I was thinking about picking up another couple Countryman E6 elements. We have 16, but like you said, can never have too many. I'm also looking at adding a few wired mics, like a Beta 87, Beta 52, Audix D6, and another PCC160-we have 2, and a Countryman Type 85.
Any other fun things you could think of? There's nothing glaring that we need, and the money must get used by June.
Personal rule of thumb..wires
beat wireless any day of the week.
But first, topic at
hand.
Save the money on monitors. The only engineer who can really ever benefit from monitors in a live setting is a
monitor engineer mixing on wedges to have a
cue wedge. Other wise, all sound guys should have a decent pair of
headphones as part of their personal
comp. I currently have both a closed pair of Sennheisers and a open pair of AKGs that never leave my work box. Having a set of
cue monitors in a booth makes an engineer feel too comfortable, in my own opinion, in his booth. If he is comfortable, he does not leave said booth to walk the
house. ...hence the prom snafu...
As to the extra side thread that has seemed to pop up, me and wireless just dont like each other. I dont care how much money you spend (I currently run a fully distroed
Shure UHR setup with 5 dual receivers and an assortment of transmitters and capsules ranging from the
shure capsules to heil and telefunkin), you will never have the same quality and reliability as a wired mic. It is the nature of the beast. And anyone who begs to differ needs to take a
Shure UHR with a
SM58 capsule, and a wired
SM58 and listen to both,
flat, through a decent PA.
As to a wired
comp? All the mics you listed are great mics, but for generic set-up some not so awesome. Beta52's are a industry standard large diaphram
dynamic. Great choice, even more so if you bring in acts with riders. I personally really like the D6 as well, but it hasnt taken as much of a hold yet, and is basically an overlap with the 52. As to the Beta87? Great mic for the right situation. 98% of the time I bet you could get the same sound quality out of a
SM58 for a fraction of the cost. Other options?
Sennheiser 604's and 609's, great mics for the price, and highly rugged. A pair of SM81's is always a nice thing to have. A nice Beta91 for the guy who is a fan of double micing the kick drum.. If you dont like the
SM58, try the M80. Another great choice for the price. Or most anything by Heil.
But long story short..avoid the booth boxes. They hurt more than sooth. And defiantly poke at all your sound guys into going out and spending the $130-$250 to buy a good pair of
headphones and take care of them. Very good investment all around. And as much as it may be the tour engineer in me, mics should always be about the most good for the most people for the best price. Stick with the standards, they are standards for a reason and dont specialize unless you have a dang good reason to.
But..all my personal feelings on a very subjective area