# What's in your mic locker?



## The_Guest (Jul 3, 2004)

I'll put a poll too. BTW, if you can borrow from other schools if they're not in use than you may count those as well. Don't count old mics you have in storage. So count everything you could actually use in a show. Paging mics, goose-necks, and all that don't count. However if you have a fancy podium thin goose-neck or something similar that is by a name brand and costs over $100 you may count it. And it was bought within the last 10 years.

Do you use mic locker? Well, tell us what's in it! If not, what do you use? Does it work well for you? Ever have security problems with your storage. I store the mics in a giant metal teachere cabinet in the amp room. Thats pretty deep in my school so it's a very secure location. I'm in desperate need of more insturment mics and I need some more wireless on-site. We also have some really old mics from the older installations including radioshack and some really ugly looking EV stuff.


(4) Shure SM-58
(2) Shure Beta 58A
(2) Shure SM-94 Insturment Condensers
(1) Shure 55SH-II Classic (It's a must for theater, looks so much professional than a modern dynamic in vintage situations)
(2) Audio-Technica AT853Rx Hanging/Overheads
(2) Audio-Technica AT813a Cardioid Condensers
(2) DPA Fancy Permanent Hanging Mics (for monitoring)
(4) Crown PCC-160 Boundary Mics
(4) Sony ECM88 Electret Conddenser Mini Lavalier (I think? Very Nice)
(2) Sony either CUF780/CUG780 Wireless Handhelds (think Mick Jaggar)
(10) Sennheiser Evolution Wireless Lavs I have access too. As well as, various different shure wireless models (old crap) I would never touch.


Here is a shot of the cabinet...
http://msnusers.com/techphotospeter/picsofmike.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=93


----------



## blsmn (Jul 4, 2004)

I store in a large cabinet in the tech booth - no security issues as I am the only one with a key to the booth  

4 - Shure SM58 wired
4 - Shure Beta 87
4 - Shure SM57
4 - Shure MX202 Hanging
4 - Audio Technica AT853 Hanging
3 - Crown PCC160's
12 - DPA 4066 headworn 
3 - DPA 4011 Condensors
4 - Shure SM81 condensors
1 - Audix D6 Kick drum nic
2 - Audix D2's
1 - Audix D3
1 - Audix D4
2 - Shure SM58 wireless Handhelds


----------



## The_Guest (Jul 5, 2004)

Very nice collection you have, blsmn. Although, I would like to see some more responses, I'd like to see more responses on this side of the forum.


----------



## RelativeMischief (Jul 5, 2004)

I geuss my vote was little out of context, as I work for an A/V company, not a high school theatre 

But we have appx (I'm not too sure on the exact numbers):

10 Beta 58s
8 Beta 57s
5 SM 81s
4 SM 91s (or whatever model the handheld wireless is)
3 Beta 52s
6 SM 57's
3 Senhiesser e604's
6 Shure Rack tom mics (forget the model number)

Thats all I can remember atm. And no, we're not endorsed by shure, we just have alot of their mics


----------



## mbenonis (Jul 5, 2004)

In our lovely filing cabinet in the booth:

15 SM-58's (9 unswitched, 6 switched)
2 SM-81's
4 Crown PCC-160's
6 Shure LX-1 Body Packs with Shure WL-183 capsules
2 Telex Body Packs with Telex capsules
2 Telex Wireless Handhelds
1 Piece of Crap Radio Shack (or something like that) Mic


----------



## zac850 (Jul 5, 2004)

I'm not a sound guy, but I believe we have 

4 or 5 SM-58's
2 weird mic's that I was told by the sound guy are instrument mic's (we never use these)
2 lav's (that we never use, but I want to start using more)

However, for our big show at the end of the year, we borrow from a private guy who dose sound for big productions. For that we had

7 shotguns
3 SM-58's
12 Lav's (our actors don't know how to project)

(we also borrowed a 12 channel board and used it with our old 6 channel board, since it wouldn't all fit on ours alone.


----------



## The_Guest (Jul 5, 2004)

I see a lot of sm58s around here, why so many? Or do you not even need them. Someone should just start a poll on how many have. Sometimes it kinda makes me mad when the contractors install way to many vocal dynamics when they could have given you a sufficient amount and give you something that would actually help you in theater...WIRELESS.


----------



## blsmn (Jul 5, 2004)

The_Guest said:


> Very nice collection you have, blsmn. Although, I would like to see some more responses, I'd like to see more responses on this side of the forum.



Thanks  I am fortunate that the school district in which I work has given a fairly high priority to theatrical productions looking and sounding good. Acquiring the DPA headmics has made life so much easier and really given the musicals a refined sound - and the 4011's are just amazing mics - I use them for recording band, choir, they are killers on acoustic guitar, and have also used them as stage overheads for straight shows and they sound so natural. My next step here shortly will be to replace the SM58's with a higher end vocal mic - not sure yet but have been looking at the Audix VX10's and am getting sent one to try out.

I'm not sure just why there are an abundance of SM58's - they are fairly useless for any kind of theatrical performance other than for a backstage announcement mic. I have mine because we also do a lot of performing arts series as well as a lot of vocal solo things in swing choir - they have recently bought 12 of their own 58's so they now all have one of their own which makes life also a lot easier when it comes to mixing them. But it is time to upgrade for me in that area - I am happy with everything else and have Leo Kottke coming in September and would like to give him something besides a 58 or Beta 87.


----------



## DMXtools (Jul 5, 2004)

My mic. collection is geared toward live rock-and-roll shows, for the most part, though I do have a few that are strictly for recording.

2 - Shure Beta-52 - I like them better than D-112s for bass drum.
2 - Audio-Technica Pro-25 - A-T sells these as kick mics, but I like them better for floor toms
2 - Audix D-2 - Excellent for rack toms
4 - Oktava C012 - cheap GutarCenter "lipstick" condenser that can handle enormous SPL without breaking up. I use them for snare, hi-hat, timbales, etc.
4 - Oktava MK219 - cheap GuitarCenter large-diaphragm condenser - drum overheads, strings, etc.
4 - Peavey 45i dynamic. Pickup pattern and overall sound is very similar to an SM-57, but Peavey had the brains to put a hum-bucking coil in the mic, so it won't pick up hum from the power supply if you put it really close to a guitar amp... which is what I generally use them for.
9 - Shure SM-58 - The 58 isn't the best microphone in the world for any particular purpose, but it will provide reasonable performance for just about any purpose.
3 - Samson "Airline" clip-on wireless horn mics... for horns, of course!
1 - Samson 55-series wireless headset microphone for singing drummers
3 - Samson 55-series handheld wireless - also for vocals.
1 - Peavey PVR-1 omni condenser (my only omnidirectional mic) sees little use except with my real-time analyzer (to tweak the PA to the room). I used it a few days ago on some auxiliary percussion (bongos, congas, assorted hand percussion) to good effect.
2 - MXL V-69 tube condensers - studio only.
2 - Peavey 520i large-diaphragm dynamics - I use these on guitar cabs in the studio. Also sometimes on vocals.
2 - ancient Astatic 77-L - limited frequency response and a little distortion. Occasional use for studio vocals (makes a singer sound like he/she recorded in the 1930's)
1 - Peavey PVM-T9000 tube condenser - strictly studio. This is the only mic. in my collection that I can't hear. The first time I used it on vocals, it was like the singer was singing in the control booth, not out in the studio.
1 - my beloved, haunted Shure 55S. I've had this mic. since 1968 - bought used at a pawnshop for $75. In 1973, just after he came out of his first retirement, Frank Sinatra did a USO tour. On a USO tour, he didn't bring Nelson Riddle and his orchestra, just his pianist/arranger. If there was a military band at any particular stop, he mailed sheet-music ahead. In 1973, when he played on the hangar deck of the USS Kittyhawk, the 7th Fleet Band backed him up. I was the "sound guy" for the 7th Fleet Band... and he picked my personal Shure 55S to sing through... The absolute high point of my musical career. Strictly studio vocals and only for a very few singers. The mic. decides which singers it likes. It absolutely loves Eric, from the band Dropped Once. Other singers, it sounds worse than the old Astatic 77-Ls, or cuts out a few bars into a song - that's why I say it's haunted. A lot of singers have been photographed with the "Sinatra Mic" but only a few have actually been recorded through it. It doesn't leave the studio and, when I die, it gets buried with me.

John


----------



## Mayhem (Jul 5, 2004)

blsmn said:


> I'm not sure just why there are an abundance of SM58's - they are fairly useless for any kind of theatrical performance other than for a backstage announcement mic.



You can box them up and ship them to me if you like. Maybe I will call for an SM58 Amnesty!! As DMXtools has commented, for live bands, they are a very good general purpose mic. 

I tend to hire in mics for any larger live gigs that I do, as most of my work is as a mobile DJ and it is not cost effective for me to have a large number of mics for a handful of shows. 

I have:
2x SM58's
3x SM57’s. 
3x EV A/N680's (low cost equivalent of an SM48 and decent enough for backing vocals and some instruments)
1x AKG WMS40 wireless mic for DJ work/speeches etc
1x no name crap mic that just gets thrown into the kick drum to serve as an audio trigger for a bar of 6x Par 38’s running off a sound to light controller


----------



## The_Guest (Jul 5, 2004)

Nothing wrong with SM58s, their just bad for theater. But my 4 SM58s is a reasonable amount, I wish I could replace them with beta58s. My theatrical organization does concert style work as well. So they get used, but we tend to use our sony wireless and beta58s more often. They have more ideal pattern for my facility. We're really heavy on rentals, so we have a need for vocal dynamic mics too. But as far as theater you'll only really need two dynamics, and a Shure 55SH-II Classic. Those mics simply kick ass, I was prepared to build one for one play luckily the TD bought one because he took a peak at my notes . It looked so professional in guys and dolls and when we need that vintage mood for singers.


----------



## DMXtools (Jul 6, 2004)

Actually, the biggest difference between a Beta-58 and an SM58 is the magnet - neodymium versus alnico. While this gives the Beta-58 a little higher output, meaning you need less gain at the board, the frequency response and pickup pattern are practically identical. I can't see paying the higher price for the privelege of setting my input gain control at 10:00 instead of 12:00.

By the way, when Shure reintroduced the 55S as the SH-II Classic, they took the die-cast 55S housing and put a plain SM58 capsule into it. It's a stand-mounted 58 as opposed to a handheld 58... and a bit of an improvement, sonically, over the original unidyne design of the 55S.

John


----------



## The_Guest (Jul 6, 2004)

Really? I read the manual of both and it always says to place monitoring directly behind an SM58, and at 30 or 45 degrees or something similar for the beta. Whenever I use te beta I of course set them up the manual says and I get great results. I do the same for sm58 except place it behind, while I still great results its a notch below from what I normally get with the beta. Should I experiment with placing the monitors like I do with beta for the 58? Thanks a lot DMX.


----------



## DMXtools (Jul 6, 2004)

I don't know how long it's been since the 58 manual was revised - probably decades. I believe in the older manual they said "behind" simply to indicate "not in front of." The newer manual for the Beta is a little more specific as to where "behind" would give the best results. Both mics have a lobe at the rear that shows up at certain frequencies and by moving the monitors out 30-45 degrees from dead center you can avoid it.

John


----------



## The_Guest (Jul 7, 2004)

I have not been into sound for a while so I don't know what mics were like even in the earlier 90s, I was born in 89'. Nowadays shure ships many of their stage microphones with these little little arrows. They take shape to the grill of the microphone and they point to where you should line up the wedge for optimal GBF. But overall they do the trick just fine.


----------



## Mayhem (Jul 7, 2004)

I thought that Beta’s were supercardoid and SM’s were cardoid? This would explain the difference in the manuals. I was going to have a look at the Shure website (they have some very good articles in their knowledge base) but I couldn’t connect. I will have a look later. In the mean time, I will post and hope!!

From my understanding you want to place your wedges in the mics blind spot (or deaf spot as it were). Most mics will give you diagrammatic information as to the fields around the mic that are responsive. 

Essentially with supercardoid mics (such as the Beta58, you will see what looks like a figure 8, only the top circle will be much larger than the bottom circle. The larger circle shows where the mic is most sensitive (front and sides). The smaller circle indicates where sound behind the mic will be picked up.

Where the two intersect, this is the point at which the mic is less sensitive (it’s blind spot). As such, this is the best place to point your wedges.

With cardoid mics (such as the SM58), you do not have the smaller circle as they are designed only to pic up sound in front (and to the side) of the mic. Here you can either put the wedge directly behind the mic or out to the sides, as long as you keep them pointing away from the sensitive area.

In some of the pictures, the circles may not be perfectly round but will taper in more sharply depending on the particular mic. However, as a general rule, think of the responsive areas as circles.

Hope this is of some use (and correct :?)


----------



## Mayhem (Jul 7, 2004)

Ok – I managed to get onto the Shure website and here are the links to the relevant information as per my previous post. They describe it much better than I do 

Mic characteristics: http://www.shure.com/shurenotes/feb2003/mic.asp

SM58: http://www.shure.com/microphones/models/sm58.asp

Beta58A: http://www.shure.com/microphones/models/beta58a.asp


----------



## The_Guest (Jul 7, 2004)

Yeah the patterns are different and I have always experienced better GBF performance with the beta than the 58. I knew they had different pickup patterns and you can even see a difference just by looking at the mics. Thanks DMX and mayhem.


----------



## soundman (Jul 7, 2004)

Ten wireless with 15 differnt mics 5 headset style but with a very fine wire and mic head that can not be seen from the house and the rest are the standerd throught the hair kind, then two wireless handhelds operating on the smae frequence as two of the belt packs. 4 boundery mics made by AKA I think, 3 or 4 c1000s and enough wired handhelds that I havent needed to count them. All mics are kept in a file cabnet that is locked in the TDs office.


----------



## JasonH (Aug 16, 2004)

6 sm-58's
5 behringer 58 ripoffs
2 EV NRU handheld wireless
1 EV NRU lav
and a 4 piece superlux drum mic kit.


----------



## Radman (Aug 17, 2004)

In my _personal_ locker a Samson C01, an Audio Technica ATR20, and a "The Singing Machine Co., Inc."

At school theater:
2 Shure UHF Recievers
2 Shure UHF handhelds
2 Shure UHF headsets
2 Shure UHF lavs w/counrtyman elements
2 Shure VHF recievers
2 Shure VHF handhelds
2 Samson UHF recievers
2 Samson UHF lavs w/countryman elements


----------



## TBNAudioEngineer (Aug 31, 2004)

*MIC LOCKER*

TBN mic locker as follows


2 Audio Technica Shot gun mics  
1 Byerdynamic Shot gun mic  
9 EV studio Condenser mics  
1 EV RE20 mic  
2 Samson Airline UHF Wireless Packs  
22 Shure SM58 (10 w/switches)  
3 Shure SM57 mics  
2 Shure 251 Dynamic mics  
4 Sony ECM-77 Omni wired Lavs  
3 Sony ECM-55 Omni wired Lavs  
2 Sony ECM-55 Omni Wireless Lavs  
1 Telex Wireless "stick" mic (old as dirt) LOL


----------



## avkid (Aug 31, 2004)

locker, ha! in the cardboard boxes there are:

2 shure mics that are made of real shiny metal
2 lx wireless recievers
2 handheld wireles mics
1 lav
my personal shure premium vocal
2 akg condensers c-1000s
2 floor mics(plate like) radioshack
2 choir mics ,shure i think
1 shure vocal still in its original packaging


----------



## VipermanGTX (Sep 23, 2004)

Sure SM's all the way man!


----------

