My SM57 just died

antifash

Can you recommend a better Cardioid mic at that price? Should I get another NT2000? Should I get the SM57 repaired (I'm checking I can do this).

Danny1969

With a 57 it's often one of the very thin enamelled wires coming from the coil down the side that breaks ... depending where it's broke decides if it's fixable ... sometimes it's easy sometimes it's a right bugger of a job

The Senn E609 is a great substitute for a 57 on guitar .... preferable in my book 

antifash

@Danny1969 Thanks for that. I record acoustic only, but will check it out. 

Cirrus

Nothing really sounds like a '57 though there's quite a lot of choice these days in that price range, so it just depends how much you liked the '57 before it broke. If you can't fix it, you could just get another. Or a '58, which are a little more robust what with the ball of metal around the capsule rather than a bit of plastic. But they don't sound the same.

If you want something different, as @Danny1969 ; said the 609 is good, a bit clearer sounding up top. Audix I5 is nice too, pretty rugged, more open sounding than a 57 and with tighter low mids. Sennheiser also do some handheld style mics in that price range, once had an e835 which was a bit more refined than a '57 - smoother sounding up top.

antifash

@Cirrus Thanks for this. I'm using mid-side recording so keen on a directional mic. Will consider a 609 if the 57 can't be fixed for sure, and the i5 and e835 both seem very affordable too.

Danny1969

To be honest I would never pick a 57 for acoustic anyway ... mainly cos it's got that mid hump and it doesn't have the extended frequency response to capture acoustic ..    I was never an expert at acoustics in the studio but the best results always came from condensers like SM81's ... maybe there's something cheaper but similar  

antifash

@Danny1969  I’ve started my recordings with the 57, but was indeed looking for an 81! I’ll see what’s about. Thanks again. 

Cirrus

It might sound crazy, and obviously I'm limited by what I've actually had hands on experience with, but the best I ever got an acoustic was with an RE20, if we're opening the floor to more expensive choices. Beat an AT4050, U87, 414 (admittedly a newer one), Oktava 012, C451 and SM7b. Who wouldn't want to own the Frasier mic?



Admittedly I like slightly more earthy sounding acoustics, and fit them into full band arrangements. If you want sparkle/ fast transient response... not a good choice.

Stuckfast

I quite like dynamic mics on acoustic guitars, especially the old AKG D19 and D224 (long out of production, sadly). Of the mics that are around today, I'd say get a Beyer M201.

Cirrus

One of the studio owners in Brum posted recently about how often he finds deals on D19s. Would be nice to try one out! Imagine by this point it's a minefield to avoid the tired/ broken ones.

antifash

@Cirrus - I think the U87 will have to wait for another lifetime!

@stuckfast - thanks, the M201 looks a good option.

Jalapeno

As others have said - this is an opportunity to get a decent Sennheiser

Stuckfast

Cirrus said:

One of the studio owners in Brum posted recently about how often he finds deals on D19s. Would be nice to try one out! Imagine by this point it's a minefield to avoid the tired/ broken ones.

They are not rare. I have about five of them, all bought from eBay for between £40 and £80 or so. There are a few things to bear in mind if you do try to find one:

(1) The D24 and D119 are basically the same mic and sometimes go for less because they are not so well known. However, the D190 is completely different and reportedly rubbish, as is the D109.

(2) D19s were available in 60Ω, 200Ω and high-impedance versions. The high-impedance version isn't suitable for use with modern equipment without having the internal transformer removed. (Never tried that.) The 200Ω version is probably the most useful, and certainly gives a hotter output than the 60Ω version.

(3) Most of the D19s and D24s I've seen have the three-pin "small Tuchel" ie. locking DIN connector, so you'll need an adaptor cable. Some of them have a five-pin XLR, so you'll need an adaptor cable. These ones can be 60Ω, 200Ω or high impedance depending on which pins of the XLR you connect.

(4) There is a ring that rotates around the mic to select bass roll-off on/off. This often loses the small grub screw needed to operate it. It's not a disaster if this happens, you can still switch the roll-off with a pointy thing like a compass.

antifash

This is useful. 

Winny_Pooh

Buy an Audix i5.

I've tried loads of mics on acoustic and own a senn Md421, senn 906, beyer m201, re20, heil pr22 etc and the i5 is my recommendation. It has a wider frequency range than a 57, very forgiving of placement and cheap. You can get good results with others but I find the hypercards more fiddly with placement and too boomy.

Floof

antifash said:

This is useful. 

Interesting - the Beta 57a sounds fantastic to me there 

antifash

Floof said:

antifash said:

This is useful. 

Interesting - the Beta 57a sounds fantastic to me there 

Concur. 

Cirrus

Yeah, I think so too. But then, there's one catch with online mic shootouts;

We have no idea what the acoustic actually sounds like, so we have no idea what each mic is actually doing - only what they're doing relative to each other on that particular source we never experienced.

DLM

Cirrus said:

It might sound crazy, and obviously I'm limited by what I've actually had hands on experience with, but the best I ever got an acoustic was with an RE20, if we're opening the floor to more expensive choices. Beat an AT4050, U87, 414 (admittedly a newer one), Oktava 012, C451 and SM7b. Who wouldn't want to own the Frasier mic?

I want one just for its nickname in German! https://www.mundmische.de/bedeutung/40122-Elefantenpimmel If you google that, the second hit is Thomann's sales page for the RE20!

Cirrus

Haha, I think it's called the "Donkey Cock" here/ stateside.

antifash

Well, the SM57 is irreparable. I didn’t ignore the advice here! I investigated everything but found a cheap Beta SM 57a, and I’m tight like that...and I’m not gonna be charting any time soon.

Thanks all.