I really should've paid attention in audio class

For a long time I regarded microphones and sound equipment as an annoying complication that I just didn't want to be bothered with. I suspect it comes from my all acoustic upbringing -- between years in orchestra and in sessions, I had no experience with mics, and damn it, I just want the instrument to sound like the instrument sounds!

Now that I've performed amplified quite a bit, and done my part of set-up and sound check,* a lot of things that slipped right out of my brain in audio class are starting to make more sense -- but I only started to become interested in mic-as-instrument in the last few days, because I bought and-am-probably-returning a vocal mic.

I have a fiddle mic, but that choice came down to the fact that I don't like pick-ups (except for very high end pick-up & mic combos) and I do like to move a lot when I perform. There are a lot more options for vocal mics, even under $175, and while I feel a little self-important obsessing over ~~mah vocaaaals~~ as an unsure beginner, I really need all the help I can get at this stage. :P

Saturday I bought an SM58, because that's what our other vocal mics are and they're a workhorse stand by. It's what I used in the market gig. This morning my teacher said she uses a shure beta 57, and liked it for 'darker voices like ours' (i.e., the ever-popular I Am Not A Soprano club).

Anyway, I'm going to see if music 6k will exchange the SM58, and hopefully they can do a comparison set-up, too.

If they can, these are what I want to try (if they have 'em):
- shure beta 57 and beta 58 (I know the grill is the only difference, but it does make a difference))
- audix OM-2 (might be better for guys' voices, per reviews, though?)
- sennheiser e835

Part of the interesting thing here is that I don't know what my voice wants. I know my fiddle, and so I know to look for strings described as warm, rich, or dark, because the instrument itself is very bright and brash. I don't have that level of analysis of my own voice, yet -- I can barely stand hearing myself recorded at all.

*We've had a sound guy once. It was GREAT. Other than that, we balance everyone in pairs and hope it works as a trio, basically.

More sound equipment thoughts

We have one behringer wedge monitor, but we should probably look into a two monitor set-up. It feels like overkill, but then our monitor isn't parked right in front of me, and the guys have a better chance of hearing each other.

Problem: We can't fit another wedge monitor in the car. We had the car topper on Sunday, and just fit everything. Granted, that's because we brought our own stools... but when you play venues without a stage stool versus chair makes a difference, and when you play for three hours 'not standing up' is pretty important, too. (As my feet are happy to tell you, since I stood up for 4 hours sunday because I forgot my fiddle mic).

There are smaller monitors, of course. Not cheaper, naturally...

We also need to figure out whatever needs figuring so we can use the PA as stereo sound instead of daisy-changed off a monitor mix. For small venues and reinforcement I don't think the stereo thing matters that much, but I'd like to use sliders properly; it's easier to see at a glance when tweaking stuff between sets.