Shure SM81

Larger diaphragms and directional microphones are going to emphasize on axis contributions and de emphasize anything off axis so you will end up with a PA whose perceived tonality doesn't match the measurement you're producing, even if you started with a relatively neutral microphone (an SM81 for instance). You can get a perfectly serviceable measurement microphone for under $100 these days and if you're interested in measurement it's a very good investment. However if the primary goal is "make it the same everywhere" you could probably get pretty close using just about any mic you have lying around, particularly if the space is relatively non reverberant.

The SM-81 has been around for decades, and I used it back in the 1990s, so I considered it for a large recording project at my church. But it's been around for decades ... surely there must be something newer that costs about the same but sounds better?

Well, in a word, no, I found nothing better i...

It sounds like you are working on a budget. It's hard to go wrong with shure sm81's for the quality versus price. There is literally nothing I wouldn't feel OK sticking one on in a pinch, and they are particularly awesome in a few scenarios.

These set the standard for high-quality instrument mics for live sound. Besides the obvious advantages of a superb frequency response and low distortion, the directional pattern is extremely smooth, which means you will have much less chance of feedback if you are using monitors. They are also much ...

You may get lucky like I did and find a used Shure SM81 for around $200, looks like the going used rate is around $250 right now. Been my go-to hat mic for a long time for nice detail that's not overly bright

The SM-81 is one of those standard high-quality mics that get used as a reference for all of the rest of the inferior mics out there, trying to cheaply duplicate its performance. Instead of spending all that time, trying to find a good enough knock off, why not just buy the real thing and get it ove...

Those familiar with this sub probably think I’m a broken record about this mic thing, but you’re about the 17th person I’m going to advise against buying one of these cheap mic packs. You can get a really high quality full kit sound by spending the same money on two or three good mics. If you want to go Shure, get a Beta 52 for the kick, an SM57 for the snare and an SM137 or SM81 as an overhead. These are three mics that will sound great, last a really long time, and a quality core around which you can build your mic collection.

i love this mic! i bought it for the purpose of recording acoustic guitar and it is killer at doing just that. the low-pass option on the mic really helps eliminate the appliance hum in my apartment and the build quality is superb. i would definitely buy this mic 10 times again if i needed to.

Yes the SM81 is apparently pretty quiet. Most condenser microphones have a high output, so the SM81 is a little unusual. If all you do is record quiet acoustic guitar, the SM81 could be the wrong mic for you. If you have other uses for the SM81 like recording loud sources, it may be worth goofing around with an outboard mic preamp or outboard mixer and see if you like the sound.

I bought a this mic specifically for acoustic guitars and ukele. It sounds absolutely perfect! Very happy with it. Other mics I own are the Neumann U87 ai and Shure sm7b. This is a legendary instrument mic and it lives up to it's name.