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[Eric Deweese]

Hello all, been a while since I have posted anything.

As of late I have been working on filling out my mic portfolio which leads me to this post.

I do not have to fulfill rider requests as part of my normal dealings with providing audio production. I have the "expected" normal stuff, i.e. sm57/58s and Audix D series drum mics. I also have e935 and e865 vocal mics that I much prefer over and above the Shure kit.

What are your must have microphones for live reinforcement of full bands? Say anything as mild as folk and all the way to hard rock short of death metal or screamo??? I like decent quality kit but I am not a rich man lol

Let me know what you want to see on a provider list, thanks!!!!

[Caleb Dueck]

Kick - D6 and E901

Vocals - E935 and various condensers.
E965, KMS105, d:Facto, VX10LO, SM86.  Not as thrilled with B87 or E865.

Instruments - various condensers.  AT4041, Aston Origen, the micro DPA kits with all the mounting options. 

[Nils Erickson]

Eric,

Here are some that I like in my kit, in no particular order.
Dynamics:
Beyer M88, M201
Sennheiser MD421, MD441
EV N/D 468
EV RE320
Sennheiser e906, e904, e902
Shure Beta 52, beta 57
Telefunken M80, M81, M88

Condensers:
Shure Beta 91, Beta 87
Sennheiser e914
Shure SM81
Audio Technica AT4031
Audio Technica 4033 and 4050
AKG C3000
AKG 451
DPA 4099, 4080, 4088
ETL Edwina
Neuman KM184, KMS105
Telefunken M60

Ribbon:
Royer R121
Beyer M160

Hope that helps, it is a bunch of the usual suspects...

Cheers,
Nils

[Chris Grimshaw]

Here's mine:

Vocals - Sennheiser e935
Drums (clip-on) - Sennheiser e904
Cabs - e906
Kick - A large-diaphragm condenser with high SPL handling. Current pick is an SE Electronics X1D, although an AKG C3000 (original version) works well. I really don't like the pre-EQ'd kick mics as I find they paint you into a corner with regards to the sound. Article: https://www.prosoundweb.com/contoured-or-not-examining-frequency-response-in-kick-drum-microphones/

Overhead/metal things - Beyer MC930s

General purpose - Beyer M201TG or MC930


I find the MC930s sound great on pretty much anything (I don't need any other condensers apart from kick), but given their cost they tend to get used mostly for recording. If it's a nice gig, though, I'll happily bring them out.

Chris

Edit - I operate at a level where the acts/events that book me trust my choices of equipment. If I get a rider with 6x SM58s and 8x SM57s, I'll ask if the Sennheiser e935s and e904/906s are acceptable, and the answer has always been yes.

[Alec Spence]

For me, it's as simple as:

Vocals - e935
Cabs - e906
Drums - Kick - D6, e901
           Snare - SM57
           Toms - e604
           Metalwork/OH - generic SDC

I operate at a level where the acts/events that book me trust my choices of equipment. If I get a rider with 6x SM58s and 8x SM57s, I'll ask if the Sennheiser e935s and e904/906s are acceptable, and the answer has always been yes.

Yup, never had a problem with my setup above.  A good advance always helps clear things up.  There are quite a few acts in my part of the food chain where *enough* mics is one of their key concerns.  I have a few SM58s I can drag out if the talent absolutely insists, but most that care that much bring their own.

[Eric Snodgrass]

It's always good to have some small-diaphragm condenser mics in your kit. 
A really outstanding cost-to-performance mic in this category is the Rode M5 stereo pair.  A matched pair of SDCs for $200 US. 

[Bob Kidd]

Hello all, been a while since I have posted anything.

As of late I have been working on filling out my mic portfolio which leads me to this post.

I do not have to fulfill rider requests as part of my normal dealings with providing audio production. I have the "expected" normal stuff, i.e. sm57/58s and Audix D series drum mics. I also have e935 and e865 vocal mics that I much prefer over and above the Shure kit.

What are your must have microphones for live reinforcement of full bands? Say anything as mild as folk and all the way to hard rock short of death metal or screamo??? I like decent quality kit but I am not a rich man lol

Let me know what you want to see on a provider list, thanks!!!!

Kick - 91 in and D6 or beta 52 out
Snare - 57
Tom's - 904s
Guitars - 906s
Bass - DI w/ 52 or D6
Vocals - sm58 - senn 835/935
Hat- 614
OHs- Audix 51s

[Caleb Dueck]

Kick - 91 in and D6 or beta 52 out

Side question - how does a D6 work out of the hole?   I seem to only get "woof" in a bad way.  Works great way inside though.  The B52 works well here.

[Luke Geis]

I use:

Miktek PMD5 ( kit ) for kick, snare, and toms.

AKG C214 pair for overheads

Shure Beta 91 for kick in.

Behringer C2 for hats and perc. Honestly a decent mic for that kind of stuff.

Audio Technica AT2020 for vocals and more

Audio Technica ATM510 for vocals and more

Shure SM57 for guitar, horns and more

I have a spare set of CAD drum mics and a spare set of Audix Fusion series drum mics for club shows.

Looking to get another pair of AKG C214's, some SE-7's or Rode M5's to round things out.

I find that with the Beta 91 I can get 9/10's of whatever kick sound I am looking for and with the Miktek PM11 kick mic I can again 9/10's. Between the two, I can do anything I need. The Miktek PM series tom/snare mic's are also very nice sounding, rugged and versatile. They allow the best drum sounds I have gotten to date. I used to have a set of Shure SM58's until they grew legs... I replaced them with the Audio Technica ATM-510's and never looked back. The 510s are essentially a copy of the Beta58 and have a warm, sweet sound to them. I prefer the Audio Technica AT2020 though for most vocals. They are a condenser mic and sound very neutral and don't present too much proximity effect. They are also affordable which is nice. The Shure SM57's can't be beaten for guitars and work well for horns and percussion. I typically use my Behringer C2's for percussion, hi-hats, and whatnot and honestly find them to be damn good sounding for those applications.  I only want to get another set of higher end pencil mics to round out the kits and have another option. I think my other next big purchase will be another set of vocal mics. I do need to get a set of SM58's again just for posterity and to keep some people from looking at me funny and I want to get a much higher end set of vocal mics as well such as the Sennheiser 965's, Shure KSM9's, or Nueman KMS-105's.

As for must have's, I feel you MUST have at least a set of Shure SM57's ( minimum of 4 if not using for drums ). I am a fan of Sennheiser tom and snare mics such as the E604, but Shure SM57's are good too for that purpose. If you can afford it, the Miktek Drum kits are very nice and don't cost Earthworks money. For kick mics, you can go with any of the major brand's popular mics. The Shure Beta52, Audix D6, AKG D112 all do the task well. As for vocals, I don't think you MUST have SM58's anymore, but you MUST have a vocal mic that retails for around $100 to do any kind of justice. I like the Audio Technica stuff I have, but Shure SM58's are fine and I have used Sennheiser 835's and 865's often but I really prefer the 965's if you can swing it. I am not a fan of the 835. It is too brash for my taste, but the 865 and 965 models are smoother and more neutral. For hi-hats, overheads and other things like percussion, noisemakers or stringed instruments, there is really no standard that I say is a must have. The Behringer C2 mics are cheap, work pretty well and have taken anything I have thrown at them for the past 10 years I have had them. Obviously Shure SM81's are more popular and Sennheiser E614's pencil mics are in a lot of kits. I DO NOT LIKE the Shure PG series mic's, especially the PG81. While the tom/snare model is passable, the PG52 and PG81 mics are pretty bad. Most mics that are sub $100 are not great, but there are a few gems. The older CAD TSM411 snare/tom mics are REALLY good for the price. They used to be $25 and are now selling for as much as $79!!! I still use mine often and they don't disappoint. Se Electronics makes reasonably priced mics that perform really well also.

As to the D6 being woofy, yes, it has a metric shit ton of low-end oomph, but I also find it to be one of the brighter more attack-oriented mics out there. I really wanted to get one until I heard the Miktek PM11. The Miktek PM11 is kind of a cross between a Beta52 and a D6. I think the big challenge with the D6 is that it needs to be just in the hole to ensure a good balance of lows and highs. If it is outside the hole it loses too much attack and the click gets lost in all the low end. As much as I love attack, I find that the D6 can be too clicky at times. I try to get it so that the entire grill of the mic is just inside of the resonant head. Too far out and you lose attack, too far in and you get too much attack.

Here is a YT video that shows what I mean: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpmSsej7HiQ

[Chris Grimshaw]

Here's something handy I found online: https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/kick-drum-mic-shootout-with-sound-samples/?avad=244133_c15bf2d29

IMO, the "scooped" mics are easy to identify, and sound more like the mic than the kick drum.
I work with a wide range of acts, so I make sure I'm amplifying their sound, not mine, by choosing neutral microphones.

Chris

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