tinypants
04-11-2009, 05:30 PM
So I bought a Shure SM57 from what I thought was a U.S. seller a couple weeks back. Turns out, a Chinese third party accessed the account illegally and listed a bunch of mics for sale. Long story short, Ebay cancelled the auction after I paid via Paypal and I got my money back. Needless to say I did not expect to get anything in the mail, but here's what showed up today. I'm comparing it to a genuine SM57 I bought from an authorized dealer last week.
Sound:
View My Video (http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=2l9s1sl&s=5)
Gear used:
Carvin DC145>Akai E2 Headrush> Freakshow Brown Rabbit> Peters JP10 head> Peavey XXX 4 by 12
The mics were placed in the center of the speaker, right against the grill. I just got the Brown Rabbit today, so I haven't discovered the best sound for it yet. The most obvious difference is a slightly higher volume on the knockoff. I used the Headrush to loop a few chords. All volume settings were the same for both recordings......
Packaging:
The genuine is on the bottom, and is a bit wider. it's also not as shiny. Also, on the fake box, the 57 is taller than the SM. Finally, the Shure logo on the real box is all shades of grey, the fake has white and grey.
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh258/tiniestpants/realpakageonbottom.jpg
Bar Code
Fake, there is no on / off switch on the mic.
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh258/tiniestpants/fakelabel.jpg
Genuine
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh258/tiniestpants/realbarcode.jpg
Carrying Bag:
The Genuine is on top. It's wider, and more of a flat finish compared to the fake.
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh258/tiniestpants/realbagtopfakebottom.jpg
Grill:
The genuine is on the right. The fake is a lot shinier, and the spacing between the individual pieces of metal is pretty uneven and looks like a crappy screen door.
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh258/tiniestpants/realontheright.jpg
Clip
This is the fake. The entire thing is plastic and guite flimsy. As you can see in the pic, you can get it to fit easily around the top of the Mic. Also, the Shure logo is larger on the fake.
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh258/tiniestpants/fakewithclip.jpg
Real: The entire clip is very rigid,and the bottom is metal. Unlike the fake, this is as far up as I can hike it up on the body.
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh258/tiniestpants/realwithclip.jpg
Misc:
I couldn't get a good picture of the font, but the real one has white writing, while knockoff has gray writing. I'm not about to take my real one apart to compare the wiring, but the real one is a bit heavier and has a quality feel to it.
I hope this helps....
Sound:
View My Video (http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=2l9s1sl&s=5)
Gear used:
Carvin DC145>Akai E2 Headrush> Freakshow Brown Rabbit> Peters JP10 head> Peavey XXX 4 by 12
The mics were placed in the center of the speaker, right against the grill. I just got the Brown Rabbit today, so I haven't discovered the best sound for it yet. The most obvious difference is a slightly higher volume on the knockoff. I used the Headrush to loop a few chords. All volume settings were the same for both recordings......
Packaging:
The genuine is on the bottom, and is a bit wider. it's also not as shiny. Also, on the fake box, the 57 is taller than the SM. Finally, the Shure logo on the real box is all shades of grey, the fake has white and grey.
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh258/tiniestpants/realpakageonbottom.jpg
Bar Code
Fake, there is no on / off switch on the mic.
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh258/tiniestpants/fakelabel.jpg
Genuine
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh258/tiniestpants/realbarcode.jpg
Carrying Bag:
The Genuine is on top. It's wider, and more of a flat finish compared to the fake.
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh258/tiniestpants/realbagtopfakebottom.jpg
Grill:
The genuine is on the right. The fake is a lot shinier, and the spacing between the individual pieces of metal is pretty uneven and looks like a crappy screen door.
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh258/tiniestpants/realontheright.jpg
Clip
This is the fake. The entire thing is plastic and guite flimsy. As you can see in the pic, you can get it to fit easily around the top of the Mic. Also, the Shure logo is larger on the fake.
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh258/tiniestpants/fakewithclip.jpg
Real: The entire clip is very rigid,and the bottom is metal. Unlike the fake, this is as far up as I can hike it up on the body.
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh258/tiniestpants/realwithclip.jpg
Misc:
I couldn't get a good picture of the font, but the real one has white writing, while knockoff has gray writing. I'm not about to take my real one apart to compare the wiring, but the real one is a bit heavier and has a quality feel to it.
I hope this helps....