Anyone own a Shure SM7B? How big of an improvement does a mic make?

romanianreaper

romanianreaper

Well-known member
About two years ago I started doing vocals on my songs and just had grabbed a Rode microphone kit. It has been a great tool for recordings but obviously a mic around the $100 range isn't going to compare with a more expensive one. I get a lot of background sounds bleeding thru with the Rode but pretty cool mic.

I have been looking st the Shure SM7B and have heard great things about it. Just curious if any of you have gone from a cheaper mic to a bigger one and have noticed a huge difference?
 
I have never used a cheap mic. I have a sm7b and i think it is very accurate without color. I have a rode K2 tube mic that i think is really cool for vocals and room mic. It colors in a really cool way. I thought the sm7b was really good for vocals until i used the k2. But honestly, they are both good. I think that mics are another rabbit hole a person could get lost in. I am happy with the two i have.
 
romanianreaper said:
Still a good mic but would love to have something that translates my voice better
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If you are ever in the area, you can try mine. I don't even use the sm7b for my voice anymore, I just mic the amp with it. One thing that may irritate you with it, is that it needs a pre for your voice. It is a very low output mic. My tube mic has a pre that comes with it. The Rode k2 is a bit stiff of a price at 700, but it really is up there with mics a lot more expensive they say.
 
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Smashedguitarist said:
I have never used a cheap mic. I have a sm7b and i think it is very accurate without color. I have a rode K2 tube mic that i think is really cool for vocals and room mic. It colors in a really cool way. I thought the sm7b was really good for vocals until i used the k2. But honestly, they are both good. I think that mics are another rabbit hole a person could get lost in. I am happy with the two i have.
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Get an Amperex Bugle Boy 6922 for the K2 and fall in love all over again.
 
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It’s going to be very different from a cheap condenser mic. SM7B is a dynamic mic and will be a lot less sensitive. At first listen you may be unimpressed. You have to give it a lot of gain from the mic pre and it’s usually necessary to use more compression on it than you might with a condenser. It has a good frequency response for a lot of male voices that you can tailor a bit with the eq switches and because its not super hyped and noisey like a lot of cheap condensers, you can do a lot with the track eq and compression wise to tailor it more to the voice and mix in the box.

I like the Sm7b a lot and have had mine for almost 15 years I guess. It has its weak spots and does take a little learning to use well but I can’t think of a better option at the price for a male vocal particularly when you’re talking about recording at home in an untreated space.
 
Smashedguitarist said:
If you are ever in the area, you can try mine. I don't even use the sm7b for my voice anymore, I just mic the amp with it. One thing that may irritate you with it, is that it needs a pre for your voice. It is a very low output mic. My tube mic has a pre that comes with it. The Rode k2 is a bit stiff of a price at 700, but it really is up there with mics a lot more expensive they say.
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I actually got a mic pre boost that they say works really well and only $30
 
We're actually using one in the recording studio now, and I've been super impressed with it. First for vocals. Then, we used one blended on my guitar cab with an E609 and I was shocked at how good the SM7B sounded even by itself. (metal guitar)
 
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I have an SM7B, but didn’t liked it much. That’s probably more about my shitty vocals than the mic though. I picked up a used Shure KSM32 condenser for a couple hundred bucks about 10 years ago and have used that ever since. My vocals still suck, but matches better with the condenser.

If you decide you want one, hit me up. I don’t know going prices but will sell mine under going rates since I never use it. I bought it new and used it a hand full of times, it’s spent it’s entire life in a box.
 
stratjacket said:
I have an SM7B, but didn’t liked it much. That’s probably more about my shitty vocals than the mic though. I picked up a used Shure KSM32 condenser for a couple hundred bucks about 10 years ago and have used that ever since. My vocals still suck, but matches better with the condenser.

If you decide you want one, hit me up. I don’t know going prices but will sell mine under going rates since I never use it. I bought it new and used it a hand full of times, it’s spent it’s entire life in a box.
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Want to trade it for a couple pickups and pedals ;)
 
I don’t like it much on vocals , even an SM58A is better for the average voice IMO.
But really depends on your voice , evidently some people sound great on an SM7.

A EV 441U is the best dynamic I’ve personally tried on vocalists. Generally much prefer condensers or ribbons in the studio anyways.
 
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