Shure SM62
Four ounces and under five inches of champagne-enamel microphone — the SM62 was built to disappear behind a podium and still cut through a noisy room.
Overview
The SM62 is a general-purpose unidirectional dynamic microphone, and Shure's own catalog copy makes its pitch plain: it's a compact performer meant for stage, interviews, and podiums, and the company leaned hard on the "don't let its small size fool you" line. At 124 mm long and 38.1 mm in diameter, with a net weight of 113.4 grams (4 oz), it genuinely is a small microphone — the kind that vanishes behind a lectern or a set piece rather than dominating a shot. The finish is champagne enamel, matched with a swivel adapter, and the catalog lists both a swivel adapter and a foam-lined storage/carrying case among the supplied accessories (the SM62-LC variant ships without a cable).
The capsule is a cardioid (unidirectional) dynamic with a flat, uncolored frequency response spanning 100 to 10,000 Hz and a uniform cardioid pickup pattern. That combination is the whole design argument: a uniform pattern means off-axis rejection stays consistent as the performer moves, which is what keeps feedback and unwanted background noise in check on a stage or in an interview setting. Shure also built in a carefully controlled low-frequency rolloff to prevent the boominess that comes with close miking — a real concern for anyone who works a mic tight to the lips. A rubber cartridge shock mount keeps handling noise low, and an integral windscreen tames breath pop.
The impedance rating is 150 ohms, with an open-circuit output of 0.008 mV (−82.0 dB, 0 dB = 1 V/bar) and a power level of −60.5 dB (0 dB = 1 mW/10 µbar). Those are low-impedance, low-output figures — the sort that want a decent preamp and a balanced line, not a casual plug into whatever's handy.
What the period press made of it is worth noting. DB Magazine (March 1976, p.2) ran a piece on the SM62 that emphasized exactly the vanishing-act quality Shure was selling: the mic slipping out of sight behind podiums and set decorations, while its uncolored response and uniform cardioid pattern did the work of minimizing feedback. The same item noted the SM62 had been field-tested in difficult situations — rostrums at political conventions among them — and came through as a versatile, dependable tool. That's a period endorsement of the same claims in the catalog, which is about as good as it gets for a general-purpose dynamic of this vintage.
The accessory ecosystem around the SM62 is unusually well documented, and it tells you something about how Shure expected the mic to be used. The A57D swivel adapter in champagne was made specifically for the SM62 alongside the SM59, SM61, SM63, SM80, SM81, and SM82 — the champagne finish matching the mic body. The A53M Shock-Stopper isolation mount, a black unit that Shure claimed reduces mechanical and vibration noise by more than 20 dB, was specified for the SM62 along with the SM59, SM61, SM63, SM76, SM80, SM81, SM82, SM85, and SM87 (Shure cautioned it was not recommended for microphones with on-off switches on the handle). And the A58WS series of "Color-Charged" foam windscreens — nine colors, from blue to yellow — fit the SM61 and SM62 series and all Shure ball-type microphones, a practical touch for soundmen color-coding mics against cables and connectors.
Collectors and working engineers tend to treat the SM62 as a period piece rather than a hot commodity. It's a solid, honest general-purpose dynamic from the era when Shure's SM line was the default backline for stages and podiums, and the champagne finish and compact form give it a distinct look among the black-and-silver crowd. But it doesn't carry the cultural weight of the SM57 or SM58, and the aftermarket reflects that — these turn up as working tools, not investment pieces. The practical caveats are the usual ones for a microphone of this age: the foam in the supplied case and the windscreen material degrade over decades, the rubber shock mount can harden or perish, and the low output level means a quiet preamp will make it seem duller than it is. None of that is fatal, and the accessory chain (A57D adapter, A53M mount, A58WS windscreens) is still findable enough that a complete example can be put back into service without much drama.
For anyone assembling a period Shure kit, the SM62 is the sensible small-body complement to the bigger dynamics of the line — the mic you hand someone for an interview or a podium gig when a full-size handheld would be visually intrusive. It does one job, does it quietly, and gets out of the way. That was the pitch in 1976, and it holds up.
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