All user reviews of 4/5 for the Shure SM7B

Microphone Type: Dynamic
Polar Pattern: Cardioid
Frequency Response: 50Hz-20kHz
Impedance: 150 ohms
Bass rolloff and mid-range emphasis (presence boost) controls
A7WS detachable windscreen

OVERALL OPINION

The SM7b is a great mic and, with the right preamp, can be the center vocal mic in a professional studio. Not only does this mic sound great on vocals (especially male, in the heavier styles of music), but also on guitar cabinets, snare drum, hi-hats and the occasional bass drum. This was the mic used to record the vocals on the highest selling album of all time, Michael Jackson's Thriller!

I mentioned above that this can be a great mic, with the correct preamp. The major downfall of the SM7b is it needs a lot of gain to drive it. If you're dealing with quieter vocalists and sources, 60db of gain in your preamps might be cutting it a bit short, since most preamps tend to get noisy in the last 20-25% of their range. This microphone is NOT particularly stunning through stock preamps in most interfaces (even the $2000 ones), fairly bland and similar in sound to a SM57/58. The mic REALLY comes to life with an excellent preamp, such as those offered by Universal Audio and API. Don't get me wrong, you can still get excellent results from it with lower end preamps, but don't expect it to sound significantly better than condensers in its price range (used), through one.

When it comes to dynamics, I go to Shure. Granted, that opinion had been because of their SM58 alone, but no more. When I was looking for a mic to handle what I call "long haul" digital narration projects (well, okay, that and I wanted to buy another pro-grade microphone. Can you blame me?), I ultimately came down to two mics (say 'em with me now): the Electro Voice RE20 and the Shure SM7B. My voice is low and at it's lower and quieter moments has a bit of a rumble, so after a few voice tests at a local shop, I went with the SM7B. It handles my voice perfectly with no thinning or dampening. I've never been happier. One note: you're going to need a good amount of clean gain to drive this puppy. I pair mine with a Grace m101 and it absolutely soars!

OVERALL OPINION

This mic picks up all the nuance and character that I want while also providing amazing ambient noise rejection. I can record in any room in my house and the sound is nearly the same in each place. And while I wouldn't call this microphone a jack of all trades, that doesn't stop me from telling you that I love this microphone! You will too.
Sonically it sounds great, ideal for fattening whatever your trying to record and with good EQ'ing, even an amateur will hear the difference!! It makes a great impression, any talent walks into your studio and sees an SM7 and it will say a lot about you as an engineer. If I must be a bully, it doesn't get a 5 because you do need a preamp with a lot of gain. The only mics that stand up to the SM7 cost $3000+ dollars, and even then, the SM7 STILL stands amongst them!

You see these in a lot of radio studios and recording studios alike. I never tried one of these because I was under the impression they were strictly for voicover work. How wrong I was. This is a dynamic mic in function but I believe the sound is more in the condenser range. It's one of those acts like this but sounds like that mics you see pop up. Apparently it's meant to be a very balanced mic and I'd say that's a fair description. It's a very neutral sound.

OVERALL OPINION

Oddly enough, I first came into contact with one of these during a live session recording. I had seem them before being used on vocals, but in this particular setting I was given one to use on my own vocals. I looked at the engineer like he was crazy. It was a live acoustic session. I had a guitar, drums, and an acoustic bass, on top of me singing. The engineer assured me it would sound good. SO we did it. Ended up sounding great. There's something about this mic that makes it sound very at home with acoustic instruments on vocals. I later bought one and tried a lot of experimenting with it, and found that it did much better in laid back mixes than full band mixes. To be fair, it's very hard to find a mic that fits both these situations. Most only do one well. I really like the SM7B for vocals in acoustic music. I cut a whole album with it actually. I've come to the conclusion that for home recording on a budget, this is very solid vocal mic. You really can't go wrong for the money. It does require a bit of EQ based on what sound you want it to have because of how inherently neutral it is. Honestly though, I found that half the time is sounds pretty good untouched. It can be boomy if you have a low voice. But no worries. Just cut it at 200 hz.

View the previous opinion, everything is perfectly described ...

OVERALL OPINION

This is a short week it is in intensive testing at the studio ...
Very nice microphone, in any case, I am a fan

Having bought many of my favorite albums included some voices principal made with this mic.

Verdict: not disappoint, output level, but my feeble excellent GTQ2 has recovered all that, do not be afraid to use the two buttons at the back (hump in the upper midrange and low cut), to equalize when making , ....

It's a microphone "philosophy" SM57: do not be afraid to "bully", he is really good on vocals auctions or "big" voice

After it is true that there is not necessarily the "air" and the extent that Neumann may have large but it's really good for the big rock ...

I have not tested it yet on guitar amps or bass drums but it will be soon

Recommended, but not as the first vocal microphone ...

***** UPDATE OF June 7, 2010 *********
I recorded the last weekend of votes "metal" with this microphone, connected to the preamp GTQ2, then the UA 1176 compressor, and finally a converter Soundscpae / Apogee ... PERFECT for male voices. When associated with a Big preamp (for low output) and a large compressor, it makes voices "radio" when spoken, if not very very big voice for singing rock!
Recommended by what we want!!
Paul

This mic is really meant to just sit in one place and have broadcasters speak into it. This is Shure's flagship broadcasting and public speaking mic. However, it has been widely adopted into the pro audio world as well for its unique, lively sound. It is a dynamic that connects with XLR, so no phantom power necessary. It comes with a big wind screen, which you will probably want to take off if you are using it for music to allow more of the high frequency detail to come through, but leave on for broadcasting to tone down some of the more nasty plosives. It has two frequency adjustment switches. One is a low-frequency roll-off to help deal with the proximity effect you will definitely be seeing from broadcasters, and the other a is a presence boost that will help intelligibility of speech. For music, this mic can give a very fat sound to vocals. Use this on singers with a very edgy, mid-range type sound and listen to them melt into a fat punchy sound. You will probably want to boost above 8k for lead vocals on your EQ, but everything below that will likely sound great. I also know many people who like to use this on snare drums and toms, and have gotten great results.

OVERALL OPINION

I have only recently been introduced to using this mic in the studio. I tried it on a few other sources other than vocals such as a guitar cabinet and a horn, but nothing really clicked for me except a specific kind of singer. There are just some singers who really will sound trashy through a condenser without the smoothing that they receive through the right dynamic mic, even though you tend to lose some detail and transients. This is definitely a good mic to have in your locker, very much recommended.