SM57 vs. Beta 57A... opinions/experience, please!

[Rex Rocker]

More than a comparison between both, I'm sorta looking more for advice from you guys, please. Comparison would be nice too, lol, just to make sure...

I wanna track some scream vocals and I wanna get a cheap mic to do so. So I thought that in my budget range, there's the SM58 and SM57. I've had better experience with the SM57, and it would be cool to get it so that in the future I can track guitars from real amps and such, so... yeah, between those, I think the 57 would be a better option.

But then I remembered about the Beta series. So I thought, would there be any advantage to getting a Beta 57A?

Please keep in mind that mainly, I wanna record vocals with it, and secondly, thinking more about the future, possibly guitars too. So which one do you think will get this job done better? Why?

Thanks!

 

[BLUElightCory]

The Beta 57 has a tighter polar pattern and an overall brighter, slightly thinner tone than the 57. I own both and use a normal SM57 almost every time.

 

[egan.]

It's brighter and hotter but b/c of the supercardioid pattern you get much more proximity effect so distance becomes a real factor in the tone. Generally I would call all of the beta series mics more scooped sounding than the SM series.

Sm57

Beta57

I could see the Beta maybe being better for vocals (I've got a lot of experience with the beta 58's there) b/c of the response and a superior grill design however, the betas can highlight some nastiness and nasal qualities on certain voices. Still good mics though. Just different.
For a beta57 on guitar I think The Gathering is a reference point.

 

[Trevoire520]

If it's mainly for vocals then I'd go for the standard 57, the supercardioid pattern on the beta might be a problem if you move your head whilst singing.

I've used both mic's on snare and guitar amps. Didn't like the beta on amps as it was a bit too bright, brought out the fizzies of the amp a little more and didn't have enough going on in the low mid's. I liked the beta on snare though, better hi hat rejection due to the supercardioid polar pattern and it helped bring out the snap more as it's a brighter mic.

 

[Rex Rocker]

Thanks a lot for the replies!

So if I got this right... the SM is more likely to deliver slighlty fatter vocals/tones?