Dr.P's Full Review: Shure PG48 Consumer Microphone
SHURE PG48 PROFESSIONAL MICROPHONE
As any one who is familiar with microphones knows, Shure is one of the leading names in the industry. There are many different situations which require a microphone, and the engineers at Shure have designed a microphone to suit just about every application and consumer need imaginable. A need that has been poorly served by most companies in the industry is the need for an inexpensive entry level professional microphone that is good enough to get the job done, but that is also affordable. Shure has come to the rescue with the Performance Gear or PG Series of Microphones. In this review I shall be discussing the PG48 XLR to QTR Professional Microphone.
The Shure PG48 lists for $66.06, but it can be had for a mere $39.99 at most large music department stores and large Internet vendors. The PG48 XLR to QTR comes packaged with a 15 foot XLR to QTR microphone cable, a mic clip, an educational user’s guide, and a handy storage pouch. This makes the Shure PG48 Professional Microphone a great value for the money.
Now, I would like to discuss and describe some of the features of the Shure PG48 Professional Microphone. The PG48 is a “Dynamic Cardioid Microphone.” Dynamic microphones are built to be rugged and tough and are designed to perform well even under conditions with high sound pressure levels. The term “cardioid” refers to the sound pickup pattern that the PG48 has. A cardioid pickup pattern indicates that the PG48 is a unidirectional microphone. This means that it is most sensitive to sounds that are coming directly at the front of the microphone, and it is less sensitive to sounds that are originating from the sides or the back of the microphone. A cardioid or unidirectional microphone, such as the Shure PG48 is designed to pick up the sound source that it is being aimed at, and it “rejects” or is less sensitive to peripheral sound sources.
The term XLR to QTR refers to the two types of connections which are attached to the included 15 foot cable. The XLR plug is a balanced connection, which is the part of the cable that is connected to the PG48, and the QTR refers to the quarter inch phone plug which is at the other end of the cable, and that is of course the part of the cable that is plugged into a recording or amplification device.
Another great feature of the Shure PG48 is that it has an On/Off Switch. This is a great feature for a number of reasons. An obvious plus of this feature is that one can selectively choose to turn the microphone off or “mute” it when it is not being used. This cuts down on potential feedback. It is also useful for those occasions where one wants to do a sound check and set the sound level of the microphone and public address system before a performance or presentation. In this case, the volume and tone settings of the P.A. system can be left untouched, and all that is needed to activate the system is to simply turn the PG48 On/Off Switch to the On position.
Although any microphone can be potentially used for any purpose, it is always wise to understand the strengths and limitations of one’s equipment, in order to achieve maximum results. The frequency response of the Shure PG48 is between 70 to 15,000 Hz. Therefore it is not really suitable for capturing and accurately reproducing the sounds of instruments or sound sources that are below or above these ranges. Thus, it is not a good choice for amplifying a bass guitar cabinet or the highest overtones of a piano. Although the PG48 is a microphone that is in the range of the human voice, it is not a good choice for recording or reproducing all the subtle nuances of a great singer’s voice.
So what is the Shure PG48 best suited for. In my opinion, it is best suited to be used as an inexpensive vocal microphone for the presentation of the spoken word. Thus, it would be suitable as a microphone that is used on a podium for public speaking or for capturing and reproducing the spoken word, such as at a conference. It could also be used as a beginner’s microphone for vocals in a band, as it does have a steel mesh pop filter similar to higher end vocal microphones like a Shure SM58. However, one must keep in mind that the sound quality for reproducing a singer’s voice is no where near as good as would be expected from a Shure SM58. This is because the internal dynamic cartridge is very simple, and is not nearly as sensitive to the nuances of a singer’s voice as a good microphone that would be used for singing purposes would be expected to be.
Obviously, for a sale price of $39.99, which includes a cable, mic clip, and a storage pouch, you can’t expect a great sounding, high quality, all purpose microphone. The Shure PG48 is a microphone that is best suited to capturing or reproducing the spoken word. However, that being said, this is still a Shure microphone, and that says a lot. This microphone represents an excellent value for the money. But do not expect that it will perform like a higher priced microphone. Simply put, like everything else in this world, you get what you pay for.
Well, thank you very kindly for reading my review of the Shure PG48 XLR to QTR Professional Microphone. But now if you will excuse me, I must get back to my practicing.
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