SM57 quick questions

S

Scoop

New member
Hi,

Just bought an SM57 on ebay and playing around with it... It sound great on everything so far... For $60 its a great buy, I'll be getting more soon...

My question is this... is the grill supposed to rotate when turning it with your fingers? Or have I got a slightly damaged mic?
Doesn't have an affect on the sound so I'm not too concerned.

Also, while I have your attention, any recommendations on placement on a marshall 4x12 cab?
And is a JoeMeek MQ3 a good match for this?

Thanks,
Scoop.
 
The meek would do you just fine for this job.
I wouldnt bother using the compressor right away though.
Mess around with mic placement for awhile first.

On that note, when i got my first 57 and had my 4x12 rollin heres what i did......

Cranked the amp up a bit.
Had a buddy play while i moved the mic around and found where it sounded best.
Isolation headphones are very helpful with this technique.

One thing to know is that if you put the mic 25 different places and
"it always sounds like shit"
You need to adjust things on the amp.

Also the closer you bring the mic to the speaker the more bass youll get.
This is called "proxcimity effect"

Hope some of that helps you out.

-Finster
 
Scoop said:
Hi,

My question is this... is the grill supposed to rotate when turning it with your fingers? Or have I got a slightly damaged mic?
Doesn't have an affect on the sound so I'm not too concerned.

Thanks,
Scoop.
Click to expand...



I bought a couple of SM57,s brand new and the grill rotates on both of them.
 
Thanks for the replies... much appreciated.
Now I just need to get some time off from gigging to get to spend time recording with all the new toys....
 
Scoop said:
Hi,

Just bought an SM57 on ebay and playing around with it... It sound great on everything so far... For $60 its a great buy, I'll be getting more soon...

My question is this... is the grill supposed to rotate when turning it with your fingers? Or have I got a slightly damaged mic?
Doesn't have an affect on the sound so I'm not too concerned.

Also, while I have your attention, any recommendations on placement on a marshall 4x12 cab?
And is a JoeMeek MQ3 a good match for this?

Thanks,
Scoop.
Click to expand...
SM57s are a great utility mic. I have 6 of them and have used them for guitars, violin, and even vocals on occasion. They are great for accoustic guitars. Best part is they are tougher than tanks. you can turn the top on every one I own........so don't let that bother you. Just enjoy them.
 
Just to echo what others have stated, yes the grill rotates. It's just clipped onto the body. I picked up a spare grille for a couple bucks, cause a drummer can crack the plastic when that final massive crescendo snare fill gets out of control. That's why the Beta 57 has an all metal grill, at least that was a selling point. Anyway, nobody seems to care, cuz cracked plastic doesn't interfere with the sound unless it's completely mangled. . . . and it gives it vibe. :rolleyes:
 
I've got 8 57's. They're "the universal mic". And the gril on every single one of them since I bought them 5 years ago rotates. That's just the way they're made.

Would you believe I'm getting a decent sound using two 57's as overheads for drums? :D Until I get two condensors that's the way I have to do it. It's all about the EQ.
 
Yes- the grill on an SM57 is designed to rotate. Like someone else mentioned, it's because it snaps on and off, just not very easily.
The meek will be a fine pre for lots of stuff, including your amp. My Meek sounds a little "bright" to my ears.
As far as mic positions, you have: on axis or off axis, near or distant, center of speaker or the outside of the speaker, top spkr or bottom.
Whew.
That's a lot of combinations. I bet these other guys could even come up with a few other positions (maybe check the Kama Sutra :-)
One thing: On a 4x12 be sure to be careful not to pick up one of the other speakers that you are not intentionally aiming the mic at or you could wind up with phase issues.
 
Damn, good point about the phase issue. I never thought about that. Of course I don't do any cab micing, but if I ever do I'll definitely think of that.

Would some nice thick studio foam over the other speakers help that? Or is it enough to make sure the mic is pointed only at the speaker you're trying to mic?
 
a few tips for the 4x12 cab:

Decrease the gain on your amp ! Too much gain mostly means less powerfull and muddy sound when recording.
And:
try all four speakers. One could be better than the other 3 and distance to the floor (and walls) is also important.

greets
 
New SM57s end rotates

Me too.....I have 2 new SM 57's and the ends rotate. I tried to unscrew the things........but they just turn around and around and never come off. Don't know why.....it seems they would un-screw. I guess the company just want to mess with our minds........for sure there is no reason for it.

Choctaw
 
I don't mean to hi-jack this thread but since there are a number of people who obviously have some valuable experiences with SM57/58 mics, I just wanted to ask, is it me or do these mics require a lot of gain to get a nice hot signal back to the recording interface?


We'll now return you to our regularly scheduled programming.
 
punkin said:
I don't mean to hi-jack this thread but since there are a number of people who obviously have some valuable experiences with SM57/58 mics, I just wanted to ask, is it me or do these mics require a lot of gain to get a nice hot signal back to the recording interface?
Click to expand...

Not just you. Let's put it this way... my Nady ribbon has higher sensitivity (by half a dB or so) than the SM58.

The SM series always pissed me off doing live gigs back in high school, and particularly the SM57. Terrible feedback rejection compared to my Unisphere I (I forget whcih model). I'd have one right in the bell of a saxophone and I'd get feedback before I got enough sound out of it to do anything.

I'm just glad I don't do gigs anymore.
 
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