The Shure SM57 is the industry standard mic for guitar amps, snare drums, percussion and many other components of amplified music. It is also heavily used by performing musicians because of it’s solid build, cheap price , and dependability. Not just an instrument mic, it is also widely used as a live vocal mic as well as a “podium” mic, most notably used by the President of the United States to mic all of his speeches.
GREAT VIDEO! Shure SM57 microphone-review
The Shure SM57 is the industry standard mic because it is a great mic that will never let you down. A statement that has been proven time and time again thousands of times over since 1965. Ironically it was created by a guy who hated rock music, and 50 years later it is as much a part of the band as the electric guitar.
SHURE SM57 AT AMAZON
The Shure SM57 is a Dynamic Cardioid Microphone. Dynamic microphones do not require external power or batteries and are more suited to louder sound pressure levels than other types of microphones such as the Condenser Microphones, or Ribbon Microphones, and that makes Dynamic Microphones perfect for loud amplifiers, snare drums, and loud vocals (screaming). The Cardioid pickup pattern refers to the directional response of the Shure SM57 microphone. Cardioid microphones try to only pick up sound that the mic is pointed at, and they attempt to reject sound coming from the sides and back. This is perfect for situations where there are a lot of musicians in the room, or if you are trying to record in a noisy environment. Other pickup patterns on other mic’s include hyper-cardioid meaning it picks up sound from the front and back but rejects sounds from the sides, and omni-directional that means it picks up sound from all sides (great for recording the whole room such as a choir).
SHURE SM57 AT AMAZON
The Shure SM57 contains a pneumatic shock-mount system that cuts down on handling noise which is perfect for live performance vocalists that like to hold the mic when they sing. You will notice a lot of noise when touching a mic that is live and does not contain some type of pneumatic shock-mount system. The noise comes through the speakers like someone is tapping the mic and can be very loud.
The frequency response of the Shure SM57 is 40 Hz to 15,000 Hz. Meaning it can pick up pretty much any sound that you can hear. The response dips a little below 100 Hz which is good to help keep the sound from getting muddy, and there is a slight boost after about 5000Hz which help instruments stand out a little by adding a little “shine” to the sound called a presence rise. Simple put this makes the instrument of vocals sound a little bit clearer.
Shure SM57 Overview (Acoustic)
The Shure SM57 weighs in at only about 10 ounces and I personally saw them take tremendous abuse. Dropped, slammed down, swung by the mic cable, etc. ant it just keeps coming back for more. Every time sounding great. It connects to the sound board via 3 pin XLR jack which is the standard for professional microphones. It also has a wind screen that you can put over the capsule to cut down on vocal pops and clicks, and also helps out cutting down on wind noise. Otherwise the flat front of the Shure SM57 lets you get extremely close to the sound that you are trying to mic really giving you a great sound with very little background noise.
Honestly the Shure SM57 does not really need my recommendation, the fact that it has been used on almost every recorded song and is used on practically every stage since 1965 should tell you that this mic is more than worth the purchase. Get yourself one and start to enjoy the sound it helps you create and it will do so for a very long time.
SHURE SM57 AT AMAZON
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