On Monday, March 11, 2019 at 10:28:57 AM UTC-4, Scott Dorsey wrote:
slinkp wrote:
It's familiar from various live acts of the time, and has a distinctive housing, but I've never known what it is:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...rt%2C_1976.jpg
It's a 548. Pretty much like an SM57 but with better gain before feedback.
Not sure because he has a tendency to wrap his hand around the business end, but Plant may have used the same mic in "The Song Remains the Same":
https://screenmusings.org/movie/dvd/...e-Same-349.jpg
Also looks like a 548. It was the tightest microphone you could buy
for a short period of time before it was eclipsed by the 589.
--scott
--
Thanks!
I wondered why the 548 and 589 are long gone, but the 57 remains.
Found this at
https://www.shure.com/americas/suppo...ophone-element
"The 548 had a Unidyne IV mic element. This element was never successful. It was difficult to manufacture and customers preferred the Unidyne III element (SM57 and SM58.) The Unidyne IV was not used in the SM mic line.
The Unidyne IV element was discontinued in the 1980's."
That made me wonder what the retail prices of a 57 vs. a 548 were circa 1976. Haven't been able to find that.
Obviously since then, Shure has addressed the market for "similar uses but better feedback rejection than a 57" with the Beta 57a, which whatever you think of them has obviously been successful in the market ... it probably doesn't hurt that it only costs $40 more.
While satisfying my curiosity on the 548, I was somewhat surprised to learn that the 545 is still sold! I'm sure you all knew that already.