User reviews: Shure SM57

11/01/11

heads on fire's review "Buy one."

Dynamic Microphone

Frequency Response - 40 to 15,000 Hz

Polar Pattern - Unidirectional (cardioid), rotationally symmetrical about microphone axis, uniform with frequency.

Sensitivity (at 1,000 Hz) Open Circuit Voltage: -56.0 dBV/Pa* (1.6 mV)

*(1 Pa = 94 dB SPL)

Impedance - Rated impedance is 150 ohms (310 ohms actual) for connection to microphone inputs rated low impedance

Polarity - Positive pressure on diaphragm produces positive voltage on pin 2 with respect to pin 3

Connector - Three-pin professional audio connector (male XLR type)

Case - Dark gray, enamel-painted, die-cast steel with a polycarbonate grille and a stainless steel screen

Net Weight (without cable) - 284 grams (10 oz)

Overall Opinion

This is a good mic. It does the job, sounds decent on most applications, but excels on electric guitars and snare drums. It can be decent on toms, or even kick, and some vocalists, particularly male vocalists, can sound incredible on one. Every studio on this planet has one of these mics. It's not the best mic - I can always think of a better microphone for certain applications, but this will always get the job done, and they are easy to find for very cheap. Also, they are extremely durable, and even moddable - some engineers have found a way to take the transformer out of the circuit to get the microphone to sound more like the high-dollar SM7. I've worked clubs where the singer chucked an SM57 as hard as they could at a brick wall, and the mic still worked just fine.

Bottom line - get one or two just to have, they can always find a use in a live or studio application. An Audix I5 or Heil PR30 might be a better mic, and works for similar applications, but everyone has one of these, so everyone knows what to expect of them and how to EQ them to taste. Even though there are better mics, I'd still recommend an SM57 to any musician or engineer.

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10/26/11

Grosbourrin's review " SM57, a safe bet"

Characteristics

We no longer need to describe the  SM57, a worldwide bestseller that every studio has at least one copy.

Overall Opinion

The SM57 microphone is extremely versatile and robust, able to withstand very high sound pressures and adapted to any type of take (guitar, bass, snare, vocals etc ...)

As effective in the studio or live, you can buy this microphone with your eyes closed!

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10/10/11

ejendres's review "The industry standard for a reason"

Characteristics

In my experience this is the most common mic on the stage and in the studio. It is a dynamic mic. It is the industry standard for a reason, it is tough, it is cheap, and it sounds good. I got mine second hand from a guy who had had it for years. The thing is dinged up and the grill is bent, but it still works beautifully. Its typically used to mic guitars and snares from what I've seen, but I've used it on vocals and even acoustic guitar and its held its own. I think one of the reasons its become the industry standard is because of this versatility. Though it isn't the best mic for everything, it is a good mic for nearly everything.

Overall Opinion

The thing I like least about the mic is also thing I like most. It has this nasty little upper midrange hump that makes the mic cut beautifully live, but also can boost some unwanted frequencies in a studio situation. That said, its pretty easy to compensate for this with mic placement and equalization.

Undoubtedly this mic is a great value. They can be had for $100 new, less if you buy used. They're rugged, easy to use, quiet, and they sound great.

In the studio it seems to really help if you pair them with a condenser mic. The best sounds I ever got out of it was when I blended it with my AT2020. This mic helps to really fill out out the condenser sound.

Overall this is a great mic, and amazing for the price. On the stage it'll cut through in a mix and will reliable night after night. In the studio it is a great tool, especially if you've taken the time to learn how to use it best.

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09/21/11

ericthegreat's review

Characteristics

The Shure SM 57 is a classic mic that has a very natural sound about it. And it doesn’t pick up too much background noise. I think everyone that has every recorded has came across the Shure SM 57. For the price, this mic just can't be beat. Selling for under $100 in most retail stores and online, anyone investing in a good microphone can afford to consider the SM57. Shure has long been working men's gear, available and affordable for working local musicians, yet used and respected by international touring professionals. You can use this mic in a home studio, some major studio’s even have it. Or for a live performance in an indoor or and outdoor setting it will still sound great.

Overall Opinion

The Shure SM 57 is a classic mic that has a very natural sound about it. And it doesn’t pick up too much background noise. I think everyone that has every recorded has came across the Shure SM 57. For the price, this mic just can't be beat. Selling for under $100 in most retail stores and online, anyone investing in a good microphone can afford to consider the SM57. Shure has long been working men's gear, available and affordable for working local musicians, yet used and respected by international touring professionals. You can use this mic in a home studio, some major studio’s even have it. Or for a live performance in an indoor or and outdoor setting it will still sound great.

Given the choice to do it all over again, I'd invest my money in the exact same three SM57's I have now. Whenever I'm making up a stage I always run out of 57's before I'm ready, so I guess I should go get another pair of them. I own other instrumental mics designed for live and studio applications, and I'm just really pleased with the 57's.

I've used these mics in live shows to amplify guitar cabinets, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano, hand drums, snare drum, and on occasion, voices. (Although, for vocal applications, vocalists will practically need to swallow the grill to be amplified well - not much of a pickup range on this mic for vocals, so stay close to it while singing.) No matter which instrument's being played into the SM57, it produces clear, clean signal; especially when used for a live horn . If you havent used this mic before I suggest you going out and getting it, even if its not your first mic, it’s a very well rounded mic and can do what ever you need it to do for a very cheap price when it comes to mics.

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09/12/11

themaddog's review "The standard for guitar cab/snare drum"

Characteristics

This is a dynamic microphone meant primarily for live instrument use. It is generally used to mic the cabinets of guitar amp speakers and snare drums. They've been making them for very long time without an on/off switch on the vast majority of their models. In a bind, it also works decently for backup vocals and is good for playing with a talkbox since it doesn't have the round ball windscreen. Run with it, spit on it, drop it, and it'll still keep on working, sounding the same as it ever did (even with a bent grill).

Overall Opinion

This is the standard for miking instruments, especially guitar cabs and snare drums. Most clubs use this as their house mic, but that doesn't mean it is the very best mic. It is a good standard microphone for most people. For those with a thin sounding voice, using the proximity effect of boosting the bass by putting the mic right to their lips will give a much fuller sound.

The SM57 is pretty quiet when handled, which is probably its greatest attribute live.

Electrically it is very similar to the Shure SM58, which is the standard for miking vocals. If you are in a bind, you can use an SM57 for this purpose and probably won't hear the difference between the two microphones.

If you can get this microphone used, it's great to have a small arsenal of these if you have a band with multiple vocalists. That being said, there are a lot of phonies out there from the East, so beware when buying one used, especially over the internet. If you purchase a new one, buy it from a reputable, local store if possible.

For a starter project studio, this or the SM58 are great first microphones as they are so versatile. They might not be the best recording microphones, but they can be used for so many different purposes. On vacation I've taken an SM58 with me for recording in a Portastudio and achieved some good results. If I had to choose between an arsenal of 57's or 58's, I'd got with 57's because they are a little cheaper, provide similar results as 58's, but are more versatile in the studio when used for miking cabs and drums. I have used them to record toms, which a lot of people say is a no no, but achieved the results I was listening for.

I've never had a Shure product quit on me, which is saying something!

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09/05/11

yoTrakkz's review

Characteristics

The Shure SM57 mic was basically created to record those live instruments and I must say it does so extremely well. When you record those brass instruments with it, they come through crystal clear. Just make sure you keep it at a decent distance away from the instruments because there is not screen or anything to stop clicking and popping. Which is good because that’s how you are going to get the real sound of the instrument and nothing to disembody it at all.

I recommend anyone using instruments such as a snare drum, guitar amps and congos or kick drums along with the sax and woodwind instruments to use this mice immediately you wont find a better mic at such a good price. Once you look at the price of this thing you will say to your self that this cant be a good mic. But Shure has created top quality mics that are extremely affordable for years and this on tops them all off. We have all searched for a mic that can record live instruments, the better mic are extremely pricey and aren’t as good as they sound. The Shure SM 57 is the instrument microphone that we have all been waiting for, I am even thinking of purchasing a few more of these as I am getting into playing more and more live instruments.

Overall Opinion

The SM57 is extremely effective grabbing the natural sound of your live and while not picking up any background noise that is flouting around in your studio. The Shure SM57 delivers great performance and its very reliable and diverse. This mic has been chosen by several artist and producers worldwide, so you should give a try and you will see that this is the mic for live instrumentals you have been searching for your whole career.

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08/27/11

nickname009's review

Characteristics

The SM57 is a legendary mic and has become the industry standard for almost EVERYTHING.

Dynamic mic, with cardioid polar pattern. An a supposed extended response.

The dynamic mic part itself is quite small not like a vocal mic like the SM58 but can still generally be used for vocals, drums, guitars, saxophones, congas, harmonica, etc etc the list goes on. So in that sense it's versatile, just like most mics, as they should be!

Overall Opinion

I can't really explain how they've become the industry standard mic. I'm not saying that they sound bad, there are better mics out there for the price of course. Maybe it's because they are relatively inexpensive and also sound decent? I can't say that they sound great or transparent as the Sm57 to my ears seems to be a bit sterile at some points and sometimes has a little bit too much highs and treble presence, making everything a little bit brighter. It also doesn't completely capture the low end of certain instruments properly i feel, but it definitely captures a spectrum of sound that seems to cut through the mix and sound alright.

I've used these mics on a numerous amount of recordings and live situations for guitar, bass, vocals, drums, brass and harmonics primarily.

I wouldn't say this is the best mic for whatever application but I do think this is a very generic sounding mic with enchanced presence and highs. But it has become so renowned now that everybody and their grandmother has one! It always seems to be that way, that the decent stuff that's well priced, becomes something of a classic.

Overall though, decent mic, decently priced.

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08/25/11

polishdog90's review "Cheap and Classic"

Characteristics

Specifications:

Microphone Type - Dynamic

Polar Pattern - Cardioid

Frequency Response - 40Hz-15kHz

Impedance - 150 ohms

Length - 6.18"

Width - 1.25"

Depth - 1.25"

Weight - .63 lbs.

This microphone is the jack of all trades microphone. I have put it on countless sound sources and it sounds pretty good on most of them. Of course there are usually better microphones for each individual source but for the price you cant beat the sm57. Even with much more expensive higher end microphones available, I still find myself using this on guitar amps and snare drums. It's also a great mic for live sound. Since it sounds good on almost any instrument having a bunch of these around is handy if you need to slap a mic on an instrument real quick but don't have time to test a bunch of different mics to see which sounds best. This mic works well on loud sources as well as quiet. And by loud I mean REALLY loud. Fully cranked guitar amps and John Bonham drummers won't make this clip (unless your preamps are total garbage).

Overall Opinion

I absolutely love this mic. I use it in almost every session I record. My go to is to use this mic on snare drums and pair it with a large diaphragm condenser and put it on guitar amps. But really you can mic anything on this and it will sound alright. Any studio should have at least a couple of 57s lying around for all purpose recording. For $100 you really can't beat the price. It isn't the clearest microphone (it's kind of dark) but it sounds good. I have compared it with much higher end microphones (Blue, Neumann, Rode, AT, etc) but still prefer it for some sound sources. I would buy one again in a heartbeat and I'm sure I will buy many more in my audio engineering career.

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08/03/11

James...'s review "The quintessential instrument mic"

Characteristics

You know this mic. The dynamic SM57 Legendary for guitar and studio vocals. Almost everyone has used one at some time or another. Great both live and in the studio. People say these have 101 uses. What more can you say?

Overall Opinion

As a guitarist and producer I tend to know what I like and what I don't. Most people tend to favor these most for electric guitar. I personally am not the biggest fan of that application. It's picky about positioning for one thing, and really needs to find the sweet spot on the speaker. In the studio, this isn't a big issue, but I play live a lot and I've found the 57 is not the best live speaker mic for me. Most of the time it's one of those "good but no great" mics for me. It has a harsh sound with my rig through most systems. If it's all I have at the time, I will use it though no problem. Usually the best sounds can be found by tilting it off axis. Maybe it's just me, but the 57 seems to add it's own distortion to an already distorted sound. I don't really like that. To be fair, it still sounds better than all the other guitar mics in its price range.

Where this mic really shines for me is on a snare drum. It adds a certain pop to the EQ that no other mic has gotten me. 90% of the time whether it's live or in the studio, I use this mic on my drummer's snare. It's quick and easy. Just tilt it towards the center of the head and you're good to go. Sounds great.

I've used it for bass, vocals, and cymbals. It sounds alright for all of these. Nothing spectacular. But for the value, it's amazing. That's really what it comes down to. Compared to other mics at this price, it's phenomenal. I would highly recommend you get 1 or 2 if you have a budget studio. They are well worth the price.

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06/27/11

Kierkes's review "When asked what would you do with $4000?"

Characteristics

This microphone is a workhorse.

I once came across a thread that asked: What would you do with $500? $1000? $2000? $4000? $10000?

A very popular answer (and very humorous) and very valid is as such:

$500: 5 SM57's

$1000: 10 SM57's

$2000: 20 SM57's

$4000: 40 SM57's

$10000: 100 SM57's.

People are enamored with this microphone. That's because it has a solid reputation for being unbelievably easy to EQ. It is great on lead vocals, background vocals, guitar cabinet, guitar, kick drum, and a variety of many, many other things. While it may not appear to sound that unbelievable initially while tracking, once it is in the mix, it is inanely easy to adjust the frequencies so that it works marvelously.

Is it a microphone that will particularly excel on all these sources? Of course not! That's not the point of it. The point of the SM57 is that it is fantastically versatile, not that it absolutely excels on everything. What microphone does?

It also finds itself at home on stage. I've experienced situations in which the SM57 is used on EVERY. SINGLE. SOUND. SOURCE. Nothing in any way was particularly lacking.

Overall Opinion

If you have one or two of these microphones, especially if you have a nice condenser to supplement it with, then you will have many, many bases covered. Nothing is particularly impossible to use when you are using the SM57. You just have to know what you're doing. All you really require is a bit of working knowledge of what parts to deaden, what parts t sweeten, what parts to roll off and raise.

For $100, it is very difficult to go wrong with the Shure SM57. It is a classic workhorse that has found its ways onto stages and into studios for decades, and will continue to do so for decades to come.

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Shure SM57

Shure SM57 user reviews ( 7/10) - 130 user reviews