Fake SM58?

[Andy Dean]

Hi there,

 

The vocalist in our band recently bought himslef a Shure SM58 off ebay from a seller with good feedback for around £60, I think, however I'm confused as to whether or not it is a fake.

 

The XLR pins are numbered and it does have 'SHURE' embossed underneath the pins which is exactly the same as a genuine and indicates it is genuine. The wires to the transformer are green and yellow too. However when you remove the windshield the capsule has a 'CAUTION - Do not open blah blah, invalidate warranty yada yada, assembled in Mexico' sticker on it which I’ve read authentic mics never have. Also he says he has recently registered the serial no at the Shure website with no problem. I’ve not seen the packaging...

 

What are your opinions? If it is fake it appears that the counterfeiters are now using male XLR sockets embossed with 'Shure' which means you can't rely on that method of identification anymore.

[Chris Adam]

How does it sound? If it sounds like a 58, you've probably got a 58. If it's a bit "dull" you may have a fake.

 

However, if it sounds like a 58, but is fake - I wouldn't worry too much about it, but I'd let Shure know your concerns.

[SPTTRIAL]

most of the fakes sell for around £30 to £40 and are quite easy to spot, let alone the sound of it and the feedback rejection on stage, so I supect what you have is a grey import. meaning it didnt come from the shure uk. and explains why you can register it on shure america.

[paulears]

If you have another - then the one thing the fakes are not so good at is handling noise. The rubber suspension doesn't work so well. So just handling them gives the game away. Without another side by side, it's best guess.

 

However - I import microphones from China, and you would not believe the availability of these products. The factories I am dealing with all seem to have these available. The other tip is look at the mic holder - the Chinese ones are very rigid, hard plastic. The real ones are slightly flexible.

 

There is little point in 'grey importing' mics from europe or the US, the exchange rate isn't good enough, and frankly, if they are genuine, then selling them on eBay is pointless as you cannot compete with the price the dodgy ones are going for. Just look at the price legit dealers put 58s out for, then the ebay price. The ones on eBay are probably losing 10-15% after charges, so the figures don't work.

 

If you see a cheap 57 or 58 on eBay, odds on it's not legit. It could be, however, a good mic for the price - just not a 58.

[Rob_Beech]

To be honest, in recent times the majority of non legit mics of the Shure type have been from the Beta range.

 

Your best bet is to buy obviously second hand ones, they don't look as nice but if they're a bit battered, there is a higher chance they're real ones and you'll get a decent price, though you ALWAYS have to be careful.

[nick7076]

From bitter experience of Beta 58s, a fake will not have gold pins. As mentioned the handling noise will be worse.

On a beta (not sure about a SM) the foam insert under the grill is moulded and not very transparent. The fakes have a rough folded piece of foam which is easy to see through.

If you can side by side check then the Shure branding is chunkier and less well formed on a fake

 

You cant tell from the packaging. Our fake came with all the correct box, paperwork, guarantee etc.

 

Hope this helps. Nick

[Andy Dean]

How does it sound? If it sounds like a 58, you've probably got a 58. If it's a bit "dull" you may have a fake.

 

However, if it sounds like a 58, but is fake - I wouldn't worry too much about it, but I'd let Shure know your concerns.

 

To my untrained ears it does sound like an SM58, although from the limited experience I had of it on tues night it seems to have a slightly lower GBF than other 58s, but that might just have been how we were set up.

 

 

If you have another - then the one thing the fakes are not so good at is handling noise. The rubber suspension doesn't work so well. So just handling them gives the game away. Without another side by side, it's best guess.

 

I'll check that next time I see it. The singer also bought a round bottom mic stand and I did notice that when he accidentally kicked or stepped on the bottom of the stand it made a loud noise like a 'Mississippi drum machine' :huh: but I don't have any experience of round bottom stands to know if this is normal.

[james.sealey]

I engineered at a venue earlier this year for a well known and pretty good tribute band, and the lead singer brought 'his own mic'. It looked like a SM58, it felt like an SM58 but boy did it not sound like one!

 

I think it was during soundcheck when I had a double take at the desk and realised the ridiculous and radical EQing I'd been doing to get his voice sounding right, it did however, now sound right. During the break I nipped onto stage and investigated further. Upon unscrewing the grill it became immediatly apparent that this was not a true SM58. The mic assembly, and rubber mounting looked totally different to every other SM58 I've seen.

 

None the less, I did have it sounding right, and he did insist on using it so I didn't swap it out on the sly and said no more... :-)

 

J

 

How does it sound? If it sounds like a 58, you've probably got a 58. If it's a bit "dull" you may have a fake.

 

However, if it sounds like a 58, but is fake - I wouldn't worry too much about it, but I'd let Shure know your concerns.

 

To my untrained ears it does sound like an SM58, although from the limited experience I had of it on tues night it seems to have a slightly lower GBF than other 58s, but that might just have been how we were set up.