Karaoke Forums

Hi all,

I bought a microphone from Radioshack several weeks ago and it have been giving me hizzing noise while it plugged in my sound mixer. It's a $50 regular microphone and I believe it is a cheap low quality microphone. Besides the hizzings, my voice gets disconnected from the microphone as well while I am singing.

First I thought it might be something wrong with my system, but I tried with my friend's microphone and it was workin perfectly fine. Therefore, I need a better microphone.

Can anyone recommend some high quality microphone? I am willing to spend $100 for it.

I have the 2000 Audio song mixer with Bose speakers and SONY 1011 Receiver which I've listed my system in my other post a while ago.

Thanks for any input.

If you are going to spend $100.00, recommend the Sennheiser E835. If you have a baritone voice, then I like the Shure SM-58.

You can't go wrong with either of those mics. They will be extremely durable, sound great, have low handling noise, and if you have a pro use your setup you will not have to be ashamed of anything, as they are used at the highest level.

If you want a second mic, it will depend on how much you want to spend. For $20.00, I recommend the Behringer XM8500. For $70, the EV Co9.

Thanks for the reply. What should I look in the microphone specs when purchasing one?

Those model numbers?

I don't think you want to buy on spec, seriously. All mic specs are going to be roughly the same. The frequency range quotes are completely meaningless, and all hand-held dynamic mics are going to be the same impedance, plug type, etc.

The major spec difference will be pattern. All of the mics I suggested are cardioid pattern, which is better for karaoke than supercardioid and hypercardioid. The reason is that cardioid are more tolerant of imprecise mic positioning, i.e. inexperienced singers. Supercardioid is usually better for a pro vocalist, as their positioning will be good and the major worry is preventing feedback.

What about those wireless microphones? Are they worth paying extra for them?

I live in an apartment building and I'm afraid it's going to be a lot of interference. I'm not sure they are going to affect my microphone that might prevent it working properly.?

You can get only a low-quality wireless mic for $100.

If you want a pro-quality mic for that, you will want wired. You can find plenty of people that will tell you cheap mics work just as well, but that is not my opinion. In general, you get what you pay for. The same mic that costs $100 wired will cost $400 wireless.

No wireless mic is going to be anywhere near as durable as the wired mic.

I think I've learned alot about how to chose a microphone. I appreciate your help.

I'm assuming the models you gave me are all wired microphone?

This isn't so. Many handhelds are different impedence. I've seen some very low quality mics ranging from 60-300 ohms while others range from 300-800 ohms. Many pro mics range around the 600 ohm range.

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Audio-Technics had a side brand called Brand X, believe it or not. I have one and the mic has performed well over a lot of years. Took a lot of abuse (dropped, got wet) and it still performs well. I think it cost me around fifty bucks seven years ago.

I guess I don't think about those low-quality mics any more. All the pro ones will work just fine on the mixers I have seen.

Thanks for the clarification.

Another way to go for home use would be to purchase two Shure PG48 mics for under $100, or two Shure PG58 mics from $100- $120. ( Those prices are for both mics, not each) OR...one of each for right around $100 total for the two. There ya go...three option. Happy singing!!


Donny "B"

BTW: I believe both models are in the 600 ohm category

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for home use the pg48 -pg58 are far better than the junk that they rip you off on at radio shack. I have a pg48 with the switch that i use for speaking and it has held up well and sounds "ok" when somebody takes it to sing on as a third mic. you do get what you pay for.

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the voices arent real, but they have some good ideas

supercharged,

Exactly...the only reason I even replied was due to the reason I use the PG48 on my home rig. Also have a couple of Samson R11's that aren't too bad either. In both instances, a little "tweaking" is all that's needed in regards to the hi/low response of each one. They actually are very rugged for the money...pretty good deal.

Donny "B"

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It's a wonderful life!!

With the shure mics,pg series or the sm series you can't go wrong.The pg series are about half price of the sm series.Both are offered with on/off switch but in most music stores the sm58 won't have the on/off switch but they can order it and yes it will cost more.Radio shack or berringer mics would not be in my top 101 choices.

My two cents worth? I think i have the same radio shack piece of crap you have, and i never use it anymore, total piece of crap. What i use and recommend highly is the Behringer XM8500, i will stack it against any Shure out there for durability and sound. You just won't have to give up your first born when you purchase them.
Some people don't agree that that Behringer isn't as good as the Shure, but i put them head to head on the same system at the same time, and then switched them around to see if the settings on the sound board made any difference, and low and behold,,,the sounded exactly the same to me!!! And i have a really good ear for sound too. So, save yourself some hard earned money and buy the Behringer. I paid less that $20 each, including tax from a local shop. Not too dang shabby if i say so myself. Good Luck

I like the Behringer too, and if it were not for handling noise, I would recommend them unreservedly.

For a handheld mic, one you will own a lifetime, I still recommend the Sennheiser E835 or the Shure SM-58. You can try to save a few bucks, but in my opinion the microphone is the most important part of the signal chain. I like to save a few bucks like anyone else, but the main vocal mic is the last place to do it.

Really?

I haven't read this entire thread but when I saw that you recommended the Sennheiser E835, I thought that was great advice. I had been using my Shure SM58 for a long time, but tried the Sennheiser out just for the heck of it because my sons' band uses them and have been sold since. I like them both but for my voice the Sennheiser sounds best.

Red said it all.....Mics are a very personal choice - suited to fit your style and voice
I'll 2nd and 3rd for a $100 budget you can't go wrong with the Shure Sm58 or the Sennheisers. I also have the Behringer Mic but agree with mcky about handling noise -

Yes. For $100.00, you can't get a decent-quality wireless microphone.

About $300 or $400 is the cheapest you can find a mic with pro-quality sound. There are a couple sort of acceptable ones for $200-$250, but they are a cut below the wired mics I recommended in sound.

I spend way too much money on this stuff, so I have made all the mistakes you can.

1. I bought the PG-48 with a switch. I found that the only thing a switch did for me was make me have to restart songs all the time as people were handed switched-off microphones. Also, the PG48 had a fair amount of handling noise, and not great sound. I gave that mic away.

2. I overreacted to the bad mic purchase, and bought the Audix OM-5 the guy at Guitar Center recommended. Great mic for a pro rock musician working with high-volume monitors, not so good for amateur singers.

3. Then I bought the SM-58. I haven't changed my mic since.

4. I listened to some people who told me the SM58 was crap, and bought a Sennheiser 945. Again, great mic. But supercardioids are not good karaoke mics. Now I use that one for good tenor singers. I learned my lesson and stuck with the SM58.

5. I wanted a wireless mic, and bought one on sale at karaoke.com. It was an AS-9000 and I was appalled at the amount of handling noise and sibilant pop compared to the SM-58 and the Senn. I donated that to my church -- in retrospect it wasn't that bad a set. (They use the mics to this day, have been quite durable.)

6. I bought a Sennheiser Freeport. That was a great buy for a home wireless mic, and if they had kept them on the market I would be recommending it to you now for home use. Alas, I think the antenna caused durability problems and they took it off the market. Best $150 wireless mic ever made. I use this to this day, and wish I had bought another at the time.

7. Finally, I bought an AKG WMS40 on recommendations here, and also a two-mic set of them for my service club. These have been good purchases. Not top-level sound, but decent. Great battery life and surprisingly durable.

8. I have bought a couple of Behringer XM8500 for stand mics for some live sound work I do. Great mics if you put them on a stand and don't handle them. I wouldn't use them for pro handheld applications. (They are really fine for home use, just a bit more handling noise than I like.)

9. I got an EV Co9 for free with the purchase of something or another. I like the mic a lot, it has great sound. I now use it as the main mic for a piano player (because of a bit more handling noise than the Shure or Sennheiser).

10. I got a supposed SM58 clone for $5.00 with an order. Again, decent sound but lots of handling noise in comparison to the pro mics. I wouldn't bet on durability, either.

In short, I have quite a bit of microphone experience for an amateur. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't buy any of the the cheap mics, and I wouldn't buy the super-duper high-end mics. I would have two wired E835s ( which I used 2 nights a week at my first and best karaoke gig ever ) and two wireless SM58s. I probably could have gotten those for everything I have spent, and I would have great sound.