Shure SM48 Handheld Dynamic Vocal Microphone

I picked up this mic because I am doing sound for a live music web series featuring solo artists all the way up to 5 and 6 piece bands. At first I bought it thinking I would upgrade later to an SM58 when I got some more cash, but honestly I am incredibly pleased with the performance of this microphone and won't be replacing it anytime soon. I read somewhere that this mic is actually better suited to recording purposes because it doesn't have a transformer built in like the SM58. Whether or not it makes a difference, I can say that it seems easier to fit in the mix than an SM58 to me. I borrowed a friends 58 to compare and I came up with an interesting conclusion. The SM48 seems to fit better in the mix with less effort. I just high pass around 180 hz and slightly boost top end around 4k to give it a little more air. It comes out smooth as butter.. With the SM58 I found myself wanting to cut a lot of mid range out because it was almost overbearing. To me, all of this makes perfect sense when discussing qualifications for a live vocal mic used by a lead singer. You would normally want that extra mid range presence in a live setting, but for recording the SM48 wins in my book. Other than sound, the main selling point is value. I expected mediocre results with this mic, especially since I picked it up for $30 but it has absolutely blown me away. I am going to buying at least 2 more in case I come across an artist with several vocalists. The build quality is also great. It's a Shure microphone, and I've never seen a poorly made Shure. For an example of the microphone in use in a live recording, check out this video: [...]

Excellent reliable microphone delivers clear audio.

Perfect stage mic! Great durability and sound!

Whether the SM48-LC is the vocal microphone for you depends on your sensitivity to the ratio of quality to price and your personal taste in microphone characteristics. It seems to be a well made instrument, so let's jump to the chase. I spent an afternoon doing A/B comparisons between the SM48 ($30), my nearly-new SM58 ($100), and a nearly-new Chinese SM58 knock-off (Digital Reference DRV-100), which I bought on sale for $10. I compared the three mikes through my P.A. system, with the equalizer flat and reverb settings they way I like them for the SM58, without trying to optimize them for each microphone (seemed like too much work). In addition, I was using the P.A. line out to my Sony MDR-7506 Sound Monitor Headphones, rather than the P.A. speakers, to allow more critical listening. For my voice, P.A., and settings, I found both Shure microphones to be quite usable for a live performance, but the DRV-100 was a distant third for vocal quality. After many comparisons over the course of an afternoon, I found that I do prefer the sound of the SM58 enough that I will continue to use it as my live performance vocal microphone, especially since I already own it, but I would not feel particularly inconvenienced if I had to use the SM48. There are differences in the way they sound, but I'm not sure they would be noticeable, to the average listener, out of the P.A. speakers in a live show. I'm pretty sure that would not be the case for the DRV-100. I then compared the two cheaper microphones, through the same setup, when used as instrument microphones for my 60's era Martin 000-18. Again, there was a lot of difference in the sound. The higher efficiency of the DRV-100 required a gain adjustment each time I swapped instruments, but I kept the equalizer flat. So far I somewhat prefer the DRV-100 as an guitar microphone, probably because I prefer a brighter sound for finger-style work and the SM48 may prove to be fine for instrument use once I fool around with the equalizer. In summary, if it proves to be durable, the SM48-LC is a lot of microphone for the money. It demonstrates the way of the electronic world: you can get a lot of quality for not very much money and you may have to pay a lot more to get something even a little bit better.

The first SM48 I received from Amazon was defective. Amazon promptly sent me a replacement after I returned the bad one. Great job Amazon! I had my replacement the next day! The replacement is working great and it sounds pretty good for a budget mic. I never expected this mic to be a high end microphone at this price point but for what it is I'm pleased with the sound quality. I run it into an old Symetrix 528E voice processor and the two work well together. I do not need a preamp for the SM48 to drive the 528. This mic would be ideal for a church that needs good PA mics on a budget or even a band that's just starting out. Although there is a slight difference in sound quality between the SM48 and it's famous big brother the SM58, most people won't hear it on a PA system or in a live setting. If budget is not a concern, get the SM58, but if your money is tight but you need a decent mic, this will do the job nicely for you.

We have a nice set-up where we have regular Rock Band sessions. It's really more like karaoke as we just rock out and don't really play the game in RB. I've spent considerable time setting up a nice music playing environment for Rock Band karaoke nights here at the man cave. We can really rock the house. Only problem had been that ANY USB mic would over-modulate if the singers would really get on it like they want and should. All the other instruments sounded great, but the mic would always suffer. Mind you, this is not your normal RB set up. We have the house rocking through HUGE speakers in true stereo (NOT DOLBY SURROUND) like you would any cool music set up. And the singers just could never get on it like in a true stage performance....until now. You do a little slice and dice on the USB mic cord, a little solder here and there and plug in this bad boy and now there's no more over-modulation issues. The singers can whale and we can rock the house! Awesome! USB mics suck for singing. Get a Dynamic mic that doesn't need phantom power and splice in the digital convertor from the old USB RB mic and you'll be killing it. Also added a cowbell and a tambourine. Wicked! And now no one need hit on the nice mic for those fills. One thing that I haven't been able to fix however is the reverb that the game itself insists on adding to the singer. It's a bit too much, but I can't fix that as it's in the actual game. I just make sure to not add any more by any artificial sound settings. Play your RockBand like you would play your best music files at home and you'll be much happier. Get the right mic connected correctly and you'll be silly happy.

I’ve owned this microphone for over a year and have been totally satisfied. First I purchased a PGA48 for the same price, but the noise coming from handling it was bad, so I returned it. This is well insulated and sturdy…I’ve used the legendary SM58 for years and honestly I can’t find much difference when I use this that costs half the price.

Paso la prueba, ya llevo un tiempo de haberlo comprado, inclusive tuvo caídas y está perfecto.

I have used many different microphones for instruction videos, and podcasts. For the majority of voices the Shure SM-48 is the best bang for your buck. It has a very clear sound. I would suggest it to anyone looking for a quality XLR mic on a budget.

La plupart des personnes connaissent le Shure SM58 et pour avoir tester les 2 produits, j'ai constaté que le produit était le même. Je n'ai pas vraiment vu de différence entre-eux et pour quasiment le même prix, je conseille ce micro. L'emballe est tout de même compliqué à ouvrir mais au moins il n'est pas prêt d'arrivé en mauvaise état. Testé en studio.

I have not heard the difference in sound even side by side with SM58 ...the only difference is the you have to put a little more gain.

direi ottimo ne o acquistati 2 di recente e sono contentissimo vanno benissimo e si sente molto bene

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