Customer Reviews

Shure BETA 57A Instrument Microphone

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The Beta series is the step above the incredibly popular SM series by Shure. The 57s are typically used to mic instruments and the 58s mainly for vocals. It is a dynamic microphone, so it's rugged enough for any situation, but is built to a much higher standard than typical dynamics so you get a lot more range and detail than you might expect.
I have used the 57 for a wide variety of instruments and vocals with great success both live and in the studio.
The Beta57 is excellent on snare, acoustic guitar, electic guitar, horns and wind instruments in addition to being a great vocal microphone. The supercardioid pattern ensures much more flexibility on stage with less chance of feeding back.
Overly loud bands with demanding vocalists who need as much as you can give them in the monitors, this is a life saver. Snare top and bottom. High hats when I don't want the bleed that a condenser would give. This is my go to mic for live applications.

I have a lot of mics, and all of them are more expensive than this one. This is the mic that works the best for my vocals. I have a soft voice, predominately lower midrange, and always need to bump the higher frequencies to be heard in a band mix. This mic does the work for me so I spend less time trying to get it just right.
I would recommend trying this mic first, then, if you are not happy, try the more expensive ones.

As a horn player and recording engineer it is really hard to find mics that will give you enough gain without feedback to mic a horn soloist or section. The Shure Beta 57a gives you a great marriage of high quality and good price. I use this mic a lot in the studio to record horns since it gives you an excellent punch with a lot of bright nice colors. I have used other mics like the SM 57 or the Sennheiser MD421Mk2, but the Beta 57a blows them out of the water. It works great for saxes and clarinets since they both need a more broad pick up of sound. I would highly recommend this mic to anyone who likes the SM57 sound, but is tired of the low sensitivity. The extra $60 bucks you pay over the SM57 is well worth it.

Everybody knows who set "the standard" when it comes to an acceptable level of audio quality with microphones. This is a great supercard, dynamic mic. My primary use for it is miking acoustic guitars. Turns out it can do pretty good vocals as well. The biggest difference between the Beta 57, and the regular 57 is the Beta is a supercard while the standard 57 is just a cardioid. So the Beta is also a bit hotter, and a little less muddy, if you will, while still maintaining a good level of warmth & fullness. You can spend a bunch of money on instrument mics if you choose. But the Beta 57 will cover a lot of bases, and do it well. I would probably opt for the standard 57 for miking electric guitar amps.

They survive drops onto hard surfaces and still sound great. Buy this. This is the go-to mic for mic'ing amplifiers, snare drums, wind instruments, vocals, or anything you need to mic. Its great to have fancier mics for specific purposes; this mic is for everything else.

I use this for my loud big voice vocals. I play bass so I have to eat the mic when singing so that I know I am right on. This mic only picks up my voice. I did a substitute test with sm 58's. plug and unplug style and this mic is three times louder, deeper and more articulate than the 57...I won't use anything else...I know it would be great for recording gtr.s drums, etc...35 years of playing experience and have used them all in the studio. A good mic for a "poor man"....

I have used Beta57 on podiums, in studio, worship service for lead vocal and yes with instruments. It is an excellent all around mic. In fact I like it a little better than a Beta58. You can spend a lot more money and get less of a mic.

I needed a mic for Irish Low D whistle and the Beta 57a performs great. Works for my high whistles too. The directional qualities also help prevent feedback when performing on stage close to speakers.
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My dad bought me this mic for Christmas, when I said I "Needed something to record myself practicing with." I'm not too savvy with this stuff (yet), but I recorded an audition CD on piccolo! with it, and it turned out great. For the price, it's really very good for people like me...emerging professional orchestral musicians who need to make audition CD's and such but don't have the time/money to go paying for a recording studio.

This dealer had the best price I've ever seen on this mic $70. If you know the shure 57's then you know this mic. Buy it!