If you have used Shure SM57's before, you can probably skip this review.
If you are new to the wide-world of audio recording, this mic should be the first mic in your mic box. Get one of thee NOW if you haven't already. (I just paid $65 for mine here, used). It is a great mic for recording pretty much anything and will produce an acceptable sound. It is also great for live use as well. I have been into audio engineering as a professional for over 20 years (as well being a musician) and played hundreds of shows, been in dozens of studios, and have home-recorded for a long time. You know what microphone I run into more than any other? The Shure SM57. It has been used in the studio and on stages for decades- to mic up guitar cabs, drums, and pianos among other things. I have seen a lot of metal/thrash/punk bands use them for vocal mics. Yet they are subtle enough where I have seen people record acoustics guitars with great success. There is a reason for that- while yes, there are better sounding mics out there, when you buy a Shure SM57 ($100 new), you know EXACTLY what it is going to sound like and that the sound is unbeatable for the money. They are virtually indestructible as well, and when they do crap out (IF they do- I have a few that have been dropped numerous times, one took a beer bath, general abuse, and they still worked great) you can usually just get a new capsule for them for around $30-40, solder it in and BAM! it's as good as new.
Yes, there are other mics out there for the same money that sound as good (the Audix i5 comes to mind), and while they have their place and some have the same sound quality as a SM57, I highly urge anyone thinking of getting into audio engineering as more than a hobby start out with a 57. Why? Because it is the mic that ALL other <$200 Dynamic mics are judged by. It's just that popular. At every major concert I have attended, there was at least one SM57 microphone on the stage, if not a bunch. Same as for every recording session I've attended.
Usually I would NEVER by a used microphone sight unseen, but since it was a Shure SM57 and the seller had good feedback, I didn't hesitate to snatch it up for $65 as I KNEW EXACTLY WHAT I WAS GETTING and EXACTLY HOW THIS MIC IS GOING TO SOUND WHEN I PLUG IT IN. I used to have a mic arsenal of well over 50 microphones. The Shures were among the cheapest and they saw the most general use. You will always find a use for an SM57, even once you start buying $800 LDC mics, $600 matched pairs of SDC pencil mics, etc etc. I guarantee you will be pulling out your 57 for something on every job. I had to sell my old mic arsnal and have started to re-assemble a mic box, and I bought six of these first thing, it was a no-brainer.
In the past, I have recorded a few punk bands using nothing but SM57's (aside from a Shure Beta52 for the kick drum mic) and ended up with GREAT sounding recordings that were released on Indy labels, one record has sold over 10,000 copies to date. Talking with people about this, they are either amazed or they just smile and nod their head, as they know the versatility of these microphones.
They say the road to a good recording is having a good signal path from the sound coming from an instrument to the recorded track, and if you use an SM57, you can be assured that the mic will NOT be the weakest point in that chain.
Yes, there are some engineers who think of the SM57 as a lowly piece of equipment which isn't much good for much else but to use as a hammer (which I have done incidentally, and it still worked no problem) and yeah, if I have $40,000 of microphones, I might finding myself being a bit snobbish myself. But unless you have that kind of money to spend on mics, the SM57 is indispensable. As I said, there are (finally) now mics out there that are VERY comparable price and sound wise which is a great thing (having options is a good thing), and down the road, yeah, try some of them. But if you are a novice and getting your first "real" mics, depending on what you are recording, an SM57 is a worthwhile investment. You won't have to worry about upgrading your mic box (that is, aside from adding more mics to it as money allows) with 57's. They will always have a place in the world of microphones.
They are also great for stuff like podcasting, although for this I would suggest an SM58, which is pretty much the same mic, but with vocals in mind (they are a bit more omnidirectional).
But if you want an industry standard instrument mic, buy a SM57, I promise you won't be disappointed. Thousands of records have been recorded using SM57's, as well as hundreds of top-earning tours.
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This Item  Instrument Dynamic Mircophone, SM57-LC (SM57-LCE) |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | -10% $89.00 List: $99.00 | $114.99 | $249.00 | $129.00 | -5% $199.00 Typical: $209.00 | $169.99 |
| Delivery | Get it as soon as Monday, May 13 | — | — | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 14 | Get it May 10 - 14 | Get it as soon as Monday, May 13 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Value for money | ||||||
| Sound quality | ||||||
| Sold By | Liquid Audio Inc | TheImagingWorld | Amazon.com | Kaviso | GearNuts | Amazon.com |
| power source | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | Electric | Corded Electric | Electric |
| connectivity tech | XLR | XLR | USB | Bluetooth | XLR | XLR |
| connector type | — | XLR | USB, XLR | XLR | XLR | XLR |
| model number | SM57-LCE | SM57-LC K1 | MV7-K | 8383 | SM57 | MIC-2010-01 |
| material | — | Microfiber | Metal | — | — | Plastic, Metal |
| audio sensitivity | -54.5 decibels | — | 132 decibels | 87 decibels | — | 120 decibels |
| signal-to-noise ratio | 78 decibels | 78 decibels | — | 87 decibels | 78 decibels | 78 decibels |
| polar pattern | Unidirectional | Unidirectional | Unidirectional | Unidirectional | Unidirectional | Unidirectional |
| weight | 0.43 kilograms | — | 2.31 pounds | 0.44 pounds | 4.95 pounds | — |
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Top reviews from other countries
IGNACIO I.
Si controlas el efecto proximidad da un sonido equivalente a otros micros mucho más caros
Reviewed in Spain on July 2, 2020laurentm
Un micro extraordinaire pour la voix, à prix abordable.
Reviewed in France on January 21, 2019