58s are your standard dynamic vocal mic for live stuff, but it is NOT special. i guess the touring rules out nice condencers, but the 58 wont make your voice sound bad, as far as live vocals go.

I would say 58 is your best bet.

I was told a few times by sound men that Audix OM5 is a good one too for live vocals.

58 is fine for live use. they are not good. but they are hard to break and sound the same basic kind of not-good on pretty much everybody.

57 might suit your voice, as well, as far as it suits things

beyer m88 is great on the right voice, but the gain before feedback is not as high as the shure

used to own some audix mics for touring and ended up disliking them. the om7 is a lot better than the om2, i know that much.

on tour, i once used a crown CM-310A. it sounded pretty good, and it had very good gain before feedback. you might try to scare up one, though they can be expensive, i think.

Mayfair wrote:I was told a few times by sound men that Audix OM5 is a good one too for live vocals.

Theyre ok. Theyre not very sensitive to off-axis sounds, so theyre really good if you have high stage volume, but not so good if youre not a very precise singer (i.e. -- your head wanders all over the place like youre Stevie Wonder).

In general I would still go with a 58 pretty much for the reasons mentioned (it's standard fare and youre likely to run across them a lot), but you should probably check out all the mics mentioned so far. You might find one you like a lot better.

I have an M88 that I really like. I've never had problems with feedback but I sing very loud.
I would try a Beta 58. I work for a live sound company that uses them exclusively for vocals and I think they sound really good.

max wrote:I have an M88 that I really like. I've never had problems with feedback but I sing very loud.
I would try a Beta 58. I work for a live sound company that uses them exclusively for vocals and I think they sound really good.

Second the beta58A


Good luck,
spoon

I endorse the idea of bringing your own mic to shows. Especially if on tour. I don't want to be intimate with someone else's spit 3 times a night while my weaked body it traveling across the US.

Cheers!

Ben Adrian

spoon wrote:

max wrote:I have an M88 that I really like. I've never had problems with feedback but I sing very loud.
I would try a Beta 58. I work for a live sound company that uses them exclusively for vocals and I think they sound really good.

Second the beta58A

I would be more inclined to recommend the Beta 57 than the Beta 58. It has (or seems to have) a slightly tighter pattern and tends to reject feedback better, especially from off-axis sources (sidefills, etc.). That might also be because the Beta 58 has a little more exaggerated of an upper-mid "presence peak" too. Anyway, that's been my experience. For this reason, we tend to use Beta 57s on vocals even more than SM-58s where I work, and definitely more than Beta 58s, which we dont generally break out unless someone asks for them.

But maybe that's just me.

I would still recommend the SM-58 though. Im not sure either the Beta 57 or 58 is worth the extra (relatively small, but still not insignificant amount of) cash.