Fake Shure SM58 Microphones
2010
I’ve seen a lot of these fake microphones popping up again, so I thought I’d post this as it’s good consumer advice. It also applies to the Sennheiser brand and presumably others, although I don’t have pictorial evidence of them.
Be aware that there have been quite a few fake Shure SM58′s appearing over the last few years. If you’ve bought one of these you may as well have bought a $15 microphone as that’s all it’s worth.
If you have bought a SM58 from anyone other than an authorised Shure dealer and are concerned that it’s a fake then have a look at the pictures below. In all these pictures the one on the left is genuine, the one on the right is fake. If yours is not identical to the one on the left in all aspects then you’ve got a fake.
Take a look at the metal ring under the grille, if it is flat then it’s fake. If it is contoured like the one on the left it could be real but it’s still not guaranteed. And yes they even copy the warranty card although this too is different to the genuine one.
If your mic comes with a cable packaged in the box then it is also sure to be a fake as real ones don’t come with a cable. Most of the fakes are of the switched version so if you have a bought a switched one then be even more careful.
Basically, if it seems too cheap then it’s likely to be a fake, no-one in their right mind is going to be selling a real SM58 for well less than retail unless it’s used, stolen or fake, just look at the cheapest price you can buy in the US, add on the shipping and do the maths!
Credit to New Zealand online Trader ProSound for this article and photos.
Once again, in all these pictures the one on the left is genuine, the one on the right is fake.
Please accept my apologies if this article identifies that yours is a fake.
November 30th, 2010 at 11:50 am
I’m confused. you’ve mentioned that left one is genuine, and the right one is fake. I can see that only in the first picture. the second picture showed the right one is genuine. Is that correct? what about the third and fourth pictures? which one is fake?
November 30th, 2010 at 12:28 pm
As mentioned above, in ALL of these pictures the one on the left is genuine, the one on the right is fake.
November 30th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
There’s more about this. Joe Shambro wrote an excellent post here: http://homerecording.about.com/od/microphones101/a/Fake_Shure_Mics.htm
The relevant comments are;
“With the ability to produce accurate copies for under $1 in factories in China and Thailand, counterfeiters are making a huge profit off musicians and sound engineers looking for a good deal on a solid product. It’s not just on the Internet, either — some small music shops, swap meets, and online selling forums such as eBay and Craigslist are hotbeds for fakes.
So, how do you know if your Shure microphone is a fake?
First: If the deal’s too good to be true…
Shure, like many manufacturers, adheres to a Minimum Advertised Price policy. This means that the lowest price an authorized dealer can charge is dictated by corporate policy. For both the Shure SM58 and SM57, that price is $98. If you’re buying a brand new 57 or 58 from someone — be it on eBay or locally — and their advertised price is far below that price, they’re either not an authorized dealer, or you’re buying a fake, both bad situations to be in when buying new.
But remember, $98 is the minimum price they can publicly advertise, and sometimes — especially locally — the price will work out to less, if they’re willing to negotiate at the time of purchase. Still, if the pricing sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Obviously, used prices will be less, but both SM57 and SM58 prices have remained stable; even in poor aesthetic shape, either of these mics can draw between $50 and $70 for a used microphone.
Look at the XLR connector on the bottom.
On authentic Shure microphones, each of the XLR pins will be labeled as 1, 2, and 3. Most fake microphones will not have these markings, and instead, will have some sort of connector branding logo or, more commonly, no markings at all.
Look under the hood.
On a 58, unscrew the windscreen. Examine the bottom of the windscreen; on the metal ring that goes around the thread, you’ll notice a lip. A flat lip is a telltale sign of a fake microphone; the authentic SM58 will have a rounded edge.
Look at the capsule on the top of the microphone. On fake SM58, you’ll find a “CAUTION” sticker wrapped around the capsule head. This is not on authentic microphones.
On both the SM58 and SM57, carefully unscrew the microphone in the middle. You’ll see the inside of the microphone, with two wires leading between the sections. On the genuine microphones, these are yellow and green colored, and on many fakes, they’ve followed this color scheme; however, if they’re a different color, chances are you’re looking at a fake.
Now, look at the circuit board on the lower half. Genuine microphones will have a quality control stamp in red lettering. These will be omitted on the counterfeit mics.
Look & weight of the microphone
On the SM58, underneath the ring where the windscreen connects to the body, there’s a printed “Shure SM58″ logo. On counterfeit microphones, you’ll find that this is a sticker wrapped around the mic itself. A sticker is common on SM57 microphones, but look carefully at the font and the type spacing — on fakes, it’ll be a little wider spacing and a much smaller font.
On both microphones, fake microphones will weigh noticeably less than authentic mics.
Check the box
Microphone counterfeiters have become very good at making Shure packaging look convincing, but one of the sure-fire ways to find out if your mic is fake is to look inside the box.
Authentic mics ship with accessories including a microphone clip, cloth cable tie, Shure sticker, carrying pouch, manual, and warranty card. Fake microphones tend not to include all of these accessories; most obviously missing is the warranty card and cable tie. Also, the bag will be of low quality — on the original Shure bags (which are indeed made in China), you should be able to feel the embossed Shure logo. Remember, Shure’s microphones are made in Mexico, not in China.
Another thing to watch out for: make sure the model number listed on the box matches what’s inside. Many counterfeit Shure microphones come with a cable in the box; the only Shure microphone that includes a cable is the Shure SM58-CN. If the box includes a cable but isn’t labeled with the proper model number, then you may have a fake mic. Also, some fake SM58 come with a switch attached; the model number should read SM58S. The plain ol’ SM58 will be listed as SM58-LC.
Last but not least… trust your ears
Finally, you should take a listen to your microphone up against a known genuine Shure microphone — finding one to borrow for a project shouldn’t be hard, since both the SM58 and SM57 are very common among musicians and engineers.
A fake SM58 will sound very bright and harsh with moderate gain applied. A genuine 58 will sound like, well, a 58 — smooth in the lows and midrange, with a slightly recessed and pleasant high end. A genuine 57 will give lush midrange tone with great low end response — a counterfeit will not produce similar results.
Overall, remember the golden rule of buying gear: if the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is, and you’re not getting a fair deal.”
March 9th, 2011 at 5:30 am
i agree with lee are some of the photos the wrong way round?
in the bottom photo the one on the right has the sure logo /gold pins ? i ithought this was asign of legitimate goods?
March 9th, 2011 at 6:58 am
No, they are all the right way around. When you compare the genuine with the fake, you’ll see that the fakers make a couple of ‘improvements’ to make their goods look more authentic, rather than an outright replica, or so I’ve been told.
April 25th, 2011 at 12:58 pm
I personally took those pics and can confirm 100% that the fake is on the right. However I would add that just because your mic looks like the one on the left that does not mean it is genuine as we have now seen fakes that look externally and internally 100% identical to a genuine one.
There are now only 2 ways we know of to identify a genuine mic and it would be stupid if anyone shares those on an open forum like this because the fakers are not dumb, they search the net and find those things out and then just change the fakes to seem more genuine!
Unfortunately there are more and more people thinking that if they pay about $100US for a mic then it’s more likely to be genuine…..WRONG! There have been fakes sold on Trademe for NZ$170 and ebay for US$95 so that just means more profit for the con artists selling the fakes. We have personally seen some of those mics and sent them back to Shure for assessment, the person selling them swore they had bought them from an authorised retailer in Aus but they still turned out to be fakes.
The best way to protect youself is to only ever buy from an authorised NZ Shure retailer like us, that way you are fully covered by NZ trading regulations. Every Shure SM and Beta series mic we sell now comes with a unique serial number to add a little more protection for the purchaser.
And for those wondering if it affects other brands the answer is yes. We’ve seen catalogues from Chinese factories listing the full range of fake Shure PG, SM and Beta mics including wireless mics, all the Sennheiser evolution series including wireless, plus mixers, speakers and other rack mount gear from Mackie, Soundcraft, Yamaha, JBL, dbx, KT, Ashley etc etc. All cheap as chips and all total garbage.
Gone are the days when you could trust the phrase “if the deal seems to good to be true it probably is…” now unless the trader or website is a genuine NZ dealer then you simply can’t trust them to be selling genuine goods or providing a legitimate warranty. There’s plenty of dodgy NZ websites and traders out there so beware!!!!
April 25th, 2011 at 1:26 pm
Thanks for that Rich. The same applies to any country in the world of course! Buy from a registered, legitimate dealer and save yourself the heartache of buying a cheap look-alike product.
May 4th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
I think i bought a fake but they must have upgraded a few things like the red stamp is on my microphone sm58 and yes the logo seems to be wrong as well from what i could understand from your explanation and when i unscrewed the bottom part the wires were yellow and green and the yellow wire broke of at the welding point total rubbish…..I must sy that the weight seemed quite realistic and I wasn’t to disappoint with the mics quality i cranked it up on my great river mic preamp and it sound ok .if you need any pics let me know and thanks for the warning I will be more careful next time.
May 4th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
Hi Mohammed
it would be great if you could send us copies of the any pics to me – rich at prosound co nz – as we can pass them on to Shure for them to keep on record as it always helps them trace the factories to prosecute them.
cheers!
May 6th, 2011 at 8:18 am
tried emailing you the pics
This is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification.
Delivery to the following recipients failed.
rich@prosound.co.nz