It's times like this I recall how daft I can be ... Thanks for stating the obvious to a young fool like myself - embarassed am I that I forgot 'NOS' considering I was always buying NOS 12AX7 Tubes a few years ago!

Cheers.


Signed,
~Juvenile in Scarborough

The Unidyne IV that you have JOEYQ is a 548 (?) and they were everywhere in the early to late '70s.
If you look at pics from live rigs (Led Zepp, ZZ Top, McCartney or most any Showco p.a.) they were used for evrything.

In retrospect they were not very good.

I had about twelve of them once.
I sang into one of them every night for years.

Once we actually, bought SM58s for vocals and SM57s for GTRs and stuff the 548s went into the trash can or pawshop.

... but if you find a use for it.

I wouldn't spend lunch money on one.

Then again, the crowd that was "into" the Yamaha PM1000 channel strips for their "great" sound might find them usefull. They certianly were used together a lot!

Interesting that people actually compare new and old 57s though.
We probebly have thirty or so in our live p.a. inventory and I have a collection of my own. In the "live" stuff there is a Unidyne with a switch. I'll have to try a side by side A/B comparison soon.

Comparing 57s is like comparing Buick station wagons!
Good sounding Buick station wagons, but Buicks none the less!

Danny Bown

Sorry it's taking me ages. I wrote the name of the mic but I forgot the paper at home

It looks a bit like this:
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/jaimegomezarellano/shure-57style.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>

But it's not the right mic, Mine has a shape more like a sm57. I think it'd called "PEL (something)" but I can't remeber.

The Shure logo is written in red, it has a switch and it says "Made in the U.S.A"

Do guys have any ideas of what my mic is?

a unidyne B maybe?



AKA, 517 0r 519


frq response is something like 80-10k

too narrow for my tastes, mostly used in drive-thru window applications

That's not what I wanted to hear. heh

I wanted someone to say say "Wow - a Unidyne IV!! you lucky bastard!"

boulty, IIRC if you go to Shure's website they have manual info on these models.

BTW the 548 was intended to be a more "pro" Unidyne (like the 546/56).
This is in terms of product consistancy.

If you ask someone like Bob Ohlsson, I bet he'll give you a positive evaluation.

IMHO the issue with the 548 may have pertained to the FOH technician, as they have a different tone than the familiar '57.

Like many other singers, until teeming a Unidyne with a good pre, and proper placement/EQ, believed them to be second-rate for me.

Chris

Ok... FINALLY I manged to take a picture. A really horrible one (mobile phone camera). sorry.

Does anyone know this mic? It's a Shure PE65L. It says "made in the U.S.A." Also says Lo Z (impedance).

The picture really is rubbish. The shape it's almost identical to SM57. The only difference is the switch.

These Mic used to belong to my mum. I picked it up a few years back and only found it again recently.

I have not been able to find much info about it.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/jaimegomezarellano/25042006051.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

Bumpage

Very Cool Mic. Definetely a 57 Variant. Howz the old Beast sound?
Gotta love those indestructable 57's....


~Scott

P.S>(I Didn't know how else to ressurect this thread)

How does it sound... I don't know. The last time I used this mic I was probably 16 years old! I need to give it a shot soon

Doesn't everyone know by now, that the old version of *anything* is **always** better than the new one.

And even better, if the old one cannot possibly be bought anymore. And even more better, if *I* have one and you don't.

At least according to every GS thread I've ever read....

Steve

except a SM7.

i know you're being a bit sarcastic, but you're right; most of the time, cuz companies figure out how to cut costs and learn to ride on coattails.

Just picked up a Unidyne III Made in the USA. There IS a difference, and it isn't subtle

Yeah it is not exactly "Barely Noticeable" isn't it thumbsup I'm so glad I managed to find a nice, almost mint condition, unidyne III SM-57!

have 2 Unidyne III mics here.. as far as I know the "best sounding SM57"..

Just got my second and I will go to those before the others EVERYTIME. If you use 57s- try some. Personally much preferred. Hard to find but not too expensive!

Heres crappy phone pics- mine is almost identical(other than some body width) to the new sm57.

What are you guys plugging these things into for the comparison? The load the mic sees from the preamp makes a huge difference with these mics. The 57's I experimented with were way better with a much lower load (500 or ) than they were with say 1300-1500 (typical Mackie pre). Just looking for a little context on the comparisons.

pres compared/used excessively- Neve V series, Trident 80 series, BAE 1272, GML stereo pre, and focusrite red series. I used them at studios for a while before getting my own. There was a reason when I bought the two I have, they were all in use in rooms and the rest (the other 16) usually sit in the box. They were sold to me as a thanks- but I wasn't the only one pulling them first. And since there were only four total, we often used new 57s side by side. Though as always- if you dont hear it- who cares? Get a new one. Still a great mic.

What is the difference between the Shure Unidyne III 545's and 57's, besides color & switch ?

thumbsup
I have a USA made unidyne 111 dynamic
shure bros.
I also have the complete machine lectrosonics
this came with two microphones- however I only have one
yes it is for sale- any one interested.
I will be posting it on ebay next week- so please let me know if you want to save me the trouble.
oh and this works perfectly by the way
looks brand new- can send pics..
[email protected]

After reading this post.. i randomly checked my mic locker to find a Unidyne III 545SD and I was curious if this is the "old 57" everyone is talking about or if there is another type of mic that is a Unidyne III 57. Could someone end my confusion before I explode wondering if I have a sweet new snare mic!!





https://www.gearslutz.com/board/image...s/nu/icon5.gif

Is there a way to tell if you have a counterfeit Shure sm57 ?
S/N ? Codes ? Parts ?

I bought a Shure 57 about 10 years back. The price was cheap, and the shop when out of biz after a few years. The mic never just sounded right to me.
Maybe I should buy another one to compare.
or..... maybe I need a better preamp.

I think an i5 sounds better anyway, so who cares??

Funny, I always thought the same thing about the newer 57 I got 5 years ago. I wouldn't be suprised if there were some quality control issues with anything that is manufactured in that quantity. I pulled out the unidyne 57 and the new 57 and the unidyne made the other sound broken. This thread made me a/b it again and there is NO COMPARISON. The best part is you can pick one up for less than a new 57 costs. Sadly, I bet not for long!

- The 545 has a plastic cartridge body, the 57 has a metal cartridge body.
- The 545 has a bare metal base, the 57 has a black base.
- The 545 (except the 545L) has a dual-impedance transformer, the 57 has a single impedance transformer.
- Some 545 variants have switches (including the current 545SD), while the 57 has never had a switch.
- Some 545 variants (545S, 545SH) have integrated stand mounts, while the 57 (and other 545 variants) has a separate clip.

As far as I can tell, the 546 and SM56 are the most similar, with the differences just being color and cartridge body material. And there was also the PE54 series, which was basically just 545s intended for sale at music stores. I say "basically" because the original 2 models with Amphenol connectors could only do Hi-Z operation. Later XLR models could switch between Lo-Z and Hi-Z. Otherwise, identical.

As far as I know, that's about it. Production techniques and materials for both the 545 and 57 have evolved over the years, including the inner mesh in the capsule head (older models had wire mesh, newer models have a cloth mesh), the amount of glue the transformer is mounted in (newer models have more), and the way the diaphragm is produced (I believer it is currently cut with lasers).

I've got 2 new 57s and 3 different old 545s, and honestly all of mine sound pretty similar.

I think you would be happy with the TAB Funkenwerk upgraded Shure SM57 with the T-58 transformer from Zen Audio. $199.00

The upgrade gives the mic closer to an SM7 response and others testing said it
sounds closer to the original Unidyne III.

"original" as in 1960 545? 1965 SM57? 1980 SM57?

The 545 and SM57 evolved over the years, irrespective of the "Unidyne III" branding, but it seems like there's a common misconception that that label means something in particular.

I'm gonna guess '65 but Zen should be able to clear that up.
all I know is that the results are smoother and top end is more open
than a stock '57.


I'm using mine on all kinds of stuff and want a second one.

There's a shootout here in another thread between Shure offerings
and pretty much everyone preferred the TAB SM57 to the stock and to the transformerless designs.

Modded SM57s in a Shootout-Finally

Hey there!
I also was curious about the old Unidyne SM57's so I started looking for them. I live in Europe, so it's even harder to find these mics here, but after some months I found one selling one, not knowing that there's a special vibe to the old one, so I paid him around a 100 dollars, wich was OK for me.

BUT, the I compared it to a Unidyne III 544 on a heavily overdriven guitar amp and it literally sounded the same! ....and for the 544 I paid around 40 dollars.

I can't really tell what's the deal behind the 544/545 oder 545SDn and why they exist side by side, since they are very similar - or at least back in the days. The 544/545 were there before the SM-Series I believe.

Also good to know: the 544 ist exactly the same mic as the 545, only that it came as a Hi-Z version in factory default. You only need to open the xlr (or DIN) connector and jump a cable on one connector and it is in Low-Z mode.

So you probably should watch out for old 544/545's as well...?

The 544 was specifically designed for gooseneck use:

https://pubs.shure.com/view/guide/544/en-US.pdf

Shure has a long history of producing very similar variants of the same mic side by side. 545 (handheld) and 545S (integrated stand mount and switch) for example. Later on the 545SD (handheld, switch, XLR) and 545SH (integrated stand mount, switch, XLR).

I think there may be more differences depending on the source, although some of that might just be variations from mic to mic. My Made in USA/Unidyne III SM 56 sounds more like my Made in Mexico SM 57s than any of my older 545s/546s, although 1) the differences aren't huge and 2) the differences are probably more apparent on vocals or snare than a guitar amp.