Shure - BETA 87A

I agree with the people saying Shure SM- 57 or 58 is enough to get the job done. They will work for pretty much whatever you need but you should also explore a higher end mic for vocals. I like condensers but it really depends on your voice and the style of music you’re making. If you get a chance to try out other mics, do it. I used a friend’s Shure Beta 87-A and it sounded really great. There are some decent budget friendly mics to look into. I like the CAD A77 so much I bought a spare. And when the black version came out I got one of those just because it was more affordable than the gold one. The Blue Raven and Blue Cardinal are not being made anymore but they are great mics. For live vocals I alternate between the Raven and the A77. I also have a Blue Spark and a Bluebird. Something about the Bluebird doesn’t sit well with me. Probably just the timbre of my voice, or maybe I just need to experiment more with it. I got a Heil Fin microphone for a friend and it works well with her voice. It also has LED lights that use phantom power and gives her face a beautiful soft glow, which is great for live shows.

Everyone complaining about cupping the mic - yeah that shit's hard to deal with but whatever. Some days you have easy shows and some days you work for that money. Pull up a hypercardioid condenser mic - beta87A, e865, OM7, V7, etc pick your poison - to cut back on some of the proximity effect and know that you're gonna be getting more honk and less clarity so test the mic that way during soundcheck. Doubly important if your artist isn't showing up for soundcheck - a lot of times it's their "guy" showing up because "aura" or some shit like that. Maybe they're busy setting off the venue fire alarm by smoking in the green room under the "no smoking" sign and the chemical sensors so they send someone with limited live sound knowledge and working vocabulary - a DJ, a fader jockey, their studio guy, something like that. Not that I'm speaking from experience there or anything. Definitely didn't have to evacuate an entire casino for no fucking reason once, no sir. Have someone from your team cup that mic with both hands around the grill and scream into it like it owes them money. Ring it out in the wedges and the mains - there's only so much you can do because we're limited by physics at the very bleeding edge of processing and performance. If you're lucky enough to have plugin processing, this is where that can really shine - C6 type compressors were designed for this exact use case. The more work you do on it ahead of time the less work you have to do during the show.

My *preference* is always 3 of the same mic, because they'll react the same to EQ, gain, pattern control, and feedback. That said, plenty of times I'll substitute my preferred mic out for something that just works way better on an individual voice. When you become familiar with the response of your different mics, you'll know when switching might be a smart idea *after* hearing a voice on your default mic, but it's hard to predict just from genre of the vocalist. Perhaps you're working with a deep baritone vocal, but you need upper midrange clarity to make his vocals hold with the other vocalists: the e865 might be the solution, even if it doesn't seem like a 'baritone' vocal mic. Another baritone, in another ensemble, maybe not so much. To answer your specific question, if I had one of each, and those vocalists, I'd *start* with the SM58 on the belter, the e865 on the classical soprano, and the Beta87a on the alto jazz singer.

My favorite mic for rejecting background echo is the Shure Beta 87a. But it does need phantom power. My inspiration was Fizzle’s nice write up on different mic options with audio sound tests here: https://fizzle.co/podcast-high-quality-microphone-shootout/.

I think they all have a place, Sennheiser 935 is their best live capsule that would suit a majority of voices, 945 is good but a lot brighter so you gotta take the HF boost down with that one plus it has a limited working angle so if your slightly off it dissapears , Used to love the Shure Beta 87a but then I found the AKG C535 and wayyy prefer that over it for live main vocal duties. A 58 will always be a solid option so always have a few, I have had three SE V7 capsules go dull on me and the paint comes off them so easily despite looking pretty and so as great as they are for the price the inconsistency lets it down. Telefunken M80 is similar to 945 but behaves better on rejection and has a slightly wider axis response but yet it has some plosives close up, it’s very workable and higher quality paint grades over the V7 colors. AKG D5 is good but sounds a little veiled but again can work on some people, Earthworks Sr117 is my new go to for live condensers for band work where clarity and flat tonality is necessary and you can really carve the sound to this mic. I’m trying to keep it to myself as a secret but for the money it’s bloody awesome. Beyerdynamic M88, M69 or Soundstar Mk 2 (M400) are insanely good if you can find them for good money

Recommend beta87a if you want crisp.

Used three of them live all day. But they work for a lot of things.

You could have a beta 87a

You can pick up a Shure Beta 87A (handheld condenser) for around $300, plus you can use it on stage, and it will sound great. Get one for everyone in the band who sings. A Røde NT2-A (switchable patterns) should run about $420, plus $70 for the shockmount and pop filter. Either of these will add a substantial amount of clarity and detail to the vocals if you've been using a $100 dynamic mic, like an SM58. In real life, it means that your vocals won't sound as if they're under a blanket in your mix. (Not being snarky.) And live—with those Beta 87As, your stage vocals will have much more definition. While these aren't U87-level solutions, they're enough to hear a substantial difference. This is like comparing a decent hamburger to a great prime rib, with the U87 perhaps being the Wagyu beef platter overseen by Chef Morimoto.

It sounds like you only have 1 mic/1 input available at any given time. The part I don't like about that is that you might be missing out on the possibility of a stereo image on the piano. If you were to ask me(and probably ONLY me), I'd say 2 of those Beta 58s or even the Beta 87s would be just fine on a piano, BUT YES... it WOULD pick up a lot of the clack and clunk from the keys.... however, some people like that. Even if you only had 1 mic for the piano, those Betas sound pretty good. If you are looking for an upgrade on mics that will give you a studio sound with less "condenser" sensitivity, I would recommend Ribbon Mics like the sE Electronics X1R. These mics are not too expensive at all, and they sound like a dream (especially for how inexpensive they are). However, they are definitely not as "bright" as a condenser mic. The other thing I'd say is that even a standard SM58 sounds decent for vocals in a studio setting, however if it is true that you only have the one input, then regardless of mic choice; I'd recommend recording the piano first AND THEN the vocals. I certainly would not recommend using a single mic to record both the vocals AND the piano at the same time. As for the other mics you mentioned... The SM7b is AWESOME on female vocals, but it IS pretty pricey even for how good it sounds(at least in my opinion) and the Rode NT1 is simply a horrible choice all together. I'd rather one of the Betas on a piano before the NT1. You'd definitely be better off with a Ribbon mic (or 2, since you should be going for stereo image anyway) OR even an NT5 before that NT1. In any case.... Those fluid performances CAN still be recorded independently from each other, especially if you are like me because I cannot fathom doing an entire performance without a click for at least the main portion of it.

Have you tried the KSM8? It’s kinda sorta smooth around the mids, very little proximity effect, doesn’t emphasize 800–1.2 kHz area. If budget’s tight, good old Beta 58 or 87 are worth to give a shot. Before cutting 350–400 and 750–800, I’d first sweep around 900–1.2 kHz and put a gentle dip there. Then add a small cut near 350–450 Hz, plus a dynamic EQ band around 800–1 kHz to duck on big vowels. HPF around 100 Hz, and if it sounds dull, add a touch of air. What I also find useful is playing with the mic angle and aim, try 20–30° off-axis and aim just below the lip line. That often takes the edge off. You can test and try to figure out a sweet spot for your singer. If you sprinkle in some VST magic like Waves F6/C6 and pair it with the right capsule and mic technique, that works best. Why I like F6/C6 in this case is; F6/C6 let you set per band thresholds, ranges, and time constants, even sidechain a specific band, so you can make the 900–1.2 kHz dip only when it pops out without dulling the whole. Metering shows exactly which band is working and how much, which makes dialing faster. Many decent modern consoles built in dynamic EQ is also great and close enough. If your desk already has per band dynamics with good metering, you can use that too. Plugins mainly win on ergonomics and precision.