TOTAL
I've been using this mic in the studio 8 years. I do understand why SM57 considered industry standard for many applications. But the fact that theese are industry standard doesn't mean they are the best mics available. Its reputaion for being very reliable, fairly cheap and good for many situations made me choose SM57 for close micing of some of the drums and guitar amp when i started out and i don't regret it!.They do colour the sound a bit. I'm sure theese work good in live situations too.Very good starting point for recording snare drums, toms and guitar cabinets for the inexperienced user.
FEATURES
No features, no on/off switch. But then again there are few situations where i would need one.
SOUND
I've tried recording many diferent instruments with my SM7s mostly drums, guitar, bass and accordion with positive results. I find the sm57 in particular well suited for
Recording drums:
- Snare drums gives me a nice and dry sound reminding of the sound of queens of the stone age. I place the tip about 5 fingers above the rim and about 2 inches inwards from the rim. I direct the tip towards the center of the drum.
- Good with toms.
- Kick drum (beater side) for higher frequencies together with a mic picking up low frequencies better than sm57 on the front
Recording guitar speaker:
- I find it easy for any situation involving both clean and heavily distorted guitar sound. It adds some warmth and mellowness.
- The SM57 sounds good, but it does colour the sound. This is not a good or bad thing. The mid-low frequencies is more present in the signal and it lacks some hi frequencies. I get the best result when keeping this in mind when dialing the amp settings.
Bass guitar speaker:
- Good additional mic for the bass cabinet. Gives a clean sound.
-Lacks low frequencies needed for the bass guitar. I don't use it alot for bass guitar because i get better results with another mic(beta 52) combined with direct in when recording.
