Shure SM58 Review – The Standard for Live Sound

Design:
Features:
Performance:
Value:

• Check Price on Amazon
• Check Price on Guitar Center
• Check Price on Musician's Friend

When it comes to famous microphones, there are several contenders for the most legendary, with Shure’s affordable handheld SM58 certainly up there! At under $100, it’s undoubtedly one of the most popular dynamic mics on the market at the moment, regularly used by everyone from beginners to touring professionals. Worth a closer look? We think so!

Design

When you have a reputation like Shure does, you can release a mic that looks like nothing special and guarantee people will buy it – providing it delivers the performance people expect from the American audio brand. The SM58 rides on this reasoning.

It’s a standard handheld mic, although one that many others try to replicate. It features a rugged diecast metal, enamel-painted chassis and a metal mesh dome grille that’s just as tough. Shure went with a simple but effective design, which is understated and inspires confidence. It features an all-black body and a flat chrome finish for the grille, with just the Shure logo giving you an indication who made this legendary mic.

Features

For such a legendary mic, the package the SM58 offers is pretty basic. However, as you may expect, Shure do the basics very well indeed. Firstly, it’s clear from the 50Hz to 15kHz frequency response range that this mic is geared towards vocals, with a standard cardioid polar pattern working very well for stage use.

Even though this mic comes in at under one hundred bucks, Shure installed several features that just make life on stage much easier. For starters, there’s the built-in pop filter that actually works very well to reduce breath noise and those nasty plosives, while the inclusion of both Shure’s legendary pneumatic shock mount system and a zipper case adds to the overall value.

Performance

The reason behind the SM58’s popularity is not down to the way it looks or feels, but the performance. You are looking at a very refined response for a budget mic, and one that works well with all kinds of vocal profiles, with great clarity and plenty of midrange warmth. Those who record vocals know that midrange is what it is all about.

Compared to most other models in its category, the SM58 comes out swinging with an edge. On top of that, it is consistent. No matter whenever or wherever you plug it in, you will get the same results, with low feedback, low handling noise and low plosives. Very impressive for the price!

Conclusion

If you’ve read this review – or just heard anyone talk about Shure’s SM58 – you’ll know the reputation it has. Now you know that it deserves this reputation for a solid build and consistent performance on stage. It’s not the best mic in the world (it costs under $100 at the end of the day, so we can forgive that), but it is powerful, clear and a real workhorse – an essential tool for anyone who’s on stage regularly.

For more info about the Shure SM58, click here.
For more Dynamic Microphone you might like, click here.