In 1932, our Company launched the first Shure-branded microphones – the Model 44 condenser and the Model 33N carbon. S.N. Shure understood that customers required education about our products and their use. Informative communication was essential. Below is the second earliest Shure Apps Tech Tip/Engineering Bulletin known.
In the early 1930s, the concept of a device to combine microphone signals was new. There were few commercially available mic mixers, so sound professionals would fabricate custom units. However, a Shure competitor, Universal Microphone Company, did offer a three-channel mic mixer in 1933. As Shure did not have a competing mixer, the Microphone Mixing Circuit bulletin above was issued as a build-it-yourself guide…utilizing Shure transformers of course.
Mr. Shure was adamant that educating potential and existing customers would establish lifetime loyalty for the brand. Our early Engineering Bulletins illustrates how this was to be accomplished.
Related information: Vintage Shure Technical Bulletins
Shure Apps Tech Tip #607: The Very First Shure Apps Tech Tip?
Arcana – mysterious or specialized knowledge
Shure introduced its first mic mixer thirty-four years after the 1932 Engineering Bulletin. In 1966, our M68 mixer debuted. It was touted as “a practical, efficient, and economical way of increasing the usefulness and flexibility of public-address and paging systems, or tape recorders.” The U.S. list price was $125; $1,250 in 2026 currency.
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The following ad appeared in the February 2026 issue of BBC Music – a magazine with worldwide distribution. Happy 60th birthday, SM58!
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There is a new podcast featuring your author. Michael Pettersen, talking about Shure history and the SM58.
