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Is buying a shure SM-57/58 worth it?

CrescentShadow	Date: March 30, 2004 @ 6:28 AM I currently have a $30 radioshack mic that works alright... I've been wondering if my sound quality of my recordings would improve a lot if I dished out the 90 bucks for a shure sm58.. does anyone have any experiences with these mics?
kingo	Date: March 30, 2004 @ 9:11 AM sm58s are good vocal mics, usually for live stuff. I'm not sure how good your radioshack mic is, but I doubt you'll get much improvement in recording quality with an sm58. Is the radio shack mic the kind with a battery in it?
tossom	Date: March 30, 2004 @ 10:30 AM Get an cardiod condenser mic instead, they cost more but will give you a better sound - especially for vocals. Need to have a mtr with phantom power though. Sayign this, Bono from U2 uses a 58 in the studio - so if its good enough for rich famous people...
johnnygnote	Date: March 30, 2004 @ 11:33 AM 58's are vocal mics 57's are better for instruments. I use an Audio Technica ATM41a for vocals it suits my purposes. For recording I use a CAD studio mic. As a sound engineer for three years at a casino I can attest to the durability of the Shure 58 and 57. If money is prob. You can get 3 Behringer mics for 79 dollars. I bought them and checked them against my AT ($120.00) and they compared well. Your mic is the start but what's in between makes a big difference too.
smooka	Date: March 30, 2004 @ 3:13 PM sure makes a good staple product. me likes the mics.
Vickxxx	Date: March 31, 2004 @ 12:27 AM 57 & 58's are mics every studio should have. A mic pre amp would also help in sound quality improvement. with any mic that you would use.
pog	Date: March 31, 2004 @ 12:31 AM sm57's and 58's are the industry standard for a reason... they are versatile, they are robust, and they are cost effective for the quality. So I say... it's the essential 1st mic. But if you've got the extra money, there seinheiser mics that make the 58 look like a toy. It just depends on what you wanna do with it, and if you want it for the studio, or the road.
pog	Date: March 31, 2004 @ 12:32 AM Like any instrument or tool... try before you buy.
CrescentShadow	Date: March 31, 2004 @ 6:31 AM could you elaborate on the mic preamps? ive heard people talk about them but when i search for preamps there are a lot of choices... could someone suggest a few or a certain type to narrow it down? i wonder if i went to radioshack and bought a sm57 or 58 if they would allow me to return it if it didnt really improve quality.. also, i am not really creating a home studio, just.. recording at home i suppose. my problem right now is with my distortion, i cant get it to be loud enough on the recording without getting clipping. i know preamps boost the signal... woudl preamps be a better investment for this instead of a new mic?
pog	Date: March 31, 2004 @ 6:56 AM If it's not loud enough due to clipping, then turn the other sounds around it down. If you want it to sound fuller, use a compressor on it (but don't overdo it... less is more) a preamp is handy if you want to make a guitar signal stronger to the effect chain (such as for big assed live sounds) but I get the feeling that mic placement, and mixing may be the issue here. Maybe some e.qing on each track to add definition.
pog	Date: March 31, 2004 @ 6:57 AM thats not a link above... it's meant to say EQing
starseven	Date: March 31, 2004 @ 8:11 AM i think EVERYONE shoudl have at elast 1 of these mics of not both.. they sound great.. and if nothgin else you can use them for hammers and they still work.... and live sound guys can back me up on this i am sure
withering	Date: March 31, 2004 @ 8:55 AM Second the seven stars! An SM-58/57 is a life-long companion... On preamps, I'm quite satisfied with my über-low-budget Behringer Eurorack. Comes in all sizes, a meagre $50 for the smallest. Just make sure you get something you can grow with, I've outgrown mine already: http://www.music123.com/Item/?itemno=84239 (Sidenote; The "FX" on that unit is worth nothing...)
billhudson	Date: March 31, 2004 @ 9:55 AM Mikes make a great differance and the SM 57's and 58's I have used over the years. The 58's will take a beaten. They will put up with all the beer and dirt and dust and still keep going. What I really like now is the Seinheser E865. Its a great mike for your voice. Still Pickin' B.H.
EmpireDay3	Date: March 31, 2004 @ 10:54 AM said it before and will keep saying - a dbx 286a worth every penny invested in a mic pre. also agree with having a 57 and 58 in addition to a good large diaphram condenser - on a budget try a rode NT1 - nice for the $$$. for a few dollars more, bill is right about the sennheiser e series rather than a 57 for vox. not loud enough and still clipping? tried a little compression on some other tracks to tame em a bit? number one rule when mixing - monitors are for monitoring, not for rockin the house! learned that one the hard way a long time ago...
Gmonk	Date: March 31, 2004 @ 1:41 PM Well.. what are you recording is the first question G
CrescentShadow	Date: March 31, 2004 @ 9:24 PM if it helps any better, http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F007%5F008%5F003%5F001&product%5Fid=33%2D3024 thats my current mic. a curious thing i found out is the frequency range of my mic (50-15khz) is the same as a shure 58... what does that mean.. and does it have a huge impact on the sound you get from the mic? also could you elaborate more on "using a compressor on it" to increase the volume without clipping? how would you do that in cool edit (if you even do it in cool edit) thanks for all the help guys
pog	Date: March 31, 2004 @ 10:30 PM What a compressor does is make the quiet sounds stay the same and the loud sounds softer, in effect, if you look at a wave, it squashes it. If you have quiet sounds and loud sounds for impact, compression will essentially make it loose feel, which is why less is more. to do compression in cooledit, you can possibly use the dynamics processing function. another approach may be to place a limiter on the sound... this doesn't squash the wave like a compressor, it only limits everything past a certain volume level. you also may be able to find a directx compressor somewhere as a plugin that can be loaded into cooledit.
woodhead	Date: April 1, 2004 @ 12:16 AM The first thing I feel needs to be adressed before you buy a mic like this is, Do you have a means of using the mic? do you have a board with low imp inputs, if so yes try all the mics you want I use 57 for recording guits and in live apps, 58 not to fond of, for recording vocals I prefer condensors, but to use these you have to have a board (mixer) of some sort, so do you have a Board is the first question to be asked.
Gmonk	Date: April 1, 2004 @ 2:43 AM SO.. you still haven't said what you want to record. SOme mic are beter for vocals, some for guitars, still others for drums etc etc etc
CrescentShadow	Date: April 1, 2004 @ 6:28 AM the main thing im recording is just guitar... by micing my amp. i will also be doing vocals, but i'm not so worried about the vocals as i am about the guitar. i dont have a board.. im just plugging the mic into my sound card directly. again thanks for all the input
Gmonk	Date: April 1, 2004 @ 9:13 AM Well the sure mics are kinda ok for guitars and stuff though not ideal. You'd be better ogg going for one of teh cheaper capcitor mics that are arouind at the moment. They are all pretty cheap and far better than the Sure. Though you will need phantom power for them. you need to be looking at Samson, Behringer etc etc. They are all budget, sound good, come with just about everything you need. G
voxster	Date: April 9, 2004 @ 11:31 AM I've used both for years - Very road worthy - good enough sound and take a beating. Good live performance, everyday mic.

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