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mrjason « similar to the SM58 »
Published on 12/29/12 at 00:03The XM8500 is a dynamic vocal microphone that made itself popular when it first came out because of the price. Behringer released this microphone for a really low price and people went crazy over it. It is great with rejecting feedback and cutting out the background noise. The sound is very clean and warm; the mid range frequencies are where all of the action is because they are very smooth and you can tell that instantly. It is very similar to the SM58 but the difference is the price. This microphone only cost about 30 bucks when it came out and I remember getting two of them right away. You can use this microphone on instruments or as a live microphone and I have used it as both and it sounds great.
OVERALL OPINION
Using it on instruments is great if you are using a brighter instrument like an alto sax, it will give you a fluid like sound that sounds very smooth while getting rid of other sounds that may be going on around you. For a live microphone you need those attributes in order for the mic to function properly. On vocals it sounds just as good live, but in a recording session do not use this microphone because the quality is not as good and you will really have to get in there and do some EQ work on your tracks.
The frequency response is 50 Hz to 15 kHz giving it all of the range needed for instruments and vocals live. This is a very common microphone as far as specs go, but at this price you almost have to purchase a couple of them. I recommend getting this if you are into performing at smaller venues, or it would even be a great practice microphone for your home set up.
OVERALL OPINION
Using it on instruments is great if you are using a brighter instrument like an alto sax, it will give you a fluid like sound that sounds very smooth while getting rid of other sounds that may be going on around you. For a live microphone you need those attributes in order for the mic to function properly. On vocals it sounds just as good live, but in a recording session do not use this microphone because the quality is not as good and you will really have to get in there and do some EQ work on your tracks.
The frequency response is 50 Hz to 15 kHz giving it all of the range needed for instruments and vocals live. This is a very common microphone as far as specs go, but at this price you almost have to purchase a couple of them. I recommend getting this if you are into performing at smaller venues, or it would even be a great practice microphone for your home set up.