Which mic for LIVE (female) Vocals!!!

[Arsene]

Hi all,

I am currently working closely with a female singer who's voice is quite comparable to Christina Aguilera's. Apart from producing her EP, I am also working on some of her live shows.

The thing is, we need a live mic that will suit her voice, so far she has been singing in a SM58, and while that's not bad, it's not all that either. I am not in a position to try a whole lot of mics (due to time/money/practical constraints), so I was looking for your help to narrow down the choices to, say, up to 5 mics to try.

The style she sings in is mostly Pop/RnB/Soul stuff, with some rock in it as well, but think along the lines of Christina, Mariah, older soul music, etc. powerful & full.

I was looking at Sennheiser's range (e - series) or should I perhaps get a condenser (many choices here, Shure, AKG)...

Lastly, as she is probably going to buy this mic herself, there's virtually no budget restraints!

Anyway, any options/opinions would be greatly appreciated!

And remember - it's for onstage, handheld is a must! Thanks!

[Arsene]

... please...?

[Dan]

The Neumann is a solid choice KMS 104/105 Airy highs, and solid low-mids. If budget is really not a constraint the KMS-150 is there, with the bling factor. ($1300 for a HH?)
The Shure Beta 87 is another great mic. It seems a little beefier sounding than a 58, but also retains most of the qualities associated with Shure. I consider that a positive.
Personally, I dig the AKG 535, and think it sounds huge, but it's not an all rounder like the Beta 87. Of course, if ssibilance is a problem, check out the Beyer 260. It's a fun choice, and less than obvious. That's probably because there are some inherent dangers with plugging a ribbon into somebody else's P.A.
Anything you get is going to be somewhat of a gamble, because we have no idea what the singer sounds like, or how she treats a microphone. To say you don't have the time, or money to try different mics is a little misleading. You will have time to buy another mic if the first one doesn't work out. You can either choose the time, or let it choose you. I've seen both C.A./M.C. with the Neumann, and maybe the Shure. Your singer will probably dig the "I have the same mic as Christina" aspect with the Neumann because of the companies great t.v. placement.

[The Byre]

Another vote here for the 105! Great mic and really good for female vocals - nice 'breathy' edge to it. Very low handling noise and almost no 'pop' problems.

We've even used one in the studio a couple of times - it has that C12 edge to the sound. The Shure and Sennheiser rivals are not even nearly as good IMO.

[Arsene]

I'm not saying I won't try any mic, but I was just looking to narrow down the choices somewhat... so thanks for the input so far... You think I should def go for a condenser?