Mics popping and sounding bad

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I'm doing my first karaoke gig tomorrow in 2 years. I will be using a dual set of VocoPro VHF mics that have shiny stuff on them to make them look cool, and a dual set of GTDs. Total cost for the 4 mics/both systems is roughly $200.

They will sound fine for the gig, and client/guests will be happy with the mic performance :)

That sounds an like ideal use.
 
You continue to tap dance, but the stats on Amazon.com speak for themselves. Regardless of how many people buy elsewhere, the PERCENTAGES of the reviewers speak for themselves.

To believe your argument, we’d have to believe that NEW Shure products on eBay and Amazon are inferior to those same models sold by your “professional” audio sales sources... NOT LIKELY.

Shure makes BOTH consumer and professional level gear. It's not necessary fro you to believe that.
It certainly does not appear that you are at all familiar with the professional products division.
 
Shure makes BOTH consumer and professional level gear. It's not necessary fro you to believe that.
It certainly does not appear that you are at all familiar with the professional products division.

Keep tap dancing Fred Austere.[emoji1] When it has the SAME model number, it’s the SAME PRODUCT... whether sold by Amazon or elsewhere.[emoji1]


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Keep tap dancing Fred Austere.[emoji1] When it has the SAME model number, it’s the SAME PRODUCT... whether sold by Amazon or elsewhere.[emoji1]


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Yes, but the BLX, PGX, etc., regardless of seller, are units in the consumer lines.
 
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Yes, but the BLX, PGX, etc., regardless of seller, are units in the consumer lines.

Yes... I know. They are ALMOST as good as GTD’s. GTD-G622 - 90% positive, Shure BLX288/PG58 - 80% positive.

If Fred thinks that SM58 mic he buys from his “professional” audio outlet is MORE professional than the one I buy on Amazon.com, then... good for Fred![emoji1]

Are these some of the “professional” models you can ONLY get from those “professional” audio sellers???[emoji1]...

2615428f145cff466ac6974a1a65c40b.jpg

Hmmmm???[emoji848][emoji1]
 
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The SM58 is highly over-rated. I'm certain PlaySchool GTD plastic mics would have no trouble competeing in these trials:

View: https://youtu.be/95U7wxPQZdE

I think it’s PITIFUL that Shure has to go to that extent... Fortunately, GTD owners are smart enough NOT to throw their mics in the ocean, run over them with a pickup truck, or barbecue them.[emoji1]
When my GTD microphones are in use, someone is generally holding them, so if one gets run over by a truck, I’m gonna have a lot more to worry about than whether the microphone still works![emoji1]
BUT... If I did ACCIDENTALLY throw my microphone in the ocean (though I can’t imagine how that’s possible), I have plenty of money to buy another... or even 5 at less than the cost of one Shure.[emoji1]
 
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Out of morbid curiosity what mics do you use as your go to Bob?

RF: Shure QLXD with directional antenna kit for wedding ceremony, corporate presentation, live singer./musician
RF: Shure PGXD for general DJ & Wedding reception DJ
Cabled Condenser: AT U857QL Condenser for Podium, presentations
Cabled Condenser: AT 2010 Condenser for vocals, Q&A, Misc. (AT condensor equivalent of SM58)
Cabled Condenser: AKG P170 Overheads
Cabled Dynamic: SM57 panel discussions, Live bands
Cabled Dynamic: SM58 for DJ, panel discussions, Premium Karaoke, Vocals, Live bands
Cabled Dynamic: Various vocal knock-offs for kids karaoke, & home rentals

I won't do RF mics for karaoke unless it's a premium corporate contest or something big. I don't want to chase mics around, and the tether of cabled mics keeps the average karaoke show moving along nicely. RF in a karaoke rental adds another layer of complexity and the key to rentals is simplicity so, again no RF.

This week I have a band for which I need a lot of high end large and small diaphragm condensers, Sennheiser 421, e609, and Shure SM81, Beta 57 & 58 cabled and RF. To costly to own for the few occasions they are called for, and more than I need for my regular gigs which the above list handles nicely.
 
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I am in a somewhat unique position here. I have visited American, Mexican and Chinese audio factories as part of my job. I either sold or tried to sell them audio test equipment. Some audio product factories have no test equipment whatsoever. I don't know if I visited the factories that make GTD mics but certainly have visited ones that make products at their price-point. I also have visited the US headquarters of many major audio companies.

Here are a few things I can tell people about overseas manufacturing.
  • Quality control is non-existent unless strictly monitored and enforced by the brand name
  • Factories will modify (loosen) their quality control procedures to pass more units without telling the brand
  • The cheap brands often sell stolen designs manufactured made with lower quality parts
  • Very few brands have captive factories
  • Non-captive factories substitute cheaper parts whenever they feel they can get away with it in order to increase margins
  • Counterfeit products are a real problem. Shure has won several cases. Smaller companies lack resources to combat the problem.
  • Many low-cost factories actually have dirt floors
  • Many low cost brands have no control of the factories they buy from. They buy containers of products with their logos screened on
  • One of the biggest problems today in the electronics industry is the availability of parts. The pressure to ship product is causing many factories to buy counterfeit parts, substitute parts of the wrong value, etc. Small companies can't control or monitor these issues effectively.
Here are some technical differences in wireless mics that most DJs can't appreciate
  • The difference between high-end and low-end wireless mics is in their filtering. High end mics have narrow-band filters that reject out-of-band spurious signals. These filters are not cheap.
  • Low end mic elements are not tested for frequency response or sensitivity. Unit to unit tonal variations are common.
  • Analog mics use compress the transmitted signal and expand the received signal to improve signal to noise ratio (aka compander circuitry). Cheaper mics often forego this.
  • Diversity receivers comes in many flavors from two antennae that combine signals to two completely independent receivers inside one case with logic circuitry that presents the cleaner signal to the output. The first costs very little to make and adds very little value. The second more than doubles the parts cost but insure much better operation. There are variants between these two extremes as well.
  • Two antennae does not mean you have diversity reception. Several lower cost dual channel units have completely separate non-diversity receivers in one case.
  • Digital tuning and digital transmission are VERY different animals.
  • Cheaper mics often lack tone-lock squelch. This is an inaudible tone sent by the transmitter. If the receiver doesn't see the tone, it mutes the output. This minimizes interference from other transmissions on the same frequency from getting into your system.
  • The transition out of the 600 MHz band is not yet complete. When the repacking of UHF stations is done, you will likely start seeing differences in the available range of the cheaper mics due to their lack of input filtering.
I hope that helps
 
From a DJ standpoint dealing with clients it likely doesn't matter what you use so long as it's used correctly. As long as it works and sounds OK and the client is happy it's a winning situation...When it doesn't the problems occur and buying a better product, while it won't eliminate the chance of failure, will lessen it.

I did a wedding last night and they used the house system for speeches (their choice). The house system is a Meyer sound line array with I believe a Shure QLXD (I just got a quick look at it). The sound wasn't great and it was very hard to hear the speakers. People kept asking me to turn it up and I kept explaining it's the house system. Now this wasn't fault of the gear it was the tech. It brings back to it really doesn't matter what you use if it's not used correctly and the client is not happy
 
Bob,

I too use the QLXD with the Shure directional antenna. How do you mount yours? I assume you are using a pair?
 
From a DJ standpoint dealing with clients it likely doesn't matter what you use so long as it's used correctly. As long as it works and sounds OK and the client is happy it's a winning situation...When it doesn't the problems occur and buying a better product, while it won't eliminate the chance of failure, will lessen it.

I did a wedding last night and they used the house system for speeches (their choice). The house system is a Meyer sound line array with I believe a Shure QLXD (I just got a quick look at it). The sound wasn't great and it was very hard to hear the speakers. People kept asking me to turn it up and I kept explaining it's the house system. Now this wasn't fault of the gear it was the tech. It brings back to it really doesn't matter what you use if it's not used correctly and the client is not happy

Very surprising. That combo is about as good as it gets. Meyer's are extremely accurate while being articulate for vocals and QLXD is practically the same as using a wired mic.
 
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This is semi related, but I had a cheap Chinese mic bite me, I bought a $13 Condenser mic for my big camera, it sounded ok, and worked good for my limited needs for it, I went to use it the other day and it no longer worked, took it a part to see what I could see and two of the three XLR wires came undone from the circuit board . Could that of happened with the brand named Panasonic version that runs about $250 new?, maybe, but I would hope the cable would not be able to move freely coming out of mic as it does on the cheap one.
 
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Very surprising. That combo is about as good as it gets. Meyer's are extremely accurate while being articulate for vocals and QLXD is practically the same as using a wired mic.

I agree and I've used this system myself before it wasn't the gear that was the problem
 
So is the Shure BLX line awful? From what I gather in this conversation some feel most wireless microphone systems in the $200-$400 range are pointless. If the microphone systems in that range are useless why spend money on a name brand when it's frowned upon too?
 
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Alot of vendors make expensive stuff .. and not so expensive stuff. They can make more money by competing in multiple markets.

Rule #1: You get what you pay for. (this is generally true)
 
Rule #1: You get what you pay for. (this is generally true)

Is that where the itching and burning comes from? Asking for a friend..... I know he is a pro, but, well.....the performance didn't add up so he had to pay extra.

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