Wireless singing microphones x5 - what should I buy?

[pete]

I know, "Rent them you fool!". We do currently but:

 

a) the arrangement we have is a faff

b) they're not readily available (it's a "mates rates" service, not a commercial provider)

c) the capacity for forward planning leaves a lot to be desired.

 

Currently we've got:

 

3x Trantec lapel microphones + receivers which are ~10+ yrs old and a bit abused.

2x Shure receivers which seem OK (provided the one that might have been killed yesterday has just been messed about with)

1x working Shure handheld microphone, possibly enough parts to make a working 2nd one.

Mixer with 2x Microphone inputs.

 

So, if my Head of Music had a wishlist of:

 

5x singing* wireless microphones (handheld) + associated receivers

1x Mixer that can handle 5 microphone inputs and then 3-4 line inputs.

 

What should I be looking at? I'm poking through the studio spares catalogue but I don't really have a good idea about brands** or what I should roughly be paying.

 

*I'm assured there's a difference that becomes noticable in a lack of distortion as someone works through their vocal range.

**I've bought Sennheiser kit before for me personally and the Shure kit we have is more robustly made than the Trantec, but that's about it.

[mukz]

Speak to companies: Real Sound & Vision and also Autograph, they are great and will advice on what best based on the environment where they are singing

[pete]

^ I plan to, but I'd like an idea of what other people are using before I go talk to them.

[Chris_]

I'd look at the Sennheiser EW100 G3 stuff, or the Sennheiser XSW range if you're on a tight budget.

[dhicks]

I'm assured there's a difference that becomes noticable in a lack of distortion as someone works through their vocal range.

 

I don't know enough about music / sound to be able to tell the difference between a high-end and low-end microphone, but to me our 4-way set of Chord mics sounds just fine. They now do a 6-way version:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chord-HU6-H-Wireless-Microphone-System/dp/B00NRNYRKQ/ref=pd_sim_sbs_267_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=41t81ZidwXL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=1P23PDH04H0W65HABC74

 

We've found our 4-way unit to be robust and reliable over the past couple of years - we've mounted the mic mixer in a stage box, complete with power supply and a drawer for the mics, so we can just pick the whole thing up and carry it to wherever it is needed. As a complete all-in-one solution (you don't need a mixer, you can use 6 separate outputs (one per mic) or one mixed output, with volume controls on the front of the rack unit) for under £400 it's really not bad. If nothing else, you could get that unit for general day-to-day use and save some wear-and-tear on whatever snazzy high-fidelity kit you get.

[Andrew_C]

Trantec are fine, if you move up off the bottom of the range. Sure or Sennheiser are perhaps slightly better in general; but I'd happily use any brand you've mentioned. You'll have to look at current ranges to see what models meets your robustness/price criteria. A Sure with an SM58 head (That's a Beta 58 which would also be fine) will give very predictable results. Budget for a flightcase for the receivers, and storage for the mics.

 

To get 5 intermodulation free channels, you will need a licence for channel 38, you'll struggle to do it (legally) in Ch70. It's not expensive, but manage your users expectation!

 

Assuming 3-4 stereo inputs, you need a 16 channel mixer. Or an 6+some stereo... This'd do you. Yamaha kit is better than you might think if you don't know them. The motorcycle wheel design of their logo? It is actually crossed tuning forks.

 

I should have said, asking over here on The Blue Room. Full of people who really know their stuff, and are current on ranges. Worth making it clear that you work in a school, not a pupil trying to get the school to spend money though. Improves the signal to noise ratio!

Edited March 18, 2016 by Andrew_C

[VeryPC_Anthony_L]

Hi @pete

 

Not sure if you have sorted this yet but here are a few thoughts.

 

Budget:

You have mentioned you have been asked for a wishlist of the following...

5x singing* wireless microphones (handheld) + associated receivers

1x Mixer that can handle 5 microphone inputs and then 3-4 line inputs.

 

Do you have an idea of the budget you have? Worst case scenario you would be looking most likely around £3000 inc vat.

 

 

Quality and frequencies :

If you are wanting to run 5 radio mics I would highly suggest avoiding cheap systems like the Chord type stuff and the bottom end Trantec equipment. The Chord radio set generally runs in the CH70 which you can get 5 mics to run in but frequencies get really tight. Ideally you need to be looking at CH38 mics but this does require a licence which is generally purchased every 2 years.

 

Personally I really like the Sennheiser range of radio mics. If you have the budget then the EW100 G3 range is worth looking at, I worked in one school where we had 8 of these. If you cannot stretch to this then I would look at the XSW range. These are an entry level system but have some great features and would be more than suitable for a school.

Systems like the Chord are a non-diversity where as the Sennheiser is a true diversity system, this means that it has a better antenna system.

 

Mixers:

Although you mention that you would only need 5 mic channels I would probably suggest going for a few more either 8-10. Most mixers generally tend to come with Mic/line inputs and stereo inputs. Mixers I quite like are the Soundcraft EFX8 and the Allen and Heath Zed 16FX

 

 

Hope that helps,

 

Anthony

[pete]

Thanks all. I don't have a budget as such - it's at the "How much do I need to make this worth doing?" stage.