the Rode NT-3. I don't know how well it would stack up against the volume required to front a band, but it has worked well for me as a solo guitar & singer, in coffee houses and small fire halls. Very nice sound, despite what some have said about the cheaper Rodes (that they are harsh like most cheap condensers). Produced very nice vocals for recorded shows. 250 bucks now, I believe, so some of the others might be more bang-for-your-buck. Bought mine used and had no problems with em.
 
I am an Audix fan myself. The OM5 is my work horse mic for live stuff. Not "full sounding" as in boomy as it has a controlled proximity effect, but it is very articulate. A year or so back I was shopping for a new mic for my girlfriend at the time. She is/was really a quite excellent vocalist. We tried every hand held condensor out there (AE5400, KMS105, Rode S1, KSM9, Beta 87) and the OM5 that she already had sounded damn near identical to the Neumann. The KSM9 was indeed a nice full and balanced mic which I preferred on her voice, but value wise, the OM5 is hard to beat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top