Shure’s new Beta 54 head-worn vocal mic will make its official industry debut at this year’s Winter NAMM show, opening today in Anaheim, CA. The company says the new mic is ideal for lead and backup vocals within demanding live reinforcement applications.
Prior to its Winter NAMM introduction, the Beta 54 was field-tested by a prominent group of artists and engineers from the touring and broadcast worlds. Many of the beta testers commented that its sound is comparable to that of a handheld microphone and its ambient rejection exceeds that of other competitive offerings.
“The Beta 54 is the best headset I’ve ever used,” country singer LeAnn Rimes says of her ongoing experiences with the mic. “It’s incredible sound and small size are exactly what I was looking for.”
JD DuCrest, Rimes’ monitor engineer adds, “The Beta 54 handles LeAnn’s powerful vocals very well. The sound quality is extremely transparent with a very smooth frequency response.”
Joining Rimes in the beta-testing stages of the Beta 54’s development were Kip Winger, Montgomery Gentry, Jo Dee Messina, Michelle Wright, and Tania Smith (keyboards and backing vocals for Jamie O’Neal).
The Beta 54 comes in both wireless and hard-wired configurations. It’s ultra-lightweight, engineered for comfort and durability onstage. It employs a supercardioid design which delivers premium Beta sound, superior ambient rejection, and maximum gain-before-feedback.
Operable between 20 Hz – 20 kHz, the Beta 54 additionally features a smooth response tailored expressly for vocals that is both warm and natural. Outfitted with a low-output cartridge enabling it to handle extremely high sound pressure levels (149 dB SPL maximum), the mic is offered in black or tan, and comes with a snap-fit windscreen, detachable boom mount, and flexible, fully-adjustable headband.
