Spotting Fake Microphones...

[fraudulentzodiac]

I need your help pro audio peeps, how can exactly tell if a shure SM57 is fake or not.
I found one for a whopping 1.7K brand new. I know it's too good to be true but let's just say the store where I found it could be too stupid to price it or too desperate to sell it because I am 99% certain people who go there would never buy the mic.

Upon visual examination, I can't see anything that may prove it's non-authenticity.

Wait, do SM57's come in a special box/case or do they just come in mass produced cheap boxes?

[skunkyfunk]

I need your help pro audio peeps, how can exactly tell if a shure SM57 is fake or not.
I found one for a whopping 1.7K brand new. I know it's too good to be true but let's just say the store where I found it could be too stupid to price it or too desperate to sell it because I am 99% certain people who go there would never buy the mic.

Upon visual examination, I can't see anything that may prove it's non-authenticity.

Wait, do SM57's come in a special box/case or do they just come in mass produced cheap boxes?

hologram sticker

The sound too.  The copies tend to have less output and weaker highs.

[abyssinianson]

some details off the top of my head:

-real shure mics will comes with a warranty sheet and a satin finish sticker as well as a leatherette bag. fake ones will have neither and will have a "pleather" bag instead.
-real shure sm57s have NO bevel on the bottom of its casing where the XLR plug goes , this part will be one solid part. the fake ones have a 2 step bevel on the bottom of the mic.
-the real shure mics are heavy and the casing is colored much darker in comparison to the fake (greyish color)
-the real shures come in a glossy box with a hologram sticker to indicate autheticity. sm57s come in the bag, there is no hard case for the 57 like you see on the SM81 and the other more expensive mics, just a nice bag.
-NO real shure comes in a cheap mass produced box and there are no OEM versions of the mic which can get sold in a cheap box.

if in doubt, borrow someone's real sm57 and bring it along. the differences are very obvious...that is unless the bastards have gotten better at duplicating them.

[LouieAzcona]

safe bang sabihin na kapag sa "safe" na lugar ka bumili, yung jb at audiophile sa mga malls, eh assured na orig?

[d6ynast9y]

google this topic, you'll get hundreds of webistes differentiating original shure mics to fake ones..

[abyssinianson]

safe bang sabihin na kapag sa "safe" na lugar ka bumili, yung jb at audiophile sa mga malls, eh assured na orig?

should be but it all depends on who the supplier of the items are.

[alien_inside]

soundcheck with spectrum analyzer

[skynums]

found it at acapella.harmony-central.com forum posted by their senior member named "jonPhillips". thanks to him now i know how to spot fake shure mics!

Look at the XLR connector on the bottom.
On authentic Shure microphones, each of the XLR pins will be labeled as 1, 2, and 3. Most fake microphones will not have these markings, and instead, will have some sort of connector branding logo or, more commonly, no markings at all.

Look under the hood of the SM58.
Unscrew the windscreen from your SM58 microphone. Examine the bottom of the windscreen; on the metal ring that goes around the thread, you'll notice a lip. A flat lip is a telltale sign of a fake microphone; the authentic SM58 will have a rounded edge.

Look at the capsule on the top of the microphone. On fake SM58, you'll find a "CAUTION" sticker wrapped around the capsule head. This is not on authentic microphones.

On both the SM58 and SM57, carefully unscrew the microphone in the middle. You'll see the inside of the microphone, with two wires leading between the sections. On the genuine microphones, these are yellow and green colored, and on many fakes, they've followed this color scheme; however, if they're a different color, chances are you're looking at a fake.

Now, look at the circuit board on the lower half. Genuine microphones will have a quality control stamp in red lettering. These will be omitted on the counterfeit mics.

Look & weight of the microphone
On the SM58, underneath the ring where the windscreen connects to the body, there's a printed "Shure SM58" logo. On counterfeit microphones, you'll find that this is a sticker wrapped around the mic itself. A sticker is common on SM57 microphones, but look carefully at the font and the type spacing -- on fakes, it'll be a little wider spacing and a much smaller font.

On both microphones, fake microphones will weigh noticeably less than authentic mics.

Check the box
Microphone counterfeiters have become very good at making Shure packaging look convincing, but one of the sure-fire ways to find out if your mic is fake is to look inside the box.

Authentic mics ship with accessories including a microphone clip, cloth cable tie, Shure sticker, carrying pouch, manual, and warranty card. Fake microphones tend not to include all of these accessories; most obviously missing is the warranty card and cable tie.

Another thing to watch out for: make sure the model number listed on the box matches what's inside. Many counterfeit Shure microphones come with a cable in the box; the only Shure microphone that includes a cable is the Shure SM58-CN. If the box includes a cable but isn't labeled with the proper model number, then you may have a fake mic. Also, some fake SM58 come with a switch attached; the model number should read SM58S. The plain ol' SM58 will be listed as SM58-LC.

Last but not least... listen!
A fake SM58 will sound very bright and harsh with moderate gain applied. A genuine 58 will sound like, well, a 58 -- smooth in the lows and midrange, with a slightly recessed and pleasant high end. A genuine 57 will give lush midrange tone with great low end response -- a counterfeit will not produce similar results.

[arkeetar]

http://fakesm57.blogspot.com/

[karlwilson]

sana madagdagan pa info dito..kung sino man mabait dyan share your photos of your orig shure mics..hehe.para sa mga noob sa mic tulad ko..

[KitC]

I don't know if they still have those cheap 'Shure' mics in SM Appliance Center, but I wouldn't buy those. I checked one previously and the mic body was made of stamped metal instead of milled aluminum! 

[arkeetar]

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/archive/index.php/t-2101768.html

pics 

[sikyo]

ingat talaga dapat. if we compare the prices of orig Shure mics from different reputable stores di sila nagkakalayo. pag malaki difference, i'm almost sure fake yun. i've compared the prices and found Audiophile's to be okay (may konting discount pa that increases as you buy more items, so maganda kung ipunin at sabay-sabay bilin). i'm not from Audiophile, am just a satisfied customer 




MAKING SOUND MATTER

[arkeetar]

ito yung nakuha ko kay electrosushi

[BAMF]

may thread na tayo dito sa MTPA where we A/B'ed a fake vs a real SM57. The fake one is thinner sounding. Google mo na lang.

[karlwilson]

ito yung nakuha ko kay electrosushi

original ba lahat ng Shure mics na for sale ni Electrosushi sir arkee?thanks

[arkeetar]

original ba lahat ng Shure mics na for sale ni Electrosushi sir arkee?thanks

soundcheck  

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9265513

strat> mambalaw > reverb >roalnd bc30 >sm57 >ux2 > pc

2" to the right from center cone

ok naman mula box, laman ng box, at mismong mic, kaya ako nag post ng pics para makita n'yo yung nakuha ako at malaman kung orig hindi, gumawa ako sample para madinig din, gagawa pa ko ngayong araw  

pero mukha namang legit  

[hayewire]

meron ako na encounter na fake sa shure PG58, dala ko yung original ko na PG58 bili ko sa audiophile, compare ko sa binibenta napansin ko agad yung weight mas mabigat orig, yung logo ng shure sa fake nde masyadung puti yung kulay, yung switch wala ako napansin pagkakaiba,yung marking sa ilalim na 1,2,3, at shure meron din, yung grille wala ako napansin na pagkaka iba,yung binuksan ko yung grill inikot medyo maganit nde smooth pihitin, pag wala ka experience sa orig na shure at nde ka sa official distributor bumili ingatz, sa shure SM57 no comment wala pa kasi ako nun 

[karlwilson]

soundcheck  

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9265513

strat> mambalaw > reverb >roalnd bc30 >sm57 >ux2 > pc

2" to the right from center cone

ok naman mula box, laman ng box, at mismong mic, kaya ako nag post ng pics para makita n'yo yung nakuha ako at malaman kung orig hindi, gumawa ako sample para madinig din, gagawa pa ko ngayong araw  

pero mukha namang legit  

linis ah!nice guitar playing too..tnx 

[arkeetar]

linis ah!nice guitar playing too..tnx 

kuha ka na 

[jamming_papu]

baka next month ako na rin 

[stilljey]

share ko lang my orig sm57 with sticker, bought at Audiophile last year.

[karlwilson]

share ko lang my orig sm57 with sticker, bought at Audiophile last year.

how much at that time sir?ty

[arkeetar]

pansin ko lang mas mataba yung font ng SM57 nung nakuha ni stilljey compare sa nakuha ko at
walang hologram sticker 

[stilljey]

pansin ko lang mas mataba yung font ng SM57 nung nakuha ni stilljey compare sa nakuha ko at
walang hologram sticker 

then yung thread nya at paligid ng steel ay super kinis at makintab talaga, medyo malabo lang ang shots ko mali kasi ng focus,


then magkaiba rin yung box natin, yung sayo white ang ibabaw, ito yung box ng sm57 ko