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

[MirrorProfiles]

@MirrorProfiles How do you like the current production 545SD compared to the 57?

They’re cool. Not sure there’s any difference to a standard 57 other than being cooler. You get the switch and dual impedance. Hard to pin down 545 vs 57 because they all vary. Just have to kiss a few frogs to find the ones you like.

Also, would you say in your experience that preamp input impedance affects the 57/545?

Oh it affects a 57 quite substantially. I remember reading Glenn Fricker’s guitar cab micing guide on the sneap forum YEARS ago (well before Youtube) where he was adamant about 300 ohms sounding better. Took me a while to realise I way prefer 1200 ohms most of the time. 300 sounds stiffer and less open. Sometimes it’s cool, but to me it just sounds like a mic that is trying to work but something is restricting it. It’s a fun tonal tweak if your preamp allows it.

Neve preamps change in impedance depending on how many gain stages are in use, so it can be anything from 300, 600 or 1200 ohms depending on how it’s set. My Chandler TG-2 is probably my favourite preamp, and is selectable between 300 and 1200 Ω. Focusrite ISA has 4 different impedances. I think API is typically 1000 or 1200 IIRC.

I’ll do a shoutout if you like (I may even have some files handy).

 

[James Freeman]

Oh it affects a 57 quite substantially.
I’ll do a shootout if you like (I may even have some files handy).

Really?

I've tried a 500ohm dongle with my SM57 but aside form a slight volume drop there was no difference in frequency response.
Maybe a mic preamp with an input transformer does something else?

I've been using Focusrite interfaces for almost 2 decades, so I've only worked with flat uncolored clinical preamps.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Bought another Unidyne III 545 this week, underestimating how difficult it is to find Amphenol 4 pin connectors these days. The only sane thing to do is buy one more mic that includes a cable with it, right?

@James Freeman



Here's a comparison of the TG-2 and 1073 at 1200 Ω vs 300 Ω with an sm57.

I adjusted volume by ear so it might not be 100% perfectly levelled. 1200 Ω sounds more open and quick. 300 a little boxier and stiff.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Speaking of preamps, these are such an insane deal for 8 channels. They're much better sounding than you might imagine. Nicer sounding than interface preamps for sure. Fredrik Nordstrom loves these too, if that counts for anything. Plenty on eBay for £300 or so.

Pardon our interruption...

 

[AlbertA]

Speaking of preamps, these are such an insane deal for 8 channels. They're much better sounding than you might imagine. Nicer sounding than interface preamps for sure. Fredrik Nordstrom loves these too, if that counts for anything. Plenty on eBay for £300 or so.

Pardon our interruption...

Are those ADAT?

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Are those ADAT?

Nah, just straight analog preamps. IIRC there were designed by some well known designer. They do have MIDI which can allow Pro Tools to control them remotely although USB would have been so much more convenient.

I’ll try and do a comparison against a few other preamps.