Shure SM 7 B

Good mic for vocal Recordings (but not only, works like a charm on hihats or snare drums). This mic requiers a preamp with lot of gain to get to a good recording level.
The mic attachement is a bit strange at first (it is a broadcast mic aimed to be used upside down in broadcast studios) but you quickly get used to it. The sound is a bit "closed" comparing to your typical large diaphragm vocal microphone, but with the preamp gain/eq combinasion, you end up having very good results. The isolation from sounds coming from the sides is very good, so no problem to use it to record vocals in the control room or in a noisy environment.

I've used my SM7B in my home studio for vocal recording and for some live recordings too. It sounds full and smooth and has a very high quality reproduction of the vocal sound. It has a tight cardioid pattern and the off axis bleed doesn't sound half bad so it's suitable for live recording. I encourage vocalists to sing fairly close to the mic in live recording situations and it handles this well without excessive proximity effect or popping. You will need to give it a lot of gain, so you need a decent preamp both live and in the studio. My only dislike is that the vocal sounds ready-compressed. This works fine if you are recording certain types of music like rock, or pop, but I find that aspect unsuitable for folk or country songs where you can lose a little of the expression of the vocalist and I prefer to use a condenser for these sessions. I also found some vocalists reluctant to sing through it for live recording, simply because it looks clunky. Overall though, this is a great mic to have in your armoury and it's not too expensive either.