Inside an SM57 fake

  • Thread starter Thread starter Obstacle1
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Obstacle1

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I bought a fake 57 off ebay about 3 years ago when I first started recording. When I progressed and started using and needing better mics then it kinda got forgotten about. I recently dug it out for a mate to use, who then broke the cables when untwisting the capsule. So we took a look inside to fix it only to find that it was actually stuffed with japanese newspaper and adverts for japanese companies. There was also a random inch of plastic with metal moulded into it. It all made me laugh but proves that u cant beat the real thing.
 
was it also filled with hot glue between the connector and the twist off piece?
 
TragikRemix said:
was it also filled with hot glue between the connector and the twist off piece?
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it was yes, have you also been a victim?
 
i was a victim.

i bought 3 for $150, tried to turn the windscreen like you are supposed to be able to do, and broke one.

then i broke another doing the same to confirm.

i got my money back, lost my perfect feedback, and never sent the mics back to the dude in china. of course, he's not an ebay member anymore and im still pissed i lost my perfect feedback..

proves they are fake, i never returned them and got my money back... if they were real he woulda made a big stink no?
 
yeah he would have, unfortunately i cant trace the guy who sold me mine but i'm not so bothered. have the real deal now. we're both much wiser from it too.

Lee
 
oh absolutely. i learned a life lesson; it it's too good to be true, chances are, it's not true..
 
Show some pics!!!

I too was a victim, bought 2 from Hong Kong for the price on one.

Man, they're good at cloning stuff....at least look-alikes. Heck, even the packaging was convincing!
Oh well, I sold them to a friend for 20 bucks and some Chinese Buffet! :rolleyes:
 
How can you tell you've bought a fake SM57?

AARRGGGH! I'm a little bit worried now. Just bought an SM57 off evilBAY (for £51!) but haven't had a chance to try it out yet HOWEVER ... having just read the previous post about 'hot glue' I opened the casing capsule & there appears to be what you could refer to as 'hard glue' inside it plus the mic's capsule isn't coming off with ease - I haven't tried to force it. Please don't tell me I've bought a turkey??! How do you know if you have? Will it just not work or is there a chance that if it does & it appears to function it may still be a fake? I have nothing to compare it to on the SM57 front as I don't own another similar mic. Thoughts please.
PS: UPDATE - Before posting this I had to (very quickly) check the mic out. Okay, well it seems to work but I basically just plugged it in, tapped it for a signal & that was that. I'll get a chance to investigate further tomorrow I hope. I take it from the fact that I'm getting a sound that it's legit? Am I right in thinking that if it's a fake it'll just be the casing (stuffed with newspaper?) & wouldn't work at all?
 
Um, 57's and 58's are £65 each from my local music shop - why bother buying fakes/what you think are cheapies from t'internet? You're hardly saving big buck anyway.....
 
Can someone post a pic. I really want to see this. My 57's windscreen will turn a one direction with a slight bump once every turn, but it won't turn the other directions, it just feels like something is tightening up. After breaking an AT-41a by trying to take the capsule off in the same manner, I don't wanna mess with it. But I got this one from Sam Ash, so I think its legit. :D

Edit:
So I kept turning past the resistance and now it just turns both directions feely with a slight bump once per turn. Does it come off somehow?
 
for the record...... real s57s have a transformer "hot glued" in them.


Simon
 
super 8 said:
AARRGGGH! I'm a little bit worried now. Just bought an SM57 off evilBAY (for £51!) but haven't had a chance to try it out yet/QUOTE]

Well the things which gave it away on mine are...

1. the 'shure' branding that circles under the grille was a sticker.
2. the grille was a slightly off colour grey/brown compared to the silver/grey on a real 57.
3. the case it came with was poor quality leather compared to the real deal. was much less spongier and the 'r' on the shure was of different kern.
4. the manual was clearly a photocopy as the print was knowhere near as good. very grainy.
5. the insides, eg. newspaper! the bastards.
6. the noise floor on my real 57 averages at around 72, the fake is much noisier at about 60.

Hope this helps.

Elton Bear said:
Um, 57's and 58's are £65 each from my local music shop - why bother buying fakes/what you think are cheapies from t'internet? You're hardly saving big buck anyway.....
Click to expand...

well i was inexperienced, was new to recording and didnt know any better. I also didnt know about this site back then, and am sure I would have bought the real deal if i had of known about it :p
Click to expand...
 
Outlaws said:
Can someone post a pic. I really want to see this. My 57's windscreen will turn a one direction with a slight bump once every turn, but it won't turn the other directions, it just feels like something is tightening up. After breaking an AT-41a by trying to take the capsule off in the same manner, I don't wanna mess with it. But I got this one from Sam Ash, so I think its legit. :D

Edit:
So I kept turning past the resistance and now it just turns both directions feely with a slight bump once per turn. Does it come off somehow?
Click to expand...

I'll try and post some pics tonight. Lee
 
2lim said:
for the record...... real s57s have a transformer "hot glued" in them.


Simon
Click to expand...


yup, just no newspaper scraps, haha



OH and one of my SM57s doesn't have anything at all inside it! but that's because i did the mod i saw in Tape Op. ;)
 
zed32 said:
but that's because i did the mod i saw in Tape Op. ;)
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not to hijack the thread, but how'd that TapeOp mod work out for you? what are your thoughts on how it sounds now compared to before?

i've thought about picking up a 57 just for that purpose. i've got 3 Unidyne 545's that i don't want to mess with.


cheers,
wade
 
mrface2112 said:
not to hijack the thread, but how'd that TapeOp mod work out for you? what are your thoughts on how it sounds now compared to before?

i've thought about picking up a 57 just for that purpose. i've got 3 Unidyne 545's that i don't want to mess with.


cheers,
wade
Click to expand...

honestly, i haven't had a chance to try it out that much, as i've been busy and haven't had a chance to do much recording. i DID A/B it with one of my normal 57s and there was a pretty noticeable difference, especially when it comes to output. the modded 57 needs much more gain. and from what i remember (it's been a while), the modded 57 had sort of a less 'midrangey' sound to it, and a little fuller low end compared to stock. i just tried it on vocals though, which probably isn't an ideal test, and honestly i don't quite remember the results haha, but i'm pretty sure i liked it better on vox than the stock 57. i think i'll do some more testing on it this weekend on guitar cab and snare.
 
zed32 said:
honestly, i haven't had a chance to try it out that much, as i've been busy and haven't had a chance to do much recording. i DID A/B it with one of my normal 57s and there was a pretty noticeable difference, especially when it comes to output. the modded 57 needs much more gain. and from what i remember (it's been a while), the modded 57 had sort of a less 'midrangey' sound to it, and a little fuller low end compared to stock. i just tried it on vocals though, which probably isn't an ideal test, and honestly i don't quite remember the results haha, but i'm pretty sure i liked it better on vox than the stock 57. i think i'll do some more testing on it this weekend on guitar cab and snare.
Click to expand...

i removed the transformer from my shure 545sd and it is does have less midrange. other than becoming gain hungry, the difference isn't huge but it is for the better to my ears. the only things i've tried thru it are vocals and acoustic guitar so take it for what it's worth.
 
thanks gents--i might decide to wreck one of my mexi 545's and give this a whirl. i'm not touching my american one, though--that's a great sounding mic.

i'm looking for something with the "57 sound" but a little fatter to use on snare drum--my suspicion is that the modded 57/545 would be good for this application, especially since it's gain-hungry.


cheers,
wade
 
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