I used some satin paint on a few SM57 & 58 years ago and was surprised it stayed on so well.
They withstood a fair amount of sliding in and out of clips but they were not used hard.
It was probably just Rust-Oleum, etc, but paint tech has improved and I wonder if there is a really good paint for things handled so rough as mics.

 

I have a single channel GAP73
My only beef with purchasing a mic at that range is i have no where to test these.
Im not silly enough to think a grand can make my voice better its all about matching the stuff. I know everyone's beef with the new emulations. Hell i laughed at slates version! But what Townsend and UAD are doing together.. what ever it is I like it. In the end every i buy is gonna be a cheap emulation. I cant afford a U47. But I can get my hands on WA47 ya dig?

It maybe a flash in the pan.. though i dont think so. But townsend is doing amazing things over there. Im not buying it because i think im gonna get a spot on u87. Im buying it for the versatility it offer . And if the software expires and its left with out emulators.. though im still playing duke nuke em from win 95.. its still a fantasticly clear microphone.

 

@NeverenoghFun I gotta agree badly with @Lois Lane ... You se, it's not that we have a beef with all these emu mics, it's just that for the money you can have something that will be your buddy for the years to come. And even when you buy something better or different, the old mic will still do the job it always did. Resale value is a must, and the emu mics don't have much. Anything good as Lois mentioned will do the job. May i add Blue's Kiwi on the imaginary list? It is so transparent it makes me wanna cry lol. With 9 patterns and twin matched capsules this FET Class A mic rocks imho.
Here, indulge yourself:

 

What country and city do you live in? Some outfits let you try it at home in your room to test good gear and you can return it no problem.

The versatility that you would have with a multi pattern mic and and the well spent time learning how to play it with your voice in your room in the context of your music cannot be understated. There is sooo much that can be done by experimentation with mic placement on both your voice and anything that you wish to record, that it in my opinion it would be much more worth anyone's while to get the best microphone that they can afford to buy. What I have seen happen time and again is that much time is subverted to clicking and clicking again the mouse in trying to uncover the secret sauce that creativity is stifled. Too many choices is a killer and a time waste-awayer. A great mic doesn't have to cost the price of a U47. The caveat is that you really need to test what works for you. There are no guarantees with the Sphere either, and with Sphere you are paying for the software and not a fine mic.

 

old is gold but poison like in this case
but spraypaint has improved very well...eh eh
---
grind it with fine sandpaper and spray it with good spraypaint...with little luck you find same color...

 

Northern Burbs of Minneapolis in minnesota.
Tell you all what. You got 5 months to point in the rite direction..
I've done research on other mics but like i said versatility is a must have...
Lets hear um boys!
Most Versatile mic for Vocals. stuff good for instruments is cool too but i always use stuff with color for that.
I want to record Alicia keys to slipknot corey taylor then a church choir the next day.
Blue Kiwi always been a drool over mic

i don't want anything Pre-eqd . althought at that price i doubt that happens much.
For instance. i use a Rhode NT1 now, That *brightness* they put on the NT1-A is not more me.
I like to achieve that in post.
Warm, Vintage but versatile and clean. probably looking for something that doesnt exsist lol
I can grab some Grit from the GAP but its not where i want it to be.

 

I got some cool information about the SM78 other day from the Rep at Shure.

Turns out the mic was designed for a Artist name Dionne Warwick.
She felt the SM58 was too heavy, so they designed this one special for her.

very very cool!

 

The old white body of the SM78 is plastic or metal?

 

Since you're out in the hinderlands where there aren't any pro audio retail shops you would perhaps need do some leg work and perousing over the following websites to see which microphones are in the perview of your radar and stop in for an hour to shoot them out. I'm sure that you can get a few hours on the cheap as the engineer only needs a few cables and to gather what you want to listen to with your voice. If and when you decide on what you want to buy you could get it from a place like Sweetwater which has a no hassle return policy as long as you return the mic the same way you bought it.

Before I bought the Gefell I auditioned perhaps 25 mics as I was in NYC and visited a bunch of places in the three months that I was in town at that time. Some were mediocre on my voice even though they cost as much as a decent used car. There were much less expensive ones and some of those beat out the expensive. If it wasn't going to be the Gefell it could have been the Telefunken CU-29 which beat out their 47 and 51 versions. Price wasn't a factor on what did and didn't work well with my voice except for that vintage U48 that gave me a hard on!

https://www.thumbtack.com/mn/minneapolis/recording-studio/

http://www.the-terrarium.com/

https://www.wild-sound.com/gear.html

http://www.riverrockstudios.mn/

http://thepearlrecordingstudio.com/

There are probably many others. I bet Paisley Park has a good collection.

 

Last edited: Oct 9, 2019

Metal!
Very sturdy feeling mic too.
Actually just got copped a SHURE 58 Grill off wish for a buck.. so when that comes in 10 weeks She will be looking real nice.