SM58 vs. SM57

joey2000 said:
You're either far more heavily invested in making music than me or make lots more money. :) "Some" of both? This t'aint no orchestra setup I'm going for. It's just me.

One mic should be plenty. My only hesitation is guessing correct on whether I'll ever want to record an instrument on a mic or not.
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You can't go wrong with either. They are almost bullet proof, so getting a used one is a viable option, if you want to save money. Get the first one you see on craigslist, or wait until guitar center, sam ash or whoever have their next "mega sale" and pick up the first one that catches your eye.
 
Farview said:
You can't go wrong with either. They are almost bullet proof, so getting a used one is a viable option, if you want to save money. Get the first one you see on craigslist, or wait until guitar center, sam ash or whoever have their next "mega sale" and pick up the first one that catches your eye.
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Beware on fleabay or CL - there are counterfeits out there.
 
Never buy a used 57 or 58 without having the ability to compare it to another, because there are so many counterfeits out there. Shure also changed the design of both quite a few times since production started, so if you have a sensitive set of scales, you'll discover variances in the weights of genuine ones. Only recently we did an outside event with a big PA company, and soundcheck was horrible - monitors all thin and feedback prone. We swapped one of their brand new Beta 58s for one of our own old scratched ones and instantly realised all the PA companies new mics were cheap copies. If you want a nice mic, but need to buy mail order, buy from a proper sure dealer, who never sell on ebay, or buy something that rarely gets forged. Sennheiser 835s are also common targets for counterfeits, yet Audix, Beyer, and Audio Technica don't seem attractive to the fraudsters.
 
I'll sell you one of mine for $40 + shipping. They are all in working order and were only used in my commercial studio. I'll even give you the one that spent all of it's life on a mic stand in front of the house 4x12 cabinet. It's been used on hundreds of albums...
 
i just want to put my name in a 15 year old thread.... i was probably in driver's training when this thing started. literally. i took it in march of that year. the advances in home recording since then, i can't even imagine.
 
Wild that this thread has been cooking for fifteen years and the issues remain the same. Kinda comforting in a way. I just wanted to chime in on two points - first is that the SM57 and 58 are reliable, workhorse live performance mics. We would joke that if I misplaced my hammer, I could always grab a 58. They're fantastic mics - not the clearest, not the "finest" - but as workhorse reliable sound reinforcement they have no equal in my book.

Second is to echo Rob's warning that their popularity made them an obvious target for knockoffs, and the easiest way to get ripped off is to buy them on ebay. For these mics, stick with a local reputable dealer. The local dealer can match the catalog pricing anyway and you can be certain you're getting the real thing. It is hard to tell by looking because the knockoffs look identical, but they sound like hell. Buy these locally and you'll be fine.
 
Treeline said:
Wild that this thread has been cooking for fifteen years and the issues remain the same. Kinda comforting in a way. I just wanted to chime in on two points - first is that the SM57 and 58 are reliable, workhorse live performance mics. We would joke that if I misplaced my hammer, I could always grab a 58. They're fantastic mics - not the clearest, not the "finest" - but as workhorse reliable sound reinforcement they have no equal in my book.

Second is to echo Rob's warning that their popularity made them an obvious target for knockoffs, and the easiest way to get ripped off is to buy them on ebay. For these mics, stick with a local reputable dealer. The local dealer can match the catalog pricing anyway and you can be certain you're getting the real thing. It is hard to tell by looking because the knockoffs look identical, but they sound like hell. Buy these locally and you'll be fine.
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Ditto times 1000 !!! I told people for years that I hated the SM58 I owned. I convinced many friends not to buy them. The one I had sucked big time in every way. Yes.....you know.......the one I bought on eBay. The one that was actually fake. I have since bought a genuine 57 and a 58 and they are as advertised. No better mic can be found for that money.
 
Mickster said:
Ditto times 1000 !!! I told people for years that I hated the SM58 I owned. I convinced many friends not to buy them. The one I had sucked big time in every way. Yes.....you know.......the one I bought on eBay. The one that was actually fake. I have since bought a genuine 57 and a 58 and they are as advertised. No better mic can be found for that money.
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if youre patient enough on ebay i think you can manage to get something a tad better than a sm57. gotta wait for someone who get ahold of a mic but doesnt know how to test it then bam its yours for 80% off.
 
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