Turning a 58 into a 57

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

Hey folks,

I just want to ask you something. Has anyone here ever tried to turn a Shure SM-58 into a SM-57 ? According to Shure, they are the very same mics but with a different grille design. So in my opinion, removing the grille from the 58 will transform it into a 57 (minus it's own grille), but I may be wrong once again So if anyone has ever tried this, I'd be interrested in hearing your thoughts.

Thanks in advance,

Brett

 

[Burner]

Why would anyone want to "downgrade" a 58? It's not like a 57 costs a lot so why risk fucking up a decent 58?

 

[egan.]

Unscrew the grill. Put the grill down. You are now holding a 57.

 

[Andy Sneap]

no youre not, you need the grill of a 57 for it to sound like a 57, for $60 or whatever, its worth buying a few, those sennheiser 609's are pretty good also.

 

[egan.]

haha...you're right-- that's what I get for being a smart ass. On another note, have you noticed any difference between the silver and black 609? I've only used the silvers and was wondering if the blacks were actually worth 2.5 times more.

 

[Andy Sneap]

not noticed a difference but I havent compared. Are the blacks 2.5 more...mine wern't. Are you on about the 604's (I think) that you cant get anymore???

 

[egan.]

No I'm talking about the e609's. In the US the silver faces are selling for $100 and the black faces are selling for $230 (I double checked musiciansfriend today to be sure). On the Sennheiser site they actually have seperate descritions, but they read about the same. They have the same polar patern and similar responses but the silver has a significant bump in the 3-4k range while the black is flatter. On paper the silvers seems closer to a 57. I think it's strange that Sen would market 2 different mics w/ the same model number and only distinguish them by color, but apparently that's what's going on.

 

[Andy Sneap]

well I have the black ones, and I think the mid range has quite a similar character to a 57, just more open at low end....pretty cool, good if mixed with a 57 on cab

 

[egan.]

cool.

 

[Heb]

Hi, new here, really like the forum!
Egan, I think the "silver-faced" mic you are talking about is actually called 606. Judging from the spec's it look to have near identical response as a 57, have not tried it though so I can't say for sure. I have one 609 and I think it's killer , especially together with a 57 on a cab as Andy said.
Cheers!

 

[The Wanderer]

I have a 609 silver and it is different than the 606, though the sennheiser website is confusing on the matter. I think the 606 was an older model. I talked to my roommate who used to work in pro audio retail and he said the black 609's are pretty much hand made. more quality control. Maybe that helps?
I love the way the mics sound. I got a killer tone a couple months ago with a 421, a 57, and a 609 all mixed. it was pretty sweet.

 

[egan.]

Ok here is what I'm talking about once and for all:

609 silver - msrp: $199
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/productdetail.asp?transid=USE609%20SILVER

609 black - msrp $349
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/productdetail.asp?transid=004522

I think that (for whatever reason) Senn. is using "e 606" in Europe as the call # for the same mic they call the "e 609 silver" in the US which would explain the confusion.