Mic for daughter

S

StevenLindsey

New member
Hey everybody. You guys have helped me with several purchases before....probably unbeknownst to most of you. I'd like to pick your brains once more to help me with a birthday gift. I'll try to give as many relevant facts as I can. I want to buy my daughter a nice vocal mic.

She sings in clubs around Dallas.....mostly like bar n grill type places..dance clubs. She's fronting a band called Random Circumstance. Web page randomcircumstance.com. There are some links on the home page to a couple of her mp3s in case you want to hear what she sounds like. No this isn't spam.

Her voice is a bit thin....can be a bit shrill up high. I'd like something that could mellow her out a bit....maybe thicken her voice up some.

She is also writing songs at home and recording on computer so the mic needs to be decent for both applications.

Spending limit - around $300.

I've looked at: Shure SM86, Shure Beta87, (with phantom power supply, of course), Beyerdynamic Opus 69 (catalogue says its good for female vocals), Audix OM6...a few others. Not sure whether a condenser would be good for live use with a band, but maybe a hypercardioid would do OK?

If some of you with experience with some of these type mics have a minute or two, I'd really appreciate the feedback.
 
One thing that might help

is if you could tell us what she's using now.

What did she use for those demos? (listening now)

BTW, I got an error trying to follow the link to their MySpace page.

I'm listening to the garageband stuff.
 
I asked her what kind of mic she had......she said it was a black one.

Yeah, I thought about the Nuemann. I'm not sure how serious about this stuff she is...already talking about ditching the band. Maybe later...if I see she's a rising star or something.
 
Consider the Shure SM7B. Not the sexiest mic for the stage, but it would certainly work and is a studio workhorse as well. Electrovoice also makes some nice dynamic stage mics (ND967 and others) that would be worth a look.
 
Beyer M88. A high quality dynamic mic with substantial proximity effect. Good for thickening up thin voices. Call Full Compass and see what kind of price they will give you. You have to call to get their best price (web page will just list MAP), but they often beat out everyone else. If you want a good performing condenser, try an Audio Technica AE5400. Uses the same element as the AT-4050, but in a hand held form. Very nice mic and substantially cheaper than the Neumann or the Audix VX-10 which are the other 2 main high end performing condensers. Bought one new for my secretary for Christmas a couple years ago (she performs) and paid about $300 for it.
 
The AE5400 looks promising. About the same cost as the M88 when you include a phantom power box. I've heard good things about the M88....may be better for her not to have to fool with phantom power. hmmm

SM7 is just plain ugly. I know it's a great mic though, but a girl has to protect her on-stage image you know. It has to be a cute mic. :D

Thanks for the input so far. Lot's to think about.
 
scrubs said:
Electrovoice also makes some nice dynamic stage mics (ND967 and others) that would be worth a look.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. Any of the N/D mics from the 757 on up sound very good, are lightweight and comfortable, and also are extremely quiet when handling. They also have high output and are dynamic so need no phantom.

A very interesting mic to check out is the Oktava MK-011:

Here's a view from OktavaMod:
MK-011s.jpg


011-msp-stand.jpg
011b_box.jpg


It is the lightest mic I have ever held, it extremely smooth, even, and natural.
It is a condenser and needs phantom power though.

The OktavaMod is the one I tested and it is very, very nice.
 
StevenLindsey said:
SM7 is just plain ugly. I know it's a great mic though, but a girl has to protect her on-stage image you know. It has to be a cute mic. :D
Click to expand...

Cant' you just paint it pink? :D
 
ya might check to see if thier pa has phantom... alot do but may not be aware of... that ae5400 is a great mic for the dough... also the sm87.. and didnt shure come out with one for their ks line???
 
The EV N/D 367 is really a good microphone for live performance, especially for females (or males for that matter) whose voices could stand a little thickening. This is the one I would choose for under $150. Or for even less you could find a used EV PL80, which seems to exhibit similar character.

The Beyer M88 is a great mic but its massive proximity effect is too much IMO, and its higher end is what I would call silky rather than thick.

I have a Neumann KMS105, and it's great. But I hesitate to use it in feedback-prone environments.

Beta 87, good mic. I don't know if it's gonna thicken in a good way, though. I like it better for male voices.

My favorite on my wife's voice is my used Beyer M260. Attenuated proximity effect, which is good, but very nice "thickness". And it's pretty rugged. It's wonderful.
 
If you want to look at ribbon mics, I generally prefer the Beyer M500 to the M260 as a vocal mic. It was designed to be a performing vocal mic. Unfortunately it's only available used, but if you happen to luck into one, it is well worth considering.
 
Thanks all for the many suggestions. This place is always great!

I've about narrowed it down to a a choice between the EV ND967 or the Beyer M88. Both look very nice. The EV is less expensive but looks really classy. Wish it had an on/off switch. Wondering if it would do the "thickening" like the ND367.

Kind of concerned about the "massive proximity effect" of the M88. Would that be a nice thing to have available but you could limit it by working the mic correctly? Or could it get in the way of your performance?

Either one of these seems like it could do the job pretty well.
 
The M88's proximity effect is substantial, but it can be managed by working the mic appropriately. If it helps to put it in context, Phil Collins uses that mic. I have one of mine loaned out at the moment to my kids' piano teacher who plays in a rock band on a regular basis and needed a mic that made his voice more substantial to stand out in the mix. I loaned him an Audix VX-10, an Audix OM-6, a Beyer M69, a Beyer M88, an EV RE18, and an AKG C535eb to try out. The favorite is the M88.

FWIW, switches on mics are an acquired taste. Unless the talent is very aware and careful of the switch, they can be a problem as they tend to get turned off or on accidentally when least expected or convenient. I generally prefer my mics not to have switches and tape over the few that do.
 
The M88 is a great vocal mic for on stage use. Let me throw in one more, the Sennheiser MD421. They look weird (or cool) depending on your frame of reference, but sound nice on female vocals. The proximity effect can be managed with an integrated high pass filter with three different settings. It's built into the microphone itself.
 
Yeah, I thought about the 421. I have a 441 and love it. But the 421 just doesn't look like it should be held....too fat looking. It'd be great for a mic that just stayed in its stand. Thanks for chiming in TC.

I'm leaning toward the M88.
 
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