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How can you spot a Fake Shure Beta 58a?

UnkaRick

UnkaRick

Sep 21, 2008
66
42
NY
#1
With all the Chinese Bootlegs flooding the market, ...does anyone have any tips on spotting a phony Beta 58a?

I wrote to Shure's Technical Support;...." Hi, Hope you can help out, . I am in contact with a fella on CraigsList selling a used Beta 58a, he says it is a "5 Star mic" & was bought from Musicians Friend for $160.00...
I asked him to unscrew the ball and see if there was White Initials on the plastic cap.. He says "No, it just says SHURE".. I asked him the color of the foam..he says "Black"..
just wondering if that's enough info to tell if it's a Bootleg, I think I'm starting to tick him off, (he's about 100 miles away, so I haven't seen it yet)"

They write back: ....."Unfortunately, we are not able to disclose the specific details that lead us to conclude a product is a counterfeit, since those are highly confidential and disclosing them might aid counterfeiters in their efforts.

We suggest avoiding Craig's List and eBay as there are thousands of counterfeits on these web sites."
Oh well, I guess ya can't blame them, ...but I heard they would tell you if it was fake, just not why...

Anybody have any experience with the Beta's?

Thanks,
UnkaRick
..
 
#2
I would suggest getting your Beta 58A from a reputable source.

My Beta 58A has "EI" painted (off centered) in white on the black center cap of the element (which has the word SHURE molded on it). The foam surrounding this cap is of high quality and is charcoal grey.

The weight is 285 gm (10 ounces).

Unfortunately cosmetics is one of the easiest things to duplicate in knockoffs. Do you have any detailed pictures of the mic element?
 
#3
With all these knockoffs floating around on Ebay and CL (BTW, CL is fast becoming the scuzziest place of earth), I would NEVER EVER buy a mic from Ebay or CL. The little bit extra you spend on buying from a reputable dealers is greatly offset by sparing yourself the headaches of buying counterfeits. A soundman friend of mine learned that lesson the hard way.
 
#4
I agree with Jansen and Jimmy. Besides what they said, my mouth goes close to the mic sometimes and I don't want a strangers dried up mouth juices anywhere near my own mouth.

If you absolutely refuse to buy a new one though, then thing you can do is email the seller and ask him for the serial number of the mic, then contact Shure again with it, they I would hope can then tell you if its a knockoff or legit.
 
#5
This is the most informative article I could find on the web....

Link Removed

There were other articles that made it sound like people were getting Bootlegs from MusiciansFriend....

Just for the Hell of it...here's the Craigs List ad...

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#8
cassanova said:
If you absolutely refuse to buy a new one though, then thing you can do is email the seller and ask him for the serial number of the mic, then contact Shure again with it, they I would hope can then tell you if its a knockoff or legit.
Click to expand...

Unless of course they copied that off a real Beta 58a too.

If you buy it from a Shure dealer (as listed on their site probably), you get a Shure mic. Thats the only way to be 100% certain.

Then if it turns out to be fake anyway, Shure is on the hook to provide you with a real one.
 
#10
Nawww.. not the cost, actually, I didn't really need a new mic, .. but when I saw the price this kid had on it, I figured "I couldn't afford not to buy it"...

Thats when I started doing some investigating...
 
#11
caveat emptor


I learned a lesson in buying counterfeit junk online a few years ago when I was buying tune-up parts for my older Mercedes. I found a "genuine Bosch fuel pump" that I snagged for $125 on ebay even though they normally sell for $300 at the auto parts store.

When it arrived it somewhat resembled the authentic unit and it came in a box that said "Bosch" on it.

But it was substantially less heavy than it should have been. :eyebrow: And it failed after three weeks of use when installed on my car.

Now, when I shop online from private sellers I always ask myself if it could possibly be a fake, and if it is, am I going to be screwed if I buy it.
 
#12
Well if you want a mike just because its low in price and a great deal take a look at the Behringer xm8500 from MF. They are $19.95. Yep $19.95.
It sounds very similar to my Beta 58a. Will it last as long probablly not. Is it as great rejecting hand held noise, no. But to throw in your bag as a backup you can't go wrong having a few laying around. And when you let some drunk up on stage, hand him that one instead of your Shure. Really they sound pretty good.
 

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