There’s a great blog entry over at Create Digital Music regarding the infamous Shure SM58 microphone. It’s so refreshing seeing this kind of information getting spread around the internet.

There’s a hilarious video that shows the SM58 going through some vigorous “torture” testing done by Swedish Studio magazine. Tests include the SM58 being used as a hammer, getting dropped, frozen, heated up in a microwave, run over by a car…beer poured over it. I love how it’s noted in writing after most testing segments: “The Result? The microphone still works just fine!” Brilliant.

Watch the Shure SM58 - the world’s toughest microphone? video. Background music is provided by Black Opal Rough:

There was only ONE time that I dropped an SM58 microphone on stage. It was embarrassing because I was sitting in with a band at Nectar’s in Burlington, Vermont a few years ago, singing a couple songs, trying to impress Nectar the owner. It was such a popular venue (due to Phish playing there before they made it “big”), so it was difficult getting gigs there by just submitting demoes. I was hoping that by sitting in with a band, I might have a better chance at booking a gig for the band that I was singing with at the time.

The first thing I did when I got up on stage was drop the mic. How amateur. Well, for awhile I worried about the mic, but of course I know how hardy SM58’s can be. Now it’s been proven! And - I did get the gig at Nectar’s, and we ended up playing there quite a bit, which was great.

Shure SM58 - the world’s toughest microphone? video link

Shure on amazon.com

Shure Official Website

By: Jenny May