Shure SM58

The SM58 is the dynamic vocal microphone that's been on stage and in studios since the mid-1960s, and it does one job — voice — better than most microphones at any price. Cardioid pickup that ignores most of the room, dynamic capsule that doesn't care about ambient noise the way a condenser does, built like a brick and effectively unkillable.

Bought two years ago for voiceover work, and that's still its primary role. Subtext Lab voice tracks, narration over video, and the side benefit of being good enough for video calls that meeting audio sounds noticeably better than the laptop mic. Plugged into a Scarlett 2i2 for the interface.

The SM58 is not a broadcast condenser — it picks up less detail than something like a Shure SM7B or a large-diaphragm studio mic. For voiceover with an untreated room and a decent interface, that's a feature rather than a problem. Less detail means less room noise, and the proximity effect is forgiving when the mic position drifts.