There is a fair chance that the first microphone you bought and paid for with your own money was a dynamic mic. And there is a fair chance that, even if it wasn’t a Shure SM58, that was probably the mic you wanted but maybe could not afford. In this article, we are going to show you seven alternatives to the legendary Shure SM58. It turns out that there is more to the modern dynamic microphone than you might think.

The Shure SM58 Was Intended To Be A Studio Microphone

Studio mics of the 50s and 60s captured vocals with taste, style and accurately but were notoriously fragile. Add to this the fact that studio lights created a glare when they hit the shiny microphone housing of these high-end mics and you have a situation where an alternative was needed. Shure engineer Ernie Seeler and his team created one of the worlds most popular vocal microphones while trying to solve studio mic durability and design problems.

The SM58’s ball-shaped and lined grille reduces wind and breath noise and plosive popping, making the mic better suited for vocal applications than its SM57 sibling. But the inner workings of the SM58 and SM57 are from the same design.

The SM58 is a direct descendant of Shure’s 565, which was the first microphone to feature the Unisphere ball grille that has since become the normal grille shape for live vocal mics. By the time of Woodstock in 1969, the 565 was entrenched in the live sound world as the handheld vocal microphone of choice.

The performance style of lead singers was changing too. Prior to the development of the handheld vocal microphone, singers stood behind a microphone mounted on a stand. The handheld 565 gave singers freedom to roam the stage, but this created new dangers of feedback and handling noise.

The SM58’s consistent cardioid polar pattern, high gain-before-feedback, and innovative integrated pneumatic shock mount greatly eliminated these problems, allowing vocalists to focus on connecting with their audience without worrying about the microphone in their hands. Add to this a tailored frequency response, lightweight build and ergonomic handle and the SM58 sounds and feels like an extension of the singer’s voice rather than a tool.

There are many who think that the SM58 has not changed in all these years. However dramatic innovations in materials and manufacturing processes have been integrated into the SM58s every year since 1966.

Modern Day Alternatives

While Shure will undoubtedly continue to sell boatloads of SM58s there are plenty of alternatives out there that do a good if not better job either live on stage or in the studio.

Studiospares S940 - £29.99

The Studiospares S940 Dynamic Microphone has been specifically designed to have a frequency response of 100Hz to 15kHz, tailoring it perfectly to be suited best to capture the human voice. Every harmonic detail of any given vocal performance will be accurately and faithfully captured using this microphone which is by far the least expensive in our list. The S940 will be the ideal choice of handheld microphone for any live vocals, conference speaking or talkback and even karaoke vocals!

The S940 has a mute On/Off switch located on the body, to allow whoever uses the mic the ability to easily mute its output. It has a diecast zinc alloy body so the S940 will withstand any abuse from any recording studio or touring situation.

Lewitt MPT 440 DM- £89

The Lewitt MTP 440 DM features a high-performance capsule that delivers a remarkably lively sound that is tailored for snare drum, wind instrument and guitar amps. It features a high-performance capsule that delivers an accurate sound on the live stage and in the studio.

The consistent cardioid pickup pattern focuses the sound of your snare or instrument while the diaphragm can easily handle high-SPL sources like amplifiers are reproduce them with great clarity in full detail. The slight bass roll-off and defined midrange of the mic helps produce a punchy and unique sound that works like a charm with cabinets and speakers of any size.

SE Electronics V7 - £75

The sE Electronics V7 features a road-ready all-metal design. The chassis' high quality, highly durable zinc alloy is designed to hold up under on-stage stress for years, and the spring steel mesh grille is dent-proof and corrosion-free for perfect reliability while the gold-plated XLR connector also ensures a loss-free and reliable signal connection.

The DMC7 dynamic element inside the V7 has been developed for a crisp, open sound that perfectly captures the voice and instruments in a most natural way. The supercardioid capsule design helps isolate the voice from other sound sources on stage ensuring vast amounts of gain before feedback.

Sontronics SOLO - £92

The Sontronics SOLO is a handheld dynamic microphone with a supercardioid pickup pattern. It was the world's first dynamic mic to be designed, developed and produced in the UK.

The SOLO features an extremely tight supercardioid pattern and gives excellent results for live vocals, guitar amps and drums. With superb off-axis rejection and requiring little or no EQ, the Sontronics SOLO is a very easy mic to set up and use, whether you're a live sound engineer, a gigging vocalist with your own PA or a guitarist recording amps in your home set-up.

Manufactured by Sontronics in the UK the SOLO is engineered from a solid piece of aluminium with a black anodised finish and beautifully etched logo. It feels substantial but not too heavy in the hand.

JZ Microphones HH1 - £179

The HH1 is JZ Microphones first handheld (HH) microphone with a dynamic capsule. This dynamic microphone was developed in best traditions of JZ Microphones giving the mic an extended frequency range to suite most vocal and instrumental micing needs.

The neodymium magnet equipped cardioid capsule is housed in an all-metal body with highly advanced shock mounting technology. Pouch and microphone clamp are included in the package. 

Sennheiser e 945 - £189

The Sennheiser e945 is the premium supercardiod dynamic microphone in the Sennheiser eVolution range. The mic helps reproduce the natural sounds of the voice with extraordinary presence and full tone allowing the live or studio engineer to position the vocals on top of a mix with ease. The e945 enriches the vocals with warm nuances that give them a lively fullness. It is a great choice for stages where the vocals require strong emphasis. Its extremely high resistance to feedback underscores the e945’s affinity for very high volume sound stages.

Shure SKM8 - £429

The Shure KSM8 redefines dynamic microphone technology. It has an extremely wide sweet spot, due to the design of the new Dualdyne element and its ability to control proximity effect. Additionally, the neutral mid/high frequency response means that there is little external processing required to get a great sound, regardless of the artist’s mic technique or placement.

The Unidyne III cartridge features a single diaphragm with a pneumatic shock mount. The advanced technology of the Dualdyne cartridge originates in the second diaphragm which has been added. Besides the active diaphragm, a second passive diaphragm has been implemented, which is part of the cartridge’s acoustic network that provides an unattained mastery of proximity effect.

Other Form Factors

Ask a child to draw a microphone and the chances are they are going to draw something along the lines of what you have seen above. But there are other styles of dynamic microphones.

Aston Microphones Stealth - £299

The Aston Microphones Stealth is a revolutionary, broadcast-quality dynamic mic for studio and stage. With 4 switchable voices delivering unparalleled performance in almost any situation. The mic features a Class A built-in mic preamp with autodetect 48V Phantom power (a world’s first!) and features a unique Sorbothane internal shock-mount system. Aston say that this could be the mic for all occasions.

Stealth was developed in partnership with 92 top engineers, producers and artists who participated in a series of blind listening tests designed to create quality data to help produce the best possible sounding new mic. The resulting four voice settings, Vocal 1, Vocal 2, Guitar and Dark, offer a range of flavours to suit almost every application.

Shure SM7-B - £369

Whether it’s broadcasting, podcasting or recording, voices need to be handled with care. When purified and polished, every detail has more impact. That’s why Shure designed and built the SM7B. To capture smooth, warm vocals that connect the speaker to the listener. However, don’t just think of the SM7B as a vocal mic. They sound great on guitar cabs too.

Sontronics Podcast Pro - £99 (Introductory Offer)

The new Sontronics Podcast Pro is an end-fire dynamic microphone with a super-cardioid pick-up pattern designed primarily for spoken word applications such as voiceover, gaming and not surprisingly given the name, podcasting. However, long gone are the days when technicians in lab coats dictated what a mic was to be used for and as you may expect it sounds great on guitar cabs, horns and other instruments where handling high SPL is a must.

Check out some of the dynamic microphones we have tested and revied recently.

Summing Up

I hope this gives you some new ideas for your live or studio rig when it comes to using and buying dynamic microphones. Yes, the Shure SM58 is a great mic and it will always do a good job. But remember too, if you can try something new or different, you might be surprised to find out there is another way.

Ready To Buy?

Don’t forget that many of these amazing mics are available from our friends at Studiospares in the UK and RSPE Audio Solutions in the USA. Check their websites or better still call for the latest and best deals.