Vocal Microphones, what are you using?

[Phil Starr]

On 23/09/2023 at 10:40, wateroftyne said:

I like the SE Electronics V7. Amazing bang for the buck.

 

https://seelectronics.com/products/v7/

These have a great reputation, though I've not tried one yet. £82 at Thomann, the alternatives in this price are possibly the Sontronics Solo £89, built like a Tank and the AKG D5 £77

[Chienmortbb]

51 minutes ago, Phil Starr said:

These have a great reputation, though I've not tried one yet. £82 at Thomann, the alternatives in this price are possibly the Sontronics Solo £89, built like a Tank and the AKG D5 £77

Sontronics do have the advantage for me that they are made in Poole and I can pop round for a cup of tea. Their support is second to none, both pre- and post-sale.

Edited October 11, 2023 by Chienmortbb

[dudewheresmybass]

sennheiser e835

It seems to suit me better than the trusty 58 (which I still own for emergencies lol)

[tauzero]

5 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

He deserves nothing more!

 

On having a bit of a clearout of my rather cluttered desk top, I've found a second XM8500 that I didn't know I had. I shall relent and let him use that.

[grenadillabama]

I like my AKG D5. I want a mic that screws onto the stand . Not an old historic Shure . Ideas anyone ?

[EBS_freak]

1 hour ago, grenadillabama said:

I like my AKG D5. I want a mic that screws onto the stand . Not an old historic Shure . Ideas anyone ?

Heil Fin!

[grenadillabama]

On 11/10/2023 at 06:12, Chienmortbb said:

He deserves nothing more!

I have an old AKG with a three position tone switch . It has been dropped many times . When I let a guit player use it I tell them it cost more than a Shure.Not that I got it very used for $20 ! The Beatles used on their second US tour (with Vox Super Beatle Amps ) a dark colored SM 57 mic that screwed onto the mic stand. I have one of these and I am picky about who spits into it.

[Chienmortbb]

On 13/09/2023 at 16:00, Rosie C said:

 

Thanks! That looks very similar the the Sennheiser ones. I'm amazed the SM57/58 is that old, I thought they were a relic from the 1980s.

 

The SM57/58 were definitely 60s although the SM57 were more prevalent for vocals than the SM58 live. We did not know anything about mics and I think the SM57 looked sleeker and cooler. The SM58 and 55SH looked like something old singers would use. Now the received wisdom is that the SM58 was best for vocals so almost all mics look something like them. 
 

 

[Rosie C]

7 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

The SM57/58 were definitely 60s although the SM57 were more prevalent for vocals than the SM58 live. We did not know anything about mics and I think the SM57 looked sleeker and cooler. The SM58 and 55SH looked like something old singers would use. Now the received wisdom is that the SM58 was best for vocals so almost all mics look something like them. 

 

In the 1980s one singer in our high school band had an SM58. It was quite a cut above anything anyone else had. The other singer had something nasty by 'Realistic' or similar. I'm not sure how I first got into Sennheiser, but the E835 seems to suit my voice, though these days I make like Taylor Swift and use an ME3 headset. 

 

 

[Chienmortbb]

8 minutes ago, Rosie C said:

'Realistic'

These were from Radio Shack or Tandy as we knew them in the UK.  Not perhaps the best.

[Bassman68]

Was always a Shure SM58 user since the 80’s, however have recently moved onto an SE V7 & am very impressed..

The lead vocalist in my tribute band got one, early summer & has converted the rest of the vocalist’s in the band.

The lack of bleed-over from the main mic being positioned downstage in front of the drum riser, has improved our monitor/IEM sound no end.

Get’s a thumbs up from me 👍

[tauzero]

On 12/12/2024 at 10:09, Chienmortbb said:

These were from Radio Shack or Tandy as we knew them in the UK.  Not perhaps the best.

 

Except for the legendary Tandy PZM, of course. Although that wouldn't be an ideal stage mic.

[moley6knipe]

Mercy! That’s a blast from the past!! The ultimate float mic back in the day… nothing better, somehow! Good call.

[Chienmortbb]

7 hours ago, tauzero said:

 

Except for the legendary Tandy PZM, of course. Although that wouldn't be an ideal stage mic.

Yes, I forgot about that and of course the Sound Meter, legends.

[Stub Mandrel]

14 hours ago, tauzero said:

 

Except for the legendary Tandy PZM, of course. Although that wouldn't be an ideal stage mic.

 

It's actually incredibly easy to make a stonking PZM using a piezo capsule.

[jensenmann]

My singer used to use a SM58 which really didn´t pay justice to her voice. At some point I brought one of my Neumann KMS105 to a rehearsal and guess what... We´ve never seen or heard the SM58 again. I´m using another one for myself, btw.

[Chienmortbb]

16 minutes ago, jensenmann said:

Neumann KMS105

To be fair that is a £500 microphone and should sound better. The SM58 was a revelation when it came out but other makes caught up years ago, I was working on a show that the BBC were covering, unusually the BBC had not brought the right mix of mics.  For FoH we were supplied with a box full of dynamic mics and the SM58s were front and centre. The BBC man sorted to the back of the box where the "also ran" mics were, the "disposable" ones. out of the box he took a Behringer XM8500, muttering about them being much easier to EQ. 

 

The SM58 was inferior to the Sennheiser dynamics at the time but were way cooler, the Sennheisers looked more like an ice lolly than a mic. More modern mics are better than the SM58, mics from Shure, Sennheiser, AKG, Sontronics and SE (I have to admit I have never heard or tried the SEs). However Like the Precision and the Strat, the SM58 is iconic and as such

[Stub Mandrel]

No-one ever got fired for buying HP... or an SM58.

[Boodang]

Currently started using the Warm Audio wa-19, a modern copy of the akg d19. The design apparently eliminates the proximity effect. Also has a built in hpf. 

So far it's shaping up to be one of my favourite mics. Almost condenser like and good feedback rejection live. Also good on the kick drum apparently so quite versatile. 

[moley6knipe]

Ah, one of those!! Very cool looking things regardless of how they sound!

[Boodang]

8 hours ago, moley6knipe said:

Ah, one of those!! Very cool looking things regardless of how they sound!

They sound good! I put one on our vocalist (also the guitarist) in our blues trio. After the first number he insisted we go back to the sm58. I asked why and he said because you could hear his vocals too clearly. He's now singing through a green bullet and he's much happier, although we do sound like a recording from the 20s (1920 that is). 

[Chienmortbb]

 

On 23/12/2024 at 20:01, Stub Mandrel said:

No-one ever got fired for buying HP... or an SM58.

Mr Stub, I would fire anyone that used a SM58* except...the bandleader has one and is convinced has some magic inside.

 

*There are some great mics out there that are not SM58s and are less money.

[Al Krow]

On 17/01/2025 at 14:37, Chienmortbb said:

 

Mr Stub, I would fire anyone that used a SM58* except...the bandleader has one and is convinced has some magic inside.

 

*There are some great mics out there that are not SM58s and are less money.

 

We've just sacked SM58s from our band!

 

Had a couple of gigs recently where we struggled with taming feedback during the first set but switching over from SM58s to the more directional AKG D7 eliminated the issue and we had a much better band performance in the second set when we and the audience weren't on edge because of feedback creeping in. A fellow bass-player & BL I know well has said he's recently done the same thing in getting rid of SM58s in favour of sE V7s in his band, which while not quite matching the D7 for overall quality, come in at half the price at £75 and also provide a big improvement over the SM58 in terms of feedback performance.

 

I did a quick test of the difference the mics made at the break and the AKG D7 gave us an additional +6dB headroom before feedback kicked in! The two singers in our line-up with SM58s are swapping over to either the AKG D7 or sE V7 depending on their budget.

 

 

[TimR]

The SM58 was standard because touring bands could get one from the muisc shop in the nearest town the next morning. 

 

The Sennheizers are much more transparent. I have a pair of E... can't remember exact model. 

 

I suspect most vocalists are used to how their voice sounds through an SM58, regardless of how good they sound through other 'better' mics. We did an A/B comparison in the band I was in when I first bought them, but didn't do it blind. The singer preferred the Sure. 

 

[Phil Starr]

45 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

 

We've just sacked SM58s from our band!

 

Had a couple of gigs recently where we struggled with taming feedback during the first set but switching over from SM58s to the more directional AKG D7 eliminated the issue and we had a much better band performance in the second set when we and the audience weren't on edge because of feedback creeping in. A fellow bass-player & BL I know well has said he's recently done the same thing in getting rid of SM58s in favour of sE V7s in his band, which while not quite matching the D7 for overall quality, come in at half the price at £75 and also provide a big improvement over the SM58 in terms of feedback performance.

 

I did a quick test of the difference the mics made at the break and the AKG D7 gave us an additional +6dB headroom before feedback kicked in! The two singers in our line-up with SM58s are swapping over to either the AKG D7 or sE V7 depending on their budget.

 

 

It's a good shout, you'll find that even the humble AKG D5 is just as good at feedback rejection as teh D7 and still sounds so much better than the SM58. It's like moving from a Morris Minor to a new VW Golf.

 

The only word of warning is that for people playing instruments a super-cardioid like the AKG's demands really good discipline on the mic. Even slightly off axis and the sound fades away quite dramatically and you really need to 'eat the mic'. I found after a few gigs with my AKG's that I needed a cardioid mic and went for the Sennheiser E935. My duo partner uses a Shure Beta58. For singers who don't play instruments and hold the mic in their hands this shouldn't be an issue.