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No problem, Don. Thanks, Mac
Follow That Dream Sam Karaoke King -------------------- Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
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I guess Ray Charles, Leon Russell and Joe Cocker didn't get the memo about needing a pop filter to run the SM57 live onstage...
--Mac
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They can/could afford a new mic every once in a while  You don't HAVE to paint a wooden house, but a few coats of paint or varnish will make the house last longer.
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Quote:
They can/could afford a new mic every once in a while
You don't HAVE to paint a wooden house, but a few coats of paint or varnish will make the house last longer.
Mike,
If you stop looking at all the cute stuff out in your audience you wouldn't drool as much on your mic. LOL 
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Quote:
Mike,
If you stop looking at all the cute stuff out in your audience you wouldn't drool as much on your mic. LOL
And quit singing in the sauna (steam bath). That is hard on SM57s.
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Quote:
They can/could afford a new mic every once in a while
You don't HAVE to paint a wooden house, but a few coats of paint or varnish will make the house last longer.
Well, they used the '57 "back in the day" when options weren't as prolific. And they turned in strong performances that are still valid today, using that mic. That was my point.
Since that time, Ray Charles used quite a few different mics, all to good advantage. I've witnessed Ray using the ~$1000.00 or more Neumann dynamic. A fine mic, absolutely (Harry Connick Jr. uses one as well) but likely way outside the scope of affordability in this discussion, eh?
Shure sells a boot, the A81WS windshield for the SM57 that was designed by physicists to get the most out of the design, but unfortunately far too few musicians and singers take advantage of the thing. Cost of the windshield is a likely factor.
But again, I would not select the venerable '57 today, as there are better technologies available in the two (and more) Neodymium magnet designs now anyway.
--Mac
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Worked with a keyboard player for years, who's SM57 smelled like Marlboro and Johnnie Walker Black.
Later,
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Quote:
Worked with a keyboard player for years, who's SM57 smelled like Marlboro and Johnnie Walker Black.
Later,
I can't remember giggin' wit' youse, my friend, mus' be gettin' old...
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In High School, I was in a touring choir on Saturdays, and a touring vocal ensemble on Sundays - most of the school year. Choir was in existence starting in the late 1960's and is still running today - on about the 3rd director over that time.
We used SM 57's exclusively for everything with the exception of the crown PZM we would slap inside the local church's piano if it was in tune, we did have a live band off and on where we used the 57's as instrument mics, but we had 57's that well pre-dated my time (85-90) and my guess are still in use today - beat up by high schoolers and thrown under the bus (literally - we had GMC 4104, 4107 and what ever they are running now) buses where we had the mics in their vinyl zippered cases with clips on them, tossed into suitcases we bought at yard sales and kept in the underside cargo-holds) and they worked for years and years and years.
We used the black foam windscreens if we had them, but they would take on 'character' and we used them without them as well until we had budget to buy another grip of them. You can take out most of the plosive sensitivity with a 57 by just singing across the top instead of directly into the end. Predictable gain before feedback, legendary durability, etc.
Here's the deal, if you ever want to sell the mic, whatever you buy, there's always a long list of folks looking for 57's and 58's.
If you don't have your own sound engineer; showing up at a gig with an SM 57 or 58 will raise no eyebrows and the engineer can probably pre-dial in the gain to within 5 dB of where he/she will leave it for the rest of your gig. Show up with some lesser known mics and that's adding to the engineer's list of things to slightly worry about.
-Scott
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Well stated, Scott and Mac. You covered all my bases for me. As an aside, I like the cosmetic design of the 57 much more than the 58's "ball" design. Way mo' kew! Both models can serve double-duty as a tack hammer with no ill affects.
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Quote:
Worked with a keyboard player for years, who's SM57 smelled like Marlboro and Johnnie Walker Black.
Later,
On gig nights that's how we know whose mic it is when hooking things up.
Smoke - guitar player
mint - bass
rancid raw meat - drummer
Actually, Barry and I really do mark our personal use 57's with permanent marker to keep them separate .. so we get to use 'ours'.
Weird?
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Quote:
Quote:
Worked with a keyboard player for years, who's SM57 smelled like Marlboro and Johnnie Walker Black.
Later,
rancid raw meat - drummer:)
Now I am on the floor!
Great one rharv.
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Yes, I do have another suggestion -- nothing against Shure since most times I'm using a 55 SH2 -- go to your local dealer and try some of the ElectroVoice N/D series.
For whatever reason (the last time I compared them to other brands, about two years ago) they seem to produce lower handling noises. EV mics are in about the same price range as Shure.
They have different characteristics so you really need to find the model that gets the best out of your voice.
Guido
Desktop; i7-2600k, 8 GB mem., Win 10 Pro, BIAB 2017; RB 2017 - latest build
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