Now an official SM57 hater

  • Thread starter Thread starter HangDawg
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HangDawg

HangDawg

bUnGhOlIo
For use on drums. I've finally acquired enough mics to get rid of the 57 when tracking drums and I tell ya, I'm not missing them at all. I know they are decent and alot of it is probably my fault. But, they really add a type of crap to a drum mix. Especially when you use 2 or 3 of them. Not sure how to describe it. It could be all that nasty, off axis buildup someone told me about once.



Oh, and thanks DLJ for recommending the M201. It's just heavenly on snare. And the hihat bleed is nothing more than a faint sizzle.
 
A 57 can work on snare, but they blow on toms and everything else on a kit.
 
I got rid of my 57s a while ago because they fetch decent money on ebay. I have a 545 that I use for snare and sometimes for guitar, but other than that I have no use for them at all. Eventually I will get an M201.
 
HangDawg said:
Oh, and thanks DLJ for recommending the M201. It's just heavenly on snare. And the hihat bleed is nothing more than a faint sizzle.
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What is a M201?

It sounds like some I would love to look into if it isolates that well.

Tom
 
tmix said:
What is a M201?

It sounds like some I would love to look into if it isolates that well.

Tom
Click to expand...

Beyer Dynamic M201 is a mic with a hypercardioid pattern, a low output and a very nice off axis response. It's much more expensive that the SM57, but a much better mic.

The freq response is an almost flat line.
 
Eh,...

I use the SM57 on everything, including drums. Although the mic's raw sound is not stellar, I find I can dial in just about any sound I want with a bit of EQ. I've never been disappointed, & they've never let me down. I have 4, and could gladly use more. Pls send all your "throwaway" SM57's to me. Thanx. /DA :eek:

PS: If my resulting sound is less than stellar, it may be a personal failure to properly mix, but it's not a failing of the mic.
 
A Reel Person said:
I use the SM57 on everything, including drums. Although the mic's raw sound is not stellar, I find I can dial in just about any sound I want with a bit of EQ. I've never been disappointed, & they've never let me down..
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I was happy with the sound of them too. Until I got something else. There was always something kind of nasty going on. I used to think it was the room but my tracking room is well treated and drums themselves sound good in there. Turns out, it was the shitty off axis bleed from the 57's. Since they are gone, I get a much more focused/tighter sound. The current lineup for drums is

D6 kick
M201 snare
MD421 x 2 toms
Baby Bottle OH



I don't completely hate them. They still have their duty of micing 4x12 cabs and of course live work.
 
whered you get your 201? i would love one but theyre a little expensive for me....
 
photoresistor said:
whered you get your 201? i would love one but theyre a little expensive for me....
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I got it off Ebay. It was from FullCompass. $175 new.
 
I find that my 57s come to life on the right preamp, like a GR ME-1NV. Otherwise they sound like a cheap dynamic.

Just my .oooo$
Rob
 
rdozz said:
I find that my 57s come to life on the right preamp, like a GR ME-1NV.
...
Rob
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Bingo. An SM57 through a basic clean preamp - even without a pedigree, like a DMP3 - is suddenly a different mic.

But I know what you mean about using one mic for everything and then getting something more specialized - stuff wakes up all over again. I expect it's a continuing thing. Hope so, any way - kind of a nice feeling to get something new and hear the difference right away.

I'll still keep the SM57 handy, though. Tough little sucker and it keeps surprising me.
 
i've been using a beyer m201 on snare lately and it's usually a better mic on snare. but i'm usually very pragmatic about which mic to use because on some kits the sm57 just sounds better....


Thomas
 
Another vote for the M201. I got one used from eBay after reading praises for it here by Harvey Gerst and DJL, among others. It's now my dedicated snare mic.
 
HangDawg said:
Oh, and thanks DLJ for recommending the M201. It's just heavenly on snare. And the hihat bleed is nothing more than a faint sizzle.
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You're more than welcome... I'm always happy to help... although you'd never know it by my red rep square... lol. :)
 
You're more than welcome... I'm always happy to help... although you'd never know it by my red rep square... lol.
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Haha, that's awesome! Do the mods here hate you or something? Hilarious; I wonder what I have to do to get a black rep square.....
 
FWIW there are top class AE's, like Tony Visconti, who use SM57's all the time on toms. Another strong AE who posts at Gearslutz (Slipperman), told a story about his mentor using ALL SM57's on a kit-including overheads (gasp). And he said that record still sounds great today. Seems to be just an application issue then.

Can certainly understand another mic being easier technically though.

Chris
 
chessparov said:
Can certainly understand another mic being easier technically though.
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For me it's a cost issue. A $200 M201 kills a $90 SM57 on a $100 preamp. If I have to spend $1000 on a pre to get the SM57 to sound good, I'm not going to use the SM57.
 
mshilarious, as Treeline pointed out, a nice pre like a DMP3 can make a '57 sound "good". When I tried the Joe Meek 3Q, thought it was superior to the DMP3 (smoother/more detailed mid-range), on a LDC. Didn't have a chance to evaluate it, however, on a dynamic mic. ("only" a singer here BTW)

The RNP doesn't cost a grand either, and is reputed to match great on a Shure.

Another option is EQing the Shure with an affordable quality parametric EQ,
like the DBX 242.

The point of these outboard suggestions would be to upgrade the entire chain-not just replace an existing mic IMHO.

Chris
 
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