Shure SM57 variations or variants?
- Thread starter Dirtybluegene
- Start date
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I am a huge ebay guy, but no.
There are definitely crappy chinese copies that sound nothing like the real deal, so this is a mic I would certainly buy new from a reputable seller.
boop
Tele-Afflicted
There are counterfeit Shure mics all over the place. If it's being sold as new and it's cheap, then it's fake. I just went down a rabbit hole with the SM7b. I learned everything I could about identifying fakes and I bought a second hand listing that had good images of the internal of the microphone. Then I went and bought a used inline mic preamp off of reverb annnd it's counterfeit.
If you learn what to look for, you can consider shopping second hand.
sine-post.co.uk This website is a few years old, so there may be some outdated info, but it looks pretty comprehensive. It reminds me I should weigh my microphone as a final sanity check 
If you learn what to look for, you can consider shopping second hand.
A Guide to Spotting Fake SM57s and SM58s - Sine-Post Audio
Are You Sure it’s a Shure? by Guy Joyner Overview As two of the most popular mics in existence, the Shure SM57 and SM58 have pretty much dominated the affordable microphone market since their introduction in the mid 60s, becoming synonymous with ruggedness and reliability. But lifelong...
sine-post.co.uk Last edited:
Monoprice99
Friend of Leo's
I would be suspicious of anyone trying to sell a Shure SM57 for $ 179. Unless something has changed, Shure MSRP's those for $ 99. The LC is just a SM57 without the XLR cable, and that's what Shure packages the SM57 as. With all the fakes online, I wouldn't try to low ball a Shure microphone. A used one is going to be less than $ 99. because it's used. Microphones are personal items for the most part, sweat & saliva in anything wind screen & cartridge. It's almost as bad as buying a used toothbrush. That said, I ended up getting a Pyle PDMIC78 because it was $ 17 with a 15 foot XLR => 1/4 TS cable delivered. I can't really tell the difference for what I use it for, I can buy 5 Pyles for a single Shure and mic instruments, cabs, do vocals as well with more microphones. Always have a backup. The Pyles are 3+ years old now, so the 1 year warranty vs 10 years is a pretty meaningless warranty for the Shure. Besides to get the 10 year warranty, you have to register the product with Shure to activate the additional 9 year warranty of the 10 years. so it cost $ 83 for an additional 9 year warranty. I'll take my chances & spend another $ 17 & have a backup microphone. But that's a personal preference for how anyone feels about it. I guess if one performs professionally, the Shure is the way to get that proven stage cred. Funny though, I read about the Shure Presidential SM57, they use 2 microphones for Presidential addresses, only because 1 is a backup for a failure situation. Good enough for the POTUS to use a backup, the Pyle & a Pyle backup was the direction of my decision.
www.shure.com
The SM57 and the President of the United States: A Webinar
Join us August 25 for a special "prime time" webinar about the history of the relationship between the iconic SM57 and the President.
www.shure.com Last edited:
Dirtybluegene
Tele-Holic
Thanks everyone. I should have mentioned this is Australian dollars. $170-$200 seems to be the going rate for most reputable music stores in Australia. There are loads in the $80 ball park that are new, but they ain't from music shops- they also sell cheese graters, shoe horns, belly button jewellery, dash cams and novelty handcuffs....
john_cribbin
Friend of Leo's
The cheese graters will probably sound better than those 80 dollar fakes. No idea if Behringer are available down there, but they make well regarded reverse engineered Shures for a little money.
suthol
Friend of Leo's
Behringer are most certainly available and one of their LDCs is my go to for my voice, Julie & Max prefer my old Sennheiser MD427 the get stagefright when confronted by a condenser mic because they pick up too much detail
jackal
Friend of Leo's
While the SM57 is the standard for miking amps, the SM57Beta is my favorite vocal mic.
Dirtybluegene
Tele-Holic
Thanks. They certainly are and I use a couple of their pedals because sounds so great.
codamedia
Poster Extraordinaire
When buying a 57 or 58 mic, buy from a legit source. There are so make fakes out there I won't even consider looking at a used one or buying from any place other than my local music store.
A while back I started buying Shure mics to outfit a band. Of the 6 used ones I bought, 4 were counterfeits. 3 were really good counterfeits and 1 was garbage.
A discount music vendor popped up around that time that seemed legit. They had limited deals every day. One day the deal was 4 SM58s for like 40% off the normal price. Turned out to be fakes, but I was able to return them.
I'd only buy Shure mics new from an authorized dealer.
A discount music vendor popped up around that time that seemed legit. They had limited deals every day. One day the deal was 4 SM58s for like 40% off the normal price. Turned out to be fakes, but I was able to return them.
I'd only buy Shure mics new from an authorized dealer.
Timbresmith1
Poster Extraordinaire
Sennheiser e609 can often be had for the same price, and is a better mic in every way, imo.
And I don't think they are cloned/counterfeited.
The singer in our band has two Unidyne 57s from the 70s that are the only thing he will sing into. They do seem much more responsive and more capable of feedback rejection than the modern sm57. He is forever trying to get me to use the one he’s not singing into, but I much prefer to accidentally bang my face on a 58 when I’m singing and playing and stepping on pedals and all that.
Lou Tencodpees
Poster Extraordinaire
At the end of my gigging days I bought a Beta 58 and just couldn't get along with it. Then I bought a Beta 57 and liked it much better. These days I rarely record my amp but when I do I use a Sennheiser E906. I honestly can't find much use for my SM57 and the betas in my home recording environment.
A used working SM-57/58 should sell for more than those new eBay models for $40, which screams counterfeit to me.
This. I’ll never go back to a 57.
You should be able to pick up a real SM57 cheap used. Seems they are around all the time. I dont think there is much difference sound wise from an SM58 but the SM57 is more directional ....picking up less surrounding sound. Harder to find a 57 with a switch than a 58 though.
Ben Harmless
Poster Extraordinaire
As a caveat, while I myself would generally only buy a '57 new from a reputable vendor at this point, I'll also suggest that if someone has a '57 in their possession, some of the "experts" on the internet have posted things that suggest certain features indicate a fake mic, but do not. I was convinced that I had a fake at one point, and threw the mic in a box for about 10 years. I looked again later, with a more critical eye, and some of the things that had been suggested as indicating a fake were in fact reflected in pictures of actual products on Shure's website. Things like the number of holes near the XLR connector and the specifics of the typeface on the label have actually changed over time. Looking at the wire colors and for the presence of the transformer are overall better indicators.
Also, because I'm mildly contrary, I'll say that I own an e609 and an e906, but I find '57s more useful in many situations.
...The e609 actually gets pressed into service for weird, effected vocals sometimes.
Also, because I'm mildly contrary, I'll say that I own an e609 and an e906, but I find '57s more useful in many situations.
...The e609 actually gets pressed into service for weird, effected vocals sometimes.
