Which live vocal mic for...

[ddavid]

a fairly loud and obnoxious rock band? Vocal ranges from snearing to screaming and even a bit o' falsetto just to keep it fun. Also needs to be able to 'take a licking and keep on ticking'. Looking to spend no more than $500.

Is the Sennheiser MD421 too much of a princess for a live act?

 

[Wil Davis]

For $500 you could get five SM-58s and have some change left over...

 

[Track Rat]

Definatly, SM-58. You can swing your way out of a bar fight with it and alls you have to do is wipe the blood off and plug it in.

 

[sonusman]

Damn!!!

Track Rat, I have never thought of using a 58 for that purpose...I have been using cumbersome mic stands in the past!

I fill in at a club that has a pretty big system and a okay variety of mics. The other two sound guys really like the Audix OM 3's that they have there. So, just so I don't have to mess with the monitors I use them too.

But no more! They are overly bright, and require too much compression to keep them under control.

I am back to the SM 58 full time! It is just a great overall mic for vocals in a live sound situation. And now that they are under $100 (anyone remember when you got a "deal" on one for around $160?) they are very affordable and if you by some chance mess one up (very hard to do) cheap to replace.

By the way. This club also has the Audix D 1's, 2's, and 3's. The other sound engineers have been using them for snare and toms. I tried them a couple times and went right back to SM-57's for snare and toms. Even these guys gotta admit I get a much better drum mix then they do....

Sometimes those old workhorses still wind up working out better in most cases. That is why they are still around.... Except NS-10 monitors!

Ed

 

[ddavid]

Thanks for the advice

Reading through some of the other threads it appears 58s are the road mic of choice. And with the money I'll save I can pick up a multi effects processor but I suppose that's a question for another board. =oD

PS this board kicks ass! Glad I found it.

 

[James HE]

also consider the ATM 41HE. 58's are great, but for me the 41HE is king! you can get them at Zzounds for $80. (actually this is the only place that I've stumbled across them- I had thought that they didn't exist anymore but Zzounds has them!)

-jhe

 

[Hot Rocks]

58's are fantastic mic's. I've recored some great singing with one,NOT ME. For the money 58's and 57's can't be beat. If I had to buy one and only one mic for under 150.00 it would be a 57.They are worth more money than what they cost

 

[El Barto]

Shure For Sure!

I had the opportunity to get backstage at some live shows at the Trocadero in Philly and 9:30 Club in DC, and they both used SM58s. I see mostly 58s, my friend's band uses 57s.