We tested my '57 against a Beta '57, a 98D condenser and the Senny 604.
The 604 was the last we tried and we had to place it closer to the rim because of it's clip system. It wasn't the place where I was enjoying the '57 and we got started by trying to use that same spot... so the 604 didn't really get a like to like comparison.
What we noticed and confirmed on a sprectragraph was that the old '57 seemed very controlled and had very little low end. It seemed to have a built in roll off and it was about 1" from the top head so the proximity effect seemed well balanced.
The Beta '57 had a very similar frequency response range but it had a pronounced amplitude at the primary frequencies. It was like more of the stuff I liked about the '57 without extra noise or room.
The 98 sounded like a tiny diaphragm condenser. It sounded like it had a low cut and that left the mids and upper mids which sounded sort of bland. My friend said he thought it was useful for live support as an accent. I'd probably try a different condenser if I wanted to go that route.
The 604 sounded good and we noticed that it had a quiet bed of low end frequency response that went all the way down to the lowest frequencies. It appeared on the spectra graph as if there was a shelf at a reduced level. It's not problematic and may be useful but the '57 seemed to capture most of the tone without any of that extra stuff. I wonder if the extra low end came from the clip on mounting system?
I think I'll go ahead and buy the Granelli 5790 mic and I'll also buy a Beta 56a.
It seems as if the Beta 56a is the closest thing to a Beta 57 with a right angle form factor.
The SM57 we tested sounded good, but the Beta 57 sounded good too. It seems like it would be nice to experiment with both.
Hi Rich,
thanks for the link to the George Massenberg video. I want to try the ribbon mic on the shell technique he described. It was fun to see his passion as he described various ideas.
best regards,
mike