mics dying

[Foo-bu]

is it possible for a mic to die? i was recording and then right in the middle of my recording my shure sm57 completly cut out. i checked the cables and those are working but for some reason the mic isnt. all im getting now is a loud buzzing sound from it

 

[HogansHiro]

Just like anything else mechanicl..mics can just die. You pretty much have to chuck an Sm-57 off of a tall building to instigate it, but they can die. From the description of your buzzing it sounds like a major short in the mic. If there was no buzzing the mic then your actual diagphram might have seized up. This can happen if it gets excessively wet multiple times. I had a singer that sang with his lips on the mic all the time. There had to be at least a gallon of slobber in that thing after each show. He said he's personally killed multiple mics that way.

 

[Track Rat]

This is true. You can usually swing your way out of a bar fight with a 57, just wipe off the blood and plug it in.