What would you say is needed the most??

[Phil]

Hi i am looking at buying some new stuff for doing the sound for bands. I already have mixer power amps and loads of leads twin active DI and 1 mic and stand.

1st. I need some mics but just some cheap ones like shure PG's. SO would x4 58's and x4 57's be a good choice?

Also looking at getting some cheap stands from thomann for £6 so x4 mic stands with boom and x4 smaller stands with boom ( for amps)
I have never had any probs with cheap stands although people say they always break. But for me its the other way round lol. well the expensive stands i have used.

a £26 SSSnake 6xlr multicore or a 8 for £47

x1 Behringer twin DI £20

Can anyone give me any pointers on anything else I should get or anything I shouldnt

Thanks

Phil

[shepz]

Don't bother with the shure PG series... it's a heap of crap!
If you're on a budget look towards the JTS NX series of mics, they go really cheap on ebay... cheaper still the JTS TX series... either way, both sound better than the Shure PG series!

Look after the stands and dont let them get thrown about by singers etc. and you'll be fine, start doing metal shows on the other hand... you'll find they don't last very long at all! Save on your costs, you only really ever need one or two small mic stands (they cost more!) get the cheapo millenium ones for that... but try and fork out the extra £5 per mic stand on thomann for at least K&M!

Get the biggest Multicore you can afford, particularly with copper prices inflating; chances are that you'll need more sends/returns in the future but at least if you have an 8 way you can still use that multicore for using as a stage "drum box"... 1 kick 2 snare 3 tomI 4 tom II 5 Tom III 6 overhead L 7 overhead R and one channel spare just incase you have another tom to mic up or snare!

I wouldn't get the behringer twin DI... it's very basic! But I guess at the same time it's a simple bit of kit, and a good place to start.

[shepz]

"but try and fork out the extra £5 per mic stand on thomann for at least K&M!"

by that I meant the regular sized boom stands!

[Phil]

The smaller stands on thomann are £6 aswell as the others. I am currently using the behringer active twin DI but I bought it a year ago when i was just cobbling sound for my band before i was really interested in sound engineering.
The DI seems on from a performers point of view but I have never actually sat at the desk and listened to it becuase i'm the guitarist lol. Its hard sound checking yourself.

I was also thinking of a 12/4 multicore

Thanks

Phil

[ian hasell]

Hi

Studio Spares are doing their own brand boom stand at the moment for around £11 each, these are as good as K&M and should last a good while. They are also doing Shure SM58's at a good price (cheap mics are not worth it) they should last you a lifetime.


Ian

[shepz]

While I agree with Ian about cheap mics not being worth your while, I can assure you that while the JTS may be cheap it is far from built as a "cheap mic"... Very rugged and durable mics, take a right bashing!

[shepz]

www.bluearan.co.uk/menu/index.php?browsemode=manufacturer&manufacturer=JTS&masthead=Microphones

[Phil]

do you use any inparticular JTS mic or recomend a certain one?

I was looking along the lines of that price range anyway. unless I could get a set of Shure sm58's 2nd hand off ebay or something.

Audio technica's £50 mics be any good. I knew someone well who owned a music shop and shut down and got out in time before super markets started selling music stuff and still has a fair bit of stock left including audio technica mics. So i only need to ring him up 2 get them ;D He said hed give me discounts because i bought so much stuff there.

[shepz]

If you've got the money anything in the NX range is ideal!

for instance:

4 x NX-8 (vocal mics)
4 x NX-7 (instrument mics/sm57 equivelents but better!)
1 x NX-2 Kick drum/bass mic
1 x NX-6 Snare/tom tom mic

[Phil]

Does anyone know of any good priced sites that sells pro audio stuff.
Ones like Thomann and Blue Aran (thanks Shepz) because I have found loads of sites but they are usually big prices and in some cases almost double the RRP


Is there a way to tell by the spec of the mic that it wont sound cheap and hollow inside? Because the mic capsule could be good but the mic could be crap. or is it all down to either seeing the mic and the feeling the weight or the price ( hoping its not a copy)

[shepz]

Is there a way to tell by the spec of the mic that it wont sound cheap and hollow inside? Because the mic capsule could be good but the mic could be crap. or is it all down to either seeing the mic and the feeling the weight or the price ( hoping its not a copy)

Best way to tell is to actually hear it in action. You may have noticed that I don't like Shure all that much... and for good reason!
I've A/B tested JTS NX-8's against Shure SM58's which bands have brought along to a gig, I always insist they try the SM58 first and then try the JTS mic. What happens? They realise that a "cheapy mic" actually sounds better than a Shure SM58 and has alot more gain before feedback (very crucial in live sound reinforcement!).

You've got to bear in mind that while the Shure SM58 may be the industry standard for the time being, the design is around 40 years old and having never been revamped... it sounds old too! Even worse is the fact that SM58's have been outsourced to manufacture in countrys such as tiawan where they are mass produced with alot less quality than they used to be... Cold soldier joints are not uncommon, neither are crappy comonents!

Shure charges alot for their name, something that in my opinion will only fall within the next 10 years... Especially with some of the competition coming out. Did you know that JTS was banned in the US due to patent issues? They advertised their NX-8's as this:
"Like the 58-beta, but better at the fraction of a cost!"
But even with that advertising ploy, Shure has something to worry about... trust me!

I'd highly recommend you try out at least one NX-8 in your collection, you won't regret it.

[Phil]

I believe ya. Shure are deff. really expensive for what they are probs about less that £10 worth of parts. I will have to try the JTS for myself. I have used some of the other JTS mics before and was quite impressed with them. I will try and find a local dealer around Newcastle (the North East one) and hear one and look for a cheaper place online. or if I like the shop but one from there to keep their business up. - if its a small family shop etc.

Thanks

Phil

[Pete]

Hmmm Shure meets riders

End of really