shure 55-sh

[hotel2tango]

i have a chance to get one of these cheap. the only vocal mic i have at the moment is a crappy pg-48.what i want to know is are the 55-sh's any good?
i want an "old" sound to my recordings which is why i thought this mic might be good.

 

[mshilarious]

i have a chance to get one of these cheap. the only vocal mic i have at the moment is a crappy pg-48.what i want to know is are the 55-sh's any good?
i want an "old" sound to my recordings which is why i thought this mic might be good.

If you can get it cheap, say $75 or so, I recommend it. However it has an old look, but not really an old sound. It uses the same basic capsule as the 57/58, but in the 55SH, it has a wide cardioid/almost omni response. It should be a nice improvement over your PG48.

If it's much more than that, it becomes less attractive vs. the 57.

 

[hotel2tango]

ok. thanx.

 

[Hi_Flyer]

I wouldn't recommend this microphone. Our singer uses one and it looks cool, but doesn't sound all that great IMHO... Its acceptable for use on stage, but not the studio.

I think $75 would be better spent on an SM58 or something comparable.

 

[iancl]

Being designed for looks, it has big feedback problems on stage. Probably more so than even your PG.

 

[Big Kenny]

Needs a lot more gain than the others, results in more feedback issues

 

[mshilarious]

Needs a lot more gain than the others, results in more feedback issues

It is 3.5 dB less sensitive than a 58. However that in and of itself makes no difference for feedback, you turn up the gain 3.5dB and you have the same level.

No, the feedback problem is caused by its near-omni polar pattern. It will pick up your wedges quite easily.

However I think the mic has a nice tone, much better than a 58 for studio vocals. Here's the curves for comparison:

You can see at 7kHz they are quite different. The 55SH is relatively lower in the troublesome 3kHz range than the 58, with some added sparkle.