Live Vocal Condenser Mic Comparison | Shure

Take a look at a few of our most popular condenser stage vocal microphones and learn a little bit more about the features that set them apart. On stage, singers can benefit from the clear, smooth sound and detailed response of a condenser mic along with the industry-standard ruggedness and dependability that Shure provides.
Learn more about the SM86 here: shu.re/3NBip3d
Learn more about the Beta 87A here: shu.re/3NBip3d
Learn more about the KSM9 here: shu.re/3NBip3d
#Shure
#livesound
#vocals
#microphone
#condenser
#music

[@Jonmpan]

Shure beta 87a is best for me so light weight and so good sound to my voice and song I just loooooooove it all days a week

[@bexraphaela]

Wow the KSM9 sounds incredible ❤

[@FilippoFavrettomusic]

Good video. We need more videos like with more sound detailed comparison. Thank you.

[@TheBricetune]

Well done Yuri. I just received my BETA 87A and can't wait to try it out at the gig Saturday. Will still take the SM58 along (20 years of good luck!), but if I can get the low end of the 58 by closing in on the 87 and still enjoy the detail of the 87 then it's the best of both worlds. Thoughts?

[@agambhasin]

I feel soundwise the KSM9 is prob the best, but then it has a price tag which is kinda unaffordable, my choice out of the 3 here will be the Beta 87A

[@johnstewart7619]

Ok Yuri, I am going to help Shure sell some microphones here 😁. I use the 86 and 87 in a real world live band, karaoke, DJ, singer/songwriter use, daily and weekly. Sorry I don’t own a KSM9 (although if you guys would like to send me one free haha? 😉😉). Ok so here’s my breakdown: The 86 is a good mic. It works well with some artists (usually I suggest this for male performers on vocals, especially metal vocalists) and it sounds great on an acoustic guitar mic setup. The downside of this mic is out of all the mics I use (I only use Shure mics btw), I tend to have to fight feedback more with the 86, then any other mic I own. It’s still a great mic though. Now for the greatest mic Shure has ever made (and I really mean this): The Beta 87A!! Out of all the mics I use, this is the mic!! It sounds great on vocals (my go to for female performers), drum overheads (yeah, believe it or not), acoustic guitar mic’n, snare mic’n (under and over), and Yes! I use it twice a week for karaoke performers (even though I run them cabled, they sound amazing, and the karaoke performers are very spoiled with this mic setup lol). I even use the Beta 87 for my mobile studio rig for cutting vocal tracks. Don’t get me wrong I use other Shure mics too (another one that sounds amazing is the PGA 57. It may be on the cheaper side, but it’s a workhorse too). Again, I don’t own the KSM9 (and yes, I have borrowed a couple for some setups from time to time, and they sounded great for the vocalists that requested them in their riders) BUT I own 10 Beta 87A’s (which is also kind of why I don’t own some KSM9’s), that get used 4-6 days a week. No other mics sound like the Beta 87A! Not Telefunken, Sennheiser, or even Shure’s own SM 58, or Beta 58’s for vocals. If you’re a singer/songwriter, buy 2 Beta 87 A’s for your vocals and mic’n your guitar. If you’re in a band situation? Buy enough Beta 87 A’s to cover all your vocalists, and have your drummer buy 4 Beta 87A’s for overheads and mic’n the snare! If you run a karaoke outfit, buy 4-6 Beta 87A’s for your performers (you can thank me later 😉). One last thing here: I don’t currently run the 87A in a wireless configuration (call me old fashioned, but if it’s got a cable going to the mic from my Qsc Touchmix, I don’t have to worry about drop outs), and again, I want anyone/everyone that reads this to know, I am not getting paid for my comments here from Shure (although I am totally down for a free KSM9 from you guys haha 😉😉). I have over 50 mics in my mic locker, and they’re all Shure mics that I have bought over the years because Shure mics have never let me down, and they just sound better to me then any of the other brands out there!!

[@paulheartsongs]

Nice review, John. Thank you. On the other side of the coin, I have an SM57 I bought in 1981, over 40 years ago. It still works extremely well for all applications and always has!

[@mediocreman2]

Well the 87A is like $100 more. So yeah hopefully there's a reason.

[@lorenzohuynh1550]

What about feedback issues with the 87a compare to beta 58 ?

[@findtheyarnandhandheld8742]

Thanks for your nice information. But, how about feedback sound if we use on live band? because there are condensor microphones?

[@elvega1244]

No se pq nunca muestran ese pequeño detalle, realmente uno quiere el comportamiento en medio de esa batalla de ruido extremo.

[@Wayne_Farrow]

SM86 everytime for me, just couldn’t get onboard at all with the Beta 87A

[@onzkicg]

I just got SM86, what is your preamp? I’m just using via Presonus preamp+interface Presonus Audiobox ->Laptop, I have to crank up the volume and hear floor noise hiss before mic is useable & recording voice properly. Do I need to sing close like directly on grille? I am 3” far like how you’re holding now. PS. The noise/hiss is there in orig recording but can be removed by noise gate plugin and not noticeable when in band full mix. I’m just worried if that is normal or not.

[@shurecreators]

Hi! Yuri shared the following, “For this demonstration, I used an Audient ID4 interface. I wouldn’t be able to accurately diagnose what your system is doing, but on my end, I do not have my gain turned up all the way with the SM86, and I can comfortably use it a few inches away from the grill.” Additionally, our Support Team would be happy to help. You can reach out to them at shu.re/contact.

[@michaelgarner5468]

Do you have phantom power turned on?

[@johnstewart7619]

@@michaelgarner5468 The Shure SM 86 requires phantom power to operate. As for the other person that was having issues with their PreSonus pre-amp setup? Here’s some suggestions: Make sure you have the phantom power engaged for this microphone. Make sure you are using an XLR cable with male and female XLR ends. A good quality cable could probably help as well. Try a cable that’s shielded from Mogami, Canare, or Gotham. You may pay more for the cable, but they are quality cables and used in studios around the world (I even use those brands for my live sound rigs 4-6 nights a week). Another thing to consider is you may want to add a Cloudlifter to your setup, or there are companies that make standalone 48 volt phantom power supply units as well. Why buy and use a separate 48 volt phantom power supply unit? Because some pre-amps and interfaces that say they are supplying 48 volt phantom power, aren’t actually supplying the actual 48 volts. Again, before going that route and buying a Cloudlifter or separate 48 volt phantom power supply, I would pick up a quality shielded XLR microphone cable first (and make sure you to have the 48 volt power on your pre-amp/interface when using this microphone). Sorry I don’t work for Shure, but I got 35 years in the music industry, so I hope this helps out! 😉

[@AliceGouldmusic]

Anyway to try mics without buying multiple mics?

[@shurecreators]

Hi! We suggest visiting your local Shure authorized dealer.

[@ToddDolce]

purchase a modeling mic.

[@jasper_north]

Is it 24v or 48v Phantom powered? (87a)

[@shurecreators]

Hi! This microphone requires phantom power and performs best with a 48 Vdc supply (IEC-61938). However, it will operate with slightly decreased headroom and sensitivity with supplies as low as 11 Vdc.

[@alanshewitt]

Man, that SM86 was incredibly noisy, no? Like *AUDIBLE* hiss.