Shure
SM7B
Dynamic · Cardioid · 50–20,000 Hz · a rider regular
- At −59 dBV/Pa it needs roughly 60 dB of clean gain; the reason inline preamps exist as a product category is largely this microphone.
- Two slotted switches on the back set bass rolloff and presence boost — the flat setting, which most people never select, is the one the response curve is drawn for.
- Descended from the 1973 SM7, which is the microphone on Michael Jackson's Thriller vocals.
Frequency response
Read off Shure’s published response graph and re-drawn on the fixed MicSense scale (20 Hz–20 kHz, −20 to +15 dB), so two microphones can be compared at a glance. Points between the entered coordinates are interpolated — no data has been invented to smooth the curve.
Polar pattern
Generated from the first-order directivity formula for cardioid. It illustrates the pattern type — it is not a measurement of this individual model.
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Shure |
|---|---|
| Model | SM7B |
| Type | Dynamic |
| Form factor | Side-address |
| Polar pattern | Cardioid |
| Frequency range | 50–20,000 Hz |
| Sensitivity | 1.12 mV/Pa · -59.0 dBV/Pa |
| Max SPL | — |
| Self-noise | — |
| Impedance | 150 Ω (for inputs rated 19–300 Ω) |
| Connector | XLR3M |
| Powering | None (dynamic) |
| Weight | 765 g |
| Price tier | Pro |
| Introduced | 2001 |
Every figure above is from Shure’s own published datasheet for this model — see the datasheet. A dash means the manufacturer does not publish that figure; it does not mean zero.
What it gets used for
- Broadcast
- FOH vocal
- Lectern / podium
MicSense tags microphones by the job on a live stage, not by studio category — so you can filter for “kick in” or “monitor vocal” instead of working backwards from “large-diaphragm condenser”.
Compare it against the alternatives.
MicSense lets you put up to four microphones side by side — spec table, overlaid response curves and polar diagrams on one screen. Free with a free Squaresmile account.