The 358's shall rule the night

[J M Fahey]

An LM358 is a regular Op Amp and works as such. Only it is cheap, cheap cheap and to boot cheap. Did I say it´s cheap?
11 cents by the unit, certainly less by the 10s of thousands.

NOT DESIGNED FOR AUDIO, original Op Amps (741, etc.) weren´t either.

It is a very useful one widely produced INDUSTRIAL Op Amp for zillions of applications, perfect for non Audio applications such as temperature and water level sensors in washing machines, inside cars, etc.

It was optimized for that duty, so for example is perfectly happy with a SINGLE +5V supply, output can reach ground, etc.
Try that with most any other Op Amp and it fails.

They made it low current consumption by the crude method of biasing output Class B (no idle current) , bad for Audio (crossover distortion) , no big deal when you are controlling a coffee pot or a waffle maker.

They are so useful that I always keep a 50 unit stick near my bench.
11 cents each!!!!!!

Now let me tell you a secret.

My bell ringed one Saturday night, say 10 PM.
I used to live in a Tourist hotspot (La Boca) in Buenos Aires and just around the corner there is a famous Blues Club.

Some friends were playing there and stupidly connected a speaker out to a much needed PA mixer I had made, they blew the first Op Amp (RC4558/TL072) to smithereens.

I had just run out of dual Op Amps, which I planned to resupply on Monday, they were desperate (Musicians always are  ) so I fit an LM358 there.

it ..... "worked".

That channel was a little dull compared to others but nothing to write home about.
Crossover distortion must have been measurable but not detected by ear.
Maybe if they were miking a Classic Piano but not in a basic Blues/Rock band!!!! 

I told them: "this is an Emergency repair just to save the day, bring it back on Monday for the good one"

Guess what?
They never ever took it back to the shop!
YEARS ago!!!

Now and then I meet them , their answer?

"It works, sound is great for harmonica/harp duty"

Remember there they use those crude Shure Green Bullet taxi dispatcher mikes anyway 

Frequency response not too flat, between 250 Hz and 5 kHz. On a good day 

So I suggest you learn how to use Op Amps "by the book" , using the proper NFB networks, both using regular op amps and 358s

Note: many FAKE Hi End Hong Kong/China/EBay Op Amps are actually rebranded dirt cheap 358s   
Oh the irony!!!!

Again: they DO "work", although poorly.