We found the cardioid pickup pattern very good at rejecting unwanted background noises. What we especially liked was that the proximity effect not as pronounced as that of a SM58. This makes the SM57 very suitable for close-micing of guitar cabinets or toms. The user guide included with the mic includes suggested placement distances to help the owner obtain the best sound.

We should also mention that the Shure engineered such consistent performance into the '57 that makers of mic modeling products like the Antares AVP-1 use the SM57 as an audio reference. This is high praise indeed.

It's what mic ‘e likes
We close-mic'ed a Marshall 1960B cabinet (mic approx. 15 degrees off-axis, two inches from center cone and approx. 1" away from the grille cloth) powered by a JCM900 Dual Reverb amp. We plugged in a Paul Reed Smith CE24 to the Marshall and plugged the SM57 into a Boss BR-8 digital recorder (with insert effects off). We played some open position chords, then made the Marshall "chug" by using palm muting. When we played back the recording from the BR-8, our collective jaws dropped to the floor, because the SM57 captured not only the same sound we heard from the Marshall cab, but also the very essence of the sound. This is some mic!

Better than Beano
What made us even more surprised was the fact that the bass player's amp was making some very flatulent pops and groans during our test recording. We fully expected that the SM57 would also pick up the farts and pops of the bass amp as it went berserk. Not so. We heard only the guitar through the Marshall. Kudos to Shure for building a mic with not only excellent frequency response and headroom but also terrific off-axis rejection of unwanted sounds.

Sink or Swim
Next, our webmaster talked us into letting him borrow the mic for a recording project. He had used a fairly expensive condenser mic to do the vocals on "Sink or Swim," an original song he wrote and performed with The Blame several years back. He took the SM57 into the studio and, three takes later, had a vocal sound that he was satisfied with. He then went on to do the background vocals with it, too. He has a "boomy" voice that has a lot of bass in it. The problem with most dynamic mics is that they add extra bass when placed very close to the sound source. The ‘57 did not exhibit the strong "proximity effect" of other mics and added a pleasant overall crispness due to its slight presence peak. Brett was quite happy with the resulting sound (he used the mic with a pop filter) and has since bought his own SM57 for future recording projects. You can hear the final result here.

Summary
We found the SM57 to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. It performed flawlessly, never complained, looks great, yet is surprisingly affordable. With more and more mixers and recorders offering XLR connectors, the '57 should be the cornerstone of every musician's audio tool kit.

The SM57 is inexpensive enough that any studio or sound professional can afford a pair or two or a dozen. Don't leave home without it!

Note: The Shure SM57 and the SM57-LC are the same mic. The "-LC" means "less cable," since the SM57 is no longer supplied with an XLR microphone cable.

Pros:
Inexpensive
Nearly indestructible
Doesn't require phantom power
Consistent performance
Versatile

Cons:
None

Manufacturer: Shure Inc.
URL: http://www.shure.com
Documentation: User Guide (PDF)

MSRP: $146.00 US (LC version)
Discount price: click here