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. 

The SM7B for me succeeds where others fail. On a strident voice it excels over a quality condenser mics. I run it through a Safesound P1 with stellar results on the right voice. I think the SM7B makes a fine addition to a mic locker. It may work in your situation or it may not depending on who and what you are recording. Just my $.02.

Rocky

Interesting info Mike.  Thanks for the edumacation.

@

I use my SM7 directly into my Babyface. Gain between 39 and 45 dB. No noise, No problems! At 60 dB it would be clipping constantly with any type of singing. 

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.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I am even going the extra mile and thanking Bapu. 

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

The best bang for the buck was my 2 ADK's Hamburger and Vienna Sausage ;-)
They are extremely good for vocals.

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

I'd like to point out that it's fairly impossible for a moving coil dynamic mic to have a grainy top end.

When you hear that grain you are listening to the character of the preamp.




Hence the recommendation that one seek out and use a preamp that really likes moving coil dynamic mics if you wish to hear the full benefit of using a moving coil dynamic mic.

The transformer coupling is the key... and it has to be the right transformer... just looking at the impedance spec isn't enough. 

The transformer has to actually have have an impedance curve, (a.k.a. frequency response) that encourages the mic to sound open, silky, and smooth.

It's the exact opposite characteristic than you will find in a modern IC based, servo coupled, "flat" frequency response design and it's not quite what you find in today's premium transformer coupled boutique gear either.

The transformers I am speaking of were tailored to the mics by ear rather than an idealized broad flat frequency response.

You would get the transformer in a metal can with octal plugs and you'd plug it in to the back of the Ampex preamp... if you had 6 transformers you could try them all and use the one that really sounded the best for an announcers voice.

Back in the day, they built that gear by the boat load.


best regards,
mike