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Microphone to "de-bassify" my voice?

#21
Another eq thing you could try is:

If you have adjustable (semi-parametric) midrange controls on your console, bost the mids all the way up (at a low volume to avoid feedback). Play with the frequency selector knob until you find where your voice is most boomy or bassy. Now that you have a good idea of the troublesome frequency, cut this frequency until the boominess goes away.

One thing to note: if you can't make it sound close to what you want with an sm58 and EQ, then no mic will be a magic solution. However a new mic can definately make good results easier to achieve.

PS: I would tend to stay away from the 421 for live vocals, but if you find that it does work then go for it...
 
#23
Have you had no luck with EQ on the board? If you put the bass cut on and then cut the bass more you should get rid of that boominess you probably have going on, changing the mic alone is not going to get rid of that. Work with the EQ on your mixer, you could even run a parametric eq in the insert channel on the board to give additional eq.
 
#25
Have you gone and tried various dynamic vocal mics? There are other options out there besides an SM58. Even if they look like the same animal, they can be quite different.

For example, I have an Audio Technica D880i, that sounds much different than a 58. It's got a bigger frequency response - ie more lows and highs - similar to something like a 421 (although let's be clear that it does sound different than a 421). If you roll the lows off on something like that though - you're left with more presence/airy-ness etc than a 58.
See if you can give some other dynamics a shot somewhere. If you can find a Sennheiser 441 that'd be a good place to start too.
 
#27
oftentimes that one mic won't translate well in a variety of sound systems
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Bingo. Some boards seemed to be able to EQ out the bassiness in the 57s and 58s I had, others not so well, at least without roughening up (rollercoastering) the response. As you and DP suggested, I may have to resort to a parametric for that channel. But I'd honestly like to mic-fix this. I'm a big believer in fixing problems as early in the signal chain as possible.

That 441 looks sweet, but wow... I almost had a frickin' stroke when I saw the MSRP. :eek:

Psychobass, how come you recommend against a 421 for live vocals? No pop filtering? Tendency to corrode internally?
 
#28
testing1two said:
For less than the price of a decent mic you could try a PreSonus EQ3B on the insert of your vocal channel. I agree that finding a mic that suits your voice is important, but oftentimes that one mic won't translate well in a variety of sound systems and venues. Eventually you'll need to result to filtering.

http://www.presonus.com/products/Detail.aspx?ProductId=19
Click to expand...

+1 IMO, more flexibility in adjust is better than less. This might also work well for acoustic bass guitars with feedback problems.

Around $100-$130.

Presonus Mono 3 Band Parametric Equalizer

The Eq3b Is A Three-band Fully Parametric Single Channel Analog Eq With Smooth Highs And Solid Lows.

Perfect For Carving Out Unwanted Frequencies Or Musically Boosting Frequencies That Need To Be Empasized.

It is A Perfect Compact Eq Solution To Customize And Tailor Your Sound.

The Eq3b Features An 80hz Roll-off (to Eliminate Room Rumble And Increase Clarity), +/-12 Db Of Boost/cut On Three Overlapping Frequencies Along With Varible Q (bandwidth)For Detailed Narrow Notching Or Wide Musical Shaping.

The Eq3b Is Ultra Quiet And Is Perfect Solution For Many Applications Including, Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards And More.

Three Fully Parametric Bands With Overlapping Frequencies.High Pass Rumble Filter. extremely Quiet Operation. warm, Wide Dynamic Range For Recording Or Live.
 
#33
Toolmybass said:
If he knows what he is doing he can help you.
Click to expand...
There! There is the crux of the biscuit. In 30 years(off and on) of playing, I've met 2 guys. The rest were insane loud-o-philes who thought flatness was The Light and effects tools of Satan. Never met one who would turned down the bass in my mic and it was worse when I played trombone. But, YMMV.:p
(OT: why are there so many disapproval smilies here? I'm just sayin'...)
 
#34
the proximity effect shouldn't be such a problem. Yes, it increases the boomyness effect, but I would say getting up on the mic would give you the consistency of mic control which would benefit you, along with EQ and an adjustable hi-pass filter, you should be able to use any mic. When standing farther away from the mic in a live situation, you're letting all sorts of extraneous noise in and forcing your engineer to crank your gain, making it a potential feedback target. If you have different engineers all the time you might want to consider figuring out exactly where your eq points are, and spend your mic money on a parametric eq or even a preamp with a parametric on it, and then feed it to the front of house, relieving the house engineer of the burden.
Condensers sound great, but they pick up EVERYTHING. So they might be counter productive as well. Beta's have a presence boost on the top end, but are marginally different than a regular 57 or 58 on the low end. I would never recommend this if you sang lead, bit have you tried a snare mic? or a dynamic mic that is meant for high frequency sound sources? most of those are condensers, but it's worth a try.
 

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