Why does the SM7B need a special preamp?

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.

Can we plug it straight into a laptop?

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.

We are recording a panel of four. Can you supply enough microphones?

Yes. We hire as many as the session needs, whatever the size of the job. 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.

Our room is echoey. Will this microphone fix that?

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.

Home Services Equipment Hire Wired Microphone Hire

Shure SM7B hire — studio and podcast microphone

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

Tick the add-ons you want with the Shure SM7B Dynamic Studio Microphone. They go on your enquiry list together.

Shure SM7B Dynamic Studio Microphone£14a day

Add-ons

Presonus AudioBox iTwo USB InterfaceA USB interface to drive it — record straight into a laptop.£5a day

Rates are per day and exclude VAT. A longer hire costs less per day — tell us your dates and we will price the period exactly. Ask us about delivery and hiring with a technician.

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, whatever the size of the job. 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.

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Talk to us

Tell us the venue, the dates and what the show needs, and we will confirm availability.

Call 0333 404 0621, email [email protected], or send us the details of your production.

Shure SM7B hire — studio and podcast microphone

What you get

Good for

What you need to know

Hire rates

Add-ons

Check availability

Alternatives

Common questions

More wired microphone hire

Shure SM58 & SM57

Choir & Stage Microphones

Active & Passive DI Boxes

Talk to us