Shure SM57-LC Cardioid Dynamic Microphone

by Shure

Product Features

• Contoured frequency response is clean, instrumental reproduction and rich vocal pickup
• Professional-quality reproduction for drum, precussion, and instrument amplifier miking
• Uniform cardioid pickup pattern isolates the main source while reducing background noise
• Extremely durable under heaviest use
• Frequency response 40 to 15,000 Hz

Product Details

Product Manual [260kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.2 x 1.2 inches ; 10.1 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0000AQRST
• Item model number: SM57LC
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #369 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)
  • #2 in Musical Instruments > Recording Equipment > Microphones > Dynamic Microphones > Instrument
  • #60 in Electronics > Accessories & Supplies > Computer Accessories > Headsets & Microphones
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

Product Description

Style: Without cable

From the Manufacturer

Few microphones have the reputation for quality and durability that the SM57 has built up since it first hit the market in 1965. Since then, this product has been an industry benchmark to which all other studio microphones have been compared. It can be seen anywhere, from small clubs to sports stadiums, and has been used in the studio by many of the world’s greatest musicians. The Shure SM57 is also the microphone of choice for the White House, providing voice projection for the President since the 1970s.

Shure Construction you can Trust

The Shure brand ensures a long-lasting product that can withstand years of road or studio use. The SM57 was put through Shure’s famous drop test, in which the microphone was dropped ten times from a height of ten feet with no loss in input quality. Buyers can be confident in the durability of this microphone, exposing it to hours in the studio or the elements of an outdoor performance. The SM57 uses a cardioid pickup pattern to focus specifically on one source, rejecting audio from outside the pickup area. This can also be a great asset in live performances, as you can position the microphone wherever you like and not worry about feedback.

Presidential Sound Quality

The SM57 is one of the most versatile microphones on the market. This dynamic product can handle the highest sound pressure levels without distortion, making it the perfect choice for recording high-volume instruments like drums. Many hit recordings feature the SM57 on the snare, as it can handle the noise without distortion. This product is also perfect for use with high-volume amplifiers. The SM57 can even handle close up recording on half-stack amps that are painfully loud for human ears. This microphone will help you to bring the feel of a live performance to your recordings for a better representation of your music. While this microphone is notorious for being used in the studio to record the sounds of percussion, wind, and string instruments, it also provides high quality vocal recording. Whether you are using it for spoken word or vocals, the SM57 will deliver a flawless sound while eliminating background noises. Because of its reliability, sound isolation, and quality sound reproduction, the SM57 has been used at the podium for Presidential speeches for the past 40 years.

The SM57 differs from microphones that are manufactured solely for vocal pickup in many ways. Vocal microphones like the SM58 have their frequency dialed in to a certain range that is common in most singers, enhancing that microphone’s pickup of the human voice. The SM57 doesn’t have this specific tuning, so it can handle frequencies on a much wider scale, with a response from 40Hz to 15KHz. Without this tuning, the microphone takes in the sound exactly as it is played, creating a perfect recording every time. This is even preferred by some vocalists who want only the raw input of their voice with no tuning at all.

Product Description

The Shure SM57 is a fixture in the music business. You see it everywhere. In small clubs and 100,000 seat stadiums. This renowned mic is used by legendary performers and the latest up-and-comers. What you may not have seen are the thousands of SM57s at work behind the scenes in professional recording studios around the world. In fact, you'll probably find it in more studios than any other mic. Not surprising. The unidirectional dynamic SM57 has set the industry standard by defining the way instruments should sound. Which is why it's used by any serious musician or recording professional. Its warm, clean sound along with its carefully contoured presence rise make it ideal for a wide range of instrument miking applications, particularly guitar amplifiers and drums. The SM57 features a uniform cardioid pick-up pattern that isolates the main sound source and minimizes background noise.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

79 of 79 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Value, for all your Dynamic needs. July 15, 2005

By Douglas E. Wong

Style Name:Without cable

This is a great all-purpose dynamic microphone for everything from amps and instruments to vocals, and it's far and away one of the best mics out there in terms of durability (they don't call them the industry workhorses for nothing)/sound/value. This'll blow the socks off those $30 mics.

But what's the difference between the SM-57 and the SM-58? Besides the grill, the main difference is Frequency response. Take a look at the charts in the manuals for both, and you'll note that in the slice of spectrum normally associated with the human voice, there's a boost with the SM-58. This may make your voice sparkle a little more on the SM-58, but if you were planning on possibly micing anything else, it's going to also have a boost in the same range, distorting the original sound slightly.

Plus, if you've got a decent equalizer, you can probably achieve close to the same vocal sound the SM-58 provides with just a little tweaking after the fact.

So, if you plan on using your mic for anything beyond singing, I'd suggest the SM-57 over the SM-58 (even though you may not look as cool holding it). And I'd definitely recommend this little baby over those cheaper models. Unless you need a condensor mic, this is the way to go.

65 of 67 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best all around for over 30 years! May 15, 2006

By David L. Vasser

Style Name:Without cable

Although this mic is now considered primarily an instrument mic, that was not always the case and I've actually preferred this same basic design for live vocal use since 1970 when I bought my first one which was then known as a "Shure Model 545 Unidyne III." That mic got stolen about 2 years ago, but remarkably was still working at the time it got boosted and I was still using it when I needed one with an on/off switch function. I've owned or used countless modern day SM-58's and SM-57's along with dozens of other mics over the years from all manufacturers. I have a fairly deep baritone to bass type voice and I don't need to get closer than about 7 or 8 inches to a SM-57. To me the SM-57 sounds similar to the $469 Shure SM-7 studio vocal mic if you put a windscreen on it and get about 2 inches away. I'd only use an SM-7 in a studio environment though because they are slightly more fragile and over four times as expensive. By design the SM-58's require you to get much closer to the mic to get a full range sound than with the SM-57's. I prefer the SM-57's over the SM-58's for vocal use because they sound crisper on the highs and they sound fuller on the low end. The SM-57 sounds more natural on vocals and never sounds muddy or muffled. The SM-57 has one of the most pronounced proximity effects of any mic I've ever used. If you tend to shove the mic down your throat you may benefit from the less dramatic proximity effect of the SM-58. If you are ever going to use an SM-57 for vocals I'd recommend buying the Shure A2WS windscreen with it. That genuine Shure windscreen fits precisely and locks securely onto the SM-57. The SM-57 will pop like mad without one. The only possible drawback to the SM57 as a vocal mic is that there is no model available with an on/off switch these days. I can't find a modern SM-57 with a switch anywhere. However, if you've ever tried using a mic when you forgot that the switch was in the off position it probably just became a liability. For my money, the SM-57 is the best all around microphone of the past two generations for stage use and some recording purposes. For studio vocals I'd use an SM-7, which really doesn't sound all that much different from the SM-57 when the built-in variable EQ on the SM-7 is set the way I like. The SM-57 and it's predecessors are to me the best all around microphone since 1970 and certainly the most enduring and durable. You can not go wrong unless you get too close with no windscreen.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Heavy Duty All Purpose Microphone with a Professional Feel October 9, 2004

By Raymond Gray

Style Name:Without cable

The Shure SM-57 is a work horse microphone that is built solid and very easy to use in various music recording and live performance environments. It's best funtion is to mike a guitar amp and send that signal to the Public Address system if you want to phatten up your instumental signal to a wider audience.

It can be utilized as a vocal microphone. Yet, it does not look as prominant as the famous Shure SM-58.

To mike up the drum set means that you have to buy a quantity of the SM-57s'. Mike stands for the Shure SM-57's come in various dimensions of height.

As a dependable low profile microphone used for speech it is unsurpassed.