I just dont understand the hype..

MikeCzech · Post by **MikeCzech** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 9:24 am

Things I don't get:

SM58 - yeah, I get the 57, but the 58 just doesn't do any justice for anything - not even live vocals, still it seems to be the 'industry standard'. It has no feedback rejection, it makes everything dull and lifeless. Grrr!!What am I missing here?

Pro VLA - I own it, and I use it when I run out of channels on my good compressors. It works in a sort of half ass way - it is what it is, but I guess I've never heard that magic that people are always raving about on here.. I can compress the hell out of things yet I still get runaway peaks and it pumps like a three peckered billy goat.

Bose - Well, it's a speaker - it sounds OK.. Emphasis on OK.. GAK!!! GRRR!! Why - why - why??? Must controll anger.. Oh no, it's happening again... Please, make it stop...

I'm Painting Again · Post by **I'm Painting Again** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 9:52 am

well even with high end pricey gear one man's treasure is another man's trash..it comes down to what works for you..hyped up stuff, not hyped up stuff, expensive as well as inexpensive..get rid of em and try somethin' else I guess..

Girl Toes · Post by **Girl Toes** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 9:55 am

MikeCzech wrote:Things I don't get:

SM58 - yeah, I get the 57, but the 58 just doesn't do any justice for anything - not even live vocals, still it seems to be the 'industry standard'. It has no feedback rejection, it makes everything dull and lifeless. Grrr!!What am I missing here?

Yer getting feedback?? Whats yer set up??

What do you use instead?

PeterAuslan · Post by **PeterAuslan** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 10:02 am

A 58 is durable and has great feedback rejection. It sounds good for most vocals in a live situation. Doing live sound for years I am never unhappy to see a bunch of 58's in the mic cabinet.

luckybastard · Post by **luckybastard** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 10:13 am

i never warmed to the 58. i went to buy one a few years ago on rep and they were out so i ended up getting a sennheiser 835. the mic whips a 58's ass all over the place. in fact i carry it on gigs because i know most of the time i know i will encounter a 58...

MikeCzech · Post by **MikeCzech** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 10:15 am

I used to run sound at a club and I would bring my Audix OM5 and OM6 for vocals just because the SM58's at the club were so dull and would feedback. Granted, it was a small stage and placement could have been better, but they'll never learn to keep their faces out of the monitors and quit cupping the mic.

The feedback rejection on my Audix's isn't even funny. You can crank them a whole lot hotter without any problems. Usually I find differences among mics of the same elements and polar patterns to be subtle, but IMHO the difference between any other Dynamic mic and a 58 usually blows the 58 out of the water.

I dunno, you show me a cabinet full of 58's and I'll show you cabinet full of great pot scrubbers.. I bet that grill could probably cut through grease pretty damn good... it certainly doesn't cut through a mx.

KennyLusk · Post by **KennyLusk** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 10:15 am

Mike, on your pro vla I'd recommend rolling in a pair of JAN Philips 12AT7WC's. They should make a world of difference over the stock, russian made, EHX tubes that come with it.

There's a little mojo in there with the JAN Philips tubes.

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 11:40 am

MikeCzech wrote:...and it pumps like a three peckered billy goat.

That was gratuitous, crude, probably un-necessary, and certainly funny as hell.

Girl Toes · Post by **Girl Toes** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 11:48 am

Try turning the gains down a bit on the 58s, I rarely have feed back trouble with those.

honkyjonk · Post by **honkyjonk** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 11:54 am

Hmmm. . .

57 yay?
58 nay?

is that just because of where they're generally used.

I'd likely have a hard time telling a new 58 apart, sonically from a new 57.

MikeCzech · Post by **MikeCzech** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 12:02 pm

KennyLusk wrote:Mike, on your pro vla I'd recommend rolling in a pair of JAN Philips 12AT7WC's. They should make a world of difference over the stock, russian made, EHX tubes that come with it.

There's a little mojo in there with the JAN Philips tubes.

Hmm.. It's worth a shot, thanks Kenny.. Is it worth the extra 5 beans to get the JP's best, or do the standard tubes do just as well?

Also, not to hijack, but I have a really hard time controlling dynamics on a K2 Rode tube mic, I don't know what it is. I usually have to use 2 good comps in the chain to tame it. You think a different tube could smooth it out at all? The problem lies mostly in the transients and sibilance.

honkyjonk wrote: 57 yay?
58 nay?

They are similar but the freq response is different. I just learned on another thread that the tape I put around my 57's to keep that cheap plastic top from rattling, changes to shape, but I'd say they're totally different mics - the 57 works for anything, the 58 hasn't yet worked for me at all..

Well... I take that back, the 58 worked when it was the only mic knew.

The Real MC · Post by **The Real MC** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 12:36 pm

No single microphone works for every vocalist.

I was in a band with two singers, male and female, both using '58s. The female singer wasn't happy with the '58 so I got her an 835 which sounded much better.

The '58 is best when sung straight on axis, but if you wander to the side you'll run into its rejection axis. The female singer's technique would sing off-axis on the '58 for dramatic visual effect but lose her signal when she went into the rejection axis. The 835 was a better mic for her style voice wise and technique wise.

KennyLusk · Post by **KennyLusk** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 1:24 pm

MikeCzech wrote:
Hmm.. It's worth a shot, thanks Kenny.. Is it worth the extra 5 beans to get the JP's best, or do the standard tubes do just as well?

Also, not to hijack, but I have a really hard time controlling dynamics on a K2 Rode tube mic, I don't know what it is. I usually have to use 2 good comps in the chain to tame it. You think a different tube could smooth it out at all? The problem lies mostly in the transients and sibilance.

.

IMO the xtra $5 does in fact get them to send you their best. Sounds like you're ordering from thetubestore.com or someone that really pays attention to what they're doing. But I have had excellent luck on ebay too. JAN Philips are very tightly spec'd to begin with anyway.

Sibilance is common in the Rode mics IME but can be tamed dramatically in your tube pre by using lower gain tubes like 12AU7's or 12AY7's. Preferably 12AU7's and preferably NOS American tubes like GE's or RCA's. The key though is stepping down to an AU7 tube IMO.

Some people argue this point, but I like what tube dampers have done for my vocal stuff as well. But that's just icing on the cake. Most guys don't use them.

Meriphew · Post by **Meriphew** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 1:41 pm

I love both 58's and 57's, especially the Beta versions. Using only 58's and 57's, a good recording engineer should be able to record some kickass sounds IMO.

inverseroom · Post by **inverseroom** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 2:09 pm

I love the VLA, but do people really hype the 58? I think its unremarkability and consistency is what makes it popular. It's solid. I use it a lot, live. But I don't hype it.

Also, I don't think you would ever catch anyone on here hyping Bose anything.

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