SM58 sounds weird after accident

W

Wayneb87

New member
Hi guys

I lent my SM58 out to a mate in another band and he decided to do the "twirl the mic around by it's cable" trick and slammed it into an amp badly damaging the grill. He said that the mic still seemed to work ok so the gig went on as if nothing had happened. They never had a sound man out the front so not really sure if the mic sounded any different or not, but it worked.

I went and got a cheap Shure knockoff grill from ebay for about $10 and it fitted ok and looked fine. Looks a little different but very similar.

A few days later I was having a jam at a pub and the local sound guy said that my mic had lost all it's bottom end (he's heard it plenty of times before) and no matter what he did he couldn't get it to sound right.

My question is, can the slightly different shape of the knockoff grill affect the sound of the mic, or is it most likely due to the crash? The mic has had a pretty rough life and has been abused in the past, and it always sounded fine after...perhaps this was the straw that broke the camels back.
 
Wayneb87 said:
Hi guys

I lent my SM58 out to a mate in another band and he decided to do the "twirl the mic around by it's cable" trick and slammed it into an amp badly damaging the grill. He said that the mic still seemed to work ok so the gig went on as if nothing had happened. They never had a sound man out the front so not really sure if the mic sounded any different or not, but it worked.

I went and got a cheap Shure knockoff grill from ebay for about $10 and it fitted ok and looked fine. Looks a little different but very similar.

A few days later I was having a jam at a pub and the local sound guy said that my mic had lost all it's bottom end (he's heard it plenty of times before) and no matter what he did he couldn't get it to sound right.

My question is, can the slightly different shape of the knockoff grill affect the sound of the mic, or is it most likely due to the crash? The mic has had a pretty rough life and has been abused in the past, and it always sounded fine after...perhaps this was the straw that broke the camels back.
Click to expand...

Nope, the knockoff grill was a waste of your money. I have seen many a SM58 bite the dust over the years. They take a huge amount of abuse, but nothing is forever.

Replacing the 'grill' has nothing to do with why the mic no longer sounds good. Pretty maybe.

You are now $10 less in your pocket because you need a new mic. Sorry man... :(
 
Sorry to hear that. The knockoff grill shouldn't have a huge effect. You know, The Who had it in their contract that a number of sacrificial microphone must be provided, the replacement cost of which would be deducted from their fee. They didn't just go around wrecking mics without paying for them.
 
My mate will have to stump up for the new mic, and I'll keep the grill as a spare, so I may have actually done ok out of this...the mic was over 10 years old.

Oh well, it had a good life. :guitar:
 
Hey Wayne,
Yeah, changing the grill won't affect the frequency response of the mic to that extent.
Any change from that would be extremely subtle if even audible.

A noticeable loss of bass is usually caused by something obstructing the coil, or the coil having moved so it's rubbing against the sides of the magnet.

It's a common issue with AKG D12 or, at least, it's better documented with that particular microphone because the D12 diaphragm and coil are removable and, therefore, it's repairable.

The 58 diaphragm is glued down so I don't expect there's any fix other than replacing the capsule or replacing the mic.

If you're buying a new one anyway, I know my inner precision scientist would want to bang the old one on a table a few times to see if that fixes it. :p
 
My mate's agreed to cover half of the cost of a new one seeing as it is over 10 years old. But yeah, I'll definitely give it a few bangs before my next jam at the pub. :laughings:
 
Haha just read this too:

witzendoz said:
The diaphragm could be jammed in, I have had this after a singer screamed into an sm58, put you mouth over the end of the mic and suck it gently (this is not a joke and no rude comments please, LOL) the diaphragm sometimes frees up.

Alan.
Click to expand...
 
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