Topic: Shure sm58 or sm57?

[dibbadabba]

For mic drums, which is a better mic - live?

[Evil Taper]

sm58 is a vocal mic, sm57 is a vocal/instrument mic.  but for drums you're gonna want something built specifically for drums.

[John Kelly]

Depending on what kind of drum you're going to put it on, the sm57 isn't necessarily a bad choice. 

[Cooker]

i have used 57s for drums in a pinch...  but you definitely want to get a kick drum mic for the kick drum. AKG D112 is a nice one.
57s will work for overheads too... and i know more than a few engineers who swear by C1000s for overheads.

[John R]

edit: by mere seconds, see above

[pfife]

Depending on what kind of drum you're going to put it on, the sm57 isn't necessarily a bad choice. 

sm57 is good for a snare;  I concur on the sm58 though - not good for drums, unless necessary.  I also agree with not using the 57 on a kickdrum if you have a bass mic of some kind - but I've seen many people put an SM57 on a bass cab before, so a 57 may not be that bad on a kick drum. 

(I have a shure beta52 I'll sell you for cheap if you want it! lol sorry for shilling my used shit...)

[SuperDave]

57's are great for snare and aren't bad for toms.

I've actually used a 57 in a pinch for the bass drum when their were three drummers and didn't have enough mics to cover it.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Preferably, a AKG d112 for rock kick drum sound and the Shure Beta 52 for a rounder kick tone.

I wouldn't put a 58 anywhere near a drumset if I didn't have to(lotsa cymbal bleed).     

[John Kelly]

I like the Audix D6 for the kick.

[Brian]

sm57 is a GREAT snare microphone both live and in the studio.  Another great microphone for a snare is a shure beta87a.

I personally love the sennheiser 421 on kick drums and toms.  However they can cumbersome for live use if the drummer has a small, compact kit.  Teh AKG D112 and Shure Beta 52 are too thuin sounding for my tastes but they just own on a "heavy metal/hard rock" kick drum.  Senn actually makes a very nice drum kit microphone set.  the model number escapes me but it's part of the evolution series.  very small, blueish gray dynamic microphones.  they work great for toms and have saved me in a pinch where it was hard to get a 57 on the snare properly because of how the drummer sets his kit up.  The Audix D series is great as well but that D6 can get bloated in the low end, IMO, on the kick or floor tom so you have to be careful when EQ'ing.  The D2 sounds wonderful on toms.   microphone decisions on a drum kit really come down to how the drummer sets up and the sound of his kit. 

as for overheads I like the shure ksm32s.  big but very "road tough" and sounds great live.  I've also used my ADK A51TL's as overheads as well with great success.  SM81's aren't bad but i think they are overused.  I've seen people use rodent microphones as overheads but i'm not a fan.  The C1000s are nice but are also big.  If you can swing some DPA 4011's or earthworks sr77's, those are great for overheads too

I try not to fluff/use shure microphones a lot but their microphones are rugged and built for the abuse of being on the road with a band getting used night after night.

hope that helps!

-Brian

[pfife]

Personally, I'll fluff Sennheiser dynamic mics all day long... I went to a local music store a while back to purchase a couple 57's, and they were out, but the dood there convinced me to try out some Senn E835e... (they would have let me return them had I not liked them... they were good like that...) - anyways, I tossed them on the rack tom, and the floor tom, and they were surprisingly nice!  The toms had so much more depth than with the other mics I was using.... I was impressed.  I'm under the impression that the 835s are a vocal mic...  but it did work well on the toms.

Unfortunately, I'm not doing any more multitracking, and these mics apparently don't have the resale value as the 57's (understandable) but they are pretty nice. (shilling mics:  I have 2 Senn E835e's and a Shure Beta52 if anyone wants to purchase them cheap...)

[JAH]

sm57 is a GREAT snare microphone both live and in the studio.  Another great microphone for a snare is a shure beta87a.

I try not to fluff/use shure microphones a lot but their microphones are rugged and built for the abuse of being on the road with a band getting used night after night.

hope that helps!

-Brian

Shure SM57 is THE TOURING BANDs MIC...no doubt about it....eventhough you see more HQ condensor mics out there now, the 57 has the majority...shit it is a great mic for the many personalities it can be used for.  AS one engineer had call 'em...Fifty F'ing Seven
ok fluff mode off. ;-)
you really can't go wrong w/ a 57 in most applications...the rest is up to the engineer as to what he/she does w/ it.

peace
jah

[noahbickart]

That's right- you can use a sm57 on anything. You can even tape from the field with them- try x/y 90. Sometimes that treable boost is just right.

-Noah