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[Aaron Baxter]

Ok, I've been chasing my tail for a while so I thought I'd try here for help.  I'm a HOW sound guy and we have one vocalist that has a bass voice but he has, for lack of a proper term, a short vocal projection.  He almost has to be eating the 2 mics we have to really hear him and at that he can sound muffled.  I'm looking for suggestions on which handheld mic/mic type would be best for him.  Thankfully, the other 4 vocalists have great projection and range so they can stick with the Shure SM57 or 58 wireless setup.

[Ray Aberle]

Ok, I've been chasing my tail for a while so I thought I'd try here for help.  I'm a HOW sound guy and we have one vocalist that has a bass voice but he has, for lack of a proper term, a short vocal projection.  He almost has to be eating the 2 mics we have to really hear him and at that he can sound muffled.  I'm looking for suggestions on which handheld mic/mic type would be best for him.  Thankfully, the other 4 vocalists have great projection and range so they can stick with the Shure SM57 or 58 wireless setup.

Per the forum rules, your Display Name does need to be your Real, Full Name, to participate. Would you mind popping back into your profile to update your Display Name to your Real, Full Name? We're unable to assist you until you do!

(Sadly, if I guessed correctly, Aaron, your FCC callsign doesn't count. )

-Ray

[Doug Fowler]

Read the rules, fix your display name.

Thank you for your cooperation.

[Mike Caldwell]

What does his voice sound like coming out of his mouth?
Does he speak and sing in a soft voice?

If his voice is really deep and bassy maybe actually cut some around
100 to 150 give or take on that mic channel to clean it up in the system.

[Dave Garoutte]

If he has to eat the mic, then the proximity effect is adding to the mush. 
Turning up the volume will only make the mush louder.
Turn on a high pass filter on that channel.

[Aaron Baxter]

I've not had experience with anybody like him and his brother.  He (J) has a soft, deep voice in speaking and singing but can be loud singing where necessary.  His brother (B) has a "normal" voice range but he again has to have the mic directly in front of him and no more than 6" away otherwise it drops off quick.  B isn't so much of an issue because I'm getting him an on the ear mic and he doesn't sing.
 
I can add a highpass when I get the new system, however I'm greatly concerned if I use a basic SM58, J will still have the proximity issue.  Is there any mic type that help with this?  I've seen reference to, but couldn't figure out if, something like a dual diaphragm mic would work or what would be a good one for this particular use case.

[Russell Ault]

{...} has to have the mic directly in front of him and no more than 6" away {...}

Just for reference, traditional technique with a microphone like an SM58 is to keep the microphone <1" away from the mouth for most singing.

{...}  I can add a highpass when I get the new system, however I'm greatly concerned if I use a basic SM58, J will still have the proximity issue.  Is there any mic type that help with this?  I've seen reference to, but couldn't figure out if, something like a dual diaphragm mic would work or what would be a good one for this particular use case.

There are several types of microphone that don't exhibit proximity effect, but they all come with significant tradeoffs in usability or cost (or both). Given that your description doesn't mention feedback issues, I would start by ensuring that the people in question are using proper, consistent microphone technique (including how they are holding the microphone, if applicable) and then applying corrective EQ as necessary, and see how far that gets you. Proximity effect on its own is easy to adjust for using EQ (ideally with a wide-band parametric filter, although a low-shelf is often faster and will do a fine job too) and is only really a problem when a singer's inconsistent technique causes the amount of the effect to vary considerably.

-Russ

[Jeff Bankston]

I wonder what the bass singer in the Oak Ridge Boys uses live.

[Russell Ault]

I wonder what the bass singer in the Oak Ridge Boys uses live.

The first two photos Google Image Search pulled up that were large enough to tell showed different makes of wireless handheld, but nothing obviously esoteric. In the one with what looks like Shure UHF-R, the capsules appear to be good old SM58s.

-Russ

[Tim McCulloch]

I wonder what the bass singer in the Oak Ridge Boys uses live.

They were Shure endorsing artists.  I recall both SM-58 and SM-87C capsules on UHF-R the last time I worked with ORB.

Another bass singer I worked with used a Neumann KSM-84.  He'd have floor wedge speakers jumping around on the deck, then they'd fail.

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