Shure SM58-LC
The mic that's been dropped, drowned, frozen, and scorched - and still shows up to work.
Overview
The SM58-LC is a dynamic cardioid microphone rated from 50 Hz to 15,000 Hz with an output of -56 dB. It weighs less than 11 ounces. Shure's own catalog copy calls it "the world standard professional stage microphone," which is the kind of claim every manufacturer makes, but the details behind it are specific: a distinctive upper mid-range presence peak, an integral windscreen, and a build the company describes as "tough" and "handsome" in the same breath. Collectors and working engineers describe the sound the same way - intelligible and lively, with the vocal-forward character built into the response curve rather than added later.
The "LC" suffix matters for identification. Distributor listings from the period group the SM58LC alongside the SM57LC as the two workhorse dynamic cardioids in the line. The SM58 was pitched for vocals because of its presence peak and integral windscreen, and the SM57 was aimed at instruments. Both shipped with a stand clamp. Shure's advertising for the pair leaned on durability - "unmatched in performance, ruggedness and reliability" - and the company's later rebate campaigns made durability the whole joke. A "Nine Lives" promotion showed the SM58 drowned, thrown, frozen, scorched, and buried, then reminded buyers that "the world's most abused microphone is still its most popular," as EQ (December 2008, p.83) put it in a rebate advertisement. That's marketing, not an independent verdict, but the company didn't have to invent the reputation behind it.
On paper, the SM58-LC is not a studio chameleon. The presence peak that makes a vocal cut through a loud stage mix is the same peak that makes some engineers reach for something flatter in the control room. The SM7, listed in the same distributor catalogs with a 40 Hz to 16,000 Hz response and switchable response tailoring, exists because the SM58's curve is a choice rather than a neutral. Owners who've used both tend to keep the SM58 for the road and the SM7 for the booth. The price gap in period catalogs reflects that split: the SM58LC listed at $176.00 in one distributor sheet, $181.50 in another, and $188.00 in a third. That's real money for a dynamic mic, but a fraction of the SM7's $566.50 list.
The pricing drift across those catalogs helps anyone dating a used example or placing a period advertisement. The SM58LC shows up at $176.00, $181.50, and $188.75 across different distributor documents, with the SM57LC below it at $141.25 to $147.00. These aren't revisions of the same sheet. They're different dealers' list prices at different moments, and the spread of roughly thirteen dollars suggests dealers competed on margin rather than on the product itself. A later retailer sheet lists the SM58LC at $188.00 flat, which puts the ceiling of that range right around the turn of the decade.
The rebate campaigns show how long the SM58-LC has been a catalog staple. Mix (November 1986, p.139) carried a "Cash Back/Tour Jack" offer - ten dollars back plus a jacket on a single SM57-LC purchase, with the promotion built around the SM line rather than any single model. By 1995 the rebates were still running, with EQ (September 1995, p.9) advertising ten dollars back on the SM58 between September 1 and October 31 of that year. The promotions continued into 2010 and 2012, with EQ (November 2010, p.21) and Mix (October 2012, p.9) both running ten-dollar mail-in offers on the SM58-LC alongside the SM58-CN, SM58S, and the X2U variants.
The SM58-LC also turns up in PA packages. A retailer's powered PA bundle from the period - the 808SPKG, built around a Mackie 808S mixer and a pair of C300I speakers - included four SM58LC microphones as standard equipment, with the package pitched as saving more than $1,400 off list. The same catalog lists the SM58LC at $188.00 on its own, so four of them make up a meaningful chunk of that package's value.
For collectors, the SM58-LC is too common to be rare and too durable to be scarce, so the market is deep and prices are set by condition and completeness. The stand clamp and the A58WS windscreen are the accessories that turn up missing most often. A complete example with both is worth more than a bare mic, not because the accessories are expensive, but because they signal a mic that was looked after rather than tossed in a gig bag. The rebate-era examples from 2010 and 2012 are functionally identical to earlier ones. No meaningful revision history is documented in the available materials, so dating a used SM58-LC comes down to the label style and the packaging rather than any internal change.
The SM58-LC is a mic you buy because you need one that works, not one that flatters. The 50 Hz to 15,000 Hz response is narrower than the SM7's 40 Hz to 16,000 Hz, and the fixed presence peak means there's no tailoring switch to dial in a different curve. What you get is what the capsule gives you. For a loud stage, that's an advantage. For a quiet source, it's a limitation.
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