First, the boxes. Judging by the documentation, whoever made my counterfeit based it on a model from 2003. That’s most likely why these boxes are so different. There may be newer fakes with updated boxes, so don’t trust this alone. The mic was sold as cosmetically-damaged stock, so I can’t fault the seller for the crumpled box.

Serial number and validation sticker in purple (identifying numbers are blacked out)

Authentic Shure mics come with a unique serial number on the outside of the packaging. That’s definitely something to look for when purchasing one. The distributor for Australia, Jands, also affixes a holographic sticker with a security code that can be validated through their website. Check with your country’s Shure distributor to see if they offer a similar service.

Notice how the real mic comes in a sleeve-style box, where the fake box has a lid that lifts off. This appears to match other people’s experiences with fake Shure mics.

The contents of the boxes are not too different. Both contain a mic, mic clip, zip-up case, velcro cable tie, and some paperwork.

The fake mic’s manual is marked as revision 2, the real mic’s as revision 4. I couldn’t find anything obviously wrong with the fake documentation. The printing is of reasonable quality, the spelling and grammar are fine. I suspect these documents are direct copies of Shure’s documents from the period this mic was manufactured. Not much help for identifying a fake.

The main differences here are the bubble wrap and the case. The padding on Shure’s mic fills most of the box, where the fake’s is a thin layer around the mic itself. Shure’s case has a satin finish and the leather texture is fine-grained, where the fake looks like stereotypical fake leather, shiny and large-grained. Both cases have an embossed Shure logo; the embossing on the fake isn’t bad. The velcro ties are very similar other than the colour of the text, which may just be due to the age of the fake.

The clips differ a little in their dimensions, but the main distinction is that the real clip has the text “Assembled by Shure in Mexico” embossed around the base.

Ok, on to the interesting bits. One of the most obvious differences between the mics is the plating on the connector. The fake has gold-plated pins, where the real mic has silver. Note also the CE mark on the real mic.

There are minor differences between the graphics inside the connector, though this may have been changed by Shure, with the fake copied from an older revision.

Here I’m trying to show the large gap between the body and cap on the fake. The fake mic is noticeably longer due to this.

The logo sticker on the real mic is much higher quality. It has some thickness to it, the edges are beveled, and the finish is matte with white text. The fake sticker is very thin, the edges are overlapping and misaligned, and the finish is shiny with silver text.

The printing is clearer on the real mic, and the Shure logo includes the registered trademark symbol.

Another telltale sign of fake SM57s is that the grille cap does not rotate. On the real mic, the entire black plastic section and grille rotate freely and continuously. On the fake, they only rotate if forced, and it feels likely that doing so will break the mic. My fake mic also has a very low-quality grill. Note the broken wire strands leaving a large hole near the edge.

The final clear difference between the mics is the internals. The soldering work on the real mic is of good quality, the base is epoxy potted and appears to contain a film capacitor (update: this is actually a transformer. Thanks to redditor /u/pm_m_ur_demotape for the clarification). The exposed PCB on the capsule includes a mark reading ‘OF’. In comparison, the fake has wires running directly to the XLR connector with no potting or capacitor (transformer), and the soldering is of poor quality.