What is the best live microphone these days to do gigs…

[Synthman4]

with?
I’ve found a singer who sings just like Sade.
What would be the most professional live mic to use?
Richard S

[shufflebeat]

Type of venue?
Type of band? (bass/drums or backing tracks)
Budget?
Context? (sound engineer or self-adjusted)
Wedge monitors or in-ears?

It’s still difficult to give a definitive answer but these questions (and others) will inform the filtering process.

[Synthman4]

Type of venue?
Type of band? (bass/drums or backing tracks)
Budget?
Context? (sound engineer or self-adjusted)
Wedge monitors or in-ears?

It’s still difficult to give a definitive answer but these questions (and others) will inform the filtering process.

The type of venue would be somewhere big and professional like Wembley. You know like in a concert.
A Sade type band with percussion, trumpet, Lead Saxophone and a soul Singer.

[Aled Hughes]

The type of venue would be somewhere big and professional like Wembley.

In that case I think a Shure Unidyne 545 is the only workable option.

[MOF]

It’s not my area of expertise but two of the standards are Shure SM58 and Beyerdynamic M160 but there are lots of modern vocal stage microphones.
I suggest you rent a few and try them out at the rehearsals.

[Sam Spoons]

Sade is documented as using both SM57 and SM58* for both live and studio so if she really does sound like Sade then something with similar characteristics (or even a 57/58) might be the best choice. There are lots of slightly more refined versions of the 58, pretty much every mic manufacturer makes at least one.

* Sade also used a Sennheiser wireless handheld with a 900 series dynamic capsule on stage for her 2011 tour but that won't sound a million miles away from the 58.

[Arpangel]

Sade is documented as using both SM57 and SM58* for both live and studio so if she really does sound like Sade then something with similar characteristics (or even a 57/58) might be the best choice. There are lots of slightly more refined versions of the 58, pretty much every mic manufacturer makes at least one.

* Sade also used a Sennheiser wireless handheld with a 900 series dynamic capsule on stage for her 2011 tour but that won't sound a million miles away from the 58.

Sade could sing into a cheap Karaoki mic and she would still sound gorgeous.

[Sam Spoons]

Yes she definitely has something...

[Dave Rowles]

My preferences in order of I'd prefer

DPA d:facto
Shure KSM9 or 8
Neumann KMS105 - For quieter stages, or with IEMs
Sennheiser MD445
sE Electronics V7
Sennheiser e900 series
Shure SM58
Sennheiser e800 series

Of course, it's totally situation and budget dependant. Mostly I go for the V7 as it's feedback rejection is epic and has a clearer sound than the SM58, but I wish i could afford d:facto

[Hugh Robjohns]

The type of venue would be somewhere big and professional like Wembley.

In that case I'd leave it to the company providing and operating the PA. They'll always have a selection of decent mics to pick from.

[James Perrett]

For someone that I hadn't heard before I would always go for an SM58 first. It may not be the best choice but it certainly won't be the worst. I don't know of any other vocal mic that will work in so many different situations.

You can spend quite a bit more money on, say, something like a Neumann KMS105 and find, on the particular voice you are using it for, that it actually sounds worse than an SM58.

[MarkOne]

I picked up a Blue Encore 200 a couple of months back for silly money, but have actually been quite pleasantly surprised by it. Quite a smooth top end. A bit more prone to feedback than my electrovioce nd76, but on a quiet stage I really like it.