The Shure SM58 is one of the most recognisable microphones in the world – and for good reason. It is the main stay of many a hire companies microphone hire stock, including mine. Practically unbreakable, and if you do manage to drop it from a high stage / skyscraper, you can also buy a replacement pop shield. Very suited to rock, or other musical styles that need powerful vocals. Make sure your singers lips are touching the pop shield to get the best results, though, unless they have very good mic technique. The proximity effect (increase in bass when you sing or talk close to the mic) makes this important. If the singer is a foot away from an SM58, the chances are they will sound thin, and you’ll also have gain before feedback issues….
Sonically the response has a nice presence peak in the upper mid range, but the top end rolls off quickly after that. Opinion is split about whether that is a good or a bad thing – it helps keep a lid on feedback, but it doesn’t sound as ‘hi-fi’ as some other mics. I have had some singers complain that their vocal top end is not quite right - sometimes asking for more top end. I guess they are used to the sound of expensive condenser mics on their recordings. My solution is normally to give them another mic, like a Beta 58, or Beta 87a maybe, rather than use EQ. If you A/B test an SM58 verses these mics it will always lose. But it can still be a better mic in some cases, such as when you’re looking for a cardioid rather than hyper-cardioid response (the SM58 has a cardioid response, which means it has a wider pickup pattern at the front). But most vocalists will be more than happy with the sound the SM58 gives.
In conclusion, yes there are a lot of mics that sound ‘better’, and some of these are quite a bit cheaper – but ask yourself the question are they as durable as an SM58, and if you are a professional, will your clients want to use a mic they have never heard of?

Take care,
Justin Miller
justin@pa2hire.co.uk
http://pa2hire.co.uk

I am truely very disappointed with this SM58...I have been using an SM57 for well over 20 years with no problems at all...brilliant sound, easy vocal pick-up. But the SM58 is useless, I can hardly hear a thing from it. I thought it was a vocal mic, but now I'm not sure if it's a microphone at all.
It's a terrible mic and I would put others off buying this piece of worthless rubbish.
I have both high and low impedence inputs on my H&H 100 Watt PA Amp.....on the low impedence input there is absolutley no sound at all!..The 57 works fine on both. I wish I had never bought this.