Which microphone .....

[obbm]

... is a good step up from the ubiquitous SM58?

[barkin]

I've a 58 Beta which, to my ears, is streets ahead of the SM58. Less low mud, more sparkle and clarity.

I've also got a 25 quid Behringer mic which also sounds better to me than a SM58 and seems less prone to feedback, although I doubt it'll be as reliable in the long term.

[Spike Vincent]

Beta 58 gets my vote,although I'm perfectly happy with the regular SM 58,or SM 57 for instrument purposes.

[Mykesbass]

I heard the SM58 and SM58 Beta AB'ed at a soundcheck in a decent theatre and was very surprised how much better the Beta was.

[51m0n]

[url="http://www.heilsound.com/pro/microphones/pr-35"]Heil PR35[/url]

[TheRev]

Another SM58 Beta user here. They have the same robust build as the SM58 but sound much, much better.

[Happy Jack]

Depends ...

[obbm]

on ...

[Happy Jack]

Your voice, your band, what you're singing, where you're singing it.

Probably a few more things too.

My voice is baritone. Through an SM58 I sound very bland ... oh alright ... even blander than usual.

Through an SM55 (Elvis) my voice sounds great but nowhere near loud enough, and raising the gain sufficiently usually leaves me fighting feedback.

My first-choice mic is my SM57 Beta which really works well with me, my voice, and my singing style.

All of which tells you precisely nothing about which mic will work best for you.

[spinynorman]

[quote name='barkin' timestamp='1353502820' post='1875247']
I've a 58 Beta which, to my ears, is streets ahead of the SM58. Less low mud, more sparkle and clarity.

I've also got a 25 quid Behringer mic which also sounds better to me than a SM58 and seems less prone to feedback, although I doubt it'll be as reliable in the long term.
[/quote]

I've got a Behringer SM58 look-alike, which I bought for a party where we had some guest singers, and it's still going strong 7 years later.

[obbm]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1353507589' post='1875355']
Your voice, your band, what you're singing, where you're singing it.

Probably a few more things too.

My voice is baritone. Through an SM58 I sound very bland ... oh alright ... even blander than usual.

Through an SM55 (Elvis) my voice sounds great but nowhere near loud enough, and raising the gain sufficiently usually leaves me fighting feedback.

My first-choice mic is my SM57 Beta which really works well with me, my voice, and my singing style.

All of which tells you precisely nothing about which mic will work best for you.
[/quote]

Thanks Jack. It's even more complicated than that as the question came from our singer (who uses an SM58) but who wishes to buy his son, also a singer, a better mic for Xmas. Everyone seems to rate the SM58 Beta so I've suggested it.

[JTUK]

I'd check out Sennheiser. Depends on your voice but the SM58 picks up everything...which can be an advantage but not for lead Vox, IMO