SM 57 outdated??

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cmaconsulting

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Hey everyone... Glad to be on here. I know everyone loves their SM 57's, and it's good to have 80 of them around, but can you honestly say that there aren't better options out there for around the same price... such as the Beta 57?

I know SM57's are Shure's claim to fame along with the SM58's, but seriously, for $10 more, isn't the beta the mic everyone should have laying around?

Here's an interesting article written by a recording and mastering engineer... maybe we'll get a few converts!

Part 1
http://www.alexandermagazine.com/recordingeq/weeklytip/05tip11-3b.asp

Part 2
http://www.alexandermagazine.com/recordingeq/weeklytip/05tip12-1b.asp
 
where did you find a Beta57 for $10 more than an SM57? the SM is $90, and the beta is $140... And it sounded like the only thing he was using these on are cymbals, there was no other references made.
 
cmaconsulting said:
Hey everyone... Glad to be on here. I know everyone loves their SM 57's, and it's good to have 80 of them around, but can you honestly say that there aren't better options out there for around the same price... such as the Beta 57?
Click to expand...

If you think everyone loves their SM57s, you should read my opinion of the SM57/58. In particular, I like #6: Baseball bat for midgets.

Yes, I think there are better options out there for the same price. I wouldn't have picked the Beta 57, though. I think you can still do a good bit better for the same price or not much more....
 
Interesting thoughts...I wondered why the midget who came to record at my studio took off running when I pulled out the 57... now I know!

I was able to get a beta 57 on ebay shipped for $105... there were several others there for the same price.
 
dgatwood said:
If you think everyone loves their SM57s, you should read my opinion of the SM57/58. In particular, I like #6: Baseball bat for midgets.

Yes, I think there are better options out there for the same price. I wouldn't have picked the Beta 57, though. I think you can still do a good bit better for the same price or not much more....
Click to expand...


What are your suggestions for similar or slightly higher priced mics that you think are "better."

I'm not looking to pick a fight. Just curious to hear some different points of view.
 
cmaconsulting said:
Interesting thoughts...I wondered why the midget who came to record at my studio took off running when I pulled out the 57... now I know!

I was able to get a beta 57 on ebay shipped for $105... there were several others there for the same price.
Click to expand...

Great, if you shop on eBay you can get an SM57 for $60 shipped on eBay. What's your point?

Anyway, spend $125 on eBay and get some Beyer M201s. You'll soon forget about all this SM57 stuff.

Better mics? Oh yes. For the same price as an SM57? Probably not.
 
thewanderer24 said:
What are your suggestions for similar or slightly higher priced mics that you think are "better."

I'm not looking to pick a fight. Just curious to hear some different points of view.
Click to expand...

Heheh. Well, personally, I'd take an older Unisphere I over the SM57/58 any day of the week. I got my Shure 565SD for $12 on eBay a few years back. :D

Oh, you mean new mics. The Beta 57/58 are really close in price to the bottom end Shinybox ribbon, which I've used (in its Nady variant) for vocals and trombone.... It's a really nice sounding mic for those uses. A little bright on trumpet (wow, a ribbon sounding too bright!?!) but useable. I also used it at the tone hole of an acoustic guitar, combined with a LDC up the neck a bit. Sounded pretty nice, IMHO.

I've heard lots of people raving about the Studio Projects B1. It comes in at $99 or so, somewhere between an SM57 and a Beta. Haven't tried it myself, but I like my B3 with a little shelving high cut. High end isn't as smooth as I'd like but at least it's there....

An SM57 response curve for reference:

SM57rc.gif


The way it's plotted really emphasizes the problem. Note the hyping from 3k-10k, ragged from 7-10k, and dead as a brick from 15k up.

For comparison, the Nady RSM-2 is +/- 3dB from 30Hz-18kHz. Relatively smooth. The SP B1 official response is 20Hz-20kHz, but I can't read too much into that without a dB figure to go with it....
 
cmaconsulting said:
Hey everyone... Glad to be on here. I know everyone loves their SM 57's, and it's good to have 80 of them around, but can you honestly say that there aren't better options out there for around the same price... such as the Beta 57?
Click to expand...

It depends what you mean by better, but I wouldn't be thinking of the Beta 57 in that regard. There are some things that the SM 57 is inherently well suited to, but I think it can do an ok job at just about anything. Along with many moving coil microphones, it isn't well suited to recording any kind of transient acoustic stuff with a lot of bright content. This isn't any kind of justification for putting a beta 57 in those applications either, because the job is better suited to condenser and ribbon mics.

I own 2 SM 57's and a Beta 57. The Beta is a bit more lacking in the bass and mids than the SM, although it's much more of a bright mic. I still prefer the SM 57 for guitar cabinets and snare easily over the beta. They're very different mics, and I think saying that one is better is a very subjective thing. On the wrong source, the beta can be downright shrill.

cmaconsulting said:
I know SM57's are Shure's claim to fame along with the SM58's, but seriously, for $10 more, isn't the beta the mic everyone should have laying around?
Click to expand...

In my experience, the Beta is more than 10 bucks over the SM, and that opens you up to other choices by Beyerdynamic and EV that will do a better job of covering the SM 57's bases than the Beta 57 will. The SM 57 is dark purple. The Beta 57 is hot pink.

cmaconsulting said:
Here's an interesting article written by a recording and mastering engineer... maybe we'll get a few converts!

Part 1
http://www.alexandermagazine.com/re.../05tip11-3b.asp

Part 2
http://www.alexandermagazine.com/re.../05tip12-1b.asp
Click to expand...

That article looks very biased to me. Granted, there are some engineers that wouldn't be using an SM 57 for very much given the choice of other mics, and a few who actually hate the thing, but I suspect close to none of them would replace that choice with a Beta 57 very often, unless they want the sound of hot pink. Frequency response graphs mean close to nothing more often than not. Neither of these mic choices is vaguely similar to an RE20. Off axis response only matters if you're off axis, which can also be used as a tone control sometimes. I'm not saying that the Beta 57 is bad at all, it's a great mic - just different. Very different. That's what having a good mic locker is all about.

Choices.


sl
 
The SM57 was never considered such a super-fantastic microphone. It became a standard because of three features:

1. Cheap

2. Durable

3. Predictable and Available.

So to describe the SP B1 as the newer SM57 is bogus because it only has two of the qualities. To say that some other mic is 'only a few dollars more' also misses it because cheap is part of the whole attractiveness. Some cheap dynamic that nobody has heard of is the same thing.

So the alternative has to match the SM57 in all three characteristics and offer something more. Here is my choice

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=rec/search/detail/base_pid/270831/

They are cheaper than 57's, durable, from a vendor with a great reputation in dynamic mics, have an excellent warranty, and a better response curve.
 
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Ya know, the lowly 57 and 58 get a lot of flack, but I believe their still just as usable as they ever were. They do a damn good job, they're built to last, and they don't cost all that much either. I just read that the Rolling Stones are using standard 57's and 58's for their vocals and amps on their Bigger Bang tour, so these mics MUST still be good enough for rock-n-roll. ;)
 
The 57 sounds great when a little grit is ok. On a distorted guitar, snare or heavy vocal it can be just the thing.

People get too caught up in better.

This 57 bashing trend is going too far. The 57 and 58 earned their reputation as stage mics with awesome rejection and a freq response that works wonders in that enviornment. Every mic has it's use.
 
Speaking of great deals on ebay, I picked up TWO BRAND NEW SM57s for $81.
 
Last wednesday I was experimenting with mics wrapped in foam in the bridge of an upright bass. The SM 57 was the worst sounding of them all, even the $25 Audio Technica AT 832 sounds ten times better.
 
I dunno, a lot of pros are still using the 57 on guit cabs, by choice. Music is so diverse nowdays, I think it's a little close minded to say one kind of music (or one mic) is no good just because we happen to prefer something else. It's really just a matter of taste.
 
Sennheiser 421.......

jake-owa said:
Sure, the 421 is smoother, wider and far more detailed...but also two to three as much money street price.
Click to expand...
So perhaps a 421 provides 3 times as many microphone options?
BG/HSG
 
Sure, but I think we are talking about a replacement in all aspects?

In the same vein there is alwasy the e604 which is tiny but sounds much better than a 57 on most things in the same price range.

By the way I am not talking out my ass here, I own 57s (beta as well) a 58, 421, 604s as well as a slew of other more expensive mics.
 
Innovations said:
The SM57 was never considered such a super-fantastic microphone. It became a standard because of three features:

1. Cheap

2. Durable

3. Predictable and Available.

So to describe the SP B1 as the newer SM57 is bogus because it only has two of the qualities. To say that some other mic is 'only a few dollars more' also misses it because cheap is part of the whole attractiveness. Some cheap dynamic that nobody has heard of is the same thing.
Click to expand...

Wait... which two? For condensers, the B1 is cheap. Not by dynamic standards, but then again, neither is the SM57.

If you want something that meets those three criteria by dynamic standards, my vote would be the AKG D2300S. $70 for a pair. (When I bought them, though, mine cost about $6 apiece on sale, I think.) They're durable, cheap, and predictable and available. They're a bit brighter than I'd like, but I've used them on voice and toms. They work better on the latter than the former. :D
 
Depends on the skill of the AE...

In the hands of Bob Ohlsson or Tony Visconti, for example, the SM57
is more than capable of high quality "release" level vocals on anyone!
(assuming the singer CAN sing)

BTW there are affordable pre's around now, like those based on a Burr-Brown chip, that the Shure's sound good on.

Also there are a legion of rock singers that the 'ol 57 or 58 sound
great on like Robert Plant or Paul Rodgers IMHO.

Chris
 
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