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Sound System Basics – Microphones II

// May 26th, 2008 // Sound

Alright so say you have your vocalists mic’d just fine, but you need to bring some of those instruments out in the mix.

Another workhorse mic, the SM-57, also comes from Shure. It is more geared for instruments. Also available for a decent price, you can use it on drums, guitar amps and more. I am not saying it is always the best mic choice, but it is cheap and decent. We still use them today on snare drums and guitar amps.

In a pinch, many people have also used them for vocal mics as well.

One feature of a microphone that plays into its selection is its frequency response. This is information measured and published by the manufacturer for you to use.

Above, you see the frequency response for the SM-57 while the one for the SM-58 is below. Across the bottom of each graph is sound frequency on a log scale. The left of the scale represents very low frequencies (the “boom” from subwoofers, bass guitars, etc.) while the right depicts high frequencies (cymbal crashes, sizzling bacon, high pitched ringing).

Notice that for both mics, that below 150-200Hz, the curves drop off. This means that they do not pick up those low frequencies very well. That is fine as vocals, snare drums and guitar amps don’t produce much in the way of low frequencies.

You should also see that both mics show a rise in the curve at higher frequencies. This means the microphone picks up these frequencies with a little more sensitivity.

Alright, so the curves look pretty much the same, right? Why use one over the other? Well, look closely at the SM-58 graph around 3000-4000Hz. See how it bumps up there? The SM-57 does not do that.

The frequencies right around 4000Hz have been found to be some of the most critical in making speech intelligible to the listener. This little bump on the SM-58 makes vocals pop out in the mix a little better and easier to understand!

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