7 sm57's compared (Unidyne III / Made in Mexico / Made in USA etc)

[MirrorProfiles]

Found a few more Unidyne III's going insanely cheap so had to pick them up. Not sure on how old the oldest ones are, they're all XLR connections. The made in USA ones don't have the switch. The made in USA ones came with the old red Shure pouch/wanksock which was pretty cool. To my ear, they have different amounts of that 6k peak, and also sometimes a slightly different 1.5k. Who knows whether they left the factory like that or if the differences are age related. Shure basically say unless it sounds totally fucked, then they work as expected. May be cool if anyone wonders how much these mics can vary mic to mic.

mics compared:

2x regular sm57's
2x 545SD
2x545D (made in USA)
1xUnidyne III sm57 (made in USA)

curious if anyone has any favourites - IMO its sort of context dependent although I think I have an idea of which ones I prefer.

 

[DrewJD82]

Wow, I never even knew about these Unidynes.

I only have one SM57, I suppose I should have more but there’s definitely other mics I’d like to get my hands on first. That one 57 I have I bought in 1998, I don’t know how the f*ck I haven’t lost that thing yet. At one point it was hidden in a barn in the boondocks of Maine under a pile of hay for a summer. Smelled like horsesh*t for months after that, I’d go to use my talk box and gag all over the place.

 

[James Freeman]

B wins, but they all are very similar.
"B", "Unidyne III SM57 Made in USA" and "Red" sound the best to me and are very similar.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Wow, I never even knew about these Unidynes.

I only have one SM57, I suppose I should have more but there’s definitely other mics I’d like to get my hands on first. That one 57 I have I bought in 1998, I don’t know how the f*ck I haven’t lost that thing yet. At one point it was hidden in a barn in the boondocks of Maine under a pile of hay for a summer. Smelled like horsesh*t for months after that, I’d go to use my talk box and gag all over the place.

That sounds like a good enough reason to get another one these mics are pretty indestructible, check this out:

How the SM58® Survives the World’s Toughest Tests

Earned in the Quality Lab, the SM58's reputation for durability is strengthened every time the mic beats a customer challenge. Check out these SM58 stories.

www.shure.com

The Unidyne III's were actually the original mic and design, the sm series of mics was intended for film and tv sets where black would be a bit less visible, and they also did away with the dual impedance toggle, switch and Amphenol connectors (I guess for speed and for less chance of fuckups). No difference otherwise AFAIK.

Interestingly I think my favourites in the mix are the ones with a bit more fizz, which are probably the ones I wouldn't pick in isolation. B has won a few shootouts for me before and I think it works well in the mix and in isolation here.

 

[DrewJD82]

That sounds like a good enough reason to get another one these mics are pretty indestructible, check this out:

How the SM58® Survives the World’s Toughest Tests

Earned in the Quality Lab, the SM58's reputation for durability is strengthened every time the mic beats a customer challenge. Check out these SM58 stories.

www.shure.com

The Unidyne III's were actually the original mic and design, the sm series of mics was intended for film and tv sets where black would be a bit less visible, and they also did away with the dual impedance toggle, switch and Amphenol connectors (I guess for speed and for less chance of *****ups). No difference otherwise AFAIK.

Interestingly I think my favourites in the mix are the ones with a bit more fizz, which are probably the ones I wouldn't pick in isolation. B has won a few shootouts for me before and I think it works well in the mix and in isolation here.

I’ll have to listen when I get home, I’m not gonna hear sh*t on an iPad speaker.