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j0s1ah
New member
out of the 2, which is better for recording acoustic guitar, sm58 or a samson c01 condenser? which for vocals?
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Bob Keelan
New member
ummm... neither? A Studio Projects B1 would do a better job recording both acoustic guitar and voice than either of the 2 you mention.
MarkoPolo
New member
But if thats all you have to work with the condenser would probably be the better of the two. all tho I have not heard the sampson.
the 58 can be used for vocals, it would not be my choice but if thats all you have the 58 can work, many people have recorded vocals with them even on songs that have been played on the radio.
the 58 can be used for vocals, it would not be my choice but if thats all you have the 58 can work, many people have recorded vocals with them even on songs that have been played on the radio.
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tdukex
Man of the Muse
Why don't you just try them and see which one you like? BTW, the sm57 is a more useful studio mic than the 58.
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billisa
New member
I don't want to knock what others may own, and like, but for acoustic recording, in my view the Samson CO1 is not good. Why? Because it has a relatively high self-noise. This is easily hidden by recording loud sources, but will be noticable on quiet ones. The Studio Projects B1 wins hands down, as I'm sure others would too...
Track Rat
Just Your Average Sized Member
If these are the two mics you have access to (not what you should buy) then the condensor would be the better choice for acoustic instruments and the 58 "MIGHT" be better for voice. If you have to buy a mic and these were what you were concidering, I'd look a bit more before pulling the trigger on one.
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StevenLindsey
New member
FWIW I'm liking the sound of the 58 with my guitar better than the MXL603 or the NTK. Mine sounds better than the SM57 at the same gain level - it's a little hotter and has a fuller sound. That 58 sounds dang good with the RNP cranked up to 66. You get a little bit of noise there though. I hated the sound of the 58 on my guitar with my mixer preamp. My point - the SM58 CAN sound very good on acoustic. Probably depends, as always, on the guitar and the preamp used.
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j0s1ah
New member
alright thanks, i'll try em out how much is the studio projexts mic?
Fab4ever
Getting better
The SP B1 is $79 at a number of online sources. It should fit the bill perfectly, if you're looking for a low-cost mic that works with acoustic instruments as well as vocals.
Fab
Fab
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DJL
Self Banned
About $80... but, I don't think any local type music stores carry the 797 Audio Studio Projects mic's, which means you have to buy them from an on-line type dealer only and without auditioning them first. I don't care for the B1 as a main vocal type mic... I like the Shure SM57 better. The Marshall Electronic MXL603S is an awesome acoustic guitar mic... and it only cost about $73. I recommand the Marshall MXL603S for acoustic guitar... then audition a bunch of mic's untill you find the one(s) that work best with your voice.j0s1ah said:
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mrface2112
Well-known member
this is where it gets tricky. 
i far prefer the 603s on my Martin to the Studio Projects B1. i far prefer neither on my voice, but the B1 is a mic "better suited" to handle vocals than the 603 is.
therefore, if i had to choose one of the two, it would be the B1, since it can handle both tasks well. the 603, while handling the guitar much better, just can't handle vocals at all (unless it's a choir mic'd in a church).
not to mention, the bonus of the B1 is that it *does* sound nice on some vocalists. you might be one of them. and it's good on a plethora of other things to boot. it's a lot like an sm57 in that regard.
if you can expand your budget some and cool the jets a little, i'd look at getting a pair of 603s for the guitar and then audition some vocal mics til you find one you like. and don't discount better dynamics in favor of cheaper chinese condensors (although, you might find one of those you like, too). might as well throw an RNC into the equation too, while you're at it.......you DID say you had a lot of money to dump at this, right? right?!?
seriously, though, if you're looking for the "one mic under $100 that doesn't suck at recording acoustic guitar and vocals", then the studio projects B1 is prolly where you oughta start your looking.
anything worth doing is worth overdoing,
wade
i far prefer the 603s on my Martin to the Studio Projects B1. i far prefer neither on my voice, but the B1 is a mic "better suited" to handle vocals than the 603 is.
therefore, if i had to choose one of the two, it would be the B1, since it can handle both tasks well. the 603, while handling the guitar much better, just can't handle vocals at all (unless it's a choir mic'd in a church).
not to mention, the bonus of the B1 is that it *does* sound nice on some vocalists. you might be one of them. and it's good on a plethora of other things to boot. it's a lot like an sm57 in that regard.
if you can expand your budget some and cool the jets a little, i'd look at getting a pair of 603s for the guitar and then audition some vocal mics til you find one you like. and don't discount better dynamics in favor of cheaper chinese condensors (although, you might find one of those you like, too). might as well throw an RNC into the equation too, while you're at it.......you DID say you had a lot of money to dump at this, right? right?!?
seriously, though, if you're looking for the "one mic under $100 that doesn't suck at recording acoustic guitar and vocals", then the studio projects B1 is prolly where you oughta start your looking.
anything worth doing is worth overdoing,
wade
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baekgaard
New member
For recording guitar with a SM58, try removing the grill; just screw it off. That will make it sound a bit more like the SM57, which a lot of people like on a lot of sources. Whether _you_ like it or not is difficult to tell, but it probably requires a decent pre-amp in order to get enough gain, as your guitar isn't that loud at the distance you would like to record it from (30-60 cm out from the 12th fret, probably).
Put the grill on afterwards, when done -- and try not to hit the capsule too hard when you really get into the groove playing your guitar
-- Per.
Put the grill on afterwards, when done -- and try not to hit the capsule too hard when you really get into the groove playing your guitar
-- Per.
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j0s1ah
New member
for the record, i have a samson c01 condenser, i do not have a sm58 but wanted to get one for playing live or just playing but not nessecarily recording. i was just wondering what would be better. are sm57s made for recording or for live? whats the best mic for recording vocals OR acoustic guitar for around $200?
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Bob Keelan
New member
ok you obviously don't want to get the B1 for $80. 
for $200 get an MXL V67G for vocals AND an MXL 603s for acoustic guitar
for $200 get an MXL V67G for vocals AND an MXL 603s for acoustic guitar
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j0s1ah
New member
is one better for both vocals and guitar than the other? are they both $200 bucks?
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tdukex
Man of the Muse
If I were going to buy just a vocal mic I'd go with the V67 ($89).
If I were buying just an acoustic guitar mic I'd buy the 603s ($72).
If I were buying an all-around vocal + instrument mic I'd buy the B1 ($79).
If I were buying just an acoustic guitar mic I'd buy the 603s ($72).
If I were buying an all-around vocal + instrument mic I'd buy the B1 ($79).
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j0s1ah
New member
thanks
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baekgaard
New member
j0s1ah, I cannot comment from personal experience on the MXL mics, but looking around here on the forum, both the V67 and the 603 seems to be fairly well received. I have the B1, and it is, as someone said: a nice "jack-of-all-trades" mic (in a "master of none" way). If you think the SM57 is a "workhorse" in the dynamics world, maybe a mic like the B1 will be in the LDC world.
However, you mentioned that you would like a mic for playing live also. I would certainly not recommend any of those condensors above for that kind of work, if you ever plan on using it for live vocals.
I think a "safe bet" would be the SM57 for live usage, which I would probably get in favour of the SM58, although others may disagree. Try both, and get the one you like the most.
The SM57 can be used for both vocals and instruments, and seems to be a great workhorse also in many pro studios for recording electric guitars, drums, vocals (sometimes), and whats-not.
So, in your shoes (taking into account you also would like to do live jobs), I would in addition to the SM57 then get either a set of Octava 012 or MXL 603 mics, so you can record your guitar in stereo. Or just one, if budget limited here.
The B1 will also work well on your acoustic guitar, I think. But it depends on your guitar which will work the best. If it has a good sound naturally, the SD mics (012 or 603) will probably be my favourite, but if it sounds so-so, a LDC mic like the B1 may (or may not...) make it sound better.
-- Per.
However, you mentioned that you would like a mic for playing live also. I would certainly not recommend any of those condensors above for that kind of work, if you ever plan on using it for live vocals.
I think a "safe bet" would be the SM57 for live usage, which I would probably get in favour of the SM58, although others may disagree. Try both, and get the one you like the most.
The SM57 can be used for both vocals and instruments, and seems to be a great workhorse also in many pro studios for recording electric guitars, drums, vocals (sometimes), and whats-not.
So, in your shoes (taking into account you also would like to do live jobs), I would in addition to the SM57 then get either a set of Octava 012 or MXL 603 mics, so you can record your guitar in stereo. Or just one, if budget limited here.
The B1 will also work well on your acoustic guitar, I think. But it depends on your guitar which will work the best. If it has a good sound naturally, the SD mics (012 or 603) will probably be my favourite, but if it sounds so-so, a LDC mic like the B1 may (or may not...) make it sound better.
-- Per.
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Ptron
New member
We'll have to get an expert or an insider to answer this, but I thought the SM57 and SM58 were nearly the same mic. I was once told that they used the same capsules, but ones that tested out so and so went into 58s and the others became 57s. Someone on this board once backed me up on that, but it also seems a little far fetched that they would test the response of every single capsule so maybe this is just an old rumor.
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baekgaard
New member
SM57 and SM58
My understanding (based on net info and hearsay) is that the capsules are either identical, or at least very close to one another, and that the primary difference is in the grill design.
Apparently the capsules have different numberings if you order a spare capsule from Shure. But it doesn't really prove that they are not identical.
In any case -- as I also hinted at in my first posting above -- you can make the SM58 sound more like the SM57 by removing the grill. But as it leaves the capsule much more vulnerable, I'd say that if you like the sound of the SM58 with grill better than the one of the SM57, then buy the SM58. If not, just get a SM57, and be happy with the protection of the capsule when it sounds the way you like it
But maybe someone actually have the facts?
-- Per.
My understanding (based on net info and hearsay) is that the capsules are either identical, or at least very close to one another, and that the primary difference is in the grill design.
Apparently the capsules have different numberings if you order a spare capsule from Shure. But it doesn't really prove that they are not identical.
In any case -- as I also hinted at in my first posting above -- you can make the SM58 sound more like the SM57 by removing the grill. But as it leaves the capsule much more vulnerable, I'd say that if you like the sound of the SM58 with grill better than the one of the SM57, then buy the SM58. If not, just get a SM57, and be happy with the protection of the capsule when it sounds the way you like it
But maybe someone actually have the facts?
-- Per.
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