[Harp-L] Customized Shure SM57 review

[Michael Easton <diachrome@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

It was either in a photo or video that I saw images of Butterfield's  
band using what looked like pistol grip
SM57's.  They were not satin chrome like the 545's.  They had the grey  
finish and head of a SM57 only in pistol grip design.

I've come to prefer the SM57 over my 545 because of the higher gain  
before feedback ability.

I went searching on ebay for a pistol grip 57 and found something else.

Granelli Audio Labs is adding an elbow between the 2 sections of the  
SM57 so the mic ends up an inverted L shape. It was designed to use on  
drums
so the mic cable is less obtrusive around the cymbals.

With the addition of the Heumann volume pot to my SM57 it gets to be  
pretty long. I could have had my mic cut down but I like the balance
of an pistol shaped mic with the cable coming straight down rather  
then out.  The new mic I can either use like a 545 or tuck the  
extended wand between by arm and chest when playing. Basically playing  
down into the mic rather then straight out.

I ordered one direct from the maker.  There is a guy selling one on  
ebay at list price and is asking around $57 to ship it from Mesa AZ.  
The maker only charges $13 to ship out of Baltimore.  Unless you live  
near Mesa and you can pick it up buy from the maker.

The main reason I bought it was that their ad states that the mic has  
lost non of its characteristics due to the addition of the elbow. They  
said they sent the mic to an indie lab and Shure to test it.  They  
should have sent it to a harp player.

Depending on whether or not you like the characteristics of the  
proximity effect you may or may not like this mic.  The result is that  
there is a noticeable loss of the effect plus signal strength compared  
to my other SM57.  Maybe about a 15+% loss in the honking tone of a  
stock SM57 which is comparable to a hot bullet element.

I tried the mic with my  Avenger and custom 1948 tweed. The mic has  
moved from being bottom heavy toward somewhat mid centric so you have  
to boost your bass a little to bring up the missing bottom end. Some  
of the crunch is missing also.  I used both mics at a jam last night  
plugged into a reissue Deluxe Reverb.  The 2 mics were noticeably  
different in output and tone.

In the end I decided to keep the mic and use it to it's advantage. Low  
tuned harps get too muddy with the stock 57. Perhaps doing a quick  
switch of mics will remedy it.
High tuned harps are too shrill at times. The low output of the stock  
57 adds some crunch and adds some weight to the high tones and makes  
them easier to listen to.
When playing chromatic I prefer a mic more mid centric balanced then  
bottom heavy so it will come in handy in those situations.

When using the Heumann vol. pot with the mic the knob ends up facing  
out.  I was able to quickly remedy it by slightly unscrewing the  
bottom half of the mic until the knob was facing me.  I then used  
electrical tape to secure the position.

The company sells just the elbow and instructions on how to rewire  
your mic if you want to use your favorite SM57 rather then buying one  
from them.

You can check out the mic and the reviews on it at www.granelliaudiolabs.com

Michael Easton
www.harmonicarepair.com