Sting - Live in Berlin

Andrew Broughton

Andrew Broughton

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Feb 2, 2011
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I've been a big fan of pretty much everything Sting has ever done, from the Police up to his latest efforts. He always has great musicians with him, he's a great singer and I really enjoy his music.

However, I recently I watched his "Live in Berlin" DVD, and I thought "What the hell?". His voice sounds just awful! Not because he's having trouble singing, but because he's using what I can only conclude to be a really shitty mic, presumably because it "looks good".
It's one of those "old school" Shure-55 style mics that I see everywhere I guess because it's very trendy these days? Metallica was using something like it on the Grammies, I see it all over the place these days, but in this case it sounds completely retched!

Anyone else had the unfortunate experience of hearing this DVD?
His vocal sound on this recording has completely ruined my enjoyment of this performance.
 
Re: Sting - Live in Berlin

I've noticed those old mics on a few acts (on DVDs or TV shows as opposed to live in person), but can't say I noticed any poor sound issues.

Even going back to old TV footage of The Police from before they were such an internationally acclaimed band, I've always been impressed with the quality of Sting's vocals when performing live on UK tv shows.

I wondered whether when big names like Sting used them, whether they were either an upmarket/boutique version that copied the Shure styling, or if perhaps artist's with his kind of budget took either an original or reissue model, then had their techs change the capsule etc for something of much higher quality, creating a bespoke unit specifically suited to that artist's voice.

Sent from my GT-I8160 2
 
Re: Sting - Live in Berlin

Guy Graham said:
I've noticed those old mics on a few acts (on DVDs or TV shows as opposed to live in person), but can't say I noticed any poor sound issues.
Click to expand...
For whatever reason, the vocal is appalling on this DVD. Plosives, distortion, no top end, really bad tone, everything you'd expect from a crappy mic. Check it out if you have a way to do so without having to purchase it.
 
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Re: Sting - Live in Berlin

I have only been able to listen on cheap earbud phones using my mobile.

The plosives are really noticeable, as is the lack of top end - it's like an old-fashioned hifi presence knob was dialed way down. I also heard distortion but couldn't be sure if that was due to my poor playback equipment. Likewise I struggled to hear the other issues you mention.

I was actually quite surprised as it didn't sound half as bad as I expected from your description, but again it's likely a problem with cheap headphones. I noticed a woman singing backing vox using the same type mic, but she wasn't loud enough to properly make out.

Just going on the plosives and tone problems I'm very surprised this (lack of) quality vocal would make it to a DVD release ... is this an issue of style over substance? Hard to say, but if Sting thought it sounded good - either he was being curiously artistic, or his ears were having an off day and he was insistent on using that mic and whatever "colourful" analogue processing was either in the original signal chain, or added in post.

By coincidence I've seen and heard him recently on tv and radio, performing songs from his new Tyneside shipbuilding project. Both the music and the quality of the vocals was consistently good.

Edit: From what I heard I'd have been disappointed if I had paid good money for that DVD, if the vox were like that all the way through!

Sent from my GT-I8160 2
 
Re: Sting - Live in Berlin

Andrew Broughton said:
For whatever reason, the vocal is appalling on this DVD. Plosives, distortion, no top end, really bad tone, everything you'd expect from a crappy mic. Check it out if you have a way to do so without having to purchase it.
Click to expand...

IIRC the 55S II is essentially an SM48 capsule in a big shell. Some of the musical theater guys install different capsules to get a better vocal reproduction.
 
Re: Sting - Live in Berlin

People who use a certain vocal mic just because it looks cool or make an effort to find the same mic that their favorite singer used in a 1960 concert film and expect it to preform to current day expectations in regards to stage monitors and gain before feedback are clueless! While they think that cool look mic is some how enhancing their performance while all the time the lack of audio stability and quality is doing just the opposite. I had one guy who insisted on using an old EV 676 because so and so used it in a couple of early 70's concert films only this guy failed to notice the so and so did not wrap their hands around the mic covering up the "variable D" ports. I think the resulting kazoo like sound because of the ports being covered in addition to what was a well worn out mic capsule did far more to distract from the performance than the mic "look" did to add to it.

I realize that modern capsules can be retro fitted into vintage mic body's with some success as well as vintage looking new reissue models.

For the record I will pull out some older vintage mics from time to time and put them on guitar amps, horns, maybe a snare drum.


For what it's worth I saw Sting a few years ago and it sounded great, not sure what the vocal was but it was not vintage or a vintage look-a-like mic.
 
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Re: Sting - Live in Berlin

Tim McCulloch said:
IIRC the 55S II is essentially an SM48 capsule in a big shell. Some of the musical theater guys install different capsules to get a better vocal reproduction.
Click to expand...
Sting appears to be singing in to the 55 Super (Guitar Center color scheme) which uses a neo magnet (probably Beta 57/58) supercardioid capsule.

I have not tried the mic myself, but the vocal sound problems I hear on the "Live in Berlin" you tube sound more like bad processing than a bad microphone.
 

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Re: Sting - Live in Berlin

It does use the Beta 58 capsule. But my feeling is that that old body does add something to the sound. My grade school assemblies outside used the original 55 back in the early 70s through an old gigantic paging system and bullhorn style PA speakers. Stings vocal is reminiscent of that sound, though it is better. Makes me think the 55 body contributes something beyond the capsule itself. Still, I'll take the super over the original any day. I'm not very fond of the 55SH either. We have a local psycobilly act that uses one and I don't like the sound of it very much. It also have relatively poor GBF compared to a standard 58. I wonder if the capsule is further from the screen than the 58. That would definitely have an effect on GBF.

As for Sting, I've found him to be pretty boring post Police. But I like my music with a little more edge I guess.
 
Re: Sting - Live in Berlin

Greg Cameron said:
It does use the Beta 58 capsule. But my feeling is that that old body does add something to the sound.
Click to expand...

I think you're onto something there Greg.

I've got a gig coming up next weekend with a new band (1920s gypsy jazz), and the female singer has one of these. I haven't been favourably impressed in the past by these mics, and I'm not counting on the "super" version being much better. I haven't worked with these guys before, but if I had my druthers, I'd probably start with a C535 on her, not one of these things (that still isn't appropriate for the era).

GTD
 
Re: Sting - Live in Berlin

Mike Caldwell said:
People who use a certain vocal mic just because it looks cool or make an effort to find the same mic that their favorite singer used in a 1960 concert film and expect it to preform to current day expectations in regards to stage monitors and gain before feedback are clueless! While they think that cool look mic is some how enhancing their performance while all the time the lack of audio instability and quality is doing just the opposite.
Click to expand...

Lack of instability (especially wrt GBF/monitor levels/locations) in a mic is surely a good thing, no?

David.
 
Re: Sting - Live in Berlin

Andrew Broughton said:
To me it sounds like a recording from a really bad mic which they they then tried unsuccessfully to salvage in post.
Click to expand...

I hear sibilance issues that might have to do with the windscreen. At times it seems like he's slobbering all over the mic. Very wet. The orchestra sounds pretty cool though. I wonder what it sounded like live.
 
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