Shootout! Shure SM57 VS GLS Audio ES57

I’ve never tried the ES57 mikes, but from your mp3 clip the GLS sound better than the Shure. The Shure SM57 sounds dull. The GLS ES57 sounds more alive. Cool!!! Someone mentioned the GLS have neo magnets. Does anyone know if this really matters?

Before jumping to conclusions on the superiority of one mic verses the other I would like to hear how Des performed the experiment. Were the mics in the mics in the same location on the speaker and at the same angle? did the guitar and amp settings remain constant through out the test? Same cords/processing etcetera? Thanks for this test! i have been waiting for awhile but Jon is a lazy bastard~! go borrow a 57 Jon!

Jon, I would love to hear the GLS ES57 vs. the Shure Beta 57. That would give us all a better idea if the neodymium magnets are the reason for the better sound on the GLS Audio mics.

Hey Noel, don’t worry about the double post, comment as often as you like.

Ryan Canestro is planning a more intensive shootout for our second podcast.
The Home Recording Show: Episode 1 should be up this weekend. and hopefully we can get episode 2 up not too long after that.

I bought the 10 pack and after shipping and customs fees it came out to $30 each. If you’re in the states it should be much cheaper.

Well, I did it. I bought the 10 pack of GLS Audio ES-58 mics. I live in the USA. I ordered them on Thursday and they arrived on Friday. I was shocked that I got them in 1 day.

Now for even more shocking news: The ES58 mics sound way better than my Shure SM58 mics. It’s amazing that a $30 mic could sound better than a $110 mic. But they do.

I ran some A/B tests side by side with my mixer and amps all at the exact same levels. The GLS Audio blew away the Shure.

I love finding great products like this.

Thanks for posting about them.

Ryan, cool review.

I’ve been using the GLS ES-58 mics for a couple weeks and I really think they’re great. They do sound different than my Shure’s. But, I think the GLS sound better. I haven’t had any feedback issues like Ryan mentioned. I’ve used the 58′s at two of my shows. I love the extra attack they provide over my Shure’s.

I picked up a 3 pack of the ES-57 mics last week. Ryan, you are totally right about the extra bite the GLS has over the Shure. I love the way they sound on my guitar mixes.

So now I’ve spent $250 (10 pack of 58′s) + $90 (3 pack of 57′s). So I’ve saved about $1000 over the Shure’s pricing. Sweet!

I have just started doing some home recording, did my whole metal band using one behringer xm8500 mic, with pro tools. The drums were tricky given that i only had one mic, but i did the best i could. I decided i needed to upgrade to at least 2 or 3 mics for recording drums and looked into both these mic’s.
I was going to buy two shure sm57′s but ended up getting 3 es57′s for nearly half the price. I went with the reviews and after this one i think i made the best decision. 3 gls mics would have to sound better on a drum kit than 2 shure mics! If you wanna check out my recording it is (www.myspace.com/overthrownmetal)

2 years ago I started buying the ES-57 (GLS AUDIO) Shure 57 copies and found them to be a hotter/more gain before feedback kinda mic. The
Shure sounds smoother with less gain in a side by side checking vocals. The ES-57 has just about the same freq response with more bite to it w/o distorting. I use them for micing up guitar cabs and the occasional drums. Best copy out there for 1/3rd the price. Shure 57 will set you back about $90.00,,,,you can get 3 ES-57′s delivered for the same price. Your wallet,,,you decide. Give it the side by side test and you’ll see what so many others are saying about this mic.