What is the best vocal mic for under $200.00 ?

[Hawk]

What is the best vocal mic for under $200.00 ?

.......and /or under $150.00

[Merge]

The Shure SM-58 is a good vocal mic, and it costs around $100.

[soundman8199]

Hey Bill, I have some excellent vocal mics here.

SHS OM-500: very similar to the Shure SM-58, comes with cable & 10 year warranty. $80

SHS OM-V1: comes with cable & 10 year warranty. $70

SHS OM-25: comes with cable & 10 year warranty. $50

Superlux PRA-D1: comes with clips, carrying case & 2 year warranty. Sold in sets of 5. $150

You're welcome to stop by & take a look at these mics.

[Killjingle]

live or recording? male or female?

[Colton]

The Shure SM-58 is a good vocal mic, and it costs around $100.

Yeah, these mic's rawk.

[lonewolf]

For a dynamic I like the EV ND767:

http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-ELE-ND767A-LIST

You can pick up a restocked one for $100. Absolutely cannot beat that at twice the price. Notice that it has a perfect 5 star rating on 3 pages of reviews at AMS.

For a condenser, I like the Shure SM87a, but they are more like $250. Sometimes you can find a deal at around $200.

These are both excellent sounding hypercardioids that reject ambient sound and feedback.

At these prices, stay away from yesteryear's popular regular old cardioids--they are a recipe for feedback and extra stage noise in the mix.

[P MAC]

Pretty hardto beat an SM 58, at right around $100 they are a great value and very durable. I have several that have been in service for more than twenty years and still sound great. If you need a bit more gain and presence, the Beta 58 is a great mic as well for about $150. The Beta seems to be a little better for chick singers. Just my humble opinion.

[Killjingle]

I tend to agree with Lonewolf. After using SM58's a lot this past yr vs Sennheiser and EV; I reach for the latter in a LIVE application. Too much squeal in a challenged monitor mix.

When recording I reach for the 58 for aggressive vox, and a condenser for clean vocal sound. Id like to look into a Neumann for getting a really true sound.

[Hawk]

Thank you everyone. Our singer was leaning toward that exact EV. I knew the 58 was a good mic, but Brian likes the EV767. Probably go with the EV.

BTW...for live applications.

[Killjingle]

I used to swear by 58's. Until I had to learn how to mix them. The one thing I think that happens, myself included; is that we tend to get accustomed to how a shure 58 colors our voice. When u walk into another room without it, there tends to be the opinion of "this mic is junk or doesnt sound right." I like how the 58 colors my voice, but I cant stand running them live because they are just way too damn hot; and major problems arise with guys who cup the damn things. The proximity effect takes over.

I really like the Sennheisers that Jaybird has in his system but I cant remember for the life of me which ones they are. I really think the EV mic is easy to run loud and has a nice natural sound as well.

[metalchurch]

male or female?

How much difference would it really matter? Granted, most males tend to have much lower frequencies than females, but would one mic tend to work better for males than it would for a female with a higher voice?

Never really thought about it really, I mean you make a good observation, I've just never heard of it before.
Maybe some mics would amplify certain frequencies of a male and not a female, and vice versa.
Interesting for shure.

[Killjingle]

actually Joe, I have found that the EV was superior for female vocals. The 58 was way too damn dark.

[stratobastard27]

I really dig the Audix OM2's. They're right about $100. They sound just fine to me and they have a really tight hypercardiod pattern. It's very difficult to make them feedback. As a bonus, they're very sturdy. I've seen demos, and sadly done it myself, dropping them from chest height onto concrete. They continue to work just fine.

[KyleMayket]

male or female?

How much difference would it really matter? Granted, most males tend to have much lower frequencies than females, but would one mic tend to work better for males than it would for a female with a higher voice?

Never really thought about it really, I mean you make a good observation, I've just never heard of it before.
Maybe some mics would amplify certain frequencies of a male and not a female, and vice versa.
Interesting for shure.

yeah, it's just the same as using different mics to mic toms, rack toms will normally get a regular drum mic, but the floor tom(s) will get "bassier" mics to get more of that frequency, and the kick gets a monster mic to get that frequency, you get the idea, but normally a female will get a different mic than a male in a professional setting (i.e. they don't when I run sound, everyone is treated equally, I'm not a sexist...)

[songsmith]

I think the overall quality of dynamic vocal mikes has increased a LOT over the last decade or so. You get a lot more bang for the buck these days.
I like the Audix OM series (I have an OM-3xB, and it's excellent for country stuff, but a bit dark for rock vocals), the Sennheiser 835 is excellent for the money (as are the 815's which are waaay cheap), and the neodymium EV's are still a great value, but be sure you use an external pop filter or windscreen... they don't seem to have the same ability as an SM-58 to stop the plosives... you'll be doing fine, then BOOM!, you say a word that starts with "P" and everybody in the audience flinches. Otherwise they get tons of gain before feedback and excel on loud stages.----->JMS

[Killjingle]

Kyle, what model are those sennheisers in Jaybird's rig?

[KyleMayket]

Kyle, what model are those sennheisers in Jaybird's rig?

I wanna say 815's, but I'm not exactly sure...I don't pay attention much

[lonewolf]

and the neodymium EV's are still a great value, but be sure you use an external pop filter or windscreen... they don't seem to have the same ability as an SM-58 to stop the plosives... you'll be doing fine, then BOOM!, you say a word that starts with "P" and everybody in the audience flinches. Otherwise they get tons of gain before feedback and excel on loud stages.----->JMS

Um, thats not an ability. That's because the EVs are almost twice as hot (sensitivity) as the SM58. The hotter the mic, the more, um, plosives. You should hear those Neumanns pop from 12 inches away.

With all this talk of ND767s, I looked on eBay and couldn't resist getting a pair (2 new restocks shipped for $149 total ). We used them last Saturday and they outperformed the SM87s we were using. The SM87s will be relegated to drum overheads. All that rock howling and not even one plosive.

[BDR]

r:>)

[songsmith]

Um, thats not an ability. That's because the EVs are almost twice as hot (sensitivity) as the SM58. The hotter the mic, the more, um, plosives. You should hear those Neumanns pop from 12 inches away.

With all this talk of ND767s, I looked on eBay and couldn't resist getting a pair (2 new restocks shipped for $149 total ). We used them last Saturday and they outperformed the SM87s we were using. The SM87s will be relegated to drum overheads. All that rock howling and not even one plosive.

Um, the the entire ND series is hotter, they have neo perma-magnets that focus the flux-field tighter. Their windscreens also SUCK. Your plosive/sibilance/pop/gonk mileage may vary. Jeeziz, I'm defending myself in the Tech forum. -------->JMS

[lonewolf]

Um, thats not an ability. That's because the EVs are almost twice as hot (sensitivity) as the SM58. The hotter the mic, the more, um, plosives. You should hear those Neumanns pop from 12 inches away.

With all this talk of ND767s, I looked on eBay and couldn't resist getting a pair (2 new restocks shipped for $149 total ). We used them last Saturday and they outperformed the SM87s we were using. The SM87s will be relegated to drum overheads. All that rock howling and not even one plosive.

Um, the the entire ND series is hotter, they have neo perma-magnets that focus the flux-field tighter. Their windscreens also SUCK. Your plosive/sibilance/pop/gonk mileage may vary. Jeeziz, I'm defending myself in the Tech forum. -------->JMS

Heh, heh, heh, it sounds more like you are defending a few millimeters of foam .

I just bought (between posts) a lightly used EV RE-510 condenser for $56!

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=270032

I haven't had the chance to try one of these and I'm anxious to see how it sounds. If it works as well as expected, I will probably have 2 more Shure SM87s up for sale.

[songsmith]

Okay, now I really don't like you.
I've used the RE510 (it could have been a 410, though)... at a show awhile back... it was exactly what was called for... excellent gain-before-feedback, which is a MAJOR issue with condensers. You could stand back 12-18" and still get something useable (we don't close mic per se, we use 2 mics for vox, and 2 for instruments, not counting my dobro mic... long story), there doesn't seem to be a real issue with proximity effect. We use cardioid studio condensers (side-address LDC's), but I think the RE-510 would suit us better. You're lucky to get it at that price, too. I watch those ebay searches often, and I missed this one.
I'm more jealous of your Neumanns, though. Any chance I could rent those for an upcoming Mama Corn recording project? You could come along and babysit 'em if you want. (hint-hint-hint)------>JMS

[lonewolf]

I'm more jealous of your Neumanns, though. Any chance I could rent those for an upcoming Mama Corn recording project? You could come along and babysit 'em if you want. (hint-hint-hint)------>JMS

I'd be inclined to do that if I'm not busy. Of course, I'd want to babysit them.

[songsmith]

Thanks, Jeff! I didn't mean it to sound like babysitting was optional, of course I'd want you there! It'll probably be in about mid-autumn, I'll keep you informed.------------>JMS