Why singers do not insist on their own microphone is beyond me

Neumann KMS105 condenser vocal microphones

Are you a singer? Like in a band, or a singer songwriter?

Get yourself a real microphone, two if you intend to become a professional.

It’s so dumb to watch bands set up at a club and the singer comes in stoned and pulls a $39 cheap mic from a bag.

Are they stunned or what? How does a singer expect to sound like a pro with that stick?

Does your guitarist play one of those cheap $99 Stratocaster copies from Wal-Mart?

Get a mic that makes you sound great. The best you got is your live performance – give your audience your best. It’s gonna set you back about $800, the price of a used Strat or Les Paul Studio, for a good stage condenser mic.

The second one you need is a large diaphragm studio mic.

If you record at a pro studio they MIGHT have the right one for your voice, or not. Next time you get a few hundred bucks, rent studio time at a pro studio with tons of mics – not likely near where you live so do it on the road.

Let the engineer try his whole assortment on you. Buy the one that makes you sound the best.

It’s not that mics aren’t good. Each microphone has characteristics that may help or hurt your voice. For example, the standard Neumann U87Ai has a hot spot for some female voices.

You don’t need to buy this one. You can rent it when you go into the studio but now you know which one makes you sound like a pro. Don’t stop there. You need a voice processor or two but that’s another story.