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These are raw, uncompressed 16-bit WAV files. To record these tests, I captured the audio with Twisted Wave and clipped in Audacity. How does the Shure SM58 sound in a recording space that’s been acoustically treated for voice actors? Can it deliver great-sounding takes on par with a condenser mic that’s twice the price? You can hear what I’m talking about in the recording tests below: Shure SM58 Recording Tests By speaking extremely close to the mic - make this easier by unscrewing the metal grate and exposing its coil - you can achieve an effect similar to some condenser mics. This feature can be used for voice actors who want to bring out the low end of their voice when recording. What does this chart tell us? This pattern is most receptive to audio coming from the top of the SM58, slightly less receptive to audio from either side, and effectively non-receptive to audio coming from behind.īut there’s one thing this chart doesn’t tell us about: the Shure SM58 proximity effect.
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Here’s a diagram from Shure’s official product manual for the SM58: Shure SM58 Polar Pattern Like most mics that are intended for vocal performers, the Shure SM58 has a cardioid polar pattern. Now let’s take a look at the Shure SM58 polar pattern: Shure SM58 Polar Pattern However, the tiny dropoff in response between 6 and 8 KHz can help reduce sibilance in some cases. Unfortunately, this isn’t as helpful if you’re trying to record high-quality audio in a booth- at least when compared to a good condenser mic like the Neat King Bee. This is another reason that this mic is so popular for live performances it stops it from picking up extremely high or low frequency background noise in noisy environments.
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This is mostly the low and mid range of vocal frequencies, with a steep dropoff above 10KHz. Now let’s take a closer look at the data by examining the Shure SM58 frequency response and polar pattern: Shure SM58 Frequency Response Shure SM58 Frequency ResponseĪccording to this chart from Shure’s product manual for the SM58, it has a sweet spot between 100 and 6,000 Hz. What you won’t get is a shock mount or a pop filter, since both of these are built-in. What do you get with a brand-new Shure SM58? While the specifics may vary, you can expect most retailers to provide you with a clip that you can use with a microphone stand, an XLR cable, and a small carrying pouch. This will necessitate an interface with a preamp that can provide a clean gain boost (more on that below). Since it doesn’t use phantom power, you’re going to need a lot of gain in order to fully capture your voice when recording. However, there’s a reason why you don’t see this mic used very often in a voice actor’s recording booth. So if you like to sing karaoke lyrics at the top of your lungs - or you’re auditioning for a character that gets their arm torn off by a monster - you can safely scream as loud as humanly possible without clipping your recordings or damaging your hardware.
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You can hammer nails into a board with the head of the SM58 and still record clean audio- but please just take my word for it and don’t try this at home!įinally, the Shure SM58 has a Sound Pressure Level (SPL) of roughly 180 decibels, which is much higher than a lot of entry-level condenser microphones. Thanks to its simple shape and hard metal grate surrounding its most sensitive components, this mic is damn near bulletproof. Second, the build quality of this microphone is incredible. But that doesn’t mean you can just plug it into a wall socket or computer port to start recording you’ll still need a decent audio interface to capture and convert your recordings. It’s the first image that pops into most people’s head when they think of the word “microphone.”īut what makes this the ubiquitous choice for live performances all over the world? For starters, this is a dynamic microphone, so it doesn’t require as much power as a condenser mic like the AT2020.