Anyone else got a Shure SM7B?

[AndyR]

I'd been umming and aahing over an SM7B for some time.
It's always a real struggle doing my vox in the room I'm in.
I've started on "fast" demos with the lead guitarist from my old band. And the vox needs to be as fast and throwaway (or keep!) as possible.
My trusty RODE NT1000 large Condensor of many years is increasingly p1ssing me off.
It's too crisp for my leads in this room, the bottom end is not as smooth and usable as I want.
And it picks up the reflections and general background noise.

I heard rumour how an SM7B could help out.

It's not cheap, as far as I'm concerned.
Especially as I can eventually get the vox I want after much redoing of takes etc.

There are cheaper Shure alternatives, same capsule, blah, blah... But the impression I got is that if you really want it for singing vocals, this is the one.

I decided that next time I got guitar GAS I'd look carefully at this instead.

I got guitar GAS, I looked at this...

It arrived this morning.

OH
MY
GOD

I've just done a search, looks like a few folks have wondered about it.
Can't find anyone actually has one?

But there are questions I've seen:
Is the output ok?
Depends on your interface and its sensitivity.
I'm using a PreSonus STUDIO 68C.
There's plenty coming off the mic, it's very comparable to an SM57 or SM58 or similar.
I always used those straight into my BR1600 with no extra preamp.
This would be fine too.
I still have no intention of buying any mic preamps!

What's the sound like?
It's as follows:

• As clear as my RODE NT1000
• Less harsh than my RODE NT1000
• Has a warm bottom end I can boost unlike my RODE NT1000
• Picks up less handling or foot-tapping than my RODE NT1000 (it has an inbuilt shock mount inside the casing)
• It rejects sounds off axis like crazy

I would not normally do this, attached is a Raw Vocal take from something we're working on. The input channel in my DAW had a soft limiter for clean level, just to protect from peaks (ESSENTIAL for my older mics), nothing else. I'm fairly certain we never hit the threshold.

In the mix I have a low cut at 80Hz and 3db boosts at 200Hz and 5KHz, but I've switched them off to upload this sample. There is NO EQ on this other than what the mic gave us (the switches on the back of it are set to flat). But those EQ choices are well within "musical" on this take. On a similar take from the Rode, I might be accentuating muddy or harsh by doing that, I'd end up having to rerecord with a "better technique".

What else isn't on this?

• The window next to me was wide open, kids coming home from school, and there are builders hammering next door, I could hear all this, muffled because I had headphone on,  while I was singing - where are they?
• I'm in my horrid little box room with its early reflections and... hey! where are they? Even my wife could hear this difference
• I was stomping my foot, the mic stand was wobbling... where's that?

Right at the very end, you can hear a slight bleed of the guitars from my headphones. I think I turned my head at that point. The backing volume at the start was louder.

When I was singing, my mouth was 1 inch from the mic, singing naturally like I would for a live performance. I try to sing across, but I'm pretty much singing into the mic on this, I haven't put a pop-shield up. Later on in the piece, there's the odd plosive, but nothing I wouldn't put up with in a lead vocal against a band.

If I'd treated my other mics in this cavalier fashion, the resulting vocal take would not be usable for a finished mix, this one most certainly is.

I'm stunned.

[TPB]

I have the 57 and 58 along with the 990-condenser mic The condenser is great if you are doing just vocal takes in a quiet room but I play when I sing so the off axis is okay but I always hear, and it picks up the strumming. Do not know why I have two 57's and one is better than the other especially on the vocals so it gets used most of the time. Glad the new mic is working out for you once you get it dailed in you will like it even more
Tim

[StephenM]

Awesome review

[Blooby]

Have wanted one for years. Could never quite pull the trigger.

Congrats.

Blooby

[Zoltan]

I agree. That's a great review! Funnily enough i had a short term gas towards this microphone a while ago.

The price is too steep, but i had the same idea... What if instead of buying a guitar i'd put the money on a microphone? And hey... Anthony Kiedis uses that same microphone!

Then i read a comparison between Rode NT1 and SM7B and based on that felt that the Rode is good enough for me.
(I think my vocals sound especially great when the mic is unplugged and i'm using noise cancelling headphones! )

[des0free]

Don't have that mic, but the idea to buy a mic next time instead of a guitar is great! It will take up a lot less space and be much easier to hide from my wife than a new guitar!  And however much I like the guitars, I have come to realize that the vocal is usually more important in the mix.  Funny, I got into guitar playing with no thought about ever trying to sing but after a few years realized that it is interesting to try to do covers of famous rock/pop songs and that they really need vocals.

[TPB]

My buddy would succumb to gas quite often when I ask how he got so many guitars he said his band stuff was in the garage he would buy a new one leave it in the case by the speakers next to the laundry and leave there for two weeks when his wife was doing laundry he would go get it when questioned about it he would tell it was old one that had always been there you walk by it every day. He would then take the guitar to his room return the empty case to garage until the next new one came in
Tim

[AndyR]

Just been using it in a JamKazam session with the guitarist.

Worked quite well, then I decided to try the dip switches on the back...

HOLY FLIPPIN MOLY!!!!

There's a low cut switch and a high mid boost switch.



Oh yeah

[StephenM]

Don't have that mic, but the idea to buy a mic next time instead of a guitar is great! It will take up a lot less space and be much easier to hide from my wife than a new guitar!  And however much I like the guitars, I have come to realize that the vocal is usually more important in the mix.  Funny, I got into guitar playing with no thought about ever trying to sing but after a few years realized that it is interesting to try to do covers of famous rock/pop songs and that they really need vocals.

yeah and it is hard to get someone to sing sometimes on our songs... so we gotta do it ourselves!  but the hiding the mic from the wife thing really cracked me  up.

[Blooby]

Just been using it in a JamKazam session with the guitarist.

Worked quite well, then I decided to try the dip switches on the back...

HOLY FLIPPIN MOLY!!!!

There's a low cut switch and a high mid boost switch.



Oh yeah

Is that a Red Special on the wall?