Greetings from the land of Tropical Storm Fay.
Hopefully this thing will get out of here before the olympic coverage is over!
)
........
You most definitely don't have to make all your mics the same brand all over your stage.
But there are some advantages to making some things standardized....
Vocal mics- It can be very helpful to make all your hand held vocal mics to have the same element. This makes things a lot easier for eq for FOH and monitors.
Choir mics- again having them be the same mic is very helpful. For example if you have 4 choir mics you would want 4 414's or 4 81's or 4 4041's etc.
Mixed use mics- When you don't have a lot of mics to choose from in your inventory, then having mics that can work in a lot of situations can be very useful. While having just one of this and one of that might not work as well until you get some more inventory going.
Wireless mics- for rf purposes is best to use systems from the same brand vs mixing things up. It is much easier to plan and coordinate rf using the same brand and you can have more channels overall. Wireless is also a good place to plan for flexibility, for example if you have a wireless pack you could use that for a headset, lav, acoustic guitar, trumpet, violin etc etc.
Hardwired packs- some brands have hardwired packs that have the same pin config as the wireless body pack. We use hardwired packs for clip on condensors and lavs for some instruments and since our wireless is the same it is very easy to be flexible with these mics.
Budget- condensers are going to cost more. So depending on how much you have and how many mics you need, you might be able to get more inventory without getting as many condensers. Then you could upgrade to condensers later on. You just have to prioritize it for yourself.
Riders-now this might not apply to you as much and might definitely apply more to larger spaces. Usually artist riders will specify this or that and may list a suitable replacement.
They have this on the riders so that they can get as much consistency as possible in different locations.
Opinions- On this forum you might get a lot of them especially on brand. The main thing is that you get the right mic for the right purpose and that it works well.
Repairs- Some times repair issues might weigh decisions on mic purchases. Some mics can be repaired cheaply some not so cheap.
Condensers are more fragile and will break faster and usually cost more to fix.
Examples-
Here in our smaller rooms we use 57's on snare, toms, guitar amps, perc etc. They work well, sound great, hold up, and are inexpensive in these applications. These rooms are very multipurpose with operators and musicians at all kinds of ages and experience levels.
Smaller room condensers are all sm81's. They work great and are sturdy. In the small rooms that dont have condensers we might use a 57 as a perc mic or even a choir mic.
For kick we use Beta 52's in all our rooms. I like it better then the AKG D112 which have some that might use for a bass cab etc.
In our main worship center we have a decent inventory that is more of a smorgasbord. We have Akg 414's on the piano, EV re20's on tympani, all choir mics are Neuman, drum kit is still a 52 and 57's with neuman overheads, french horns are sennheiser 421's, flutes are sm81's, strings are shure lav's clipped on to the bridge, trumpets are sennheiser's that used to be on the drum set etc etc.
I'd love to have some dpa's on the strings but i don't think it make too much financial since right now.
My point is not to say hey look at how many mics we have but just to give you some examples.
I wish I could remember the name of one of the books I have at the office. It is specifically about microphones choice and placement. I'll try and dig it up next week.
Dito on the comments from Jeff or others on renting or borrowing some mics to try. But I would probably move the lovely plant to hear what they sound like better:O)
Good luck!
Time to go walk the dog again, maybe we are in between some rain clouds and this time will be dry!
David