The Steel Guitar Forum

I understand that the Shure SM 58 is sort of the "standard" live performance mike. What do the pros use in live situations? Is there a "better" mike for a female (with a soft voice) that has a "close" area of sensitivity and is fairly durable? Oh- It needs an on-off switch.
Thanks in advance
Dave Little

Electro-Voice makes a female mic.

SM58, period. Or a SM58 Beta.

DO NOT get a mic with an on/off switch!!!
If you must have a defeat switch, get a cable that has the defeat switch on it.

Switches on mics make 'em noisy.

You can get a mic "tuned up" too. I have a '58' that used to belong to K. Matea, and it's hotter than any 58 Beta on the stage.

Now.......
There is NO difference between the 57 and the 58. They are the SAME mic, except for the wind screen. That is the ONLY difference in the 2 mics. (They spec EXACTLY the same.)
The wind screen does have a function, and it DOES change certain characteristics of the mic.

Electro-Voice publishes a pamphlet that explains how mics work, and how windscreens effect various mics.

I used to like the EV DS-35 for vocals, but they aren't made anymore. Too bad

Bon Chance

Since each singer sounds different with the same microphone you NEED to test-drive themselves to get the best microphone for you, believe me. I've spent some hours with different singer in music stores and in fact, the SM 58 didn't turn out to be the microphone of choice most of the times.
I guess most people are just to lazy to try out different models if all the big boys use that 58, IMHO

BTW, I absolutely love the 57 for my amp and my snare, they are unbeatable for the sound I want.

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s-10 sierra crown gearless 3 x4 - fender hotrod deluxe

No difference between a 57 and a 58? I've never heard that. I thought the 58 had the midrange boost that made it more suited to vocal use.

I use them both, either for vocal or amp miking, but I tend to use the 57 more often on the amps based on what I've been told by soundmen.

Again, NO difference between the 57 and 58.
A difference is created by the WIND SCREEN.
The round windscreen accentuates the Super 'D' qualities of the mic, giving it a small midrange/presence rise.
The windscreens are even interchangable!!

Yes, vocalists SHOULD try different mics, but..........
I don't want to have to dick with a finiky mic on stage.
There are plenty of mics that are better than the 58 for different applications, but, the 58&57 are workhorses that stand up and perform. No batteries, No phantom power; No ribbons,;No tubes, etc.

I do professional recording and in studio, where the environment is more easily controlled, I will use AKG 414 and 3000 condenser mikes, with screens between them and the artist. Record the vocal in stereo, mid /side and overlay that on the main tracks.
For a live situation, I setup two AKG 3000's about 4-8" apart and slightly angled inwards for the artist to sing through.
This allows much more flexibility and I can capture the voice with much more accuracy while he / she can turn almost plus or minus 90 degrees from "on-axis" with no appreciable change. SM58's, and 57's to me, at least, don't have the midrange "punch" they should have.

Dave,

I have done sound around Chicago for some time now and I find that if I have control over the monitors I can use a Shure Beta 87 (condensor mic) for a female voice. It is a condensor, so you need to be careful with your monitors, but if you are a good soundman it should be no problem! Give it a try and I think you will be happy!

Mark

I'm no expert, but practically every pro entertainer I've seen out there on the road today uses SM-58's or SM-58 Beta's for their vocals, except in certain wireless situations. All the decent local musicians I know also use SM-58's. Any sound company will have a good supply of SM-58's with them when they set up to do a show. I use an SM-58 for my own vocals. They must be a pretty decent mic and hold up good in live situations in order to become the standard of the industry, which is exactly what they are. They may not be the perfect mic for every voice on the planet, but they're darn good.

I agree with C. Allen. DO NOT buy a mic with a switch. They are a noisy waste of money until the switch fails, then they are just a waste of money. If there is absolutely no way that you can pot milady's mic up and down, then by all means buy a cable with the defeat switch built into the XLR connector to get away from the "clunk" noise.

The condensor mic's mentioned above may certainly be a viable choice, but remember that most of them won't tolerate much bouncing around, and all condensor mic's require power of some sort. If you don't have phantom power on your mixer, you'll be fiddling around with batteries, etc.

Good luck Dave,

Tim R.

I like the Audex mikes better than the venerable sm58 for vocals as well as miking amps. I have a pair of OM-6 mikes (I believe) which are a little more expensive, but I thing a lot smoother sounding.

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www.tyacktunes.com

The Shure SM57/58 make great road mic's, kind-of all-purpose. Vocals, snare drums, kick drums, guitar amps, congas, Leslie speakers, and so on. For vocals, some folks prefer ribbon diaphram mics over the standard dynamic approach used in the 57/58 (I believe Beyer makes/made a ribbon mic). For studio work I agree with Skip... I just love the AKG 414 (and have for 20 years). Great for vocals, piano, drum overheads, string sections, percussion, and other wide-range sources where you need really clear upper registers. The AKG is about $800, though, and not too practical for up-front stage work. I think the SM57/58 are still somewhere in the $100 range (?).

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