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.

Used them for years, mostly in broadcasting, but also for music and vocals. To me it's a very warm sounding mic in the mids, you won't get the same type of high- end crispness that you might get with a U-87, but if you're not looking for that type of sound, who cares. Overall it's a great mic for the price, but be careful as you would with any piece of hardware, it's very sensitive to plosives so get a good pop filter.

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 feed my SM7B with a JoeMeek ThreeQ preamp, with good results. I dont think that the gain needed should be exaggerated, but without a doubt you could get a better "sound quality" with a high end preamp. A condenser just not worked for me in my recording environment. 

mike_mccue


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

Thanks Mike. 


Very detailed explanation. I appreciate that. 

I have two SM7b's.  I use them for vocals when the singer/songwriter wants to sing and play acoustic guitar at the same time.  I angle the SM7 upward and have the singer sing over the top of the mic and I get very little guitar in the vocal track.

I am using the Grace m101 pre amp and get a very clean sound.

Good luck

To,

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.

If I were you Mooch, I'd see how it works at Magic Mountain before I buy one.

But that's just me pretending to be you.

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 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.