Turn your Shure SM57 into an SM7B with EQ!!! 

The audio engineering world must protect this man.

I can't give a thumbs up high enough for this video. No stupid music, no lame comedy, just pure science and a very detailed, yet easy to understand explanation.

One solution to dealing with plosives on the sm57: Before attaching the Shure pop filter on the sm57, cut up an old, cheap standard mic windscreen into a couple of small circles about the size of the end of the Shure pop filter. Stuff those circular pieces into the end of the sm57 pop filter and then attach it. This will slightly lower the high frequencies (making it sound more like the sm7b, and it will make the sm57 much more resistant to plosives. It's a cheap, simple hack, but it works pretty well.

this guy is probably one of the smartest reviewers on youtube. he seems like an electronics engineer.

Julian, most studios would take this to the grave. you're a true modern Robinhood, man. thank you.

I am very happy with the result of my experiment! I used equalization on a cheaper and similar microphone to the Beta 57A. The microphone I used was a Parquer SN-57B, and I was amazed by the sound quality. It was like having a sm-7b in my hands!

The EQ settings worked so well for me. Made the SM57 sound very similar to the SM7b when I A/B tested them. Thanks for this!!

I couldn't tell. Thank you for this, and thank you for reading the same passage with the exact same intonation. So many audio comparisons don't even try to isolate variables this way.

You, sir, are some freakin' genius! This review was mind-blowing... Can't thank you enough.

I stumbled upon your channel Julian and you have amazing content. This video convinced me to save money and don't buy the SM7B, but to EQ my SM57 which I love so much. It sounds truly awesome now! Less harsh, more full. Thanks m8!

Thank you so much Julian! The whole review was very meticulous and spot on! Works wonderfully on an SM58 as well :)

You are a genuis Julian!. Out of curiosity I tried this EQ with the sE V7 mic and it gives me a SM7b with a subtle yet clear increase on sensitivity and supercardioid pattern. Amazing.

Damn! My secret of using SM57 instead of SM7B and getting almost identical result has been revealed. A myth was busted. I must change profession :D Some sort of other-way-around, about a decade ago I started to remove the windshield from the SM7B I had around and played with distances and different popfilters, comparing to the higher output SM57 that I used for recording guitar amps and drums only at the time. The reason of experimenting was to reach a better noise level. Also, the SM7B rotating mount drove me crazy at times. Some taming with EQ-s brought the same result with the SM57 as you have here, I'm just not an "engineer" (I can't count without mistakes from 1 to 10 without using the fingers but what the hell, I can mix albums anyway), just set it by a lot of A/B ear tests. I started to prefer the SM57 because of the higher output (hence the better compatibility with wider range of preamps), it is just easier to live with and whenever those differences come handy (recording brass or certain guitar amps, even certain voice characters), they are still there when the EQ is off. And I prefer the simple fix mount vastly better. Great video, mate. From now on, if any "Dr-All-Know" starts to splash his brain content against this, I can link your video and there are all the solid facts. End of debate :)

I love the SM7B, SM57, and SM58 family of mics. For podcasters - I think the SM57 or SM58 are fantastic budget choices. As for the cool look of the SM7B vs the utilitarian looks of the SM57/58 - well, there are no visuals in an audio-only podcast so it doesn't really matter to listeners :) I enjoy your videos very much - very enlightening and educational.

Dein Video gab meiner Vocalproduction den absolut nötigen Kick. Tausend Dank!!

Great experiment Julian! Really well executed! Thanks!

I must say SM7B changes a lot its sound depending on the impedance of your preamps. I use it with an audient 880, which has a specific switch for impedance. The results with high impedance are super clean. Good job with the video!

That's crazy how similar you got them to sound. I only picked up one difference and it was that the sm57 had a few pops on the low end but with a hi pass filter it wouldn't have that. Couldn't tell a $300 difference.

Your scientific approach is what separates you from the other reviewers, etc. on RU-vid. You do a great job.

Genius man, going to buy the sm57 because of the money and because now thanks to this guys and can make it sound similar to the sm7b 👌👌

This is VERY helpful, Julian.

I just got an sm57 with the a81ws windshield and the shock mount, and it sounded fine out of the box, but adding this EQ takes it to another level. It's smooth as silk, and I've never liked the sound of my voice much, but I don't hate it coming out of this. Thank you so much for your work in doing this, Julian, it is much appreciated on this end. I respect your scientific approach rather than tuning by gut.

I was considering buying an SM7B until I remembered I have an old SM57 from back when I recorded guitar. Never thought to use it as a vocal mic, thanks so much for doing this work and sharing the results.

Thanks a lot. I just applied these eq settings, sounds great!

You are a humble genius sharing knowledge and saving home studio guys' lives.

I love this video. I would argue that EQ could easily make the SM57 sound much better than the SM7B. The SM7B sounds like a decent mic coupled to an underdamped Helmholtz resonator on the low end (very boxy). A little experimentation with EQ to copy the response while avoiding high Qs could certainly be beneficial. Thanks for the great video.

Incredible. What a talent. Subscribed. Now the SM57 looks even more attractive

I tried this with the waves linear phase eq and it sounds pretty great on both the sm57 and the beta 57

The SM57 had more plosives in the blind test, that is what gave it away. 😊 You are right, they do have the same color and tone. Maybe I will take mine out of storage and try it out again. I always think of the SM57 as a stage mic. You have enlightened me to other possible uses, thanks! 🎶

Great work on this!!! You deserve some kind of Research Tech Award for this!!!

That was interesting. It's good to know that there are options in the lower budget range. Thanks for the info!

I am using the A81WS with my SM57. It is hilariously large compared to the mic. It sounds quite nice on vocals in this configuration despite being intended for instruments and even though I talk off-axis anyway, it's nice to have a beefy windscreen to protect against plosives if I do want to talk directly into it or right on top of it.

Dude you are the man! I'm getting back into recording as a small hobby and have a sm57 on the way, but of course I've been reading reviews online that say the 7b is the way to go and all that but I couldn't justify the price tag. This makes me feel alot better about my 57 purchase now!

Impressive. You captured great characteristics in sound between the two.

Yes! I also used a paragraph from the Hitchhiker's Guide to show the difference between my Blue Yeti and my XLR AT2035 to friends.

a is sm57, there's more brilliance and sharpness and b is a full sound. still impressive though. edit: oh shit i was wrong

Lately I've been seeing people say that attaching the A81WS windscreen makes an SM57 sound very close to an SM7B. It would be interesting to see this experiment repeated with an SM57 with the A81WS attached vs. the SM7B with the larger of its two windscreens attached.

Great comparison! Thanks for doing it. The sound was close but I managed to tell the difference thanks to very flat mids on the 7B. That being said, I needed to listen very closely to hear the difference and I doubt I would distinguish them if I was listening more casually.

Bro this EQ settings were the most helpful tip I found this year. Thank you sir

Superb video with perfect explanation and demonstration. I find both mics in stock form slightly 'wrong' subjectively - SM7B is a little dark and SM57 a lightly too crunchy in the presence area. There is a larger foam windshield option for the SM57 if the smaller shield isn't sufficient to prevent plosives. With the standard foam shield it's important to leave a gap between capsule and foam. Also its more prone to plosives from the side of the capsule than the front when using the foam shield so important to stay on axis. Another advantage of the 57 is size and weight - it's a lighter load for boom arms and less visually intrusive when the mic is in camera shot in front of the user's face.

I could tell on the A/B. The SM7B has a relaxed tone in the high mids and better/cleaner dynamic response. Those qualities make it easier on your ears for longer duration than the 57. 57s have a harshness up top that's basically baked into the sound and deadened dynamic response in comparison.

I've heard a few videos addressing similarities between SM57, SM58, and SM7b concluding that no one needs SM7b for streaming. It looks good in a video for no one cares what mic is used as long as it sounds good. Great video, man!

Pretty handy!! I personally use a shure sm 57 as my stage Mic conected to a voicelive3 and did by ear an eq adjustment very close to your settings! Now i Will be much more precise! Thanks a lot!

I got it right, though I was extremely uncertain in my answer. I had made my decision based on the low end, if the 57 was given a stronger low end presence than the 7b, I would have been really lost. Although I have a stronger need for real time use of my microphone, my computer simply cannot produce a real time playback. Time to see what you did... Edit: Wait... looking at these curves, did I just get lucky in my guess? Did I really hear what I think I heard... time to go back, this is messing with me a little...

Perfect! I started using my 57 for my vocals. Condensers are a bit too bright and never warm enough for my voice. Was just yesterday considering purchasing a SM7B, but you know the cost...right? I happened upon your video just as I was mixing and wow! Exactly what I needed without shelling out $400 bucks. Thanks so much for sharing.

This man is a legend. Protect him at all costs..this hack will save a lot of peoples lives, and pockets.

What a great job, man!!!! Subscribed, Let the bell to ring and Liked!!!! The most impressive thing, to me, was listening to the overdriven guitar at the end and see how close did they match. Voices were already pretty close, but the guitar at the end was definitive, they generally show differences clearly, but not in this case! Awesome!

I closed my eyes and heard a slight difference, yet prefered the 57 with EQ, wow!

Hard to justify the huge price difference when the sm57 sounds so good for $90. And it looks so cool with that wind screen.

You’re AMAZING!!! Unbelievable results!!! 👏🙌👏

Such a clear and direct video thank you so much Julian!

Great job, Julian! :-) This will help a lot of people who can't afford to buy expensive mics like SM7B. btw. do you even blink??

10:22 is what you came for :)

Wow! This is an outstanding analysis. Subscribed!

You are my hero, really appreciate your work 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

The biggest difference is definitely on the plosives. Also, the SM57 has a slightly harsher top end, even with the EQ applied.

oh crap, I'm good - I recognized!

Thanks for the trick man. I try it out and I'm so happy with the result. Thanks a lot!

Excellent video, going to go with the sm57 and use your eq settings, thank you!

I think a matchEQ like Ozone has built in would also work - but you need to have a SM7b to compare it to.

Yes I could tell, the plosives I could hear behaved differently (the ones on the sm57 reverberated a bit more) and the upper treble on the sm57 was also a bit grainer and less smooth in comparison to the sm7b even though they were at the same volume.

Excellent experimental comparison.

Julian, a big thank you to your scientific method for EQ an SM57 to sound similar to SM7B. It works perfectly for my use via OBS with Equalizer APO.

I'm guessing that "B" is the SM57. When jumping from the "A" sample to the "B" sample I immediately heard more pronounced high-frequency 'crunch' in Sample "B".

Is it me, or Shure58 and Shure57 sound clearer and more open in high frequencies than the boxy Sm7B, despite the opposite and big price difference?

What makes it crazier is that to my ears the sm57 handled plosives just ever so slightly better.

I've been meaning to buy the A81WS I was told that the distance and the foam brought the 57 closer to 7b without EQ. Well done. I wish more streamer would just buy a 57 instead of condensers.

Well, to me they are completelly diferent in sound, even sharing similar capsules. Sm57 is a great mic, but it needs a nice preamp to get a usable sound. Cheap interface preamps aren't good to push them. The diference is so audible that you'll think you changed the mic.

hey Julian, MAD respect for you bro for this video!! you've done such an amazing job of figuring out the details and helping us with this man! Appreciate it!!! I had a question though, would the same be possible with an SM58? a friend of mine has a 58, so really wanted to try it out before buying! hope you see this. Cheers!!

Great content! This is the second video I see in this topic, and it covers all the tech details I wanted to know! Currently I am using a simple and cheap lav mike, but will definitely invest in a Shure SM57 for the longer run. Also, it is nice to see the humble but awesome little Behringer U-Phoria UMC204HD in your background ;-) I have the same interface, originally brought as a cheap but good MIDI interface solution for my e-drum, then I realized how useful this device is overall :-)

this was super well made and super insightful for someone relatively new to higher end audio products! If you find the time, I think it would be super interesting if you could see how close you can make a microphone from a completely different brand (something like the xm8500) sound like the ever-popular sm7b!

This is great video, Julian thanks a lot. Just a question, is it possible to see the pictures of the EQ for SM57? I know you showed us the detailed values but the picture from your daw would be also cool. Thanks

This probably made little to no difference in the result, but the SM7B is better at rejecting off-axis sound than the 57 is. This means that the lower frequencies bouncing off the room will sound differently through the two mics, which means you can't assume the room's effect on the frequency response was identical for both mics. You do actually need to eliminate reflections to ensure 100% accuracy. Though I'm sure the results were still very accurate as you got the two mics to sound basically the same.

Really really great content! Very helpful and well presented!

Running your EQ settings with the EQ on voicemeter banana and it sounds so good.

Hey Julian! Great video. On the Shure SM57 with windscreen I was curious, could someone essentially use a pop filter with the windscreen to control or get rid of plosives or would that be redundant having both? Looking for advice on a dedicated budget studio mic and this tutorial gave me ideas. Thanks for the content! 😍

I've never been a huge fan of the crazy low end of the SM7B personally. It sounds great in certain applications but I feel it also sounds kinda muffled sometimes. Less sharp.

This guy is a true hero

Amazing! Awesome video. Thank you.

this was an excellent video. really enjoyed it. I could tell just a lil difference with the dynamic range and a lil volume difference. I'm sm57 is on the way. Can't wait to experiment

I could hear a difference between the SM7B and the SM57 immediately and picked them out within 2 seconds of you switching to mic 2 the first time. Matching frequency responses isn't enough to make two mics sound the same, at least to me. It's easier to hear on condensers because the extended frequency response, increased sensitivity, lower noise, etc allows you to hear what specs don't tell you. In this case the frequency responses aren't an exact match and the SM57 has noticeably more sibilance probably due to the dip. What are those things exactly? The body and fullness of the signal - richness or fatness if you will. It may not be as present unless you're listening on tuned studio monitors in a quiet listening room or high quality closed ear headphones but it's there. When you start layering your vocal tracks in post, that depth in the signal will come right now. You'll hear it much better it if you pulled both foam windscreens off. Another thing to listen for in a quiet environment like your studio is... for lack of a better way of wording it, the way your words stand out against the background. If words were a picture, it would have an outline around it. In the case of the SM7B and SM57, the sound is shaped differently. As I'm sure you know, higher frequencies are directional and low frequencies are more omnidirectional so when you speak, your highs and mids go directly into the microphone while the low end goes in all directions. The SM57 sounds thinner to me and lacks that fullness of the SM7B. It sounds like the SM7B is picking up more off axis low end from your voice than the SM57 and is probably "hearing" more of those frequencies going sideways out of your mouth. In fairness, if I weren't A/B comparing the two, I don't think I'd miss what the SM57 lacks to the SM7B. In case anyone is wondering... at 4:46 Julian shows the SM7B and then the SM57 in front of his test speaker and it looks like they are at different distances which would slightly skew the results. That's not the case. Julian compensated for the diaphragm depth underneath the foam wind cover which is the right thing to do. 10:04 I'm going to disagree with the one sentence "There is really no useful content in human voices at very low frequencies anyways" but not anything else surrounding it or your overall message. Those are the fundamental vocal frequencies that are core to building the harmonics and overtones of your voice at higher frequencies. I know what you're saying though and your message is correct though. Most vocal shaping is done in the higher frequencies thru harmonics and overtones and that's mainly due to our natural A-weighted human hearing curve. Consider how different a human voice can be changed in the harmonics and overtones with a fundamental vocal frequency shift of only 1-2 dB or 2-3 Hz. In your tests and comparisons, it matters not and I may only be nit picking that one phrase to death because it's 5AM and I've been up for 23 hours so don't read into this. You know I know, acknowledge and respect how smart you are. All of your conclusions are spot on. Great video! I would be curious as to how similar the two mics would be in a reflective room.

Love to see this done with an SM58 too. How different are the 58 and 57 in practice? Great, great vid, thanks.

This is an outstanding review! Thanks a lot man!

yes i could identify it right, there is a slight high frequency resonance in the sm57 but it is very subtle, i would also say i like this. Thanks a lot, very good infos! As always! I very appreciate your effort to give uns such great infos!

Shure marketing department would like to know your location

thank you for this video. Have you considered repeating this procedure with a low cost SM57 clone like the $13 Pyle PDMIC78? It would be cool to see if you could get the SM7B sound for $13. Anyone else reading the have suggestions for other cheap SM57 clones?

You're the best, Julian!!!

Wow !!! Excellent video!

The plosives in the sample betrayed the SM57.

The "s"s bug me when using the sm57

Thank you for the useful comparison.

Bro, you're giving out gold for free. Thank you! Stay safe!

The Q value will be different with every EQ plugin used. I'm in Logic, I'm guessing you are EQ'ing in Adobe Audition?

The A81WS windscreen does the same trick without requiring any EQ

Great video! I've been using my 57 more and more instead of condenser mics. This tip will potentially make it even better for vocals.

You could easily lecture in this. Very clear and thorough explanation, and given you are, I think a German speaker -- even more impressive. Ausgezeichnet. Gans klar.

I think a is sm57 and B is sm7b

I could hear your “p” sounds more on Microphone B when listening to the comparison.

Nice video as always.

That was so awesome! 😮