The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #64648 Message #1059059
Posted By: treewind
22-Nov-03 - 09:37 AM
Thread Name: Tech: Alternatives to the SM58 mic
Subject: RE: Tech: Alternatives to the SM58 mic
Test a mic (lots of mics) on the voice you're going to use it with. It's the only way really to know how well it will work, and it may lead to a real bargain with a low cost mic that just happens to work well. At the low end of the price range, even test several examples of the same model, because they vary.
Having said that...
I've heard good things about the Beta 57 but never tried one. The C1000 is a horrid screechy mic that won't add warmth to anything. True, it's got more top than most dynamics, and if you've never used a condenser mic before, it may be superficilally impressive, but... I had a pair (before I knew better) stolen in a burglary, and I didn't replace them. Not with C1000's anyway.
The thing about SM58 for vox and SM57 for instruments is that they are reliable. Not only in the sense of being robust, but in the sense that they rarely sound really bad, almost whatever you use them for.