[Quiet Earth]

Help an amateur garage band choose a good live vocal mic that :

1. sounds especially good in the vocal range, even when the singer gets a little too far or too close
2. Sounds equally good in a small indoor space or in a back yard sized outdoor setting.
3. has good feedback rejection, especially for the small indoor space setting.
4. can handle the shock (abuse?) of being on stage without a special suspension cradle.
5. won't break the bank    (is under $200 possible??)

The mic will be plugged directly into one channel of an Allen&Heath mixwizard so it does not need to have a low pass filter built in. I can provide extra gain if needed. (RNP mic preamp is available)

Thanks for any guidance that you can give to a newbie live sound dude.     

Also, feel free to share any of your microphone success stories  ..... or disaster situations  . 

[FullRangeMan]

Not know which mic will fit your requirements at the price, but positively stay away from the AKG 414, good only to TV talk shows/radio studio, not good sound for Hi-Fi music.

[Devil Doc]

Shure SM-57. It's cheap, reliable and a lot of folks use it who could afford mikes 10 times the price. The five I've had for over 30yrs are still being used on the road. Never had one fail, and I've hit the 57 on my snare on more than one occasion.

Doc.

[eclein]

Devil Doc nailed it the 57 and 58 if they still make it are the best all around mics and as soon as I read the question it was the first one I thought of.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/manufacturer/Shure

[richidoo]

Shure SM58 has an EQ bump at 3k ("presence") and a windscreen making it better for vocals, otherwise same as 57. Because of the EQ it is not as flexible as the 57 which is (relatively) flat response, but if this is to be a dedicated vocal mic, 58's EQ will save you from EQing it on the board everytime.  They are both dynamic mikes, so they make good voltage without preamp.

[Quiet Earth]

Other than that, do they have the same pick up pattern?
Or about the same amount of feedback rejection?

[mikeeastman]

Tried to post reply but it didn't work? So I sent PM.

[Quiet Earth]

got the PM, but it was blank. No message attached. Try again?

[Glenn Kuras]

For live sound I would go with the SM58 or even better the beta sm58. Have used both for many many years. If the singer does not sound good with one of them, then it is the singer, not the mic. 

Glenn
GIK Acoustics

[Mike Nomad]

+1 on the SM57. A workhorse indeed. I never liked the vocals I'd get through an SM58. That, and they don't hold up on the road.

(however)

+1 on the SM Beta 58. Another workhorse mic, and never had a problem getting good vocals through them. Along the lines of a testimonial, the Beta 58 is what Hank uses when the Rollins Band hits the road...

[mikeeastman]

My wife just went though looking for a vocal mic, this is what wound up with and why.

I just bought a Sennheiser e835. I wanted a pro level mic and most of the musicians I talked with said to get the Shure sm58. I called Sennheiser and they said  the e835 was their answer to the sm58. I read reviews and there were several sm58 users who liked the e835 better. I had tried a sm58 and was told to watch how I sang my p's because they were popping, I was told and found it to be true for me that the popping wasn't a problem with the Sennheiser. It is probably more a matter of personal taste than anything but I liked the Sennheiser better. I got the mic at Musicians friend for $99 and free shipping. Hope this is helpful.