Male vocal microphone for small church

[coolslump]

Hi there, Im in search for a male vocal microphone for a small church use. I lead a team of singers & band, my voice is slightly strong and can go quite high & strong when singing. I have been using SM85 for quite some time but now i feel it's time to use a mic that is suitable and owned by me. First ive had my eyes on Neumann KMS105 but it seems that the mic is sensitive to a small setting ending up picking up all the sounds from nearby singers & band. Could you give me the best possible male vocal mic suitable to my situation? (PS: our audio equipment is not high end)

thanks!!

[Cornchuck]

You did not say what your budget was but here is a few mics you could google...SM7b, Blue Dragonfly, AEA R84 ribbon, Audio Tech 4047. What kind of Preamp are you using? Is there enough output for certain mics? Really, I could go on with questions all day. It comes down to being a personal choice and money.

[bishopthomas]

If your PA system is not good enough to show the nuances of a really good (and expensive) microphone then there may not be a reason to spend the money. You're only as good as your weakest link, so keep that in mind when you're looking at spending $600 for a handheld mic. Since this mic is for your voice and yours alone only you can pick out the one that sounds best. You're going to have to try some out so you should go to your nearest pro audio dealer and do some comparisons. To get you started, though, here are some options:

Sennheiser 900 series
Shure KSM9
Audix VX10
Audix OM5

Maybe telling us what you don't like about the sm85 (which was replaced with the Beta 87) would help us to know what to look for in another mic.

[coolslump]

To be honest with you I don't know much about the system being used at church. I just sing & worship im quite newbie in all the technical stuff...
There isn't much that I disliked about SM85, I just want a mic that has warmer sound with better clarity. Because when i lead my voice needs to be heard with clarity on top of the noise by singers & band. I also want the mic to be able to bring out that loud sound without having me to sing like my brains will explode, but I want that sound to be warmer and richer rather than being really sharp. My budget is anywhere near KSM105, but prefereably cheaper. Will this help in the selection?

PS: As I work full time, it's quite difficult for me to actually go to a shop and try them out. So i'm solely relying on your advice

[ghellquist]

Noticed after writing the post: you say SM85. I read it as SM58. The 85 is not what I would choose for a strong male voice.

I suggest you try an SM58. In my experience there is a reason why the SM58 is used so often -- it generally works very well on male voices.

If not, well, this cannot really be done remotely. You really have to get a bunch of mics and try which of them suits your voice best. They are all different, and work best with different voices.

It might however be that the PA is really what you should blame, some of them are not quite up to the task. Sadly, on a few occasions I have recommended the singers to get good voice tutoring instead.

// Gunar

[coolslump]

oh man sorry for wasting your time! im user sm58 atm

[ghellquist]

Originally Posted by coolslump

I also want the mic to be able to bring out that loud sound without having me to sing like my brains will explode...

Well, simply pull up the fader on the PA.
Or maybe that is what is happening -- you singing soo loud that the mixer person pulls down the fader.

Basically, with a SM58 your PA should be able to sound loud enough to be too much without you singing very loud. It might be a question about getting better foldback monitors (wedges on the floor pointing to you).

Given that, my first suggestion would actually be to investigate the PA as such.

// Gunnar

[hughshouse]

We replaced the SM58 hand held vocal mics for our praise team to Audio Technica AE4100s. The 4100s have much better rear rejection, to isolate vocals from floor wedges, and a much flatter response. (the mid range bump in 58s may work well in rock and roll but the sound was not appropriate for our praise team) A switch over to an electronic drum set along with new in ear monitoring has helped a bunch. The mic I am recommending is not expensive and for that matter none of the above changes were budget busters; however major improvements to your system will be quite pricey and to justify a high end, expensive vocal mic you are wasting your $ unless the entire system is upgraded to deliver the sonic enhancements of any high end mic.
Hugh

[Barnabas]

Keep the SM58 and look at getting a compressor. A properly tuned compressor on your voice will get your voice out in front of everything else, but in a controlled way.

[GYMusic]

Never mind.

[Remoteness]

Originally Posted by Barnabas

Keep the SM58 and look at getting a compressor. A properly tuned compressor on your voice will get your voice out in front of everything else, but in a controlled way.

I'm with Chris on this one.

Sure you can buy all sorts of nice vocal microphones, but I get the feeling a decent compressor will do you much more good than a new "higher quality' mic.

[bishopthomas]

I get the feeling that we're all throwing a pile of gear on a problem that could be better addressed by hiring someone to tune and/or repair the existing PA. I don't know that for a fact, but every small church PA I've ever seen has just needed some TLC and maybe the correct cables to get it sounding like the small cheap PA it's supposed to.

[Remoteness]

Thomas made a very good point...

First things first!