Thoughts on the shure sm7

I've heard and read many good things about the Sm7 but have no personal experience with it. My Wife bought me a SM27 for Christmas and it's the shiznit for me.

It is good for getting that big radio voice - but you have to eat it.  Proximity effect and little room.  Despite Mr. Jackson, I think of it as a rock n roll mic.  I like the re20 better on kick and bass but that is just personal.

It should do you right.  It is a classic for a reason.

@

I've got an SM7B and tho' I've only had limited use of it thus far, it performed really well. I use a Cloudlifter to boost the gain into my Allen and Heath Zed 16R and that's all it took (phantom power required for the Cloudlifter)!
Once you become aware of this mic, you notice it all the time on Youtube videos.
Chris Robinson (Black Crowes) uses one all the time in the studio. Look for Youtube vids of the Cabin Fever sessions and you'll see him singing (and blowing harp) into one.

The best way to hear a moving coil dynamic mic is to hook it up to an old Ampex radio booth preamp.

Preferably one with just the right octal socket input transformer selected and installed.

Mics like the Re20 and SM7 come alive and sparkle when they see something they like that at the other end.

You kind of have to hear it to believe it.




Sticking a bunch of IC based, servo balanced, stuff in between a moving coil mic and the speakers may get you a clean sound but it's never going to sparkle.

I've never owned a SM7 because I like the RE20s, so that's what I have. We work with SM7s just about every where. I think that's because they are a bit cheaper than the RE20.

I don't think you can go wrong with either... but you should know that the magic doesn't happen until you hook them up to a preamp that makes them come alive. It doesn't have as much to do with "gain" as it does with having a wonderful impedance *relationship* with the preamp input... that's when the lowly moving coil dynamic mic opens up and breathes with a silky, sparkly, and detailed character.

The SM7 is a relatively new mic but it was designed to excell in radio booths that had been designed to excell with dynamic mics. The RE20 is a decade older and is the benchmark that the early solid state, all discrete, class A, transformer coupled, Ampex preamps were tweaked for. The SM7 was designed to integrate into that habitat and excell.

Plugging either into a contemporary servo balanced chipset diminishes their capability but buying one and worrying about the preamp later is a good start.


best regards,
mike

I've seen it mentioned often as a must have for serious studios. Not as sensitive as a condenser but better sounding than the average dynamic mic. Good for the male voice especially when recording more powerful stuff. Less plosions, less room noise, less bleed, etc... I think I've seen it used on drums and guitar cabs too. If you have the cash it seems like it would be worthwhile. I'd certainly like to own one. Cheers.

In terms of sound, how does the SM7 compare to the RE20?  I ask because I have and use an RE20 and both are known as broadcast mics that also work well on many singers (and other sources).

I haven't been using the RE20 much lately for whatever reason, but I cut a zillion things with it over the years, including vocals and guitar cabs.

I bought one and returned it. I had enough pre-gain, and was loud enough vocally, but you have to have VERY quiet power. Any ground loops or dirty power will certainly show up in this mic. I traded it for an Avantone cv-12, which I love very much. 

Interesting info Mike.  Thanks for the edumacation.

@

I got an SM7b this year and love it. It has a built in optional switches for high pass filter and an EQ bump where vocals need it.
I also like the directionality so I no longer need to hide behind a quilt to record. Lol.

It fits my vocal style well as I'm an old weekend rocker who was used to SM58s.
IMHO my vox tracks are much much better now.

CJaysMusic


Well Michael Jackson used it on his Thriller EP for his vocals.

The original SM7, that is. Keep in mind that Bruce Swedien once said in an interview (with TapeOp?) that he wouldn't touch the SM7B with a ten-foot pole. Yet Shure asshures us that it's just the electical shielding and windscreen that's changed between the versions. 

What can we learn from this? That these auteur types are mostly flakes and you'll be wise not to trust them anymore than you'd trust an amateur online review!


Sven

Middleman


I am still undecided on the SM7. I have used it on occasion but it's fairly grainy on the high end. The vocals are always good but not exceptional. In other words it has a certain vibe, I just can't see applying that vibe to everything. So for now, its still in my mic locker but only gets occasional vocal use and more often guitar amp use.

This has been my experience also, Middleman. We have one but I sure don't like it. Grainy on the high end for me too. For vocals, though I feel it is important to let the mic pick the vocalist (like Harry Potter and the wand lol) I prefer the higher end mic's because to me they truly make a difference on the actual SIZE of the vocal sound. This of course can wreck a voice too. I have told this story a billion times...but I don't think you've heard it Paul...
 
I have a really nice Neumann U-87 Gold. It really is a fantastic mic that sounds good on everyone who uses it. However, it sounds terrible on me unless I sing in the key of G. Why this is...I have no idea....I just hate the timbre of it on my particular voice. Now this may have changed since I've not had a cig in nearly 3 months...but in the past, it's made me laugh every time.
 
I got a pretty nice mic locker here. My favorite mic for myself (don't laugh) is an old Equitek CAD E-200. It's great for vocals and acoustic guitars, percussion, etc. I bought it 100 years ago for like $500 and it sounds as great today as it did back then. Still looks brand new too! :)
 
Though I'm not a very good singer in my opinion, I have received numerous compliments on the vocals I have printed while using that mic for myself and other people. You could probably find one on Ebay for peanuts.....I'd definitely take it over a SM7...but that's me based on my voice as well as those I have recorded that sounded good using that mic. That said, it's not a high end mic...but to me, it sure sounds like one and would be around the range you'd pay for the SM7 if you found one brand new and probably about $200 used.
 
In short, I'm no SM7 fan but I HAVE used it on a few people to where they just sounded good using that mic over others we tried. Good luck Paul. :)
 
-Danny