Since some of you want to know what the ES-57 sounds like I thought I’d do a quick shootout with some of my other budget mics. I’ll do a more complete comparison with it vs a real sm-58 another time.
The mics:
- Shure PG-58 ~ $60 – tested with and without the pop screen
- GLS Audio ES-57 ~ $30
- Shure PG 52 ~ $120 – tested with and without the pop screen
- Audio Technica AT-2020 ~ $100
Each mic was recorded with the same guitar part being sent from the output of my interface to the effect return of my amp. The original sound was a clean DI’ed track from the punk band Out Of Tune.
Each mic was positioned flat against the grill cloth and where the sound was brightest for each mic.
Each clip has been normalized to -6dB
You can download the wav files here: cheap mic shootout files
the es57 sounds the clearest, but where’s the test against the real 57?
Yep. I agree, the gls es-57 sounds the best. Thanks for the test!!!
To me the AT-2020 sounds the closest to what I heard from the amp.
I don’t have a 57!
I will do a bunch of tests don’t worry.
I recommend posting a spectrum analysis screenshot of each source.
[...] Cheap Mic Shootout #1 at Audio Geek Zine – A quick shootout with some budget mics: Shure PG-58, GLS Audio ES-57, Shure PG 52 & Audio [...]
I like the rundown. Still, this seems like an odd group of microphones to compare. I couldn’t find much good info on the ES-57, but the other 3 mics basically run the gamut. I mean, compare the frequency responses for each mic. One is a kick mic with little high-end response, one is a general purpose dynamic mic, and the other is a cheap condenser. None of them are terrible mics, but each is designed to do something different from the others, and not much else.
I look forward to seeing your comparison to an SM-58.
[...] love equipment shootouts; –especially when the underdog makes a great showing. Today’s shootout comes from Audio Geek Zine where Jon has matched a GLS #S-57 against 2 Shure mics and an AT-2020. I thought the S-57 did a [...]
Hey Evan,
I just grabbed all the mics I had at home, besides the pencil condensers. If I had any GOOD mics I surely would have compared them as well. I gotta deal with the crap at hand.
Don’t you worry, I’ll be doing more comparisons in the coming weeks.
The GLS ES-57 is amazing guys. I’ve been using them for a few months now and I still can’t believe it…
Im just curious why you would reposition the mics each time Jon. Wouldn’t it be easier to hear the difference of each mic if they were placed in precisely the same spot? More accurate maybe? Also, everyone should have a 57. You can use them for all kinds of stuff… like clubbing baby seals… oh and recording stuff.