The SM58...

Re: The SM58...

Josh Millward said:
Okay, so we are 9 (NINE?!?!? WTF???) pages deep into this... well, thread.

The last time I looked at this forum was four days ago and we were six pages deep. At that time I couldn't believe it lasted 6 pages and now 9 pages??? Good grief!
Click to expand...

I am as amazed as you are, Josh. I thought it was generally understood that "The SM58 Is Garbage" and "What's the Best Kick Drum Mic?" threads are works of satire.

Today, in fact, I yelled into a wedge through an SM58. Why? Because I have yelled into probably every wedge ever made with an SM58. Was another mic available? Yep. Was a better mic available? I'll never know.
 
Re: The SM58...

I bought my favorite SM58 in '78. It's my most dented one but when I A/B all of 'em it's still my fav by a very slim margin.

After all these years I finally switched from 58s to 57s-I'm liking them better now. Went through 3 CM 11s(?) (the headset ones)

What was I thinkin' ??
 
Re: The SM58...

Guy Luckert said:
I bought my favorite SM58 in '78. It's my most dented one but when I A/B all of 'em it's still my fav by a very slim margin.

After all these years I finally switched from 58s to 57s-I'm liking them better now. Went through 3 CM 11s(?) (the headset ones)

What was I thinkin' ??
Click to expand...

How about that! I bought my first 57 and 58 in 1978, I still use them, and I swear they sound better than the newer "Made in Mexico" versions that I have.
 
Re: The SM58...

Chuck Simon said:
... and I swear they sound better than the newer "Made in Mexico" versions that I have.
Click to expand...

Uh Oh. I think we're revving up for another 10 pages.

That said, I'm intrigued by this. There are several other models of microphone (mostly from other manufacturers) that have the reputation of being inferior to their previous versions or manufacturing runs but I haven't heard this about the 58 yet.
 
Re: The SM58...

drew gandy said:
Uh Oh. I think we're revving up for another 10 pages.

That said, I'm intrigued by this. There are several other models of microphone (mostly from other manufacturers) that have the reputation of being inferior to their previous versions or manufacturing runs but I haven't heard this about the 58 yet.
Click to expand...

And on that tangent - the 3 PL44s I bought back when they were on clearance a year ago all sound alike, but distinctly different from the first one I aquired 3 years ago. They have a slightly different texture/color finish than the older one. I would also judge the older one as better sounding. Could be design change or production variance?
 
Re: The SM58...

john lutz said:
And on that tangent - the 3 PL44s I bought back when they were on clearance a year ago all sound alike, but distinctly different from the first one I aquired 3 years ago. They have a slightly different texture/color finish than the older one. I would also judge the older one as better sounding. Could be design change or production variance?
Click to expand...

I don't know about you particular mikes, but in general, no matter what kind of equipment, even when design and spec stays unchanged, relocation of production, replacement of production equipment, staff changes, changes in the raw materials, climate changes, legislation changes and the phase of the moon and alignment of the planets can all affect the finished product.
The hand wound coils suddenly change when the guy that did them retires after fifty years of doing the same thing, and the special sound of the mike is gone forever. The forrest that supplied the wood is all chopped down, and that guitar model never sounds the same again. The stinky, mould infested storage facility where the body wood used to be stored finally had to come down, and the new place just can't supply wood that gives the same tone. Or the person that maintains one piece of the production equipment retires and the new guy does it slightly different so the margins get altered. ...... or anything else that ever so subtly can make a difference.
 
Re: The SM58...

Per Søvik said:
The stinky, mould infested storage facility where the body wood used to be stored finally had to come down, and the new place just can't supply wood that gives the same tone.
Click to expand...

Were they perhaps storing the wood in a facility which also housed a lutefisk processing plant?
 
Re: The SM58...

Dick Rees said:
The Swedes have something even more powerful: surströmming. The recipe is as follows.


Cut off the head of the herring. Cook at room temperature for 6 months.
Click to expand...

The head or body... although I can't imagine the results being significantly different.

Perhaps this will be an inspiration for another panel at Scandinavia and the World - Land of the Free-est
 
Re: The SM58...

Tim McCulloch said:
I'd rather eat a guitar... than be in the same room with lutefisk.
Click to expand...

Nah, lutefisk is something that most people easily can get a taste for, it looks like jelly and doesn't really taste of much. Lutefisk, bacon, fried onion and potatoes, you'll enjoy it.
Spekesild and gravlaks on the other hand, that is fermented stuff that should not be allowed for human consumption. (Gravlaks translates exactly what it looks like :grave salmon - fish that has been buried for a while.)

Edit: Forgot to relate it to the 58: Lutefisk is good for damping out vibration, wrap some around the mike for reduced handling noise or put some under the tripod to dampen floor noise.
 
Last edited:
Re: The SM58...

Per Søvik said:
Nah, lutefisk is something that most people easily can get a taste for, it looks like jelly and doesn't really taste of much. Lutefisk, bacon, fried onion and potatoes, you'll enjoy it.
Spekesild and gravlaks on the other hand, that is fermented stuff that should not be allowed for human consumption. (Gravlaks translates exactly what it looks like :grave salmon - fish that has been buried for a while.)

Edit: Forgot to relate it to the 58: Lutefisk is good for damping out vibration, wrap some around the mike for reduced handling noise or put some under the tripod to dampen floor noise.
Click to expand...

Perhaps that is how you make a SM58 sound good eh? ;)
 
Re: The SM58...

Something that hasn't been discussed is how much a mike deteriorates with age. Since the SM58 is so durable, there are many still being used after maybe a dozen years. OK, they still work, but their sound has often become compromised. If you have any really old SM58's, just try comparing it to a brand new one and you'll be surprised.

Especially the ones that have been used to flatten out lutefisk.........

Mick Berg.
 
Re: The SM58...

Mick Berg said:
Something that hasn't been discussed is how much a mike deteriorates with age. Since the SM58 is so durable, there are many still being used after maybe a dozen years. OK, they still work, but their sound has often become compromised. If you have any really old SM58's, just try comparing it to a brand new one and you'll be surprised.

Especially the ones that have been used to flatten out lutefisk.........

Mick Berg.
Click to expand...

You obviously mean how the sound evolves and gets character with age, like vintage instruments and us grumpy middle aged and old men :razz:
 
Re: The SM58...

Mick Berg said:
Something that hasn't been discussed is how much a mike deteriorates with age. Since the SM58 is so durable, there are many still being used after maybe a dozen years. OK, they still work, but their sound has often become compromised. If you have any really old SM58's, just try comparing it to a brand new one and you'll be surprised.

Mick Berg.
Click to expand...

You might be surprised! As I said in my earlier post, I think my older mics sound better than my newer ones.
 
Top Bottom