Sm57 problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lomas
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Lomas

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I bought this microphone a year ago, and now I get incredibly low levels when recording. The setup is exactly the same, but no matter what I try I don't get near the levels I got before. I'm literally positioning it a centimeter from the guitar but it doesn't help.

Did I simply abuse this microphone or does anyone know what could be the problem?

I run it through a beringer mixer and then into a audiophile firewire soundcard...and then computer.

Any help much appreciated!
 
It seems like sometimes I get low levels when recording, and sometimes not. Maybe it's just my imagination, or maybe I'm just doing something wrong.. but I think I've had that problem before. It might have just been me doing something wrong.
 
i cant imagine a 57 actually breaking.. is the gain levels on the mixer down?
i would think its the board rather than the mic. try it into a different board/input.
 
No the meters are way up. And also, when using my A-51 mic with the same gain levels I get very high levels.

Also, what Austin says I recognize. I thought I was imagining but I'm pretty sure this problem came and went at least once before. It drives me crazy.
 
Maybe there is a Loose wire inside like one of the wires going to the XLR Connector....

Try opening it up and Looking arround for loose wires.....

Good luck
 
TragikRemix said:
i cant imagine a 57 actually breaking...
Click to expand...

Oh it can happen. I bought my first one a while ago and the thing broke the very next day. The soldering connections broke straight off. Not good.

It's probably the connections.
 
what is the pre? a DMP3 for instance has a low/high gain button that makes a big difference for this kind of thing. can you test the mic with a different pre? I understand you say that nothing has changed in your set up, but that really just means that nothing has changed that you are aware of.
 
breeeeza said:
Do you mean the meters as in faders or gain. There is normally a gain pot that sets how much gain the mic has therfore boosting the volume. You might have turned this down accidently. A damaged cable is very likely to be the problem. I had this problem. If one of the cables comes loose, there is only a very small signal coming in.
Or simply you may have turned the phantom power off without realising? :D
Click to expand...

Don't need phantom power with a 57
 
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like someone said, its probably the mixer. a behringer is much more likely to break than an SM57
 
breeeeza said:
SHIT REALLY? I DIDDNT KNOW. and to think i have been pumping 48v into my poor sm57 all this time thinking that it needs it to stay alive...:D :D
Dont worry, i know that :D Im just saying that it can be used and that he might have been using it before with phantom power so the signal was much stronger and if it was turned off the signal would be much weaker to what it was when he had phantom power on.
Just because it doesnt NEED phantom power, doesnt mean he diddnt use it.
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I'm no mic Guru but,I'm pretty certain that this makes no sense.The phantom
power being on or off should have no effect on a 57.
 
Not to argue or anything,but I dont think you are correct about this.I'm pretty sure that phantom power would have no effect on a dynamic mic.
If it does it is news to me.
 
Shut up, Loader. Can I call you Loader? Quit while you're ahead.

Dumbass.
 
Hey Loader, DC is for sissies. Pump some AC into that 57, that's the real trick to making it louder. :D 110 volts from pin 1 to pin 3 is the secret sauce. ;)
 
Robert D said:
Hey Loader, DC is for sissies. Pump some AC into that 57, that's the real trick to making it louder. :D 110 volts from pin 1 to pin 3 is the secret sauce. ;)
Click to expand...
Allright i will. I wont bother earthing it eather and i will make sure that its made out of steel. :D
 
and btw i deleted all of those posts NOT to prevent me looking stupid, which i blatently was :o But to stop other people getting the wrong idea. Cause i know the only reason i though that was cause i read it somewhere. :eek:
SheppardB your right, at least i think so. I will try it out again when my mixer comes. could it be possible that my xlr cable is wired wrong IF this actually does work?
 
Not to weigh into the debate about whether an SM57 needs phantom power (???), but recently when setting up for a gig, the drummer pulled out a condenser he was planning to use for an overhead. As soon as we switched phantom power on at the venue's small Yamaha desk (forget the model, but I think it was an MG series), all the gain dropped out of the 3 SM58s set up for the vocalists.
 
Lomas,

you might like to give these thoughts a try.

firstly, if you are still registering good signal levels, it's not likely to be the mike, but anyway, try:

1 swapping mikes to see if the same thing happens. If it does it's not the mike.

2 swapping cables. if the same thing happens it is not the cable

3 check the mixer settings. check for really dumb things first, like a solo or PFL button being pressed.

4 check path from mixer to pc. If signal is getting to mixer ok but not to PC, it could be here.

5 check any input and output settings on PC.
 
Maybe a contaminant (or a piece of it's windscreen / foam) is touching the diaphragm?
 
Hey!

Thanks for the thoughts.

The thing is, when I plug another microphone in it works fine. I don't know if there is a huge difference between the 57 and the A-51 that could make up for something in the mixer. But using the same cable and the same input with the A-51, everything works just fine.

About opening the mic, is that very complicated to do? Anything in particular I should watch out for when opening?

Thanks!
 
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