Shure SM58, not working.

M

Muffin

New member
Greetings,
I bought a Shure DMK7 off ebay a few months ago with 2 of the SM58's as overheads on my kit. After puzzling as to why only one side would record I did some experimenting and realized that the one mic appears to be dead.
I have no idea as to why it's not working or how to repair it. Is there a simple way to repair it or someone I could send it to?
 
Twist it open from the middle(not the grill) maybe one of the wires fell off. That is easily fixed by soldering it together.
 
Um, why would you use the SM58 as an overhead? I remember i tried that a while back, because of lack of other options. Not the best sound ever :)
 
2 58s cost $200. I got a pair of C2's for $55. They sound pretty good ! After he fixes his mic he might want to consider selling them and getting condensers for overheads.
 
Haha, I realized that they didn't sound that great after experimenting. I had just gotten the kit(my first swing at recording). Since then I've bought CAD CM217 Condenser mics to use as overheads, I prefer the working SM58 on the top of the snare.

I'll crack it open and see what's inside.
 
Muffin said:
I prefer the working SM58 on the top of the snare.
Click to expand...

You should try the SM57 for snare. Or the audix i5. Both cost as much as the 58, and they'll sound better too. The 58 is more of a vocal mic, the 57 is for instruments.
 
saads said:
You should try the SM57 for snare. Or the audix i5. Both cost as much as the 58, and they'll sound better too. The 58 is more of a vocal mic, the 57 is for instruments.
Click to expand...

Oh really? Interesting I'll look into that.

Onto the original topic I opened up the middle of the SM58 to find 2 wires, one green one yellow, both secure soldered to the top half. The bottom looks to be filled with glue or clear rubber.
Everything looks right to me. What else could cause this no work?
 
Remember the 57 and 58 are almost identical. Don't buy a 57 if you already have a 58 and don't need another one. The 58 does fine. You'll be hard pressed to find a noticeable difference on snare.
 
Muffin said:
Oh really? Interesting I'll look into that.

Onto the original topic I opened up the middle of the SM58 to find 2 wires, one green one yellow, both secure soldered to the top half. The bottom looks to be filled with glue or clear rubber.
Everything looks right to me. What else could cause this no work?
Click to expand...
I mean, you can take it even more apart. It looks like the wires connect from something in the top half (hidden behind the metal) to something in the bottom half (buried under the glue). So you could try to get at whatever's in the top half and whatever's in the bottom half. I'm imagining there's some more circuitry somewhere and the two wires you saw definitely have to connect to the XLR jack at the bottom. I don't know why a wire would've pulled away, but you can check for that anyway. If the wires all look okay but there's some small components somewhere, you can check and see if one of those is fried, but there's a good chance you won't be able to replace them.

Edit: Here's a quote from a thread I found elsewhere: "Ok, here is how you take a 57 apart. Maybe this should be made into a different post altogether.

Unless you break the small leads @ the capsule, you shouldn't have to remove the grill. Just De-solder the wires that go to the tranny and set the lower postion of the body to the side. Remove the nut and locking washer(s) from between the two poles and remove the little piece of board from around the poles/contacts. *Gently* slide the upper portion of the housing off. On most 57s I have seen the two leads off the capsule are taped to the contacts, not actually soldered. Very lame Shure. So they eventually come off the leads and the 57 is "broken." Hope this helps a lot of people."

So it sounds like maybe that taped part came off. If you have any soldering experience--and there's actually a place to solder them--you might try soldering them instead of tape. Other than that, it looks like the transformer is the only other thing in there, and I'm not really sure you could find a replacement for that if it's busted.
 
moresound said:
And 8 times the worry of being hit by the drum stick. :eek::eek::eek:
Click to expand...

True that. I've tried different mics on snare, shitty ones, good ones. For me the sm57 isn't something out of this world. But it's a good reliable, sturdy mic. Plus everyone uses it so there's that psychological angle to it too i guess. It's a good enough mic (on snare) to not have to think about any other options. I would never put a condenser on snare. I'd be way too scared of a whack!
 
saads said:
True that. I've tried different mics on snare, shitty ones, good ones. For me the sm57 isn't something out of this world. But it's a good reliable, sturdy mic. Plus everyone uses it so there's that psychological angle to it too i guess. It's a good enough mic (on snare) to not have to think about any other options. I would never put a condenser on snare. I'd be way too scared of a whack!
Click to expand...

A condenser mic on the bottom also works very good.:D:D:D
 
Yeah, i've never been into the whole micing the bottom head thing. Just the top sounds fine to me. I tried it a few times but never made it a habit. Maybe i'm to lazy to set up an extra mic :o I'm mostly into heavy alternative rock stuff so just the top is plenty. But i can imagine the advantages of micing the bottom head too, on slower, or more acoustic songs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top