I'm starting to think that I'm making too many reviews...but that's irrelevant. Today I'm testing out the Pyle-Pro PDMIC78. This is a direct rip off of the Shure SM57 which is one of the most popular mics on the market because it so durable and reliable. So this mic has some pretty high standards to live up to, and later in the video we do a short comparison of the two microphones. And the largest selling point of this microphone is the price...it's only $10 right now on Amazon.
What's In the Box
- Dynamic Microphone
- 15-foot XLR to 1/4" Microphone Cable
- Warranty / Spec Sheet
Performance / Features
The build quality of this mic feels pretty good and seems comparable to the Shure SM57. However, I'm assuming that the internal components are of lesser quality, and that's how they are able to sell it for $10 instead of the $100 that the Shure SM57 costs. This means that if you are rough with this mic, it will crap out before the shure, and you will likely have to replace it more. But if you're just using it recreationally at home and you treat it with care, it will hopefully have a nice long life.
The frequency response on this is not listed, but the unreliable graph on the specs sheet looks like it's approximately 30Hz - 10kHz. But that seems a bit too narrow, so I'm going to say that I don't know the frequency response (Because it wasn't provided).
The polar pattern is fairly narrow. It isolates audio really well and picks up mainly what's right in front of it. That's what I was hoping for, and that's why this style mic is so popular as a live instrument mic. It doesn't pick up all the instruments that are playing around it. It just picks up what you want it to pick up.
This means that it did really well at isolating my voice from the background noise going around. However, as I backed away from the mic, the volume dropped dramatically. So you will need to make sure the mic stays close to the sound source. I'm sure you could also tell that the pops on this mic are pretty bad. That's because this is not really a vocal mic, it's more of an instrument mic. If you do use this for voice, PLEASE get a pop filter.
Pros
- SUPER CHEAP!!!
- Good Sound Quality
- Good Build Quality
- Good at Isolating Sound
Cons
- Bad with Plosives (need to Invest in pop filter)
- Poor Documentation
Conclusion
I had to struggle to find anything bad about this microphone. It performs really well, and it seems to be built nicely. I do have my reservations about the internal components, but that is just my paranoia caused by the $10 price tag. I would absolutely recommend this microphone to anyone looking for a super cheap microphone to record instruments. It can also be used for vocals, but you will need to invest in a pop filter because this mic does not do well with Plosives.
Overall, I'm really impressed with this microphone and I cannot wait to test out another Pyle-Pro mic to see if it matches this mics quality. If you have any additional questions about this headset, leave them in the comments on this site or on the youtube channel, and I will try to reply ASAP.
Buy it on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1RLR4e1
Pop Filter: http://amzn.to/1OQQqWm
