Vocal stage mic - good for live recordings

[zemlin]

A fair amount of my work is recording live concerts - usually acoustic music - not rockish things. I have a few SM58s - sometimes they do the job, sometimes they leave a lot to be desired.

I'd like to get a couple of stage mics that will deliver the goods with a variety of voices (since I never know what I'm doing next). Sometimes it's just FOH - sometimes I'm multitracking everything that comes into the board for a future mixdown.

I'm thinking of maybe the Shure Beta 87, maybe the Rode S1. I'd say $250 ea is about my upper limit - less, of course, would be preferred.

Any hot tips?

[Rick Sutton]

I tried out quite a few mics (including Beta 87) for remote vocals that would give me a step up from the usual suspects and ended up buying a pair of Sennheiser e935. I've used them for several remotes and some studio work and have been very pleased. I got them used off of Ebay for about $80 each.

[Roland]

The Sennheiser e865 is a real sleeper. If its a high quality condensor mic with good feedback resistance this could well be the unit for you. I'm also a an of the Beta SM87 you mentioned earlier, but these are a little more money. KM105's from Neumann are also great, but pricey. If it is a full on rock vocal you are after, a dynamic may be a better bet.

Regards


Roland

[MartynH]

Another vote for the KMS105 from me.

[zemlin]

I've read some great things about the KMS105, but I'm hoping to get 2 or 3 mics for the price of 1 of the neumanns. - unless someone out there knows where I can pick them up for $200.

[cdog]

You can get very usable results from a Beta58.

Also, I like the Senn 421 for vocals.

[Remoteness]

The MD441 & MD421 really sound good on vocals.
Remember the Doors video from a live TV performance -- Morrison used a white MD421.

It's not in the budget you're talking about but, nowadays I use KMS105s. I don't leave home without them unless the client or guest engineer wants to use something else.

[Roland]

Sting used an e865 for the "all this time" DVD concert he did as I believe did Fleetwood Mac for their live in concert DVD. I bought two recently and was very pleased. The 87 is a really good choice too. My view is that the 105 whilst it sounds great I would be very worried if it got dropped. As in any situation, none of these mics will be the perfect solution for every vocalist, but any of them will give you good results.

Regards


Roland

[zemlin]

The Senn e865 is looking pretty good. Feedback is a problem in one of the venues I work - I like the hypercardioid pattern. Also, the pattern is very consistant through the frequency range - should be pretty uncolored on off axis bleed. Finally, the price isn't bad. I've found it for as low as $200.

The e835 certainly has a nice price, but the polar plot worries me - feedback and colored off axis bleed, in particular.

The e935 also looks like a reasonable option, but from what I found on other sources, my comfort level is higher with the e865.

I looked at a number of dynamics, but again, the polar plots aren't real attractive on those - I'm thinking of singing and playing guitar - colored bleed is often a problem on those recordings. Hypercardioid and consistant off axis response should help a lot in those instances.

Thanks for the tips folks.

[mrmicguy]

Go the Rode S1. Great product, great sound - mad price.

10 year warranty that covers everthing - even accidental damage by end user!