Anyone not like Shure.

[D.A.R.K.]

De nada.

 

[Munjibunga]

What exactly gets cleaned and refurbished? I can only guess the diaphragm gets removed and cleaned with something like using isopropyl alcohol with qtips. (worked for old tape heads).

It could mean sending it to Shure for the $50 refurbishing (or whatever it is now). I'm sure it costs Shure less than $50 to build a new SM58.

 

[Munjibunga]

At that point, you may as well buy new ones and sell the old ones on eBay. Your budget would end up better for it.

I think it's a bit much refurbishing a mic after one or two years. I'm not an engineer, though. I've just been using shure mics for a long long time.

True - at $100 a pop, SM58s are practically disposable.

 

[Joe Louvar]

As far as music companies go everyone in here has drastically different opinions on gear and brands. Some people hate certain brands, but I've never seen a thread where someone is pissed about Shure. Personally I've been doing this for 18 years and Shure has never let me down. I always can count on it and have never been unhappy with the money I spent on their products. Mostly mics and in ear monitors. But could this be the most widely respected music company?

Nope, Shure makes some really great products, but so do other manufactures.

 

[RockNRollAl]

Peel off the "Realistic" label off an old Radio Shack mic and there's the Shure brand underneath.

 

[Keithwah]

It could mean sending it to Shure for the $50 refurbishing (or whatever it is now). I'm sure it costs Shure less than $50 to build a new SM58.

Typically, Shure is sending you a "new" product for your refurb fee. Well worth it to buy new for so little.

 

[mellowinman]

We don't own a single Shure mic. There's nothing wrong with them, but they're not the best you can buy. They're easy to use, and if you're used to using them, then you might as well work with what you are familiar with. My wife finds she gets "her" tone more using EV 767's. It is a lot more friendly for a lead vocalist. If you're not a lead vocalist, and you don't use this mic, then you have no reason to have a differing opinion. I use a couple of older Audio Technicas; I don't remember their model at the moment. They are slightly better than a Shure 58. I use a Sennheiser E865 for our guitar player's vocals. That mic is a good fit for his voice.

Different mics do different things. My only complaint about Shure is lazy sound guys who have EQ'd for Shure 58's, and refuse to re-EQ for the mic that works best for a singer. It would take minutes; (assuming they're any good at their job,) and you should let a performer use the equipment that best suits their needs.

I don't see handing you a P-Bass, and saying, "this is the best bass, and I'm EQ'd for it" at a live show; so why should they force a Shure 58 on a lead vocalist?

Personally, I'll sing through whatever is there, but not all vocalists feel that way. I will say it DOES make a difference.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

I don't think they are nearly as active as they could be about taking down counterfeit product sales.

I disagree. Shure is one of the most active companies in the pro audio business when it comes to busting counterfeiters. (Of course, their products are probably among the most counterfeited.) Several times, they've gotten Chinese authorities to raid and shut down factories producing fake products. It's not easy to get them to do that.

 

[bassman314]

Full disclosure. We endorse Audix. The 2 main vocalists both use OM-5's for vocals. My preferred vocal mic is a Sennheiser e835. It just sounds better to me on my vocals. I use an Audix D6 on my cab.

That being said, if my only choice was an SM58, I would not say no. I also use Shure headphones and earphones. Great sound and great quality for not a lot of green.

Are there better sounding options on the market? Yes. Are there better sounding options with the reliability and quality track record of Shure in the same price ranges? I'm not so sure that you can answer that with a definitive "yes" accross all product lines.

Shure makes good gear.

 

[Gaolee]

Sennheiser mics put out a little hotter signal than a Shure, in my experience, but they are both more or less transparent. They don't have much "sound" and that's the whole point. They don't do much of anything except make what goes in louder. That's exactly what they are supposed to do. Being very close to indesctructible makes them even better. I have both for the PA, and as long as you remember to adjust the channels a little to compensate for which mic is on that channel, they both work very well. Considering the limitations of the other equipment and the venues, there's not much reason to use anything else, because nobody would notice anyway.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Over the years I've been pleased to use Shure, Sennheiser, AKG, Audix, Beyerdynamic, EV, and Audio Tecnica mics. And even Crown PCC-160 mics for stage aprons.

 

[Keithwah]

Over the years I've been pleased to use Shure, Sennheiser, AKG, Audix, Beyerdynamic, EV, and Audio Tecnica mics. And even Crown PCC-160 mics for stage aprons.

Most all of the makers that have lasted this long make some very good products. Some seem easier to deal with based on familiarity, some just sound amazing out of the box. I was on a huge EV NDYM kick for years and they sounded great for me. But I always had issues getting others to use the same mic in order to achieve a more familiar sounding vocal mix. So I bit the bullet and bought a Beta58 like the other guys. Frankly, it dialed in better, sounded more consistent and didn't stick out with a huge proximity in the lower registers and made the group sound more even. I appreciate something in all of the above mentioned makers' product lines. All great companies.

 

[Stone Soup]

My preferred vocal mic is a Sennheiser e835.

I like that mic, too. Something about it works well for me. I still use a Beta 58 ro a SM58 most times, though.

 

[skidrawk]

We don't own a single Shure mic. There's nothing wrong with them, but they're not the best you can buy. They're easy to use, and if you're used to using them, then you might as well work with what you are familiar with. My wife finds she gets "her" tone more using EV 767's. It is a lot more friendly for a lead vocalist. If you're not a lead vocalist, and you don't use this mic, then you have no reason to have a differing opinion. I use a couple of older Audio Technicas; I don't remember their model at the moment. They are slightly better than a Shure 58. I use a Sennheiser E865 for our guitar player's vocals. That mic is a good fit for his voice.

Different mics do different things. My only complaint about Shure is lazy sound guys who have EQ'd for Shure 58's, and refuse to re-EQ for the mic that works best for a singer. It would take minutes; (assuming they're any good at their job,) and you should let a performer use the equipment that best suits their needs.

I don't see handing you a P-Bass, and saying, "this is the best bass, and I'm EQ'd for it" at a live show; so why should they force a Shure 58 on a lead vocalist?

Personally, I'll sing through whatever is there, but not all vocalists feel that way. I will say it DOES make a difference.

As a sound guy I work with the customer's needs. I had a guitar player insist on having an SM58 on his guitar cabinet. He was so loud I had to turn him all the way down on the FOH but he sure was a happy camper and I got paid at the end of the night.