I'm looking at the Shure SM4 - I'm not going to treat my environment and I might also be outside in the countryside.

[Papanate]

Is this an okay mike for recording myself? It looks to be the best option if I'm not treating a room.
Also I really do want phantom power and this mic needs it, which is a cool bonus.

Let me know if you have any experiences out there that might have an opinion on this mic choice.

Wondered how you faired with the Shure SM4- it has a dramatic rise after 8k and a small bump about 4.5K -
not a particularly different sounding mic than many others.

 

[CoolCat]

SM4
its a lower sensitive mic -12mv/pa / -38dBV. that can be a good thing in the untreated room.
Cardiod only covers most work. Id spring for the shock mount, case

.A Rode NT might be a competitor , AKG P series same price range , $300 bucks there's a lot to choose from if you include Used.

I'd recommend listening to a bunch of reviews online before buying it. The reviews Ive watched arent very persuasive. Some like the SM4, several don't.

 

[rob aylestone]

I bought one and rather like it. Very little didn't work for me!

 

[CoolCat]

yeah I watched that and many others on the SM4, the NAMM release was interesting too.
there's one where they compare it to the KSM 27, and I don't think they sounded the same at all...so Im not confirmed, this
isn't a whole new mic series for Shures condensers and they scrapped the KSM series. Nothing wrong with that, but some
think it was the "new KSM 27 and 44 etc"

I don't know, they kept the 44 multi but went with 4 instead of 27, and the 32 is ?

I sent a question to Shure asking what the 27,32,44 meant and they replied "they are just numbers with no meaning"

ADD: my bad....they have the new KSM series in NAMM .....but the SM4 is its own thing. Home Recording Mic...

 

[CoolCat]

I bought one and rather like it. Very little didn't work for me!

I re-watched your video on the SM4, and what strikes me the most is the price. Its insanely cheap, hard to argue the price.

Similar to the new AKG budget C104 and C114 you reviewed positively too.

How do these mics compare? the SM4 to the AKG 104/114? $100/$200....

I know with that U87 I took home, then the P420 AKG compared so closely, I returned the U87, but then grabbed the U87 again and made sure and compared it and ended up returning it.... because for that kind of cash it just wasn't enough of a "sound" difference. I think Ill buy another P420 and do the cap-mod just to see for myself.

 

[rob aylestone]

Yes - I was somewhat disappointed with the 87 I bought because I expected special and magic to be the words to use, and it was, well, OK?
I have a 114 - here's a link to that one's video.

 

[CoolCat]

I think that's a common expectation aka the price vs magic. Pay more, Expect more. I had the same response but then Rich recommended the $150 P420 -U87ai circuit copy mic and it sounded so similar I'm still a bit taken back in confusion of "what's going on here?.why does it sound so similar to the $4000 mic?"

This $200 range stuff...challenges it all... doesn't it?
SM4 shows a sensitivity 13mv/pa per SOS article. That's a great sensitivity ranges imo, for untreated room + LDC, which can help a stock interface preamp stay around 50% gain. You say its build is great. It sounds fine. How can one go wrong?
AKG 114, Ive not tried either SM4 or 114, yet but they seem well built and a great deal. No case but a box is fine in HR it can protect when not in use.
Same story and do we really need all the patterns maybe the 104 is fine, Cardiod 99% of the time.

good videos, always a thought to ponder.... putting mics away in their case, says a lot.

 

[rob aylestone]

The case thing is a bit awkward. I have mic boxes and bins with mics in, but mics that I might want to keep 'nice' live in chinese foam lined peli style cases in sort of groups - so the 4033a shared a case with two TLM103s - because they often get used together. SM57, 58, Beta 57 and 58 and a couple of really cheap large Samsons live in a drop in mic case - The posh mics I have live in their original boxes in case I ever need to sell them. Under the top surface of the bench you can see are the mics from previous videos I can't be bothered to put away. Always a 414, but so many random ones. Many people collect guitars - I collect mics, but in a very disorganised way!

 

[CoolCat]

I suppose they could become like Guitar Cases taking up more space than the guitars, if a person has 100 of them or even 20.
True ...here is the same for the Dynamics , they get used more, treated with work and not much concern of conditions.
Speaking of that I have 5 or 6 guitar cases to get rid of ...sitting gaining dust.

 

[CoolCat]

Thanks for the heads up, it'd just be when the weather is nice I live kind of isolated from too much, and can go to even better spots if I want to super easily.
All this said, the best isolation I'd get is a pretty big 2k sqft shop. That is also an option I just kind of realized might be recordable in, though it would be annoying to cut on/off the HVAC.

Mostly I just want a bit of a beginner mic to work with in the house to try and become a singer. Not looking for a miracle. Just trying to get my voice clear and noteworthy and without the need for EQ is my goal and then I'm walking back to the mic store.

Just thinking, some moving blankets can do wonders when only doing vocals in a small booth like area.
Turning on and off the ac Ive done myself, probably common...maybe get a remote control would make it easier?

Treating a room for mixing and monitors is a bigger undertaking, whole different game.