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Mic recommendation for screamer?


charic
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Has anyone got any suggestions for Screaming Microphones?

Just fishing for ideas for the vocalist. I'm not convinced my SM58 is doing him anywhere near justice

I've heard that one that is quite good is the Shure Greenbullet, any other suggestions?

Also posted in the misc equipment area because I didn't REALLY think it through.

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It's for live :) he has a great scream through the condenser microphone we used to record him :)

Here's a few more that I thought might be trying:
Rode M2 : [url="http://www.dv247.com/microphones/rode-m2-live-performance-condenser-microphone--57159"]http://www.dv247.com...crophone--57159[/url]
Shure 55SH-2 : [url="http://www.dv247.com/microphones/shure-55sh-2-dynamic-vocal-microphone-vintage-style--22321"]http://www.dv247.com...ge-style--22321[/url]
Shure Super 55 : [url="http://www.dv247.com/microphones/shure-super-55-deluxe-vocal-microphone--65718"]http://www.dv247.com...crophone--65718[/url]

Oh and the green bullet previously mentioned:
Green Bullet: [url="http://www.dv247.com/microphones/shure-520dx-green-bullet-dynamic-instrument-microphone--1548"]http://www.dv247.com/microphones/shure-520dx-green-bullet-dynamic-instrument-microphone--1548[/url]

He prefers the idea of having something larger to hold / scream into :)

Edited by charic
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  • 2 weeks later...

You'll probably find that most of your favourite scream vocalists use the SM58, its a very capable microphone. The microphones you've listed probably wont sound any 'better' than the SM58, but maybe a bit different... and its a bit difficult to try them all!

If you prefer the detail of a condenser microphone and have a big enough budget, the Shure Beta 87A is a great condenser microphone specifically designed for live use. I'v heard it myself and its pretty amazing, bear in mind you will need phantom power though.

If your vocalist doesn't wanna spend £300ish on a microphone, remind him how much the rest of the band spent on their gear :)

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Later on we'll probably look at a higher budget one but at the moment he's a little short for the type that we'd like to try (which is a neumann at £450)

The SM58 is good for a lot of stuff but it's quite commonly found not to suit vocalists and ours is definately one of them.

We're hoping to head into digital village in the near future as they have a spot to actually try these things out :)

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Some of the teachers who teach more extreme vocal techniques over in the US (Rob Lunte for example) recommend the Electrovoice N/D767. I use the EV N/D 967 (though I'm not a screamer) and its a similarly excellent sound. These are good alternatives. Very powerful, cutting tone.

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Here's a link to Rob Lunte discussing microphones and preferences.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9PxYCu3sCU"]Microphones - The Vocalist Gig Bag - Tools & Technology For Singers - Recommendations[/url]

Edited by mcgraham
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Yea it's great. One thing to bear in mind is that the 967 is a hypercardioid (possibly just 'supercardioid') mic which means it has a VERY tight sensitivity pattern. This means that as a singer you really need to be 'on' the mic, because even the slightest deviation from directly on-axis will result in a dramatic volume and/or tonality difference. This is bad for singers with poor mic control, but fantastic for loud stage environments because it will reject sounds from a source anywhere else except a source in a very tight area around the microphone. Which in turn allows you to get a much greater amount of gain on the mic before feedback in a live situation.

Swings and roundabouts

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Heil sound mics are incredible.

They are dynamic mics, but use of neiodymium and very light diaphrams mean they go very very high and very low.

I would suggest your singer tries a PR35 or even the new PR31BW, which although it claims to be great for kick drums (i is) it is not a kick drum mic just a smalelr handier version of the PR30 which sounds great on vocals.

If these are a little too rich then the PR22 may be abetter option.

A PR40 is a superb (really out of this world) mic for vocals, kick drum, DB, hell anything with a wide frequency range really. Not ideal for live vocals though!

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a mate of mine is a pro sound chap on a budget and is in a band with a screamer, he did something like took an sm58 apart and boiled the electrical innerds (excluding the diaphragm obviously) to get rid of something (I can't remember what) but apparently it's made a huge difference to the sound, got rid of the nasty mid hump and made it way better for screaming...try googling it...?

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[url="http://recordinghacks.com/microphones/Shure/SM57"]http://recordinghacks.com/microphones/Shure/SM57[/url]

"[i]What are popular mods for the SM57 (also works for SM58)[/i]
Remove the transformer. This is a 15-minute mod that was described in detail in the Mar/Apr 2006 issue (#52) of [url="http://tapeop.com/"][color="#901d1d"]TapeOp[/color][/url]; essentially, use boiling water or a heat gun to soften the glue holding the transformer in the bottom half of the mic body (note: [b]do not[/b] boil the capsule), then connect the wires from the XLR jack straight to the capsule
This mod is reported to extend the frequency range of the mic, especially at the low end. It reduces the midrange honk. Some modders claim it improves transient response. However, it lowers the mic’s output by about 10dB (perhaps making it unsuitable for quiet sources)."

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I had a look at that after Andy mentioned it, thinking 'someone is pulling Andy's leg'... but no! It appears to be a real mod.

Some other forums indicate that removal of the transformer leaves the capsule susceptible to getting shorted by phantom power... not something I fancy dealing with.

Alternatively, if he's looking for something to polish up his vocals with whichever mic he presently has, I can recommend the TC Helicon T1 - it's an 'engineer-in-a-box' stompbox for vocalist. Compression and adaptive eq with warmth switch. Really smooths out vocals and allows you to accentuate parts of your voice that would otherwise disappear or sound gnarly with stock microphones. If you're someone who uses a lot of vocal effects and dynamic range this will help even these things out live, all without requiring the soundman to do a thing to your settings other than bring up the level to suit the mix.

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Effects and the like will follow in the future, funds are currently short unfortunately and the microphone is the first obvious replacement as it really is doing him no favors at all.

Thanks though, I will definitely keep and eye on tc gear.

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[quote name='mcgraham' timestamp='1319118910' post='1410154']
I had a look at that after Andy mentioned it, thinking 'someone is pulling Andy's leg'... but no! It appears to be a real mod.

Some other forums indicate that removal of the transformer leaves the capsule susceptible to getting shorted by phantom power... not something I fancy dealing with.
[/quote]

A real mod, I would imagine, to be implemented only by eejits; you're right, phantom power will then be shorted across the capsule which would likely cause damage to the mic and /or the desk's phantom supply. Unless I'm missing something...but I'm sure I'm not (I came across a cheap Chinese fake 58 last year which had no transformer at all, wouldn't use it for that reason...)

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Yea, I wouldn't do that to a mic, regardless of any rumoured tonal benefits. I realise that many people swap components from stock because manufacturers often skimp on quality of components so as to maximise profit... that's understandable... but to completely [i]remove [/i]an entire section of the design of a microphone.... even without knowing the full ramifications of such a decision I can tell you it wouldn't be a good idea to do so.

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