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Published on 07/18/11 at 10:25
The Shure Super 55 is a remarkably impressive supercardioid dynamic microphone designed to be used for vocals. Yet another one of Shure's re-releases of the iconic "Elvis mic," the Shure Super 55 is a bit different from the other release, the Shure 55SH Series II.
For one, the Shure Super 55 is supercardioid, and has a wider frequency response than the 55SH Series II. It has a nice respectable frequency response of 60-17,000 Hz, and I usually never mention this, because all vocals microphones seem to have this claim: tailored for voice. Well, this one is pretty nice, let me just say. The microphone seems to give off a very interesting character that is flattering to the voice in a very subtly vintage way. What this generally entails is that this microphone is designed very nicely to accommodate more character driven music, more grit and raw power and performance than the overproduced vanilla sound that you generally hear nowadays.
This means that I would never record a contemporary pop artist on this, although for R&B, Blues, good ol' rock and roll, and perhaps some rap, this would be ideal. The Super 55 seems to hit its market perfectly. and it does so while looking incredibly attractive. There's also a special edition of this microphone that is in black and red instead of silver and blue.
And before you ask, this microphone does possess impressive technical attributes, such as superb resistance to feedback and superb off axis rejection. It's no SM7b in that regard, but it's still pretty impressive.
And finally, there isn't an on/off switch. While some people may see this as a disadvantage, I find switches to be rather silly looking, and personally, I do get a tad bit paranoid with them.
OVERALL OPINION
It may not be the most frugal purchase in the world, because you can find good sound for less, but considering its appearance alone, the Shure Super 55 is a contender. Engineers are the people most aware of the visual element in music today, but often, they will shun a microphone like this just because of this. Thank goodness that the Super 55 has its own nice character to make it more than a cheaper microphone with bling!
For one, the Shure Super 55 is supercardioid, and has a wider frequency response than the 55SH Series II. It has a nice respectable frequency response of 60-17,000 Hz, and I usually never mention this, because all vocals microphones seem to have this claim: tailored for voice. Well, this one is pretty nice, let me just say. The microphone seems to give off a very interesting character that is flattering to the voice in a very subtly vintage way. What this generally entails is that this microphone is designed very nicely to accommodate more character driven music, more grit and raw power and performance than the overproduced vanilla sound that you generally hear nowadays.
This means that I would never record a contemporary pop artist on this, although for R&B, Blues, good ol' rock and roll, and perhaps some rap, this would be ideal. The Super 55 seems to hit its market perfectly. and it does so while looking incredibly attractive. There's also a special edition of this microphone that is in black and red instead of silver and blue.
And before you ask, this microphone does possess impressive technical attributes, such as superb resistance to feedback and superb off axis rejection. It's no SM7b in that regard, but it's still pretty impressive.
And finally, there isn't an on/off switch. While some people may see this as a disadvantage, I find switches to be rather silly looking, and personally, I do get a tad bit paranoid with them.
OVERALL OPINION
It may not be the most frugal purchase in the world, because you can find good sound for less, but considering its appearance alone, the Shure Super 55 is a contender. Engineers are the people most aware of the visual element in music today, but often, they will shun a microphone like this just because of this. Thank goodness that the Super 55 has its own nice character to make it more than a cheaper microphone with bling!