De Shure SM57 is de mic om te hebben in een studio of live. It also produces a beachball-like tone during the last eight hits.  The fake SM57 I got from Woot had yellow and blue wiring. I have bought from Woot many times over the past 15 years.  They are an industry standard. To record the floor tom, the mics were arranged in a similar fashion to the snare but positioned slightly higher, at around 2 inches from the skin. In general you will see that the genuine SM57 and SM58 have a very similar frequency response up until about 1.5kHz, with the SM57 subsequently having an increased sensitivity up until about 10kHz. The lower sensitivity of the SM58 could be attributed in part to the presence of the ball grille over the capsule and a possible slight variation in the way the mic was positioned. The Shure SM57 is a modern classic microphone, and it is used more prominently in the studio that any other singular microphone. I recently found myself in such a position, having received a supposedly new SM57 and SM58, which subsequently turned out to be counterfeits. On a related note, the table below collates the copyright dates on all of the boxes and documents, but I will admit that I wasn’t able to glean anything from this information as there is quite a spread of dates for each box, with the exception of the fake SM58. Many counterfeit Shure microphones come with a cable in the box; the only Shure microphone that includes a cable is the Shure SM58-CN. For the final samples we recorded drum roll with the floor tom.  I figured that was just how an SM57 sounded because I had no prior experience. Also, some fake SM58 come with a switch attached; the model number should read SM58S. This packaging looks pretty good, right? As with the recordings of the individual tom hits, both genuine mics provided a solid, balanced sound with plenty of lower-end punch and higher-end definition. It is used extensively in amplified music and has been used for speeches by every U.S. president since its introduction in 1965. I had received a fake microphone, from a guy who was apparently selling a bunch of them. (the only Shure microphone that includes a cable is the Shure SM58-CN). The individual preamp gains were then adjusted accordingly.  The SM58 is marketed as being for vocals, but the only difference between the SM57 and the SM58 is the round grille on the 58. Most of these pics are obvious when looking at them side by side … I’ll freely admit that the test was a little crude, but it did provide an interesting visual representation of the frequency response of each mic, which can be seen below. Notice the housing of the fake SM57 compared to the real SM57. So I set the microphones up and performed a simple headphone listening test, increasing the preamp gain on each mic individually until the ‘background noise’ became audible; it helped that the room in which we were recording had decent sound insulation, so I didn’t need to worry about noise pollution from outside of the building. El Shure A2WS es un accesorio para el SM57 que minimiza ruidos de viento, el Efecto proximidad, y protege la cápsula del micrófono.. Debido a su popularidad, el SM57 ha sido ampliamente falsificado por fábricas en China y Tailandia. You would imagine that when printing the boxes, the counterfeiters would simply scan an original and reproduce it; but luckily for us this doesn’t seem to be the case. Voor deze prijs altijd een aanrader!!! The main body of both the SM57 and SM58 comprises two metal tubes that screw together. It is a legendary, but simple dynamic microphone, with a frequency response from 40 Hz to 15,000 Hz, cardioid pattern, 150 ohms rated impedance, and the basic 3-pin XLR connector on the base. I had read before that a common sign that a SM57 or SM58 is fake is if it has no printed code on the internal board that the wiring connects to, but in this instance this has proven untrue as the only mic out of the four to lack a code is the genuine SM58.  My fake SM57 had gold pins.  Another thing I noticed upon comparing the photos is the curved edge at the base of the authentic SM57.  The counterfeit copy had a sharper edge. Whilst I’m aware that SM57s are usually favoured over SM58s for recording snares and that neither the SM57 or SM58 is what you would call a ‘typical’ choice for recording a floor tom, I wanted to record sound sources that would provide variation in both transient and tone in short bursts, therefore allowing for quick comparison and assessment of each microphone’s character. For the following samples we recorded a simple snare roll that builds up to a crescendo before being allowed to ring out. I read the comments and some webpages about how to identify fake SM57s. Lastly, let’s check the carrying pouch.  The counterfeit pouches may not be embossed.  In other words, the Shure logo may not be three-dimensional.  Counterfeit pouches can also be overly shiny.  The authentic Shure pouch shown here has more of a dull finish. Also of note is the poor quality paintwork on the fake SM58, which fails to cover either end of the exposed metal body. The SM57 typically sells for $99. Surprisingly, the knockoff mics turned out to be more sensitive than the real ones, with the fake 57 and 58 requiring 35dB and 34dB of gain respectively, in comparison to the uniform 40dB of gain from the genuine articles. The spherical grille on the top of the fake SM58 seems to be made from the same cheap, thinner mesh as on the fake SM57, giving it an overall shinier, tacky look when compared to the sturdy-looking brushed metal of the genuine article. I do feel that the SM58 sounds slightly better than the SM57 here, which is possibly due to it’s position in relation to the skin of the tom. In this Issue. The Shure SM57 is a low-impedance cardioid dynamic microphone made by Shure Incorporated and commonly used in live sound reinforcement and studio recording.  I put the microphone away and didn’t bother messing with it again until December. The Shure website lists the SM57 as weighing 284g and the SM58 as weighing 298g, whilst the counterfeit versions typically weigh much less. Also look carefully at the text on the silver label of the fake SM57 box, where not only does it list it as being a “vocal” microphone (despite it clearly stating it’s an “instrument” mic on top of the box), but it also states that it has an on/off switch; there are NO versions of the SM57 with an on/off switch. The fake stickers are also slightly smaller in size, measuring 207mm by 62mm, whereas the genuine stickers measure 210mm by 64mm: I find it strange that the genuine SM57 comes with 5 documents, whereas the genuine SM58 comes with only 3, which is repeated for the fake versions but the other way around – the fake SM57 including only 3 documents and the fake SM58 including 5. Below is the real SM57 (made in Mexico) I had this answer from an engineer from Shure when I showed them the pictures: " Response (Jim Rice) 06/11/2007 07:53 AM The wiring does not look like ours. I am aware that this subject has been written about before but, much like the articles themselves, the variety of knockoffs and their resulting discrepancies are numerous. El Shure SM57 és un micròfon de tipus cardioide, unidireccional i de baixa impedància normalment utilitzat al reforç d'àudio en viu i enregistraments d'estudi. if you are getting a huge discount on an shure mic chances are its a knock off. I have briefly used the authentic SM57 and I can say it does sound better and there is definitely less handling noise.  Moving the XLR cable caused a lot of noise when I used the counterfeit SM57.  To my surprise, there were several posts about these microphones from Woot being counterfeits. Had I not been set on sending them back for a refund, this might have made for an amusing test. With the mic clips, I’ll admit I was hard pushed to find a visual difference between real and fake as they are both essentially black moulded plastic with gold-coloured metal threading at the base. I purchased one of the SM57s for $69.99 and got the microphone a few days later. On the genuine microphones you can see that the divide between the two halves is more clearly defined due to each end curving in slightly around the lip, but on the fake versions the two sections sit together in a more flush manner. I purchased my authentic SM57 from a Guitar Center store after sending the counterfeit back to Woot.  Guitar Center is an authorized Shure dealer, so I figured I would be pretty safe buying from them.  I opened and checked the microphone’s authenticity as soon as I got to my car. When it comes to buying Shure microphones, buy from an authorized dealer.  Spend a little more money so you have the peace of mind that you are getting an authentic product that will perform as designed.  All three of his SM57s had the same serial number and manufacture date. Notice the housing of the fake SM57 compared to the real SM57. So is buying from an Authorized Dealer (located in the USA) the only way to minimize or eliminate the possibility of getting a fake? On the fake version, the printed text on the band circumventing the base of the plastic capsule is not only less defined than on the real SM57, but it also uses ‘Ƶ’ instead of the standard “Z” to denote impedance. Always purchase Shure product from an authorized Shure dealer." Home Recording. ultimately its performance will not be good.  Even buyers for big e-commerce sites can be duped by counterfeits. The fake capsule also has a silver caution sticker affixed to it, which is commonly understood to be something that has only ever appeared on the counterfeit versions, begging the question of why the bootleggers ever went to the effort of putting it on there in the first place? The mesh grilles on the tops of the microphones are notably different too, with the fake version protruding further from the top of the plastic housing and sporting thinner strands of mesh that are dark silver in colour, as opposed the the thicker brushed metal effect seen on the genuine mic. The manuals and warranty info were in the box as well as the Shure bumper sticker.  I do not advise relying solely on the documents inside to tell if your microphone is real or counterfeit.  Manufacturers can and do change the manuals and warranty cards that ship with products.  My point here is to show how a counterfeit can come with all the documents you would expect to come with a new microphone, and how they all look legitimate.  The documentation in my hand was folded and creased in the counterfeit’s box, while the same document was gently folded over in the authentic microphone’s box. Therefore the information in this article will serve to show not only the specific anomalous areas of the counterfeit mics that I bought, but also some general things to look out for if you are uncertain as to whether your mics are genuine.  Woot is also owned by Amazon (purchased in 2010), so I felt I had no reason to worry when some people questioned if these SM57s were authentic. As two of the most popular mics in existence, the Shure SM57 and SM58 have pretty much dominated the affordable microphone market since their introduction in the mid 60s, becoming synonymous with ruggedness and reliability.  The authentic Shure label is printed better, positioned better, and lacks excess glue residue.  The authentic label also has more of a matte finish than the fake.  Another thing to check on this part of the microphone is the ability of the cap to spin freely.  Counterfeits do not spin freely and can actually rip the wiring if you rotate the top part. I’ll post some photos of the microphone I received and its packaging.  A commenter somewhere said these Woot microphones were among the better counterfeits out there. As with the boxes and paperwork, the microphones can initially look pretty convincing, especially if you’ve never seen a real one before; they’re the right size and shape, but they just don’t have the build quality that genuine Shure mics have, and the accessories don’t fare any better. At the foot of the genuine SM58 body there is a CE (European Conformity) mark, which is absent from the foot of the fake version. The genuine Shure bags have a subtle matte finish, neatly embossed logo and tidy stitching, whereas the fake ones have a tacky shiny finish, garishly pitted logo and wide, crude stitching. Each preamp was re-calibrated to accommodate the additional dynamic range that the recordings would require and during the warmups I encountered the same inconsistent clipping issues with the counterfeit mics, requiring additional attenuation to the gain of their preamps. Whilst the counterfeiters have ‘traditionally’ put a lot of time and effort into ensuring that their fake microphones look the part (on first glance at least), the same cannot be said for the interior workings and resultant sound quality, which can range from plain shoddy to nigh on unusable. As you can see from the above images, my genuine SM57 weighed 280.4g and the SM58 weighed 329.5g; after doing a little research online it does seem to be a trend that SM58s actually weigh between 320g and 330g, despite the official listed weight of 298g. It also exaggerates the ring of the drum once again, creating a sound reminiscent of a bouncing beach ball during the last four tom hits. For whatever reason, I decided to go back to the Woot community page about the SM57 deal. El nom SM prové de les sigles en anglès Studio Microphone (Micròfon d'estudi). I was frustrated, I emailed the guy and said “I expect that you will be giving me my money back on account of the fact that you sold me a fake Shure Sm57. Sure, if you paid with a credit card you’ll likely be able to get your money back eventually, but think of all the time that you’ve wasted; time that could have been spent getting killer recordings if only you’d bought a genuine Shure mic in the first place. On the fake … I used the signal generator plugin in Pro Tools to output a sine wave tone, which was automated to cycle up from 20Hz to 20kHz over a 40 second period. In order to find out I hired one of the practice rooms at Shockerwick Studios in Bath and enlisted the help of my good friend Les, from the band Embodiment, who was kind enough to let us record a number of samples from his drum kit. The preamp gain on each mic was re-calibrated in order to accommodate for the required increase in dynamic range; I found that the signals from both counterfeit mics would clip inconsistently during the crescendo of the snare roll and so their gain structures had to be lowered slightly more than those of the genuine mics.  I will delve into the specific qualities that made this microphone a counterfeit. Thankfully this seemed to be a genuine item and feels and sounds like Quality with a capital Q. I set up a mic stand in front of one of my monitors that would hold a microphone in position approximately four inches from the face, equidistant from the upper edge of the sub cone and the bottom edge of the ribbon tweeter. So I did a little digging and unscrewed it. The recording from the fake SM57 lacks both the low-end thump and the boom that typically characterises a floor tom, once again sounding overly thin and lacking impact as a result. The fake SM58 fares similarly badly, lacking both body and lower-end definition whilst also sounding boxy and more distant during the lower velocity sections. Let’s look at the threads.  I have seen examples where there is a difference in the number of screw threads where you open the microphone.  It looks like there is a difference in my examples, but it is hard to tell.  The counterfeit may have more threads or they are spaced farther apart. Quite simply, if there isn’t one, the mic is likely a fake. I figured I should pick up an SM57. .  I have never had a problem with any of my purchases. If you are buying a second hand SM57 or 58 online, before you part with your cash ask the seller to provide you with the following. Shure's SM57 user guide. A fake SM58 will sound very bright and harsh with moderate gain applied. I chose to use a Universal Audio Apollo for the recordings as the built in preamps are nice and clean sounding. In an attempt to shed a little more light on the tonal differences between the genuine and counterfeit microphones I set up a simple test to help map out a visual representation of their individual frequency responses. The bolt in the center of the counterfeit SM57 is longer than the bolt in the center of the authentic SM57. This is absent on the fake bag. The final visual differences between the two sets of mics can be seen around the section of threading that connects both halves of the main body together. The fake SM57 lacks the lower-end responsiveness of the real model and has a big sensitivity spike at around 3.5kHz, both of which account for the thin, slightly harsh tone of the recordings.  I didn’t know it was a deviation from minimum advertised prices at authorized Shure dealers. Both the genuine and fake mic bags are made from artificial leather, but in terms of quality they are leagues apart. I’m not suggesting that this is a plus point for the knockoff mics, just that it was unexpected. Casting even a cursory glance over the frequency response waveforms of the fake SM57 and SM58 highlights just how different they are to the real thing. Description: Shure Sm57 Schematic – Shure M67 Capacitor Question Gearslutz Pro in Shure Sm57 Wiring Diagram, image size 1022 X 376 px, and to view image details please click the image.. Look at the price. Shure are committed to providing customers with high-quality products. Also, take note of how on the genuine box you can still see elements of the background image (eg the cables) behind the text, whereas on the fake box this has all been painted out with black, likely so that the replacement text could be added in place of the original (this is also present on the fake SM58 box): On the underside of the Fake SM57 box within the grey area that details the “Items included”, the microphone is listed as a “Sm57” (lowercase ‘m’), whereas on the genuine box it is listed as a “SM57”: On the fake SM57 box in the French language section, the word “très” is written as “trés”, with an acute accent on the ‘e’ instead of a grave. look at the diagrams. The Shure SM57 is a modern classic microphone, and it is used more prominently in the studio that any other singular microphone. Normally I wouldn’t post a serial number, but this is essential to the story. The waveform for the fake SM58 seems similar to that of the real version in the lower frequencies, slightly less responsive in the low mids and then generally unbalanced after a large spike at 3.5kHz, explaining the lack of body and harsh tone present in the recorded samples. On average in the UK, new SM57s and 58s retail for between £85 to £95; if the price is lower than this and it is not being sold by an established retailer, tread carefully. In fact on first glance the internal wiring of the fake mics look pretty convincing, with both using the standard colour green and yellow wires; but just as with the boxes and paperwork, the cracks begin to show on closer inspection. When the grill is removed, the foamy bit on the top of the fake mic is black, on the real one it is grey. On the genuine models the rubberised inserts on either side of the wiring board can be moved away from the sides of the metal tube but will instantly return to their original position when released, whereas on the fake models they are barely attached to the interior of the mic at all. Removing the mesh grille from the top of the SM58 exposes the capsule, which is where the difference between the genuine and fake mics becomes incredibly apparent. In 2005 Shure opened two new facilities in China: a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Suzhou, and a sales and marketing office in Shanghai. In the event that someone out there is able to shed any light on the significance of the dates, I will happily update this article and credit you for the information supplied. Next to the real SM58 the fake version sounds more harsh in the high-mids, whilst also having a slightly ‘boxy’ quality, and the overall tone sounds increasingly thinner as the velocity of the snare hit builds. The main difference here is that the two genuine mics display the universal “do not dispose of” symbol just above pins 1 and 2, which is absent on the counterfeit versions. The boxes might look good at first glance, but an absolute dead giveaway is whether or not there is a serial number present. I will apologise at this point for the quality (or lack thereof) of the photos below, where I used two different lighting methods in an attempt to capture the detailing around the XLR pins underneath the microphones – hopefully you can still get an idea of what I was trying to highlight. The tinniness of the fake SM57 over-emphasises the transients of the hits, which makes it sound harsh without the lower-mids to back it up, and the fake SM58 manages to somehow sound both harsh and slightly muffled, with some audible distortion creeping in during the crescendo.  It sounded more like a $20 Walmart or Best Buy microphone than a $100 industry standard. We want to ensure you can obtain the genuine article and avoid disappointment. Please … You’ll note I have not added any actual decibel level values in the image as the test was not comprehensive enough to warrant it and was only intended to provide an approximate visual comparison. [2] Shure Distribution (UK) informó que el SM57, Beta 57A y Beta 58A son los más falsificados. The mics were arranged in pairs, real SM57 next to fake SM57 and real SM58 next to fake SM58, with the grille of each mic angled above the snare, approximately 1.5 inches from the skin. As an initial test I wanted to gauge the sensitivity of each microphone, as I had read that it is common for the knockoff 57s and 58s to need a significantly higher gain boost than the genuine versions when level matching. Je kan hem bijna voor alles gebruiken (het beste voor snare drum en elektrische gitaar naar mijn mening) en hij is amper kapot te krijgen. I decided not to include the actual audio recordings of the test in this article because, quite simply, they do not make for a particularly pleasant listening experience. Throughout the following pictures, observe the overall poorer print quality of the fakes compared to the genuine boxes. However, instead of just being angry about it, I decided that I would instead take advantage of the situation and compile an article that could be used as a checklist by other people to quickly and effectively verify if their SM57 and SM58 microphones are genuine. You will also notice how the lengths of wire in the fake SM58 are much longer than in the real thing. Check out the color of the XLR connector pins. Below is the real SM57 (made in Mexico) I had this answer from an engineer from Shure when I showed them the pictures: " Response (Jim Rice) 06/11/2007 07:53 AM The wiring does not look like ours. So I just bought a Shure SM57 from Amazon and I'm a little afraid that it is a fake. I noticed a difference on the section of packaging shown below.  You can’t see it in the photo posted here, but the counterfeit’s packaging has the wrong colors for the German flag.  The counterfeit has blue instead of black. The Addendum documents look nearly identical, aside from the fact that the Shure logo in the top left has been cropped awkwardly close to the upper edge of the paper on the fakes: Real documents (left) and fake documents (right).  It was also being discussed on Reddit. The fake SM57 lacks the lower-end responsiveness of the real model and has a big sensitivity spike at around 3.5kHz, both of which account for the thin, slightly harsh tone of the recordings. The tinniness and lack of low-end depth in the recording from the fake SM57 almost makes it sound like it has been captured from a different, smaller floor tom, and the over pronounced high-mids give the ring on the final hit an unpleasant metallic sound. Buondì, Sono in procinto di acquistare un microfono per live, ma sono indeciso se prendere un mic a clip wireless o un gelato.  Shure has minimum advertised pricing, so their microphones cost the same at every retailer. You may have noticed that I never showed the real and counterfeit microphones side-by-side.  Since it was two months after the purchase date, I was in a rush to return the counterfeit microphone.  I didn’t want Woot to change their mind about accepting a return.  Woot customer service did not contest my claim the microphone was counterfeit and they issued me an RMA without any hassle.  I’m not sure what to think of Woot.  They must still stand by their claim the microphones came from Shure Asia and have a full warranty.  I would like to think Woot would have notified the affected customers if they concluded the microphones were counterfeits.  I think they probably instructed customer service to just issue an RMA if a customer complains about their SM57 being fake.  On the circuit board, there should be a quality control stamp. Buy Only From An Authorized Shure Retailer 9.8 (1,076) Blue Snowball iCE USB Mic for Recording and Streaming on PC and Mac, Cardioid Condenser Capsule, Adjustable Stand, Pl… best microphone value ever? The microphone bag is of a lower quality, the real one is longer 10″ the fake one only 8.5″ On the real microphone bag, the embossed SHURE logo is visible from inside the bag. In this instance, imitation is certainly not the sincerest form of flattery…. My genuine SM57 does not have a CE mark, possibly due to it being an older model that was not produced specifically for the European market, but it is still something to keep a look out for. It's easier and cheaper than you think to set up a home recording studio. So as some final advice for any potential SM57 and SM58 buyers the following condensed checklist will hopefully steer you clear of any dodgy sellers: Overall I hope that you have enjoyed reading this article and that it has proven useful to you. I also weighed the removable grilles from the real and fake SM58s, with the fake version weighing in at 8.1g less than the genuine one: Whilst I can accept a deviation of 3.6g from the weight of my real SM57 to the official stated weight, the weight deviation of the fake versions was significant, with the fake SM57 weighing 48.2g less than it should and the fake SM58 weighing 61.0g less than the official stated weight, and a whopping 92.5g less than my genuine model! That does not appear on the fake. An original Shure SM57 weighs about 284g, while a counterfeit would be much lighter.  On Reddit, one guy posted a link to a gallery of photos of the three SM57s he got from Woot. On the genuine Shure stickers the paper on the underside is black, whereas on the fakes it is white and can also be seen as a thin white border on the front of the sticker. The cheaper materials used to construct the counterfeit models obviously account for the big difference in weight and would likely mean they would be much less resistant to punishment than the real thing.

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