Shure SM81-LC Cardioid Condenser Instrument Microphone for Guitar, Piano, and Cymbals, Includes Swivel Adapter, Attenuator-Switch Lock, Windscreen, Carrying Case, No Cable Included (SM81-LC)

The SM-81 has been around for decades, and I used it back in the 1990s, so I considered it for a large recording project at my church. But it's been around for decades ... surely there must be something newer that costs about the same but sounds better? Well, in a word, no, I found nothing better in its price range (under $400). I brought in five different mics (from a vendor that accepts returns with no restocking fees), and placed them all among the string players, the choir, the soloists, and the organ. The recording was digital, with 96 kHz sampling and 24-bit resolution. Then came two weeks of listening and editing. Guess what? The SM-81 mics were the most neutral (that's a very GOOD thing!), the most musical, the least distorted sounding mics of the group. Their sound pickup off-axis (where many mics add unwanted coloratio) was essentially indistinguishable from the straight-ahead sound. Wonderful! Since that project, we have bought 2 more SM-81s, and they continue to help us make beautiful recordings.

The SM81 is a gorgeous mic with a dead flat response. The sound is transparent and absolutely accurate. As a drum overhead it is the standard go to mic for countless sound engineers, but stopping there would be selling this mic short! Mic an acoustic guitar and hear everything in clean clear brilliance. No it’s not a Neuman but it’s almost a required staple for any recording/sound engineer and worth having in your arsenal. I’ll be buying another for my drum mic kit soon.

It arrived before the due date!!!! Awesome product!!! Recommend Highly!!!

BUEN PRODUCTO Y VENDEDOR

i love this mic! i bought it for the purpose of recording acoustic guitar and it is killer at doing just that. the low-pass option on the mic really helps eliminate the appliance hum in my apartment and the build quality is superb. i would definitely buy this mic 10 times again if i needed to.

The price is right and the sound is great. Plus I love the thin sleek design.

The SM-81 is one of those standard high-quality mics that get used as a reference for all of the rest of the inferior mics out there, trying to cheaply duplicate its performance. Instead of spending all that time, trying to find a good enough knock off, why not just buy the real thing and get it over with? it feels so good to have real Shure brand quality.

Buen micro, grabar guitarras clásicas directamente con este micro es una belleza.

It works great for classical guitar. I thought it had failed when it became intermittent, and it turned out it was an oxidized xlr input on my mixing board that needed cleaning. Great mic!

Excelente microfono. Si lo combinas con un filtro antipop que se compra aparte y el windscreen incluido, es un excelente microfono vocal para entornos no tratados acusticamente.

Lindo microfone, excelente para instrumentos, over de bateria, chimbal e até voz.

Excellent micro pour la guitare classique

excellent for instruments, great mic