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The Shure SM57 vs. SM7B – Which One is Right for Me?

by Callum /
24/04/2024

So, you want to record something and have your eyes on a Shure microphone… That’s great, but which one do you choose? Do you want an SM57 or an SM7B? What are they good for? What are the differences?

In this guide, we’ll be looking at the SM57 vs. the SM7B, so you can decide which one is best for you.

Similarities and differences

Shure SM57Shure SM7B
Microphone TypeDynamicDynamic
Frequency Response40 Hz – 15 kHz50 Hz – 20 kHz
Polar PatternCardioidCardioid
Impedance150Ω150Ω
Sensitivity−56 dBV/Pa−59 dBV/Pa

Shure SM57 vs. SM7B

What are they used for?

SM57

The Shure SM57 is extremely popular for percussive and transient-heavy sounds like guitar amps and cabs, snare drums, and toms. Those are the typical uses for an SM57, at least, but it’s developed a firm reputation as a complete all-rounder instrument mic that has cemented its place in professional recording studios the world over.

Acoustic guitars, brass and woodwind instruments, cymbals, vocals, and so much more have been put to records with the SM57. It’s also a common live mic, as it can handle lots of gain before feedback and its versatility makes it easy to mic up pretty much anything on stage.

Shure SM57 with a guitar cab

 
SM7B

The SM7B, on the other hand, is designed with vocals in mind, giving it a different sound characteristic. However, this isn’t the whole story. The SM7B has also established itself as a studio all-rounder for a plethora of other instruments, particularly guitar amps and cabs, brass, woodwinds, and even kick drums or bass cabs.

This might sound an awful lot like the same use cases as an SM57, but the results of recording with one or the other are certainly different from each other!

Shure SM7B used for vocals


History

Both the SM57 and the SM7B have a shared history dating back to Shure’s early years. In 1939, Shure released the world’s first single-element unidirectional microphone, the Model 55 Unidyne. At the time, ribbon and crystal microphones were more common because dynamic microphones were comparatively large and expensive.

The Model 55’s design changed this, and it quickly became one of the most familiar microphone designs in the world.

In 1959, Shure developed the Model 545 Unidyne III, which contained the Unidyne III capsule. This microphone follows on from the Model 55, is a direct predecessor to the SM57, and is the common ancestor of the SM57 and the SM7B alike, as both of these mics utilise the Unidyne III cartridge.

The SM57 took the same end-firing design of the Model 545 and, with the help of engineer Ernie Seeler, was developed to be all but bulletproof! SM57 prototypes would be subjected to high drops, liquid exposure, and radical temperature changes to make sure they could withstand challenging conditions.

Designed for instrument recording, the SM57 used many of the same core principles as the next microphone Shure would go on to release: the SM58. However, the SM57 was placed in a longer, thinner body without a pop filter and a larger presence boost at 5 kHz to help the instruments cut through the mix.

The SM5, released in 1966, is where the SM7B’s history began. A dynamic boom microphone that found popularity in radio and film studios, the SM5 had what is now a very familiar form factor. At the time, though, it was seen as too large! The SM7 would be released in 1973, taking a lot of the same purpose and shape of the SM5 while shrinking in size and improving the core of the sound.

Shure engineers were given the Unidyne III and other key design elements of the SM57 and told to make it better with a view to broadcasting and voiceover, with no size or cost restrictions. The SM7 would later become the SM7A, with an improved humbucking coil for noise reduction and a better yoke mount in 1999. The SM7B would follow a few years later in 2001, with a larger windscreen.

Shure SM57 used wtih an acoustic guitar


Similarities

Both the SM57 and the SM7B are dynamic microphones with cardioid polar patterns. This makes them great for handling large fluctuations in volume and focusing their pickup on sound sources directly in front of them to avoid ambient noise or feedback. They also use XLR connectors, as most professional studio mics do.

Being dynamic microphones, the SM57 and SM7B don’t need phantom power, making them simple to plug in and record with, while handling louder sounds more easily and not distorting.

They also have a shared key element: the Unidyne III microphone cartridge. The Unidyne III was the crowning achievement of Shure engineer Ernie Seeler. This cartridge made the microphone’s polar patterns more consistent, which resulted in them being able to handle a lot more gain without feedback.

Seeler tried to design this cartridge to have a completely flat frequency response, but it ended up with a presence peak which turned out to define the sound of this cartridge and all the microphones that would subsequently use it.

At the time of the Unidyne III cartridge and the release of the Model 545, cardioid polar patterns were not so consistent. You could have uneven sensitivity on one side compared to the other, lopsided front pickup, a small amount of rear sensitivity which wasn’t supposed to be there, and other similar issues. The Unidyne III changed this and made the polar pattern of the microphone far more stable.

The result is that microphones could take a lot more gain before causing feedback, meaning that PA systems could become more powerful, and live music events larger.

This is why Shure microphones like the Model 545, SM57, SM58, and SM7B became the weapons of choice for heavier music, like rock and metal. The Model 545 could be seen all over the stages at the original Woodstock music festival, and the Unidyne III cartridge was the reason why!

Shure SM7B


Differences

So, what separates the SM57 and the SM7B? Despite their similar DNA and core design, these microphones are very different. First off, form factor. The SM57’s compact cylindrical form really suits its intended purpose, up-close instrument recording. With no internal pop filtering, you get a direct signal that easily captures transient information without decreasing high-frequency detail.

The SM7B’s larger form factor taken from the SM5 is significantly bulkier, and while it’s tough to get into some of the close-up positions you can put the SM57 in, it can still handle a lot of the same sources with a little more distance. The SM7B also has a large windscreen and internal pop filtering to soften plosives, which will also make transients more gentle.

The frequency responses of the SM7B and SM57 diverge a little bit. Whilst the quoted response figures of the SM57 go from 40 Hz to 15 kHz, and the SM7B from 50 Hz to 20 kHz, this can be somewhat misleading. The SM7B is actually tuned to sound significantly bassier, giving it that warm sound we often hear on the radio or in podcasts. This is mostly due to the SM7B’s larger housing.

Another noticeable difference in sound between the two mics lives in the midrange. The SM57’s characteristic presence boost at 5 kHz is exaggerated compared to many of the other Unidyne III mics like the Model 545 and the SM58, giving it a sharp upper midrange that lets instruments slice through the mix.

The SM7B also has a presence boost at this frequency, but it’s switchable and more gentle than the one found on the SM57. Additionally, the SM7B has a switchable bass roll-off to cut low-frequency mud when necessary.

The SM7B also has a variant mic with a built-in preamp, the SM7dB, which adds up to 28 dB of gain. This is important because the difference in sensitivity between the two mics makes the SM7B’s output much lower than the SM57 by default, and the SM7B has been pretty well-known for requiring the boost of some kind of outboard preamp to get its signal to a healthy volume.

Shure SM57 on a speaker

SM57 pros and cons

ProCon
Small form factor makes positioning for close-up instrument recording easyFrequency response drop-off at 15 kHz lacks high-frequency detail
Capable of handling incredibly loud volumes without distortion or feedbackLess bass response than SM7B
Lack of pop filter allows it to catch transients for percussive instrumentsLack of pop filter makes it vulnerable to sibilance and plosives
Presence boost helps add a detailed and upfront character to recordings to take control of a mixPresence boost is non-removable and quite exaggerated, which can result in aggressive upper-mids
Lightweight and durable design for sturdy and reliable use in live and studio settingsNot tuned for vocals

SM7B pros and cons

ProCon
Warm, full sound with a flat midrangeBass can get overwhelming at times
Switchable low-cut filter to tame low-frequency informationLarge form-factor is more difficult to get close to sound sources
Switchable presence boost for more upper-midrange if desiredInternal pop filtering can soften transients
Built-in shock mount reduces handling noiseLow-output design requires preamp to boost gain
Included windshield reduces plosivesWindshield can muffle high-frequencies and needs to be removed for instrument recording

Why is frequency response important?

Shure SM7B in a studioFrequency response is very important to understanding the sound of a microphone. There is, however, a common pitfall with reading these numbers in mic specification sheets.

Frequency response is just a measurement of what frequencies are picked up by the microphone over a certain threshold. While this can help us understand certain things about a microphone, it can also be somewhat misleading.

The important thing to note is that this is a range, and doesn’t give us the full picture.

Primarily, it gives us an idea of what the microphone is going to be good for recording. Let’s take a look at the frequency response figures of the SM57 and the SM7B. The specifications tell us that the SM57 has a frequency response of 40 Hz – 15 kHz. The SM7B has a frequency response of 50 Hz – 20 kHz.

Based on these numbers, you’d think the bassier mic would be the SM57, right? But the truth is that the SM57’s bass response is overall lower than that of the SM7B. It’s important to read frequency response graphs alongside the quoted ranges to see the bigger picture.

The SM57 has a further bass extension, which is why it has that low, woody sound on acoustic guitars, but the graph shows a gradual upwards slope that takes up until around 300 Hz to equal the bass response of the SM7B at 100 Hz. The SM7B has a sharper roll-off due to its design as a vocal microphone. However, above that roll-off at 50 Hz, it responds far more strongly to the low frequencies.

This is why it’s important to consider the design, intent, and further information about the microphones to understand how they actually sound. Make sure you look at frequency response graphs to get a full picture of the sound!

Benefits of a cardioid polar pattern

Shure SM57 used on a guitar ampThe primary advantage of the SM57 and SM7B is to do with the main innovation of the Unidyne III cartridge: its directional consistency. Thanks to the end-firing design of the microphones and the way the Unidyne III cartridge is made, they have an extremely consistent pickup. But what does that mean, exactly?

Polar patterns indicate the sensitivity of the microphone to sounds from a certain direction. There are a lot of different kinds of polar patterns, but for our purposes, we only need to worry about one of the most common: cardioid.

Cardioid polar patterns pick up sound from directly in front of the microphone, and a little from the sides. We call any sound offset from the front of the mic off-axis sound, and cardioid rejects this.

How does this affect our two mics of choice today? Well, the SM57 is best for close mic’ing.

For guitar amps, cabs, snare and tom drums, brass, woodwinds, acoustic guitars, you can push the SM57 up as close to them as possible and get the exact signal you need. This can also add a little extra low-end to your recordings thanks to the proximity effect.

The SM7B, by contrast, behaves better with a little extra distance between itself and the source. You don’t need to be far, but for speech and singing, you’ll want at least a few inches of distance between yourself and the mic for a clearer sound. With the SM7B being bassier by default, you might want even more distance to remove the proximity effect and prevent your voice from sounding too muddy and low.

Shure SM57 vs. SM7B – which is better?

So, which mic is better? Truthfully, it’s just not that simple. The real point of comparison between these microphones highlights just how different two microphones can be when they use a lot of the same ideas and components, but have separate intended uses.

The SM57 is built to record instruments; the SM7B is built to record vocals. Whilst both the SM57 and SM7B are capable of being used for the same things, differences in their behaviour make them better suited to one context over the other.

For example, you can use the SM57 for vocal recording, but without internal pop filtering, you need to attach a windshield to prevent plosives and sibilance from ruining your recording. It’ll sound a little thinner than the SM7B thanks to the bigger presence boost at 5 kHz and lower bass response, but it’ll still sound very good. However, you’ll need to account for using it in a way other than it was intended.

Likewise, you can very much use the SM7B for a lot of the instruments you would use an SM57 on. It may even perform better on low-frequency sources like kick drums and bass amps since it has a better bass response. However, the sound will have softer transients thanks to the internal pop filtering.

It may help to remove the windscreen for instrument recording, but the sound won’t come out identical to that of the SM57, even with the presence boost switched on.

Plus, the differences in form factor can provide some other challenges. The SM7B’s larger housing not only makes it harder to get into tight spaces but also increases its bass response, meaning you’ll probably need to place it further away from your intended source than you would the SM57.

But if you want a vocal powerhouse that has a warm, full sound for radio, podcasting, pop, rap, rock, and even metal vocals, the SM7B will absolutely do that job to a high standard. Can it do more than that? Absolutely, but being aware of its limitations will ensure you know how to get around them to use it the way you want to.

Plenty of guitar amps, bass amps, kick drums, hi-hats, and snare drums typically associated with the SM57 have been put to record with an SM7B. Conversely, if you want to record vocals, an SM57 can do the job, but again, it’s better suited to the instruments.

Ask yourself what the priority is for what you want to record, and if it’s vocals, you’ll definitely be better off with the SM7B. If it’s instruments? The SM57 is probably a safer bet. But if you need an all-rounder, the SM7B has plenty of flexibility to be the primary microphone of choice for both vocals and instruments.

FAQs

Is the SM7B better than the SM57?

The SM7B and the SM57 serve different purposes. The SM7B, with its larger diaphragm, is better suited to studio vocals and broadcast applications, offering richer sound quality. The SM57, however, is renowned for its durability and versatility in recording instruments.


Is the SM57 OK for vocals?

The SM57 is suitable for vocals, especially in live settings. Its ability to handle high sound pressure levels makes it a reliable choice for loud environments. However, for studio recordings, a microphone with a larger diaphragm might capture more vocal nuances.


What is the SM57 best for?

The SM57 excels in recording musical instruments. It’s particularly effective on drums, guitar amplifiers, and brass instruments. Its rugged design and consistent performance make it a staple in live performances and studio settings alike.

Final thoughts

The SM7B and SM57 are both incredible microphones in their own right, with an interesting history that goes back to many key innovations. They’re also a fantastic pairing together that can pretty much serve to act as a full recording setup for music.

They highlight just how different two microphones can be whilst having so many things in common. If you’re looking for an all-rounder or a core vocal microphone for music recording, streaming, or podcasting, the SM7B is an ideal choice with a deep and rich sound. If you want to record pretty much any instrument that comes your way, the SM57 will get you a professional record-ready sound almost instantaneously.

 

Content Writer - Live Sound

Callum is a former music technology student who has a love of punk, rock, metal, and electronic music. In his spare time, he produces music, and DJs occasionally. He's also a freelance engineer when possible, helping local bands make their noise even noisier.

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