€250,- mic for metal vocals
- Thread starter Acierator
- Start date
Acierator
New member
Hey, I ordered a SM7B and a Audient Mico preamp 
. I want to make the most use of the preamp and a dual setup works better for me. The Mico gets rave reviews for being very transparent, clean and detailed, has 66dB of gain, a good onboard ADC and a very cool variable phaseshift option for the second input. I record guitars with 2 mics on the speaker and getting them in phase can be a bitch when you're pressed for time. This pulled me over from a PNR. The GAP was very tempting, but maybe someday. Let's see how this works out 
.
. I want to make the most use of the preamp and a dual setup works better for me. The Mico gets rave reviews for being very transparent, clean and detailed, has 66dB of gain, a good onboard ADC and a very cool variable phaseshift option for the second input. I record guitars with 2 mics on the speaker and getting them in phase can be a bitch when you're pressed for time. This pulled me over from a PNR. The GAP was very tempting, but maybe someday. Let's see how this works out .
Bobbsy
Boring Old Git
The SM7B is a decent mic at American prices maybe but with the markup in the rest of the world I think there's better out there.
Personally I find the Shure large diaphragm dynamics like the SM7B or RE20 too warm and bassy and lacking in detail to my ears...sort of the American radio voice sound vs. the European sound...but that's down to taste.
You certainly need a pre-amp with lots of clean gain in my experience though.
Question for the OP...are you recording each track separately or will you be recording as live with the typical metal sound levels around the vocalist?
Personally I find the Shure large diaphragm dynamics like the SM7B or RE20 too warm and bassy and lacking in detail to my ears...sort of the American radio voice sound vs. the European sound...but that's down to taste.
You certainly need a pre-amp with lots of clean gain in my experience though.
Question for the OP...are you recording each track separately or will you be recording as live with the typical metal sound levels around the vocalist?
Acierator
New member
Nice! Good move. What happened to your budget? Win lottery?
The preamp is $660 in the states.
I'll just live on bread and water for a while
. The preamp is €489,- over here. I just got the SM7B and hooked it up to my VS-100. I have to really crank the gain and noise becomes apparent as was foretold. The Mico will come in tomorrow, can't wait. I'm gonna record the vocals for our new demo this weekend .
Acierator
New member
I will be recording tracks seperately, but there are some ambient noises I can't control, humming tubelights, distant door slamming. I'm recording in our rehearsal basement, insulation is poor and it's in a community centre. I'll bring along all the soundproofing I have and hope for the best. The SM7B should ignore most ambient stuff
. What mic do you propose?
Acierator
New member
And don't forget the joker.
Acierator
New member
I recorded with the SM7B last sunday and wasn't blown away by it, I'm affraid. Check out the dry sample. The voice sounds dry and muffled somehow 
. I removed the cap and placed a popscreen in front of it, the singer stood about an inch from the mic. And he doesn't like the sound either.
Is the mic supposed to sound like this?
. I removed the cap and placed a popscreen in front of it, the singer stood about an inch from the mic. And he doesn't like the sound either.Is the mic supposed to sound like this?
I recorded with the SM7B last sunday and wasn't blown away by it, I'm affraid. Check out the dry sample. The voice sounds dry and muffled somehow
Is the mic supposed to sound like this?
I'm afraid that your problem may be with your preamp! What are you using Acierator?
Acierator
New member
cavedog101
Well-known member
There wasnt a lot of example. It sounds like an SM7b to me. But I'm thinking that your ears arent going to be quite trained enough at this early stage to really appreciate the full impact that mic will have especially in a dense mix. You may need to look at your gain-staging to find the sweet spot for this. One thing you will find, is this mic will take a ton of EQ without raising its noisefloor or finding it being thinned out due to phase shifts with the EQ. And you're not going to be able to break it up.
Thats a very good recording chain. When I mentioned not being able to appreciate the basic sound, I'm saying that you have more than likely become used to the high-end peakiness of cheap condensers which is a false representation of whats really there. And when you add a bunch of heavily distorted guitars to an already peaky vocal it tends to disappear rather than cut.
Experiment with the gain staging. That pre wont add any noise to the recording no matter how hot you have it. Another thing to do is experiment with the bass roll-off switch and the mid-emphasis switch. Sometimes the combination isnt what you think it might be.
Another thing is to try and sing into the mic rather than around it. Its interesting that not very many singers really know how to concentrate their tone and emphasis on a small area like the front of a mic. Its a technique and once you learn it all your vocal presence will improve dramatically.
"Dry" as you describe the sound is probably "flat" in mic response speak. It takes years to accustom your ears to hear a flat response and understand its value in a mix.
Dont give up. Its there for you.
Thats a very good recording chain. When I mentioned not being able to appreciate the basic sound, I'm saying that you have more than likely become used to the high-end peakiness of cheap condensers which is a false representation of whats really there. And when you add a bunch of heavily distorted guitars to an already peaky vocal it tends to disappear rather than cut.
Experiment with the gain staging. That pre wont add any noise to the recording no matter how hot you have it. Another thing to do is experiment with the bass roll-off switch and the mid-emphasis switch. Sometimes the combination isnt what you think it might be.
Another thing is to try and sing into the mic rather than around it. Its interesting that not very many singers really know how to concentrate their tone and emphasis on a small area like the front of a mic. Its a technique and once you learn it all your vocal presence will improve dramatically.
"Dry" as you describe the sound is probably "flat" in mic response speak. It takes years to accustom your ears to hear a flat response and understand its value in a mix.
Dont give up. Its there for you.
Bobbsy
Boring Old Git
Regarding the SM7B, have a look at the frequency response as published by Shure:
Now, take note that they've cheated a bit and put most of the response at around +5. Mentally move the "flat bit" down to around 0 and check out the top end....
I know the SM7B has a lot of followers around here (and that's fine--choice of mic and the "sound" you want is a very personal thing) but Acierator's description of the sound is fairly well born out by the frequency response which is very mid-heavy with little detail at the top end which is what gives the missing "sparkle". Unless you switch in the LF roll off, it can be a bit bassy as well. Frankly, I think the mic was mainly designed to give a warm, "announcer voice" on AM radio where you get nothing above about 7K anyhow.
Not one of my favourite mics I'm afraid....
Now, take note that they've cheated a bit and put most of the response at around +5. Mentally move the "flat bit" down to around 0 and check out the top end....
I know the SM7B has a lot of followers around here (and that's fine--choice of mic and the "sound" you want is a very personal thing) but Acierator's description of the sound is fairly well born out by the frequency response which is very mid-heavy with little detail at the top end which is what gives the missing "sparkle". Unless you switch in the LF roll off, it can be a bit bassy as well. Frankly, I think the mic was mainly designed to give a warm, "announcer voice" on AM radio where you get nothing above about 7K anyhow.
Not one of my favourite mics I'm afraid....
Acierator
New member
Thanks for the input cavedog101, Bobbsy. I had the roll off and presence boost switched on during recording. The preamp had plenty of gain left and I probably should have cranked it some more. The singer was singing on axis with the mic, he is quite experienced, quite an old fart actually , nothing wrong with that.
I have noticed that in the mix I couldn't really get it to fit in. It would cut, but the sound was too thin even with the compander on. I'll try messing with the EQ to get the highs back. This mic is definitely different than what I'm used to, I hope I can make something out of it.
I'll post a longer sample when I get home from work.
, nothing wrong with that.I have noticed that in the mix I couldn't really get it to fit in. It would cut, but the sound was too thin even with the compander on. I'll try messing with the EQ to get the highs back. This mic is definitely different than what I'm used to, I hope I can make something out of it.
I'll post a longer sample when I get home from work.
