SM58 Uses?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Valley Arts Kid
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Valley Arts Kid

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It seems like the SM58 is rarely discussed as a recording mic, and that it's mainly used on stage for vocals. Yet it has a frequency response very close to the 57. Has anyone found a good use for the 58 in the studio?
 
They sound good on guitar cabs, probably on anything a SM57 is good for but the big ball grill makes them hard to mic some things with (like snare). If you got one laying around, use it. I wouldn't get it over the 58 over the 57 for recording though, if nothing else, the 57 is 10 bucks cheaper. Both are pretty lacking on vocal recording.
 
Yes I do have one lying around, and I'm going to try it on a Fender HR Deville 212, since I don't have a 57.
 
You can always unscrew the windscreen and use it without.
 
scrubs said:
You can always unscrew the windscreen and use it without.
Click to expand...

Careful you don't wack it with a drumstick though. On gtr cabs it should be fine.
 
I use one for recording; I think of it as a 57. My impression is that it's the same mic, just with a different windscreen and slightly less narrow pattern. I'm a total amateur, so I'm probably very wrong, but if I run out of 57s I'll reach for my 58. I haven't run extensive side-by-side tests or anything, but I find I get the same (or at least very similar) results from both of them.
 
It can be a good vocal mic for agressive vocals if you have a good preamp.
 
I found an old Shure in my toy box... a PE86L, which I bought in the late 1980's. I went online to Shure's archives and discovered that Shure made them from 1984-1993, and the spec's, including freq response, etc. seem identical to the SM57, but with the round grille like the 58 instead. I think I'm going to try it as a second mic for my guitar amp cabinet.
 
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Valley Arts Kid said:
It seems like the SM58 is rarely discussed as a recording mic, and that it's mainly used on stage for vocals. Yet it has a frequency response very close to the 57. Has anyone found a good use for the 58 in the studio?
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Several. :D

Okay, so those were my uses for the 57, but as you mention, they're very close. ;)
 
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