felip
20 posts
Mar 13, 2013
6:43 AM
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Hi everybody,
I have the possibility to adquire a Shure 545SH mic. Do you think that this makes a good harmonica microphone? I already have an USA-made 545SD and I don't know the differences between these too mics.
Thanks you,
Felip.
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Greg Heumann
2059 posts
Mar 13, 2013
9:01 AM
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The 545SH is older and will probably sound even better. However it has a connector that is harder to find these days so if you don't have the cable that came with it, you may have to take some steps to deal with that.
Remember these mics can be set up for either low- or high-impedance operation, either by which pins you use on the 4-pin connectors, or moving a jumper on the back of the 3-pin connector. You MUST have the correct cable for low-or high whether it is 3 pin or 4 pin - and the cables are NOT the same for low and high.
You can Ultimatize that mic......
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/Greg
Last Edited by Greg Heumann on Mar 13, 2013 9:05 AM
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TetonJohn
95 posts
Mar 13, 2013
10:48 AM
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Lotsa 545 info here in case you are not aware.
545 page
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colman
232 posts
Mar 14, 2013
6:30 AM
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I just left the [545 page]and i noticed they ,as a lot of other 545 pages ,talk about little walter and paul butterfield using the 545... here`s another 545 in use,Alan wilson[you hear that cat on the harmonica thats the canned heat-i`m sure you`ll dig him]out of the mouth of J.L.Hooker...on HOOKER N` HEAT Album !!!
i`ve been using one for over 40 yrs. and i`m happy with it...
Last Edited by colman on Mar 14, 2013 6:32 AM
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TetonJohn
96 posts
Mar 14, 2013
7:51 AM
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While we're talkin' 545 (and PE54), when I first got my SJ 410, I felt that the 545/PE54 was the best microphone to really open up the sound of that amp -- so I made sure to get a couple of extras. My recollection of my "notes" (which are not here to check) is that sometime later, I put a higher gain preamp tube in either V2 or V3 (V3 I think) and it helped to give my CR/CMs that really full sound while also having the CR/CM crunch.
@colman I'm absolutely no expert, so maybe it's common knowledge, but I hadn't heard about Alan Wilson using a 545 -- I'm curious about the source of the info. Thanks!
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felip
21 posts
Mar 15, 2013
7:13 AM
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Great! Thanks you!
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Greg Heumann
2063 posts
Mar 15, 2013
9:21 AM
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"The PE designation, standing for Professional Entertainer, on a PE54 is just marketing, same old 545S in a new molded plastic case."
The first PE54's were HIGH IMPEDANCE ONLY - they didn't have the dual impedance transformer of the 545. In my opinion, this was THE best 545 variant for harp. Once they went to the PE54D, it was identical to the 545.
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/Greg
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TetonJohn
100 posts
Mar 15, 2013
9:56 AM
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The 2 PE54's I have had are/were both better (stronger/fuller/more responsive -- not sure exactly what words to use; stronger is for sure) than the 545s I've had (consistent with Greg's observation), but my own observation is based on a very small sample size, so I never felt safe generalizing.
Last Edited by TetonJohn on Mar 15, 2013 9:58 AM
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Greg Heumann
2064 posts
Mar 15, 2013
7:00 PM
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JD, no, I didn't mean that. The switch on a 545 is not an impedance switch, it is an on/off switch. The "S" in any Shure mic model means "switch". "D" means dual impedance.
On 3- and 4-pin female connector 545's, impedance switching is done by configuring the cable connector for the desired impedance. On the 3-pin XLR models, it is done by setting a jumper on the back side of the connector (which is easily removed for this purpose.)
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/Greg
Last Edited by Greg Heumann on Mar 15, 2013 7:01 PM
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Greg Heumann
2066 posts
Mar 15, 2013
11:36 PM
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JD - you've taken issue with 2 things I said - but I have had well over 100 545's (all variants, including -S, -SH, SD, L, etc.) through my shop and I beg to differ with you.
I meant 545. The original PE54 was unswitched and single impedance. With the exception of the 545L, all 545's were dual impedance. The original PE54 was single impedance so it was superior tonally.
On any 545 variant with a 4 pin connector that I've ever seen, there is no need to rewire or select anything behind the switch. All signals required for high and low impedance are available at the connector. It is simply how the cable's connector is wired that determines the impedance selected. That 546 is cool - never saw one of those - but it remains true that no 545 variant had an impedance switch. Anyway - no big deal - they're all great mics.
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/Greg
Last Edited by Greg Heumann on Mar 15, 2013 11:37 PM
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