SM57 Love Hate Theory

[confused]

I used to hate the sound of a SM57 I could never understand
its popularity on guitar cabinets , to me it sounds a bit muddy.

Today a friend recorded a Fender Stratocaster with a SM57.
It sounded fantastic.

Here is my Theory

The Stratocaster Type Guitar

Being made from Alder or Ash with Single Coil Pickups
sounds good when recorded with a SM57.

However

The Les Paul Type Guitar

Being made from Mahogany with Humbucking Pickups
Sounds a bit muddy when recorded with a SM57.

The Statocaster type guitar being widely owned and used
would explain the SM57's populatrity.

 

[Elpelotero]

i would venture to say the les paul pickups are muddy. i agree with the alder/ash comments, but mahogany can sound just as articulate if you place the correct pickups in there and pair it with the right amp.

in my opinion: gibson pup's + hi gain mesas=muddy. i have limited exposure, but enough where i've been able to form an opinion. play a quality prs into a mesa and your ears get opened.

 

[MesaENGR412]

Mesa's and EMG's are best friends for me

-AJH

 

[confused]

I am using Emg 81 and Emg 60 in my Viper 400

I have also heard a PRS recording in another post.

Very True they are not muddy bit still a bit too middy for my ears.

To me middy is just as bad as muddy unless you are doubling guitar or playing lead.

I love that scooped rhythm sound I just can't get it with a SM57.

 

[Anonymous]

Post removed.

 

[redmax61]

I'm using a PRS into a Dual Recto into a Marshall cabinet with 2 Greenbacks and 2 Vintage 30's.

IMHO, 57's sound fantastic with the above setup. The key to getting a good sound is mic placement. 57's are VERY picky when placed up close. Turn the mic a few degrees or move it in any direction, and the tone completely changes. For my top cab, the sweet spot is on the bottom right V30, on the edge of the cone, right where the cone meets the cone edge, on a right angle and toward the center of the cabinet.

Before you write it off, move it around and find the sweet spot. You may be quite pleased with the results.

 

[Red Barchetta]

redmax is exactly right. Mic placement is critical...and is the KEY.


I used to use a 57, but switched to a Sennheiser e609


the 57 sounded great, but the Sennheiser is easier to get a good sound from.


RB

 

[redmax61]

Yeah, I may have to break down and get a 609 myself. I've been hearing a LOT of really good things about them.

What's been keeping me from getting one is the fact that 57's have a really cool natural compression that 609's don't. 609's are a lot more pure sounding. Would you agree, RB?

For what I'm doing right now, I really like the 57's compression.

 

[Red Barchetta]

Yeah...that is a good assessment....I agree toally. the 609 is very pure...what you put in is what you get out. I prefer it over the 57 because of that. I find my Road King has lots of sweet natural tube compression on the crunch, od, and peel-your-face-off settings...and on my clean stuff, I use my Keeley compressor. So, I don't really need MORE compression from my mic. (although it is subtle and a different kind of compression)


My main love of the 609 is that you just put it in front of your amp, quickly find the sweet spot and GO. mine is usually positioned at about 3 o'clock...just about an inch off of dead center.


RB

 

[Cleekster]

Well i don't know about in the studio because i'm not particularly fond of that whole close mic sound.......i use a Shure KSM44 at a distance of 2 feet from the cab and turn the amp up just until it doesn't sound distant.

However the band i'm playing with went to the studio to record bass and drums and they micec my amp with a 57 and it made my tone really indistinct and almost like a wall of sound and it was hard to tell what i was playing which is exactly what i've experienced using one live.

Recently i was in a position where i had to close mic in the studio and after trying several mics and mic combos i found that using a sm57 and a sm 58 yields good results when using the darker quality of the 58 for lows and the 57 for highs with the mics side by side on the same speaker about 2 inches away.

an AKG c3000/sm58 is also good combination

 

[Stu Gutz]

The sm57 is a great mic. I have compared it with some other great mics including a $$$ U47 I used to own. You need to use a good mic preamp; like old Neve, API. If you are getting mud, pull it back a bit; it is designed to make use of the proximity hump you get when putting it close to the sound source. I always got great results putting it right up against a cab .... just use a good pre ... I have heard from other folks that it is sensitive to the input impedance it sees from the mic preamp .. it works great with the old Neves like the 1066 and 1073 preamps ... but these again are $$$$.

 

[E_R]

Check this out, I have a Shure 57 from the early 70's it's awesome, works for just about anything , guitar, vocals, snare/HH. Hell I even use for acoustic in combo with a condenser.
In the mid 90's when I needed a few more good "all around" mics I obviously went straight to the SM57. I bought 3....one rocked the other two sucked..then one of the sucky ones died. I sent it back and was sent a replacement in 2 days ( they shipped before they got mine to my suprise). The replacement also sucked (sound wise) well I had and used them for years, with the 70's 57 still my #1 . When another 90's 57 died I opened it up to find it a simple cold solder joint that needed resoldering, no problem. I also noticed the "made in mexico" stamp inside the mic. I took apart my 70's 57 to find "Manufactured in U.S.A".
Seems to me a small part of the "Love/Hate" thing (including my own) with the s7 may be quality controll......not a slam on Mesico's manufacturing abilities...but a slam on Shure for not keeping an eye on consistency.
In the end I use my old Shure 57 and a Sennheiser evolution e906 (no not the e609, nothing against it I just happened to buy the e906 instead)



Anyone else notice a "sound consistency" issue with recent 57's?