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Stage Vocal Mic?


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Hi, I'm looking for a stage mic with low proximity effect and more clarity than the "industry standard"...

I have been using an SM58 for years now, but I have a very wide dynamic range in my voice and when I back off the mic for loud bits, the proximity effect causes the bass to drop out making my voice sound thin and shrill (which is not true to the sound of my loud voice offstage). I also find them generally a bit muddy, particularly when I'm talking between songs.

I've currently got my eye on:

  1. Audio Technica AT2010
  2. Rode M2
  3. Blue enCORE series

Do any of you have any experience with these in comparison to a 58?

I play solo acoustic shows.

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Shure 58 muddy while you talk between songs?  Might I suggest this is attributed to your monitor/system and not the 58.

Plug the 58 into a recording device and talk in the same manner and distance you do on your live system, and if you hear it to be very clear and articulate then your issue is your monitor/system.

There is a ton of nice vocal mics out there, and choosing a mic to fit your vocal is really like finding a pair of gloves that fit.   Might I suggest you go to a Guitar Center, or a music store where you can plug in several vocal mics and try them on your vocal.

Everyone is gonna give their opinions on vocal mics but it really is which one will work with your voice well

My suggestion would be the Shure Beta 58 for you.

I could say Senhieser, Audix, Heil, Beyer Dynamic, etc and etc and .....

Honestly, try out several mics somewhere, and dont just buy something online without comparing it

to other vocal mics.

 

 

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Just about every cardioid mic I am aware of will exhibit proximity effect, the tighter the pattern, the more pronounced the effect. The Beta 58 exhibits greater proximity effect than an SM58.

 

I also suggest that if a 58 is muddy to you, you might want to explore why this might be. Have you had your hearing tested recently? Has the sound system been checked over carefully for defects and faults?

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 Hi !  

   The Audio Technica 2010 and the Rode M2 are condenser mics. You might run into feedback problems if you are using a condenser live in a small stage situation. 

    On larger stages a condenser would work ok, but still a little caution and attention to placement of the mic.

      The AKG D5-D7 are supposed to be catching on in Europe, and may be displacing the SM58. There are lots of good mics to try..   AKG D5, EV767, Sennheiser 835-935..beta58.. ect..ect.. best to go to Guitar Center or your local recording studio and try some mics  out to find a fit for your voice.

  Maybe try some EQ adjustment..cut a little  250-500 hZ...maybe try boosting somewhere from 3 kHZ to 5 kHz.

  There is a Youtube comparison between a sm58 and a AKG D5:

   "Mic Check: Mic Shootout AKG D5 vs Shure sm58" by workingman studios..but..that is the internet and not your voice..but it might shed some light on your problem..   

   A mic with an on/off switch is always a good idea, but not neccessary.

SM58 is still a good mic..lazy soundmans choice since it is a well known quantity, but there is better stuff out there now since every mic mfg has been trying to build a better mic for decades.

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Condenser or dynamic doesn't matter, directional mics (cardioid and super/hyper) all exhibit proximity effect.

Better mics than an SM-58? Maybe different, maybe better for some applications, maybe worse for other applications. This generality perpetuates much of the marketing that is perpetuated by competitors against a most most formidable mic IMO. This is one reason why we still see many requested on national riders where budget is a total non-issue.

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Ok, my current shortlist. 

  1. Sennheiser e945
  2. Rode M2
  3. Audio Technica AT2010
  4. Blue enCORE 100/200/300
  5. AKG D7

Yes, I am ignoring those who think there is something wrong with my hearing/voice, as both work fine offstage. My mic technique is fine too, spot-on dynamically. I have been gigging since 2005. I just don't understand the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" attitude that seems so prevailent about the SM58 being the one and only stage vocal mic. Why do all these other models exist?

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Alme's   short list....

   For my voice and budget, I would go for the D7.  AKG makes a hard to find champaign silver metallic

version of the D7, same finish as the Neumann 105. If you like the champaign finish and can find it at the same price as the black D7, you might consider that.

    The D7 and D5 wont change your voice, they are fairly neutral mics. AKG..good stuff..made by Harmon

(Harmon owns JBL, Crown, AKG, Lexicon and some other high end quality gear..great company)

 

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lilgrasshopper wrote:

 

Shure beta 87a no proximity effect

 

Wrong.

Per Shure (from their own mouth:)

"The Beta 87A also has proximity effect. Any unidirectional microphone has proximity effect. Omnidirectional microphones do not have proximity effect."

 

The 87a (I have two of them) can be tailored via roll off switch to exhibit less effect than some, but it still has the effect. I have 4 Earthworks SR40 mics that are well thought of, and they have a very wide field as well as a very flat freq response. You know, they still have some proximity effect at less than 6 inches. You can't escape it.

Unless you go to an omni mic, you have proximity, always will, and nothing anyone says can change that. You can't wish it away. The best you can hope for is to find a unidirectional (some variety of it) mic you like and use it. It will exhibit proximity, just to greater or lesser degree than others.

An SM58 might not be the mic you prefer, so find something you like better. Just know tyhat if you can't make a 58 sound reasonably good through any system, you probably won't be able to make that system work much better with anything else. I have never seen any PA anywhere, where the limiting fact wass that they used an SM58. The limit is generally caused by the guy /girl behind the console.

 

Just so you know, I own at least 50 mics (from $150 to $1500 each) and I don't own a single 58, so I am not a fanboi.  I do know you could own a mic case with almost nothing else in it and most nationals wouldn't flinch when you opened the box. They are highly regarded by people that know what they are doing. Look elsewhere for any problems you are having unless the mic is not a real Shure, or it is damaged. 

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lilgrasshopper wrote:

 

Shure beta 87a no proximity effect

 

I call BS on this one. I have half a dozen, and they do indeed have proximity effect.

If you look at the response chart, yo can see exactly the problem the the OP is struggling with but unwilling or unable to address.

http://cdn.shure.com/specification_sheet/upload/124/us_pro_beta87a_specsheet.pdf.pdf

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