viperdan02's Full Review: Shure SM58S Professional Microphone
There is no doubt that the SM-58's reputation is well deserved and that it is a great microphone for the price. I always have a few 57's and 58's as a "go to" mic when needed and both perform decently in a variety of close micing applications....and man are they built to last. There will however, be those who say that the SM-58 is among the best live performance vocal microphones on the planet....and I must respectfully disagree. The SM-58 is a familiar microphone...familiar to both musicians and those who sell them. When you go into a club...what do you see as the main vocal mic? When you walk into a music store and ask for a recommendation on a vocal microphone, more times than not, the SM-58 will come up first as a recommendation without the seller asking any details of how it is being used with less than objective praise toward the microphone. That’s how I purchased my first SM-58....you see it everywhere..so it must be awesome? In fact, I bought it without even listening to it...not to mention A B it against other microphones. Rarely will you find anybody that has anything bad to say about the mic too...and for good reason....but its reputation has exceeded the performance IMHO. Dare I go out on a limb and say that the microphone is merely acceptable? Not jaw droopingly awesome...acceptable. I am not trying to be over critical, I just want to encourage a potential buyer actually compare microphones and be mindful of the choices out there. Some microphones compliment some peoples voices better than others.
With that said...
I think this is mic is a good place to start for backup vocals and main vocals on a budget.
If you are a professional vocalist and looking to purchase your own microphone, I would recommend saving a bit to buy something more high end. Tipically for well balanced stage environments (IE Jazz/folk/blues), I use the Neumann KMS 105(Neumann.com for downloadable demo and dry comparison to what’s described as a "medium prize microphone" - which im 90% sure is a sm58 - along to top quality studio microphones )... and for noisy stage environments (IE Rock/Punk/loud drummer) i like using the Audix OM7.
Anyway…I hope my comments were useful…good luck shopping!
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