Shure SM57 vs. SM58

[aviator05]

I was gonna get two SM57's to mic my ADA cabinets. I know there's the SM58, if I get two (so I can mic it stereo through my interface) should I get an SM57 and SM58? Or two SM57's? What's the difference between the two?

[BKW]

Dec 3, 2011 14:26:42 GMT -6 aviator05 said:

I was gonna get two SM57's to mic my ADA cabinets. I know there's the SM58, if I get two (so I can mic it stereo through my interface) should I get an SM57 and SM58? Or two SM57's? What's the difference between the two?

The 57 is designed more for instrument use and the 58 more for vocals.

The SM57 and SM58 microphones are based on the same cartridge design. The main difference is in the grille design. The SM58 was designed for vocal application and it uses a ball grille that acts as an effective pop filter. The SM57 was designed as an instrument microphone where a smaller grille size is preferred. In this application, pop and wind are not usually a concern.

This is a little quote from Shure's tech support forum and it sums up the differences nicely.

The SM57 uses an integral resonator/grille assembly, where grille is actually a part of the cartridge. These two grille designs place the diaphragm of each microphone in a different acoustical environment. The distance from the top of the grille to the diaphragm is shorter on the SM57 compared to that of the SM58. This allows for a closer miking position with a more pronounced proximity effect. The different resonator/grille assembly design of the SM57 is also responsible for its slightly higher output above 5 kHz.

That said, there is nothing wrong with experimenting!!!! I sometime try different things just to see the effect you get.

If you only have one mic... you can always split the signal (or send it back out of the mixer) then introduce a slight delay and then have it on a second channel. Then pan each one left, and right. That will also give you a stereo effect and make the guitar feel big in the mix with only one mic.

[Blondie]

Back in the days, both were designed for vocals, but fast both became industri standards, 58 for live vocals and 57 for micing guitar cabs, toms, snares and other high volume applications.
Today there's alot of specialized mics for different applications and eve the designs of the 57 and 58 have been updated (beta57 and beta58). My preferred for guitar cabs has for years been the 57 often combined with a DPA 4011, wich also handles high volume very well, but less compressed, therefore more natural sounding, than the sm57. These days for the sake of easy setup I used the DI's on my Line6 Flextone III. But for future use I plan to compare SM57, Beta57, Sennheiser E606 and E906.
For vocal I use a Røde M2 wich I chose over a Beta 58 among others.

[themaidenmaniac]

2 SM57 for sure. I have a growing collection of mics and these are always first choice on guitar cabs. Watch out for phase problems if you dual mic.