Post by JazzCat on Dec 20, 2007 7:07:14 GMT
Before spending your money TRY different mics. Make sure that the EQs on the board are flat, and do not allow the salesmen to adjust anything on the board.
Stick to dynamic mics for live stage use. Condenser and ribbon mics are meant for recording and are far more delicate than any dynamic mics are. Ribbon mics are especially delicate. One small jarring shock to it and it's history! Another con about ribbon mics is this. Some require phantom power but others don't. If you get one that does not require phantom power and you accidentally flip on phantom power on your PA, you have just blown your ribbon mic to bits!
At the moment I have 3 stage mics. I'll list them in order of my preference, and give the pros and cons, as I personally see them.
-----
Beyerdynamic TG X 180
Transducer principle: Dynamic
Polar pattern: Cardioid ( possibly hyper-cardioid)
Unfortunately I can not find the box and paperwork for this mic or I would include its frequency response and exact polar pattern. I could not find specs for it on the internet. I believe this model may no longer be in production.
Pros:
This mic delivers crisp, clean highs. It has much more frequency response than the Shure SM-58 It's also a hotter mic that the 58. You need less gain which means you'll get less noise from the preamp, if your preamp is noisy at all.
The capsule is shockmounted within the mic casing. This cuts down handling noise considerably.
This mic is particularly lightweight easy to hold (good for me as I have fibromyalgia which also affects my hands, and heavy mics are difficult to hold for long periods of time)
Cons ( sort of):
This mic is a bit more delicate than an SM-58, and supposedly isn't able to take a lot of abuse. However, less than a month after I got it, I tripped on the mic cable while stepping off of a 1 foot high stage. (1/3 meter) The mic and stand came crashing down onto the dance floor and it hit square on the screen. It barely dented it and caused no internal damage. I took it apart and examined it to make darn sure.
As mentioned before, the capsule is suspended within the casing. The rubber loops that attach to the casing are a permanent portion of the capsule itself. Eventually the rubber loops get old, stretch out and break. The big negative is the fact that they did not design the mic so just these little loops could be replaced. If they break you have to replace the entire cartridge! I've had to do it once. I've had this mic since the late 80's.
==============
Sennheiser e835 ( Evolution series)
Transducer principle: Dynamic (humbucking coil)
Polar pattern: Cardioid
Frequency response: 40Hz - 16kHz
shockmounted capsule
Spec sheet: img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pdf/spec/270825.pdf
Pros:
Quite inexpensive. I found it for about 65 bucks on the internet! I bought it because I was looking for a back up for the Beyer. I have not used this mic a lot but the little I have used it I have found it to be hotter than the SM-58, with definite cleaner, clearer highs, but not as good as my Buyer in that regard. It's construction seems to be pretty rugged, but I haven't dropped it yet! LOL
Cons:
At 11.64 oz this mic is just a tad heavier than the SM-58 at 10.5 oz, so I don't like holding it. It seems to have a sweet spot that is a bit difficult to find. If you go off axis it quickly loses response, but once you get used to that, and learn where to place it, it is a sweet sounding mic. The specs claim it is shock mounted inside the casing but I have removed the screen and it looks to be in solid contact with the casing. Something tells me they don't know what shock mounting a cartridge is. LOL!
=================
Shure SM-58
Transducer Principle: Dynamic
Polar pattern: Cardioid
Freq. Response: 50Hz-15kHz
spec sheet: media.zzounds.com/media/sm58-87f3fb9864a9b29e15403268bf044a70.pdf
Pros:
The Shure SM-58 has remained the most popular stage mic for decades, and for good reason. They are the most rugged mic on the market. You can go play baseball, using the SM-58 as the bat and then go play a gig with it! This mic will probably last you for your entire musical career with no repairs needed, even if it gets dropped numerous times.
Cons:
They tend to be a bit muddy if you aren't really good about setting your PA. In my opinion the SM-58 is better for male voices and not so great for female voices. With so many newer, hotter mics with better freq response on the market I must stress comparing others side by side to the SM-58. You just might find something that fits your voice better.
Stick to dynamic mics for live stage use. Condenser and ribbon mics are meant for recording and are far more delicate than any dynamic mics are. Ribbon mics are especially delicate. One small jarring shock to it and it's history! Another con about ribbon mics is this. Some require phantom power but others don't. If you get one that does not require phantom power and you accidentally flip on phantom power on your PA, you have just blown your ribbon mic to bits!
At the moment I have 3 stage mics. I'll list them in order of my preference, and give the pros and cons, as I personally see them.
-----
Beyerdynamic TG X 180
Transducer principle: Dynamic
Polar pattern: Cardioid ( possibly hyper-cardioid)
Unfortunately I can not find the box and paperwork for this mic or I would include its frequency response and exact polar pattern. I could not find specs for it on the internet. I believe this model may no longer be in production.
Pros:
This mic delivers crisp, clean highs. It has much more frequency response than the Shure SM-58 It's also a hotter mic that the 58. You need less gain which means you'll get less noise from the preamp, if your preamp is noisy at all.
The capsule is shockmounted within the mic casing. This cuts down handling noise considerably.
This mic is particularly lightweight easy to hold (good for me as I have fibromyalgia which also affects my hands, and heavy mics are difficult to hold for long periods of time)
Cons ( sort of):
This mic is a bit more delicate than an SM-58, and supposedly isn't able to take a lot of abuse. However, less than a month after I got it, I tripped on the mic cable while stepping off of a 1 foot high stage. (1/3 meter) The mic and stand came crashing down onto the dance floor and it hit square on the screen. It barely dented it and caused no internal damage. I took it apart and examined it to make darn sure.
As mentioned before, the capsule is suspended within the casing. The rubber loops that attach to the casing are a permanent portion of the capsule itself. Eventually the rubber loops get old, stretch out and break. The big negative is the fact that they did not design the mic so just these little loops could be replaced. If they break you have to replace the entire cartridge! I've had to do it once. I've had this mic since the late 80's.
==============
Sennheiser e835 ( Evolution series)
Transducer principle: Dynamic (humbucking coil)
Polar pattern: Cardioid
Frequency response: 40Hz - 16kHz
shockmounted capsule
Spec sheet: img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pdf/spec/270825.pdf
Pros:
Quite inexpensive. I found it for about 65 bucks on the internet! I bought it because I was looking for a back up for the Beyer. I have not used this mic a lot but the little I have used it I have found it to be hotter than the SM-58, with definite cleaner, clearer highs, but not as good as my Buyer in that regard. It's construction seems to be pretty rugged, but I haven't dropped it yet! LOL
Cons:
At 11.64 oz this mic is just a tad heavier than the SM-58 at 10.5 oz, so I don't like holding it. It seems to have a sweet spot that is a bit difficult to find. If you go off axis it quickly loses response, but once you get used to that, and learn where to place it, it is a sweet sounding mic. The specs claim it is shock mounted inside the casing but I have removed the screen and it looks to be in solid contact with the casing. Something tells me they don't know what shock mounting a cartridge is. LOL!
=================
Shure SM-58
Transducer Principle: Dynamic
Polar pattern: Cardioid
Freq. Response: 50Hz-15kHz
spec sheet: media.zzounds.com/media/sm58-87f3fb9864a9b29e15403268bf044a70.pdf
Pros:
The Shure SM-58 has remained the most popular stage mic for decades, and for good reason. They are the most rugged mic on the market. You can go play baseball, using the SM-58 as the bat and then go play a gig with it! This mic will probably last you for your entire musical career with no repairs needed, even if it gets dropped numerous times.
Cons:
They tend to be a bit muddy if you aren't really good about setting your PA. In my opinion the SM-58 is better for male voices and not so great for female voices. With so many newer, hotter mics with better freq response on the market I must stress comparing others side by side to the SM-58. You just might find something that fits your voice better.
