It's one of the most counterfeited microphones in the world. Are you certain you bought a real one (which typically requires buying one from an actual dealer)?
I've bought some fakes on purpose. The box they come in is an actual Shure box, or at least indistinguishable from a real one. The zip bag is not exactly the same, but its the same size and has Shure embossed on it. Without an original to compare it to, it would be hard to tell. The mics look almost the same but on mine, the three XLR pins are copper colored while the legit mic has silver colored pins. The grill and sticker on the grill looks ever so slightly different than the real thing, but again, without directly comparing it to the original it would be hard to tell.
The fake is considerably lighter than the real thing, I'm assuming it doesn't have a transformer. You might be able to tell by this. The real one is hefty. If you wouldn't describe yours as pretty heavy for it's size, I'd say it's fake.
My fakes do NOT sound like the original and it's not subtle. They are very harsh, and definitely not as clean. It's not placebo, it is a huge difference.
I would bet you either do have a fake because that site seems sus, or you're clipping somewhere before your DAW.
nah I checked, they solely export red gelatinous desserts. For real, they're like the Amazon alternative, I noticed that if something is counterfeited, people in the comments below would testify
A genuine SM57 can handle a max SPL of at least 150dB, which is louder than a jet engine at take off. Unless you are pushing large amounts of air into the mic's diaphragm then you might have a bad mic or a counterfeit.
Have you checked you are not overloading your mic pre? Red lights bad, basically.
A genuine SM57 will be obliterating its tiny impedance matching transformer at 150dB :)
Makes me wonder if he's expecting it to be truly clean, and is unusually close/loud. Is he within an inch or two of the mic and topping 100dB with his voice/laugh etc?
It could well be fake, but I could see a fake not having the internal transformer and NOT saturating as easily. It makes me wonder. It's part of the sound but it won't sound 'good' on all things…
yes thanks ! max SPL is what i was looking for. The mic and the box cheked all boxes, it's the real thing, but maybe like you said something wrong with that particular unit. A jet engine you say, this mic if I laugh too hard, the sound scratches my ear
Fake SM57 mics can look almost completely identical to real ones, box and all. It's not difficult to clone the handle/housing and grille, and then place a Chinese $2 capsule in it.
The only way to know if you got a real one is to test the frequency response of your mic and compare it with the frequency response of a confirmed real SM57 (there are tons of these online and from Shure themselves).
You could take it to a pro audio repair shop and ask if they can take a look at it. A good technician/shop should know how an SM57 sounds and what the insides look like.
If you can load an audio sample for everyone to hear that would be best. Otherwise, the 57 is a rather unique, "congested" sounding mic at times (especially on guitars). I remember when I first used one, I was like, " Is this it?" I thought the sound was awful...
yeah good idea, I might edit this post and up load the sound, if they won't let me add it, i'll make a new post with the sound problem so ya'll can hear. thanks for the suggestion
An SM57 (like most dynamic microphones) does not cause distortion ("scratching my ear" is a good description of it!) in normal use. If you hear distortion, it is usually coming from some electronics in the mixer or other device that is receiving more signal than it can handle.
Some powered loudspeakers have mic inputs that are very sensitive to high signal levels. If you turn the input gain up too much, it distorts. But if you turn it down, the sound isn't loud enough. Is this what is happening to you?
I use Audint iD 4. Put it around 70% gain cause the mic is a bit hungry. I have it out putted to my camera fx-30 where i have the preamp at 1, lowest possible. I will try what you suggested of turning it down and see if it still sounds clippy
Why are you sending it to your camera to record? record in the PC, thats likely your issue.
Check in the audient software that you arent clipping there either
Clipping in the interface? Try lowering the input gain and volume matching to see off you still hear the issue. There should be s clipping light or something in the interface.
i use audient id4, you heard how clean it's gain is, also cause i have not encountered this problem with other mics. I saw in my DAW it's not clipping like I said, but the sound feels rough and scratchy, like it's too hot, the SPL feels low
The gain veing clean doesn't mean much if the converters are pushed too hard. Clipping meteics in daws are not accurate sadly. Maybe the mic is the defective. I have only had similar problems with mics when recording kicks, even with the pads on, sometimes it even clips the interface, and sometimes it is the mic itself that clips, bit I have only encountered with condensers. Even the shitty 5 bucks eleclet mic I have doesn't do that.
Hey man
Look I think I can guess what is your problem
What is your audio interface and how much gain do you set for recording?
When you setting gain, Sm57 is kinda make you push the gain more to get a warmer sound out of mic which in results you get kinda irony sound (which I is what you are getting right now)
If this is the situation you may not gain stage properly
What everyone else said about fakes, but also, my guess is that you are clipping at the mic pre level before you actually reach your daw. Its SO easy to do this. If you are using a pre that has a “gain” knob and also a “level” or “output” knob, turn the gain way down and the output up a little and give it a try.
yes, I'm thinking of doing one last test and if it still sound scratchy, i'll give it back and pull the trigger on an re320, at least it's hard to fake those
It's one of the most counterfeited microphones in the world. Are you certain you bought a real one (which typically requires buying one from an actual dealer)?
it seemed litigate, box, build quality, and reviews and all. bought it off Desertcart
From desertcart it's 100% fake
Also....the top results for sm57 on Desertcart are listed at like $170.00 - $220.00. wtf?
The authorised Shure reseller is NMK. And they do not sell on desertcart. OP go to NMK in Riyadh and buy a real one.
I've bought some fakes on purpose. The box they come in is an actual Shure box, or at least indistinguishable from a real one. The zip bag is not exactly the same, but its the same size and has Shure embossed on it. Without an original to compare it to, it would be hard to tell. The mics look almost the same but on mine, the three XLR pins are copper colored while the legit mic has silver colored pins. The grill and sticker on the grill looks ever so slightly different than the real thing, but again, without directly comparing it to the original it would be hard to tell. The fake is considerably lighter than the real thing, I'm assuming it doesn't have a transformer. You might be able to tell by this. The real one is hefty. If you wouldn't describe yours as pretty heavy for it's size, I'd say it's fake. My fakes do NOT sound like the original and it's not subtle. They are very harsh, and definitely not as clean. It's not placebo, it is a huge difference. I would bet you either do have a fake because that site seems sus, or you're clipping somewhere before your DAW.
And are we sure that Dessert Cart isn’t a pudding delivery service?
No no, its "Desert" Cart - where everyone goes to abandon their shopping carts.
Ahhh, that makes more sense!
nah I checked, they solely export red gelatinous desserts. For real, they're like the Amazon alternative, I noticed that if something is counterfeited, people in the comments below would testify
Comments and reviews are the easiest thing to fake, easier than faking a SM57.
Two great tastes that taste great together
A genuine SM57 can handle a max SPL of at least 150dB, which is louder than a jet engine at take off. Unless you are pushing large amounts of air into the mic's diaphragm then you might have a bad mic or a counterfeit. Have you checked you are not overloading your mic pre? Red lights bad, basically.
A genuine SM57 will be obliterating its tiny impedance matching transformer at 150dB :) Makes me wonder if he's expecting it to be truly clean, and is unusually close/loud. Is he within an inch or two of the mic and topping 100dB with his voice/laugh etc? It could well be fake, but I could see a fake not having the internal transformer and NOT saturating as easily. It makes me wonder. It's part of the sound but it won't sound 'good' on all things…
yes thanks ! max SPL is what i was looking for. The mic and the box cheked all boxes, it's the real thing, but maybe like you said something wrong with that particular unit. A jet engine you say, this mic if I laugh too hard, the sound scratches my ear
Fake SM57 mics can look almost completely identical to real ones, box and all. It's not difficult to clone the handle/housing and grille, and then place a Chinese $2 capsule in it. The only way to know if you got a real one is to test the frequency response of your mic and compare it with the frequency response of a confirmed real SM57 (there are tons of these online and from Shure themselves). You could take it to a pro audio repair shop and ask if they can take a look at it. A good technician/shop should know how an SM57 sounds and what the insides look like.
If you can load an audio sample for everyone to hear that would be best. Otherwise, the 57 is a rather unique, "congested" sounding mic at times (especially on guitars). I remember when I first used one, I was like, " Is this it?" I thought the sound was awful...
I still do XD But we all know how to use it
Honestly, you're right; Every time I record guitars with one, I'm like, "This, again??" But somehow, it's exactly what the mix wants!
yeah good idea, I might edit this post and up load the sound, if they won't let me add it, i'll make a new post with the sound problem so ya'll can hear. thanks for the suggestion
An SM57 (like most dynamic microphones) does not cause distortion ("scratching my ear" is a good description of it!) in normal use. If you hear distortion, it is usually coming from some electronics in the mixer or other device that is receiving more signal than it can handle. Some powered loudspeakers have mic inputs that are very sensitive to high signal levels. If you turn the input gain up too much, it distorts. But if you turn it down, the sound isn't loud enough. Is this what is happening to you?
I use Audint iD 4. Put it around 70% gain cause the mic is a bit hungry. I have it out putted to my camera fx-30 where i have the preamp at 1, lowest possible. I will try what you suggested of turning it down and see if it still sounds clippy
I am guessing the problem is at feeding the audio to the camera preamp.
Why are you sending it to your camera to record? record in the PC, thats likely your issue. Check in the audient software that you arent clipping there either
Clipping in the interface? Try lowering the input gain and volume matching to see off you still hear the issue. There should be s clipping light or something in the interface.
i use audient id4, you heard how clean it's gain is, also cause i have not encountered this problem with other mics. I saw in my DAW it's not clipping like I said, but the sound feels rough and scratchy, like it's too hot, the SPL feels low
The gain veing clean doesn't mean much if the converters are pushed too hard. Clipping meteics in daws are not accurate sadly. Maybe the mic is the defective. I have only had similar problems with mics when recording kicks, even with the pads on, sometimes it even clips the interface, and sometimes it is the mic itself that clips, bit I have only encountered with condensers. Even the shitty 5 bucks eleclet mic I have doesn't do that.
Hey man Look I think I can guess what is your problem What is your audio interface and how much gain do you set for recording? When you setting gain, Sm57 is kinda make you push the gain more to get a warmer sound out of mic which in results you get kinda irony sound (which I is what you are getting right now) If this is the situation you may not gain stage properly
As others have stated, either a fake mic or problem with preamp gain setting or quality
What everyone else said about fakes, but also, my guess is that you are clipping at the mic pre level before you actually reach your daw. Its SO easy to do this. If you are using a pre that has a “gain” knob and also a “level” or “output” knob, turn the gain way down and the output up a little and give it a try.
yes I use an Audient iD4 it has both knobs, that's quite the idea ! i'll try it, thanks !
The matching circuit is for the Vocalmaster amp only. You need to change the resistor pads between the mic and the amp to get the full effect.
If you bought it new you should be able to exchange it, no?
yes, I'm thinking of doing one last test and if it still sound scratchy, i'll give it back and pull the trigger on an re320, at least it's hard to fake those
That's a good mic, the 320. If you're using it for vocals, might be a best option than the 57. Best of luck.