sound-man Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Hi, This is my first post, and I was directed here by collegue light-man. Anyway, we have got a concert soon, and one of the bands playing are requesting we pay out for a Shure Beta 58A, but it is in a school arts theatre, and would it really be ideal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jammie300 Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Shure Beta 58A are very expensive microphones and you can get very similar results with the plain Shure SM58. The industry standard microphone. The shure sm58 is almost half the price of the beta and has a similar frequency response. Also it depends on what application it is being used for also. If it is for vocals etc then the SM58 and Beta 58s are fine but for other applications other mics may yield better results. IMO I would go for the plain SM58 which you can pick up for around £70 new. They are the industry standard and are almost indestructible. HTH James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Langfeld Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 I'd disagree with Jammie's outright dismissal of the Beta58A - they may be very useful to you. You need to decide if the expenditure is worth the benefits. What mics do you have now? How is the B58A better than these, if at all? Do the B58As solve a specific problem you have with your current mics? You need to answer all these questions to yourself before you can make a proper informed decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 It does depend on a number of things as, as has been said a Beta is beta (sorry) Is the PA capable of letting the audience hear the difference?Is budget available (you could always hire one)?Does the person who is going to use it have a voice that will sound better with it. If you can answer yes to all three, then go ahead and provide one - if not, say no. I presume were not talking about a major act with a real contract and proper rider? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sound-man Posted January 15, 2008 Author Share Posted January 15, 2008 First of all, thank you for the help, well, the performance singer who will be using it isnt amazing(although in no way rubbish!), however, the concert will be a modern rock. We hope to be purchasing a new PA, as the one we have got at the moment is not great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jammie300 Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 I'd disagree with Jammie's outright dismissal of the Beta58A --snip-- The reason for my dismissal in this case is that the OP said that it was to be performed in a school arts theatre. Not many schools have Beta 58s and I feel that the beta would be inappropriate for this application I would have recommended it for a more professional environment. As Paul said there are the 3 main factors to consider. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arran Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Hi, This is my first post, and I was directed here by collegue light-man. Anyway, we have got a concert soon, and one of the bands playing are requesting we pay out for a Shure Beta 58A, but it is in a school arts theatre, and would it really be ideal? If I've understood correctly, this is a one-off event? Why not just hire one for the night? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
light-man Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Well, we this is, but I think it wouldn't go a miss in our Music Department either way! The main queery, is about wether it is actually pheasable to pay out that much for something that'll only effect the public a couple of times a year. But yeah, I think we can look at the hiring route for an option at the event... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnomatron Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 The Beta 58 is a pretty good mic, but ask the act in question if it's really necessary - there's few acts, even professional acts, who wouldn't be happy to take an SM58 rather than a Beta 58. It's certainly suitable and useful for a concert, but there's a good chance it won't be worth the additional expense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 I think there are a couple of major points being missed here. First off, I wouldn't characterise the difference between the SM58 and Beta58 as being that the Beta version "sounds" significantly better. In the grand scheme of things, both, though commonly used, are fairly mediocre microphones. The big difference is the pickup pattern. The SM58 is a cardioid while the Beta 58 is a Super cardioiod. If the singer who has requested the Beta version has a relatively soft voice (and knows a bit about mic technique), moving to the Beta pattern might help to minimise feedback. Second, everyone is talking like the Beta 58 is an excessively expensive mic. It does cost slightly more than an SM58, but not THAT much. However, on the rental market you're talking a pound or two a day difference in price...maybe £5 a day for an SM58 and £6 or £7 for the Beta. I doubt this would break the bank even for a school. You don't need to buy everthing you may wish to use occasionally. That's why there are hire companies. By the way, you'll have trouble finding one, but if the singer likes a Beta 58, he would LOVE an Audix OM6 or OM7! Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mal421 Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 Have you spoken to the band ? A lot of bands etc. have a wish list of kit they would like to use sometimes they are just plain flights of fancy . I had one band ask for L'acoustic VDOSC for a gig in a village hall ! Talk to the band , the chances are they will be happy to use whatever you have as long as it is halfway decent . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac.calder Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 I would have to second that - most small/local bands who write their own rider have no clue what they need/want, they just put down what they think they want. And many of them get it so far wrong it is not funny. We had a rider come in with "Digidesign venue console" for a 5 piece cover band. They looked through SoS or something, saw an advert for it and said "We want that!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnomatron Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 Just to make matters worse (doubt it matters here) some acts end up with riders written by agents - I've had djs whose riders specified CDJ1000s turn up with a laptop, vinyl and no cds... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 One interesting feature of the Beta 58 is that it has a narrower pickup pattern than the standard SM58. So if you are going to have two singers sharing a mic (think Beatles) the Beta won't work nearly as well. The Beta has an extended HF response which can be useful for bringing out the detail in some voices, but if you have a "lispy" singer it could be more trouble than it's worth. +1 for the Audix OM7, we bought a couple recently and have been very impressed with them, especially on noisy singers. The only downside is that the singer needs to stay close into the mic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mervaka Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 I would have to second that - most small/local bands who write their own rider have no clue what they need/want, they just put down what they think they want. And many of them get it so far wrong it is not funny. We had a rider come in with "Digidesign venue console" for a 5 piece cover band. They looked through SoS or something, saw an advert for it and said "We want that!"haha! on a similar note, the promoter I work with quite often was asked by one band for a couple of rooms all expenses paid at the nearest 5 star hotel, with a selection of sandwiches and bottles of moet on arrival? bearing in mind this was a 200 capacity venue they were playing to.. edit: lets keep this most useful.. okay, I'm putting in another two thumbs up for the OM7 too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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