Members vetstudent Posted June 24, 2004 Members Share Posted June 24, 2004 I'm looking at mic's to go with an acoustic amp. It will be for vocals only as my guitar has a pickup. I don't do any big gigs or anything. Its mostly for a couple of guys with guitars to have a good time playing around. Maybe we might play at a small party or something but I would NEVER expect to go past that. I know the shure sm58/57's are awesome mics but I don't know if I really want to spend the $80-$90 yet. I've heard that behringer makes a knock-off 58 thats pretty decent. How do you guys think the behringer would work into my amp??? Oh yeah, its a mega 60 watt acoustic amp with plenty of power for my guitar and a mic. I know there have been reviews for the mic but they've been from people in bands going into PA's. I didn't know if going into a small acoustic amp would make a difference. One last thought. I have a studio projects B1 that I bought (mostly from recommendations from this site... Thanks!) I use it to record to my home pc. Would this mic be usable with an acoustic amp??? I really have no idea but something about a condensor mic that is very sensitive being played through the amp doesn't sound right??? Oh, I have phantom power so that wouldn't cause a prob. I know the sm58 is the no-brainer best thing to get but as a hobbyist I don't know if I need it. Thanks! Brent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted June 24, 2004 Members Share Posted June 24, 2004 You know,there are probably lots of musicians who bought a decent mic 20 years ago and are still using the same one with good results. I wouldn't skimp too much. I absolutely love my E-V ND767 but it is a bit above your wanted budget. I would check with Mark and see if he still has some Samson Q-Mics. I think he had some for very cheap. I have one and it is a very decent mic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted June 24, 2004 Members Share Posted June 24, 2004 Shure has cheaper version of the 57 and 58. I use a PG 58 for background vocals and it seems to work okay. I've heard other people sing through it and it sounds good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J. Posted June 24, 2004 Members Share Posted June 24, 2004 My advice is to spend the extra money and be better satisfied in the long run. You can get a decent mic for only about $40 more than a cheapie, and you'll have a piece of equipment worth hanging onto. Should you decide to sell it for whatever reason, the resale value would hold up much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brokenwing Posted June 24, 2004 Members Share Posted June 24, 2004 Originally posted by J. My advice is to spend the extra money and be better satisfied in the long run. You can get a decent mic for only about $40 more than a cheapie, and you'll have a piece of equipment worth hanging onto. Should you decide to sell it for whatever reason, the resale value would hold up much better. J. is right. How much are you really saving? $20-$30? That's not even a night out. And you'll have the mic for years. If not, you can always sell a quality mic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B. Adams Posted June 24, 2004 Members Share Posted June 24, 2004 Personally, I wouldn't use anything less than an SM58. If I absolutely had to go cheap though, I'd get the Behringer, but don't expect it to last as long. What's wrong with using a condenser? If it sounds good, and can handle a little abuse, then use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vetstudent Posted June 24, 2004 Author Members Share Posted June 24, 2004 B. Adams. I do have one question... Will I get more feedback from a condensor mic than say a 58??? I know the area that my condensor picks up (angle anyway) is very broad. I didn't know if a mic like the 58 would be easier to keep from getting feedback. Also my phantom power is in a small mixer that I have... I didn't know if that would harm the signal quality to go through that??? As for durability... You wouldn't want to just beat it around but I think it's fairly tough... I mean durability wasn't even something I was thinking about. I was more concerned with practicality. All I know is that a lot of people record with condensors and some record with 58's/57's but I've never really seen anybody in a live performance use a condensor (at least I didn't notice)??? Maybe I'm just not a very observant person. I guess I figured that since no-body used condensors in live performance that there was some reason??? I love the sound that comes out of the mic. I think it fits my voice very well. It's just a little more of a pain to have to go through the mixer to get the phantom power. PLEASE educate me as to why my studio projects B1 would/wouldn't be good for use with this amp! Thanks Brent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B. Adams Posted June 24, 2004 Members Share Posted June 24, 2004 Well, it's not necessarily the fact that it's a condenser that seems to be making it unsuitable for you. But from what you're saying, it's probably has an omnidirectional pattern, which means that it picks up sound from all the way around it. Which, I'm sure you can guess is good for recording, but bad for live sound. A 58 has a cardoid pattern, which means that it picks up sound best right in front of the mic, and not so much from behind. Which is why you put monitors in front of performers, so the sound from the speaker hits back of the mic instead of the front. Many recording condensers are omnidirectional, have large diaphragms, and are not built for the road. They have a really clear sound, but feed back and break easily. Although some people are using large diaphragm condensers on things like bluegrass bands, but to do that you need IEM's instead of stage monitors. Small diaphragm condensers work great live. But usually these condensers are designed specifically for live use, or at least aren't omnidirectional. Live mics should be cardoid, hypercardoid, or supercardoid. I use an SM86, which is a cardoid condenser, for vocals all the time. It works great. There are a lot of vocal condensers out there. Condensers are also regularly used for acoustic guitars, of course, and drums, both as overheads and as individual drum mics. Having to run through a mixer just for phantom is a pain in that situation. I'd recommend getting a decent dynamic mic, like a 58 or Sennheiser e835 or similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vetstudent Posted June 24, 2004 Author Members Share Posted June 24, 2004 B. Adams, Thanks for your very good explanation of what the cardiod meant. I'm pretty new to all this stuff so I'm learning as I go. I looked up the reviews on music123 for the mic and was pleasantly surprised to hear several people used it for live performance "because of its cardiod pattern!" I originally bought it for home recording so I didn't even see if it could be used live. Also the thing is built tough! I think I could run over it with a small car and it would keep going. Anyhow, I think I've learned a TON! I know what you mean by being a pain! I don't really like having to hook it up through the mixer but since I'm primarily gonna use this rig at home for now, I think it'll due fine. I am very pleased with the sound of the mic! If I do go with a typical 58 style mic I'll probably get the behringer clone to start out with. If I'm not pleased I can always order a shure 58 and then use the behringer as a back up or a second if a buddy wants to play/sing with me. Man I really appreciate all the advice I get on this forum. I wouldn't be able to do all this stuff without the help! Brent Oh yeah, one more technical question... If I go through my mixer then I potentially have 2 places to adjust my sound (amp and mixer) and I have 4 places to adjust overall volume (amp master and channel, mixer master and channel). If say I'm only using one channel (for the condensor mic) where should I adjust my sound and volume and where should I just put it on 5 (1-10)? Will this be determined by the quality of the mixer / amp? Will I just have to use trial and error??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B. Adams Posted June 24, 2004 Members Share Posted June 24, 2004 Originally posted by vetstudent Oh yeah, one more technical question... If I go through my mixer then I potentially have 2 places to adjust my sound (amp and mixer) and I have 4 places to adjust overall volume (amp master and channel, mixer master and channel). If say I'm only using one channel (for the condensor mic) where should I adjust my sound and volume and where should I just put it on 5 (1-10)? Will this be determined by the quality of the mixer / amp? Will I just have to use trial and error??? Lots of different answers there too. I'd say just to start off with, turn each one up 1/4 or 1/3, and try it. You won't want to have anything too much higher or lower than anything else, and you don't want anything turned up so high that it distorts. Just play around and see, that's about the best suggestion I can give. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vetstudent Posted June 24, 2004 Author Members Share Posted June 24, 2004 Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dboomer Posted June 24, 2004 Members Share Posted June 24, 2004 Originally posted by vetstudent I'm looking at mic's to go with an acoustic amp. I know the shure sm58/57's are awesome mics...One last thought. I have a studio projects B1 that I bought Thanks!Brent There some of us that think SM57/58 ARE NOT awesome mics. They ARE probably a reference standard and many people judge mics plus or minus from that point, but that doesn't make them good ... just a starting point. Personally they sound muddy to me but of course if you like them, go ahead. Personally I think your B1 will smoke a 58 on about anything. I don't see a problem with the pickup pattern here. You will need to supply phantom power for the B1 however Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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