SM 7 B : Shure SM7b - versatile, rugged and sounds great

I purchased this mic primarily for my band's vocalist. The SM7b is well known as being a great mic for relatively heavy rock singers. Originally designed as a broadcast mic, the SM7 actually uses the same capsule as the lower priced and more ubiquitous SM57, with optional high and low pass filters, a tweaked suspension, altered body shape and no impedance matching transformer. That's the technical jargon dispensed with, what does it mean?

Imagine an SM57 with more clarity, detail, depth, high end response and you won't be far off. The SM7b manages to sound professional and high quality while still maintaining some of the character that make the SM57 an industry standard - the sound it captures will often sit perfectly in a mix. As the mic's capsule is recessed a bit into the body of the mic behind a basket there's less proximity response available which in practice tends to mean less muddy low end. The only downside is that because the mic has no onboard transformer (which means better sound quality), the output is quite low so the mic definitely benefits from a good preamp - something with plenty of gain on tap, high input impedance and low noise. For this reason I'll knock a star off "features".

The mic performed admirably on my vocalist, taking high volume raspy male rock vocals in its stride. I've also used it with very good results on kick drum and guitar/ bass cabs. It feels very well built, with a solid metal case and a surprisingly useable mounting system.