PylePro Dynamic Handheld Microphone, Professional Moving Coil Mic with Built-in Pop Filter, Wide Frequency Response, High Signal Output, Rugged Design, Low Noise Circuitry, 15' ft. XLR Cable Included

Sound Quality: Very Clear, no noise or distortionSound Response: Exaggerated mid to high frequenciesBuild Quality: Good to Very GoodFeel: Light compared to SM57Handling noise: fairly high (much like the SM57), neither should be handheld without care.Missing: Mic mount - this mic should be used mountedAdditional accessories needed: Windscreen.Notes: Some might find the exaggerated mid to high frequencies to be sibilant, while others may find it more pleasing, with better intelligibility for spoken words compared to an SM57. You can EQ this mic to make it sound nearly indistinguishable from an SM57, if that's what you desire.This mic's target may be the consumer Karaoke market, judging from the included cable that terminates in 1/4" TS plug. I would rather see this mic with a mic mount and windscreen included rather than the cable. Thick windscreen, or doubling up on a windscreen, can tame some of the bumped up mids and highs, making this mic sound smoother (IMHO).Overall a great value, good quality mic!

I bought this microphone simply and almost only because of its great price hoping it would not break on me, distort any sounds or cause impairing feedback while on stage. As a starting musician, my budget was very low and my only posible income came directly from playing a few gigs as a local dive bar, which didn't pay much, so when the time came to buy a microphone for my guitar amplifier my soul was set to buy a Shure SM-57 due to its undeniable reputation. However, I did not have $100 to spend solely on a microphone so as soon as I saw the Pyle-Pro PDMIC78 on my sugestions bar I was shocked to see a $10 option. I did not think twice about it as I pressed "Proceed to Checkout."Here is my opinion so far:FIRST IMPRESSION:The package came pretty quickly (under a week!) and is actually very neat (blue box with pictures and information written all over). First thing that you can see in the box is that the microphone is neatly and safely wrapped next to a cheap mic cable (XLR to 1/4"). To be fair, that cable stopped working after two years of severe abuse, which is not at all bad from a free cable that came with a $10 mic. The microphone itself closely resembles the praised SM-57 and is just as heavy. The PDMIC78 is made of metal (HEAVY metal, lol). Mine has been dropped several times from several heights and has not even dented; definitely great material.SOUND:In terms of how it sounds, it is possibly the closest I have ever heard to the actual SM-57 in this incredible price range!Don't get me wrong here, every microphone is different in some way and the quality of the SM-57 is not comparable to, say, an SM-7B, but as far as a $10 mic can go, the only defining difference between the PDMIC78 and the SM-57 is how much "gain" they capture. I'm not by any means a mic tech and have very basic to intermediate knowledge on how mics work, but when it comes to the mixer, the PDMIC78 requires about 3dB less in the gain control. Since I bought this microphone, its main use has been in front of an amp speaker. I use a considerably small amp (Blackstar HT-40) so my best bet is to mic up the speaker and set the controls however I need them to be. For a full two years the PDMIC78 has been the most reliable microphone in my rig, and I carry an SM-57 now to use the double-mic method.CURRENT USE:As mentioned above, I use the double-mic method on a 1x12" speaker cabinet. I am a total sound snob and when I play, I NEED my sound to be as perfect as I can possible get it. Because of that I have chosen to use two microphones and a direct line. So my rig goes like this: I plug in Blackstar's Emulated Out directly to the main console and use that as a basis for how I want to shape my tone, then I put the SM-57 directly towards the cone's sweetspot (every speaker has a different one; mine happens to be a little bit off the center) at about two to three inches from the grill cloth. After I play a bit with the mix between the direct and the Shure, I place the PDMIC78 aimed towards the sweetspot at an angle of around a radian or so from the cloth and move it a little bit further away from the SM-57 so as to get a few more tones coming from directly around that sweetspot. When I mix in the three, the direct line is about 4-5dB lower than the mics and has about -3dB on the high frequencies. I boost the low end of the SM-57 a tad bit (depends on the room) and work the mid sections mostly with the Pyle. I'm not using the mics for specific frequencies or so, but I do target what they can do best in they're position and compensate what they do worst.OVERALL:This mic has worked wonders in live and studio applications, and has earned an impressive reputation wherever it goes. Sound engineers and musicians alike have gotten speechless simply because of this microphone's versatile performance and incredible adaptability. I know for sure this mic will be on my rig for years to come, even as a professional musician. For the price listed on Amazon.com, this is a steal. However, A review with only good things to say and no drawbacks isn't a good review, it's just advertising. I really wish Pyle-Pro ditched the cheap cable the mic brought and sent a small protective pouch to safely store the mic in. It doesn't have to be leather (or whatever it is) like Shure makes them, but even a small canvas or microfiber pouch can help ease my mind when I put it inside a bag with clips and mics that could scratch it. Just a bit of help when it comes to caring for your product would be more than nice!Thank you for reading this review; Happy Shopping!

I bought a pair of these for live sound work and have been using them happily for a couple of months now. When I bought them, I opened them up as I wanted to see if they were essentially an SM57 without the transformer. This does seem to be the case, but unscrewing the mic broke the solder joints on one of the mics, on the other, I was able to see that the wires were already unsoldered inside the mic. I took the mics apart and replaced the wires using wire from a broken 57. I would highly recommend this replacement as the wires used in these mics are awful - really thin and badly soldered in place.Removing the transformer from 57s is a popular mod and these mics are essentially that. With no transformer, you don't get that sought-after 57 frequency response (or "honk") and the output is significantly reduced - somewhere between 12 and 20db, which is a lot!All this means that you have to crank the gain to get a decent output from these mics.After replacing the wires inside, I wasn't sure that they would even work, but they do and they sound great on loud instruments. I love using 57s to mic bass cabs and snare drums, and these mics shine in those uses. With the reduced output, no pad is needed, and (my favorite part) since the plastic head on this mic is fixed, there's no rattling.It looks like the price on these have gone up since I bought them, but I would still recommend these if you're looking for an inexpensive instrument mic and aren't averse to a little soldering.On a side note, I didn't bother with the included XLR to 1/4" cable. It seems really cheap and it's generally preferable to stick with XLR (increased output, shielding, distance) for mics.