[donsolo]

my personal feelings with the SM57 and NS10s are the same.

Neither are THAT great, they both get the job done and are the budweiser of their category.

Everyone knows what a pair of NS10s sound like and can compare other speakers to them. Everyone knows what an SM57 sounds like and can compare it to anything else.

Are there far worse options? By far. Are there better options? Yes.

I've found better microphones for any situation an SM57 can work for. On a snare drum I like to use a SDC.

On Guitars I like the i5 by Audix.

Toms? Sennheiser 604 (I think is the right name)

live? I'll take a 609 and AKG D1000 over SM57s/58s any day (hypercardioid means less feedback)

But there is a reason we gradually drift back to these bastards. I'm aware that there are some relatively successful albums done with nothing but SM57s. Great.

I think the debate really has to do with the guy using them. If you think SM57s are useless, you're wrong. If you had an unlimited budget you could probably get better sounding individual tracks. BLUE dragonfly, Senn 451, i5, Royer 121 etc but the reality is that a mix is more than just the sum of the parts.

Sm57s work great. Everyone is used to working with them. They are easy to get a good sound out of. Some microphones fight you more than others.

The fact that it actually isn't the tightest cardioid mic is a good thing. It also is not the most perfect sounding microphone, lots of proximity effect, lots of off-axis coloration. But it really does work well when you use it. You never surprise yourself with it. I like that. You know what you're going to get when you pull it out.

Anyone with an SM57 I recommend modding one and also getting an Audix i5. But I think the consistency of the microphone means a lot when making records. I think that's why those guys use them. It's too tedious to try something else when 99% of a track is the magic of getting down and getting it down right. We all know them and we know how to get it right without wasted time.

I will say though. There's less competition in the dynamic mic category than condenser. You get a LOT of bang for your buck with these $100 microphones. They are far more useful than an Audio technica 2020 in terms of "oh no, I suddenly have to work with an instrument I'm not familiar with.

An amp you're new to? Grab a 57, it's a good unbiased opinion of the amp.

Banjo? Start with a 57 and see how you like it (I wound up with e835)

They also are great for hanging pictures on the wall, fending off door-to-door salesmen, keeping an intern in line and in a pinch, getting into a car with the keys locked in. The best part is that it will sound just like the first day you got it after you use it for such things.

Shure got it right with this little gem, indestructable and predictable. I have 4 of them and use them all the time.