SM57 vs I5

[thezebralad]

I have both and for me it comes down to what sounds good on the particular source. I've found I've been using the i5 a bit more for top snare lately, but equally good on the snare bottom with an SM57 on top.

Same with guitar cabs, depends on the tone. I recently did some clean but 'thrashy' guitar (like Arctic Monkeys) with both and preferred the i5 but only just. The 57 is much better for distorted 'punk' tones (with my set-up) IMO.

In fact I'm hoping to pick up another i5 second hand because I'd like to try top and bottom snare with two of them...

I'd be interested to hear your comparison files though!

[dannyofmarge]

Originally Posted by Aaron Miller

Snare: Moot point anyway because I prefer the T-Funken M80 over both.

What makes the m80 better than both the 57 and i5 on snare?

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[Myriad_Rocker]

I prefer the i5 on guitar cabs, period. And actually, I dislike the 57 for the same reasons you like it. The 57, for my tastes is just too honky sounding. That being said, I still use them.

[funkycam]

I much prefer the 57 on guitar cabs although you have to place it right.
BTW impedance can have an impact on the high end, check out "the killer 57" here:
Proletarian Studios Audio Gadgets - Gadgets

the i5 sounds fake & over hyped on guitar to my ear, real plasticky high end (I did some direct A/Bs with a 57) & I sold it real quick.
However I have liked pretty much every snare top recording I have heard from it.

[JMC92]

I use 2 SM57's on the same speaker. One off axis and one an inch off the edge of the cone, i think they both compliment each other very well with one HPF and one LPF.

[Silent Sound]

I generally prefer the clarity of the i5 over the SM57. But honestly, if one mic works in a given situation, then the other will too. To me the differences are slight and their subtleties will usually get lost in a full mix anyway. I'd rather spend my time with mic positioning than auditioning between these two mics.

[trevoire520]

I find hi-hat rejection on the 57 when using it as a snare mic is AWFUL compared to an i5. I prefer the attack you get from the 57, but the frequency response on the i5 seems better suited for what I like in a snare sound. It's like a 57 but already eq'd to my taste for that application.

i5 wins on toms for me due to the bigger lows and mid cut. Again it's like it's been pre-eq'd to get it in the right direction for me.

I still don't really like the 57 on guitars (boxy mids, not enough low end, and fizzy highs) but it ends up winning in the mix for me compared to the i5, which can sound nicer when pulling the tone, but can be a bit too harsh come mix time.
I'm still searching for my perfect guitar mic though.

[thismercifulfate]

The hihat bleed on the 57 is terrible because its off-axis coloration is so ugly. A real nightmare if the drummer has loud, clangy hihats, plays his snare quiet, hihats loud, any combination of those 3 or all of the above.

When such is not the case, the 57 works just fine. I'll reach for an i5 on a thinner-sounding snare that I'd like to fatten up the sound of.

[audiotech]

I think the SM57 is a great all round microphone and I've used them on the snare's batter side for more years than I can remember. For about the last year and a half I've been experimenting with the Audix I5 for the batter side mic, that in conjunction with a Sennheiser MD441 on the snare side, I get the sound I'm after.

Dennis

[Aaron Miller]

Originally Posted by dannyofmarge

What makes the m80 better than both the 57 and i5 on snare?

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Late reply, but: Crisper, less bleed, and what does leak through sounds better.

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by dannyofmarge

What makes the m80 better than both the 57 and i5 on snare?

Originally Posted by Aaron Miller

Late reply, but: Crisper, less bleed, and what does leak through sounds better.

plus it's a Telefunken M80, so therefore it's inifitely cooler.


Back to the topic.. I prefer the i5 on both guitar cabs & snares - it seems to have far more depth to the sound.

[Drummerman42]

I also own both mics, and I think they do an awesome job for my recording situtations, so I use both at the same time. The SM 57, I use as the standard on the snare, and i5 I use on the kick drum. I get awesome results and it works best for me. Hope that helps!

[James Frank]

I've found that I really like the the i5 on snare top. It seems to catch just enough of that snare ''crack'' that cuts right through my mix. With that being said I've had fantastic results with SM57 on snare, I just prefer the i5 over it.

On guitar amps I'd take the SM57 over both my i5 and my e609... I do not like my e609 at all, never can get favorable results with it. The i5 seems to capture to much high end presence for my liking on guitar amps. I would like to note that I don't use my SM57 or my i5 on guitar amps often these days.... they don't compare to the full rich sound I get from my SM7b. No matter what I always end up going to my SM7b on guitar amps.

I've never used my i5 on Toms but I'm considering it. I'd do anything to get away from the e604's they frustrate the hell out of me especially on floor toms. For right now I have to deal with what I have.

[Spanzor]

I used to always use a 57 on E guitars and then one day I was kind of moving to another project and started using the i5 just to try it and it sounded a lot more usable. I started using that to track my main set of guitars and then i can go to the 57 for overdubs and pepperspray in other guitar parts. usually one mic or the other though, but sometimes blended. If it's too gritty i also will try a large condenser on the front of the 4x12 and that's pretty neat also.

The i5 seems a lot less fatiguing over longer songs but the 57 cuts nicely through it and it's not annoying.

sometimes i just put the iphone in front of the cab and then mix that in too.

like making a voice memo. just figure out where it is in the song and then use that for the "filtered guitar". email it to yourself and drag it from the email to the session. don't record the whole session with the phone either, but like, an intro part. science.

[artzeal]

To use a mix analogy:
I think of the SM57 as Classic Rock and the i5 as Hip-Hop.

The SM57 has a wonderfully controllable proximity effect in the low end, and a slight emphasis in the upper mids - treble.

The i5 has a different emphasis on the highs, more lows, more punch.

Horses for courses, as they say.

[RDFiorentino]

I have both. I love the i5 for most cabs, but I'm a very modern guy. I love the way it runs on both dirty and clean guitars. However, If I'm doing a funkier record I like to put the 57 on clean guitars to keep it from being too smooth.

Not to take light off the topic of discussion, but I've ruined some Blueberry mics in front of cabs. Always gives me an awesome sound. If I had to pick any mic to put in front of a cab, my first would be a blueberry.


Love my i5 on the snare top and 57 on bottom.

[bwrecordings]

Originally Posted by RDFiorentino

I have both. I love the i5 for most cabs, but I'm a very modern guy. I love the way it runs on both dirty and clean guitars. However, If I'm doing a funkier record I like to put the 57 on clean guitars to keep it from being too smooth.

Not to take light off the topic of discussion, but I've ruined some Blueberry mics in front of cabs. Always gives me an awesome sound. If I had to pick any mic to put in front of a cab, my first would be a blueberry.


Love my i5 on the snare top and 57 on bottom.

Really? I've never tried it. How loud can I get the cab? Where do you place it. I may try this out tomorrow!

[TeleMA50c]

I find the i5 is a little less sensitive to placement, but when recording guitars I've found that the 57 sounds better when you find the sweet spot. But really you can get pretty much the same sounds out of both.

I've only been able to use the i5 on snare in a live situation, and the difference really wasn't very noticeable. Maybe when I start tracking my band's album I'll hear different things.

I do prefer the i5 on vocals (if I could only use these two.)

[Spanzor]

if you can't hear the difference then uhh....

frequency response comparisons between Shure SM-57 and Audix i5

Where is this "sweet spot" you speak of, and how can i get one?

[Todeswalzer]

I'm usually running sm57 on guitar cabs and both i5 and sm57 on snares (top/bottom varies)

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[Silent Sound]

As I stated before, were one will work, the other will too. Both are fine mics. But that doesn't mean that I don't have preferences, and recently, I've been more consistent with those preferences. It seems I prefer the i5 on duller sounding instruments and the sm57 on brighter ones. For example, I will usually mic a Fender amp with the sm57 with the mic positioned a bit off center of the speaker, right up on the grill. But on a darker sounding amp I like to use the i5 right up on the grill, but pointed directly at the center of the speaker. For a metal snare, I like the sm57, usually. For a wooden snare, i5.

For the ultimate guitar tone, I like to use the sm57 and the i5 together, and then add a room mic to that. Those two mics can really compliment each other nicely.

[ObiK]

I have 2 i5's and 3 57's. I usually prefer the i5's but I do want to try to mod a 57 to see how that compares as well.

[RJMusic]

Nice review, what I would mainly be using it for on the cab, would be trying to capture that almighty stratocaster blues tone, with a little grit like what a tube amp provides.
so would I be best goin with a 57 for this?

[D_T_Music]

Originally Posted by RJMusic

Nice review, what I would mainly be using it for on the cab, would be trying to capture that almighty stratocaster blues tone, with a little grit like what a tube amp provides.
so would I be best goin with a 57 for this?

Hey I threw a little guitar solo over a blues backing track to give you an idea of the i5 sound. It's on a Peavey Ultra combo with my MIM fat strat.
http://tonefinder.com/files/93-Audix...avey%20Ult.mp3

I went through all three channels and switched pickups a couple of times as well as using a bit of wah.

The mic was a little of center and off axis--a pretty common position.

Hope you find this helpful.

...oh and sorry, it's not very interesting musically it's pretty much just guitar wanking for 4 minutes.

Dave

[RJMusic]

Originally Posted by D_T_Music

Hey I threw a little guitar solo over a blues backing track to give you an idea of the i5 sound. It's on a Peavey Ultra combo with my MIM fat strat.
http://tonefinder.com/files/93-Audix...avey%20Ult.mp3

I went through all three channels and switched pickups a couple of times as well as using a bit of wah.

The mic was a little of center and off axis--a pretty common position.

Hope you find this helpful.

...oh and sorry, it's not very interesting musically it's pretty much just guitar wanking for 4 minutes.

Dave

Cheers Dave, that sounds fairly decent, gives a good idea.
Ive heard a few 57's on guitar amps aswell which sound great
I think it will be a close run thing.
Nice wanking by the way.

[Silent Sound]

Originally Posted by RJMusic

Nice review, what I would mainly be using it for on the cab, would be trying to capture that almighty stratocaster blues tone, with a little grit like what a tube amp provides.
so would I be best goin with a 57 for this?

Either one. If you can make one sound good, you can make the other sound good. There are differences between the two, so I'm glad I have both, but if I had to choose one or the other to use for the rest of my life, I'd flip a coin.

If you don't already have a nice dynamic vocal mic, look into the SM58. Take the ball off and you've pretty much got a 57.