MICROPHONE
Every vocalist should have their very own high
quality microphone. Don't rely on the sound man's
stuff. It's usually garbage. Bring your own mic
to every gig, and insist that you would prefer to use your
own mic.
LINK HERE for a
detailed discussion of various types of corded and cordless
microphones, including which mic I think is the best
affordable vocal mic for live performance on the planet, the
Sennheiser E935 (below). Read that link before
you spend any money on any microphone!
MIC CORD
The mic cords that most musicians carry around
sound fine... until they break. And when they break,
it is usually just before a gig, or worse, during a
performance.
The very best mic cords I have found, that are
really high professional quality, very durable, and
surprisingly low priced, the EWI Starline microphone
cords (below). They are available only at
audiopile.net. These cords are great. I have
never had one fail yet. They are offered in various
lengths. 20' is the minimum, for small solo
gigs. For most gigs a 25' cord will be fine, but if
you get a 30' you'll be better off on a large stage.
MIC STAND
The cheapest mic stand that gets 4.5 stars on
Amazon is the Amazon Basics Tripod Boom mic stand for
$23. I have never used one so I cannot comment on its
quality, but I'm sure it's low quality, so buy at your own
risk.
In the low price range ($40) the best mic stand is
the On-Stage MS7701B Euro, which I have no doubt is a step
up from the Amazon stand. On-Stage has a reputation
for making inexpensive stage stuff that is decent.
They have deals where you can buy five of these stands in a
package for less than the price of four individually.
I have a few of these stands and they have held up better
than I expected. I would say this stand is okay for
around the house, but it will not hold up under the heavy
use and abuse of gigging. If someone overtightens one,
it will either strip or break off. If you perform a
lot, in the long run you'll spend as much replacing it every
year or two as you would have spent for a decent stand that
will last for decades, and which will also be much more
pleasurable to use. Another consideration is that the
legs are too short, and too easy to tip over, resulting in
damaged microphones.
In the medium-low price range ($60) there are
stands with more features, but none that will perform better
or last longer than the On-Stage. So I don't have a
recommendation for a stand in this price range.
In the medium-high price range ($80) there are several stands in this price range that seem to get wonderful reviews, until you scroll to the bottom and see a whole bunch of one star reviews, and find out that yes, they last longer than the On-Stage, but no, they do not hold up in the long-run in professional gigging situations. So I don't have a recommendation in this price range, either.
In the high price range ($100) there are two stands worth your consideration. One of them is the K&M 210/9 (below) or 210/8 (the difference between them is the type of clutch screw). These are considered the industry standard. Five stars on Sweetwater and 4.9 stars on Amazon, with no complaints about them breaking. They are lightweight, and solid. K&M stands are made in Germany. Five year warranty. Good stuff.
The other one to consider is the Tama Iron Works
Tour MS456BK (below). This stand is not as well known,
but people who own both the K&M and the Tama report that
they like the Tama better. It is heavier than the
K&M, which is bad for hauling it around but good for
stability on stage. It has a die-cast zinc tilter and
adjustment collar. The thumb nuts have oversized knob
screws. The clutch pressure pads are also die cast
zinc. The boom holds the mic up even without
tightening the knob hard. The boom extension is solid
core. This is one solid piece of equipment! I
recently purchased three of these, and I love them.
They feel more solid, stable, and robust than K&M's.
Stay away from the Gator Frameworks
GFW-MUS-0500. It is a great looking stand for a good
price. Unfortunately, it is very weak where the music
holder meets the stand. I found this out when someone
stuck something heavy on it in the back up my pickup truck,
and it snapped like a pretzel. It was nearly new, and
Sweetwater warrantied it. But if you read the reviews,
this is a common problem, so I cannot recommend that stand.
The music stand that gets my vote is the On-Stage
SM7211B. It is a tripod design similar to the Gator,
but without the weak connector, and it is only $8 more.
Another
option is to buy a music holder that clips on to your mic
stand. This is what we use in my acoustic band.
It's a little less flexible in where it places your music
(it's right in front of you, so it's blocking the audience's
view of you) but it's easy to use. The best ones are
the Stagg MUS-ARM. They make two sizes; the small will
fit a single sheet of paper or an iPad, and the large is
good for a 3 ring binder.
MUSIC STAND LIGHT
Something you don't think about until it happens:
You're playing an outdoor gig in the evening, and then it
starts to get dark, and suddenly it's too dark to see your
charts. If you are using paper charts and not an iPad,
it is a really good idea to have in your gig bag an LED clip
on lamp to snap onto your music stand so you can see your
music. The one I use is the predecessor of the Mighty
Bright DuoFlex (mine uses AAA batteries, but the new one
uses an internal lithium battery charged with a USB
charger.) But there are plenty of others out
there. Just make sure it lights your paper, not too
terribly brightly, and that it doesn't shine light into the
audience's faces.
MUSIC STAND CLIPS
Another thing you don't think about until it
happens: You're playing and outdoor gig, and suddenly the
wind kicks up and blows your charts all over the
stage. Again, if you are using paper charts and not an
iPad, the solution is two clips. You can get clips at
Harbor Freight for super cheap.
One last thing you won't realize you need until it
happens: When the wind kicks up, after you clip down your
music, you notice that the wind is making a horrible blast
furnace noise in the PA system, as it blows into the
mics. The solution is super cheap. Just look on
EBay for "microphone wind sock" and you'll find you can buy
5 of them for $7. They just slip one onto the ball of
each mic, and it cuts down the wind noise a lot. I
recommend the black ones unless you want to look like a
bouquet of flowers on stage.
Every singer should have one or both of these two
herbal teas on hand. These products are amazing.
Since I discovered them, I have sung at a number of gigs
when I had laryngitis and could hardly speak. In the
past I would not have been able to sing at all, but with
these products I have been able to sing at about 70-80% of
normal. Even when I don't have a sore throat I usually
sip on one or the other of these teas before every
gig. They especially help if you your voice is
tired. Both of them have licorice root,
slippery elm bark, wild cherry bark, cinnamon bark, and
orange peel, which are the most important herbs for the
throat. Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat
(below left) also has marshmallow root and bitter fennel
fruit. Yogi Throat Comfort (below right) also
has fennel seed, cardamom pod, ginger root, mullein leaf,
clove bud, and black pepper. They don't necessarily
taste great, but they taste better than most herbal
teas. If you don't like the taste, use them
anyway. Add some honey if that helps.
LOZENGES/DROPS
There are several lozenge drops that I have personally found
to be excellent.
Throat Coat Lemon Ginger Echniacia Pectin Throat Drops
(below) are reasonably priced and work well at relieving
inflammation of the mucous membranes in the throat by
forming a protective film. Made in Switzerland.
Wedderspoon's
Manuka Honey Ginger Drops (below) are more
expensive. They have manuka honey which is an
antibacterial and helps with healing wounds; ginger which
helps with inflammation; and echinacea which helps your
immune system. Some professional singers swear by
them. Made in New Zealand.
If you have a really sore
throat, one final product that I recommend and
that receives positive reviews is Gelo
Revoice (below). For a long time it
was not available in the USA, but it is finally
available on Amazon, and I recently bought
some. It is super expensive, so I only use
it when I have a sore throat I'm trying to get
over but I still have to use my voice. It
dissolves into foam that coats and comforts the
throat better than any other product, and it
seems to last a long time. Made
in Germany.