Own a genuine shure sm57? Please take 2 mins of your time.

DazH

DazH

New member
Hi guys, this is really kind of important. I think i've just got burnt on an ebay purchase (a shure sm57) I suspect it's fake, I'm going to send it back for a refund regardless but i've taken photos of suspect parts & if it all turns ugly i'd like some replies to back me up in here if need be.

Anyway, if you have a real sm57, please take 2 mins to compare the following photos.

fake_001.jpg

3 holes, genuines have 2 right?

fake_002.jpg

The cases are made in mexico now arent they? this one isnt obviously.

fake_003.jpg

A sticker, not embossed to the casing

fake_004.jpg

Weighs in at 225g roughly - should be 284g right?

fake_005.jpg

The rest of the instructions seem fine, but this seems to have "lacked ink" and is a bit grey.


Seriously, I would be so thankful if anyone can take to time to check these images against their own.

the ebay listing is here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220253865727&_trksid=p2761.l1259

Daz.
 
Re: Own a genuine shure sm57? Please take 2 mins of your time.

the wind screen cap looks different from mine also.
 
Re: Own a genuine shure sm57? Please take 2 mins of your time.

Doesn't look right. Mine has only one screw hole at the bottom. At the top the sticker doesn't overlap like yours. Mine doesn't have an embossed logo either but the sticker doesn't overlap. It's wrapped very nicely. I got mine at Guitar Center. Some details don't seem right.

I would venture to say that you should send it back and buy from a more reputable source.
 
Re: Own a genuine shure sm57? Please take 2 mins of your time.

skyydogg01 said:
the wind screen cap looks different from mine also.
Click to expand...

Thanks mate, something else to add. Are all my other hunches correct? i'm guessing certainly yours doesnt have the sticker right?
 
Re: Own a genuine shure sm57? Please take 2 mins of your time.

Yngwiestein said:
Doesn't look right. Mine has only one screw hole at the bottom. At the top the sticker doesn't overlap like yours. Mine doesn't have an embossed logo either but the sticker doesn't overlap. It's wrapped very nicely. I got mine at Guitar Center. Some details don't seem right.

I would venture to say that you should send it back and buy from a more reputable source.
Click to expand...

Thanks, yeah it seems to have a screw (flat head) hole. the bottom hole for the clip of the XLR lead & for some reason a hole in the middle, doing nothing.
 
Re: Own a genuine shure sm57? Please take 2 mins of your time.

I'll have to look it up when I get home. Feel free to p.m. a reminder if I forget.
 
Re: Own a genuine shure sm57? Please take 2 mins of your time.

I bought one in the late 90's from a real dealer and it has the extra hole and the case was made in Mexico. I bought a 2nd 10 years later from the same dealer. It has 2 holes and the case was made in China.

If you really want to check, unscrew the body and check what the transformer/silicon wiring looks like. I'm not convinced you have a fake just yet although its possible
 
Re: Own a genuine shure sm57? Please take 2 mins of your time.

My screen looks different too but I also compared a few different SM 57's that I have and there are some subtle differences so they have made some changes over the years. I haven't purchased a brand new one in at least 5 or 6 years though.
 
Re: Own a genuine shure sm57? Please take 2 mins of your time.

I bought mine less than a year ago from Guitar Center.

  1. Mine has 2 holes vs. your 3
  2. My case says Made in China
  3. Mine has a sticker, but the ends don't overlap. I fact, there's a little longitudinal rib molded into the plastic that separates the ends of the sticker from each other.

Hard to tell, though. Good luck figuring it out.
 
Re: Own a genuine shure sm57? Please take 2 mins of your time.

Thanks ever so much guys, I now have no idea what to think of it. Theyre so expensive in the UK it's difficult to avoid using ebay (I hear in the US you can get them for $100, over here the cheapest is $160 equivelent)

Thanks again.
 
Re: Own a genuine shure sm57? Please take 2 mins of your time.

Contact Shure - they'll be able to tell you if the three holes were ever legit.
 
Re: Own a genuine shure sm57? Please take 2 mins of your time.

Mine does have the three holes just like yours, the sticker does not overlap and there is that little ridge someone else mentioned. Contacting Shure seems like the best way to find out. There must be proprietary telltale signs.
 
Re: Own a genuine shure sm57? Please take 2 mins of your time.

Contacted shure and the reply is:

Response (Jim Rice) 07/09/2008 03:13 PM
The wiring looks too long and we haven't had the extra hole in the case for a few years. Also the weight is a bit light.

Response (Jim Rice) 07/09/2008 03:23 PM
Yes it looks like a counterfeit SM57

-

Within the last few hours the seller has had negative feedback left for a pair of headphones, the feedback left was that the item was FAKE! the guy is obviously bootlegging crap to people.

Guess I ought to make a paypal claim.
 
Re: Own a genuine shure sm57? Please take 2 mins of your time.

DazH said:
Contacted shure and the reply is:

Response (Jim Rice) 07/09/2008 03:13 PM
The wiring looks too long and we haven't had the extra hole in the case for a few years. Also the weight is a bit light.

Response (Jim Rice) 07/09/2008 03:23 PM
Yes it looks like a counterfeit SM57

-

Within the last few hours the seller has had negative feedback left for a pair of headphones, the feedback left was that the item was FAKE! the guy is obviously bootlegging crap to people.

Guess I ought to make a paypal claim.
Click to expand...

People who sell that crap really screw things up for everyone else! Don't give up on Ebay bro. There are a lot of great sellers there. If it's too good to be true it probably is. You have to be very selective about who you buy from. That sucks bro! Good luck.
 
Re: Own a genuine shure sm57? Please take 2 mins of your time.

I've stopped buying a lot of stuff on Ebay because of fake items.

Electronics seem to be getting really bad, my friend ended up with a fake bluetooth headset and another was clearly sent a counterfeit dvd. A coworker ended up with a fake set of Ping golf clubs, he only found out because one of the serial numbers was different from another, he contacted Ping and neither serial was valid.

I year or two ago I thought I was getting a great deal of Gillette Mach 3 razors only to have them cut about as well as a butter knife through frozen meat. After a quick Google search, they were pretty easy to identify as fake as well.

At this point, it's almost not worth buying on Ebay unless you can 100% tell that the item is fake up front and that's not easy.
 
Re: Own a genuine shure sm57? Please take 2 mins of your time.

That's so bad.

You'd think that with the quality of fakes these days that it wouldn't be too hard to at least make the thing look right, even if it did contain cheap innards!

Some fakers just don't make the effort anymore.
 
Re: Own a genuine shure sm57? Please take 2 mins of your time.

Well, it got sent back today. Just have to sit back for a couple of days & see if I get refunded. Pretty stressed out to be honest & this is supposed to be my holiday off work =/

- I noticed another thing also, if you look at the instructions online it only shows 2 holes, like the shure guy said they stopped doing it with 3 holes years ago.

also the seller listed all the sm57 sales privately so they dont say what they are in his feedback, what a git.

Thanks for all your replies guys,
Darren.
 
Re: Own a genuine shure sm57? Please take 2 mins of your time.

You'll eventually get your money back. It might take awhile once you file a dispute with Paypal (assuming that the seller does not give you a refund).

I got burned on a cellphone once. The seller disappeared after complaints rolled in (it was a dutch auction). I dug into his feedback -- his M.O. was to slam buyers in feedback whenever they would call him out. That's one argument for the new system.
 
Re: Own a genuine shure sm57? Please take 2 mins of your time.

FWIW, my SM57 has a sticker logo and the windscreen looks the same to me. Only difference I can really see is the number of holes (my mic feels like it has a decent weight to it if that helps any).

Wow, I can't believe people would make fake SM57s! I mean, c'mon here... they're under $100 new, how much of a profit can they really make?
 
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Re: Own a genuine shure sm57? Please take 2 mins of your time.

i can get 10 of those counterfiet sm57s shipped to my door for $200 bucks straight from china ....... you do the math

also counterfiet gibson les pauls from around 300-350

fake i-pods for about half of retail...... I can tell you most of the pictures I have seen on ebay of sure mics and i-pods are straight from the fake exporters website
 
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