Fame Audio MS 57 MKII

After trying a Fame MS 58, I thought I'd try the Fame MS 57.

It's obviously paying homage to the SM57, but has a different sound balance. So it's best viewed as a low cost instrument mic with its own sound.

As it came, like the MS 58, it was wired for unbalanced operation. Unlike the MS 58 I have, pin 3 was not connected to anything. This is not good if phantom power is supplied to the mic as the full 48v is applied across the coil. As Hugh Robjons from SoS wrote "With DC across the coil from a phantom supply the capsule will try to act like a solenoid, extending the diaphragm to its furthest extent and substantially decreasing the mic's sensitivity and LF response. The coil is likely to become magnetised and it will then cease to work properly whether phantom power is switched on or not!".

As many mixing desks can only apply phantom power globally, if phantom power is turned on due to also using capacitor mics or active DI boxes, then it is important that all the dynamic mics used can work with phantom power. Which means that the mic needs to have a balanced output so that the +48v is applied across both ends of the coil equally, and then no current flows.

So it's pretty important to modify the microphone to balanced operation. This can be done by simply re-soldering the black wire from pin 1 and moving it to pin 2. You need to keep the link from pin 1 to the XLR locating screw tab, as this allows the microphone casing to be grounded.

Once done, not only can it work safely with phantom power, but you get a hotter output signal at your mixer or audio interface (6dB greater), and you get much greater RFI rejection and the output then gives a positive increase in signal for a positive pressure on the diaphragm. In unbalanced mode, the signal goes negative.

Why the mics don't come from the factory this way I just don't know. It's something Music Store should sort out as it really makes no sense for them to come supplied any other way.

Once the mic is modded, a frequency response test using white noise shows that like the Fame MS 58, the high frequencies have a greater boost than the equivalent Shure mic. This can be both good and bad a sit can help the mic to cut through in alive situation, but it can also be more prone to feedback at high frequencies. Because of the boost, I'd say that the frequency response goes up to around 16kHz, which is higher than the SM57's 14kHz.

The high-end frequency dip that appears between roughly 7kHz and 9kHz on the SM57, appears around 2kHz lower with the Fame MS 57, between 5kHz and 7kHz. So it's certainly not a near-identical SM57 copy.

But does it sound any good? I'd say yes. It's very biased towards high frequencies; the 'presence' peak is around 11dB greater than the level at 1kHz. For miking up guitar cabs, this isn't much of an issue as a guitar or bass speaker doesn't have much output above 6kHz, so the increase in treble isn't that noticeable, but for other instruments, you may want to turn the treble control down a bit. Always better than having to turn it up.

If you used it as a vocal mic, then the high frequency boost will certainly show up any sibilance in the vocals, but then the Fame MS 58 was similar.

As a result of the high level of high frequency boost, it's less of an all-round mic than a Shure SM 57, but it still has its uses.

But before using it on or off stage, it really does need to be modified to balanced operation. Something that Fame/Music Store should address immediately.

For the price its very mean to complain. Service was excellent. Fast delivery and notified, one hour time slot. But that was an extra cost. I needed a dynamic instrument mic quickly for a one off live gig. £20 was a punt for something I'm unlikely to use much. It actually sounded ok but the build quality let it down as the capsule kept falling out.

I'll keep it but it's lucky bag stuff.

it has good price but i do not like its sound.

I’ve had the MS57 for a a few years and it works great for me as part of a cover band. Hasn’t let me down. I haven’t used the Shure SM57 so can’t compare them but the miking my amp with the Fame through our PA is more than adequate. Bought as a backup to my old one but solid price of kit for the price. Well recommended for the non-professional who doesn’t want to break the bank.