The SM7B is the microphone you have heard on more podcasts and voice recordings than any other. It is a dynamic cardioid built for close work: speak or sing a few centimetres from the foam and it picks up the voice, warm and full, while leaving out most of what the room is doing. One honest warning before you book: it is a quiet microphone that wants around 60 dB of clean gain, so it needs a decent preamp or an inline booster. Tell us what you are plugging it into and we will say whether it will cope, and supply an interface if not. It hires at £14 per day.
The Shure SM7B is a moving-coil dynamic microphone with a cardioid pattern and a smooth, flat response from 50 Hz to 20 kHz. It was designed for broadcast studios and has become the default microphone for serious podcast and voiceover work, for one main reason: worked close, between about 2 and 15 centimetres from the mouth, it records the voice warmly and rejects most of the room around it. If you are recording in a classroom, a vestry or a spare office rather than a treated studio, that matters more than anything else on the spec sheet.
Two response switches sit under a cover plate on the back. A bass roll-off trims the low end, useful against proximity boom and rumble from traffic or ventilation, and a presence boost lifts the mid-range when a voice needs more clarity. Flat is the right starting point for most people. The standard windscreen is fitted to the microphone, and the larger A7WS windscreen comes in the case for close-talk speech, softening plosives so you can work right up on the grille.
Now the honest part. The SM7B is gain-hungry. Its output is low, and Shure's own guidance is a preamp with more than 60 dB of clean gain. Plug it straight into a small mixer or a budget interface and you will find yourself with the gain control at maximum and hiss all over the recording. The fix is straightforward: a capable preamp, or an inline booster between microphone and interface, which takes phantom power from the interface and adds clean gain. The microphone itself is dynamic and needs no phantom power at all. Tell us what you are recording into and we will say honestly whether it has enough gain, and we can add an interface or booster to the hire if it does not.
Connection is a standard three-pin XLR. Shielding against hum from computer monitors, lighting and other electrics is unusually good, which is one of the reasons it lives in broadcast studios. The yoke mount is built in, with a 5/8 inch stand thread and a 3/8 inch adapter in the box, so it fits a straight mic stand or a desk boom arm. At 0.764 kg it is a heavy microphone: give it a boom arm with a proper spring rather than a lightweight desk stand.
Hire by the day, one microphone for a voiceover session or a matched set for a round-table podcast, and we can put together the interface, boom arms and headphones to go with them.
What you get
The microphone, with its standard windscreen fitted and the larger A7WS close-talk windscreen in the case
The built-in yoke mount, with a 5/8 inch stand thread and a 3/8 inch adapter for smaller stands
An XLR cable to reach your mixer or interface — tell us the distance and we will send the right length
An inline gain booster can be added if your preamp is short of gain: ask when you book and we will match one to your setup
Not included as standard: a preamp or audio interface, a boom arm or stand, and headphones. All can be added
Advice on the whole recording chain, whether or not the rest of it comes from us
Good for
Podcast recording for schools, churches and community groups, from one voice to a full panel
Voiceover and narration: show promos, audio guides, school video projects
Vocal recording in ordinary rooms, where a condenser would pick up the whole building
Streamed services and assemblies where a spoken voice needs to sound close and clear
Radio drama and audio coursework in schools and colleges
Recording backing tracks and rehearsal vocals for am-dram and dance school shows
What you need to know
What it does
A close-talk studio microphone: worked a few centimetres from the mouth, it records the voice warmly and leaves most of the room noise out.
Phantom power
Not needed — it is a dynamic microphone. But it is quiet, so your preamp wants 60 dB or more of gain, or an inline booster, which does use phantom power.
Connections
Standard three-pin XLR into a mixer or audio interface. It is not a USB microphone, so allow for an interface if you are recording to a laptop.
Where it goes
On a mic stand or a boom arm via its built-in yoke mount, 5/8 inch thread with a 3/8 inch adapter included. At 0.764 kg it needs a sturdy arm.
Who runs it
Anyone who can work close to a microphone and set a gain level. We will talk you through the setup, or send a technician for the session.
Hire rates
Item
Rate
Shure SM7B Dynamic Studio Microphone
£14 / day
Presonus AudioBox iTwo USB Interface
£5 / day
Rates are per day and exclude VAT. Ask us about multi-day and show-week rates, delivery, and hiring with a technician.
Check availability
See whether this is free for your dates. This is an indication from our current bookings, not a reservation.
Alternatives
Shure SM58 — the live-vocal standard — the one to take when the job is a stage rather than a studio.
Full technical specification (11)
Manufacturer and model
Shure SM7B
Microphone type
Dynamic (moving coil)
Polar pattern
Cardioid
Frequency response
50 Hz to 20,000 Hz
Output impedance
150 ohms
Sensitivity
-59 dBV/Pa (1.12 mV) at 1 kHz, open circuit
Connector
Three-pin XLR; no phantom power required
Response switches
Bass roll-off and presence boost, behind a rear cover plate
Hum pickup (60 Hz, typical)
11 dB equivalent SPL/mOe
Dimensions
197.1 x 97.4 x 149.2 (L x W x H in its yoke mount)
Weight
0.764
Common questions
Its output is much lower than most microphones, and Shure recommends a preamp with more than 60 dB of clean gain. Many small mixers and budget interfaces run out of gain before the SM7B gets loud enough, and turning everything to maximum just adds hiss. An inline booster between the microphone and your preamp solves it, or a better preamp does. Tell us what you are using and we will give you a straight answer, and add a booster or interface to the hire if you need one.
No. The SM7B is an XLR microphone, not USB, so it needs an audio interface or a mixer between it and the computer. Almost any interface will connect; the question is whether it has enough gain, which is where an inline booster earns its place. We can supply an interface with the hire and set sensible levels before it leaves us.
Yes. We hire as many as the session needs, and we can bring more in from trusted suppliers for bigger jobs. For a panel, remember that each microphone needs its own preamp channel with enough gain, so the interface or mixer matters as much as the microphone count. Tell us how many voices and we will spec the whole chain.
It will help more than almost anything else you can hire, but it is not magic. Because it is a dynamic cardioid designed for close work, the voice is loud at the capsule and the room is quiet, so echo drops right down in the recording. Work close, use the A7WS windscreen, and if you can, record in a smaller room with soft furnishings. What it will not do is rescue a distant microphone: the closeness is the trick.
