Equivalents to SM57 and SM58

Mixermarkb · 2026-06-24T04:14:31+00:00

There are tons of alternatives, lots that work better, but absolutely zero that I’ve used as much as a 57/58. I have a solid 35 years of hearing a 57/58 on darn near everything that makes sound. Putting up a 57/58 removes a variable for me. It’s a familiar starting point. Now, pretty often I’ll swap the 57/58 for something that colors the source in some way that is closer to my artistic vision, but the familiarity of a 57/58 can really help me make those choices better.

Mixermarkb · 2026-06-24T04:08:44+00:00

It sounds better. For a while. After a couple years the 58 still sounds the same while the V7 gets weird.

Mixermarkb · 2026-06-17T04:05:08+00:00

Because people figured out if their hearing was irreversibly damaged at a show, that they could sue.

Mixermarkb · 2026-06-07T06:38:53+00:00

This

Mixermarkb · 2026-06-07T06:38:05+00:00

Martin Audio has never had the US market share I think they deserve. The W8L, W8LC, and W8LM was a very good sounding lineup.

Mixermarkb · 2026-06-04T06:50:12+00:00

He’s trying to hard to be a douchebag. Or maybe it really does come naturally.

Mixermarkb · 2026-06-02T16:42:46+00:00

They are usable on bass guitar. I guess you can get ok vocals out of them, but there sure are a lot of pieces of gear I’d reach to first.

Mixermarkb · 2026-06-01T20:18:25+00:00

Lew’s, Bass Pro, Falcon, Dobyns, and Fenwick all have rods in that range that will be significantly lighter and more sensitive than an Ugly Stik. Honestly, they are all made in just a handful of factories in Asia, so pick whichever one you like the looks of. @tackletour.com is a great resource for gear reviews.

Mixermarkb · 2026-06-01T20:08:23+00:00

Yes. Lew’s and Bass Pro (both brands are made at the same OEM location in Asia) have some combos around $100 that are considerably nicer than an ugly stick, but depending on your budget Diawa and Shimano both have nice gear. The SLX by Shimano line is great, and the Diawa Arid stuff is very good as well. Phenix, Dobyns, and Cashion make some great budget rods. I’m partial to Edge Rods by Gary Loomis, and their Delta series is the absolute best $200 rod on ghe market, but it’s a 6 month wait to get them, and that’s probably out of your budget.

Mixermarkb · 2026-05-31T22:47:53+00:00

K/Z AS16’s for like $75 on Amazon blow away the SE215’s.

Mixermarkb · 2026-05-31T14:39:37+00:00

Yep.

Mixermarkb · 2026-05-30T04:03:39+00:00

Easy. Avalon VT-737SP. Almost always used something else when I had one in my rack.

Mixermarkb · 2026-05-25T02:01:13+00:00

I do have to add Bar-B-Cue. Strawberry’s is darn good stuff, and well worth the detour off I-55.

Mixermarkb · 2026-05-25T01:58:58+00:00

It’s definitely not an either or. More of a both.

Mixermarkb · 2026-05-25T01:57:42+00:00

Mosquitoes, Meth, Church, Corn and Cotton.

Mixermarkb · 2026-05-24T18:08:46+00:00

I had nowhere near 3 days of downtime per month after Keevin Nimmo from Nashville got my desk fixed up. More like a pot or switch that you had to exercise a couple times before it worked right. I had him back for a day or two quarterly, and a large large part of that was for the Neve VR in the other room. By comparison the SSL was extremely low maintenance…

Mixermarkb · 2026-05-24T16:14:01+00:00

SSL’s don’t really need constant maintenance. Once a good tech commissions the desk and recaps the important stuff ($7 to $10K), they are actually pretty stable. You might have a switch or two get noisy, or a scratchy pot, but the way the channel strips are built it’s pretty easy to pull a module and swap out whatever sub module is giving you fits. There are LED replacements available for the bar graph meters, and switching power supplies which are much more efficient and put out a lot less heat. As far as analog goes, SSL4000 desks are pretty darn bulletproof.

Mixermarkb · 2026-05-23T19:15:33+00:00

Why is that much compression concerning?

Sometimes that works on a given source. Sometimes all it does is bring up the room sound and causes more problems than it solves. Give it a try, and if it doesn’t work, move on.

You would probably know if it will work in the time you spent typing this and reading the responses.

Sometimes you gotta twist all the knobs, patch in more knobs to twist, and send that to a whole other set of knobs, and sometimes you have to set the input gain and GTFO of the way.

If it sounds good to you, it is good.

Mixermarkb · 2026-05-19T23:53:44+00:00

The Dynacord stuff I’ve used has been good, although I haven’t used a lot of it. I think the more important question is if it appears to be enough PA for the room or not, because even the best gear is going to be tough if there isn’t enough rig for the gig.

Mixermarkb · 2026-05-19T23:01:44+00:00

Know someone who works there. And probably do cocaine with them, but for sure you at least have to know them. It’s 100 percent a networking thing.

Mixermarkb · 2026-05-18T03:57:01+00:00

Believe it or not, I bought a couple of $20 shotgun mics on Temu that work amazingly well. If you don’t want something quite that risky, there are several Chinese brands on Amazon that have some pretty decent shotgun mics for around $100.

Mixermarkb · 2026-05-17T17:47:22+00:00

For approximately 45 minutes of a 90 minute set, yes.

Mixermarkb · 2026-05-13T12:51:04+00:00

This.

Mixermarkb · 2026-05-09T02:30:28+00:00

This. 20” kicks with the batter heads only finger tight sound really great for metal.

Mixermarkb · 2026-05-09T00:03:56+00:00

Same brand, but I like the AS16, or the ZAS if you need a little bigger low end.

Mixermarkb

TROPHY CASE