Recommended preamp for Shure sm57?

V

vexunes

New member
Hi! I bought a shure sm57 and wanted to record some acoustic guitar through audacity, but I figured that it is really quiet and I would need a prramp for that. Does anybody have a recommendation on which preamp is considered standard for this kind of things? It also shouldn't be too expensive.Also.whoch cables do I need for such a preamp? Currently I got my xlr cable going from the mic into a usb adapter and then to the pc.
Thanks for any recommendation!
 
A 57 would not be my first choice for acoustic guitar (or much else in truth!). A Small Diaphragm Capacitor (aka condenser) microphone being rather more suited IMHO.

However and in anycasey whatsits! You don't need a "pre amp" you need an Audio Interface. This has a pre amp in it and also does the vital job of converting the analogue mic signal to digital and feeding that to the PC via USB. The AI also performs the oft forgotten task of converting the digital signal FROM the PC to analogue for you to harken unto via headphones or better but perhaps later, some active monitor speakers.

The cheapest AI any good I know of is the Alesis i02 Express at around £70 here. Next up at 100quid I would suggest the Steinberg UR22 (noted for good clean pre amps, needed for a 57) . But! DO NOT handwring about such gear, there really are no "bad" ones.

Cables? XLR female to XLR male mic to AI and a USB A to B lead (might be with the AI). Headphones will come with cable.

This really is a basic "newb" question and I suggest you pop over to that section and peruse the stickies!

DOH! Had just woken up when I launched into that lot! What "USB adaptor? I any case the reply still stands.

Dave.
 
I bought it because I wanted to do some analogue recordings (on a Tascam 424), which I still do, but now I want also record something on my PC. Didn't now that the Shure SM57 is more of a mic for loud instruments. In the future I will record some e-guitar and drums, which would be suited more for the Shure SM57 from what I understand.

OK I will look at these AIs. With "USB adapter" I meant just XLR into USB adapter.

Thanks for the response though!
 
vexunes said:
OK I will look at these AIs. With "USB adapter" I meant just XLR into USB adapter.

Thanks for the response though!
Click to expand...

Hi,
I think ECC means what brand/model of adapter specifically.
The reason is that XLR and USB aren't two things you can adapt and just say that's that.

USB is a standard connection carrying a common data protocol but XLR is just three wires and three pins.
It can carry line level signals, mic level signals, and a whole host of other things.

If your adapter is designed for anything other than use with a microphone, it's not going to work well.

On top of that, even 'proper' Mic(xlr) to USB adapters are still going to fall far short of the quality and clean gain you'll get from an audio interface like ECC recommended.
Those type of adapters are audio interfaces; They're just really basic low quality ones.


You are basically correct in thinking you need a preamp, but you also need conversion to data. An audio interface does both of those things.
 
In addition to amplifying the mic signal, converting it to digital and converting the computer's digital output to analog, the interface is a mixer. It allows you to balance what you're playing live with the playback from the recording software so you can hear both while you overdub. If these functions aren't all in one device it's likely you'll have trouble (input monitoring latency, to be specific) when you want to overdub.
 
I've been really curious about these lately:

Behringer U-Phoria UM2 | Sweetwater.com

Super-cheap little interfaces from Behringer. Granted, the Behri brand name doesn't inspire a lot of confidence around here, but they've made some strides in recent years. I'm curious whether a $30 interface with direct monitoring, phantom power, XLR and 1/4" inputs, headphone output, and USB connectivity would be worth investigating. It's at the same price point as the UCA222, but has more of the familiar audio interface features.

If the OP is looking for a cheap way to record a mic to a computer, the U-Phoria might be worth looking into.
 
Steenamaroo said:
Hi,
I think ECC means what brand/model of adapter specifically.
The reason is that XLR and USB aren't two things you can adapt and just say that's that.

USB is a standard connection carrying a common data protocol but XLR is just three wires and three pins.
It can carry line level signals, mic level signals, and a whole host of other things.

If your adapter is designed for anything other than use with a microphone, it's not going to work well.

On top of that, even 'proper' Mic(xlr) to USB adapters are still going to fall far short of the quality and clean gain you'll get from an audio interface like ECC recommended.
Those type of adapters are audio interfaces; They're just really basic low quality ones.


You are basically correct in thinking you need a preamp, but you also need conversion to data. An audio interface does both of those things.
Click to expand...

Oh I see - actually this is the adapter.

Tadpui said:
I've been really curious about these lately:

Behringer U-Phoria UM2 | Sweetwater.com

Super-cheap little interfaces from Behringer. Granted, the Behri brand name doesn't inspire a lot of confidence around here, but they've made some strides in recent years. I'm curious whether a $30 interface with direct monitoring, phantom power, XLR and 1/4" inputs, headphone output, and USB connectivity would be worth investigating. It's at the same price point as the UCA222, but has more of the familiar audio interface features.

If the OP is looking for a cheap way to record a mic to a computer, the U-Phoria might be worth looking into.
Click to expand...

Cool, I guess I am going to order the UM2 and report how it works :) Thanks!
 
Your 424 has mic preamps in it. You'd need an XLR>XLR cable to get to the tape machine and then, what? 1/4" or RCA to XLR to get to your USB whatever thingy.

But really, since you're just sticking a 57 in front of an acoustic guitar, I'd at least try just getting all of your gain in the box. It'll either work fine or it'll be a horrible noisy mess. :)
 
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