Looking for the perfect live vox mic for myself. Narrowed it down. What's your pic?

[Funk-O-Meter]

On the hunt for the killer live vox mic for myself and perhaps some studio use. Mostly gonna be used with 3-4 peice rock and blues shows in smaller clubs and some bars though typical club PA's. I mix myself with my PA some shows because of the affore mentioned typical club PA's.

The contestants are:

Shure KSM-9. I really like this mic but it is a little clinical and perhaps too bright. Behaves just as well as a 58 infront of wedges. Love the dual pattern switch too.

Telefunken M80. New kid on the block. Everybody says its the tits. What do you think?

Audio Technia AE 5400. Haven't ever seen or heard one but I love the AT4050 it's based on and I've heard good things.

I've ruled out:

Neumann KMS 104/105 due it's dendancy to pick up cymbol wash and not behave as well in wedges as it could.

Beta 87a is what I've been using for the last year or so and it's pretty good but has a strong proximity effect and because of it's somewhat poor off axes rejection it's not as easy to deal with as a 58. Also doesn't sound as good as the KSM9 or the Neumann.

I wan the best of both worlds. It might be the KSM9, but what else should I listen too before I press the "destroy wallet" button?

[ruffhen]

You owe yourself to check out the brand new Sennheiser e965, too.
Hand-held LDC, changeable characteristic, hp-filter, pad, high gbf etc.
Works great even on small loud stages. AND Sounds pretty hi-fi.
Might be the best vocal mic for life application I have ever tried.

[surflounge]

Originally Posted by Funk-O-Meter

I've ruled out:
Neumann KMS 104/105 due it's tendancy to pick up cymbol wash and not behave as well in wedges as it could.

Where did you get that info? I need to buy one too.

Here's some prices on your choices if it helps:

Neumann KMS 104/105 $699

Shure KSM-9 $699

Sennheiser e965 $699

Audio Technia AE 5400 $349

Telefunken M80 $239

[ruffhen]

He's got his information correct about the kms 104/5 and Stage wash.
Remember it's always worth it to mention to the drummer to keep his stuff balanced, if he hear it often enough he complies or find another band to play in.

Apart from that, picking the right mic does help, I find both the ksm 9 and especially the 965 to be much better in that regard. PLUSS the wash simply sound much better with the 965. The Telefunken is not on par with the rest of those mentioned here IMO.

[Funk-O-Meter]

the KMS 104/105 aren't perfect or I'd have one. I really like how they sound. But it wouldn't work for me on small stages in shitty sounding bars and clubs. They aren't as road worthy as they could be. You drop it a half a dozen times and that might be it. I don't worry about that with the Shure stuff at all. This info is from reports from my full time tech friends. I've not dropped on e myself. I've used the 105 myself and I thought it was about on par with the Beta 87 for gain before feedback but it likes to take off in different areas up at 8k and 10kish areas. It's realy easy to work with in monitors. The cymbal wash really is a problem if your drummer is loud or your comping the vox or the whole mix pretty aggresivly. Especially on a small stage. I've had to kill overheads and hat mics completely before due to that.

The KSM 9 behaves a lot like a 58 in monitors. It takes off in the upper frequencies which is different but it's off axis rejection is as good or better then a 58. The pattern is switchable but in hypercardioid mode I think it's almost like a 58. I've yet to have cymbol wash problems. Might happen at some point since it captures much more HF information then a 58. That pattern swich is really nice.

I'm skeptical that the M80 or the Heil stuff can keep up but I've not heard them.


I'd like to try the Sennheiser and the AT AE5400 but I'm leaning pretty hard toward the KSM9 at the moment.

[surflounge]

Is there any other high-end mic that can be used for live vocal recording on stage with a band playing? I do studio performance video multitrack recordings, and need high quality inputs because no audience monitors cause feedback. What qualities are sacraficed with stage mics (besides the super cardiod influence) compared to studio vocal mics.

[Meriphew]

Beta 58.

[ruffhen]

Meriphew,

You wouldn't suggest that one if you had heard the rest of the heap.
No comparison. In 90% of cases.

Surflonge.

The KSM 9, Heil PR 22 and 35, and even better the 965 will fit the bill.

58, 58B can be OK, but frustratingly not really satisfactory.
Marginally "better" on a really, really loud stage.
If you are in that situation you'll be better off with a 57, anyway.
There is time for fresh blood on a stage near you.