A couple wired KSM9s will round out the vocal mic selection in a couple of months.

My friend Masaki owns One Way Media Solutions and for the last several months he let me borrow a bunch of high end mics just for the heck of it. I tried them each on at least two people to get a good feel for them.

Keep in mind that a great singer will sound great on any mic the same way a super awesome guitar player can pick up my guitar and make me think, “I was going to sell that? It sounds great!” After spending time with our vocalists at a Vocal Artistry seminar we hosted I was stunned to learn that I have tried to fix poor singing style with expensive mics. That’s another topic. I’m just saying expensive mics are not solutions for vocal troubles.  They’re just the secret sauce for good vocalists.

The mics I’ll list are (except for a couple) around $700 on the street. If a $100 Shure SM58 is a tool in the tool chest, these mics are more like expressive instruments. Great vocalists play their instruments well. Putting a sensitive, responsive mic in the hands of a not-so-great performer could backfire a little so beware.

Also, my views are colored by my goal with our worship mix. If I were out on the road with a band I’d have different things to say. My personal goal is to come as close as possible to the sound of a worship CD. Average worship CD vocals are smooth, even, fresh, and clear; not in your face.  Also, I’m mixing on an Innovason SY80 (a very bright console) and Nexo Geo line arrays with the 8″ mid drivers (very bright as well.)

In any case, I hope these thoughts are helpful to anyone at a church considering  a leap into the world of greater than $600 microphone love.

Mics after the jump…

Nuemann KMS 104/105
$699 on the street

These are basically the same mic except that the 105 is more directional than the 104 and has a distinct bump at 12K. That slims the likelihood of feedback and adds some shimmer on top.

These mics are the standard you can measure other high end mics by because they are true. In fact, they’re too true for my taste. It’s like having a friend who never talks you up, brags on you to other people, and always always tells the truth. I’d rather have a hot girlfriend who tells me I’m awesome than a true-blue pal any day.

So, this mic, like a great studio mic, will give you what a person sounds like standing about 4 feet in front of you. Naked. Not everyone sounds good naked.  Kevin, one of our worship leaders, has his own 105 but he’s one of the few who sound good in the raw.

Sennheiser E965
$699 on the street

I’ve heard this mic described as “a KMS 105 with a usable low mid.” I set this mic on Scott, our worship pastor, and singing alone it was pretty stunning; rich and warm with a real nice burn on top. Once the whole band was rolling, though, it acted a lot like our old E865s. We don’t use the 865s much any more because they’re too aggressive for what we’re trying to do – especially when you unleash 3 at once.  Think Dave Grohl, not Chris Tomlin.

To be clear, I think Sennheiser makes a great mic and this one’s no exception. (Heck, Sting had his own signature E865 a few years ago.)  The E965 sports a 1″ dual diaphragm design with switchable polar patterns (cardiod and super cardiod) as well a low-cut switch and a 10dB pad switch. Oh, and a 10 year warranty.  It’s a Swiss Army knife par excellence.  If I were mixing a rock show this might be my first choice. It’s just doesn’t deliver the same clarity as the KSM9 at volume levels low enough to placate my congregation.

By the way, if you’re mixing in a church environment where feedback is an issue at all, get this mic. The KMS 104/105 and the KSM9 will make you want to shoot yourself.

Shure KSM9
$699 on the street

Love this mic. It’s like a KMS 105 but has a distinct shimmer and lots of personality. It’s true and somewhat flattering. This is the hot girlfriend who will tell everyone how awesome you are.

We have a pair of wireless KSM9s. We’ve compared them with the wired version and there is a difference. We’re not going to give up our wireless but if I were to buy more they’d be wired. The only down-side to our wireless KSM9s is their ability to handle skull crushing sound pressure levels. When a full voice belts straight into the diaphragm it gets pretty mushy in the mids. Mic technique is critical with this one.

Bottom line: she’s sexy and makes me feel like a man.

Audix VX10
$479 on the street

Dude. Seriously. This mic will rip your face off. It’s got more gun metal in its heart than an Alabama guns and ammo expo. The VX5, its little brother, has as much attitude but colder. Audix employs alchemists who forge razor-like weaponry to cut through any mix. You’ll bleed before you feel the pain.

I can’t use the VX10 and certainly not the VX5. It’s all about context. My Innovason preamps already shred and my Nexos shred even more. That’s just too much shredding for the smooth vibe I shoot for in worship.  Not only that but I had feedback problems with these guys in the mains.

Now, if you have a dark sounding system and need the cut and clarity this is definitely the mic for you.  Masaki leads worship at his church and loves this mic.  And to be fair, the VX10 is in a different price bracket than the rest so if you’re looking for an upscale mic on a budget, go for it.

Beyerdynamic TG-X 930
$749 on the street

Beyer has become my favorite mic manufacturer especially with their Opus series. Everything they do is genius; at least it works well with my system. The TG-X 930 is their newest flagship vocal performance mic. I gave it to Stephanie when she led a few Sundays ago. She’s a soprano and with her in-ears she said this mic gave her more confidence than any other mic she’s used.  I had to pry it from her hands.

I like this mic a lot but it’s 50 bucks more than the KSM9 I love better. If this were more like $600 I’d be stoked on it. Bottom line is it sounds somewhere between the Audix and the Nuemann. It would rip your face off if you let it, but with pure class.

Beyerdynamic Opus 89
$279 on the street

I’m throwing this sub-300 dollar mic in the mix here because it’s noteworthy. It’s not a condenser mic – it’s a dynamic mic. Condenser mics generally sound clearer because they have built-in amplifiers and the diaphragm responds to the minute details of a voice. Dynamics typically don’t do this as well. It’s sort of the difference between power steering and rack-and-pinion steering. I don’t know how they did it but the Opus 89 has all of the charming tone of a condenser mic with the predictability of a dynamic. In other words, it sounds closer to a KSM9 but responds to EQ shaping like an old faithful Shure SM58.

I recommended it for one of our singers as a birthday gift. One evening I got a call from one of our audio engineers mixing her in the Event Center. “Are you in the building? You gotta hear this!” I said, “it’s the Opus 89 isn’t it?” “How did you know?” “Because that mic is pure genius.”

As our budget allows, I hope to replace our collection of Beta 58s and E865s with these. For the money I’d almost rather buy these than the KSM9s. I could put this mic on anybody and get exactly the sound I’m looking for.

If you’re on a tighter budget then go with the Opus 69s for $219. We use them at our Brentwood campus and love them. They’re a close match to the Opus 89s and cleaner than a 58 any day.