2nd this. I bought these a few years ago. The Beta 57a is a fantastic mic.
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You know, I find that a lot of online reviews are for-the-money reviews, which makes them somewhat less than useful. I mean, you can clearly see how much something costs, right? So it seems like having an absolute scale would be a little more practical. Then again, I realize we all have the limitation of being human and wanting to love the thing we just blew some cash on, so it's probably not going to change. But I never miss an opportunity to whine about something!
First world problems!
Fair point. I don't have any interest in defending a Shure SM57, but conceptually don't you think that the average price tag for a SM57-type mic would be a good indicator of profit margins? For instance, if there were tons of viable options out there for $30 and then the 57 was $100, that would seem to be a profit-margin thing. However, if most microphones in that range ran about $100, it would seem likely that GLS is either getting labor on the cheap, is compromising a bit more on the parts, or is smarter than everybody else. Otherwise, it's price fixing/cartel/collusion, which is generally frowned upon/illegal.
This comes off as me bashing the GLS mic, which I am not trying to do. But with it being the internet, I fully expect people to try to misinterpret my comments. Oh, internet...
Ignorance is bliss.
I run sound in a bar in Chicago. Sunday past. I had 5 bands. One was a 12 pc including a 4 pc horn section, 2 percussionists plus drummer, bassist 3 amped electrics. I had 5 vocal mics and mic'd 2 of the guitar cabs.
While this band is an extreme, I do everything from violists to stand up to singer/songwriters to bands, several times a week. (I've got two bands tonight)
I use SM-86's SM-58's SM-57's GLS ES-58's. the latter is in fact a Shure SM-58 clone. When purchased from http://www.speakerrepair.com/ they come in at $28.33 ea.
For 3 years now they function in every way shape and form exactly as the SM-58's.
I purchased them because a sound engineer friend, who pays his (considerable) mortgage running a studio, mixing master tapes for Widespread Panic and running sounds at festivals and venues, directed me to them when I said "Dude, I need mic's and I'm broke". He said they functioned fantastically and if they "walk away" or fail, you're out $29.
You're newer here ToddK, but others here know enough of me to know I'm a dude, with no product to promote or axe to grind. So consider this a review you can trust. Or not.
I bought a Marshall condenser mic for dirt cheap online a few years ago. I had low expectations but took it to the studio to record and had a shit eating grin a mile wide when my tracks sounded as good or perhaps better than the tracks with a several hundred dollar Sennheiser condenser. I wouldn't necessarily knock something because it's cheaper.
I don't doubt that sometimes you can find killer stuff at really cheap prices as well. But rarely. A 57/58 is a simple mic; I don't think it's impossible to make and sell a mic with just as good properties for sub $30 too, using China labor or cheaper etc. Maybe the only real difference if any could only appear 20 years down the line or something, a leaky cap or rusting frame or whatever.
It's more about security, knowing what you're getting exactly, AND also knowing the thing will retain its value even 10-20 years from now. A well kept 58 could be 20+ years old and not appear any different from a brand new one, and still fetch the same price.
So, when you get a good hint and such, why not...could be just as good. But it's always guesswork.
It's much the same with cars; get a car from VW, Audi, Seat, Skoda, it's all the same, same parts, a bit different design, a bit different target groups. Prices can vary wildly even, especially used.
Is a $100.000 Mercedes any better a car in any real terms than a $40.000 VW? I seriously doubt it. Maybe the merc is a bit more polished but they use the same Bosch electric parts and whatnot; and the merc likely has more parts that could break. But when you sell them off, there will be the same difference in price still...an old merc can be pretty pricey still while you can't give away same age VW's.
So, it could surely be that a cheapo mic could perform just as well as a more expensive one.
However, I have owned a lot of such mics touted as great for price, and indeed many were. We sold a huge bunch of one 57 copy in particular. But for whatever reasons, in the 20 years passed, I only still have some Shures and AKG's...slowly got rid of the cheaper copies for whatever reason. Maybe some appeared to be prone to catching the 'pop' from vocals. Some maybe were suddenly prone to handling noise. Some just plain started to sound bad to me in comparison with something else. Some were very directional. On some a switch broke or the screen flew off when it dropped.
But I still have the 57's and 58's I bought in the 80's and they always do the job, never any issues. It doesn't necessarily mean they sound any better than a $30 mic but they've stood the test of time and I know how they sound and how to position them, and there's never any trouble. Holders fit, they take abuse, they work.
So I guess the bottom line is...hell yeah, I'll buy a cheap mic that does the job well any time to save a buck in a pinch. But, when I get a change to upgrade later..it's always been worth it in the long run.