Shure - SM58

Grab a cheap, used SM57 or 58. Keep it as a backup when you upgrade someday. It doubles as a hammer in emergencies. Can't kill the damn things and they will always sound "good". Rarely great, never bad, but always good enough.

It's just darker and muddier than average studio mic. It's not a bad option for untreated room. You don't know which mic fits your voice until you try them. 57 and 58 are different but not that much, you can make 58 half way there by removing a grill (with extra care and windscreen) to see if you like it more, but not the opposite way

USED AT, AKG condenser, or buy a brand new SM58 if you don't want to deal too much with room treatment

Condensers have a far wider range as far as quality goes, the more expense ones are a world apart from the cheaper ones, where as dynamics the more you pay the smaller the quality increase per dollar spent. The good news on that is you can get a quite good dynamic vocal mic like the Sure sm58 which is really cheap and the go to for the live entertainment world. No matter the scale of the production you will always find sm58s on the stage or in the production box. Anyone claiming the most expensive mics are the best doesn't understand how mics work and what makes a good one or a bad one. They are the sort of people that claim they can hear the difference in a mic cable.

SM58s are the go to mic in the live industry, if in doubt an SM58 will do the job, they are the AK47 of microphones, they sound good and you can run them over with a truck, plug them in and they will still work. An SM58 with a pop filter is good enough for most home recording, to be completely honest the better the mic the harder it is to hide any imperfections with your vocals.

This is truly a buy-once-cry-once scenario. A Shure SM58 and a standalone recording device, will give you infinitely more flexibility, easier simpler workflow, and better results. I personally think you are spending money (that it sounds like you maybe don't have) on an imperfect solution. I learned this the hard way, but have now recorded nearly 750 hours of podcasts, and would NEVER go back to a USB / laptop kit. I get being on a budget, and I don't know your situation, but for $250 (SM58 + Podtrak P4), you will have an outstanding beginner kit, with tons of room to grow, and you will be able to upgrade components, without ditching everything.

SM58 for sure. I know it's not typically a recording mic but if you're like me and are in a loud environment or a place where you can't control background noise, I find it more consistent. I use it over my condenser. If you are in an environment where that's not an issue then I'd look for a condenser mic for vocals. But like, you can't go wrong with a 58.

And the SM 58 is great for live performances

The cheap condenser mic's are not great especially without a good preamp and an untreated room. The SM58 is a legendary mic and amazing for a wide variety of uses. I'd suggest buying that. A dynamic mic will help with reducing unwanted sounds and frequencies because they're very directional. Also that mic will be with you forever because they're extremely durable.

Buy an SM58 and spend the rest of the money enjoying yourself 🙌🕺🏿

I second the SM58. I've A/B tested it against much more expensive mics and was shocked at how well it performed.

SM57 here, however I have the larger cone and use an external pop filter, SM58 has it all built in. SM57 can have a slight high end boost/output and low end due to proximity etc, but there's really SFA in it vs the SM58. U/guitarromantic is correct, there's a reason they're legendary and a standard in a lot of studios. I mainly use the 57 as I already bought it for cab mic'ing, however since we don't actually mic cabs anymore when recording (we record all in the box using VST's/IR's) so it became my main vocal mic. I have a couple of others here, and one of my cheap ISK condenser mic's is actually GREAT for backing/gang/group vocals, we like the 'flavour' it has.

why do you see sm58s in nearly every good studio in the world, also out of the box. And rarely even the Nt1?

I use Zoom U44 audio interface, Shure SM58 vocal mic, various amp emulators - both external and plugins. Neutron Isotope plugin suite (mostly for EQ, compressor and limiter) and occasionally OrilRiver reverb plugin. Reaper DAW and sometimes Ableton. I am sure people will hate this but seriously - talk to ChatGPT - it can guide you with precision through basic setup and best mixing mastering practices. After a while you will know enough to tweak on your own and you will have templates for typical scenario. The level of details that you need decent recordings far exceeds anything you can get from a forum like this one - you need precise EQ and compression profile for each track and same for master. Microphone placements and relative levels. All that dependent on instrumentation and room. Too much information to describe in a post. And of course you can take a course if you have money, really sensitive ears and want to get seriously good. I was doing it by ear and using adaptive optimization from Neutron plugin suite for several years and I thought my recordings were OK - but I never got anywhere near where I was able to get after just few sessions with ChatGPT.

Hi - You unfortunately get what you pay for in sound hardware - but - if you want a no-frills top tier industry standard recording microphone that is accepted *everywhere* in the world - you need at least one Shure SM58. No decent sound technician will disagree with me on this. Less than 5000 pesos if you time your purchase correctly. But look out for the fakes! Keep on rocking!

I guess the real debate is around the beta. My audio engineering professor said if he was stranded on an island with just one mic he would take a 57 then professed the 58 was saying the same answer.....

I can hear a difference in a mic cable! Assuming one is broken/in really bad condition/has a noticeable issue and the other doesn't Jokes aside, the sm58 is what I was thinking about with the $100 for dynamics part. I feel like in the $200ish dollar range for large diaphragm condensers is when you hit a point many people can't hear a real difference (with mics like the Rode NT1, for example), although I do agree you can definitely get "better" mics with more money (better is in quotes bc ofc it depends on the mic, your voice, skill, environment, and many other factors a lot of people tend to ignore for some reason)

First microphones, treated room or not, you will not go wrong with an SM57. It's not sexy, but it is effective. If you are mostly thinking vocals, try an SM58. If you take the ball off the 58, it is a 57. I like the SM57 over the 58 for instruments because it's smaller. Easier to get on a snare. You just have to be a little more careful about plosives when tracking vocals with the 57. If you want an inexpensive condenser mic, the two I like are the AT2020 and the AKG perception. A quick and dirty test for condenser mics is to A, tap the case and listen for ringing. If the case rings it's will start to work it's way in on loud sources. B, is to jingle your keys in front of the mic. This actually produces a lot of ultra sonic hash. You will be able to tell a lot about how harsh the mic is if you use it on things like cymbals. I hope this helps.

A cheap interface (say a Scarlett 2i2) and a cheap mic (sm58 or sm57) will take you a long way. You can find both of those things used for very low prices.

A directional mic like the Sure sm58 will help. But it will also pick up reverberation from the direction it's pointed. So room treatment is also important. I used to use moving blankets from Harbor Freight. Put them on the wall not flat, but with ripples. Works pretty, and it's a cheap solution. Other solutions are foam (use actual acoustic foam, not padding from walmart), diy panels, portable sound booths, etc. There are many solutions, just depends on your budget. I haven't tried all of them so I can't vouch.

I've just been piecing together a budget home recording setup for my similar 'dude and guitars' music for recording in home office and around a busy house. I.e. very much a crappy recording environment. I've bought a bunch of stuff which collects dust, here's what I recommend based on what I use regularly and would cost about $300: A pair of cheap small diaphragm condensers like the Rode M5 or Lewitt 040 for your acoustic instruments. Also lets you play with stereo recording and works to capture vocals/acoustic at once if you need to. An SM58. Use for vocals and then take the grill/ball off to mic your speaker cab for electric. I tried and failed to get good results with a large diaphragm condenser. When you get a good take they'll make you say 'wow', but they capture *everything* which didn't work for my environment and level of talent... Lastly if you have money left put it into good monitoring headphones. My Sennheiser HD600s are the single best recording purchase I've made. There's zero point recording great audio if you can't hear it.

This is a polarizing conversation! I can work with them all, don't mind the 835, typically choose sm58 for general use. I find that the more specialized the mic is (especially super or hyper cardioid) the more it favours a certain voice type and handling technique becomes much more important. I used to be really really picky about the vocal mic but after feeling like I was going around in circles for a long time I went back to more general vocal mic models, instead relying a bit more on compression and dynamic EQ. I work with one singer who sounds absolutely incredible on a 935 but he sounds really really good on almost anything. However it's generally not my go-to vocal mic.

You probably don't need a 1000$ mic but if you get that it would of course probably a be a great mic. A 100(ish)$ Shure SM58 might do. It is designed as a stage mic so it is very well shielded from noise from 'behind the mic' if positioned well with regards to the pickup pattern, and it generally makes pretty good audio and is widely considered to be unbreakable.

Scarlett 2i3 and Shure Sm58. Why would you want a USB mic?

I agree there is something different although I do find ripping the pop filter off a 58 makes my brain think it's doing something like getting brighter although I do feel like it might be 3 different things

Agree, 58s are what they use for The Ringer Live shows, and no one complaints about audio.

I might start a terrible argument but I've been told over and over that a 58 exactly the same as a 57 it just has the removable pop filter. I would love to hear a detailed explanation that changes what I've been told.

SM57 or SM58. Excellent as a vocal mic especially for a beginner. Also the industry standard stage mic or guitar mic. Yes I know there are plenty of alternatives.

those two mics do different things and the video game mics will sound like garbage if you want to record or sing vocals, they'll blow up. You cant use it for the other. That being said, there's a good mic people use for live and even recording vocals under $125, and thats the Shure SM58. Some people prefer the SM57, same price, different sound. If you are smart enough you can connect those to a usb interface and in your system settings you can set it as mic for videogames too, you would just need to find a tutorial about it depending on what youre trying to connect it to.

I have the SM7db which has a built in preamp. Which I honestly didn't need as I am using an external mixing desk with midas preamps, a boss rc600 with more gain options, all going into a focusrite with more gain. I upgraded from an sm58 and while the difference is massive for me as a musician, I don't know if chat notices a difference. If you have money to burn, go for it, but it's not really essential to start out.

Think about where you are using the mic. I had a Shure SM58 for years as it was great for recording in my flat. It's worth looking up how you can sound treat a room if you are recording at home. Nothing fancy, cushions and blankets will suffice. Ypu want the best audio you can have at point of recording as there is only so much and edit and such can do.

I use Presonus Studio Seven and love it. I hav a few microphones That I like. My favorite studio mic is the AT 20/20. But even the Presonus Mic that came with my first bundle has its positives. A ShUre SM 58 is great for vocals as well.

58 is a desert island mic. On a desert island with phantom power the 865 is my choice. (Desert islands typically have D&B or L'Acoustics rigs, right?) Rather have all vocal mics same in any situation.

I would actually recommend getting two mics - an SM58 for vocals and an SDC for acoustic. The SM58 will run you about $100. Another good option would be SM57 with a pop filte. I'll take either of those for vocals over a $300 condenser any day. There's lot of good SDC mic options for around $200, like the NT5 or Lewitt LCT 140.

It might matter, it might not - for you and your voice. It's about finding a vocal mic that suits you and the style you are going for. I recorded a well known singer's guide vocal with a battered SM58 he preferred, then tried recording the actual vocal with my U87. We actually preferred the SM58 on his voice. A lot of Madonna's Ray of Light album was recorded in William Orbit's bathroom with an SM57, which is funny because reviews at the time commented on the 'fuller sound' of her vocals. Find a mic that works for you (and the right compressor)

Sure SM 58 is a tank. But you need to understand gain-staging, compression etc to get a good sound.

Bad room, get the 58. It's going to be cheaper than treating your room and easier to work with. It's always gonna be useful too. You'll want to look at the frequency response make an eq preset to balance the sound of the mic, and then you're golden. Keep in mind you need to look into mic technique as well. Direction and proximity matter a LOT more of the 58. I have expensive mics and have used a 58 due to the convenience and durability.

It's pretty simple actually. AB tournament comparison. Goal is to get optimal sound for both monitors and FOH where the FOH is happy, MONs don't feedback and the artist is happy. We start with something super basic like Shure SM58. Just hpf for FOH eq processing if possible. Set level and see if everyone is happy. Then you take a contender mic #1. Level match to SM58. Choose between SM58 and the contender mic #1, then everyone votes which one they like better. The one that gets 2 votes or 3 votes advances. Repeat until you have only 1 mic left or stop when all parties are happy. It takes at most an hour to compare 10 mics.

Sm58 is the most versatile here and the highest regarded but literally the majority of the world.

There isn't a USB mic on the market that I can recommend in good conscience. If you can save a little more money, a small interface (like a Scarlett Solo) and a handheld dynamic microphone (like a Shure SM58) will yield far better results, and would be a much more prudent way to spend the $50 you already have saved.