Decent Audio Interface for Shure SM57

C

churadley

New member
Hey guys, sorry to spam with posts, but I recently copped a Shure SM57 and was unaware of how much gain the microphone requires to work at a decent level. I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for any audio interfaces between $50 - $200 that would allow for me to record vocals.

However, if it's impossible to find a decent setup within that price range, I'm thinking of returning the Shure SM57, and copping a new microphone and audio interface. Anyone have any recommendations for such combinations under $250 that would work for a beginning setup for a vocalist?
 
57 should not have gain issues. Both of mine are great (and one's a ripoff model). Be careful what you wish for. Remember we're digital and you don't need huge signal coming in to get good signal going out.
That being said, of the interfaces I know of that should be excellent in your price range:

M-Audio MTrack or MTrack II - $99 - Excellent drivers. Good reviews. I believe this is the same unit in top (regular) or face (II) formats...
The MTrack Plus II adds 96k to the game for $149 (the regular MTrack is 48k/24)
The Lexicon Lambada just came down to $100 and gets great reviews, though I've never worked with it
In the $150 range, you have Steinberg's UR22, the Scarlett 2i2 (which gets bashed a lot for not having midi, but if you can do without it has decent preamps), and the Mackie Onyx Blackjack (which of course has Onyx pres...)
And of course for only $30 over your budget, you get a local favorite, the Komplete Audio 6 from Native Instruments. I wanted this one, but got the US1800 because it had more connectivity (which I really didn't need) and was a rack mount (which I did!)

Bottom line: Just about any audio interface out there will work. Lots of people complain about the Lexicon stuff, but lots of people praise the Lambada (don't get that, but it raises flags for me.)
Other than that, Steinberg, PreSonus, Mackie, Focusrite, Tascam, Roland...all have pros and cons, but all have decent gain staging. Sometimes it comes down to "which DAW does it come with" i.e. get a different "lite" version than the one you have or getting your first free one. :)

Hope this does some help. I know it's a wide-open response, but there's a lot of good stuff out there. If you can get to a local shop that sells several in your price range, tell them you'd like to try out a few. They might even let you take them home if you're really good at getting things repackaged or if they already have some open box units.
 
I have the basic M Track that I use for mobile stuff. It has more than enough gain for 57s and 58s at any normal level. I recently had to use it for some spoken word stuff with a 57 (long story, don't ask) and, even though the person spoke fairly quietly my gain wasn't all the way up and there was no problem with noise.

FYI, the Alesis IO2 is the same unit in a different coloured box so if that works out cheaper...
 
One question on the SM57, though - did you get it new from an authorized Shure dealer? There are a lot of counterfeit SM57s out there, and some can sound pretty good - but others ...
 
Thanks for all the input, guys. To arcaxis, I did try to change the Icicle's input gain in that window, but even at it's highest, it's barely able to deal with my SM57. Based off of people's input, I'm definitely going to be keeping the SM57.

To BroKen_H, through searching online, it seems like the Shure SM57 needs roughly 50 - 60 dB to run properly. From people's responses, it seems like most audio interfaces in my price range only give somewhere between 20 - 40 dB. Will the M-Audio MTrack have enough power for me to utilize the SM57?
 
Are you talking at one end of the room and the mic the other? I bought my first 57 in the late 70s, and have NEVER had a gain issue on any equipment it's been plugged into. I even have a really naff, ten pound XLR to USB interface, designed I guess for podcasting, and this is fine on the 57 and 58 dynamics.

Don't get bogged down with numbers. Let's have a listen to the problem - does it hiss like mad?
 
rob aylestone said:
Are you talking at one end of the room and the mic the other? I bought my first 57 in the late 70s, and have NEVER had a gain issue on any equipment it's been plugged into. I even have a really naff, ten pound XLR to USB interface, designed I guess for podcasting, and this is fine on the 57 and 58 dynamics.

Don't get bogged down with numbers. Let's have a listen to the problem - does it hiss like mad?
Click to expand...

No, I have to pretty much be right up on the mic to get any audio registering on my computer. And no, it doesn't hiss like mad; it just records at a very low volume, even with my Mac and Icicle's settings set at the highest gain.
 
Without some kind of reference it's hard to know if your recording really is quiet or if it's just normal.
Could you attach an mp3 demo?
 
churadley said:
Thanks for all the input, guys. To arcaxis, I did try to change the Icicle's input gain in that window, but even at it's highest, it's barely able to deal with my SM57. Based off of people's input, I'm definitely going to be keeping the SM57.

To BroKen_H, through searching online, it seems like the Shure SM57 needs roughly 50 - 60 dB to run properly. From people's responses, it seems like most audio interfaces in my price range only give somewhere between 20 - 40 dB. Will the M-Audio MTrack have enough power for me to utilize the SM57?
Click to expand...

Are you sure you have your mic right when searching the net for proper interface? 50 - 60 dB of gain is more what a Shure SM7b needs. Most $150 to 200 interfaces have at least 50dB preamps from what I have seen. Should not be an issue.

Stay away from Lexicon Alpha for sure. I know from experience the preamps on that were weak.
 
Relatively new to the forum, but not to studio work. The SM57 is a real standard. An absolute workhorse. Great for a wide variety of situations. I have never heard of anyone having issues getting a great sound from an authentic Shure SM57 (lots of problems with illegitimate ones). Lately, I have been using Presonus audio gear in a home studio (22USB and 44VSL), with Studio One 2 Pro. No problems with the SM57 at all. Just straightforward. The SM57s and SM58s that I have are probably 40 years old. I am not sure if there have been any engineering changes to these two standard mics that would impact recording. Certainly, many colleagues and friends have more recent versions and I don't hear any audible difference.
 
churadley said:
No, I have to pretty much be right up on the mic to get any audio registering on my computer. And no, it doesn't hiss like mad; it just records at a very low volume, even with my Mac and Icicle's settings set at the highest gain.
Click to expand...

If you've got everything cranked, no volume and no hiss either, something in the setup is not right.
 
mjbphotos said:
If you've got everything cranked, no volume and no hiss either, something in the setup is not right.
Click to expand...

We've had people weigh in here with 'super quiet recordings' only to find out they were recording from their laptop's built in mic by mistake....
We've also had plenty of people who mean quiet relative to their commercial audio CD that they just bought.
Sometimes there's nothing wrong!

Really, post a short mp3. It'll hopefully tell us what's happening.
 
Going back to the thread's title, "a decent interface" I noted in Thomann's pages in the current SoS the Focusrite Saffire 6 USB. It seems have all the good bits in it plus MIDI!

Thomann have it at £110 so bit of a steal if it works well?

Dave.
 
Been covered ad. n. but it is just the pennypinnching that bugs me.
I mean, even the crappy old Sound Blaster cards had a gameport you could use!

Dave.
 
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