Favorite Mics

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I was just curious what brand and model mics do you tend to use in different situations.

  • use Shure PM-58's for most vocals
    -cheaper than the SM-58, almost as good a quality(have to put them side-by-side to hear the diff), but can't take the same ungodly abuse that the SM-58 can handle.)
  • use Shure SM-58's for any event that is outdoors or is attached to a portable setup
  • Use Shure SM-57's and PM-57's as instrument pickups(guitar, bongos :?: (does anybody know of a better mike to use for picking up bongos?), and piano
  • Not going to list the wireless mics, as that conversation is under a different topic in the sound questions forum
Audio-Technica has a new vocal condensor mic out and it's gotten really good reviews. I'll post a link when I find one.
 
Okay I'm just gonna shoot out a short answer to give people something to think about. It is really hard for me to pick just one favorite mic. But if I had to I would say:
SM-58 vocals and nylon stringged guitars
SM-57 any steel string guitar, most other strings, Bongos, snare drums, Tom toms, even horns
PCC-160 Stage pick ups and pianos
SM-81 for overhead choirs and general orchestra overhead pickups.

These are my favorites because of the quality you get for the price.
There are much better mics on the market, but I have yet to work for a theatre that could afford them (even renting them).
 
Posted: Mon May 19, 2003 4:23 am Post subject: Favorite Mics

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>I was just curious what brand and model mics do you tend to use in >different situations.
>use Shure PM-58's for most vocals
>-cheaper than the SM-58, almost as good a quality(have to put them >side-by-side to hear the diff), but can't take the same ungodly abuse >that the SM-58 can handle.)

Howdy, use of what type of mic's depends on situation as you know, and what ya got to play with. SM 58's and their clones of PM and beta series are durable and great to use for general all around mic use. We use the beta 58's and 87's in general use. For specialized vocals we will use Beyer M88's, AKG 535's and the occasional Audix OM6 if desired.

>use Shure SM-58's for any event that is outdoors or is attached to a >portable setup


You can use most any mic in an outdoor situation, but as you know why put a $400 mic out in the rain when a 58 or 57 will be just fine<G> . =)


>Use Shure SM-57's and PM-57's as instrument pickups(guitar, bongos >(does anybody know of a better mike to use for picking up bongos?), and >piano


Well for stuff like snare drums and electric guitar amplifierss, a 57 is pretty standard. Bongo's and other "toys" and stuff that is very crisp and round in sound, try a condenser mic. Smaller, better cleaner sound then a 57 and about the same price range for some. One of my fave's for toys and bongo's etc is a Audio Technica 4041...very hot mic with a great clear sound and you can get GREAT pick up on toys and general area mic'ing. Meets or beats the SM81 IMO in sound... You wouldn't believe the sensitivity of it.

As for Piano--a Beyer M88 on a piano sounds very nice and needs little to no EQ for tonal quality. Beyer M-88--the vocal mic I mentioned above--its a versitile mic and thats due to its transparant sound and clean pick up--everything from kick drum to vocals and everything in between is what you can use it on. I wouldn't have anything else in my gig bag for a general "anything" mic. Other good mic's are AKG 535's--very nice and clean. In a pinch the AT4041 could be used, but you won't get the low round sound you will out of the others. Its frequency response is in the medium-upper range. When you get into the 9' concert grand piano's, you may wish to double mic--one for the lows, and one for the high end. IMO--an M88 and a 535, or a pair of M88's. In wildness or lack of the above, a PCC160 boundary mic taped to the inside lid works well too. If anything goes, then go crazy and use an EV RE20 or AKG414 on low and a condenser on the highs. Throw them out of phase of each other (for anti-feedback purposes) and tune each to the range its picking up. Also--so ya know, there are piano pick-ups (flat pick ups like on a guitar) you can install on most pianos...they are made by Helpinstill, C-ducer and Barcus Berry.

Hope that helps.... =)
 
A beyer M-88 for a piano? Interesting. What kind of piano are we talking about. And what kind of mic placement. I have used them before on Kick drum and bass guitar. But one hypercardiod on the soundboard of a piano is hard to envision.
On Upright pianos I have always had best luck with a boundary mic attached to the bottom of the lid. I prefer the PCC-160 over the Beyer MPC65 just do to ease of attaching the PCC. Beyer has a better sound, but it only takes a little eq-ing with the pcc. With a Grand I could see maybe at least two of the M-88 one for the high strings and one for the low strings on two seperate booms but I would still want at least a third boundary mic for the ambiant pick up.
I am curious as to what your mic placement was for a piano?
 
Jo-JotheSoundDog said:
A beyer M-88 for a piano? Interesting. What kind of piano are we talking about. And what kind of mic placement. I have used them before on Kick drum and bass guitar. But one hypercardiod on the soundboard of a piano is hard to envision.
On Upright pianos I have always had best luck with a boundary mic attached to the bottom of the lid. I prefer the PCC-160 over the Beyer MPC65 just do to ease of attaching the PCC. Beyer has a better sound, but it only takes a little eq-ing with the pcc. With a Grand I could see maybe at least two of the M-88 one for the high strings and one for the low strings on two seperate booms but I would still want at least a third boundary mic for the ambiant pick up.
I am curious as to what your mic placement was for a piano?


Usually it depends on what my client has for a piano--upright, baby or concert grand, and how live the piano sounds on its own. Most times this is for a concert grand or baby grand tho. When I just have one mic to do a piano with (sometimes too frequently), I will angle the M88 from the edge of the piano at midstrings and try to angle it with the angle of the lid (about 1" below lid) if its at half stick. At full stick I will place the mic higher up from the edge, mid way between the lid and the edge and down further towards the curve. Gives a full blended sound I have found. Thats my 'one-mic' technique with the M88. Note that with one M88 in this fashion it can get a bit "boomy" doing it this way as the lid will carry a lot of resonances and timbre, but if you dial out a little 50hz-70hz, its a very natural sound and blend of the full piano. A very full ambient sound without seeming "amplified", tho not as overly rich as it would be closer in. Nice in some circumstances. Its a trick I learned years ago in a recording studio, and it has never failed to work on a live show, to my surprise. I would love to always have two mic's for pianos, but sometimes you get what you get stuck with and have to make it happen. If you try it--let me know what you think of that technique as I'm always interested to hear others experiences with it in this fashion. Most times with piano's and an M88 in this style, they are unsure of trying it or experimenting, but usually end up surprised at the outcome being fairly transparent in the sound. One thing I will warn about tho--if you have to do a monitor feed to a piano stage monitor, it can get messy using this broad a position--at which time you just have to do a closer miking, or with more then one mic. Please let me know if you try it out and what your view is of it.

If I have a 9' concert grand (like the one in my theater at the moment), I like to mix and match my M88's and if I have the choice I prefer two mic's...use the M88 for the low strings and a bright sparkly condenser perhaps for the highs, or yes I'll use two M88's on occasion with a HPF on the high side dialed in around 250-400hz range. Usually when using the M88's I will back the mic away and back from the string placement. IOW--where normally you would place a mic near the dampers, I will pull the mic back down the string area and tilt accross to get a wider shot over the strings. Yes it depends a lot on the sound for the show--if its classical or soloist, and a natural sound is desired (IOW they don't want it to "sound amplified" and live, but they want all to be able to hear every note), or if its in a band or a jazzy show and its cool to have it "live" and stand-out sounding. Piano is actually one of my most favorite instruments to experiment on. The M88 works well for them I have found. A few sound company's around me have picked up using them for piano's.. Overall the M88 is a great versitile mic IMO..

-wolf
 
I definitely would like to take a shot at it. But honestly for that to happen I would need to find someone to borrow one from. All of the shows I do run for at least 6 weeks, and our big summer musical 12 weeks. You throw in prep time tech week and strike, it usually comes out to a 8 or 14 week rental. And if you've ever priced out rentals on mics for those periods, it is usually about $10 more to buy the mic and keep it. And of course the problem with that is, if I rent it than it is show budget. If I buy it than it is capital budget. I have tried to fight this saying that why is it okay for props to buy a couch for a show, but I can't spend ten bucks more to buy a mic. The couch goes into prop storage..... AAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH.
And on top of that my per show sound budget just got chopped again. So if I do secretly buy a mic for a show and just throw it through without approval it has to be less than $200.
So all that whining aside. I have a PCC 160 that works very well in a piano, I have a Beyer M-65 that sounds great on a piano, but is a pain in the a$$ to attach securely. I can't justify the expense of renting yet another mic for a show. I will try to borrow one just to see. It sounds like an interesting experiment. But until that day my vote is still for a boundary mic attached to the lid.
 

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