Building the Perfect PA System for You: Microphones
The following article contains affiliate links from which I may receive compensation at no cost to you. Audiomunk only recommends quality products from reputable retailers.
Part 4
Rounding out our Building the Perfect PA for You series, this week we are talking microphones.
It’s not the first time I’ve written about mics, but since this is a different situation, it will call for a different microphones. Bear in mind that we are also trying to keep costs down, so I will make a note when you could skip over a mic. This way even bands on a budget can benefit from having a tailored PA rig while they save for more components.
For a concise list of essential microphones in order of their importance, scroll to the end of the article.
What Types Microphones are We Using?
In a live situation, you will be working mostly with dynamic microphones. These sound and work very differently from condensers and ribbon mics, and because of these differences they are a lot tougher.
Condensers have their place in a live rig – hovering around a drum kit – but dynamic mics will be your first purchases.
Vocal Microphones
These are the most important mics if you’re starting out. They should be the first ones you purchase because most other instruments have stage volume. Singers do not. A singer’s “amp” is the PA system.
You will want one microphone per singer in your group. Stay away from sharing microphones! Sure, people do it, but it’s gets tight onstage and it will simply not sound as good in the mix unless the players know what they are doing.
A couple great vocal microphones include:
Shure SM58 – $100
This is one of the most common, recognizable microphones in the world. Chances are if you think of a generic microphone, you’re thinking of the SM58. This mic was designed for voices and is build like a tank – they will survive years of abuse and still serve you well.
Sennheiser E835 – $100
This is another great vocal mic on the market, priced like the SM58. As a dynamic microphone, it can handle high sound pressure levels. It’s also great at rejecting feedback, which is terrific for live situations with stage wedges blasting.
Drum Microphones
I set drum mics ahead of instrument mics because miking up your drums will instantly elevate your sound. You can always mix your vocals and drums around your guitar and bass amps. But miking your kick drum and projecting the thump into the room is essential for a pro sound.
A drum kit can also demand a whole array of microphones – up to 8 for a standard 5-piece kit. The most important pieces to mic are the kick and the snare, followed by the toms, hi-hats and overheads.
Drum mics tend to come in kits which include all the necessary mics for a full kit (though they often skimp on overhead condensers). I would suggest one of these kits:
Shure DMK 57-52 Kit – $440
This kit is priced at $400 which is understandably a lot, but also understand that this kit comes not only with a Beta 52 – a terrific kick mic – but three SM57’s. The ’57 is one of the most versatile and utilized microphones on the market today. They’re not just drum mics, they also shine on guitar duties, horns, they can even do vocals.
This purchase alone could cover your kick, snare and two guitar cabs – an excellent investment to tide you over until you can afford more mics.
Samson DK705 Kit – $200
These mics are of lesser quality than the Shure mics above, but the upside is that it includes all the drum mics you need for a standard 5-piece kit, plus cables. Samson gear is built to be affordable, but it gets the job done. This kit comes with a kick mic (Q71), four snare/tom mics (Q72), two pencil condensers (C02), seven XLR cables, and four rim clips to mount the Q72’s. Oh, and it comes with a hand-dandy carrying case. This kit is a stellar starting point for a band looking to mic their drummer.
Remember, if you cannot afford one of these kits, pick up at least one kick mic and one snare mic to give your drummer the minimum mix presence he or she needs!
Instrument Microphones
The final mic type we’ll be covering, instrument mics are important for two reasons:
- They allow you to properly mix the guitars/horns/what-have-you.
- They cut down the stage volume, which could cause feedback problems, mix problems, and hearing loss.
When miking up guitars, remember to tell the guitarists to turn the volume down! They will not like it. They will whine and cry about it. They will fight you every step of the way. Stand fast and tell them to turn down or be happy with a crappy live mix. I have literally had guitarists tell me they don’t care about how the mix sounds. They just want to be loud. That is frankly the dumbest position to take on the matter, but I digress.
Once the stage volume is under control, the mics you choose will shine. Bear in mind that the microphones suggested here will also work for horns, snares and toms, and vocals if you’re in a pinch.
Shure SM57 – $100
I mentioned it earlier, and for good reason. This microphone does pretty much everything you want it to do, and it will survive a savage beating on the road. And at $100, they’re relatively cheap. Always a good mic to have on hand, the SM57 is a sure bet for any PA system.
Sennheiser E609 – $100
This microphone was designed specifically to withstand high sound pressure levels from guitar amps. It also has a phenomenal rear-rejection properties, so bleed and feedback will be pretty well controlled in your average live situation.
Conclusion
These are basically all the microphones you’ll need for your band to make professional waves in any situation. Many are the precisely the gear many clubs and venues have on-hand for their own live productions. Of course there are a myriad of choices when it comes to microphones, but this guide will get you on firm footing from the get-go.
Until next week,
-AudioMunk
