Vocal Mic

[Charles Jenkinson]

I know I need to get at least one vocal Mic sometime, but am struggling to find a sensibly priced second hand SM58. One may be coming along, however I'm quite open to others or indeed having a mix of mics eventually, including a SM58. £60 is about the price point where it all starts happening in the UK, with some options below that. However, the most interesting commentary or review I have found is the following. Would anyone put any stock into this guys views?

http://forums.prosoundweb.com/index.php?topic=3946.0

[Chris_Allen]

I'd aim for something like:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SENNHEISER-E- ... 43e0d28cf4

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sennheiser-E8 ... 1a0429eed2

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/sennheiser-e8 ... 1c57865ae2

[Chris_Allen]

Also, there is a lot of response data linked in list of mics:

http://recordinghacks.com/microphones

Take a look at the cutsheets.

[Grant Bunter]

Charles,
SM58's have withstood extraordinary amounts of abuse over the years, and have hence become an industry standard for that reason, plus they work.They are generally consistent (although a sound guy who I know and has kudos from his many years in that capacity throughout Australia, swears every one is different), rugged, reliable. That puts them in a lot of riders for PA provision.
Are they the best vocal mike? No.

Lets look at your linked article critically.
Three different days, three different stores, three different PA's. That says it all really.
A "proper" shootout should mean same PA, same day, same location.

I asked here on the forum about mikes when I put my live PA together.
The Sennheiser e835 was given multiple thumbs up (ballpark $110AU). I found them (new) to be cheaper than the 58 ($140ishAU) and more so than the 58beta ($160ishAU).
The best comment was from Brent Evans, who said they out 58 a 58!
I bought 3 x e835's and they have worked flawlessly, and to me, sound fine.

Audix's mikes were also mentioned, we don't have many of those sold here in Oz it seems, but they get good writeups.

There is a very cheap (for like 20 quid) Behringer 58 copy, I think someone said they have a bagfull of them for punk bands and the like and they work fine, if not better than, an SM58.

Interesting what old mate says about cymbals and 58's. Funnily enough, I just had a long conversation with an old friend who I played in a band with over 20 years ago. We discussed cymbal spill, and he said: "Why do you think I always used 57's for vocals?"

There's a plethora of mikes out there. Go try a few, see what you like, what you don't, apply your useage, and go for it

[88h88]

There is a very cheap (for like 20 quid) Behringer 58 copy, I think someone said they have a bagfull of them for punk bands and the like and they work fine, if not better than, an SM58.

All the Behringer mics are under £20 each on Amazon! I bought a set of 3 XM1800S for under £30 delivered to my house and those are decent if you just need 'a mic' but if you need one for vocals then spend the £18 or so it takes to get their top end XM8500 mic.

[Charles Jenkinson]

Thanks Chris, Grant, 88,

It’s hard to see the wood for the trees sometimes, when there’s so many options. But, I’ve ordered the E385 pack with stand and lead – another stand and lead would be useful, and at that price!, plus I don’t have loads of time to compare different hardware, i.e. same day, same PA, same vocalist, etc., so it needs to be right out of the box. I have seriously considered the Berry stuff, and may (probably will) get some in future, even as back-up mics. This is a long game for me – doesn’t all need to happen now, but is a kind of slowly building capability, as the impulse happens. On the capability score: We have team briefs at work, and the number of times you can’t hear what’s being said (standing at the back – my usual location), when there’s no assistance/gain in the equation. Last week theydid have a PA for one brief with a radio hand held, which packed up 1/3 of the way through. One Jack on a stand and the new kit would sort that.

[NukePooch]

I noticed you ordered some e835's...good choice.

One thing that wasn't mentioned above (unless I just missed it) was handling noise. My church has a couple cheaper Shures (PG48, I think) and Behringers (don't remember the model), and they sound "just okay", until someone holds them...Lots of handling noise coming through.... Even in a stand, they pick up noise when someone's jumping around on stage.

I replaced them with e835's. We've also got Sennheiser XSW 35 wireless mics, which are decent cheaper wireless units with the e835 capsule.

[ripNdeb]

Would anyone put any stock into this guys views?

In my experience, no.
He says feedback is 'quite alright' then says 'wishes for an improvement' ...not sure he knows how different people use a mic or anything else.
He says 'a bit too much boominess for my taste'.
Proximity effect: Once again, it's how the singer uses the mic. For instance, my wife and I both mostly have our lips on or very near the 58s we use. If we're singing backup, then we back off 3-6" or so. Therefore, we have our channel EQ with lots of low cuts - low shelf (simple mixer) at 8 or 9 o'clock. Sweepable mid, somewhat cut at around 300 to 800Hz; have to sweep to find the sweet spot.
Which is all to say, it depends

[BrentEvans]

C
The best comment was from Brent Evans, who said they out 58 a 58!

I said that? I'm more brilliant than I thought...

Just like cymbals spilling through a 58...

Ba bomp ching....

Ok.. you can flame now....

Anyway... I seriously dont remember saying that, but I can't say I disagree.

[bmf]

C
The best comment was from Brent Evans, who said they out 58 a 58!

I said that? I'm more brilliant than I thought...

That was in my thread about Blue Encores Mr Evans.

[BrentEvans]

That was in my thread about Blue Encores Mr Evans.

Oh... That was Grant!

I knew I didn't remember saying that....

[MarkusG]

Just be cautious when buying name brand items through the internet. i have heard that there are many counterfeits, especially the shure SM-57 and 58. You almost have to disassemble them to know for sure. I would rather spend the extra money and buy from an authorized dealer, plus, you are supporting your local economy.

[Charles Jenkinson]

Understood. What you say, and the 'value' the 58's have second hand is staggering, compared with new price. My story, bottom paragraph.

It's one factor that is steering me away from 58's. Having a genuine one would be useful to do A/B comparisons some time, and for others to compare on my gear/gigs. Riders are a long ways off, but my view is that if a client won't be persuaded, they can find someone else.

The other nasty side of the internet, I have nearly got stung this week, with an SM58 that was ‘new’ and surplus to requirements - they were asking £50 for it - people ask up to £60 for second hand ones,and ebay ones get bid up to late the 40’s, so a straight 50 quid is quite attractive. When I offered Paypal, the person said Bank Transfer – that was the first clue. It was on Gumtree (UK), not ebay. The other few things that gave it away were they didn’t use their name in any of the brief correspondence, and the last post, asking if I’d transferred the money, where theyalso said it was parcelled up ready to go, had an Xxxx at the end of the line. Now, I did used to be wet behind the ears, but that bordered onto a pi55 take, when they had not used their name so far. They must have already had a few hundred roll in and were probably getting heady down the pub, feeling the love. God bless 'em.

[Chris_Allen]

Next time I'm in Ramsbottom, I'll drop my remaining SM58 off so you can have a play. I typically only use it in an emergency.

I also have an SM58 Beta which is broken due to a loose wire which I really need to fix.

[dswpro]

Another vote for the e835, I buy three at a time on Ebay for $211.00 (US$)
For me, simply the best balance of sound quality, durability and low handling noise.