September 2026 is the 60th anniversary of the Unidyne III SM58 debut.
During the 1980s, the United Kingdom branch of Shure developed a series of advertisements for the SM58. The target customers were aspiring musicians and live sound professionals. For many Tech Tip readers, these ad images will be unfamiliar.
Note each SM58 image above has the SHURE block-letter logo, first used circa 1982/83. Our block-letter logo that slants to the right dates circa 1986.
To celebrate the 60th birthday of the SM58 and the 60th anniversary of the Montreux Jazz Festival, a special edition SM58 model was presented to a select group of customers hosted by Shure at the 2026 event. See the photos below.
Thanks to Marco Marini of Shure UK for the SM58/Montreux sample provided to the Shure archive.
Related information: Shure UK website
Arcana – mysterious or specialized knowledge
Here is an SM58 tale from independent sound mixer Chris Prinzivalli: I mixed broadcast audio for the Blue Origin New Shepard rocket launch. We provided the pool feed to the major television networks and archival footage to the Blue Origin organization. There was a stringent requirement to NOT have anything active at the launch tower because of the volatile hydrogen boosters. There could be absolutely no voltages anywhere…that meant no phantom power. I chose to use six SM58’s as effect mics positioned around the tower. In the intense heat of the launch the mics eventually melted, but as expected, provided audio up to the “point of no return.” Blue Origin launch footage
The tale above was received a few weeks before the following story reached Shure: I work for Blue Origin, the spaceflight company. I produce and manage our webcasts. In May, we blew up a vehicle and the launch pad on which it was sitting. The resultant explosion was the largest explosion recorded at the space center. We used Shure SM57 mics at the pad to capture liftoff audio. These mics not only recorded the sound of the rocket detonating, but some survived the ordeal. A pad construction worker found one of them. We’re going to put this mic in a shadow box and display it at our studio. Just thought you’d want to know.
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The outline of a Coca-Cola bottle is a shape-trademark; it does not need the words “Coca-Cola” or “Coke” for it to be a trademark. The Apple logo, an outline of an apple with a bite taken out of it, is a shape-trademark as is our Unidyne II Model 55S/Super 55 microphone image. Unfortunately, there are too many mics that look like the SM58 for its shape to be trademarked, so instead we trademarked the model number – “SM58” is a registered trademark of Shure Incorporated.
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A copyright protects original artistic and creative works, like books, music, paintings, photos, etc. A trademark protects brand identity features, such as logos, names, shapes, and slogans, which inform customers who made a product.
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Great photo. Great group.
