How to Spot a Fake Chinese Counterfeit Shure Microphone

[jiyder]

Hey nice info!! Do u know if there are fake beta 58a's out there?

[lolbin7]

I've made a blog called "5 Steps to Spotting Fake Shure SM58" please check it out at fakesm58.wordpress. com. Thanks! And this is not spam! I'm a victim of fake sm58 microphones myself and decided to make a guide complete with picture comparisons between fake and real sm58. Please thumbs up so everyone can see this. Thank you.

[MrDrock721]

*shure

[MrDrock721]

When I open the part were the wires are I see black yellow and green. But the treads arnt silver? I bought this mic from shire and that's what I got. Everything else is so far real besides the silver part where the wiring is

[jthunderbass]

Who cares? Shure is junk anyway

[bentlaner]

cant you turn the effin music off?

[CerealKiller427]

Just bought a Fake from unifymallcom

Doesn't sound like a real SM58 and breaks when dropped

[ILUV2SK8BO4RD]

if your going to buy online because you need a cheaper one for whatever reason (like if your like me and dont have the money) i suggest buying a USED one off ebay. I got a sm57 for $62. the reason i say go USED is because they will have pictures of the actual product you will get, so you can typically tell its real before you purchase. it also minimizes the chance that they would even have a fake to sell. Also Most people wouldnt risk the chance of bad feedback. As always still be very carefull!

[mrkite79x]

Just recieved an SM58 from Amazon UK seller bestonsale184, i was unaware they were in China till i got the parcel delivered. My XLR connection is embossed & numbered, the circiut board within is stamped in red "EB" but it does have the caution sticker on the grill! i dont have another to compare it with but i reckon this is fake. These guys get better all the time, thats what they do. I will be getting onto Amazon about this.

[BrokeBloke7]

@mrkite79x Just bought a (fake) SM58 from the same buyer (bestonsale184) on Amazon....Trying to return it!!

[Acroceraunia]

I want to get an SM58 for podcasting. Thank you for this video, it'll help me not get scammed. Much appreciated, sir.

[joeymcnew37209]

Dude your an idiot for this video! Just use common sense and do use or but Shure products, they don't hold up on tours and they do not back up their warranties. You must be a Shure puke worker. Btw, I will not allow any Shure crap mics on any of my drum kits!

[96lolstar]

Better way to spot it is from china... Made in China ;)

[MRINFAMOUS1989]

I JUST GOT MY SHURE SM48 A COUPLE OF HOURS AGO AND THIS VIDEO HELPED ME MY MIC IS REAL YEAH MAN!! THANKS BRO

[MariusNieuwenhuizen]

THANK YOU KINDLY DEAR SIR...I COULD NOT FU\IGURE OUT WHY MY MIC GAVE SO MUCH "FEEDBACK"...AFTER CHECKING YOUR VID....YEP, YOU GUESED IT...IT WAS A FAKE!!!

THANKS FOR THE ADVISE :-)

Long story short guys....BUY FROM AUTHORIZED DEALERS!!!

[MariusNieuwenhuizen]

THANK YOU KINDLY DEAR SIR...I COULD NOT FU\IGURE OUT WHY MY MIC GAVE SO MUCH "FEEDBACK"...AFTER CHECKING YOUR VID....YEP, YOU GUESED IT...IT WAS A FAKE!!!

THANKS FOR THE ADVISE :-)

[jeykcubb]

i bought a fake..tsk

[84HarleyD]

You shouldn't set $99 as an absolute baseline. There are package deals where you get the mic, mic clip, xlr cord and a stand for a few dollars less than that amount and they are 100% genuine. Associate is an authorized dealer.

[Jmersh]

@shakky, wireless systems can be "hot" and every Mic is capable of feedback. Bring down your gain and slowly increase until you get audio. Your wired sm58 is not amplified, your wireless system may be pumping in a much higher intensity signal to your PA. I have not heard of any counterfeit wireless setups yet, but con artists are crafty.

[Jmersh]

@Maiden, the quickest and easiest way is look at the plug in the bottom for the embossed shure logo inside the xlr plug. To date, I haven't seen a fake with that.....yet.

[sasukenebe100]

@Jmersh I'm holding a counterfeit right now that has the shure logo embossed on the xlr input. I think the best thing to do it open up the mic, and to check the weight. The one I was sold has differently colored wiring, and has tons of glue in it.

[skakky]

i need some help, i bought a wireless pgx24/sm 58 system off ebay and think its a fake how can i check? i plugged it into my p a and i got screaming feedback whereas on my wired sm 58 there was none.

karl

[MladenKapisoda]

Thank you for this video! How can I visualy detect a fake beta 58? I want to buy used, but don't want to bug the guy so much, so he has open it and take pictures.. Is there a way. I know how to detect a fake sm57, but not beta58 or 57.. Thank you in advance!

[Heiryz]

The fake ones may have green and yellow wires as well.. Check the bottom!

[AaronRosselet69]

great video. thanks so much. if i hadnt watched this i would have bought a fake XD

[drummerwillem]

Thank you! Good vid! Never heard that the fakes look a awfully lot like the real! Again, Thanks man!!

[Jmersh]

Who?

[tezgaa84]

this guy looks like Rooney

[Ghostman80]

Some of the fakes mics I've come across have sounded just as good as the real ones do. If you can afford a real one, buy from a authorized dealer. However there are good fakes out there if you know where to look that sound just as good. Just watch out for the crappy karaoke mics with the shure name on them. Everyone has their opinion.

[fincaman2]

I use fake Beta 57A 's alongside real ones and have done lots of tests I find the fakes all but identical except they are lighter and have much higher handling noise. If you are on a budget and need one or several mics I can recommend the fakes, I paid £31 each for mine great value !!! If all you want to do is sing or mic up a snare you will never tell the difference. Seller agreements are illegal in England as they are anti competitive

[hamnhock]

I just bought a used Beta 58a on Amazon,,,I got it and the fucking thing had an on/off switch!!!,,,,GaawwwD!!!...not to mention NO blue ring grill....

[MegaAvenger2010]

boycott all chinese and japanese stuff.

support Europe,America.

dont buy asian products.

The asian are shirinking our economy copying our inventions

LET BOYCOTT`EM

[tonygtr77]

@MegaAvenger2010 so, where this mic are made from?

[BillG37]

I was just about to buy one on Ebay for $75. It's barely used. Now I don't know if I can trust them. I don't want to spend $160, but I really want this microphone! Decisions, decisions. I never knew there were fakes, so now I'm trying to be cautious.

[ParIciLaVoix]

Interesting, but we haven't any idea about the most important point : the sound quality !

Could you test this ?

[Jmersh]

@ParIciLaVoix

The sound quality is flat and tinny. Much like a very cheap high impedance mic.

[Jmersh]

@ParIciLaVoix flat and tinny. Basically the fakes have the same parts as a cheap high impedance radio shack mic.

[MultiDougster]

I think you just saved me a few bucks and a big head ache.

Who doesn't like to find a GREAT deal, but the price on the Shures I was looking at on Alibabba seemed to good to be true...

I'll be going back to my tried and true suppliers.

Thanks

[jerryrogers1]

i probably sold you a fake lol

[Jmersh]

@jerryrogers1 then you are a dick and a con artist.

[N11Ckk123472]

@Jmersh owned.

[UncleWalter1]

@Jmersh Thanks for making this video. Everything is very well-explained.

@ People commenting: DON'T FEED THE TROLL! If a troll makes a comment, don't respond, otherwise they're winning.

[ScorchinBeats]

@jehovahuponyou Stupidest comment I've heard in a long time. I dare you to find a fake that sounds as good as a quality shure mic. I DARE YOU.

[jehovahuponyou]

@ScorchinBeats - YOU? YOU, of all people dare to discuss 'STUPID' comments? Look lil feller, I have a WWI era microphone, made in Brazil, out of coconut shells, and glued together with hog liver glue that sounds better than any damn Shure microphone. I would have posted a video of it, but you have angered me, so now live with the knowledge that you missed a life time opportunity to see a real microphone, just because you hurt my wee lil fewins!

PS - You never Scorched a Beat in yo life!

[ScorchinBeats]

@jehovahuponyou LOL I never said Shure makes the worlds best mics. I've messed with some good (and expensive ones) from AKG, Neumann, Audio Tech, Gefell. My POINT is that a fake sm57 will never sound like a real sm57/58. By the way, there's a reason sm57/58's have been used on thousands of records and are a go-to mic is almost all professional studios around the world. And really, a WW1 microphone isn't going to sound nearly as realistic as today's mics.

[jehovahuponyou]

@ScorchinBeats - FAKE, FAKE, SHAKE AND BAKE - LOOK, FAKE IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER - I PUT FORTH THAT THERE EXISTS NO SHURE MICROPHONES AND THAT THEY ARE ALL JUST SPECKS OF DUST ON A BROOM HANDLE IN THE GREAT UNIVERSAL COSMOS STUDIO - SO, OUR POINT ON SM-57s AND SM-58s IS MOOT. BUT THE GREAT SM-56 3/4 IS A REAL MIC!

AND I STILL SAY MY WWI COCONUT SHELL MIC IS THE CREME OF THE MIC CROP - COURSE THE COCONUT RIBBON KEEPS BREAKING!

ROFL!

:^)

[ScorchinBeats]

@jehovahuponyou The great universal cosmos studio? Fake is in the eye of the beholder? A speck of dust on a broom handle? Ok you're obviously insane so I'm gonna go ahead and end this conversation

[jehovahuponyou]

@ScorchinBeats - You are just outclassed by my wit and humor - but quiting now is a good move on your part - many persons who have gone to a war of wits with me have wound up in straight jackets.

Best of luck to you and your fake Shure headphones, microphones, and dog bones.

ROFL!

[ScorchinBeats]

@jehovahuponyou So you're a Jehovah's Witness, yet you boast your intelligence. Bit of an oxymoron, isn't it?

[jehovahuponyou]

@ScorchinBeats - MAN WHO JUMP TO CONCLUSION, FIND HIMSELF AT BOTTOM OF CLIFF.

No Scorchedgrasshopper, no Russellite here - sorry to burst yo bubble basket SM-51 2/3.

PS - Oxes are smarter than to be Mormons also.

[ScorchinBeats]

@jehovahuponyou Learn to speak English then maybe I'll have a conversation with you.

[jehovahuponyou]

@ScorchinBeats - OH, Engrish is your major, glad to know that you are an expert in something - cause you don't know shit about Russellites or microphones!

[ScorchinBeats]

@jehovahuponyou Fine. Live your life according to a twisted cult with no scientific backbone. Have fun with your anaemia when the time comes.

[jehovahuponyou]

@ScorchinBeats - Look, you twisted, stupid, illiterate, cocksucker, read my second post above, that is, if you can read - you may be in a cult, not I.

Have fun with your HIV, you sodomite.

PS - FUCK YOU, you humorless, witless, cock-snatching bitch!

[ScorchinBeats]

@jehovahuponyou Lol

[jehovahuponyou]

@ScorchinBeats - Finally a sense of humor - ROFL!

Peace, Scorchin'.

[thatpiesmells]

@jehovahuponyou omg stop commenting here plz you are fighting over a microphone jez

[jehovahuponyou]

@thatpiesmells - WHY, didn't you notice, SmellyPie, that all ended well above, and even in a laugh! The 'fight' you speak of is no more than friendly banter - you silly SmellyPie!

Perhaps it is the case that you wish to fight - fighting over a microphone is as good as fighting over, hmmm, say a SmellyFish.

So, what ya wanta fight about?

ROFL!

[dcool]

thanks for the info, I almost get the fake one...

[CharbelSalem]

@jehovahuponyou Dude that's like your 2nd comment on that subject (previous one on the other similar video ) ... Watcha smokin' ?

[jehovahuponyou]

@CharbelSalem - WELL, what ever it is, it ain't workin' - must have been grown in China.

:^)

[criscentrino]

Can I ask to clarify regarding the the wires? If the wires are both green, does it mean it is counterfeit. pls pm me thanks.

[jaymzh007]

Hey there.

I'm looking at selling Shure microphones on ebay, and have found tons from China. Are they all fake? For an SM58 it's about $30 per unit. That seems pretty cheap! At what wholesale price do you think a real one should be? Really don't wanna waste my money and would love some advice.

Thanks alot

[Jmersh]

@jaymzh007 according to Shure's dealer locator, there are very few places in China that actually sell their product and none of them are online sellers.

[fincaman2]

I am appalled that Shure price fix their mics in America which is supposed to be the land of the free. So what happened to free competition ? Price fixing is illegal in the UK

[Featureman]

Great information, well presented.

[bkpenta]

Thanks!! Very informative!



[BDAJUDGEGIRL]

currently, i own a fake beta 58a, even a fake pg58. Here in the Philippines, the fake shure microphone, either sm58, pg58, pg48, beta 58a, beta 57a, beta 87a&c. Usually, I see them in some shops in malls. I just can't believe that the Philippines is also a place to sell facuated shure microphones.

[SoULja51NGH]

i have bought a shure sm58 mic on ebay and i am pretty sure that it is going to be fake, the item has been paid for and is also dispatched, please can anyone give me help on what they do, i would appreciateit so so much, thanks!!

[fincaman2]

@SoULja51NGH I have several fake Beta 57A's I use them alongside genuine ones, I have done lots of comparisons, feed back qualities, distance pickup, frequency response, in all cases I have found little or no difference. I did a vocal A-B test in front of 4 people none of them could tell the difference one was a little undecided but thought that mic A might be better, mic A was the fake. Ebay are aware of these fakes make a claim saying the mic hasn't come or just enjoy your mic like me.

[jasonsoloist]

Thank you so much for your helpful information, there were really tonnes of FAKE ones out there. Thanks again! :)

[elhombrehulk]

thanks a lot!!!!

[jasonsoloist]

Thanks for the useful information, the world needs more people with integrity like you, well done!

[82markyboy]

do not buy shure sm57 on ebay, I did and they were fake

[alec1511900]

I heard that the real cases that shure mics come with are supposed to be leather. Another thing to watch out for.

[OmnishowOfficial]

@alec1511900 Actually not so much anymore...in fact i got scammed with a fake that used a real leather case, while my other 58s that i had bought 12 months earlier were plastic sort of cases. I know the other ones were real because they were almost twice the weight and bought from an authorised shure dealer...the ones i got scammed on, thought i was buying 2nd hand shure's...never again...

[TheTrixs]

Cheers Bro Sadly I Didnt Watch This A Month Ago

[maccafan10]

Great vid Jmersh. Well done !!

They are many other differences too if you search 'SM58 forgeries - fakes'.

Size of the collar lettering etc (if not a cheap and obvious sticker), and the contour of the collar itself. Inside wax moulding etc.

Auction site 'customer reviews' have some good ones also.

Its a shit world we live in having to check everything.

As a live Sound Tech, I have gone for RED-5 mics now to be on the safe side and they are just as good if not better. (4 x switched for 99.00)

[MrZamorales]

Thanks for your video bro... I just found out about fake mics for the reason that I fell victim to one of those scams your talking about. I thought I was buying a Shure Beta 58a and man, just by looking at it, I could tell it wasn't the real thing! i will never buy a microphone on ebay again! no matter how good the deal sounds!!

[tysonoc714]

Can you post a video or pictures of Real Shure Beta 58A and Fake Shure Beta 58A? thank you

[iankyoko]

A couple of nights ago I bought a Shure SM58 and immediately paid for it. The next day ebay sent me an email saying that the seller had violated ebay policy by not naming his distributor and that the transaction is nullified. they have put a hold on my visa card until the money is returned.

I bought another Shure SM58 tonight and the seller clearly stated, This Is Not A Chinese Fake. I will still give it a close check when I get it.

[Maidenfreak29]

i just bought a shure super 55

i got it at guitar center and it was the last one (got it off display) it only came with that case you showed at the end. i really dont think its fake i plugged it in. sounds great. its got a good weight to it. any way to tell if the super 55 is fake?

[curtm8]

yup i got a real one

[quickmantan]

i really should do a video response with my two sm58's cause the signs you mentioned are the exact same on my real and fake.. all im saying is the one i was told was fake to me always sounded better but ive never used it enough to know for sure..

but yer some of the reps are so good they passed all the signs you mentioned.

[quickmantan]

right now to be honest i dont know which one is fake and which one is real. all i know is my dad give me two microphones he stated to me ones fake and one was real.. the one that i thought was real he told me was fake,, which is the on with the rusted mesh... the both have green and yellow wires, the one he i thought was real is slightly heavier, they oth have 123 and shure ingraved... LOL im pretty sure ive been using the fake one cause my dads got mixed up. is the real mic rough to touch?

[quickmantan]

the microphone itself when you pick it up.. youll find the real SM58 is smooth all the way down it slides in your hands...

the FAKE SM58 is rough on the outside and if you slide you hand on it, you can clearly feel the roughness of the fake microphone...

this is the easiest way to tell without even taking it apart, if some is selling a sm58 and its feels like its rough and not perfectly smooth on the sides of the microphone. its fake..

[quickmantan]

i got a real and fake sm 58 also, and all the things you mentioned are exactly the same, including the weight, and even the sound is nothing like a $10 microphone, to be honest i cant really even tell the difference... only difference i found was the mesh mouth gaurd on the original had rusted slightly maybe due to more use.. so i swapped it over with the fake mesh which happens to be prestine. lol

the only difference between the two mics, is the REAL SM58 is smooth. the fake is rough to hold

[felipebrasil5]

WHAT'S the SM58(LC) weight??

[felipebrasil5]

YOU ROCKS !!!

[chaplinesque111]

Good on yah buddy! You just saved me from buying rubbish as I had already spotted a good deal and was ready to buy (a fake as it turns out)... Much appreciate your help with this video. Cheers.

[ultimateinfinite]

Very helpful video. You can also test the resistance of the mic, apparently a 57 should be bellow 400ohms.

[GNeuman]

Amazingly, I've just borrowed a Beta SM57A from a friend, and it's a bloody fake to..it weighs about 100grams less than the real Shure and has yellow tape between the capsule and body when you unscrew the popshield. Also the leatherette carrying case is smooth and not patterned as you show...BE VERY CAREFUL, people!!

Thanks for posting, your vid really helped me determine that this mic is a bloody fake as I was going to buy!! Instead, I have ordered a Beta SM57A from a reputable dealer....

[jellyboy123]

i got a original shure microphone and i only paid 60 dollars plus i had 40 ps2 games and a ps2 console i found it at the bottom of the bag.

[danzefirelli]

the chinese will adapt =))))

[bigeddie38]

Just got my first SM57 and yes, after watching this, it's a fake. I'm gutted!!!!! Thanks for doing this video.

[smellmynutz]

SHIT!! got a fake one!! thanks bro, should have look for this video sooner.

[ChaserHUN]

hey, I need help, I saw Beta58 for 84, it says it's new, I called the dude he said it's imported, and he is going to takesome pics of it, is this too cheap for beta58?

[RPiaeLp]

ха, мой майк is REAL))

[olisarchive]

Well Ive just bid on an sm57 on eBay which im not quite sure about, but thanks for the info, I just pray I get outbid now :D

[alfalfasprout69]

thanks for this

[vernonbest]

Thanx alot.

[haocaothu]

Wow.That's was awesome.Thanks for the video.Good work men!

[realisticspeakers]

That was cool. Thanks. Got one from ebay sometime ago then started wondering. Phew. Real Shure.