Old But Gold

Product life cycles for electronics have never been shorter, but these icons continue to stand the test of time and remain in production decades after their introduction

- Jamie Tan

1 SHURE SM58, 1966

The Shure SM58 is the industry standard for live vocal mics. Every artist would have used it at some point in their careers, from your neighbourhood dive bar singer to Sheryl Crow, who still uses it on stage. Funnily enough, it was designed for studio use, with the “SM” in its name being an abbreviation for Studio Microphone. Shure originally targeted the burgeoning radio and television broadcast industry with the SM58, but saw little success there. Instead, the microphone found favour with live-sound engineers who prized its sound quality, ability to handle loud volumes, and low handling noise. These qualities made it the perfect microphone for on-stage, handheld use.

Since the SM58’s introduction over 50 years ago, many newer and more advanced microphones have been introduced. It’s still the world’s best-selling microphone though, thanks to the traits described above, as well as its price and durability. You could buy a couple of them at around US$99 each, then keep them in your mic locker for decades as backups and secondary microphones while you upgrade to other microphones. In a pinch, the SM58 can even be used as a hammer, as a veteran sound engineer once demonstrated.

2 SENNHEISER HD600, 1997