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June 2, 2015
SM57 vs SM58: The best mic for podcasting?
From time-to-time, we record ourselves speaking into a microphone. Maybe we started a podcast, maybe we’re recording a voice-over for a YouTube video, or maybe we’re just recording a new voicemail message. Recording your speaking voice well can bring out its best qualities, and sound really professional. But… it can also sound muddy, hard-to-understand, or in some cases, unlistenable. Thankfully, with the right equipment and technique, you can make your recorded voice sound terrific.
The microphones
In recent blogs, we’ve talked about EQing voices for a podcast, whether to use a condenser or dynamic microphone, and offered a tutorial on how to EQ an audio track yourself. This week we continue the conversation by turning our attention to two of the most well-known microphones out there: the Shure SM57 and Shure SM58. These two mics are versatile workhorses. They’re tough, found on stages of all sizes, well-respected, and pretty cheap too (about $100 US on Amazon).
Let’s get right to business. SM57 vs SM58: What’s the best mic for podcasting? Here’s the comparison:
SM57
SM58
The results
Usually, I’d add some effects (like EQ and compression) to any recorded tracks before using them. But hearing the tracks raw, as they are here, really highlights the differences. You’ll hear that the 57 is clearer and crisper, but the 58 is richer and doesn’t have “breath sounds” (like when I say “three”). So, which mic is better for spoken voice? It depends on the voice. For someone with a voice like me (on the muddy side), the 57 definitely has the upper hand.
But there’s still one problem. Noise. Take a listen to both of the tracks again and crank the volume. Hear that hissing sound? That’s not good, and it’s the main reason we’re using the condenser mic for our music theory lesson recordings. We’ll talk about how to hook-up those microphones to your computer—and investigate what’s causing our noise—in a future blog. Sign-up for the newsletter below to find out first:
Question or comments? Get in touch with a comment below or through this handy contact form.
I read your post on condenser vs dynamic for podcasting, and the one above, and am not entirely clear on your conclusion. you say in the dynamic vs condenser article that the winner (in tone) is the dynamic, but because it’s quieter there’s a bit of a buzz when you turn the volume up for playback. you said you’d address that problem by comparing dynamic mics with a link to the above article, or by switching preamps. switching to the sm57 helps with your ‘muddy’ voice but doesn’t fix the noise problem. you apparently use the condenser for your music theory podcast, which seems to contradict your earlier conclusion, hence my confusion. I use an sm57 and a sm58 with a scarlette 2i2 mostly for music, but I’ve noticed the quietness problem (which I deal with via eq). is the only way to fix the buzz pre-production switching preamps or going to a condenser? thanks for the article.
Hey Matt, thanks for the message. In the other article, it turned out to be a tie between the two, so it was a tough call to make. I did like the dynamic for tone, but the condenser for minimal buzz. I ended up prioritizing the clean signal and picked the condenser for the first course in the music theory app. But, in writing that article, it really drove home how much better the 57 was in terms of tone, and so I believe I switched to that mic for the second course in Waay.
To answer your question re: buzz fix, I ended up doing lots of manual gating (i.e., carefully deleting the quiet bits between phrases), in addition to using a multiband compressor and EQ. The gating got rid of the buzz when it was most obvious, and was a quick (-ish) and cheap way to mitigate the effect! That said, in future I would consider taking a closer look at some of the other elements in my chain (e.g., the pre-amp).
The Cloud Lifter “pre-pre-amp” is a great solution, so I hear. It boosts the signal tremendously by basically converting the non powered mic signal into a powered mic signal, then it plugs into the pre-amp and the pre-amp boosts the signal even further, so you get your gain without any line noise, just because the CL1 or CL2 cloud lifter is cleaner than maxing out the gain on the pre-amp and relying on maximum gain to get a signal, which is never good.
Thanks for sharing, Charles. That sounds pretty promising indeed!
To follow up on Charles’s spot on insight, jump on YouTube & find _Cloudlifter vs. Fethead vs. SS1 vs. Durham vs. McBoost Comparison (Versus Series)_ , 2017-09-29, by Podcastage
The Cloudlifter CL-1 isn’t the only or cheapest option which solves this problem.
Great video! That’ll be very helpful for other readers.
The SM57 is King of all around mics. I’ve been a gospel musician since a kid & it’s a Studio workhorse. It has great depth for a vocal or podcast mic. I tried condensers that cost twice as much and not as good.
Thanks for sharing. I’m also a big fan—and often choose it over pricey condensers too! -Alex