Shure SM81

This week we're looking at a personal favorite of mine. With a more mellow sound than most, the SM81 brought the clean condenser sound to more people and home studios in the late 70s. We look at its history and features and take it for a test drive in the studio with some other popular SDC mics.

Special thanks to Danny Lamagna for playing drums and Matt Garzilli for playing guitar during this series!
Another special shout out to Mikhail at Blackrock Studio in CT for loaning us some mics for this series!

What I used for this video (Amazon Affiliate Links):
Shure SM81: https://amzn.to/3V2FH8o
Blackmagic 6k for in studio shots: https://amzn.to/49B2blm
Rokinon Cine 35m lens: https://amzn.to/3IokApu
Rokinon Cine 24mm lens: https://amzn.to/4c0hgyk
Parabolic Soft box: https://amzn.to/434ejsz
Key Light: https://amzn.to/3IkTr6K
Fill Lights: https://amzn.to/3TpHW4w
Sconce Lights: https://amzn.to/3wDvmpl
Teleprompter: https://amzn.to/49Ax35f


**CONTENTS**
00:00 - Intro
00:25 - Shure reintroduces condensers
03:17 - The SM81
07:15 - SM81 No Processing 6" away FLAT
08:13 - Rolloff 1
08:20 - Rolloff 2
08:27 - Plosive and Sibilance Test
08:43 - Axis Test
09:09 - SM81 @ 6"
09:13 - SM81 @ 1 foot
09:18 - SM81 @ 2 feet
09:22 - SM82 @ 3'
09:27 - Piano Demo
09:31 - SM81
09:38 - KM184
09:47 - SM81
09:54 - KM184
10:05 - WA-84
10:14 - KM184
10:26 - SM81
10:32 - KM184
10:38 - SM81
10:45 - Acoustic Bass Demo
10:49 - SM81
11:11 - KM184
11:32 - sE5
11:54 - Hi Hat Demo
11:58 - SM81
12:06 - KM184
12:14 - MK-012
12:22 - Drum Overheads Demo
12:26 - SM81
12:46 - WA84
13:06 - Acoustic Guitar Demo
13:11 - SM81
13:32 - KM184
13:54 - WA84
14:14 - Conclusion