All user reviews of 4/5 for the Shure Beta 57A

The Shure Beta 57A is a very rugged mic, the transients with the 57A are clean and very fast. This microphone will sound awesome with no matter what you put it in front of. I have used it on guitars, vocals, drums, and even horn instruments. I feel like it sounds the best with a snare drum though and toms. The frequency response is just tweaked for the snare drum to me. This microphone is beyond durable, it reminds me a lot of the SM57 because of how tough it is with the steel mesh grille.

OVERALL OPINION

You can say this microphone is a great all around microphone and it is if you need it to be. It is definitely a microphone that you need to have around because you never know when you will have a use for it but I would not use it for vocals if you do not have to. It only cost 170 dollars now brand new, it is very affordable and you can purchase it and keep it for your drums and guitars. If you can stay away from using it with vocals I would. Not that it would record you cleanly, but that you can get a much cleaner vocal with a different Shure microphone like the SM57 and that microphone can be used just for your vocals. When it comes to vocals you need to have 1 designated microphone for that.
If you must use the Beta 57A for vocals and instruments then don’t be afraid to. It will handle the task with a doubt. This microphone is one of my favorite ones that Shure has made because it is very affordable, it is built to last a long time (like most Shure mics are) and it is awesome on drums. The polar pattern is supercardioid and the frequency range is 50Hz-16kHz giving it just the right touches to be a universal microphone for your home studio.

Shures dynamic microphone, apparently related building very strong, the color changes but it has the look of the classic SM57.
I use it for miking acoustic intruments: guitars, banjo, whisle, dobro, percussion and soon in front of a guitar amp
To realize one compooù acoustic instruments are taken with beta 57: http://www.riffworld.com/Members/chavilbus/lightofmylife

OVERALL OPINION

I use it for 3 months, I hesitated with the SM57 but I found beta 57A brighter on acoustic strings (matter of taste).
I love the bright sound. I compared with equivalent settings with beta 58A (I know it is not sold for that) on guitars there is no picture, there are more bright in the upper midrange without too aggressive and less bass. ON has virtually no equalization to do: to realize a piece all acoustic guitars with enregitéres: http://www.riffworld.com/Members/chavilbus/lembranca
I had a PG57 before there is no picture, the price difference is justified

Microphone Type Dynamic
Polar Pattern Supercardioid
Frequency Response 50Hz016kHz
Impedance 150 ohms
Length 6.23"
Width 1.69"
Depth 1.69"
Weight .6 lbs.
Manufacturer Part Number BETA 57A

OVERALL OPINION

I actually bought this mic to use as a guitar cab mic initially. I was micing in a live situation with a Suhr Badger amp and a Bogner 1x12 cube cab. Nothing really fancy. It works wonderfully for that purpose. It doesn't have the awkward midrange that the sm57 and beta 58 do. But as I have owned this mic over the years I've learned that it does a lot more than speaker micing. One day I was having problems with my beta 58 picking up tons of stage noise. Tried an sm58. Didn't sound right with my voice. Tried a couple of Cad dynamic mics. Sounded good but they fed back some. Finally, given no other choices I decided to put my Beta 57 up there for kicks. Not only is it impervious to stage noise but I didn't have to eq it at all. It just naturally sounds very good on my voice. Since then I've tried it on about everything. Female singers? Great. Snare drum? Suprisingly awesome and puts an sm57 to shame. Sax? Yes it does that too.

I would go as far to say that if I had to choose one mic to have for the rest of my live show career, it would be this one. I'm serious about that. It just excels in so many applications. It never ever peaks out from high volumes and it always seems to sound very wide and open no matter what.

My only complaint is that it isn't terribly useful in the studio, outside of tracking very aggressive vocals and maybe some super loud guitar parts. But everything else about it is tops. Never had any technical issues despite really abusing a few of these.

This mic by Shure is a dynamic capsule. It has a grille with a slight pop filter, so if you're singing into one your plosives will be reduced slightly. The pickup pattern on this mic is a cardioid, so the sides and back are going to be rejected pretty well. This mic doesn't have any other options on it like a polar pattern switch or a pad. Since it is a dynamic mic you won't need any phantom power to use it. The frequency response seems to have a big presence peak to aid in the source cutting through a mix. There is also a low frequency roll-off, so that can help with dealing with any handling noise or extra lows caused by the proximity effect. The sound of this mic is really a lot like the classic SM57, except this one sounds, to put it simply, better. This mic sounds crisper and clearer than the somewhat hollow sound of the SM57. This has sounded better for me on guitar cabs and snare drums than the SM57, which is usually the kind of those sources.

OVERALL OPINION

I have had one of these for a couple years. I'm not sure if they were trying to issue this as an improvement to the SM57, but I feel that's what it accomplishes. In every shootout I have done with the original 57, I have preferred this one. The added clarity just benefits it as a whole, unless you are looking for a slightly dirtier sound. It is more expensive than the 57, but I feel you are getting a better mic, and that you would be getting your money's worth from Shure. I think it's a good value for the price point. I would get it again, I like to use this on a lot of guitar cabs, and I'd miss it if it broke!