The Shure SM57 is a cardioid polar pattern dynamic microphone designed for professional audio amplification and studio recordings. With its transparent sound and carefully contoured presence boost, the SM57 is ideal for picking up musical instruments or vocals. In the studio, it excels at miking guitar amps, woodwinds and drums. The cardioid polar pattern isolates the signal source while minimizing unwanted background noise. The proven pneumatic shock absorber system minimizes handling noise and impact sound. Due to its robust design, the SM 57's reliability is incomparable even in the rough everyday stage conditions.
To be really honest with you, Im not a big fan of Shures - so, Ive always used AKGs or Sennheisers on my practice and home studios. HOWEVER, I must confess that if you are looking for a mic to record electric guitars and snare drums, it is just UNBEATABLE, also considering what you can get on this price range.
One word sums everything up. LEGENDARY!
Thats what the SM57 is.
Just point this right on the cone and youre good to go.
Especially for the price this is really unbeatable!
Some would say that it is a bit mid-friendly but I dont find this to be the case.
Let me start by saying These are just phenomenal! Sure theres a reason why every single studio has them! A friend of mine has them, and I had the chance to use these a couple of times...
One weekend I went over his house and helped him record a song. We used these on drums (One was on the snare, I cant remember where the second one was) - I was speechless!
What initially surprised me was their minimal bleed - Their pickup pattern is exceptionally well focused, so they only pick up what you aim them at! This made mixing a DREAM! They also didnt pick up room reflections (It was in a big reverbant basement with no treatment), which made the final mix much cleaner. Their sound quality was just phenomenal, as well! They literaly transformed that cheap drumset! It was the original sound, just better Improved. Cleaner, More powerful and dynamic, just what it should be in the first place!
Theres just one thing I didnt like, and I dont understand its purpose The rotating top. It doesnt serve any acoustical purposes, and Im pretty sure it would perform exactly the same if it was being held in place by 2 or 4 small tabs on the inside - Yet it feels like Shure was trying to eliminate their production costs. Again, thats not such a big deal, just one thing that seemed odd.
Overall this is an exceptional mic thats well worth the money! It has many uses, and its guaranteed to sound good on every single one of them!
Classic sound for recording guitars , especialy when it comes to metal the SM 57 capture the the punch in agressive and distored sounds. We use in combination with a condence microphone to add body to the total sound, highly recomended !!!
Shure should have been named sure!
its a microphone you can trust on. suitable for almost every use, it sound prefectly on snare drum, electric guitar amp. percussions and... voice,too!!
if you have a last minute instrument add on your stage and you dont know which mic to choose, go for the 57!