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A tribute to the Shure SM57 Microphone

Flint

Flint

Prodigal Son
Superstar
I put this in the "Source Component" Audio section because, aside from the performer, the mic is as close to the source as you can get.

Lou Carloza created this great history of the Shure SM57 microphone over at the Reverb.com site. This is one legendary product, loved by the singer and flautist Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) and the absolute go-to mic for every drummer for the snare drum and toms. I dare you to find a professional drummer who doesn't have at least one SM57 in their mic cabinet. This mic is equally amazing on electric guitar amps and while not as common, I imagine the majority of pro guitarists have at least one, as well.

What makes it so strange is that this mic has a "tailored" frequency response which is far from "flat." It happens to have a nice bass roll-off making it appropriate for close-in placement without overloading the low end. It also has a slight cut in the midrange followed by a boost in the upper midrange which together make for a great enhancement of detail and clarity. Add to that an incredible ability to handle extreme SPLs and near indestructibility and the SM57 is a definitive standard in mics, equally at home in the studio and on stage.

If you are interested in this stuff, I recommend you read the article:
https://reverb.com/news/gear-tribut...?utm_campaign=FB170517adsm57mid&utm_medium=FB

sm57-1.jpg
 
Almost all microphones, even extremely expensive ones like the various Neumann ones have a "shaped" frequency response to one extent or another. Generally this is a rise in the upper midrange around 3-8kHz of several dB. While there are microphones, usually omni directional types which are actually ruler flat, these tend to produce recordings which are subjectively dull sounding, and for that reason are not used all that much for either classical or popular music recording.

This has been the case from day one; even the legendary RCA BX44 and 77 have a rising response characteristic. The Shure SM57 is not alone in this.

One amusing thing is that so-called "audiophile" recordings such as done by Telarc which say that "no" equalization was used in the recording are not being entirely truthful. Although there was not any outboard equalization used, they didn't have to have an EQ - the microphone's rising high frequency boost provided all the "equalization"!
 
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I don't disagree, but the SM57 has a quite extreme response compared to most.
 
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I know basically squat when it comes to recording studios, sound for live performances etc.

However I still own an SM58 mic that I used during my university days in the late '70s to early '80s to record a number of solo guitar and vocal performances. Basically a bunch of budding artists that wanted to cut a demo track or two onto cassette. I'd set up in either my small dorm room, or one of the music rooms, and place single mic in such a way to capture both guitar and vocals. it took some playing around with the relative position in order to balance the two. The mic was connected directly to my Akai cassette deck, and I monitored the recording using AKG K240s.

I (and the artists) was always impressed by the quality of the SM58.

Jeff

http://www.shure.com/americas/products/microphones/sm/sm58-vocal-microphone
 
Yes I carry two 57, five 58, and one beta 57. For the guitars I have two Sennheiser 609.
Some EV N/D 767, 257 and 267, three CO4 for instruments. PL33 for kick. AT drum pack.
Behringer four of the B5 Yes flint still have. Two AT 2021 pencil. Most of the mic collection.

One shure old 55S the one on the Elvis stamp. dated 1957. Still original and Silk screen in tact.

I have my original two TEAC ME-120 that are equal to Nakamichi C300 , I did get one of the Nakamichi shotgun heads and it works well on the Teac when connected.
 
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JeffMackwood said:
However I still own an SM58 mic that I used during my university days in the late '70s to early '80s to record a number of solo guitar and vocal performances. Basically a bunch of budding artists that wanted to cut a demo track or two onto cassette. I'd set up in either my small dorm room, or one of the music rooms, and place single mic in such a way to capture both guitar and vocals. it took some playing around with the relative position in order to balance the two. The mic was connected directly to my Akai cassette deck, and I monitored the recording using AKG K240s.

Jeff
Click to expand...

That brought a smile to my face. Before I started playing in bar bands, I had two Marantz mics I bought to use with my Akai, then Yamaha, cassette decks. My roommate the last two years of college played a beautiful Ovation, and I was futzing around on fiddle and harp; we both sang. We found the sweet spot for the two mics and filled up a cassette with covers, it's still a hoot to listen to. Ensuing Air Force demands caused me to lose track, and both Marantzs were eaten up with old battery acid; still kicking myself, they sounded pretty damn good.
My current locker includes two SM-58s (one a Beta), an SM-48 I got for $15, an "Astatic" palm-held mic for my harps, a nice Blue vocal mic for studio, and a rather expensive wireless sax mic that got used for exactly four solos before the band broke apart; I haven't used it (or any of them) since. :crying:
 
This thread brings smiles to me because i recall my mobile disco business in the 90s. I enjoyed that time so much because of the excersize of setting up heavy speaker boxes and watching people dance. But one story i recall was about my sm58s. One time, a pro singer stepped on the mic cord hard and the thing pulled out the innards of one of my mics to my dismay. The local dealer could not repair it. Goodbye big bucks!
 
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