Need help on Vocal Mic Selection Female Soul Singer Lead Vocalist

M

Michael Evans

Freshman
Dec 26, 2012
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Melbourne, Australia
Picked up a gig in 2 weeks with a new Funk Soul Band that I have never worked with before. The lead vocalist is a lady with powerful vocals at times with some very quiet songs also. Normally I have Sm58's of Akg d770's for vocals but she said she won't use them. She only wants 1 one wedge offset to stage left of the mic stand

She hasn't said what she wants, just she doesn't want what I have currently. Sounds like my first wife :)

She is a bit of a prima dona and I asked the question on what to provide and received silence, again like my first wife.

Anyway, I've never done this sort of music and never had a problem with my vocal mics on the 50 or so gigs i have done with my kit. They are a 6 piece group, they all do backup vocals

Any suggestions on what I should look at ? I have 2 weeks to sort it

Thanks in advance
Michael
 
Re: Need help on Vocal Mic Selection Female Soul Singer Lead Vocalist

Short of telling them that they either provide you with information or accept what you have, you could try and look for a youtube vide or something else on the net that might provide you with an answer.
There are lots of good dynamic mikes out there that will cater well for big dynamic range, Audio Technica AE4100 is a good one that will take 58 abuse and will handle extreme level as well as the 770 but with much better sound than either,.... or you could step up to the AE5400 condenser if you feel like spending the money.
Audix OM7 is also a good one for reasonable money.

Shure KSM9, Sennheiser E965, Neuman KMS104, Beyer TGV96 are of course mikes that you can't go wrong with, any of those will be good enough for any artist as long as that artist isn't the kind of arsehole that keeps dropping the mike (specify in the contract that there is a 200 buck charge for dropping a lead mike :twisted: )
 
Re: Need help on Vocal Mic Selection Female Soul Singer Lead Vocalist

Michael Evans said:
She hasn't said what she wants, just she doesn't want what I have currently. Sounds like my first wife :)

She is a bit of a prima dona and I asked the question on what to provide and received silence, again like my first wife.
Click to expand...

This sounds a bit like a preemptive version of people who won't accept that the monitor mix is any good so that it can be blamed if their performance isn't either. :D~:-D~:grin:

Will she tell you what she has used in the past and what she liked? Will she tell you WHY she doesn't want an SM58 or a D770? I don't know the 770 but I looked it up and noticed it's cheaper than an SM58, maybe she did the same and wants something more "special" (read expensive)?.

I'll sound like a broken record, but I really like the e935. The e945 might be a better option with that wedge placement.

Chris
 
Re: Need help on Vocal Mic Selection Female Soul Singer Lead Vocalist

Tell her to bring what ever she wants to use. She's not going to like anything you pick for her.

As for the 945, I don't know why people like the 945. It's not at all flattering on female vocals with any edge to them. And if the wedge isn't perfect they feedback quicker than a 58. She'll probably decide she wants an Beta 87, which seems to sound stellar to people who hold them while sounding like arse out front when it's not feeding back. (IMO)


Michael Evans said:
Picked up a gig in 2 weeks with a new Funk Soul Band that I have never worked with before. The lead vocalist is a lady with powerful vocals at times with some very quiet songs also. Normally I have Sm58's of Akg d770's for vocals but she said she won't use them. She only wants 1 one wedge offset to stage left of the mic stand

She hasn't said what she wants, just she doesn't want what I have currently. Sounds like my first wife :)

She is a bit of a prima dona and I asked the question on what to provide and received silence, again like my first wife.

Anyway, I've never done this sort of music and never had a problem with my vocal mics on the 50 or so gigs i have done with my kit. They are a 6 piece group, they all do backup vocals

Any suggestions on what I should look at ? I have 2 weeks to sort it

Thanks in advance
Michael
Click to expand...
 
Re: Need help on Vocal Mic Selection Female Soul Singer Lead Vocalist

Steve Hurt said:
Tell her to bring what ever she wants to use. She's not going to like anything you pick for her.

As for the 945, I don't know why people like the 945. It's not at all flattering on female vocals with any edge to them. And if the wedge isn't perfect they feedback quicker than a 58. She'll probably decide she wants an Beta 87, which seems to sound stellar to people who hold them while sounding like arse out front when it's not feeding back. (IMO)
Click to expand...

The 87 only sounds good to them because it's the "best" mic Guitar Center sells.
 
Re: Need help on Vocal Mic Selection Female Soul Singer Lead Vocalist

Steve Hurt said:
Tell her to bring what ever she wants to use. She's not going to like anything you pick for her.

As for the 945, I don't know why people like the 945. It's not at all flattering on female vocals with any edge to them. And if the wedge isn't perfect they feedback quicker than a 58. She'll probably decide she wants an Beta 87, which seems to sound stellar to people who hold them while sounding like arse out front when it's not feeding back. (IMO)
Click to expand...

Well I did get a response, she wants a Neumann KM5105MT

Now a quick google search tells me that they are around the $900 to $1000 mark...... That's isn't going to happen if it's my money to buy it

I can get some Sennheiser 935 or 945's but never having used either they are an unknown quanity for my small kit.

She doesn't have her own mike but seems to be very opinionated on what she won't use :-(

All sounds too hard to me

Thanks for the suggestions
Michael
 
Re: Need help on Vocal Mic Selection Female Soul Singer Lead Vocalist

Silas Pradetto said:
The 87 only sounds good to them because it's the "best" mic Guitar Center sells.
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I like it for Nirvana and Blur style of vocals, but then again I might be overdoing the vocal distortion on that type of music. For female vocals I'm not sold, but I wouldn't say it's the worst mike for the money. I like the dip it has got around 7 KHz and the lack of aggressiveness at 2.5 KHz.
 
Re: Need help on Vocal Mic Selection Female Soul Singer Lead Vocalist

Michael Evans said:
Well I did get a response, she wants a Neumann KM5105MT

Now a quick google search tells me that they are around the $900 to $1000 mark......
Click to expand...

I would be surprised if you couldn't find it around AU$600, and it is a mike that is on a lot of riders, so not a bad investment.
Sometimes, having to fork out all your earnings on one gig to equip that gig, particularly if the equipment in question is fairly common on riders, makes all the sense in the world.

EDIT: http://www.globalsound.com.au/neumann-kms105-pro-stage-australia.html
 
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Re: Need help on Vocal Mic Selection Female Soul Singer Lead Vocalist

The Rode S1 is very similar in response and pattern. I have a lot of these and I love them.

The S1 comes in black or brushed metal "champagne" colour, so she can feel like she'll holding something "spensive."


Michael Evans said:
Well I did get a response, she wants a Neumann KM5105MT

Now a quick google search tells me that they are around the $900 to $1000 mark...... That's isn't going to happen if it's my money to buy it
Click to expand...
 
Re: Need help on Vocal Mic Selection Female Soul Singer Lead Vocalist

Around here a 105 rents for around $50. Charge it like any other back line rental.
 
Re: Need help on Vocal Mic Selection Female Soul Singer Lead Vocalist

Michael Evans said:
Well I did get a response, she wants a Neumann KMS105MT

Now a quick google search tells me that they are around the $900 to $1000 mark...... That's isn't going to happen if it's my money to buy it

I can get some Sennheiser 935 or 945's but never having used either they are an unknown quanity for my small kit.

She doesn't have her own mike but seems to be very opinionated on what she won't use :-(

All sounds too hard to me

Thanks for the suggestions
Michael
Click to expand...

What's the rest of the rig? That microphone is well into the "diminishing returns" range, and the difference between it and something less expensive may well not be audible on your system.
 
Re: Need help on Vocal Mic Selection Female Soul Singer Lead Vocalist

PS: In the E945 pricerange, you might want to consider the Telefunken M80 ( you just tell her" ....but I can offer you a Telefunken M80 that a lot of people consider to be better than the 105" ;)~;-)~:wink: )
 
Re: Need help on Vocal Mic Selection Female Soul Singer Lead Vocalist

Rob Timmerman said:
What's the rest of the rig? That microphone is well into the "diminishing returns" range, and the difference between it and something less expensive may well not be audible on your system.
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The key components for the rest of the rig are a pair of EV PX2152's FOH, Behringer X32 desk, Behringer amps (forget the exact model but something like EP5000 for memory), couple of powered wedges

Not a high end rig by any means but this has been great for what I have done thus far. This isn't my living, this is a bit of fun (or it has been up to this point :) !)

There is a place called Factory Sound here in Melbourne that is open Saturday, they have lots of different mics so I think I will go for a drive in the morning and see what they can do for me deal wise
 
Re: Need help on Vocal Mic Selection Female Soul Singer Lead Vocalist

Per Søvik said:
I would be surprised if you couldn't find it around AU$600, and it is a mike that is on a lot of riders, so not a bad investment.
Sometimes, having to fork out all your earnings on one gig to equip that gig, particularly if the equipment in question is fairly common on riders, makes all the sense in the world.

EDIT: Neumann KMS105 Pro Stage Condenser Mic : Neumann : Mics : : Australia and International Shipping
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Per, that's a good web site to spend my folding on :)

I will do some looking there too
 
Re: Need help on Vocal Mic Selection Female Soul Singer Lead Vocalist

Chris Nixon said:
What is your job description as it relates to her?

That seems like a lot of money for the Neumann, what does an SM58 cost in Australia?

Chris
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My job description related to her is simply "Sound Guy"

An Sm58 varies but I have paid around $115 - $130 mark new

Per Sovik has pointed out a website for me to buy the Neumann from sugesting around the $600 mark which is better price point.
 
Re: Need help on Vocal Mic Selection Female Soul Singer Lead Vocalist

Michael Evans said:
The key components for the rest of the rig are a pair of EV PX2152's FOH, Behringer X32 desk, Behringer amps (forget the exact model but something like EP5000 for memory), couple of powered wedges

Not a high end rig by any means but this has been great for what I have done thus far. This isn't my living, this is a bit of fun (or it has been up to this point :) !)
Click to expand...

Assuming this rig is appropriate for the venue, then it seems like her expectations are all out of line with the reality of the size of the gig and its income potential. She should be happy to have an SM58. Maybe have an Audix OM3XB for her so it won't look like a 58.
 
Re: Need help on Vocal Mic Selection Female Soul Singer Lead Vocalist

Dave Barnett said:
Assuming this rig is appropriate for the venue, then it seems like her expectations are all out of line with the reality of the size of the gig and its income potential. She should be happy to have an SM58. Maybe have an Audix OM3XB for her so it won't look like a 58.
Click to expand...

I fail to see how there should be a correlation between the size of a gig and the expected quality of sound. While income potential certainly limits what one can expect to spend on sound for a gig, one wouldn't offer an artist crappy sound just because "it's only a 50 cap audience".
 
Re: Need help on Vocal Mic Selection Female Soul Singer Lead Vocalist

If she can work a microphone with a tight pattern. (stays infront of it) check out the EV PL80a. I sound like a broken record on here but this mic gives you loads of gain before feedback, sounds good and honestly seems to need less gain then the sennheisers and other options. Combine it with a decent compressor. If she doesnt bother to stay infront of the mic dont bother with the PL80a.
 
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