DJ Vintage
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DJ Vintage
ModeratorI can’t really comment on that. I have not heard the Behringer’s or Alto’s “live” yet. If you have a chance, listen to them both, preferably next to each other (a pa, dj, musician, pro music shop should have them in a showroom) so you can do a good comparison. Let your ears decide. Listen to them at a few settings, something like halfway, 80-85% which would be your average for the night and run them full steam to see what happens to sound, protection systems (anti-clipping kicking in and – as important- sound coming back after protection kicking in).
I would say I like both of them better than the QTX you started out with, so I’d say you have won already :-).
Greetinx,
C.ModeratorSimply Disco, post: 41506, member: 8985 wrote: SM58 for me. As said it is difficult to objectively listen to your own voice however over the years I have always been heard and I think it sounds good.
Like I said … what you feel comfortable with (and doesn’t have people complaining about not hearing you clearly) and works for you!
Greetinx,
C.ModeratorI’ll take requests, provided the people ASKING for them (not ordering me, or telling me I suck if I don’t play such and such song, or telling me that this song will really get the crowd going) are doing so nicely and politely. Whether I play them or not depends on what the request is and they way the night flows. I have had requests that came in early, that I loaded several times during the gig and ended up not playing because I just couldn’t make it sit nice in the mix at any point.
There have also been times where the request was actually great as the next song and gave me a “thanks for reminding me of this track”-feeling.In my opinion it doesn’t hurt to take requests as long as you are not obliged to play them (now! :-)).
Greetinx,
C.ModeratorThanks.
And you pretty much made my point for me. Somebody told you that you sounded muffled, not something you noticed yourself.
Few quick words on EQ-ing. Using low EQ on vocal (especially speech) is not gonna do much good usually. On the Yamaha hit the lpf (low pass filter = under 80Hz) button for the mic channel (NOT for audio lol). Audible speech is concentrated in the midrange (2 to 4 KHz), which is mostly what you control with your mid EQ. Rather than pressing the mids by turning them up a lot, it is often better to take the low’s down by 3 to 6 dB and if your voice sounds a tad harsh the highs a bit as well and leave the mids untouched. This will make your voice “sit” better in the mix and enhance your audibility, even with music playing behind/under it.
You could even turn down the mids some on the track playing to create some more “breathing space” for your voice. Don’t go crazy and kill the mids, but a 3 to 6 dB (experiment a little with this) could work fine and actually makes that you can lower your channel fader a little less. Your voice “sits” IN the music rather than ON TOP of it.
Not sure what effects you would use on your voice. On singers voices we use a bit of reverb and that is usually it. As soon as a singer starts to SPEAK in between songs, we quickly mute the FX channel because you do not want reverb on a spoken vocal. So for announcement like the examples you gave, forget FX, EQ them so you can be heard clearly and that is it.
Greetinx and good luck!
C.ModeratorThis is the thing with advising on something so personal as a microphone. Lot’s of “I have and I love it …” comments.
I try to advise in such a manner that the OP can then go ahead and make his own decision with as much information on what to look for.
It’s like all the “what controller should I get” threads on here, you really can’t tell what the ideal controller for someone would be. What works for you might not work for me and vice versa.
Back to microphones for DJ purposes:
If a mic works for you, by all means use it. I also do a lot of sound work and own several SM58s, some Beta58s, 57s and Beta57s. So, it is not that I don’t use them or don’t have them. I own several other brands and types as well. Why? Exactly for the reason I stated in my first reaction. There is a mic for every voice and application. And although you can’t have every mic ever made, you can have a few that cater to various voices.
The SM-series are such standards, that everybody takes them for granted and there will hardly ever be an artist that puts you down for using them, after all “everyone is using them”. The Beta’s are a definite step up from the regular SM-series. The PGseries is their budget series and I woud not have them on any sound stage I work at or as my DJ mic. But again, if it works for YOU, then that is fine.
As I said, it is near impossible to judge your own voice through a microphone unless you have experience (and thus a reference) and a very good monitor next to you and/or if you can hear yourself through a good pair of cans. Even then, most people don’t know (or like for that matter) what they should sound like through a sound system. It is way different from what we hear when we just talk.
Between 80 and unlimited dollars will get you a good mic, suitable for the rigors of the road and with a sound pattern that suits your voice. It just pays to examine/investigate the possibilities before committing your money is my main advice, don’t just buy a SM58 because “everyone is using them”. Spend some more time and effort and find out what works (best) for you within your financial limits.
Hope this helps in the decision making process.
Greetinx,
C.ModeratorQuite frankly, you’ll be hard pressed to get a really good wireless mic for around 300. And you should ask yourself if the way you are using it will benefit you greatly by being wireless.
I personally have never used a wireless mic for DJ-ing in my 35+ years at it and never felt a need for one (with the exception of having one around for weddings, so the best man can do his little speech. For that purpose I have a Sennheiser FreePort set. Quality isn’t the object, just being able to amplify speech without having to bother with cables.
I would not use a SM58 as a DJ mic. It is really only good for (loud) male vocals in a life sound (stage) environment in my opinion.
For nostalgic reasons I am back to my first pro DJ mic, the AKG D321 (same capsule as the D3300BT, but without the filter switches). AKG, Sennheiser, Shure (just other models), Rode (the M1 is a pretty decent dynamic mic) are all good options. I would stay away from the more bling bling type low end mics that are out there. A bit of an outsider but with good dynamic mics is AT (AudioTechnica).
Best is to take someone that knows your voice well and go to a place where you can try a couple of mics over a PA. Have the person with you tell you which sounds best in his opinion (I find it impossible to judge my own voice over a mic).
Since you are probably not gonna be doing world-class singing, it isn’t gonna be all that important if you stick with the big brands and pick a modern design mic (the SM58 stems from 1967 or something :-)).
Greetinx,
C.ModeratorYeah, I am assuming we will be seeing quite a few DJ-specific new features in the upcoming releases. Interesting to see.
I can envision a Mixed in Key Creative Suite for DJs LOL.
Greetinx,
C.ModeratorQuite frankly, even though good cans ARE important, when mixing down and mastering a track, I will predominantly listen to my near field monitors. Headset goes on occassionally if I really want to focus on something specific.
If you mix on a headset, the end result will not sound good on speaker systems usually.
So, work with what you have for now and rely on your monitors.
Greetinx,
C.ModeratorWhen I read all this I couldn’t help but be surprised how long a bad rep sticks. The first thing I think when I hear Behringer is still “pfff … noise”. So many bad experiences with Behringer (especially live sound) gear in so many settings. Crackles, noise, just poor build quality and sometimes very disappointing sound have made for a predisposition like that.
I know they have cleaned up their act some and I have a few select Behringer products (their headphone amps were pretty good, especially for the price), so I know they CAN produce decent stuff too.
Well, I’ll keep an open mind and look for the reviews and all your experiences with it.
Greetinx,
C.ModeratorCan’t help you there. I have Sennheiser HD25-IIs which are pretty much an industry standard. They are perfect for both studio and live sound (although some like an even more over-the-ear design for loud live environments) AND for DJ-ing.
Indestructable, every piece on there can be replaced, cables, earthingies, really everything. And they have an anniversary version out now in aluminium (ME WANT >>> :().
You buy those for 15+ years. BUT, as these things go, it get’s reflected in the price. They are a firm 250 euro at the cheapest place you can find them.
I am guessing that you might actually be better off keeping your current cans while saving up for the “real deal”. Not sure a set of 100 dollar studio cans will sound that much better than the ones you currently have. Unless they have a really colored frequency pattern to accomodate DJ-ing.
Greetinx,
C.ModeratorYeah, it seemed very low profile on here and recently just lots and lots of people you hear about using it.
Greetinx,
C.ModeratorI can see that train of thought … although with a mix I am more inclined to say that effectively you would play more than half of either song and not mix into the outro of another song.
ModeratorAh … I was right after all … phew … by the skin of my teeth. ROFL
Thanks for chopping that knot Dayvue.
Greetinx,
C.ModeratorYep, I understand what you are doing, but I am not to sure about the EXACT definition of mashup. Hopefully someone else knows, so we both can be educated, eh?
Greetinx,
C.ModeratorNot mash-up? I would think so. Anybody else?
Guess the definition of mashup is a bit ambiguous. It says something like “USUALLY by overlaying”. But usually means there CAN be EXCEPTIONS. Like what you are doing.
Greetinx,
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