I have always been a fan of cheap knockoff mics that work well: Samson, Behringer, etc., but decided that since I am pursuing serious recording endeavors now, that I should pony up and buy a 58 for once. I beatbox and make wacky noises while doing silly things with my mic and cord when I play live, and i've never had a unreasonable problem with handling noise, although it existed. Realizing that the 58 is supposedly the world standard for this issue was a motivator for my decision as well, but I have come across a slight problem: I never in my life have heard so much handling noise. I mean it's not extreme, but the slightest brush of the cord or mic casing is about 6x worse than any mic I have ever held. Could there be something wrong with the internal shock mount? Does this mic just actually suck and everyone has perpetuated a grossly exaggerated myth? Anybody else ever have this problem?