Shure 57 vs Shure 58

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TheOutkast

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Hey all,

I'm looking for a mic for mainly vocals, and some acoustic guitar. I know that the SM58 has a smaller range, and from what I can gather, they're indestructible. The SM57 has a farther pickup range and might be better with instruments? If anyone has experience on either of these two mics, any input is appreciated.

Thanks.
 
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I like my SM58 for gigs but not so much in the studio. I would describe the sound as "soft and pillowy" if that makes sense.

The SM57 is good for gigs too but makes my vocals kind of grainy and rough in a cool way that's good for some songs but not most. The SM58 would be better for more people on stage I think.

But the SM57 has a great sound on instruments like conga, shaker, vocals if you want that sound and guitar amps. It is the classic snare drum mic.

They're both good, classic mics. You really couldn't say that one was better but for me for recording in a studio I'd grab my SM57 before my 58 but on stage it's the opposite way around.

I find the 57 has a more cutting sound and the 58 a more smooth sound.
 
TheOutkast said:
Hey all,I'm looking for a mic for mainly vocals, and some acoustic guitar. I know that the SM58 has a smaller range, and from what I can gather, they're indestructible. The SM57 has a farther pickup range and might be better with instruments? If anyone has experience on either of these two mics, any input is appreciated. Thanks.
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Are you talking about recording Vocals and Acoustic Guitar?
Or are you talking about live performance?
HSG
 
Shure 57 vs Shure 58........and the winner is????????







Dam it's a tie!;)







:cool:
 
I don't like either.
Why limit yourself so drastically?
Why not an LDC or even a naiant SDC?
You've listed two popular rugged, go anywhere mics that aren't really suited to your specific range of use.
 
Both of these are dynamic mics... every studio is going to have a handful of 57's... they're great for amp micing and other uses. As far as which is better... ehhh... no one is going to answer with anything other than "it depends" because it does...

For recording, look into some condenser mics. The 58 is a great stage mic for vox, the 57 is useful on stage and in the studio for amp cabs and some other things... IMO.

If you like Shure, take a look at the KSM line. Remember that Condensers requre an external power source (phantom) so be sure you have that capability as well. There is plenty of information on here regarding all of that.

Dynamics certainly have their uses, but I think condenser is the way to go for your purposes.

Have fun.
 
+ 1 for condenser.
If it were me and I was doing ac guitar and vox, I'd reach for condensers every time.
In fact, I'd check into a pair of SDC's for the guitar and an LDC for vox.

I'd make sure I had phantom for 3 channels, maybe use the V67G (around $100) for my vocals and I'd probably check into the Niant mics and see which SDC's would work best on ac guitar, get a pair of em, set one up around the 12th fret angled slightly toward the sound hole and the other back around the bridge but not toward the sound hole. I'd probably mess around with the placement of these mics tho cuz that's kinda general. :)

Course, this is just what I'd check into...;)

Luck man...:drunk:
 
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Heil PR40?
http://recordinghacks.com/reviews/tapeop/heil-sound-pr40/
http://recordinghacks.com/microphones/Heil-Sound/PR-40
pr-40.jpg
 
I prefer the SM57, but for vocals both of them sounded terrible with my voice. (baritone opera singer). They seemed to shape it in a weird way bringing out too much midrange, and not capturing enough. A lot of people seem to like them for voice though, I suggest you get them somewhere that has a return policy so you can return it if you don't like it.
I found that the 58 has a rounder sound, while the 57 is more "cutting". I also think the 57 looks a lot cooler.
I really want to try the Sennheiser version of it, I think its the e639 or something, I read a review that said its better for hard rock singing.
 
The SM58 is the more useful option in studio construction where you can use it to hammer nails etc - beats the SM57 hands down because of its plastic top...

You can dip your SM57 into a bucket full of water however, and that's not something you'd try with a 58, given it'd make the windscreen soggy.. :laughings:

Personally, the most useful I've found either in recording vocals or acoustic guitar is as the control room mic via which I tell the guitar player (assuming it's not me...) "Not good enough, you'll have to do it again."

I've tried saying this same phrase to mysef but I never listen, and I don't need a mic given that I'm standing quite close to me. :confused:
 
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