Sorted!- SM7b

joeyowen

After one of these for a while, and might as well get the new section going!

Must be willing to ship with a parcel force level of protection! equivalent of bomb proof

joeyowen

Right, blast from the past.  I have the cash waiting!

joeyowen

Give us yer f**kin' SM7b someone.... please

robwright

I've got one - its ace - you can't have it!

joeyowen

robwright said:

I've got one - its ace - you can't have it!

Out of interest, are you using a pre? Or is there is enough gain? I've heard mixed reports 

PolarityMan

haha youve been waiting a while.

robwright

I’ve tried both and it’s ace either way - seems to be plenty of gain to me. 

joeyowen

PolarityMan said:

haha youve been waiting a while.

It was half my fault to be honest, I had the cash when I listed the thread, and soon after I didn't anymore! Figured I would just bump the old thread now I have the money again ha

robwright said:

I’ve tried both and it’s ace either way - seems to be plenty of gain to me. 

Great news, thanks!

joeyowen

bump bump bump!

Adamski

I do have one that I am currently contemplating selling as I just don’t record much if at all these days. Perfect condition with box etc. Give me a couple of days to mull it over (obvs if you find one in the mean time that’s all good). 

joeyowen

Cool @Adamski thanks for letting me know! Looking forward to hearing 

PolarityMan

Dammit seeing this thread bumping up every day is just re-inforcing my GAS for one too.

joeyowen

Allllllll sorted.

Went to PMT whilst on holiday in the end.  I'm digging it so far!

Through my 18i20, the gain is enough for vocals easssily

PolarityMan

joeyowen said:

Allllllll sorted.

Went to PMT whilst on holiday in the end.  I'm digging it so far!

Through my 18i20, the gain is enough for vocals easssily

That's good to know. The general consensus that you also need to buy a cloud lifter makes it a much more expensive proposition.

robwright

What is this Cloudlifter you all speak of?????

Does it make that much difference and why is it linked to the SM7B all over t'internet?

joeyowen

Because it's not powered, people say it is too quiet 

It is nothing like as sensitive as a condenser and does need the gain quite high to make up for it  

The cloud lifter helps pump gain through and gives you more play room 

I've got my interface on about 2 or 3 o clock and it's enough for sure 

Cirrus

The deal is that the SM7b has the same capsule as in an SM57/58, but suspended near the back of the metal basket that is covered by foam. So inverse-square law of sound dispersion being what it is, the metal basket prevents you from getting right up to the capsule even if your lips touch the foam, hence a lower level signal.

Then it's a more expensive studio mic than the SM58, and people like to get a bit back from studio mics to get a better broader picture of the sound source and maybe get some room tone involved. So the way people use it contrasts from an SM58 - hardly anyone sticks a '58 on a stand, puts a pop shield a foot in front of it then stands another foot away from that. If they did, they'd probably wonder why the output was so low. 

Finally, the SM series mics use a small transformer to get a more powerful output level. The transformer has a sonic footprint, and the SM7b goes without. Which makes it more transparent and open sounding, but means it has a lower output level.

So add those three things up, and you get a mic that is quite insensitive.

That said, I find when I record vocals with one around 25-40dB of gain is more than enough - that'll get you healthy ITB levels with peaks around -10dBFS, unless you have a very quiet voice and/or put more distance between you and the mic. Then you might need 60dB or so. And it's not going to be a good choice for recording an egg shaker. The only reason I can think of that a cloudlifter would come in handy is if the preamp had less than 30dB or so of gain, you're recording quiet things at a distance, or if you really want to drive the front end of the thing you're plugging the mic into (often the first gain stage will be before the volume/ gain knob on the preamp, so if you want to push it your only option is more volume input). The idea that you're need an extra piece of gear to record vocals is kinda funny, since that's exactly what the mic was designed to do!

joeyowen

Thanks for the explanation, it was a good read!

Winny_Pooh

While the diaphragm might be the same, the capsules are different.



Sm57s usually sound shit when not being used on snare or guitar cab. 
Sm7bs are very different sounding. 

PolarityMan

Cirrus said:

The deal is that the SM7b has the same capsule as in an SM57/58, but suspended near the back of the metal basket that is covered by foam. So inverse-square law of sound dispersion being what it is, the metal basket prevents you from getting right up to the capsule even if your lips touch the foam, hence a lower level signal.

Then it's a more expensive studio mic than the SM58, and people like to get a bit back from studio mics to get a better broader picture of the sound source and maybe get some room tone involved. So the way people use it contrasts from an SM58 - hardly anyone sticks a '58 on a stand, puts a pop shield a foot in front of it then stands another foot away from that. If they did, they'd probably wonder why the output was so low. 

Finally, the SM series mics use a small transformer to get a more powerful output level. The transformer has a sonic footprint, and the SM7b goes without. Which makes it more transparent and open sounding, but means it has a lower output level.

So add those three things up, and you get a mic that is quite insensitive.

That said, I find when I record vocals with one around 25-40dB of gain is more than enough - that'll get you healthy ITB levels with peaks around -10dBFS, unless you have a very quiet voice and/or put more distance between you and the mic. Then you might need 60dB or so. And it's not going to be a good choice for recording an egg shaker. The only reason I can think of that a cloudlifter would come in handy is if the preamp had less than 30dB or so of gain, you're recording quiet things at a distance, or if you really want to drive the front end of the thing you're plugging the mic into (often the first gain stage will be before the volume/ gain knob on the preamp, so if you want to push it your only option is more volume input). The idea that you're need an extra piece of gear to record vocals is kinda funny, since that's exactly what the mic was designed to do!

The insensitivty might also explain why it's so popular for screams.