Shure SM7B

DarrenVocal said:
I'm using a Shure SM58 and it nearly needs to be turned on full gain by the Steinberg Cl1 if I were to speak to it about 6 inches far. Does this mean that I'll need to get a better AI for the Sm7b?
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Yo Darren! There's really no way to tell if SM7B will be noisy through your preamp until you do it. There is a (transformer-based?) solution. I've never used it, but a bunch of people I trust swear by it:

Cloud Cloudlifter CL-1 Mic Activator | GuitarCenter

I also note that some of the higher end audio people are carrying it, not just GC. It could be that a Cloudlifter is just a handy thing to have in the studio, especially if you have an SM7/SM7B. Sure, you don't need a big time preamp if you're recording drums or a rock lead vocalist. For a folk singer, it might not be the ticket. What I've been told is that the Cloudlifter allows mics like the SM7 to be used with success on more delicate sources- acoustic guitar, soft vocals, strings, etc. So I'd say- buy the mic, and only if you find you need it, consider a cloudlifter. The SM7 a great mic, really, and not just in the studio. It rocks as a live folk/rock vocal mic.
 
mixsit said:
Give this one more shot but rephrase :) The question is can pres have better or worse s/n performances depending on their gain settings? If (maybe) it's yes at a lower gain setting, maybe then we could get some improvement letting it come in a little lower at the A/D?
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Sorry, missed this before (busy weekend) but you caused me some thought and I think it may be a case of "it depends on the pre amp".

In most amplifiers (mic pre or power amp) the actual gain is constant and the so-called gain control is just an attenuator. On power amps you're generally attenuating the input; on many mic pre amp circuits the attenuation is on the output. This being the case, turning down the gain at the pre amp then add more after A to D would likely result in exactly the same amount of noise.

However, there are lots of other things that come into it and add noise--input impedance issues for example--and it's possible even the attenuation (generally just a variable pot) could add noise.

So...basically it's like a case of "try it and see" but turning down the gain at the pre amp and adding digital gain later could easily result in a pretty similar noise figure to just setting the gain properly in the pre amp.

Hmmm...I feel an experiment coming on with my noisy ADA 8000s.
 
Bobbsy said:
..Hmmm...I feel an experiment coming on with my noisy ADA 8000s.
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Thanks Bobbsy. Mostly just nerdage' curiosity on here. Can't remember noise being much a problem.
Maybe the 16 bit PCM80 back on the Mackie analog- yeah, there had to watch the levels :)
 
The reason why some people don't have a problem getting enough gain for an sm7 while others do is because we aren't all recording the same thing.

If you are using the sm7 on a snare drum, electric guitar at war volume, jet engine, etc... you won't need much gain at all. If you are recording an acoustic guitar six feet away from the Mic, you will have a problem getting enough gain out of any preamp.

As with any Mic, the quieter and farther away the source is, the more gain you will need. The sm7 just needs more gain than most other mics would in the same situation.
 
mixsit said:
Give this one more shot but rephrase :) The question is can pres have better or worse s/n performances depending on their gain settings? If (maybe) it's yes at a lower gain setting, maybe then we could get some improvement letting it come in a little lower at the A/D?
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That is indeed the question. I can't answer it either, but my suspicion, based on casual observation, is that the s/n ratio for most preamps is constant across the gain structure - you hear more noise when you turn them up, but that's just because you turned up the noise, not because they got noisier. That is, if you record with the preamp gain low and later add digital gain, or if you record with the preamp gain high, you get the same result. The take-away is that with a low output mic like the SM7b and a quiet source, you need a quiet preamp.
 
That is true most of the time, but some of the time the s/n ratio can increase.....mostly due to shoddy gear though.
 
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