Відео

These mics DO NOT use the same capsule. The 57 has a copper voice coil and 545 has an aluminum voice coil. The capsules are tuned for different purposes. The 545 is a PA microphone designed for speech intelligibility while the 57 is a studio microphone designed for high fidelity vocal and music reproduction. Both are Unidyne III designs and share the same head basket. That’s where the similarities end.

According to Shure, the capsule is identical in these mics. But the age of each mic might make a difference.. Shure still makes the 545. $149.00 US. I would love to see a side by side comparison of two brand new mics.

Sorry to bother, but have you confirmed Blue to Pin 2 is in phase with standard 57? The Shure website seems to have inaccurate instructions. Thanks for posting this!

What you call the "presence peak" is actually the fundamental frequency. The presence peak would be that bump around 4-6khz. Could be as low as 1khz.

Sir, did you replace the inner foam pop filter on the 545 mic? I ask because these are always degraded and fall apart from old age. It is very important for sound quality on the 545 mic.

Those low end peaks are your room, almost certainly.

I love the 545. Especially the USA made 545's. I've had many. Currently I have 2 Pistol version (I might want to start a small UA-cam vlog with guests and I thought these will look cooler than the standard sm7b. 1 is completely original. The other one I got a pistol body in a box with broken microphones. It was rusty but had all the internal electronics. So I cleaned and polished the body. Then used the cardridge from one of the best USA 545s I have. And now I need to fit the electronics in some kind of wax so they stay in place but otherwise it sounds very well. Perhaps better than the original pistol one. I also just scored a 545L for €50. It has a smaller body with a cable out. Butterfield used one for his harmonica and I understand why. It's slightly smaller but it fits in your hand. Digression:(I have a modern 520SX which is almost the standard for blues harp microphones. But the one I have is made in Mexico. So it's solid but I suspect a US one would be better (and certainly easier if you want to put it on a stand). But the possibility with that one to easy get overdrive because of the volume on the microphone. ) So I will keep buying and selling the 545s. But the special ones I will try to hold on too no matter how hard the financial state of affairs. That 545L will only be sold at a liquidation auction. The SM57 is a good mic. But I feel that technology has caught up with it and you van buy better mics for less money. (You could say the same about the 545 but there I want a vintage sound and I don't buy the Mexican ones. I've never heard someone argue for a sm57 (or 58 for that matter) to get a vintage sound. A familiar sound sure. But if you want a modern microphone I'd look a bit further. (Though the near indestructible nature of them are a plus. After nuclear war. When Keith Richards is the only person living. He'll leave a message to any aliens that may come by on a reel to reel tape with a SM58.)

thank you sir.

The adapter on the 545 to convert the Amphenol 4 pin screw on connector to a XLR is made by Switchcraft (L3MN) unfortunately Switchcraft no longer makes that adapter. I was fortunate to find 6 brand new ones on eBay 15 years ago. You might be able to find them online but it will take a lot of looking, possibly used.

If you didn't record both mics in the same place at the same time, comparing them is pointless. Unless you are capable of scientifically duplicating snare hits at the exact same angle, location and velocity, which of course you can't.

can you explain step by step how to change 4 pins to xlr

could you share a diagram or drawing to connect the 3-pin male connector thanks

totally underrated microphone company

Hi Ewan. Thanks for sharing this. I know this is an old video post. I am currently in the place of making some custom threaded connectors for my 545 microphones. Same problem as you I need conversion to 3 pin XLR as I won't pay the silly prices that some are asking for 4 pin Amphenol type cables. Honestly you could buy a new SM57 for what they are asking for a cable. Anyhow it will cost me the same to make three or four as it would for one. When I have done the job and tested the fit I will send you one for free so that you can tidy your mic up. I have saved this video to my PC so that I can contact you when I am done.

Thanks so much for this. I bagged two of these beauties today and I’ll be doing this tomorrow.

Great comparison. Thank you. From a listening perspective I did not hear a difference. It appears the 545SD is the sister to the SM57.

I own both, love both. Excellent dynamic workhorse mics.

The original 545 was dual impedance HiZ/LowZ developed and widely used in the 1960s. Around 1970 they introduced the 3 pin Low Z only XLR version as essentially everyone used it in this configuration. Mic cables were becoming very standardized at this point and the 4 pin connector was a bit of an odd duck. Shortly after the 545 XLR version, Shure introduced the SM 57/58 with low Z modern XLR connector and very similar response to the 545. They soon became the industry standard professional dynamic mic we use today. There are a few of those 1970 545 XLR adapters floating around. A machine shop could fashion you some since you have one example or you could simply create a short pigtail adapter from the 4 pin to an XLR 3 pin and get the same usability. I have three of these mics and they are great for recording drums or guitar amps. Cheers!

Hey! Where do you even find the XLR connectors to solder on?

I've just bought a shure unidyne III and I have a yellow wire not connected to anything. Do you know where it goes?

El unidyne suena más brillante. ¿Ya no se fabrica?

545 is way nicer

Is it the same Shure 10a?

hey thx a lot for sharing this - I've wanted to change my three 545's to xlr for a long time, this is a big help now :) - gtx from the Lake of Constance

nicely done video - I've got 3 of each in my 30 mic collection, and I like them both of course and use them according to frequ. preferences and depending upon the instruments I want to record - gtx from the Lake of Constance ;-)

That's so wild! I love the 5-6khz brightness in the 545. I need one now!!!!!!

I have a unidyne II with a on/off switch I think it's late 60s. Sounds better than any other 57 I've used.

My 70's Shure Unidyne III 545, has 4 pins, not an XRL connection.

Thanks a lot

Hey everyone! I have finally made a video on how to fit an XLR to a Shure unidyne III 545. ua-cam.com/video/XXfcfyihFUs/v-deo.html

Great work Ewan! Keep it up.

This is a made in Chinasm57?

Hello, very interesting video thank you! Is it the 545 with the original Amphenol MC4M connector? How did you managed to convert it to an XLR Male output? Asking for a friend... thank you

The 545 sounds more "open sounding"

The Unidyne III sounds weird with the guitars. The initial attack on the notes sounds substantially brighter on the 545 than the SM57 but then it resolves into a warmer tonality than the SM57. I think the three low end peaks have something to do with that warmth while the more high end peak is responsible for that bright initial attack. The SM57 on the other hand sounds comparatively even than the 545. warmth. Maybe the 545 was used by those artists and it had something to do with that sound.

I could listen to more buzz of the snare wires of the snare drum and more highs with the shure 545SD-LC

Recently got the 545s and what cable does it take?

you didn't want to use pink noise?

I think your comparison shows the mic differences in a very practical & useful way thank you. I gigged a Unidyne III 545 for years as a vocal mic and loved it. The Shure website says: "The SM57 (1965) and SM58 (1966) were based on the popular Unidyne® III 545 (1959) used for public address systems". Shure also said: "The primary difference between the SM57 and the SM58 is the grille design. The SM58 was designed for vocal applications, utilizing a ball grille that acts as an effective P-pop filter. The SM57 was designed primarily as an instrument microphone where a smaller grille size is preferred". I found that little extra presence of my Unidyne III 545 great on vocals and I never had significant problems with plosives, Rock on ...

ciao sono abbastanza simili,ma il 545s x me leggermente superiore.grazie x il video

I was given a unidyne3 by the the dj at the hotel I worked at who played records for all the oldies. I've had it for nearly ten years now and have only just started using it to record guitar with and I'm annoyed at myself for not trying it out sooner.

The comparison using the graphs of the recordings in this way is... dubious. Would be better to place them in front of a linear monitor playing back pink noise instead

Hi! Are you using an amphenol / xlr adapter on the 545?

Very clear comparison! It's not a world of difference, less than I assumed, but overall I like the 545 more for the extra high end clarity, especially with the drums. All depends on what you'd want to use it for I suppose.

I would really hate to split hairs, but IMO it's better to refer to the 545 as the 545 instead of the Unidyne III. I say this because the Unidyne III is the capsule used in various mics including the SM57, SM58, SM7, SM7B, and the 545 to name a few.

Love the camera work it's so awesome, hope your channel starts to do well. Of course you have to do more popular songs for that but but don't change the personality and the camera work. Enjoyed this!

Strange. My Unidynes has less highs and more lows :D

This is fantastic. I would love to see an acoustic test as I am on the fence about whether to go vintage and opt for the older copper over the newer aluminum wiring. Acoustic is my use case 100% of the time.

Decent comparison, would have been neat to see a difference between some crunch and acoustic but it's all good.

so cool!