Shure
Beta 56A
Dynamic · Supercardioid · 50–16,000 Hz
- A Beta 57A capsule in a short body on a locking swivel — it gets under a hi-hat where a full-length mic cannot.
- Shure's own spec sheet prints the weight as “0.468 lg (1.6 lbs)”; 468 g is the metric figure, and the pounds do not match it.
Frequency response
No response curve yet.
MicSense only draws a curve redrawn from a graph the manufacturer publishes — it never estimates one from the microphone’s class. No published graph has been redrawn for the Beta 56A yet, so the numbers are in the spec table below.
Polar pattern
Generated from the first-order directivity formula for supercardioid. It illustrates the pattern type — it is not a measurement of this individual model.
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Shure |
|---|---|
| Model | Beta 56A |
| Type | Dynamic |
| Form factor | Clip-on |
| Polar pattern | Supercardioid |
| Frequency range | 50–16,000 Hz |
| Sensitivity | 2.8 mV/Pa · -51.0 dBV/Pa |
| Max SPL | — not published by the maker |
| Self-noise | — none (passive capsule) |
| Impedance | 150 Ω (output) |
| Connector | XLR3M |
| Powering | None (dynamic) |
| Weight | 468 g |
Specifications: Shure datasheet · last checked 2 Oct 2026. These are the maker’s published figures for this model. A dash never means zero: “not published by the maker” means the maker’s documents give no figure; “not yet checked” means MicSense has not confirmed one yet. Spotted an error? Tell us.
MicSense notes
| Price tier | Mid |
|---|---|
| Introduced | — not recorded |
Price tier and “a rider regular” are MicSense’s own judgement, not the maker’s.
What it gets used for
- Snare top
- Toms
- Guitar cab
MicSense tags microphones by the job on a live stage, not by studio category — so you can filter for “kick in” or “monitor vocal” instead of working backwards from “large-diaphragm condenser”.
Beta 56A alternatives: closest in published specs
Based on published specifications only — always listen at soundcheck. These are the microphones in the MicSense library whose datasheet figures sit closest to the Shure Beta 56A’s for the same live job, with the reasons. It says nothing about how they sound.
Not compared for the Shure Beta 56A: max SPL not published by the maker · response curve not redrawn yet.
-
Shure
Beta 57A
- Same job: snare top, toms, guitar cab
- Same type: dynamic
- Same supercardioid pattern
- About the same output — within the datasheets’ tolerance
- Needs a stand or a clamp — the original clips on
-
sE Electronics
V BEAT
- Same job: snare top, toms
- Same type: dynamic
- Same supercardioid pattern
- Same form: clip-on
- ≈ 3 dB less output — add about 3 dB gain
-
sE Electronics
V7 X
- Same job: snare top, toms, guitar cab
- Same type: dynamic
- Same supercardioid pattern
- Needs a stand or a clamp — the original clips on
- ≈ 3 dB less output — add about 3 dB gain
Compare it against the alternatives.
MicSense lets you put up to four microphones side by side — spec table, overlaid response curves and polar diagrams on one screen. Free with a free Squaresmile account.