just picked this up at a local shop for $20!
1970 Sure SM78
The PDF add i downloaded boasted that it was a great mic for outdoor use or areas with a lot of ambient noise.
40 years later this Mic still holds true.
Blow away by the quality being produced and the lack of room noise
It sounds like a Condenser Mic ran through a Vintage Pre.
In love with the color and quality on this. Cant wait to hear what i use it on

 

Going back tomorrow to purchase the other one.
If anyone is interested in owning one hmu.

 

Great deal, great mic. They have not changed in decades. Lot's of live shows use nothing but 58's and 57's. Same mic with different grill. The 57 allows proximity effect, 58 avoids it. I have lots of mics, still use Shure for lots of things.

 

As far as an SM78 sounding a bit like a condenser, I can't speak to that as I have never used one but I can definitely say the later SM58 Beta does have a characteristic akin to a condenser (or at least reminiscent of one bar the Betas way lower output). Were those SM78 ever sold outside the US? I have never seen one. Over here it's 57s (I've got a bunch of those which I'll use for recording just about anything alongside some serious condenser mics) and 58s (which I do not own but of course is the most popular Shure mic on the scene).

 

Never seen an sm78 before. It looks almost identical to the older sm58 model of which i own four and two 57s for over 25 years. Few mics can claim to be so popularly overused hehehe. Everybody i know in the biz has at least one 57 or 58. Classic

 

You wouldn't want to put yer lips on it, tho.

 

I got this *Shure SM77 for about the same price. Great mic. But since it's a dynamic mic (like yours) it does not sound like a condenser mic.
Edit: this one does not have an output transformer and uses aluminum voice coil instead of standard copper.

 

Last edited: Oct 5, 2019

very dope!
Mine is the same with the Aluminum and Transformer. Thats give or take the only difference between these and the 57
Think i read if handle does not have a transformer it is a 77.

Maybe my mic has a bit of color on it. I run it plain into box and I get a very sweet tone, almost like I ran it through a Vintage pre. little more body
This truely could be to the fact of the Microphone i use on the daily. I don't have a Mic locker and currently saving for the Townsend rig
so i use my NT1 (no no not the 1-A) wich is a little warmer then the other condenser mics ive owner or used.


Definitely is worth grabbing. I'm hoping the shop still has the other one in the morning and I'm gonna go grab it.
They were pretty well hidden under newer used mics.. that ugly ugly coating caught my eye and I knew i was in love

 

Well sir, they basicly are.
The took the transformers out of the 57, wrapped aluminum for the coil and boom 77/78

 

I'm not sure about if they were sold outside US
There is not a ton of information on them. I really have a feeling that a lot of these got thrown away..
It wasn't a over priced mic and once that felt stuff started peeling off... i could only imagine i'd do the same not thinkg 30 year into the future lol.

These arent common here. I was really shocked to see the poster above with the 77.
im pretty big junk market rummager and I've seen 1 locally wich I think is the one i own now.
Other then that maybe 2 sales on Net one on ebay and one on reverb.

This is a very cool addition to my set up and im glad i can share it with everyone.
Once again though Im gonna go grab the other on in the morning, so if anybody is interested in owning on let me know!

 

I was a young punk on dope in 1977 the year that I graduated from high school. I had and to this day still have not seen one of those mice. It seems that the grips were white so no black or grey peeling off of those. It seems that the SM77 is an 86 without a transformer.

I have a bunch of dynamic mics from the 50s, 60s and 70s and they all still sound good.

 

cleaned up very nice to a factory smooth finish. no idea why they would cover up this gorgeous off white gold. I really dig it !

 

They probably used gaffer tape to stick on mic stands that had no holders.

 

if you look on the brochure above. The black ones are actually covered in a Velvet like material... it was the 70s who cam blame them lol

But yeah, so that flaked off and gave it that disgusting patchy color. But underneath is this beauty. Love it.

 

If there is any interest in hearing this microphone Im about to track some vocals with it rite now.
I will post up under Our music and title it SM78 VOCALS.
Will also be recording with the NT1 side by side.
Lets get a convo going!

see ya there!

 

It could be interseting to make a comparison with a SM58 too.

 

sounds great... love those shure mics.. all of them sound very very good

 

... Ikr ... i im circling around one rite now.
I've been saving.. FOREVER for the Townsend sphere.. i could go copp a 7B...
no no NEF, stay true. You know that Sphere mic is the chron-doggie.

Maybe i'll holler at the local shop see if they have a SM58 Opened I could use real fast, they are pretty cool.

 

Friends don't let friends buy emulation microphones. Instead for approx the same change why not .buy a fantastic mic like a Gefell UMT70S or a Heiserman H47. You will at least have resale value far, far over a gimmic of the day that depends on software updates. The Gefell has three polar patterns and the H47 is cardiod only. Also, the Sphere requires two gain-matched preamp channels and a stereo track. I don't remember your preamp situation.

 

I got my hands on an old SM-587 (if memory is correct). I tried it on some guitar tracks. It did ok. Not a lot of gain. I prefer the 57's on guitar, though.