Shure 55SH II Users Manual

THE SHURE 55 SERIES MICROPHONES:

Setting the Standard of Performance

At any given moment, people in all corners of

the globe are relying upon Shure products to

communicate, entertain, and educate. If you have

an active interest in any sector of the audio world,

chances are you know and trust the Shure name.

Our founder, S.N. Shure, developed our

company around a set of ethical

business principles. The fact

that Shure Brothers has

entered its eighth decade

of continuous opera-

tion is a testament to

the soundness of

these principles.

Though we mourn his

passing, Mr. Shure’s

values and philosophy

remain with us, and are

reflected in the products and

service we provide to our valued customers.

Our associates are trained and truly believe

in Total Quality manufacturing techniques. Our

aim is to design and produce the best products

available for the markets we serve, and to

provide the very best in service worldwide.

Today, we offer a variety of audio products

ranging from wired and wireless microphone

systems to mixers and accessories. Our

components perform in touring sound, broad-

cast, installed sound, and studio recording

applications to name but a few.

Throughout a good part of

our history, one series of pr od-

ucts has remained in our

catalog longer than any

others. Widely recog-

nized the world over,

they have come to be

synonymous with the

name Shure. These

products are the 55

Series of microphones.

In presenting this rich and

fascinating history of the 55 Series,

Shure would like to offer a sincere note of

thanks to all of you who have faithfully stood

with us over the years. Our commitment to pro-

viding you with quality performing products

remains the same now as when the first 55 Series

Unidyne made its debut in 1939.

INTRODUCTION

Outwardly sleek in design with a futuristic look

well-suited for a 1930s science fiction movie, the 55

Series microphones from Shure have come to symbolize

what many think of when someone says the word

microphone. Following its debut in Shure’s 1939

catalog (#152), the 55 Series embarked upon a path

spanning seven decades which brought it to a point of

professional and public recognition today rarely attained

by any product, let alone a group of audio components.

The visibility of the 55 Series and the permanent

marks it etched on the world’s collective psyche are not

the result of happenstance either. Nor are they the

careful craftings of some slick advertising campaign.

The 55 Series’ benchmark status was earned through

its reputation as a tireless workhorse and dependable

performer, and achieved by its unprecedented audio

quality and reliability.

Shortly after their introduction, the 55 Series

microphones quickly became a mainstay in the world

of audio professionals. Their reputation soon spread

among microphone users as well. Celebrities,

entertainers, and politicians came to rely upon them.

They survived war-time service, and were familiar

fixtures at critical, well-known moments in history.

Scores of photographs, films, and videotapes show

them in the company of kings, queens, presidents, and

generals. They stood in front of Frank Sinatra and

Doris Day during the Big Band era. Elvis embraced

them too (both in person and on a 29-cent stamp issued

in 1994 by the United States Postal Service), as have

countless other rock stars past and present. Today,

some 56 years after their first appearance, 55 Series

microphones are as popular and sought after as ever.

And while the microphones have been subjected to

internal changes

over the years

to keep them

technologically

up-to-date, like

an ageless

beauty, they

still retain the

same external

appearance of

their youth.

Buddy Guy

THE ENDURING BENCHMARK

Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

Back in

1939, the origi-

nal Unidyne

became the first

55 Series offer-

ing. In order to

satisfy as many

microphone

applications as

possible, it was

sold in three

distinct configu-

rations, each of which had a different impedance. The

first, model 55A, utilized a low-impedance design for

operation in 35-50 ohm systems. Model 55B was for

200-250 ohm systems, while the model 55C was built

expressly for use with high-impedance equipment. List

price for the 55A was $42.50 (U.S.), while models 55B

and 55C cost $45. Catalog copy exclaimed that the

microphone incorporated the “very latest in dynamic

microphone design.” It was, after all, “the first high-

quality, low-cost moving-coil type dynamic [microphone]

with true cardioid unidirectional characteristics.” The

Unidyne was built to address problems created by

feedback, background noise, and reverberation.

Sales literature additionally touted the advantages

of cardioid-type true unidirectional microphones, which

“give wide angle coverage with excellent high-quality

response at the front, yet are dead at the rear.”

Verbiage of the time went on to emphasize the ability

of the microphone to “pick up and reproduce the

sound you want as you want it—to discriminate from

unwanted sounds, free from feedback, audience and

background noise, room reflection and reverberation.”

The advantages of the unidirectional microphone

embodied in the original Unidyne remain today as the

solution of choice in many difficult sound pickup and

reinforcement situations.

Utilizing Shure’s proprietary “uniphase” technology,

the Unidyne was marketed for PA, recording, and

broadcast applications. The streamlined chrome head

could be tilted up to 90 degrees. A built-in cable

connector was supplied, as were a special locking

microphone plug attached to the cable, and threads for

stand mounting.

Shure engineer

Benjamin Baumzweiger

is credited with being

the driving force behind

the creation of the first

Unidyne. Baumzweiger

(who later changed his

name to Bauer), began

developing the micro-

phone in early 1937. In

undertaking the project,

HISTORICAL ORIGIN

Famed Shure Unidyne

Dinah Shore

+ 8 hidden pages