Today we're going to talk about how to spot a fake Shure Sm57 microphone, since I have been tricked too on Ebay (it seems that the problem is quite large with these microphones lately); luckily the guy who sold it to me took it back and sent me the money back without the need of activating the fraud procedure with Paypal.
I was aware that the online market is flooded with chinese copies of these common microphones, but I've never actually come across a fake one, instead this time I had an original one at home and I've been able to make a comparison, in both aesthethic and sonic terms.
The main differences to spot a fake Sm57 are:
- The BOX: the original box is a carton box that slips inside a paper cover, with the product name on it.
The fake one, instead, is often a printed box that gets open normally, as can be seen on this video:
- The WRITINGS on the microphone: as you can see on the picture below (taken from the Madbeanpedals.com forum), the fake one has the SHURE writing with a thicker font than the original one, and the R is a bit offset, it sticks out slighly from the top (this is one of the first ways to spot a fake one).
- The GRILL: sticks up more on the fake one, and it's more "silvery". The original one is flatter and darker.
Plus the top in the original one freely spins as many times as you want, instead on the fake one this not happens, and if you try to turn it, you can eventually end up is ripping the wires.
- the BOTTOM: the original one has a metal strip, the fake one doesn't, but in the last fake ones it seems that they have corrected this detail.
- Last but not least, the SOUND: the fake one, if you get to compare it with a real one, has more volume, but it's harsher, and has more high frequences.
My only suggestion is to buy a real one, from an authorized retailer: it costs a little bit more but at least you'll have the certainty that it's original!
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