The iconic Shure SM57 dynamic microphone is best known for its use as an instrument microphone as it is one of the top microphones for recording electric guitars, snare drums, and acoustic guitars. The SM57 is also well known for its use as a live microphone in both musical and speaking settings.
With this as its primary reputation, it is a very reasonable question to ask whether the Shure SM57 can also be used for vocals.
The answer may surprise you, but perhaps shouldn’t, given the SM57’s further reputation as one of the most versatile microphones in history.
The answer is that yes, the Shure SM57 can be used for vocals, and you, much like we were, might be even pleasantly surprised by how it does.
Firstly, before we get to our test results for the Shure SM57’s abilities when recording vocals, it’s important to mention that the SM57 has something of an established history for use in live, on stage vocals.
Many famous artists have used the Shure SM57 while performing live and these are artists who certainly could have had their choice of any microphone they wanted. So it’s safe to say that they were pleased with its results for live vocals. Additionally, the SM57’s hard earned reputation for ruggedness and dependability makes it a great live microphone in general.
Want to check out an example of the Shure SM57 getting used in live performance? Here is Brad Delp of Boston using one in this performance of “A Man I’ll Never Be”
Now on to our test results for recording vocals using the Shure SM57. We had tested top vocal microphones to determine our Best Microphones for Recording Vocals recommendations. During this testing, we were very pleasantly surprised by the performance of the Shure SM57. So much so that the SM57 ended up making the list!
The Shure SM57’s crisp midrange and pronounced presence provide it with a unique character which does wonders for certain vocal performances, particularly in rock, punk, or blues genres.
In our testing, which we conducted by running the SM57 through a Cloudlifter CL-1 mic activator to add clean gain, we found that the Shure SM57 did very well on vocals. While it was occasionally a little darker sounding and slightly lacking in high end detail, most of the time, there was not a significant difference between the SM57 and the Shure SM58, which of course is used primarily for vocals. Overall, the SM57 did a very nice job on vocals, and you would not know that it was not something that it was not known for. We do not think it would do quite as well, however, if not being run through a mic activator.
Similar to how the Shure SM57 has been used by many famous artists when performing live, there have also been many famous artists who recorded vocals with it. For example, Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers has recorded entire his vocals on entire albums by using the Shure SM57. It was actually considered to be part of his distinctive sound.
So if you are considering an Shure SM57, perhaps because it does so well recording instruments and you wanted to know if it can be used for vocals, and wanted to know whether it can also be used for vocals, the answer is that while there are better mics that are specifically designed for vocals, this one can do both live and recorded vocals, and it does them quite well. Just one more reason why some people believe it is the “one mic to rule them all.”
