57 or 58

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michael.butler

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57's and 58's are so similar (aren't they?)What are their diffrences? What applications are better for which? Ex. Some say use tha 57 INSTEAD of a 58 on a snare. Is this true and why?
 
Difference is just the ball on the sm58.

The sm57 has an internal windscreen which allows for closer miking, which is why it's often used for snare/guitar cabinet miking, whereas the 58 is traditionnally more of a live vocal mic.
 
58's for vocals since the grille prevents the singer from getting too close to the mic and generating an absurd proximity effect. Although both the 57 and 58 are based on the same cartridge design, the grill is pretty much what sets them apart.


It is true the SM57 and SM58 microphones are based on the same cartridge design. The main difference between them is in the grille design. The SM58 was designed for vocal application and it uses a separate grille with a very effective pop filter. The SM57 was designed as an instrument microphone where smaller grille size is preferred. In this application the pop and wind are not usually a concern. The SM57 uses an integral resonator/grille assembly, where grille is actually a part of the cartridge. These two grille designs place the diaphragm of the microphones in a different acoustical environment. First of all, the distance from the top of the grille to the diaphragm is significantly shorter on the SM57 compared to that of the SM58. This allows for closer sound pickup with even more pronounced proximity effect. Secondly, a different resonator/grille assembly design of the SM57 is responsible for its slightly higher output above 5 kHz


At a distance, the difference is probably not noticable. But at extremely close distances, the difference is noticeable. Due to the grill, a person's mouth can get closer to the diaphragm of an SM57, thus causing more proximity effect and increased bass when compared to the SM58.

I took this from another thread that asked the same question courtesy of LooneyTunez. Hope this helps. Try using the search function since this topic has been brought up before. Good luck.
 
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