Shure SM7 (1 Viewer)

[GO]

Are they better that the behringer ones does anyone know?

 

[Space]

Yeah definitely sure everything is better than the behringer equivalent .

 

[RED(tape)MENACE]

Can we talk about SM7's now?

 

[ernesto]

Can we talk about SM7's now?

shure

 

[Umfufu]

Think I just saw the guy from Fleet Foxes using one on Jools Holland.




Easy now.

 

[tim]

I was saying in another thread that I'm going to be getting a new condensor but also was thinking about getting another decent mic aswell.

Have been considering either the SM7b or the Sennheiser MD 421. Heard the 421 is good on toms, loud guitar amps and vocals, all things I'm constantly recording.
Does the 7b offer similiar things or all of the above + more? I'm also getting a decent pre amp which I heard the 7b needs.
Thanks.

 

[RED(tape)MENACE]

Yeah, they're good on similar things.
The SM7 can need a lot of gain on some sources, which is why people talk about needing a good pre.

 

[tim]

I'm leaning towards the 421 for the bass roll off.

 

[dubh in seattle]

Ooh the 7 is pretty dang useful if a bit spendy, but sure everything is... the ones made post-1999 (the 7A & 7B) have less self-noise I think than the older ones(see geek info below), so they're a little more forgiving if your preamp is a bit noisy or you're recording fairly quiet stuff. Or it could just be that the older ones are just caked with too many years of rawk-spit and weed smoke .|..| The bass roll-off is a pretty gentle slope hinged at 400Hz, which can give it a fairly distinctive sound & good for keeping space in a mix between guitars & vocals, for example. The 'presence boost' I think is centered at 3kHz, and can be great or not depending on the source feeding the mic & what else is going on in your mix... too much peaky stuff around 2k-4kHz in your mix will poke holes in your eardrums, break your teeth & make you want to kill your grannie... um I digress. The presence boost engaged is fairly smooth & airy.

I've used 'em on lots of stuff, they can be sweeeeet for taming overly clangy stuff and beefing up thin stuff with the switches set to flat(but you want the mic smack dab against the singer's mouth/amp speaker/whatev to get max 'proximity effect'/low-end boost). I don't have one but often use 'em at a studio when re-amping drums; kick drum back through a bass amp with the sm7 right up against the speaker grille and the presence boost on. YMMV... part of the 7's sound really comes down to the pop filter, years ago I was using one a friend had but the pop filter was gone= verry different tone.

My own personal pref if I had to pick one mic in that general price range would be a 421 (or 441 'cos the hypercardioid pattern allows for even more proximity effect when you want it) mostly because of the 5 position tone switch & hotter output. And put a standard cheap foam pop filter on top to complement the internal one & you get yet more tonal variations. BUT the proprietary mic clip design is a pain in the hole if it gets broken. Sturdy, but still if it breaks, you can't just slip a 421 into a standard mic clip... obv. the SM7's full metal mic stand mount is hard core & isn't gonna break, though it makes the mic weigh 2x what a 421 does. Just fyi.

And yikes for 20-ish euros, get one of the ART preamps, regardless of what else you have!! I had no idea they're going that low now, I've got some of the earlier model ones and they were $49US a few years back I think? Dunno the difference but likely just country of manufacture?

*geek info- the SM7 family (the 7A, 7B & just-plain-7) all have the same guts; the 'A' has a little more sturdy mounting yoke & better rejection of radio/electrical garbage & the 'B' has that stuff plus a bigger integrated pop filter & as far as I know is still the current production model, even if it's referred to by retailers as just the SM7... anyways...