I love the shure SM-57.

Han's English is very good... but, that's neither here or there. The question is... why does his above thinking apply to the Shure SM57 and not his LDC budget mics?
 
I hope all the younger posters realize that the SM57 has been around for a very long time. I have been using these mics for a variety of things since the 70's. Some of them sound better than others...like all mics. I have a couple of SM57 UnidyneIII's left over from my last PA system.These are mics that are now over 20 years old.They sound so much better than my other 57's(about 7 years old) and one of them has a tape mark on it,as it sounds so much different than ANY other 57 I've ever heard. When I had my PA this would have been 20 SM57's...So to find a good one, scour the pawn shops and look for the older Unidynes. If the case of the mic is fairly unmarked, chances are it'll be a good one, but test it first. While the 57 is not the end-all be-all mic, it gives a very good representation of the sound being produced. And through a high quality, semi-colored preamp the results can be stunning.
 
Rocket Boy said:
what major improvements would i notice in the sound of the snare by using an M201 over an sm57.
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I believe what DJL is suggesting is that you won't necessarily hear a dramatically better snare track as much as you'll get a good one that is relatively free of hi-hat bleed. So, in a sense, it will help your hi-hat sound better. And it will allow you to EQ and compress the living heck out of the snare so as to make it more present or fuller or whatever (if you so choose) -- without bringin the hi-hat along with it. This is a huge advantage come mix time.
 
chessrock said:
I believe what DJL is suggesting is that you won't necessarily hear a dramatically better snare track as much as you'll get a good one that is relatively free of hi-hat bleed. So, in a sense, it will help your hi-hat sound better. And it will allow you to EQ and compress the living heck out of the snare so as to make it more present or fuller or whatever (if you so choose) -- without bringin the hi-hat along with it. This is a huge advantage come mix time.
Click to expand...

Sure, the 57 may not be as great as your $400,000 superdupermicrodeluxex z-w43553553fl-xl-1A special editions, but can you take one of those, step on it, bang it up against the wall a few times, plug a cable into it and swing it onto the roof of your studio, pull it back down onto the concrete walkway, tape it back up and have it work good as new?

Doubtful.

I just like the fact that's it's durable and works for everything.
 
chessrock said:
I believe what DJL is suggesting is that you won't necessarily hear a dramatically better snare track as much as you'll get a good one that is relatively free of hi-hat bleed. So, in a sense, it will help your hi-hat sound better. And it will allow you to EQ and compress the living heck out of the snare so as to make it more present or fuller or whatever (if you so choose) -- without bringin the hi-hat along with it. This is a huge advantage come mix time.
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There also is a difference in sound between the M201 and SM57... but it's really hard to paint a word picture of a sound. For example, how would we discribe the sound of the Mexican pickups on a Squier strat... I call it crappy, but you need to hear them yourself to know what I mean. Neither the M201 or SM57 sound crappy, but they do sound different. If I had to paint a word picture of the M201 vs the SM57, I'd say the M201 has more balls, or would "bigger" be a better word, maybe "not as thin" is better... anyway, both have their place when micing a snare and it really just depends on the sound you need/want. Also as cavedog101 stated above... the older SM57's sound warmer (for a lack of a better word) than the newer SM57's.

I stated all of the above for you newer members. Chessrock already knows all this shit.
 
DJL said:
Han's English is very good... but, that's neither here or there. The question is... why does his above thinking apply to the Shure SM57 and not his LDC budget mics?
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Han said:
DJL, what are you after bro? You know what my opinion is about el cheopo LDC's, but for those who don't know, IMHO the SP B1 is a great bang for the buck.
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Han said:
What can I compare to a 57? I think the 57 is for its price not comparable with other dynamics in the same price class, most decent dynamics are more expensive, so I think it's a good deal. But when someone says it sounds great, I take the liberty to disagree.
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Seems to me he's saying that each is a good deal compared to other mics in their price range in their respective classes - dynamic or LDC.
 
Hey Han, are you saying the Shure SM57 is a great bang for the buck type mic and you just don't use the Shure SM57 anymore because you have other mics you like better... and if so, why are you still using LDC budget mics when you have other mics that you like better?
 
... i've got one of the limited edition, silver plated, glow in the dark sm57's... they only made three :)
 

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Sorry guys for not responding, but you must realize that when you guys awake, I've had my lunch. When you are enjoying dinner, it's around midnight here. So I went to bed.

DJL, I don't know what to think of you, you seem to have a split personality, sometimes you're funny and helpful, sometimes harsh, unfriendly and a real pain in the ass.

You ask the same questions over and over again, even if they were answered several times.

What game are you playing?

I am posting with my real name, you can visit my website, listen to my recordings, I have nothing to hyde. I'm here for fun, to learn and to help where I can. I like this community.

If you do a google search, you will find interviews with bands that only tell positive and nice things about me. I do the best I can and try to be nice to anybody.

What about you? Are you so famous that you must stay anonymous? What can I find about you?

Some posters have asked you over and over to post some of your recordings. I am very curious too.

So seem to know quite some about mics and gear, so what's the problem? Do you wanna talk about it? :D


Peace.
 
hey han,

... i'm an extreme night owl, so you and i seem to be on here at around the same time. i have really enjoyed reading your take on mics. you seem to be a guy who has quite a bit of experience with a lot of gear. i tried to check out your website, but the link from here wasn't working. check it out, and i'll try later.
i'll give your suggestion of an m201 on snare when i get a chance. i have a meager setup here at home, but i also spend time in higher end studios with a good variety of mics and pres around, so if you have any other suggestions you think might float my boat, please pass them along.
peace - jv
 
Rocket Boy said:
what major improvements would i notice in the sound of the snare by using an M201 over an sm57. I'm not attacking or questioning the opinion of anyone saying its a superior mic to the 57... i actually want to know incase i might buy one, so i'd like to know what improvements im likely to notice. Also, are there any recordings I might know that have used this as a snare mic? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Chessrock has answered your question very good.
I'd like to add that the 201 is a hypercardioid mic with a nice off axis response. Like Chess said, you'll have less bleed, but what's more important, the bleed you get will sound much better than the bleed of a 57 due to the nicer off axis response.

If you look to the 201's freq. response, you'll see an almost flat line.

The mic is a real classic and at least as versatile as the 57. I've used it on almost any source, it's even a decent kick mic.
 
Han, I hate that this topic gets brought up at every damn corner of the forum, but I think the problem here is that DJL is trying to find out why you're endorsing an SP mic when he considers them so obviously terrible.

DJL, I can't answer for Han, but I can repeat what others in the forum have said to you and you seem to ignore: please just accept that other people think that SP mics sound good, period. You don't like them or the company, fine. Don't hound them at every opportunity you get, please. Your refusal to just let this stupid, small matter drop really puts a damper on both the entire forum and your reputation.

Please, if you can't say that SP makes good mics, then at least just agree to disagree about the damn things.

they're only microphones. not pretty girls or something.
 
yeah, i sleep from about 5am to noon, west coast time

... thanks for the link, i think the link here had it listed as .com

have a good day - jv
 
bleyrad said:
Han, I hate that this topic gets brought up at every damn corner of the forum, but I think the problem here is that DJL is trying to find out why you're endorsing an SP mic when he considers them so obviously terrible.
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I have posted a couple of times that it almost looks like spamming the B1, but I'm not.

It's just a very nice and versatile cheap mic that even looks expensive.

I bought a pair of C1000's some ten years ago and recently sold them for 100 euro each, bought a pair of B1's back and have two better and brand new mics now. And it has cost me $0.00

Last friday we recorded a classic (nylon string) acoustic guitar with it and the band was amazed of the sound.

I could have done this with the M149, which sound significantly better, but many musicians don't hear the difference and I hate to warm up the expensive tube for a five minute recording.

I think deep inside, DJL likes the B1, his hate has nothing to do with the mic.
 
DJL said:
Hey Han, are you saying the Shure SM57 is a great bang for the buck type mic and you just don't use the Shure SM57 anymore because you have other mics you like better... and if so, why are you still using LDC budget mics when you have other mics that you like better?
Click to expand...

No, I said the 57 is a good deal.

Why I use LDC budget mics? I would like to have 50 Neumanns, but just can't afford them.

Have you ever recorded an orchestra and choir with 72 mic inputs to 48 tracks simultaniously? You'll need a lot of good mics.

That's one thing, the other thing is, I don't like to fire up a tube mic for a short time and sometimes a B1 or something alike is good enough. I'd rather have a couple of Soundelux's.
 
bleyrad said:
Han, I hate that this topic gets brought up at every damn corner of the forum, but I think the problem here is that DJL is trying to find out why you're endorsing an SP mic when he considers them so obviously terrible.

DJL, I can't answer for Han, but I can repeat what others in the forum have said to you and you seem to ignore: please just accept that other people think that SP mics sound good, period. You don't like them or the company, fine. Don't hound them at every opportunity you get, please. Your refusal to just let this stupid, small matter drop really puts a damper on both the entire forum and your reputation.

Please, if you can't say that SP makes good mics, then at least just agree to disagree about the damn things.

they're only microphones. not pretty girls or something.
Click to expand...
No, no, no... this is NOT an SP thing. I just wanted to know why he was putting down the Shure SM57 and not LDC budget mics. He said he didn't use the SM57 anymore because he had other mics he liked better, so it only seems reasonable that he wouldn't be using LDC budget mics when he has other mics he likes better. It just didn't make sense to me that he logic wouldn't be the same with his LDC budget mics as it is with his SM57. That's all there was to it about me asking him... but, now that I know this question gets him uptight I'll drop it.

Han, as I said before... I'm not anyone famous, I'm just a bassist who happens to own a recording studio that I rent out. I use to own a sound company and have worked some of the biggest names in the business.... but I'm not famous, I'm just a normal dude like most of us here. I do know a lot and I like helping others, but there is still a lot I need to learn also.

If one must be famous to be on this borad... then I'm on the wrong BBS, if one must post MP3's to be on this board... then again, I'm on the wrong BBS. However, if one just likes music, mics, etc and like's talking about it... then I'm on one of the best BBS's on the internet.

I'm also a landlord and own an RV and boat lot... and I kill time on this board while sitting in the office at work and dicking off.

Am I on the right BBS... you tell me?
 
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