$500 vocal mic

YamahaGuy · #1 12-18-2018, 09:04 PM

As a singer first, then guitar player, I see my voice as my primary instrument. That said, $500 seems a bit much for a vocal mic for live use.

To put it in perspective, my most costly acoustic electric guitar (currently) is (was) $650.

Tonight, I played through a $500 guitar.

My rig consists of a Yamaha MG06X to Yamaha DXR10 powered speaker. My guitar pedal board is LR Baggs Para DI to GFS tuner, to Mooer Baby Water chorus, to Donner Square verb, to Electro Harmonix Canyon delay into channel 3/4.

My vocal is on channel 1 with the eq set flat. I use the short delay.

I've used this rig with a Beta 58 (Shure), a Sennheiser e945, e935, EV767A, AKD D5 DLX, Audix OM2, Blue Encore 100, 200, 300, and a Heil PR20 previously, so I am familiar with the sound.

So, I used the Sennheiser e965 tonight and I gotta say that a $500 vocal mic is something every singer's voice deserves. The vocal clarity, detail, expressiveness come through loud and clear. The effects truly add to the voice now rather than mask flaws. This mic had retailed at $699 and dropped to $499 when they had the lower prices on the e945 and e935. The sweet features are the switch to go from cardioid to supercardioid, the bass roll off, and the 10db pad. Truly a great mic.

Maybe I'm just trying to justify the price paid, but I have that much or more in my (small acoustic) pedal board.

For those of you still running 58s, yes they are good, but if you're a singer first, before you buy that next $2500 guitar, try a great vocal mic.

CASD57 · #2 12-18-2018, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YamahaGuy

As a singer first, then guitar player, I see my voice as my primary instrument. That said, $500 seems a bit much for a vocal mic for live use.

To put it in perspective, my most costly acoustic electric guitar (currently) is (was) $650.

Tonight, I played through a $500 guitar.

My rig consists of a Yamaha MG06X to Yamaha DXR10 powered speaker. My guitar pedal board is LR Baggs Para DI to GFS tuner, to Mooer Baby Water chorus, to Donner Square verb, to Electro Harmonix Canyon delay into channel 3/4.

My vocal is on channel 1 with the eq set flat. I use the short delay.

I've used this rig with a Beta 58 (Shure), a Sennheiser e945, e935, EV767A, AKD D5 DLX, Audix OM2, Blue Encore 100, 200, 300, and a Heil PR20 previously, so I am familiar with the sound.

So, I used the Sennheiser e965 tonight and I gotta say that a $500 vocal mic is something every singer's voice deserves. The vocal clarity, detail, expressiveness come through loud and clear. The effects truly add to the voice now rather than mask flaws. This mic had retailed at $699 and dropped to $499 when they had the lower prices on the e945 and e935. The sweet features are the switch to go from cardioid to supercardioid, the bass roll off, and the 10db pad. Truly a great mic.

Maybe I'm just trying to justify the price paid, but I have that much or more in my (small acoustic) pedal board.

For those of you still running 58s, yes they are good, but if you're a singer first, before you buy that next $2500 guitar, try a great vocal mic.

As a singer first also, Dang! I bought the e945 for $99 so I thought I was head of the game lol

RockerDuck · #3 12-18-2018, 09:27 PM

I use a Heil Pr 35. Its a killer mic. that's beat all the mic's I've owned including the Sennheiser 900 series.

YamahaGuy · #4 12-18-2018, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CASD57

As a singer first also, Dang! I bought the e945 for $99 so I thought I was head of the game lol

The 945 is s great mic. My wife loves it and won't use anything else. We run her 945 through a tube pre. She is the main reason I have so many mics -- trying to find THE one.

But the 965 sounds really good. The sound doesn't seem as colored as the 945. I feel the 945 has an upper mid boost, whereas the 965 is very transparent sounding.

YamahaGuy · #5 12-18-2018, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RockerDuck

I use a Heil Pr 35. Its a killer mic. that's beat all the mic's I've owned including the Sennheiser 900 series.

I've heard a lot of good things about the PR35. Maybe that'll be the next mic.

HeyMikey · #6 12-18-2018, 09:39 PM

How would you compare the sound to the e935 and e945? How is the feedback resistance live?

YamahaGuy · #7 12-18-2018, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeyMikey

How would you compare the sound to the e935 and e945? How is the feedback resistance live?

The 935 is less prone to the proximity effect. I move around a bit and the 945 really drops out if you are slightly off axis with it.

Sound wise, I hear slightly better high end sparkle with the 945.

Feedback wise the 935 beats the 945 every scenario I've used them in. My experience is that the 935 does a better job of rejecting feedback than the 945, not that the 945 is bad. But the 935 is less feedback prone in my experience.

kendallhadden · #8 12-18-2018, 10:30 PM

I use a 965 capsule on my wireless and it’s definitely my favorite. It is a great mic. I personally didn’t like the Heil PR35. I had one about 6 months and sold it. My second favorite mic is the 865 and then for the money I really like an sE Electronics V7. I use the V7 for my band singers and I use the 965 out front for me.

ricdoug · #9 12-18-2018, 10:34 PM

Thanks for the review, @YamahaGuy. I'm curious if that e965 will run on +15V phantom power, as you previously stated many phantom power supplies do not provide +48V phantom power. I'm an alakai'i (conductor/band leader) and lead vocalist who also plays stringed instruments, along with being a professional FOH live sound engineer. The Sennheiser e935 is one of my favorite microphones, as I despise having to "eat" a microphone for the best sound.

HeyMikey · #10 12-18-2018, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YamahaGuy

The 935 is less prone to the proximity effect. I move around a bit and the 945 really drops out if you are slightly off axis with it.

Sound wise, I hear slightly better high end sparkle with the 945.

Feedback wise the 935 beats the 945 every scenario I've used them in. My experience is that the 935 does a better job of rejecting feedback than the 945, not that the 945 is bad. But the 935 is less feedback prone in my experience.

Sorry, if I wasn't clear. I was wondering how the 965 compares in terms of sound quality and feedback in its C or SC settings to the 935 the 945?

As far as 935 vs 945 I have both and agree with your assessment. I like the sound quality of the 945 slightly over the 935, but prefer the proximity freedom of the 935 over the 945.

lkingston · #11 12-19-2018, 12:57 AM

The difference between the 935 and 945 is the directionality. The 935 is a cardiod while the 945 is a more directional super-cardiod.

A little over a year ago, a friend of mine and I collected all the vocal mics we had between us and our friends, and spent a few hours comparing them. Much of the comparing was done with one of us with our backs turned so that we wouldn’t be biased by what we saw.

We were both quite surprised by the results. We both liked the high end condenser mics and the much cheaper Audio OM3 about equally. Neither of us liked any of the other dynamic mics (including the 935) as much.

I liked the Audio OM-3 so much that I ordered an OM-5 because I thought it would probably be even better. It turns out that I can’t tell the difference, so I use them interchangeably.

Since then I’ve been using the Audix exclusively for live work. It is a little crisper with less low mid mud than a 58. It is a little more directional as well and easy to control volume-wise with mic distance. Basically, it sounds like a high end condenser mic, but it is priced like a mid range dynamic.

By the way, the Audio OM-3 is the mic Bose sells in their stores to go along with their L1 systems. It is the mic that their tonematch models are designed to work with.

My advice is to AB the Audio OM3 (or OM5) with the high end condenser before you commit to spending $600 on the condenser. To my ears, they are close enough that I would keep the $450 or so price difference.

pieterh · #12 12-19-2018, 01:40 AM

My song mic is a Neumann KMS104 so although not the same mic I get where you are coming from.

My favourite dynamic is the e945, it’s a B58 killer!

The Shure KSM9 is a condenser that has switchable pattern between cardioid and super cardioid. It’s a great feature!

YamahaGuy · #13 12-19-2018, 05:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeyMikey

Sorry, if I wasn't clear. I was wondering how the 965 compares in terms of sound quality and feedback in its C or SC settings to the 935 the 945?

As far as 935 vs 945 I have both and agree with your assessment. I like the sound quality of the 945 slightly over the 935, but prefer the proximity freedom of the 935 over the 945.

I misread your initial question, I use the 965 in the C setting mostly and have no feedback issues. I have tried the SC at home, but not out at my normal venue. Sound quality is the same either way on the 965, the mic just picks up differently from the sides depending on how it's set. The feedback rejection is really good by the way. Last night I had the mic virtually facing the 1100watt DXR10 and less than 6 feet away and had no sign of feedback.

KarenB · #14 12-19-2018, 06:52 AM

Glad you found one you like. Every singer's voice responds differently to mic/pre combo. If you go to record in a fine studio, you might try out 4 or 5 mics on your voice to find out which works best with your voice. It's not the same for everybody.

Woodstock School Of Music · #15 12-19-2018, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarenB

Glad you found one you like. Every singer's voice responds differently to mic/pre combo. If you go to record in a fine studio, you might try out 4 or 5 mics on your voice to find out which works best with your voice. It's not the same for everybody.

Exactly and it might not be the most expensive mic. I've rejected U47's in the studio because they just weren't the right fit for the singer