FAKE SHURE SM57'S (including pics) - Page 4

midigod · 15th September 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fleaman

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?

Shure has made 58s with a switch for decades, though they call it the SM58S.

Barish · 15th September 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fleaman

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?

Just because you've never seen a 58 with a switch, it does not mean that there ISN'T a real 58 with a switch.

Shure - Wired Microphones - SM58 Vocal Microphone

My old motto applies: "You need to have some knowledge before you can have an opinion."

No need to try to be a smart arse, you're not Shure's product development director remember tutt

B.

Fleaman · 15th September 2007

I stand corrected.

Yet I never said it didn't exist, only that I've never seen one (quite clear actually).

It's all in the small print

I know it's hard to convey on the internet, but I wasn't being a smart arse.

allencollins · 15th September 2007

I wonder how many fake u47/67's out there?

Barnabas · 15th September 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fleaman

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?

The SM58S comes with an On/Off switch.

Fleaman · 16th September 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barnabas

The SM58S comes with an On/Off switch.

Yes, we've been there--done that already.

GordZilla · 16th September 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fleaman

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?

FYI... actually Shure does make a 58 with a switch... I believe they call it the SM58S

GordZilla · 16th September 2007

Ooops sorry... posted before reading to the end of the thread

Doh!

Fleaman · 16th September 2007

Geez people, do any of you read the posts? It's already been dealt with. Read the posts on this page, it's been answered like 4 times already....

Fleaman · 16th September 2007

Okie Dokie

firby · 16th September 2007

Hey somebody help Dwarves88 out with the temp space hosting. This is a dope first post for this guy and we are all interested/invested in how this turns out. So if you have the bandwidth give some to Dwarves88 K?

Awesome thread!

Hey Now I am going to go weigh some spices!

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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

zul_nalury · 16th September 2007

In 2005 i got a rewarded 2 sm57s by Local HQ Shure by reporting conterfeit seller...

most of the counterfeits comes from China... I saw it somewhere in website tells that the manufacturer need dealer. In fact they have conterfeit Les Paul & Gibson guitars ! so buyer beware....

Birdi · 16th September 2007

There was a run of fake shures were I live, I heard and handled fake beta 58a's

The thing was there was two varients. The first one we recieved was suspect right from the box, as the metal finish was different from any 58a we had ever owned.

It was easy to hear the difference: had marked handling noise and and a different frequency responce: and not different in a good way. And its gain before feedback was way lower than a real 58a.

The replacement the dealer sent was un- believably a fake as well, but better one. The finish was way closer, and it sounded a little better, but: still had bad handling noise, and the gain before feedback issue- not quite as bad as the first.

When un- screwing the top of the fakes it took 3 half turns, as compared to 9 (I think) for the real one. didnt get to compare the pakaging with real because we always biff the boxes, only keep the pouches.

In the end got our $$ back from the seller, as the legit Shure reseller got involved.

thats my fake shure experience..

B

16th September 2007

If you need cheap mics for rental or live gigs or just want to have some more mics to chose from, i'd just recommend buying those mics from a real company like DAP.
They will be identical but cheaper and you know what you are getting.

Word is, those are actually surprisingly decent.
HIGHLITE online - PL-07
HIGHLITE online - PL-07ß

Fleaman · 16th September 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by zwaps

If you need cheap mics for rental or live gigs or just want to have some more mics to chose from, i'd just recommend buying those mics from a real company like DAP.
They will be identical but cheaper and you know what you are getting.

Word is, those are actually surprisingly decent.
HIGHLITE online - PL-07
HIGHLITE online - PL-07ß

Ahhh....now we can see the source of these fakes, it's a knock-off being sold legitimately(?) but with the surround sticker actually saying it's a 'shure'.

Heck, anybody could buy these in bulk, print their own Shure SM57 stickers, get boxes made and pouches made.

Not good

Fleaman · 16th September 2007

Also, on my made-in-mexico SM57's (bought in 1991 I believe) the XLR plastic base (that the pins come out of) has 'Shure' embossed into it (below pin #3), along with the pin #'s 1,2,3.

Malcolm Boyce · 17th September 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fleaman

Ahhh....now we can see the source of these fakes, it's a knock-off being sold legitimately(?) but with the surround sticker actually saying it's a 'shure'.

Heck, anybody could buy these in bulk, print their own Shure SM57 stickers, get boxes made and pouches made.

Not good

Those "PL07" mics are a fair bit heavier than the "fakes" in the pics from the start of this thread. Not as heavy as an SM57, but close.

travisbrown · 17th September 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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

Yahoo! shared space should give you the space you need.

If not, I can host them.

dwarves88 · 17th September 2007

updated the first post with a pic and links to my A/B audio examples with the real and fake sm57.

One of the fake sm57's i received didn't even work when i tried it dfegad

Let me know what you think of the differences.

midibob · 10th October 2007

Hi,

I've had the misfortune to buy a couple of fakes in the past so I'd like to add a couple of extra things that might be worth checking.

Both mic's were different with respect to where the transformer should be.
Both had a crumpled piece of paper shoved in at the connector end which when removed was a bit of a Chinese music paper. (dead giveaway)

None of these mic's came with transformers which can be easily checked with an ohmeter ie you shouldn't have any continuity between the connector pins and the capsule.
On one of the mics they'd even gone as far as encapsulating a transformer bobbin in the glue, so visually it looked like there was one in there. Trouble was there were no windings on it!

After all said and done these mic's aren't bad for what I paid for them, why they had to dress them up as 57's when they could have sold them legit....etc etc.

I probably won't be buying any more off of Ebay but at least now I know how to spot them.

Caveat emptor
Midibob

davioh · 11th October 2007

so these are some chinese knock offs? they weigh 1/2 as much, and have an extra hole near the xlr connector? anything else giving them away?

jdjonsson · 31st January 2008

Hi all,

I'm a regular over on Harmony-Central, and posted a thread over there, that led me here. I recently purchased a Shure SM57 off ebay. It's an exact match to dwarves88's fake.

I created this website about it. I had the luxury of taking it apart, and took some pics of the innards.

This is a counterfeit Shure SM57

I have ordered a new SM57 from Amazon, and will be doing my own comparison shots when it arrives. In the meantime, thanks to dwarves for his detective work! You saved my $78 I dropped on this fake!

lordwesley · 5th March 2008

I am sat here with in front of me, 1 Shure SM57 and one T Bone MB75. The T Bone mic matches the fake pics exactly, apart from instead of a 'Shure Sm57' label, it's got the t bone one. I don't know how they got away with it really. It's lighter too. I've used the t bones live for gigs. More feedback (approx 80Hz, 4-5k, somewhere higher too). They're awful vox mics too. Reinforcing a loud-ish backline through the PA, it works. The other big difference, drummers hit 57's all the time and the just need the caps putting back on. The T bones don't survive.
I'm not saying the T Bones are the same mic as the fakes, but they fit the description exactly. I'm not suggesting anything, it's just interesting.

tamakid1292 · 5th March 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by stickers

how many people just looked at their 57s, i know i did.

HAHAHAHAHA.... i just pulled mine out and checked everything

FireMoon · 6th March 2008

Two questions...

Is there any actual real difference between a Unidyne III and a SM57

Plus... Does anyone else remember SM57s coming in a sort of beige/brown or greenish/grey plastic casing in the late 70s early 80s? Think they didn't stand up to the rigors of use on the road and were a pretty short sojourn.

johndykstra · 6th March 2008

what's this?!?! a knock off that Behringer isn't involved in? I'm sure they've got a BM57 pro in the works though.

lordwesley · 6th March 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by dykstraster@gmai

what's this?!?! a knock off that Behringer isn't involved in? I'm sure they've got a BM57 pro in the works though.

yup, with switchable tube saturation emulation (inc. flashy light) and 12 reverbs.

big country · 6th March 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by tamakid1292

HAHAHAHAHA.... i just pulled mine out and checked everything

me too
I never knew how to open those things
LOL

Granny Gremlin · 6th March 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glenn Kuras

I just went through all of mine and they seem all the same, but one of them has a extra key hole in it (like above). I think it is old as dirt, so not sure if it is fake or not. I could try them out but because one is so old I am sure it sounds a little different. I will keep a eye on that one. Might just turn out to be me ached Chinese secret!!!

Glenn

My real SM58 (like 20 years old at least) has the keyhole. My SM57s (from the info given; qualify as real) do not. Could be age for the keyhole thing. These mics have been in production for what, 40 years, factory changes, are known to have happened, tooling and slight design changes are likely, at the very least, as a consequence of the aforementioned.

I'm inclinded to believe in the fakes due to the price and font difference (companies don't F**k with their branding like that); don't think the keyhole is a good indicator tho - anyone got a really old 57 (ahem, tINY)?

Good job on that site, jdjonsson; internal wire color conventions (all mine have green, marked positive and yellow) and especially capsule DCR are much more objective and reliable things to check than external cosmetic features.... the wad of cellophane (vs epoxy-potted tranny) is a dead givaway too.

laraz · 8th March 2008

i think that they may have been modeled after older sm57s. i have an old one with the extra keyhole, and i had some old leather bags that I remember looking like the ones in the pictures. I checked the ones i got on ebay and they look like the real one in your pictures. i think the buyer was musicgear4you or musicgear4u, something like that. Great deal on mikes though: $76 for one, $216 for three ($72 each), and $360 for 5 ($72 each). I bought mine about a year ago and have what looks like real bag, no extra keyhole, correct font, and no cable. If I remember correctly i think there was something saying that it was inspected by shure.

15th September 2007	#93
Fleaman Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Los Angeles, Silverlake Posts: 3,967	I stand corrected. Yet I never said it didn't exist, only that I've never seen one (quite clear actually). It's all in the small print I know it's hard to convey on the internet, but I wasn't being a smart arse. __________________ Fleaman "The best sounding sluttiest gear of all time... is a great song" --Greg Wells "Life is too important to be taken Seriously." --Oscar Wilde

6th March 2008	#115
FireMoon Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Coventry Posts: 1,218	Two questions... Is there any actual real difference between a Unidyne III and a SM57 Plus... Does anyone else remember SM57s coming in a sort of beige/brown or greenish/grey plastic casing in the late 70s early 80s? Think they didn't stand up to the rigors of use on the road and were a pretty short sojourn. __________________ http://www.myspace.com/tubilahdog

6th March 2008	#116
johndykstra Lives for gear Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Midwest Posts: 4,393	what's this?!?! a knock off that Behringer isn't involved in? I'm sure they've got a BM57 pro in the works though. __________________ phantom power doesn't make your voice sound spooky MY BAND http://www.revisiontext.com/ OUR STUDIO & POLY Diffuser Build http://www.gearslutz.com/board/bass-...i-y-polys.html New control room thread! http://www.gearslutz.com/board/studi...walls-etc.html

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15th September 2007	#94
allencollins 3 + infractions, forum membership suspended. Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Rosedale Cemetery Singing Beach, MA Posts: 4,873	I wonder how many fake u47/67's out there?

16th September 2007	#98
GordZilla Lives for gear Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Northwest Territories, Canada Posts: 978	Ooops sorry... posted before reading to the end of the thread Doh!

16th September 2007	#100
Fleaman Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Los Angeles, Silverlake Posts: 3,967	Okie Dokie

16th September 2007	#102
zul_nalury Gear nut Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Islington, London, England Posts: 91	In 2005 i got a rewarded 2 sm57s by Local HQ Shure by reporting conterfeit seller... most of the counterfeits comes from China... I saw it somewhere in website tells that the manufacturer need dealer. In fact they have conterfeit Les Paul & Gibson guitars ! so buyer beware....

16th September 2007	#103
Birdi Gear maniac Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 163	There was a run of fake shures were I live, I heard and handled fake beta 58a's The thing was there was two varients. The first one we recieved was suspect right from the box, as the metal finish was different from any 58a we had ever owned. It was easy to hear the difference: had marked handling noise and and a different frequency responce: and not different in a good way. And its gain before feedback was way lower than a real 58a. The replacement the dealer sent was un- believably a fake as well, but better one. The finish was way closer, and it sounded a little better, but: still had bad handling noise, and the gain before feedback issue- not quite as bad as the first. When un- screwing the top of the fakes it took 3 half turns, as compared to 9 (I think) for the real one. didnt get to compare the pakaging with real because we always biff the boxes, only keep the pouches. In the end got our $$ back from the seller, as the legit Shure reseller got involved. thats my fake shure experience.. B

16th September 2007	#104
Deleted User Guest Posts: n/a	If you need cheap mics for rental or live gigs or just want to have some more mics to chose from, i'd just recommend buying those mics from a real company like DAP. They will be identical but cheaper and you know what you are getting. Word is, those are actually surprisingly decent. HIGHLITE online - PL-07 HIGHLITE online - PL-07ß

16th September 2007	#106
Fleaman Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Los Angeles, Silverlake Posts: 3,967	Also, on my made-in-mexico SM57's (bought in 1991 I believe) the XLR plastic base (that the pins come out of) has 'Shure' embossed into it (below pin #3), along with the pin #'s 1,2,3.

17th September 2007	#109
dwarves88 Gear Head Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 40 Thread Starter	updated the first post with a pic and links to my A/B audio examples with the real and fake sm57. One of the fake sm57's i received didn't even work when i tried it dfegad Let me know what you think of the differences.

10th October 2007	#110
midibob Gear interested Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1	Hi, I've had the misfortune to buy a couple of fakes in the past so I'd like to add a couple of extra things that might be worth checking. Both mic's were different with respect to where the transformer should be. Both had a crumpled piece of paper shoved in at the connector end which when removed was a bit of a Chinese music paper. (dead giveaway) None of these mic's came with transformers which can be easily checked with an ohmeter ie you shouldn't have any continuity between the connector pins and the capsule. On one of the mics they'd even gone as far as encapsulating a transformer bobbin in the glue, so visually it looked like there was one in there. Trouble was there were no windings on it! After all said and done these mic's aren't bad for what I paid for them, why they had to dress them up as 57's when they could have sold them legit....etc etc. I probably won't be buying any more off of Ebay but at least now I know how to spot them. Caveat emptor Midibob

11th October 2007	#111
davioh Gear nut Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 93	so these are some chinese knock offs? they weigh 1/2 as much, and have an extra hole near the xlr connector? anything else giving them away?

31st January 2008	#112
jdjonsson Gear interested Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 1	Hi all, I'm a regular over on Harmony-Central, and posted a thread over there, that led me here. I recently purchased a Shure SM57 off ebay. It's an exact match to dwarves88's fake. I created this website about it. I had the luxury of taking it apart, and took some pics of the innards. This is a counterfeit Shure SM57 I have ordered a new SM57 from Amazon, and will be doing my own comparison shots when it arrives. In the meantime, thanks to dwarves for his detective work! You saved my $78 I dropped on this fake!

5th March 2008	#113
lordwesley Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Plymouth UK Posts: 1,209	I am sat here with in front of me, 1 Shure SM57 and one T Bone MB75. The T Bone mic matches the fake pics exactly, apart from instead of a 'Shure Sm57' label, it's got the t bone one. I don't know how they got away with it really. It's lighter too. I've used the t bones live for gigs. More feedback (approx 80Hz, 4-5k, somewhere higher too). They're awful vox mics too. Reinforcing a loud-ish backline through the PA, it works. The other big difference, drummers hit 57's all the time and the just need the caps putting back on. The T bones don't survive. I'm not saying the T Bones are the same mic as the fakes, but they fit the description exactly. I'm not suggesting anything, it's just interesting.

8th March 2008	#120
laraz Gear interested Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 11	i think that they may have been modeled after older sm57s. i have an old one with the extra keyhole, and i had some old leather bags that I remember looking like the ones in the pictures. I checked the ones i got on ebay and they look like the real one in your pictures. i think the buyer was musicgear4you or musicgear4u, something like that. Great deal on mikes though: $76 for one, $216 for three ($72 each), and $360 for 5 ($72 each). I bought mine about a year ago and have what looks like real bag, no extra keyhole, correct font, and no cable. If I remember correctly i think there was something saying that it was inspected by shure.