Electro-Voice - N/D357

With all due respect, your list reads kinda like it was compiled via YouTube. As someone pointed out, not all models even within a brand are created equal. I would easily add Beyer and Gefell and Schoeps to this list. EV would get a nod even if (or maybe especially if) they made nothing but the RE-20. Even though I’m not its biggest fan, the 57 should at least be mentioned. And there are smaller companies like Josephson and Manley that don’t seem to produce any lesser products at all. But the main point is buy the mic, not the brand.

Just a piece of advice regarding mics. Try to remember that each mic has a slightly different equivalent eq curve, and if you can find a mic that enhances your vocal in the right frequencies it can help a lot. I have about 30 different handheld dynamic mics in my inventory at the moment, and when anyone asks for a mic recommendation I invite them round to my studio, and record them singing into batches of 4 mics at a time. We then listen back and see which mic is most flattering to them without EQ. Polar patterns are also important when stage noise is an issue, and I usually suggest avoiding cardioid mics unless the singer is very powerful, or has to move a lot relative to the mic. Some of the winners that usually come out of the shootout are the Audix OM series, Sennheiser 935/945 (935 is my personal fav for mid priced dynamics, but that is based on my voice), Shure SM57 Beta, and an old EV ND357. I personally hate SM58s, and whenever someone goes "but you can bang a nail in with it and it still works", I ask why they don't use a hammer for nails, and a 935 for singing like a sensible person.

It's hard to second guess this, so you'll need to carefully apply any advice to your specific situation..... Some artistic mix choices in your genre intentionally 'bury the vocals' in the mix. It's possible your sound tech is choosing that route, when you want vocals on top of the mix. Talk to him/her to make sure you're on the same page about your artistic vision of the presentation. You don't mention how the videos you've watched were recorded. Is the audio from the video recorder's microphone? If so, is the recorder in a representative part of the audience space? If the recorder is tucked outside of the PA coverage position, or dead center right in front of the stage, the sound it recorded may not be representative of the sound in most of the room. Since vocals are produced ONLY by the PA, and drums/bass/guitars may come primarily from stage volume, the difference from the positioning of the recorder can be extreme. See if you can record only your vocal mic for a show, or have the sound tech cue it up regularly in headphones and listen to it. If during loud parts of songs, the vocal mic signal is predominately drum/guitar/bass bleed, the only realistic way to address this is by lowering the stage volume of those elements. (And/or change your vocal style to increase SPL and/or tonal balance.) An SM58 is the most popular choice of vocal mics because it works pretty well for most voices and situations. It doesn't mean it's always the best choice. In typical use, the SM58 has a very scooped-out response in the 1kHz-3kHz region. If your voice needs that range to sound 'present' in the mix, switching to a mic that's effectively flatter across the vocal mid-band may indeed help. I'll also note that the SM58 suffers from really nasty-sounding 'bleed'. (Not bleed level necessary, but the audio quality of the bleed.) Some other mic options have more coherent sounding bleed. If you can borrow one to try, the Electro-Voice N/D series vocal mics address both the tonal balance and bleed coherency issues quite well. (I'm sure there are other good options-- I'm just familiar with the EV's, and it's the mic I keep in my kit to address these issues with a band/vocalist when I need to for a gig.)

Try an SM57 for lead vocals onstage at a small gig. I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it is. It's a little bit unusual, but I recently made a whole bunch of excellent singers happy that way, and I even had the usual SM58 available for them. One guy, a certifiable old school jazz legend, specifically requested the 57 after seeing it used by someone before him. For the newbies... Branch out from Shure. Spend the same amount though. EV and Sennheiser make great vocal mics that address different vocal styles. I like a Sennheiser e835 for mousy female vocals where a Beta 87 or SM58 would feed back. EV ND series sound pretty good on a guitar amp for hollow body jazz stuff. Grab a cloudlifter and an inline DI-style phantom power source to round out your toolbox. You never know when you're going to need either of those.