How good are you at spotting counterfeits?
I had a number of counterfeit mics come across my bench today. The supposed Shure SM58's are actually knock-offs with a retail value of about $12.
You may find online videos and blogs illustrating how to spot these counterfeits but, most testimonials are outdated and the counterfeiters actually use the posted information as feedback to improve their fakes. Visually these newest fakes are nearly indistinguishable from the real thing. There are only 5 things that give them away - none of which are immediately apparent unless you really know your microphones:
1. Weight - the fake is just very slightly lighter due to inferior metal/guage.
2. Shock Mount - the look is there but the isolation is not. There is no true shock mount (this is part of what makes expensive mics expensive.)
3. Grill thread - The grill is not fully interchangeable with an genuine SM58
4. Frequency Response - (if you're able test) is only 70Hz - 10kHz
The counterfeits are sold at online auction sites between $69 and $109 USD but have a true retail value of only about $12 USD. In fact, some years ago Chauvet sold similar mics under it's brand with a dealer cost of about $8 each. They were great for karaoke because the 70-10k response was like having built in low-cut and high-cut filters; and the price meant they were essentially disposable. Having the knock off body of an SM58 made them easy to cannibalize and rebuild too. This was good for doing karaoke with rank amateurs on a budget.
That was at least an honest deployment of a cheap product. These others however, are being branded and sold as genuine Shure SM58 product. So - beware!
The 5th give away I didn't mention because unless you could do a side by side comparison (similar to swapping the grilles) it would likely go unnoticed: The edge radius (bevel) at the seam of upper and lower body shells is an aesthetic feature over-looked on the counterfeit.
I had a number of counterfeit mics come across my bench today. The supposed Shure SM58's are actually knock-offs with a retail value of about $12.
You may find online videos and blogs illustrating how to spot these counterfeits but, most testimonials are outdated and the counterfeiters actually use the posted information as feedback to improve their fakes. Visually these newest fakes are nearly indistinguishable from the real thing. There are only 5 things that give them away - none of which are immediately apparent unless you really know your microphones:
1. Weight - the fake is just very slightly lighter due to inferior metal/guage.
2. Shock Mount - the look is there but the isolation is not. There is no true shock mount (this is part of what makes expensive mics expensive.)
3. Grill thread - The grill is not fully interchangeable with an genuine SM58
4. Frequency Response - (if you're able test) is only 70Hz - 10kHz
The counterfeits are sold at online auction sites between $69 and $109 USD but have a true retail value of only about $12 USD. In fact, some years ago Chauvet sold similar mics under it's brand with a dealer cost of about $8 each. They were great for karaoke because the 70-10k response was like having built in low-cut and high-cut filters; and the price meant they were essentially disposable. Having the knock off body of an SM58 made them easy to cannibalize and rebuild too. This was good for doing karaoke with rank amateurs on a budget.
That was at least an honest deployment of a cheap product. These others however, are being branded and sold as genuine Shure SM58 product. So - beware!
The 5th give away I didn't mention because unless you could do a side by side comparison (similar to swapping the grilles) it would likely go unnoticed: The edge radius (bevel) at the seam of upper and lower body shells is an aesthetic feature over-looked on the counterfeit.
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