Recommendation on mic to use with Genos in a Live venue

[Depo1964]

From your own personal experience, can anyone recommend a mic to use with their Genos?
I played my first gig with the Genos a few weeks ago and had a few problems..

The main one was picking up excessive crowd feedback even though the Standard Harmony was
chosen for Vocal Harmony and the levels were the default levels as the song that was playing was in instrumental.....

The second problem I noticed was needing to sing directly into the mic in order for all of the harmony parts to be picked up and recorded.... If I turned my head just slightly while singing I noticed that some of the harmony parts were not heard.

Thx.

[soryt]

brand of youre mic ?

[Lee Batchelor]

Feedback is often caused by poor speaker placement. Please describe as much as you can about your setup so we can help with your feedback issue.
If you're using a condenser mic, there can be major feedback as well. Like Soryt says, what brand of mic are you using .

[elad770]

No matter what you buy, Don't by directional with a boom stand because you will easily find that this is not practical
When you play keyboards and sing at the same time your head WILL move from side to side and change the way you sound.

I have Shure SM35-XLR - Absolutely fantastic Headset Mic. Get the wired version. It's way more reliable

Get only Headset Mic!

GoodLuck

[Lee Batchelor]

Agreed. I headset mic is best. That way, you're always "on the mic." Also, your head will be in the way of feedback signals about 95 percent of the time. It's a win-win .

[Depo1964]

brand of youre mic ?

Yes,  sorry should have mentioned.
Beyerdynamic TG X 480S

[Depo1964]

Feedback is often caused by poor speaker placement. Please describe as much as you can about your setup so we can help with your feedback issue.
If you're using a condenser mic, there can be major feedback as well. Like Soryt says, what brand of mic are you using .

Attaching a jpg of our Band Stage.
My Genos is directly in the middle of the picture behind my music stand right in front of that office chair with the nice comfortable back.
As you can see the speakers were way out in front of my keyboard and mic.  You can barely see the top of my mic behind my music stand.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Depo1964]

No matter what you buy, Don't by directional with a boom stand because you will easily find that this is not practical
When you play keyboards and sing at the same time your head WILL move from side to side and change the way you sound.

I have Shure SM35-XLR - Absolutely fantastic Headset Mic. Get the wired version. It's way more reliable

Get only Headset Mic!

GoodLuck

Thx elad770,   Good idea.... I hope that I will be able to put my Sony MDR-7506 headphones that I was monitoring with over the headset.

[Depo1964]

Agreed. I headset mic is best. That way, you're always "on the mic." Also, your head will be in the way of feedback signals about 95 percent of the time. It's a win-win .

Much appreciated Lee.. Thx.

[travlin-easy]

I highly recommend using a headset mic as well. I used a Crown CM311A, absolutely no feedback, incredible vocal response and frequency range, lots of freedom to move around.

Gary

[Lee Batchelor]

Depot1964, your speaker placement and other things look great! Thanks for the pic.

[DonM]

If you are going to headset, consider Shure SM35.  https://www.shure.com/en-US/products/microphones/sm35
It is very good and WAY less expensive than the Crown.  Can't go wrong with either.

[elad770]

That's what i recommended above. Totally agree. You should know that with a good Mic your feedback will be reduced. In fact, I've used this mic in various settings and with cheap Mic at the same positions i get a lot of feedback from the speakers.

Looking at your picture you'll have to decide whether to go wireless or not. With a regular mic and a stand, there's no need for wireless but if you have a headset and a preamp ON YOU
and you move on stage you will need the wireless. That means that not only the Microphone must be considered but also a good receiver that blocks interfaces

[Pianoman]

I have never used headset mics but do agree with the recommendations offered here.

It also depends on what kind of song and pitch you're singing in though.

Speaking of my own personal experience and preference,  I use a boom mic.

Because when singing, I tend to move closer to the mic for lower or softer singing,
and move away from the mic when the pitch of the song gets higher and requires
more force.

There are many songs where the verse is an octave lower and the refrain jumps
to an octave higher.

Angels by Robbie Williams and Black Velvet by Alannah Miles spring to mind.

You get the freedom to move away when using a boom mic, while a microphone
permanently attached to your head won't give you that freedom.

But, as the others have already said, a boom mic WILL give you feedback.
Since your primary concern is feedback, go for the headset mic and
you'll be fine.

Best Regards.
Abby.

[DonM]

I agree Abby, you can't WORK a headset mic.  That's why I don't use mine very often.  Compressor helps and vocal control, but it's still not the same.

[Pianoman]

Hello Don.

Hope you're doing well my friend.

Yes, I did try out a headset mic once, the music store lent it to me to try out
for one evening. I removed it from my head after a few songs.

It was the headset version of the Shure SM58.
Maybe I could have gotten used to it, though I doubt it.
It all depends on the singing style.

They would be formidable for when you
don't have to change pitch often, though, in speeches for example.

Stay well my friend.

Best Regards.
Abby.

[DrakeM]

I use a headset as well now full time.It is a wired one, as I am playing the keyboard and I ain't going anywhere on stage but behind the keyboard. Using a boom stand and mic with the keyboard just was impossible as pointed out, your head turns and the backup harmony goes to crap.

It does take adjusting the VH2 to your voice using it.

I use the Yamaha VH2 and have the style volume set at only 68 to 70 (not the default 100 setting) and my mic volume is set at 100. This allows me to sing directly into the mic at any volume level as needed and there must be something in the VH2 that automatically compresses the vocal when needed.

Regards
Drake

[DrakeM]

Hi Don

Does that Shure SM35 come as a wired mic with 1/4" plug?

If so, I am bookmarking it for if and when I need to replace my Sure WH20.

[travlin-easy]

I used a headset mic for the past 20 years, never had a problem, and unlike some folks that need to "work the mic" (proximity effects), I never had the need to do this because I was able to achieve the same effects with vocal control. The Crown CM-311A had been an integral part of my setup for nearly 15 years, never had a failure, the mic head is relatively small, but, they are a bit pricey, averaging about $359 on most web sites.

The freedom it offered me was to be able to change positions and maintain eye contact with the entire audience while never worrying about where the mic was positioned. Didn't have to worry with boom touch sounds and the sound quality was equal to my Sennheiser E855, which cost far more at the time.

The CM311A was designed by Garth Brooks and is used by a large number of top singer/entertainers today. Lady Ga Ga, Madonna, and a host of others use it exclusively. Guess they don't have to worry about working the mic, either.

Now that I am no longer on stage, I have sold all 3 of my CM311A mics and the entertainers using them absolutely rave about the results. I currently use my Sennheiser E855, which is an excellent hand-held mic - no audience to worry about at this stage of the game.

All the best,

Gary :cool:

[travlin-easy]

Drake, I believe you will need to use phantom power in order to use this mic. It comes with an XLR connector, not a 1/4-inch phono plug.

Gary

[DonM]

Hi Don

Does that Shure SM35 come as a wired mic with 1/4" plug?

If so, I am bookmarking it for if and when I need to replace my Sure WH20.

It plugs into an adapter and then into the keyboard.  It DOES require phantom power though.  So with Yamaha you would have to use a phantom power supply as well.  They are quite inexpensive though.

[Tyros5Mad]

I don't do gigs anymore but when I did way back I used the standard of the time: a Shure SM58. I don't recall having any problems, but it was a long time ago.

I current have a Shure WH20 wired mic but I find that a little too quiet so I use an Audio Technica 2100 XLR dynamic.

I also have the absolute standard for condenser mics, the Rode NT1A. I don't use that much however because it is far too noisy where I live and the Rode is super sensitive.

BTW the Genos has built-in 48V phantom power.

Regards, Richard

[Depo1964]

No matter what you buy, Don't by directional with a boom stand because you will easily find that this is not practical
When you play keyboards and sing at the same time your head WILL move from side to side and change the way you sound.

I have Shure SM35-XLR - Absolutely fantastic Headset Mic. Get the wired version. It's way more reliable

Get only Headset Mic!

GoodLuck

Just purchased the SM35 XLR... and I'm very happy with the results.... No more feedback ....
and for my voice the sound quality is really quite good.
Thx

[Depo1964]

If you are going to headset, consider Shure SM35.  https://www.shure.com/en-US/products/microphones/sm35
It is very good and WAY less expensive than the Crown.  Can't go wrong with either.

Quite a bit less expensive than the Crown.   Thx.

[DonM]

Quite a bit less expensive than the Crown.   Thx.

Another one to consider, the AKG C520.  I bought this one a short while back and it is by far my favorite of the headset mics.  I now prefer it over the SM35.  But see if you can try before buying, because every person is different and may have different needs or preferences.

[valimaties]

It really depends on your voice force. Shure SM58 is a great mic, by having very small feedback, but it having problems with fidelity. Sennheiser has more fidelity, but it has a greater feedback on the high range. I like better Sennheiser how it sounds, it has power, it has fidelity, but on live performance, Shure SM58, has a better place on feedback. Even in front of speakers (and we have very powerfull speakers) it does not make any feedback. Also, you may consider Shure Beta58, which is similar with Sennheiser sound... I saw a lot of great artists using Sennheiser on live performance/concerts. So, you may try one of them on a music store, and make some comparison with other brands in front of a speaker.

Regards,
Vali

[louwe46]

Maybe I can also contribute something, I use different microphones for live performances, which I also own.

Sennheiser 855/865 /
Cad Condenser Cad C195
Shure Beta 87A
Shure beta 58A

Sennheisers are very good microphones,
but for live performances, the Beta A58 is the better, less feetback than all the others, and of very high quality.
This is a translation by Google.
Sincerely.

[manuel]

Check the differences between Cardioid vs SuperCardioid/Hypercardioid......

Cardioid (Shure SM 58, etc), has tendency to get feedback if speakers/monitors are placed near, now, the same location but with a SuperCardioid microphones does not, is more directional to the source/singer/speaker,  is much more resistance to feedback, I use the AKG D5 and there is a D5S (has a Switch).....I have compare them to a Shure Beta 58 and AKG is a winner for less than half the price.

My Two Cents.

Manuel