In the 1980s I was playing in a band. I came into sound check early one day and my sound man was hammering a large nail into the drum riser to keep the bass drum from moving forward. I looked at him with surprise and he had a smirky smile on his face. He was using the SM58 vocal mic as the hammer to hit the nail into the wood! After hammering the nail he plugged in the mic and did his "Check One Two, Check, Check." He smiled at me and I just laughed out loud. The mic worked fine and did for many years after that.

I was telling my grandson about a folk/rock band I played harmonica in. I dug through some boxes in the attic and found my old harps and my old SM58. I had slipped a foam sock over the top of it and it had deteriorated into dust all inside the mic. So I ran it through the dishwasher and it worked just fine! Well, until I lent it to a friend and I never saw him or the mic again. But I'll bet when someone finds it, it'll still work!

During an outside gig this past August a thunder shower came up. Our roadie threw a tarp over the equipment, knocking over my boom stand that held my SM58 that was at least 15 years old. The result: the mic body broke in half. This was not the first time it had hit the ground. After the rain stopped we duct-taped it together and finished the gig. I bought a new one for cosmetic reasons but I'm keeping the old one as a backup!

At an outdoor concert near a 20-foot bonfire, the band goes on and the lead singer jumps off stage. He goes into the crowd. The mic somehow makes its way into the fire for about a minute until a stage hand pulls it out. Later on I get the mic back, take the grill off and find the foam half intact. Of course I try it out and it still works. Ladies and Gents, the SM58.

I use the SM58s for Native American Pow Wow Events. They work great for one-mic setups for the drum and singers. But the great thing about the SM58 is the fact that they get smacked all the time with errant drum sticks and still keep on working as if nothing happened!

I have owned several SM58, all of which have endured massive abuse over the years. At one point in my life, I left the music business, storing my mics in an aluminum shed. For nearly two years they sat out there in the changing seasons, extreme heat, brutal cold, dampness, dryness, bugs and more. When I finally decided to return to playing live again, I was looking through my shed at all the cables, wires, electronics and finally, the SM58's. The wires were corroded and the fittings welded by oxidation. However, that first time I plugged in my mics, to my amazement, all of them worked. For the next eight years, I used all of those mics. I have thrown away lots of other mics that just couldn't hold up over spans of time as short as a few months to as much as a couple of years, but I have never thrown away a Shure SM58, and I don't believe that I ever will.

After a late night gig I loaded my gear in the van. As I pulled forward, I realized I had ran over something - my gig bag. All was good, just some muddy lyrics and cords. Then I found my SM58. The grille looked like a fortune cookie! When I got home I hooked it up and it still worked. The next day I bought a new grille and I am still using it today! That was 12 years ago.

While providing sound equipment for an outdoor amateur wrestling wasn't the best idea, it went a little too far when one of the wrestlers, in a fit of rage, verbalizing his displeasure with his opponent, soaked my SM58 with his saliva and then slammed the mic to the canvas as if though it was his rival. Needless to say the mic suffered a minor, cosmetic only injury, but has continued to serve me incredibly. This took place approximately five years ago. I love your mics!