What's in your mic locker?

[Deadhead85]

What kind of mics are in your collection? Favorites?

Telefunken M80
Sennheiser e609
Shure SM58

I'm also working on getting a Sennheiser MD421.

[Grant]

SM7 & SM57 - can't go wrong

Vocalists tend to really like the sm7 since they can hold it while singing

[tcsned]

Vocals: AT4055 - large diaphragm condensers. These things are awesome.
Shure Beta 87 for backups extra singers etc.

Amp: AKG 3000B large diaphragm condensers (also for vocals/instruments for the bluegrass band)
AKG1000c for extras
Rode NT4s for overhead drum mics if we use an acoustic kit.

Others:
AKG classic kick drum mic - can't remember the model #
Random dynamic mics for emergencies

[strumminsix]

Sennheiser e935, e945, e609
Shure SM57, SM58
EV 767
Akg D5

The D5 sits in my back-up case.

[mijknahs]

Sennheiser e935, e945, e609
Shure SM57, SM58
EV 767
Akg D5

The D5 sits in my back-up case.

I thought the D5 was your favorite mic. What is your personal "go to" mic now?

[strumminsix]

Sennheiser e935, e945, e609
Shure SM57, SM58
EV 767
Akg D5

The D5 sits in my back-up case.

I thought the D5 was your favorite mic. What is your personal "go to" mic now?

Yup, was It has a weird EQ that worked well with some mixers but not others. And we were working in rooms were I needed a cardiod vs super-cardiod.

So I sought out a pair of mics that work for me with special consideration to where my monitors were. For those that don't know super/hyper cardiods pickup sound from the front AND a bit behind.

Now I'm completely satisfied and loving the e935 & e945 in EVERY room. I can get dialed in easily and sound great night after night!

I spent about 4 hours looking at mic EQ curves before finding this. Some are flat, others have dips, others boosts, etc. Learned alot.

[SarnoMusicSolutions]

When I shut down the recording studio in '99, microphones were something I couldn't really part with easily. Still have:

Sennheiser 421 x2
Sennheiser 409 x4
Neumann KM84 x2
AT 4033
Rode NTK tube mic
Shinybox ribbon
SM57 x?
SM58 x?
AT Pro37r x2
Groove Tubes 6TM
Audix D6
Sony C535
Oktava MK012 x2
Sennheiser MD835
AKG C452
AKG D9
AKG D856
AKG C5600
Shure SM87A
EV RE12
EV RE15
Sennheiser MD504
Shure Green Bullet original

[Charlie]

There are plenty of better mics in a studio situation but for gigs you can't go past 58s for vocal mics. They sound good and you can drop onto concrete from six foot in the air and they still work. Most instrumentalists I know prefer 57s but my current sax player also likes to play through a 58.

[mijknahs]

Now I'm completely satisfied and loving the e935 & e945 in EVERY room.

If you had to pick between them, which one? e935 or e945? What's the diff?

[SarnoMusicSolutions]

There are plenty of better mics in a studio situation but for gigs you can't go past 58s for vocal mics. They sound good and you can drop onto concrete from six foot in the air and they still work. Most instrumentalists I know prefer 57s but my current sax player also likes to play through a 58.

Agreed. '58's are among the greatest and most under-used instrument mic's. In acoustic settings, they are incredible mic's when set very hot and the instruments are backed off at a distance. Dave Sinko, who currently mixes the Punch Brothers, once taught me how amazing the SM58 is when used this way. He did an Edgar Meyer/Sam bush gig with only 58's and each player was about 2 to 3 feet away from the mics's and would come closer, about 18" for solos. It was ridiculously great sounding and in our most acoustically killer hall, the Sheldon Concert Hall. He said this was a great secret to know about the SM58.

They're almost the same mic as the 57, same capsule, but the windscreen affects the tone and pattern to make them a different animal, a bit warmer and fuller. I love exotic mic's, but the classic Shure SM57 and SM58 are truly great mic's for so many things.

B

[strumminsix]

There are plenty of better mics in a studio situation but for gigs you can't go past 58s for vocal mics. They sound good and you can drop onto concrete from six foot in the air and they still work. Most instrumentalists I know prefer 57s but my current sax player also likes to play through a 58.

Yes, I can easily pass them over every night I take the stage. I bring mics to sound gigs and sound 10x better than with 58s and I'll toss an e609 in front of my amp every day and leave the 57 in my gig bag next the 58 both as back-ups. I can guarantee you that for every 4 vocalists you work at least 1 will do better with another mic in a similar price range. Take the Senn 835 for example. VERY good for both male and female vocals where they sound ok with 58s but something is missing. There are some Audix that will fall under that umbrella too!

I think our ears are used to the 58 soundcurve and how vocals sound with them.

Now I'm completely satisfied and loving the e935 & e945 in EVERY room.

If you had to pick between them, which one? e935 or e945? What's the diff?

e935=cardiod
e945=supercardiod

they sound the same on their own but the diffs come into play with the room and setup --> inherent to the cardiod vs super thing

cardiod = wider pickup area, your work it nicely close, far, etc, picks up from the front sides, will pickup your voice, your amp, the drummer, etc, but NOT the monitor directly behind it
supercardiod = tight pickup area, you are mostly either on it > background > off, rejects side noice, picks up only the front and a specific spot directly behind so WILL pickup the monitor IF directly behind and cause feedback.

So basically, I pick the mic by whichever room I'm playing and what the setup is.

[Deadhead85]

Well I opted out of buying a MD421, just out of my price range for the time being. I did, however, settle on an SM57!

[Deadhead85]

Telefunken M80
Sennheiser e609
Shure SM57
Shure SM58

[jeffm725]

For vocals I have been using a Sennheiser 935 for years, it is just a fantastic all around vocal mic in every scenario (for my vocal range at least).........

............However.............. A couple months ago my sennheiser started sounding off to me a little bit, without grossing anyone out, it was from a few years of spit which did some nasty things to the foam underneath and then to the element (I think).I really need to take better care of my mics and wipe em off and clean them from time to time. So anyway I went to pick up another 935 but then a couple "Blue" mics on sale caught my eye (I didnt end up getting a Blue). I figured since I was there why don't I try out all the vocal mics in the 129-200 dollar price range just for the heck of it. It had been a while since I really checked out everyone's latest offerings.

I tried the following mics all through the exact same PA with the exact same EQ settings, one after another:

Sennheiser 935
Shure Beta 58A
EV N/D 767A
Audix OM3
Blue encore 200
AKG D5
AT (cant remember which)

I also tried a TC Helicon Mic that sounded pretty good, but it was made to be married to TC Vocal effects processors and I wasn't going to start going there at that time!

Anyway, I shocked myself and walked out of there with the EV N/D 767A it just sounded "right" to me for my vocal range. As Always the Senn 935 was right there (and I had a hard time leaving without it because it has served me so well over the last few years), but I have now lived with the EV for a few months, and haven't regretted it one bit.
I was surprised that after the EV and Senn that my next favorite was the Audix OM3.

Surprisingly in the setup I tested everything on, I did not care for the Shure Beta 58a . I thought originally that it would either be the Beta or the Senn that I would walk out of the store with. The Beta was just a bit too crispy through the high-mids for me. I know it is a great mic for some though (my bass player has used a beta for years to great effect).

One other thing that I like the EV over the Sennheiser and to me it is important (especially in the smaller rooms) is that the EV does a much better job of rejecting noise and bleed from all directions. The Sennheiser 935 is a very sensitive and hot mic. Our lead guitar player is using a 935 still, and when he is not singing and not in front of his mic (and he only sings a one or 2 songs a gig tops) his Sennheiser will pick up his guitar signal from 10-12 feet away and it will sound through the PA like his amp is mic'd right on the CAB!
The EV doesnt do that.
When we play small rooms we dont mic our instruments, only the kick drum and vox are through the PA. So we don't want that bleed.
That is not a feature someone usually shops for in a vocal mic, but meant something to me.

Just thought I'd share a recent experience. I see the EV is running about 20-30 dollars less than the Beta's and 935's at most places too, so there is a good value to be had.

[strumminsix]

One other thing that I like the EV over the Sennheiser and to me it is important (especially in the smaller rooms) is that the EV does a much better job of rejecting noise and bleed from all directions. The Sennheiser 935 is a very sensitive and hot mic. Our lead guitar player is using a 935 still, and when he is not singing and not in front of his mic (and he only sings a one or 2 songs a gig tops) his Sennheiser will pick up his guitar signal from 10-12 feet away and it will sound through the PA like his amp is mic'd right on the CAB!
The EV doesnt do that.

Jeff, what you are describing is not a Senn vs EV thing. It is a cardiod vs supercardiod thing.

If you want a voicing of 935 but rejection of your 767 try a Senn 945 which is the supercardiod version of the 935.