Shure SM57 vs Sennheiser e609

[megadeth]

i need to buy one of these. suggestions?

i know sennheiser is not so picky about the placement.

[Scott of Actual Time]

a studio engineer buddy of mine did an A/B test on these two mics using the same amp and guitar. they sound surprisingly similar, but the 609 is a tiny bit more sizzly or shrill in the high end.

like you say, the placement is much easier on the 609 since it's flat; many pros will just hang a 609 by the mic cable in front of their speaker grille. the 609 is more expensive than a 57, if that's a concern, and it's much harder to find a 609 used. i think the bottom line is you can get the same type of raspy guitar tone that sits great in a rock mix with either one.

[Paul Secondino]

The 57 is good at what it does. I feel that it is a thin sounding mic but it tends to effect guitar signals in such a way where it allows them to sit well in a mix. That's just the way that mic works.

In comparison, the sennheiser will definitely pick up more low end. The Sennheiser will also give the appearance of more midrange (especially low mids). So the result is a thicker sounding mic. I think it does a nice job overall. But I still use 57 here and there because of the vibe it gives guitar cabs and snare drums.

[Ibanut]

Use 2 57's. 1 on the front and 1 in back and flip phase on rear to see if it sounds better..

[gunter]

try out a sennheiser 421 Its a good mike smooth on guitars and also great on otherthings ie. horns drums whatever its just as fleaxable as an sm57

[JESTER700]

Can't you buy both and keep the one that sounds best on YOUR rig, and return the other? Mics are about the most "individualistic" recording gear there is...

[megadeth]

hhmm...
jester700, good idea man.

[bduersch]

Don't know if you saw this in a different thread, but here are samples of one amp mic'd with both an SM57 and e609, recorded to multiple tracks. Perhaps it will give you a sense of which one you prefer. For reference the amp is a Randall RM20B (15w, EL84's, 12" Greenback) with various modules.

--B

Shure SM57 dynamic mic: http://studio.naughtybutterspoon.com/mic5.mp3

Sennheiser e609 dynamic mic: http://studio.naughtybutterspoon.com/mic3.mp3