Mic question

rick413 · #1 08-01-2015, 06:31 AM

I have a Shure sm58 which is an inexpensive mic but it seems that it only picks up my voice if it is pointed directly at my mouth. If I sing from the side of it, even only a few inches away, it will not pick up the sound. Is this normal or do I need another type of mic?

Andy Howell · #2 08-01-2015, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rick413

I have a Shure sm58 which is an inexpensive mic but it seems that it only picks up my voice if it is pointed directly at my mouth. If I sing from the side of it, even only a few inches away, it will not pick up the sound. Is this normal or do I need another type of mic?

Yes this is normal and why you will see some people almost swallowing the things. You need to be relatively close to them.

These days I use a Sennheiser E935 which costs a little more but which is worth every penny, especially for make voices, This is a dynamic mic and built like a tank. It is easier t stand back from the mic a bit which I really like. Best which a 90 degrees to your mouth rather than at an angle. I take this with me everywhere now and nobody usually complains when I swap it for the 58. When running this through my AER or a PA I just use the EQ flat.

I also have the Shure 58 Beta which has a wider field t in general I don't think it is as good a mic as the E935.

guitaniac · #3 08-01-2015, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rick413

I have a Shure sm58 which is an inexpensive mic but it seems that it only picks up my voice if it is pointed directly at my mouth. If I sing from the side of it, even only a few inches away, it will not pick up the sound. Is this normal or do I need another type of mic?

You'd hate my Audix OM7s. They have a much tighter pattern than the SM58. In any event, the SM58 has a cardioid pattern and is supposedly more responsive from the side than the tighter-patterned hyper-cardioid mics.

The Heil PR35 has a cardioid pattern and a rep for sounding good when the singer is somewhat off-axis. However, its also going to have a poor repsonse when you're coming at it from a side angle of 90 degrees or greater.

Tomm Williams · #4 08-01-2015, 07:08 AM

Do you deliberately sing like that or was this just an observation ?

Gypsyblue · #5 08-01-2015, 07:27 AM

I forget what the effect is called but as your mouth moves closer to a SM58, the sound gets fuller and bassier.

Some singers like that.

Proximity Effect? Is that what it's called?

Anyways, it's a valuable mic technique many singers are well aware of.

Mobilemike · #6 08-01-2015, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gypsyblue

I forget what the effect is called but as you mouth moved closer to a SM58 the sound gets fuller and bassier. Some like that.

Proximity Effect? Is that what it's called?

Anyways, it's a valuable mic technique many singers are well aware of.

Yup, proximity effect. It is an effect that happens with any cardioid pattern mic. In my case, my voice is already pretty bassy, to the point where it can sound muddy. So I tend to sing a little farther away from an SM58 to minimize that proximity effect. That's when it definitely helps to have a good sound engineer too!

-Mike

Br1ck · #7 08-01-2015, 11:02 AM

Yes, my Audix mic was designed to be right in front of and close. Can't share it at all.

I've got a nice condenser that I can switch between cardioid and omnidirectional I like to use for acoustic rehearsal. Run the signal through my amp for a touch of reverb with everyone sitting in a circle around it. Nice but doesn't take much to produce feedback.

Microphones are another sinkhole for your money. I love the look of mics like I love the look of guitars. The retro looking mics sound and look good.

ljguitar · #8 08-01-2015, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rick413

I have a Shure sm58 which is an inexpensive mic but it seems that it only picks up my voice if it is pointed directly at my mouth. If I sing from the side of it, even only a few inches away, it will not pick up the sound. Is this normal or do I need another type of mic?

Hi rick…
SM-58 and other mics like it are built with a cardioid pickup pattern, and are useful in PA situations where if they picked up sound from the sides or back it would create feedback. Most of the high end ones have an even narrower pickup pattern than an SM-58.

The pattern is narrow, and sounds like a built in laptop speaker when you get off to the side (off-axis). It's meant to be sung into from 1½" to 2" directly in front of it. When you get further away, the bass drops off and we're back to that laptop speaker type of tone.

You could try an omni-directional mic, since they will pickup equally on all sides, without the severe proximity effect (which is what causes them to sound like laptop speakers), but they will also feed back quite easily.

Generally unless you are a bluegrass fan (or Milk carton kid emulator), omni-directional condenser microphones are avoided for live play. Good ones sound great and are very costly. And even bluegrass bands and the Milk Carton kid's mics are not omni directional.