Microphone Recommendations

[Cabarone]

The praise team at our church is making do w/pretty old mic's...I've taken it upon myself to upgrade them. Nobody there really has any studio experience...I'm kinda the closest thing they've got.

They have a couple mixing boards and a few guys doing the best they can at it, but the "lead" guy told me he's taken himself as far as he can...

I'm not looking to match Carnegie Hall, but I don't want to go low-budget either...I window-shopped GC's website to get over sticker shock...

Any suggestions?

[B. Adams]

Vocal or instrument mics? Wired or wireless?

[Mking]

If you are looking for individual vocal mics you cannot go wrong with the Shure SM-58. They are the industry standard, sound great and not expensive. You can find new on Ebay anywhere from $89.00-$100.00 and even cheaper pre-owned. Good luck.

[jwhelan56]

Here's a plug for the Blue EnCore 100's or 200's. These are great microphones and great value.

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Micropho.../dp/B002SQJL9U

https://www.bluedesigns.com/products/encore-200/

[SuperB23]

Hard to go wrong with Shure SM58s like others have said, they have been industry standard for a long time for good reason. SM81 is one of the finest acoustic guitar mics I've experienced and the SM57 are great for drums and guitar/bass amps if you can't go direct with the amps.

[jwhelan56]

Originally Posted by jwhelan56

Here's a plug for the Blue EnCore 100's or 200's. These are great microphones and great value.

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Micropho.../dp/B002SQJL9U

https://www.bluedesigns.com/products/encore-200/

Here is a review of the two Blue Encore's and comparisons:

https://www.mixonline.com/technology...-review-369574

[Cabarone]

Originally Posted by B. Adams

Vocal or instrument mics? Wired or wireless?

Sorry about that...wireless vocal...

[Brent Hahn]

Originally Posted by Cabarone

Sorry about that...wireless vocal...

Sure calls that the BLX2/SM58‑J10. An industry standard, and the wireless version costs less than double what the wired version is. Cheap, in other words. You buy the receiver separately.

[B. Adams]

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

Sure calls that the BLX2/SM58‑J10. An industry standard, and the wireless version costs less than double what the wired version is. Cheap, in other words. You buy the receiver separately.

Shure BLX is decent if you're on a budget. Just don't use PG58 heads, stick with SM58's. There's no reason the PG58 should sound as bad as it does, but it does.

As you start moving up the wireless "ladder" with Shure, features and quality get better. Loox at BLX on the low end, GLX in the middle, QLX getting near the top, and ULXD or Axient at the top end.

My recommendation with BLX, if that's the level you're looking at, would be to spring for the models with removable antennas (the "R" version). That will be better for you in the long term, especially if/when you add antenna distribution.

The QLX, ULXD, and Axient add a lot of nice functionality, like the option for a super nice rechargeable battery system. ULXD and Axient also have easier antenna distribution, but obviously they're more expensive. Most of the features of Axient are probably more than you need, and that could maybe be said for ULXD too, but the 4 channel receivers sure are nice. Pricing on the QLX series isn't too bad though, and if you can afford the rechargeables and drop-in charger, you'll never look back.

[YamahaGuy]

Without knowing your budget, I can only ballpark guess that you don't want to spend 4-5 hundred dollars per.

Many will bash this and say Shure this and Shure that. I've used Shures and the Beta 58 through a digital rig is great -- at 5 - 6 hundred per.

Anyway, these last a long time on a single AA battery. I've had mine over 2 years now and have used it dozens of times. My only gripes are the battery cover feels cheap (but, I have broken those on the Beta 58 I mentioned) and the mute on/off switch takes some getting used to. Ok, I'm done. Try these and thank me later.

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-...less-vocal-set

[jojobean39]

At my church, we use Sennheiser wireless mics. We have used several different brands over the years, but Sennheiser has been the best so far.

Ours are the EW 135s, which aren’t exactly cheap. But they are quality. They have some cheaper models that I do believe are pretty good.

[DupleMeter]

Sennheiser, all the way.

I've installed Sennheiser is many churches...they sound great, work without issue & are rugged. You can find cheaper alternatives, but you won't get better bang for the buck iMO.