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Published on 07/21/11 at 13:55
The Shure SM87 microphone is that next little nudge the Shure gives you before shoving you into Beta condenser territory. And what a nudge it is. In a nutshell, the Shure SM87 does deliver very crisp and clean, but warm sound. I am putting a lot of emphasis on warm here. It is not imbalanced and skewed or exaggerated in the low end, like the venerable SM58 is wont to do when working the microphone up close. This is warm, but still clear and crisp. Imagine throwing a fuzzy blanket over someone instead of an entire comforter, and that is about as nice of a metaphor I can give.
This being said, the Shure SM87 is not at all suited for thicker songs where the microphone needs to really cut through the mix. In testing, it had a very unfortunate tendency to get lost in a heavier sound. However, this hyper smoothness also means that it is wonderful on emptier sounds, to take the most obvious example, an acoustic guitar and voice.
The Shure SM87 is a condenser microphone intended for live use, and thus unfortunately lacks a few of the refinements that a studio condenser is expected to possess. Self noise is a 24 dB, only workable in live venues. So if you are like me, and work across the live-studio barrier, then this is not the microphone for you. It has a supercardioid pickup pattern for maximum off axis sound isolation, and a respectable frequency response from 50 Hz all the way up to the wonderful standard of 20,000 Hz. It handles a rather impressive 140.5 dB of SPL's. However, with this microphone being ideal for quieter worlds, this spec may be wasted on it. It is certainly nice to have when one is mic'ing in a pinch, however.
OVERALL OPINION
The SM87 is a great microphone if you know what you are looking for. The microphone itself is extremely warm, and on a quieter stage, sounds fantastic. It does get lost in a heavier mix though. This is probably because unlike the SM58, whose muddiness can be compensated for by the often unpleasant but penetrating midrange honk, the SM87 is incredibly clear, and not designed to overpower any element of a performance. That is why it is a very specific microphone that needs to be tested out, more so than usual, before taking a plunge. It should also be noted that this microphone breaches the $200 mark, and several microphones in the high end line have been opened up under $300.
This being said, the Shure SM87 is not at all suited for thicker songs where the microphone needs to really cut through the mix. In testing, it had a very unfortunate tendency to get lost in a heavier sound. However, this hyper smoothness also means that it is wonderful on emptier sounds, to take the most obvious example, an acoustic guitar and voice.
The Shure SM87 is a condenser microphone intended for live use, and thus unfortunately lacks a few of the refinements that a studio condenser is expected to possess. Self noise is a 24 dB, only workable in live venues. So if you are like me, and work across the live-studio barrier, then this is not the microphone for you. It has a supercardioid pickup pattern for maximum off axis sound isolation, and a respectable frequency response from 50 Hz all the way up to the wonderful standard of 20,000 Hz. It handles a rather impressive 140.5 dB of SPL's. However, with this microphone being ideal for quieter worlds, this spec may be wasted on it. It is certainly nice to have when one is mic'ing in a pinch, however.
OVERALL OPINION
The SM87 is a great microphone if you know what you are looking for. The microphone itself is extremely warm, and on a quieter stage, sounds fantastic. It does get lost in a heavier mix though. This is probably because unlike the SM58, whose muddiness can be compensated for by the often unpleasant but penetrating midrange honk, the SM87 is incredibly clear, and not designed to overpower any element of a performance. That is why it is a very specific microphone that needs to be tested out, more so than usual, before taking a plunge. It should also be noted that this microphone breaches the $200 mark, and several microphones in the high end line have been opened up under $300.