Shure SM7b

Beloved by home recordists and podcasters: The Shure SM7b.

Introduced in 1973 it shares the same moving-coil element as the ubiquitous SM57 (the Unidyne III) and is derived from the SM5 microphone which was designed for the broadcast industry.

There are a few differences between the SM7b and the SM57.

The SM7b has a humbucking moving coil.

The larger housing of the SM7B allows for a larger rear volume behind the cartridge which extends its low end response.

The SM7b has a yoke and internal shock mount system to reduce mic stand vibrations, while the shock mount in the SM57/SM58 is optimised to reduce noise in handheld applications.

All of these differences are all geared towards broadcast use however by the early 80’s the SM7b had made its way into the recording studio and had gained one very high profile admirer: Bruce Swedien, engineer for Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson.

It goes to show the quality of this mic when this team who had the whole world’s recording resources at their finger tips would chose such an affordable mic for most of the Michael Jackson records.

I love this mic and will often chose it over mics that are worth more than 20 times its value for vocals, especially when I want to avoid bleed from other voices or instruments.

It also sounds great on guitar cabs and gets used a lot there.