Tips from the Pros 03: Live microphones on a budget

[jpleong]

In professional music (audio, film, broadcast, etc...) the old adage "you get what you pay for" applies more than anywhere else in the world. Quality is much, much more important than quantity.

What microphones would you recommend to someone buying his/her first live sound mics and why?

[michaelhoddy]

SM57's & SM58's. They're not the most enduringly popular mics by accident. If you can't get at least a good sound with one, something else is wrong, and I include specialty apps like kick drum in this.

As you build out your collection, you can branch out into more exotic and specialty app stuff.

Realize that no one has reinvented the wheel when it comes to mics, regardless of what any manufacturer's ad copy says. Like probably everyone else, I had a period a bunch of years ago where I tried to find the next holy grail in live sound mics. Guess what I'm back to? SM57's & SM58's. Sure, I have a bunch of other fancy stuff too. But I'm never let down by these.

[jpleong]

The SM57 is a must! Sounds great on everything and will find use as a studio-mic as well. You will not outgrow this mic.

I'm not a big fan of the 58 but it has proven itself the best mic in a few situations (replacing, heh heh, the Beta 87) so it's good to have around.

I prefer the AKG D880 on most female vocals and a lot of male vocals. The late-90's and 2000 versions of this mic are pretty inexpensive (below $90) since stores need to clear room for the newer D880m.

The Sennheiser e835 sounds pretty good on male voices.

Of course, if buying for a specific person: always audition before you buy!

JP

[michaelhoddy]

I have had a number of situations where a Shure Beta 58 or 87 mic got beat out by a regular old 58. The Beta 58 in particular usually sounds really good or horrible. I mixed the Lonnie Brooks Blues band a couple weekends ago, and the Beta 58 just didn't sound any good on him (I like the Beta onstage for its tighter polar pattern and hotter output). The SM58, on the other hand, almost never sounds horrible. There may be a better choice for a given vocal, but the 58 is never a bad one.

[flattop100]

Realize that no one has reinvented the wheel when it comes to mics, regardless of what any manufacturer's ad copy says. Like probably everyone else, I had a period a bunch of years ago where I tried to find the next holy grail in live sound mics. Guess what I'm back to? SM57's & SM58's. Sure, I have a bunch of other fancy stuff too. But I'm never let down by these.

I've heard AT's newest "artist" series are like 'the old standbys,' but better.

But I'm betting you don't want to go around the carosel again. :)

[panhead]

it has got to be the sm57 or sm58 for me as well.

[michaelhoddy]

Originally posted by flattop100
I've heard AT's newest "artist" series are like 'the old standbys,' but better.

But I'm betting you don't want to go around the carosel again. :)

I like the AE3300 and AE5400 quite a bit for vocals, but unless I know the singer I'm mixing and have had time to experiment, it's usually 58's, because I know they'll at least work and sound decent. I haven't used the AE-series dynamic mics, and I had high hopes for the AE2500 for kick, but wasn't blown away by it (other people like it).

Still, in condenser land, I would say that the AE3300/5400 sound better on more people, than, say, the Beta 87, which either just doesn't work for some people, or is pure magic.

That's actually the case with many of the specialty vocal mics I've used. They're either simply fabulous, or they sound like crap, and what may be fabulous on one singer might sound like crap on the next one. The SM58 steers the middle ground. It'll rarely sound fabulous (except on some rock singers, where it does), but it'll never suck. For unknown live situations, I'd rather sacrifice the possibility of some mic being fabulous to ensure that I don't have a crappy-sounding vocal. Most singers (and riders, incidentally), at least at the mid-level where I do most of my work, agree.