Shure Beta 58 A

...live use. As with all Shure gear, it's very durable and for a touring musician it can last quite a while. (but then so can any mic that's treated well)
It's a dynamic micropone (moving coil) so it does not require any external power. It has an XLR output.

It can be used in the studio and I've used one in the studio for vocals which yeilded some nice results. But it wouldn't be my first choice for tone or price.
It carries ...
...It's not invincible, and the Shure badge leaves it open to theft at gigs. Personally I'd reccomend getting 6 Behringer XM8500's for £15 each and having plenty of spares than buy 1 expensive mic where the crowd won't hear the extra £75 you spent and that you're going to be completely stuck if you get it stolen on tour, or damage it before a gig.

So to sum up. It's a nice mic. Does well in the studio with acceptable results, and the ... more

Generally a good mic. Suitible for stage or live use. As with all Shure gear, it's very durable and for a touring musician it can last quite a while. (but then so can any mic that's treated well)
It's a dynamic micropone (moving coil) so it does not require any external power. It has an XLR output.

It can be used in the studio and I've used one in the studio for vocals which yeilded some nice results. But it wouldn't be my first choice for tone or price.
It carries a retail value of over £90. Which for the musician, is a bit of a rip off.
Now whilst I have said this mic is good, it's not so good it should carry a price of over £90.

For the following reasons,

1. It's a dynamic mic.
This means in studio applications, it yeilds a more tinny sound than a large diaphragm condenser would and also lacks the warmth of a large diaphragm condenser.

2. There are live microphones starting at £15 that will do a perfectly fine job for live vocalists. And some that exhibit near the same frequency response of the 58 with only a slight deviation in the mid range. Which can't be recognised unless someone gets both mics and compares in a studio enviroment.
Whilst this mic is more durable that £15 mics. It's not invincible, and the Shure badge leaves it open to theft at gigs. Personally I'd reccomend getting 6 Behringer XM8500's for £15 each and having plenty of spares than buy 1 expensive mic where the crowd won't hear the extra £75 you spent and that you're going to be completely stuck if you get it stolen on tour, or damage it before a gig.

So to sum up. It's a nice mic. Does well in the studio with acceptable results, and the same for live. It's durable, but very expensive.
For studio recording, I'd reccomend a Red Audio R7 mic. At £45 it's had some glowering reviews in Sound On Sound. Comes in case, with wind shield and low cut filters.
You'll save alot of money, and you'll get a great mic for vocals, overhead piano and drum recording, guitar amp miking, and acoustic guitar.

For live, I'd reccomend the Behringer XM8500 at about £15. It's very similar to the Shure SM58. Jusat at a fraction of the price. It'll do for any performing musicians.

If you would like to hear a vocal recording in the studio of the Shure SM58 Beta on vocals, email me at bandage_these_hearts@hotmail.com and I can provide you with a link to an audio file.
I hope this review has been helpful!

 

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