Hugh Robjohns wrote:TheChorltonWheelie wrote:I cannot fathom why people STILL recommend an SM58
It's probably for the same reason people claim PT is 'the industry standard', or you have to mix on NS10s.
It's just instantly recognisable and familiar, and does an acceptably competent job. For many, it's 'better the devil you know' -- and while there are undoubtedly better options today, no one ever lost a gig because they used SM58s.
I don't know many major producers/engineers that still use NS10s, even for reference purposes on their meter bridge. The vast majority of podcasts that I watch, from people like CLA, Pensado, Clearmountain etc., rarely mention the NS10 other than to say people don't use them any more.
"Better the devil you know" is another way of saying reluctance to move onwards and upwards, to the point I'd seriously question the credentials of a live engineer that believed that an SM58 was the only or even preferred option. Once again, I refer people to the fact that most microphones in this price bracket are as good, if not better at feedback rejection, they're equally as easy to ring, and almost all of them sit better in the mix than the dynamically flat SM58.
Working on large festival and indoor stages, thankfully those engineers that laud the SM58 are gradually disappearing, presumably to the 70s whence they came! :D