US made Shure SM57's vs. Mexican SM57's?

chessparov · 25th April 2003, 08:41 AM

Just received a Shure SM57 Unidyne III off e-bay that
is 20+ years old (new/never used!) for $50. It sounds much
better than any other I've sung through over the years.
Fuller, yet with good detail (for a dynamic).
Most all of the others ones were the "Hecho in Mexico" version.

So...

What do you guys think-is this probably coincidence or did
the SM57 "peak" when it was manufactured in the US?

Thanks
Chris

P.S. This was billed as "dual impedance-50/150 ohms" in the e-bay listing.
BTW, I had thought only the prior Unidyne III's (ala 545) were switchable.

Gone Fission · 25th April 2003, 08:06 PM

The lore is the current production sucks, the old ones are much better, and that still you're better off cherrypicking those due to tolerances and abuse. If I see an older one at a good price, I'll buy it, but damned if I'm going to start hunting down the holy grail of 57's. There are too many great dynamic mics no one knows about going for bargain prices for me to wade through all the ebay listings on 57's.

I'd believe it's better, but is it really life-changing? Does it make you want to toss your Soundstars?

Bear

chessparov · 26th April 2003, 04:30 AM

Well other than joining the clergy like Little Richard it wasn't too life changing!

It's right in there with the Soundstars (MKII, X1N) soundwise on my voice, only a bit behind the M88TG on most stuff tried so far.
The greater presence peak will be handy for denser mixes in any case, and the cardiod pattern is more forgiving than the M88.

I suspect in this price catagory the EV 635a's are way more consistant.

Chris

khp · 26th August 2006, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gone Fission

The lore is the current production sucks, the old ones are much better, and that still you're better off cherrypicking those due to tolerances and abuse. If I see an older one at a good price, I'll buy it, but damned if I'm going to start hunting down the holy grail of 57's. There are too many great dynamic mics no one knows about going for bargain prices for me to wade through all the ebay listings on 57's.

I'd believe it's better, but is it really life-changing? Does it make you want to toss your Soundstars?

Bear

Another poster said he found 60% from Mex factory wired wrong. Maybe a simple fix. This blows me away. Actually, the USA machines were moved to Mexico and the mfg. build process has not been modified. Maybe the QC has gone lax?

26th August 2006, 03:00 PM

More likely that the poster was incorrect in his assessment or it was a fabrication. Especially when you consider the sheer odds in getting 6 randomly produced mics out of the hundreds of thousands, purchased at the same time or separately, to come up with the same problem.

dbbubba · 26th August 2006, 03:27 PM

How much is there to wire up wrong in them?

There are the two leads (yelow and green) from the capsule which feed the x-fmr and then the leads that go to the XLR. Truthfully, unless the sheild was tied to any posy on the XLR other than pin #1 all you would get is an out of phase mic.

I have never encountered a 57 that came from the factory wired out of phase.

Interestingly enough, my 12 year old daughter was digging in a cardboard box of my studio junk that had been in a closet since she was one. She found a U.S. made Shure Unidyne II "ball" windscreen mic (looks like a chrome SM58.)

I am dying to compare it to my asst. 57s.

I just looked and two of my 57s say "Made in the U.S." and the others don't say where they are manufactured, but they are a lighter grey color. I guess I should make a comparison some day. We have about FIFTY SM57s in our sound reinforcement mic boxes. They are all pretty new, so I bet that they are Hecho in Mexico.

Danny Brown

Kestral · 26th August 2006, 03:38 PM

I had a brand new SM57 made in Mexico and also bought a Made in US Unidyne III Shure SM57 and the US is definitely better. Dumped the Mexican faster than you can say "shit on a taco."

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25th April 2003, 08:06 PM	#2
Gone Fission Gear addict Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Terra Incognita Posts: 492	The lore is the current production sucks, the old ones are much better, and that still you're better off cherrypicking those due to tolerances and abuse. If I see an older one at a good price, I'll buy it, but damned if I'm going to start hunting down the holy grail of 57's. There are too many great dynamic mics no one knows about going for bargain prices for me to wade through all the ebay listings on 57's. I'd believe it's better, but is it really life-changing? Does it make you want to toss your Soundstars? Bear __________________ Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

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25th April 2003, 08:41 AM	#1
chessparov Jr. Gear Slut 2nd class Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 990	US made Shure SM57's vs. Mexican SM57's? Just received a Shure SM57 Unidyne III off e-bay that is 20+ years old (new/never used!) for $50. It sounds much better than any other I've sung through over the years. Fuller, yet with good detail (for a dynamic). Most all of the others ones were the "Hecho in Mexico" version. So... What do you guys think-is this probably coincidence or did the SM57 "peak" when it was manufactured in the US? Thanks Chris P.S. This was billed as "dual impedance-50/150 ohms" in the e-bay listing. BTW, I had thought only the prior Unidyne III's (ala 545) were switchable.

26th April 2003, 04:30 AM	#3
chessparov Jr. Gear Slut 2nd class Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 990	Well other than joining the clergy like Little Richard it wasn't too life changing! It's right in there with the Soundstars (MKII, X1N) soundwise on my voice, only a bit behind the M88TG on most stuff tried so far. The greater presence peak will be handy for denser mixes in any case, and the cardiod pattern is more forgiving than the M88. I suspect in this price catagory the EV 635a's are way more consistant. Chris

26th August 2006, 03:00 PM	#5
Lowdbrent Guest Posts: n/a	More likely that the poster was incorrect in his assessment or it was a fabrication. Especially when you consider the sheer odds in getting 6 randomly produced mics out of the hundreds of thousands, purchased at the same time or separately, to come up with the same problem.

26th August 2006, 03:27 PM	#6
dbbubba Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 3,661	How much is there to wire up wrong in them? There are the two leads (yelow and green) from the capsule which feed the x-fmr and then the leads that go to the XLR. Truthfully, unless the sheild was tied to any posy on the XLR other than pin #1 all you would get is an out of phase mic. I have never encountered a 57 that came from the factory wired out of phase. Interestingly enough, my 12 year old daughter was digging in a cardboard box of my studio junk that had been in a closet since she was one. She found a U.S. made Shure Unidyne II "ball" windscreen mic (looks like a chrome SM58.) I am dying to compare it to my asst. 57s. I just looked and two of my 57s say "Made in the U.S." and the others don't say where they are manufactured, but they are a lighter grey color. I guess I should make a comparison some day. We have about FIFTY SM57s in our sound reinforcement mic boxes. They are all pretty new, so I bet that they are Hecho in Mexico. Danny Brown

26th August 2006, 03:38 PM	#7
Kestral Lives for gear Join Date: May 2004 Location: Toronto Ontario Canada Posts: 1,514	I had a brand new SM57 made in Mexico and also bought a Made in US Unidyne III Shure SM57 and the US is definitely better. Dumped the Mexican faster than you can say "shit on a taco."