2021 is upon us and as part of the new year, we at Astra will be outputting some new, original content to hopefully inform and entertain all of you as we head into a new decade.
During lockdown we have completed work on our new office which we will use as an excuse to sort through our stock. With the new year upon us we have decided to highlight as much of our equipment as we can. From microphones to desks and speakers, we hope to share some of the tools that we use in order to provide the high quality results that we have become known for over the years. Having said that, we will be starting this new body of work with the two most fundamental microphones found in everybody’s selection, the Sure SM58 and SM57.
To be honest, there isn’t much to say about these that hasn’t already been said. The SM58 is the go to mic for vocals and the SM57 is the go to mic for almost everything else. When people talk about “rugged dependability” nothing comes close, both in terms of their build quality and function. Of course there are better mics out there but what makes both of these so good is they have an exaggerated proximity effect – which boosts and warms the low end and a marked presence boost – which gives that vocal ‘cut’ letting it stand out in a mix, and all without having to touch the EQ! The importance of this cannot be over stated. As a sound engineer your first building block for your mix should be to make sure the vocals can be heard clearly and with an SM58 the sound is already been done. As mentioned earlier, of course there are better, more expensive mics out there that have specific properties that can be useful or advantageous but these should always be in your arsenal.
