Good first mic for home studio.

T

Thisnameistaken

New member
Hey guys. I think this is my first post!

Anyway i'm just getting started on getting a home studio put together. I mainly plan on recording guitars and vocals, and drums very possibly later on. Anything from mellow acoustic stuff to ballsy metal. I'm looking for some help selecting a good all purpose mic. I was strongly recommended the Shure SM7B. What do you guys think? and if there's something better or equal for cheaper shout it out. Or something way better for a little more perhaps? Budget = 400
 
Can't loose with the 58 man. As I'm sure you have heard, you can take the ball off for similar results as the 57. A pop screen with the ball off works quite well for vocals. You can always use it for live vocals, rehearsal, recording guitars, snare, toms, whatever really. It will always be usable in the future, and can give good results with built in interface preamps. I would save your money for a good pre before getting the SM7b. I had good results using a cheap ART TPS with the 7b, but nothing to write home about until I spent over a grand for a good pre.

I am not sure about the gain needed for the RE-20. Moresound will be back with that info soon. :)
 
These are the sensitivities for the various mics:

The Shure SM58 requires 54.5 dB of preamp gain.

The Shure SM57 requires 56 dB of preamp gain.

The EV RE-20 requires 57 dB of preamp gain.

The Shure SM-7B requires 59 dB of preamp gain.
 
Harvey Gerst said:
These are the sensitivities for the various mics:

The Shure SM58 requires 54.5 dB of preamp gain.

The Shure SM57 requires 56 dB of preamp gain.

The EV RE-20 requires 57 dB of preamp gain.

The Shure SM-7B requires 59 dB of preamp gain.
Click to expand...

Thank you.
 
dB's are logarithmic, mind you. And how where these measured?
The mic manufacturers tell their output voltage to a sound pressure, not preamp gain. But it differs -how they measure theirs, read the papers and get a hint but you cannot compare

Matti
 
ittam said:
dB's are logarithmic, mind you. And how where these measured?
The mic manufacturers tell their output voltage to a sound pressure, not preamp gain. But it differs -how they measure theirs, read the papers and get a hint but you cannot compare

Matti
Click to expand...

The 'other' part of that equation is the amount of noise floor you get as the gain increases. Generally, the better the mic pre quality the less of a factor this is. Quality isnt always measured in dollars and cents but often it is a good guide towards the real stuff.
 
ittam said:
dB's are logarithmic, mind you. And how where these measured?
The mic manufacturers tell their output voltage to a sound pressure, not preamp gain. But it differs -how they measure theirs, read the papers and get a hint but you cannot compare

Matti
Click to expand...
All the Shure specs were from the Shure website and measured exactly the same way, with a 94 dB SPL source. The EV RE-20 uses the same test method.
 
This name is taken,

What are you recording into? A computer? A deck? What is your interface? It's hard to make mic recommendations without knowing this.

What mics are better that the SM7b? None. I can say this with confidence without ever owning or using one. What mics are cheaper? Many. And some of them are as good as an SM7b. Not better. Above a certain professional level mics aren't better. Just different. For dynamic mics similar to an SM7b I like Beyer and AKG. The SM7b is a very famous mic and holds it's value like crazy. But you're lucky if you find one at a bargain used. Beyer and AKG mics are also wonderful. You can find them cheaper used. If you're patient.

Sorry for rambling. The important question is what you're plugging the mic into.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
But the words: needs, sorry -requires x amount of gain are misleading.
EV measured at the same time in the same chamber?
Didn't notice it is you Harvey, so I'm on a slippery ice here against your much better knowledge

Matti
 
ittam said:
But the words: needs, sorry -requires x amount of gain are misleading.
EV measured at the same time in the same chamber?
Didn't notice it is you Harvey, so I'm on a slippery ice here against your much better knowledge

Matti
Click to expand...
While the NIST has very specific techniques (http://www.nist.gov/calibrations/upload/aip-ch8.pdf), the IEC sensitivity measurement is somewhat simpler; you test at 1kHz, using a small sound calibrator; a little device that generates a pure 1kHz tone @ 94 dB SPL (A weighted).

"Needs" is the correct term in this situation; the amount of preamp gain (boost) needed to bring that 1 kHz signal up to 0 dB.
 
Last edited:
Hey guys. Thanks for all the feedback! Sorry for the delayed reply folks.

To answer your question hairylarry, i'll be recording into a computer. I don't have an interface yet. My thoughts were mic first, interface second. I have been considering the Presonus firestudio pro or something similar. I haven't been digging too much into interfaces yet.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top