SM58's are a great workhorse live, especially for rock, but I think they have fallen into the same "industry standard" realm of Pro Tools except in the live audio world. They have just been used for so long that everyone just uses them.
 
I was referring to the newer (well I guess they've been out for almost a decade now) Beta 58's which have a much better high end and mid response. They kind of cross the durability and bottom end of the 58 with the high end/high sensitivity of the less rugged Beta Greens. If presented with a Beta Green and a 58 it would be a toss up of which I would choose depending on the vocal style and venue. If I was going full bore spazzo in a dingy punk/metal club the 58 would win. If I was doing more delicate vocals for an acoustic set then the Green would win.
 
If presented with a Beta 58 in either scenario (or any live scenario really) the Beta 58 would be scooped up in a second. I freaking love them.

Oh and they have a bit of the 57 quality to them too but I hate 57 for live vocals because although they have great response they are far too sensitive to pops, bumps and floor vibrations. Also they break too easily and I've busted my lip open on more than a few of them. It's gross.
 

Sorry for the shotgun posts but I think another reason 58's are so popular for live sound is they are easier to contain from the board if the singer isn't very proficient at mic control. You can eat the bugger while spazzing out and not totally overload things. Other mics need more user control and consideration from the soundman.
 
JMO
 

Just lost a pretty long post here on my lappy. I think my thumbs got in the way. I hate when that happens.
 
Thanks Danny for that advice. Never considered a CAD. I would love to test a few mics but my local GC is usually going nuts with wanna be guitarists and others who seem to have a penchant to create annoying noises for the fun of it. Not a good place to test mics lol. I wish we had something like a Sweetwater show room here and the ability to have a private showing. To select a mic to a persons voice sure seems the best way to go if at all possible. I'm wondering if a vocalist were to sing into a decent spectrum analyzer if that would help to see where the pleasant and the painful notes lie? Or do you think that's going over board? I'm curious that if maybe I could get a vocal signature in the analyzer then maybe I could pick a mic that fits that signature.But then maybe not :)
 
Spacealf, the mic that you're using looks like a hybrid between a condenser and a dynamic, at least in appearance. It is cool looking. I seem to cater more to black mics. I didn't want to admit this but I can't deny it. I never really liked chrome or brushed metal for a mic. I would accept it though if the mic sounded better and I didn't need to look at it while I was singing.
 
Hey Bat- I read a misprint and didn't have the time to check it out. In one article I read they called the KSM44 a dynamic. Thanks for clearing that up. 
 
Here is a great database if you are interested in looking at the freq. charts on different mics.There is some commentary on different mics as well. I think the charts are a great way to at least get some idea how any given mic might respond if you know the ranges of your subjects of instruments. The specs that show the different sensitivities are also useful.
 
http://recordinghacks.com/microphones
 
Beep- You could probably do much worse than the AT 2020. The fact that they are pretty much at the bottom of the AT line scares me a little but maybe it shouldn't.
 
Last night I was browsing through the AKG section and I couldn't believe how many of those mics are scooped in the midrange. Must be their capsule design.

I think AT raised a great idea. Using two different mics on the same source. Something I haven't commonly done before/
 

Hi, Starise. Hope you've been well. The AT2020 was actually recommended here and I've heard the results that the recomender was getting (might have been the higher end version but they said they had used the cheaper one and it was very similar). Either way it led me to many reviews which due to my budget I scour endlessly before making any decisions and the consensus seemed to be that for a LDC in that price range that's about as good as it's going to get. For me I really do think I need a LDC to start with because of the nature of what I do and how I want to record things. I've got two Samson C01's from a drum mic kit but they kind of bite for vox but the condenser action is certainly desirable so I want something like that but better. It'll get lots of use. The SM7b though would really be ideal I think eventually when the cash is available and whenever possible I do try to snag more commonly used gear. Just looks better on paper and there educational resources for tracking/mixing such hardware are easier to come by (which as a beginner is helpful).
 
As far as using multiple mics to record a single source... I am ALL about that. Many of the mics I've collected over the years have good qualities about them but ALL of them have bad qualities so when I'm recording something through the air I mix and match to what I'm doing and mix/blend the tracks to bring out the best. Still need to learn my gear a lot more in that regard and I really do wish such hardware limitations weren't a barrier like they are now but I guess it helps me learn more about mixing by way of isolating good/bad frequencies and using my ears and lessons to polish the proverbial turds. ;-p

Danny Danzi
...
 
Also, someone made a comment about how your room can come into play using a mic. I'm not discrediting the person who said that, I just wanted to make a comment that it has NEVER been the case for me in all the years I've been recording. As a matter of fact, I can make any mic sound good on any voice in any room. With the right placement, right eq, right compression....it's really easy to make a mic work. However, the key is to hear something and just know it's "the golden mic" without tweaking your brains out. My point is...any mic will work as long as you know how to use it.
 
Rooms....this to me only comes into play if you record in a gymnasium. Even there, if you record the mic at close range, how much of that gym reverberation do you really think you will hear in a recording? Trust me...not as much as you think. I put up a test a few months ago with a few mic's in my studio at close and far ranges. One of the mic's was a Logitech mic that was in my web cam. It sounded almost the same as my SM 57 at a distance and was pretty close to the "up close" sound....it just lacked fidelity.
 
But the room/distance wasn't an issue at all. You won't need to worry about room artifacts until you get a foot away. Not many people I know sing a foot or more away unless they are singing back up vocals in a group. In that situation, you WANT a little room ambiance. But I honestly never worry about a room I'm in no matter what the situation. I got my start recording in the worst untuned rooms in existence. I know a little something about this. :) Again, I'm not trying to discredit anyone....I'm saying it's not been my experience and for a room to play a role, you gotta have some distance as well as room reflections that really make a difference before you need to worry.
 
...
-Danny

 
I mentioned the room, and I do respect your knowlege and experience, so no offense taken, but...
 
Statement was, if I can't make an SM58 sound decent, the problem is something other than mic selection, one possibility being room problems.
 
I do have room issues, in certain spots and certain directions, with real quick, noticeable ambiance, especially with LDCs. I also have to sing as far away as two feet, I move a LOT of air at times, and overload my nicer mics. That's with a screen. Good chance its related to the vaulted ceiling config. and/or a floor to ceiling wall of equipment. The stand mount baffle and a remote transport unit made short work of that, but it was an issue and this isn't a gymnasium...I wish!
 
I also had to snaffle out a strange one...got tired of main furnace issues and installed gas fired vent free wall units as backup, and they RING like a no name Chinese cymbal, basically centered on VOX freqs. Pack em like a kick drum and problem solved, but it took a bit to find it after noticing it on playback.
 
Prefer not to comp or EQ on the way in, but sometimes have to apply some light dynamics pro to get nuance and full throat on tape in one take.
 
Different strokes, right?
 
:-)

spacealf
I have a SM58, and well, it is going to sit there forever if I never sell it. Use it though, no!
 

 Well...maybe not for lead VOX, but ya paid for it, might as well get SOME use out of it...
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33QPLbQi9FI

Jay Tee 4303
I mentioned the room, and I do respect your knowlege and experience, so no offense taken, but...
 
Statement was, if I can't make an SM58 sound decent, the problem is something other than mic selection, one possibility being room problems.
 
I do have room issues, in certain spots and certain directions, with real quick, noticeable ambiance, especially with LDCs. I also have to sing as far away as two feet, I move a LOT of air at times, and overload my nicer mics. That's with a screen. Good chance its related to the vaulted ceiling config. and/or a floor to ceiling wall of equipment. The stand mount baffle and a remote transport unit made short work of that, but it was an issue and this isn't a gymnasium...I wish!
 
I also had to snaffle out a strange one...got tired of main furnace issues and installed gas fired vent free wall units as backup, and they RING like a no name Chinese cymbal, basically centered on VOX freqs. Pack em like a kick drum and problem solved, but it took a bit to find it after noticing it on playback.
 
Prefer not to comp or EQ on the way in, but sometimes have to apply some light dynamics pro to get nuance and full throat on tape in one take.
 
Different strokes, right?
 
:-)

Jay Tee....glad I didn't offend you as it's never my intention. However, you shouldn't have to sing 2 ft away brother. Back down your mic pre. If you're clipping the mic due to the signal being too hot, you definitely want to cut that down. Next, you're hurting yourself by not compressing lightly going in. It conditions the signal for the better and stops some of what you're getting now. You don't have to use much...but honest when I tell you, once you do it, you'll never go without. You don't need anything spectacular really. Any outboard rack comp will do.
 
Or are you saying you're moving enough air to distort the diaphragm in the mic? If THAT is the case, you Sir are an anomaly. :) LOL! (meant as a compliment and with respect of course) I've never experienced that before with any of my clients in all my years of doing this. Wow! I had a girl that was breaking glasses and a dude that made Pavoroti seem tame...lol....but they never distorted the mic itself. Whew...you must have some power there.
 
But if you haven't, seriously, try backing your mic signal down. Are you using the boost in the pad maybe? If you can, go for an average signal level of -10 dB with a max peak at about -6dB. No hotter, no lower. A little outboard compression using say, a 5:1 ratio removing about -2dB of gain reduction at your hottest signal point should condition your signal perfectly and stop any possible overs from coming into play. I move quite a bit of air myself...so I can relate. For a lil guy, I got some lungs. :) What comes out doesn't sound too good for me, but I got lungs! LOL! What are you using as a mic pre and what is your final input these days? Meaning, what do you record vocals at as far as your mic input signal goes? We gotta get you singing closer to that mic if in fact your room is giving you issues. At 2 ft away, you'll definitely have problems. I wonder if your mic pre is working right? This is definitely strange for sure.
 
-Danny

Starise -  I have a few lower end Large diaphragm condensers myself, I think the crowd here for the most part has given you great advise on it. 
   I have a shure pg42 (probably $130 maybe?), A sterling audio (I think its a St51 or something like that) that I bought used for 50 bucks, and I have a little chinese made MCA SP-1 (Like 65 bucks on amazon right now).  For vocals..  With a little Eq I can basically make any of those 3 sound the same on any voice.  enough so that I rarely even bother changing whichever one is on the stand for another.  So, most of the time I run the shure (I keep it on a stand with the mic bag over it to keep the dust off of the element).  I did several drum recordings using the shure on one side and the SP-1 on the other as drum overheads.... Can't tell they weren't a matched pair.   Now, as you step up in $$ It makes more difference.  I have a Senn. 421 that is pretty bad ass for most stuff, great for drums, guitars, bass, and vocals too.
 
   I like everything I have from Shure (for different applications of course).  I have 4 -57's, 1-58, 4 beta 58's (I like em better than the 58's by a lot personally).  I bring one with me to sing through for every gig.  It has a home in my guitar case.  basically all my drums mics are Shure also.  Good stuff in my opinion.  I have to admit though, I have never tracked a drum kit through mic's that cost more....  Even with 14 mics on a kit
(including $400 for my 421, and a couple condensers as room mics) I have a new/retail value of about $2000 total in all of those mics in use.   but I bet using overheads that cost $4k a pair probably sounds at least a little sweeter!?  It's got to right or why would anyone buy them at all?  I bet the same goes for vocal mics, pre's, boards whatever...  buy what you can afford without the Mrs. throwing you out in the street and learn that piece of gear well, I bet you can make it sound pretty good, whatever it is bud.