Recording deep male vocals: RE20 or SM7?

  • Thread starter Thread starter jeak
  • Start date Start date
Flatpicker said:
Keep in mind that the type of preamplifier you use will have more to do with how a dynamic mic sounds than a condenser mic.
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What about ribbons? They are passive too, right? Are they more dependent on preamps like dynamics?

I'm thinking about the "blind taste test" I took today on all those mics. All the samples are spoken voice. If I like a mic for spoken voice, will I necessarily like it on vocals? Or does singing change everything even if we're talking about the same person's voice?

I think to start, I will lay down a couple of tracks with the mic I already have, an EV N/D 767a, as a reference point. I also have an ATM25 for my Chapman Stick's bass cab, but I wouldn't expect that to work too well on my voice (what the heck, maybe I'll try it anyway).

Then I think I'm going to order a 57 (since I liked it in the blind taste test) along with a Shinybox ribbon or similar. Once I've tried those, I'll proceed to the big boys (SM7, RE20, etc.) if I still don't like what I hear. It's only my own voice that I'll be recording, so I'm not too concerned about versatility.

Thanks for all the info. Wish me luck.
 
I LOVE my SM7!! I will NEVER sell it!! I actually picked it over a "certain" popular german condenser, if you know what I mean.

But, the guy talking about the preamps has a very good point. I use my SM7 with a "J99" jensen dual servo preamp, with exotic transformers and John Hardy 990 opamps.. The SM7 sounds like heaven through that..

I tried it through 3 other preamps, and it behaved extremly differant from each one. Still great, just not the same sound everytime. The ribbons mics will have the same problems. They are picky and need lots of gain just like high end dynamics.

Thanks for the shinybox links guys, I "have" to try one of those out now.
 
The SM-7 is a miracle for my semi-deep voice. Prefer it over my U195, 4033, Marshall v67, sm 57, and Sank modded Beyer m260.

I wish it was the first mic I got.

I use it with the Great River MPNV pre.

-Jtt
 
......SM7.......... save a hunderd bucks and get the better mic.
 
jeak said:
What about ribbons? They are passive too, right? Are they more dependent on preamps like dynamics?
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Yep. Same principle applies to ribbons as well.
 
Werewolf10 said:
I use my SM7 with a "J99" jensen dual servo preamp... The SM7 sounds like heaven through that...
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Jtt said:
The SM-7 is a miracle for my semi-deep voice...I use it with the Great River MPNV pre...
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Now that's what I'm talking about. ;)
 
thats interesting. I own a sm7 and dont think it sounds good on anything, other than dictating notes for archival purposes.. Guess I am biased towards condensors and ribbons.
 
BigRay said:
thats interesting. I own a sm7 and dont think it sounds good on anything, other than dictating notes for archival purposes.. Guess I am biased towards condensors and ribbons.
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Guess so :D

-Jtt
 
Here's an audio clip

This thread might make more sense with a clip of my voice so you can hear what I'm trying to record. Go easy on me. It's just a tossed-together verse of "Dance Me to the End of Love" by Leonard Cohen. I did a quick arrangement for Kurzweil strings and piano and then sang over it.

I don't have a proper mic preamp yet, so I ran the mic through my Fargen jazz guitar tube amp (it has a line out). It definitely helped the mic even though it's not the right kind of pre. The mic is an EV N/D 767a stage dynamic.

So the question now is which mic – RE20, SM7, ribbon, whatever – might make this recording, with this voice, sound better. Yes, I know I need a pop filter too.

Me singing Leonard.

And for comparison, here is a snippet of Leonard singing "Waiting for the Miracle" (sorry, I couldn't find him singing "Dance").

Leonard singing "Miracle"

His recording sounds much richer than mine. How does he do that? Maybe I just need a voice transplant. :)

Thanks as always.
 
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