Your voice is unique. That’s why choosing a vocal microphone isn’t as simple as finding the microphone with the best specifications.
A microphone that sounds amazing on one singer can sound too bright, too dark, or too harsh on another. Your voice, recording room, singing style, and whether you’re performing live or recording in a studio all matter.
Still, some microphones are consistently good starting points.
For studio vocals, the Shure SM7B is my favorite overall vocal microphone. It’s a dynamic microphone with a smooth sound, excellent rejection of unwanted noise, and a design that works particularly well for close vocal recording.
For live singers, the Shure Beta 58A is a better choice. If you’re just getting started and want something affordable and dependable, it’s difficult to go wrong with the classic Shure SM58.
What is the Best Vocal Microphones?
Here are some of the best vocal microphones to consider.
1. Shure SM7B – Best Vocal Microphone Overall
The Shure SM7B has become one of the most recognizable vocal microphones in recording. There’s a reason for that.
It’s a dynamic cardioid microphone with a frequency response of 50 Hz to 20 kHz. Its response is smooth and relatively natural, which makes it suitable for a wide variety of voices.
Unlike many sensitive condenser microphones, the SM7B can also work well in rooms that aren’t perfectly treated.
Its cardioid pickup pattern helps reject sound coming from the sides and rear, while internal air-suspension shock isolation helps reduce mechanical vibration.
Shure also includes effective pop filtering, which is particularly useful when recording vocals close to the microphone.
You can adjust the microphone’s response using bass roll-off and midrange presence controls. There is one important limitation.
The SM7B has relatively low output. Shure recommends using it with a preamp capable of providing around 60 dB of gain. Make sure your audio interface can provide enough clean gain, or consider a microphone booster or the newer SM7dB with its built-in preamp.
2. Shure SM58 – Best Budget Vocal Microphone
The Shure SM58 is one of the safest recommendations for anyone buying their first vocal microphone. It’s affordable, rugged, and incredibly straightforward.
The SM58 is a dynamic cardioid microphone designed primarily for vocals. Its cardioid pattern focuses on sound arriving from the front while reducing sound from behind the microphone.
That’s particularly useful during live performances. A singer may have drums behind them, guitar amplifiers nearby, and stage monitors pointing in different directions.
The microphone needs to capture the singer without capturing too much of everything else. Another major advantage is durability.
Live microphones don’t spend their lives sitting safely in a studio. They get dropped. They get thrown into equipment cases.
They get covered in sweat. The SM58 is designed for that kind of use. It may not provide the same studio detail as an expensive condenser, but for dependable vocal performance, it’s hard to beat.
3. Shure Beta 58A – Best Vocal Microphone for Live Singing
The Beta 58A takes the basic handheld vocal-microphone idea and makes it more focused. Unlike the cardioid SM58, the Beta 58A uses a supercardioid pickup pattern. That gives it tighter directionality and stronger rejection from the sides.
When used with properly positioned stage monitors, this can provide better resistance to feedback.
The Beta 58A also has approximately 4 dB greater sensitivity than the SM58, according to Shure, and provides a more extended frequency response.
That can make vocals sound a little more detailed and present. Its advanced pneumatic shock mount also reduces handling noise. The tradeoff is that a supercardioid microphone requires slightly better technique.
You need to keep the microphone properly aimed toward your mouth, and stage-monitor placement becomes more important. For an experienced live singer, those tradeoffs can be worthwhile.
Final Thoughts
There isn’t one microphone that sounds perfect on every singer. That’s why professional studios keep multiple vocal microphones available.
But if you need somewhere to start, the Shure SM7B is my favorite overall vocal microphone for recording.
It has a 50 Hz to 20 kHz frequency response, cardioid pickup pattern, excellent electromagnetic shielding, internal shock isolation, built-in pop filtering, and selectable bass roll-off and presence controls. Its main weakness is its low sensitivity, so make sure your interface or preamp can provide enough clean gain.
For live vocals, the Shure Beta 58A is a better choice. Its supercardioid pattern provides tighter isolation, and Shure says it offers approximately 4 dB more sensitivity than the SM58.