FAKE SHURE SM57'S (including pics)

[Barnabas]

Regarding the three holes:
- The top hole is the set screw for the connector. All should have one.
- The middle hole is threaded so you can screw the mic to the cable connector to make the mic harder to steal without cutting the cable. I'm surprised Shure discontinued this, but I wonder who actually used this feature.
- The oval hole on the bottom is what the cable connector latches to. The older style did not have this hole, rather it had a groove machined inside the housing.

The mic on the left is a newer SM57 made in Mexico that has all three holes.

The mic on the right is a very old Unidyne III SM57. I doubt that anyone is faking these (except the Chinese guys reading this post!)

[Barnabas]

Here are pictures of the insides of two real SM57 mics.

On the left is a Mexican model with 2 wires and heavy epoxy around the transformer.

On the right is an old USA model with three wires and less epoxy on the transformer.

[Barnabas]

The mic on the left is a newer SM57 made in Mexico that has all three holes.

The mic on the right is a very old Unidyne III SM57 made in USA.

Notice the different text on the labels.

[themaidsroom]

do they make vintage 67s ?

[Barnabas]

What's a 67?

[chymer]

Originally Posted by Barnabas

The mic on the left is a newer SM57 made in Mexico that has all three holes.

The mic on the right is a very old Unidyne III SM57 made in USA.

Notice the different text on the labels.

The fonts look the same to me....????

[patrox247]

Thanks....This thread is really going to help me to make more convincing counterfeits.

[andychamp]

Anyone from Shure lurking on this board?
If so, some input on this would be cool.

[Mike Jasper]

Originally Posted by u b k

i find it very interesting that so many slutz conveniently have "kitchen scales" laying around.

for weighing the, uh, spices. <cough>

thumbsup


gregoire
del
ubk
.

That's funny!

I find it sad that I don't own one anymore. I'm the oldest guy in the thread.

Jasper

PS -- There is someone from Shure hanging out on gearslutz. I'll go PM him now and tell him about the thread.

[Barish]

Could you please edit the first post so that the images don't appear side by side, but rather appear one on top of the other, without causing the page going to the extreme right forever.

A few months ago we had a fake SM58 thread in my forum too and it turned out one of the SM58s that we had here was fake as well -I don't know how that happened-, so anyway I had taken some photos and inspection reports on them, which I believe may help some folks here.

In the photos, "Gerçek" means "real" and "Sahte" means "fake". Sorry, the original thread was in Turkish, hence so are the images.



The original grill is matt with a proper metal look as opposed to the fake one being shiney with a cheap mica look.

The equator line on the globe is thinner (4.2mm) on the original, and is thicker (4.5mm) on the fake.

Note the typeface difference between SM58 marks and the colouring on both units.

Also note the knuckle line on the plinth on which the globe sits. The original has a nice smooth fillet as opposed to the fake having a hard breakpoint.

Please ignore the white screw hole at the bottom, as it was a mark made by us to distinguish our mics from others' in the case of a mix-up.




Workmanship matters.

The original one has a shiney inner drum and 3-thread screw as opposed to the fake's rusty look with 4 threads.

Also the difference in cable colours, and the PCB batch markings of the original being missing on the fake, and the dodgy look of the soldering and the rubber housing under the PCB.






Pay attention to logos and sizes.


Hope this helps.

B.

[gurubuzz]

Originally Posted by Jay Kahrs

Wow. CraZy.

Shure & Sennheiser made a huge bust of counterfitters several years back but I guess they're still out there... not suprising at all since those fake 57's probably cost about $2 to build IF that.

Love the pictures of them sitting on the scale, the fakes weigh half as much as the real ones! If that isn't a tip off...

So you said that you bought these from a local dealer? Where did THEY get them from?!?

If the fake cost $2 to make...

how much does the real one cost to make ???

$4 ??

I think we are all getting ripped off no matter what ....
...... especially all those Mexicans living in a third world country south of a fake line on a map....

[jmf]

Originally Posted by MOFO PRO

Right... You asked the price... and He say "Only hundred dolla"

Haha....well, it was Guitar Center...so I guess that could've happened.

Now my newer 58's - I AM concerned about them as I bought those off ebay last year.

[lowfreq33]

So what do you expect when you get 10 sm57's for $140? The cheapest I've EVER heard for a new 57 from an authorized dealer is around $60. I think that's 10% over cost. It's funny what they choose to counterfeit though. I guess they figure 57's are so common that no one will question it.

[NickH]

Originally Posted by d_fu

Have you weighed yours? Mine is 321 grams, while the fake ones are considerably lighter.

Originally Posted by denne

The four 57's I bought 20 years ago are 301g each (weighted with a kitchen scales - my wife was rather irritated, btw) So they lost 1g every year .... hmmm

I just weighed the ones we have here:-

1 - 281g (marked BE inside)
2 - 271g (marked QF inside)
3 - 281g (marked BE inside)
4 - 271g (marked QF inside)
5 - 272g (marked MEXICO inside)
6 - 277g (marked DK inside)
7 - 244g (not marked inside)
8 - 244g (not marked inside)

All looked to have transformers in cased in white resin, on the last two (the most recent I bought) the inside is slightly different where the transformer sits, the case comes in with two lugs & the resin sits in there...

Makes me wonder if the last two are fake or just a newer version, shure seem to change the way they make these things like the wind...




N

[denne]

Originally Posted by u b k

i find it very interesting that so many slutz conveniently have "kitchen scales" laying around.

for weighing the, uh, spices. <cough>

thumbsup


gregoire
del
ubk
.

Hehe. Ever bought gear without weighing?

[MOFO PRO]

Originally Posted by jmf

Haha....well, it was Guitar Center...so I guess that could've happened.

Now my newer 58's - I AM concerned about them as I bought those off ebay last year.

How do you say Octava in Chinese?

I lucked on that whole deal... Probably picked up a dozen mics total when they were blowing them out... and not a bogus one in the lot...

[greyskull]

phew.
my 57s are real.

[MOFO PRO]

So what country do you build Studio Project counterfeits??

[pan60]

Originally Posted by MOFO PRO

So what country do you build Studio Project counterfeits??

the U.S.A.

[pan60]

sorry i could not help myself :(
bad,
bad, bad, bad,
bad!

[crypticglobe]

Sorry... but has anyone actually LISTENED to these fake mics? How do they sound? If they sound fine.... heck... just keep em.

10 years from now... they will be the MOST desireable of 57's. They will be known as the "Fake Ebay 57's". I can just see the advertising now: These were used in getting the guitar sound of Bilbo McRager, the guitarist from the new multiplatinum Rip-Hop/Rock band Fishy, Fishy, Fish that has been declared by all critics the best guitar tone EVER.

Then... you will be able to sell all 5 for $10,000.00 (the equivlient of $1000.00 today... inflation), instead of $100.00.

Just keep em and smile every time you use em.... It's money in the bank man.

[TheArchitect]

I bought all of my 57's from a reputable long tern shure dealer and they have similar differences. The ones from the 90's is similar to what the author is calling real and the other from a few years ago is similar to the "fake"

I don't see a damn think here to substantiate those mic's being fake other than the author saying they are. Shure moved production of these mics to a different country and have no doubt tweaked tooling etc here and there.

Someone (the author) care to back this up with something credible? The lack of a transformer I can see as pretty solid but many of the other attributes listed as clues to the mic being fake just don't hold up

[yarrick19]

Originally Posted by NickH

I just weighed the ones we have here:-

1 - 281g (marked BE inside)
2 - 271g (marked QF inside)
3 - 281g (marked BE inside)
4 - 271g (marked QF inside)
5 - 272g (marked MEXICO inside)
6 - 277g (marked DK inside)
7 - 244g (not marked inside)
8 - 244g (not marked inside)

All looked to have transformers in cased in white resin, on the last two (the most recent I bought) the inside is slightly different where the transformer sits, the case comes in with two lugs & the resin sits in there...

Makes me wonder if the last two are fake or just a newer version, shure seem to change the way they make these things like the wind...




N

Both of mine are marked inside with two letters...

[Mike Jasper]

Originally Posted by TheArchitect

I bought all of my 57's from a reputable long tern shure dealer and they have similar differences. The ones from the 90's is similar to what the author is calling real and the other from a few years ago is similar to the "fake"

I don't see a damn think here to substantiate those mic's being fake other than the author saying they are. Shure moved production of these mics to a different country and have no doubt tweaked tooling etc here and there.

Someone (the author) care to back this up with something credible?

I think the difference in weight was pretty good proof myself.

Jasper
PS -- Just checked my mics. My 57 and my 58 are both real, but the pouch itself for the 58 is counterfeit. Now that's just weird.

[Fleaman]

Originally Posted by Barish

A few months ago we had a fake SM58 thread in my forum too and it turned out one of the SM58s that we had here was fake as well -I don't know how that happened-, so anyway I had taken some photos and inspection reports on them, which I believe may help some folks here.

In the photos, "Gerçek" means "real" and "Sahte" means "fake". Sorry, the original thread was in Turkish, hence so are the images.

The original grill is matt with a proper metal look as opposed to the fake one being shiney with a cheap mica look.

The equator line on the globe is thinner (4.2mm) on the original, and is thicker (4.5mm) on the fake.

Note the typeface difference between SM58 marks and the colouring on both units.

Also note the knuckle line on the plinth on which the globe sits. The original has a nice smooth fillet as opposed to the fake having a hard breakpoint.

Please ignore the white screw hole at the bottom, as it was a mark made by us to distinguish our mics from others' in the case of a mix-up.

Workmanship matters.

The original one has a shiney inner drum and 3-thread screw as opposed to the fake's rusty look with 4 threads.

Also the difference in cable colours, and the PCB batch markings of the original being missing on the fake, and the dodgy look of the soldering and the rubber housing under the PCB.

Pay attention to logos and sizes.

Hope this helps.

B.

Yet the most obvious (and not mentioned) difference was the fake 58 had an on/off switch. I've never seen a 58 with a switch.

With the on/off switch it would be pretty hard to mix up the fake with real 58's, don't see why you would need to make an additional white mark for that purpose?

[Subsonic808]

Sorry... but has anyone actually LISTENED to these fake mics? How do they sound? If they sound fine.... heck... just keep em.

I didn't do a lot of recordings with my fake 57, but I tested it and compared it to my real ones. As I stated before, it sounded better than I thought it would, but I expected it to sound like a turd on a string. It actually sounded like a polished turd with a membrane (and a Behringer logo on it). The sound was pretty muddy and lifeless, but still useable for rehearsals or gigs at a venue with a crappy PA. It definitely had a hotter output level than the originals.
These fakes might work for extremely lo-fi kickdrum sounds, but I never tried that. Other than that I don't see any uses for them. They're too light to hit someone in the head with...

[Oroz]

Originally Posted by Barnabas

What's a 67?

Neumann U67 vintage microphone.

[dwarves88]

Hey everyone thanks for the comments. It's interesting to know that some of you have had similar experiences so I know i'm not the only one .

I have done some A/B recordings with my real and fake sm57 (with pic) for you all to hear but i need 50mb webspace to upload them too so that you can all hear for yourselves. After switching isp's I no longer have any personal webspace so if anyone is kind enough to upload and host my .wav's for a bit then you can all have a reference point for the current real sm57's and fake's on the market at the moment . I'm pretty low end when it comes to gear but the differences are quite apparent. PM me with details if you can help me out.

many thanks

[rockstar_josh]

Yeah, thanks for the thread! I bought a 57 on ebay a few weeks ago and guess what? MY 57 matches your 57s! I don't have another 57 to compare, but I have a 58 that is much heavier and has different colored wiring. I think I'll keep it for novelty, hell I got a great deal on it!

[uvc1977]

I have 4 legit SM57's. I have a SM57 from the late 90's and it has the extra a hole and the 'Shure' logo is larger. In 2005 I bought three more and they dont have the extra hole and the Shure logo is smaller. They sound the same, weigh the same and have the same internal wiring.