MICROPHONES

Shure SLX-Beta 58 wireless (UHF)

We use two of these at the Morrison House on the weekends. Both are racked inside a rolling case that sits under the piano. I auditioned a few wireless mic systems but these were the best by far. They have very nice "high end" on them and they respond extremely well to both male and female voices as they have enough "bottom" for the burliest baritone yet have lots of nice "high end" on them for the purest and clearest female voice. I recommend these highly. It also works at great distances. You can get quite far from the receiver (the box) and it'll still work beautifully. It'll even work through walls. Lastly, the "power" and "mute" switches are recessed and hard to trip unless one makes a concerted effort - a definite advantage. These run on AA batteries (2 of them.)

Shure SM-58 wireless (VHF)

This is the one we use at the Grille @ Morrison House - albeit with a slightly different antenna. I've had this mic for almost 10 years. This doesn't have near the coverage area that the one above does. It also doesn't sound quite as good. To my ears, there's somewhat less "bottom" on it. It also has other drawbacks as well. Notice that big black knob on the right side of the receiver? It's a volume knob and, while it seems like a good thing, it really isn't. It's just one more thing that has to be adjusted. Another drawback is that it takes 9-volt batteries. This battery type appears to be going extinct and it's not always easy to find anymore. Also, the battery contacts inside are very sensitive and one must be very careful when installing the batteries. I have one of these in my closet "riding the bench" because the contacts broke off. Further, the "power" and the "mute" switches are very accessible and easy to trip accidentally. Those of you that visit us at the Grille will note that I've taped down the "mute" switch so that it doesn't function. Still, the "power" switch does get tripped from time to time and it's a hassle.

Shure SM-58s Wired

This is used by Robert at all gigs. This mic sounds almost exactly the same as the one above, though I find it to be "meatier" and overall better sounding and the wireless version directly above. The other difference is that this one has a "power" switch on the body of the mic. Robert likes the switch because it gives him control. I feel differently because the switch is even more easily tripped than it is on the mic above. This mic is available and most often found without a switch. The sound you'll get from it is quite good and it is the "gold standard" for vocal mics (all SM58's fall into that category.) If you are a singer, you'll need to make sure you purchase at least this in order to look like you know what you're doing.

Shure Beta 58 Wired

I am in love with this mic. 've discovered that the more expensive item really is the better one. This one retails for about $160 and the Audix OM-5 was about $70. The difference is, I feel, pretty startling. I saw two Sennheiser handhelds that were both quite good but this one beat them both pretty handily. This is the finest live vocal mic I've ever used and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Shure Super 55

We used this very briefly as our main mic because of it's uniqueness. We figured it'd be much fun. We were wrong. It has since been given to our fearless leader as a replacement for the Sennheiser headset mic which he never really liked. On top of it's unique "old school" look, it should also be noted that it sounds amazing. It gives a very rich, full sound that many mics can't get near. Highly recommended if you want to make a statement and still get great sound.

MIXERS

Mackie CFX-12MKII

This is, without question, the best mixer I have ever had the pleasure of using. The controls are incredibly intuitive, the sound is incredibly rich, and, best of all, the reverb is absolutely incredible. I can not possibly recommend a mixer more highly than I would this one. It also comes with a BNC connection at the top-right of the unit which will power a lamp in low-light conditions. It's a little pricey but you truly do get what you pay for.

Allen & Heath ZED 10FX Stereo Mixer

We just started using this unit. It replaces the awful Behringer unit that a well-intentioned Robert Vetter purchased for our use on Tuesday nights. This unit does everything you could possibly want it to do. It has 4 XLR inputs and a couple of stereo line inputs. The FX in it are very nice and the reverb makes Robert’s mutes pretty good too, though it's easy to overdo it as subtle knob movements make a huge difference. I knew in about 5 seconds that we’d found the right unit. It also does wonders for the human voice. It’s about half the size of the Mackie unit we’ve been using which is certainly helpful. The smaller the footprint, the better. On the down side, there is no “mute” button on the individual channels. That’s a slight inconvenience but not insurmountable. It even has a USB output for use with Pro-Tools, though that’s not something we’ll ever use. So far, I’m very happy with the way it sounds. It’s a little pricey for a unit this size (just north of $300) but, again, the sound we get out of it makes it worth the price.

SPEAKERS

Mackie MR5 Powered Speakers

These are the speakers we use on Friday and Saturday nights. These are the finest smaller speakers I've ever used and they were purchased specifically for this purpose. They have very full sound for their size and vocals "pop" nicely out of them. They are also small enough that they don't overwhelm the room the way the others we were using could. Highly recommended!

ALL-IN-ONE P.A.

Behriner EUROLIVE B205D

In general, Behringer is thought of as cheap stuff. This is further proof that their reputation is well earned. This sound from this unit is incredibly thin and a bit hollow. We use this on Tuesday nights in conjunction with the Mackie speaker. Because of the size of both speakers, it's almost impossible for them to sound great. Still, it gets the job done.

Mackie SRM150

This is the very first amplification unit we ever used. It began it's life at the Madison Hotel and was purchased for a very small space with relatively few people to amplify for. For that purpose, it worked fairly well. It has a mic stand adapter which allows it to rest comfortably off the ground. You screw it in to the mic stand and then sit the speaker on top of the adapter. As our crowds at the Madison increased, it became necessary to move to something bigger. It was then used as a monitor for Robert's guitar. It was decided that his amp worked better for that purpose and now, it's used in conjunction with the Behringer speaker above on Tuesday nights. It's decent for it's size but it cannot offer the sound that other larger units would. Also, as it's made of plastic, the sound gets awfully "boxy." Given the typical Tuesday situation, we do what we must though.

Fishman LoudBox 100

This is Robert's guitar amp. It's been in use since our days at the Madison Hotel. It's got unusually nice reverb for an amp like this and it works in smaller venues like the Grille. If you need something small with a little more muscle than the Mackie amp above, this particular amp works nicely.

Equipment