Members Tomm Williams Posted August 16, 2015 Members Share Posted August 16, 2015 For a few years now, I've been using Senn 835's as my standard festival mic. I wanted something brighter than a 58 but recent experiences have me re-evaluating that choice. I did a county fair this weekend with a number of bands. One of them featured a pair of female singers with edgy-spikey voices. The 835's were a terrible choice in that case and I regreted using them. Going back to 58's for these situations. I find it much easier to add some top end to a dull mic than getting the ice pick sound out of a bright mic. They work well for some things but not in this application. My 2 cents anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mogwix Posted August 16, 2015 Members Share Posted August 16, 2015 I've been using the 935's for a few years. They're not quite as bright as the 835 but they can still turn into ice picks with a shrill voice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wasRbts Posted August 16, 2015 Members Share Posted August 16, 2015 In a situation like that --- there is no reason not to use an SM 58. Very respectable choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted August 17, 2015 Members Share Posted August 17, 2015 This is one reason why I prefer CAD D-90's (or later D-189's) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dedmeet Posted August 18, 2015 Members Share Posted August 18, 2015 So, OP, you were surprised that a given mic in a particular circumstance was not the best tool for the job? Personally, my mic kit usually has 835s and 58s in it just in case one or the other is not quite the tool for the job. If you want some real fun, try a Beta 58a on a female 'edgy' or nasally voice and it will part your dang hair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted August 18, 2015 Author Members Share Posted August 18, 2015 So' date=' OP, you were surprised that a given mic in a particular circumstance was not the best tool for the job? [img']http://www.harmonycentral.com/forum/core/images/smilies/smile.png[/img] Personally, my mic kit usually has 835s and 58s in it just in case one or the other is not quite the tool for the job. If you want some real fun, try a Beta 58a on a female 'edgy' or nasally voice and it will part your dang hair. Nowhere did I state I was surprised by the results nor is it news to me that one mic does not fit all. In a festival setting, you don't have the option of matching mics to voices. Performers are changing too quick so you go with something that works. My post was a testament that I no longer believe the 835 makes for a good festival mic. I already knew it didn't match every voice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dedmeet Posted August 18, 2015 Members Share Posted August 18, 2015 Easy, Tomm, just making a funny. Hence the smiley face. On a serious note, I have done plenty of multi-band nights in local clubs where basically the mic options were 57 or 58. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dweez Burczak Posted August 18, 2015 Members Share Posted August 18, 2015 At least you aren't really compromising on reliability, both mics are built like absolute tanks! But I believe that you have made the right choice here Tomm, 58s definitely seem to be the better option IMO. Does that mean you are going to have to go and buy a couple or do you have some in your inventory? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted August 18, 2015 Author Members Share Posted August 18, 2015 I carry multiples of 835's, 935's, 58's, 967's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pro Sound Guy Posted August 19, 2015 Members Share Posted August 19, 2015 I have found the EV N/D967 to sound great on female vocals. Are you running a digital mix Tom? A narrow parametric setting works great to grab that harshness and notch it out between 2k-6k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted August 19, 2015 Author Members Share Posted August 19, 2015 I was sweeping all around that region with no success. There was a range they would hit that was not pretty. Some of it was simply that their voices were not that great but the 835 didn't help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted August 19, 2015 Members Share Posted August 19, 2015 Sometimes highlighting something ugly is awful nasty, but removing it to minimize the nasty makes it sound just as bad. There are times where you just can't win. Had a show years back where this woman patron was ripping me a new one because she couldn't understand the vocals, she was accusing me of not knowing how to mix and that I was a total hack. This was a university performing arts center gig, where many of the patrons are educated beyond their own intelligence and assume that us techs were illiterate, uneducated morons (of course bot of us on the audio crew had advanced degrees, me in engineering and my partner in law). I am puzzled as hell about her ranting, the head usher saw what was happening and quickly came over to help. Turns out she couldn't understand because the music was Brazilian and the songs were in Portuguese. She thought my mixer was supposed to translate from Portaguese to English for her. Good grief, you can't fix plain old dumb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pro Sound Guy Posted August 19, 2015 Members Share Posted August 19, 2015 There are some singers that have an annoying nasal bite by the nature of their vocal. In a festival situation you cant audition mics on vocals for sure If the 58 is an all around winner for your application then there you have it. Those CADs looked interesting and the price is probably more then right for a Chinese bargain. I will check one out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted August 19, 2015 CMS Author Share Posted August 19, 2015 I am puzzled as hell about her ranting' date=' the head usher saw what was happening and quickly came over to help. Turns out she couldn't understand because the music was Brazilian and the songs were in Portuguese. She thought my mixer was supposed to translate from Portaguese to English for her. Good grief, you can't fix plain old dumb.[/quote'] Oh come on, Andy. Everyone knows the "Translate from Portuguese" switch is right next to the "Suck" knob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted August 19, 2015 Members Share Posted August 19, 2015 There are some singers that have an annoying nasal bite by the nature of their vocal. In a festival situation you cant audition mics on vocals for sure If the 58 is an all around winner for your application then there you have it. Those CADs looked interesting and the price is probably more then right for a Chinese bargain. I will check one out. They were originally an American design, manufactured in the USA, then migrated to China and finally the company sold to the Chinese. I had some "involvement" when it was an American company, hence my preference to some of the legacy mic models. (disclaimer, I don't know if the current models are made the same as they were) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted August 19, 2015 Members Share Posted August 19, 2015 Oh come on, Andy. Everyone knows the "Translate from Portuguese" switch is right next to the "Suck" knob. Now it's buried in a menu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mike M Posted August 24, 2015 Members Share Posted August 24, 2015 Now it's buried in a menu Next to the "Why did I take THIS gig - ABORT" tab. M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TimmyP Posted September 27, 2015 Members Share Posted September 27, 2015 Funny, a friend who uses 935s and 945s keeps an 835 for "girls with icepick voices". Maybe his is mellower than most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted September 28, 2015 Members Share Posted September 28, 2015 Maybe he has lost most of his hearing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mike M Posted September 29, 2015 Members Share Posted September 29, 2015 I provided the sound system for a multi-band event last Saturday night. I used 835's for all vocals. Mostly older bands (classic rock, etc.). Two of the bands had girl singers; the first gal sang well and sounded good after I rolled off some highs. The second gal singer was more of a "yeller".....not alot I could do to smooth things over on that one....she actually got worse as she started to lose her voice (I wonder why?). After the third tune her range(?) was only about a 5th, the rest was "yelling". My throat hurt listening to her.In general I use 835's for almost all of my vocal applications. I do have sm58's for those who request them though. I have found that most experienced vocalists in my area bring their own mic.Mike M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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