What Shure mic is best for close-up talking?

[Craziac]

Hey everybody, I'm new to the forum so hopefully this kind of thread is acceptable here. I already tried giving the forum a search, and didn't really find anything that answered the question. (Cross-posted this to the Sweetwater forum but it hasn't even cleared moderation yet.)

Short version: What Shure (or other) microphone is best for a 6-12 inch spoken distance, and can tolerate a wide variety of volumes from quiet speaking to (almost) shouting?

Long version:

I'm a small-fry YouTuber whose primary content is live commentary of games, with occasional focus on game reviews and video logs. As such, the microphone is usually six to twelve inches from my mouth. My vocal range can go from quiet to quite loud, so I need a microphone that will not clip with loud speaking (near shouting volume) but will still pick up average-level voices.

I previously used a Blue Snowball, but after less than a year of ownership it started producing horrendous popping and clicking sounds during standard recordings, so I had to pitch it out. (Honestly, I didn't think it was worth its price, anyway.) For now, I'm using a webcam microphone that actually has okay quality, but obviously this is a temporary band-aid solution and I'm trying to replace it with something a bit more substantial.

Mostly I've been looking at three microphones: the Shure SM57, Shure SM58, and the Shure SM7B. I'd also heard good things about the Shure Beta 58A, but I haven't looked into it.

I've found some comparisons and done some research online, but I haven't been able to find a concrete answer about which is the best for picking up regular- and loud-volume voices. And more specifically, I'm not sure if the SM7B is worth the extra $250.

Which of these microphones is best suited for this job, and why? Or is there perhaps a better microphone I haven't listed? (Bonus question: Given that they're XLR microphones, is there a specific XLR-to-USB that would be beneficial to me?)

Thank you to everyone in advance for any advice!

 

[BroKen_H]

Short answer, the 7B is probably the mike for you if you're set on Shure. If you get it with the CL-1 Cloudlifter (requires Phantom), runs about $450 and is excellent for vocals, but your point about cost difference may be a bombing point for spoken word.
OTOH you really can't go wrong with a $100 investment in an SM58 (basically a 57 with a windscreen). Get yourself a pop filter to place in front (not for any other reason than putting a limit on how close you can get to the mike)...set to go. Can usually find these in pawn shops for $50-75...
There are other brands. I'll let others tell you about recommendations on them.

 

[Tadpui]

What kind of audio interface are you using?

You mentioned the Blue Snowball, but that's a USB mic. So I'm guessing that you don't have an interface. In this case, I'd go for either the SM57 or SM58 and shop around for a good 1- or 2-input audio interface to pair it with.

All 3 of the mics you mention are fine mics, the SM7b being the king of the crop there. They will all tolerate very high SPL. If you have a lot of variance in how loud you speak, look into a software compressor to use in your mixing software (I'm not sure exactly how you're mixing your voice with the game audio/video feed). There are several free ones that do a good job. This will help level out the louder parts so your listeners don't get blown out of their seats every time you raise your voice.

 

[BroKen_H]

Just to be clear, cause for some reason my brain just can't make that last post work: The 7B is a great mike, but for spoken word, it might be best to get the 58. I use a 57 for recording guitar cabs at full crank (louder than you could scream) and for acoustic 12th fret (quiet and articulate). Good stuff.

 

[DM60]

Since work is slow, and others will later correct or improve my answer. I will take a shot at it.

First, the microphone most likely will not clip on your voice. It could have issues on some really loud, like drums or brass instrument, or other noise sources, but I don't think it will on your voice. What will clip is the input signal to your computer. The reason your USB mic clipped is it has a per-amplifier built in and the amp output is clipping.

With that statement above, we can discuss what it is you are looking for. If you go with a traditional XLR type microphone, you will need to look a two elements. One the microphone and the AD/DA converter (better known as an interface). I am going just skip over the connection part and assume USB.

First the microphone selection, your purpose is for announcements. It appears to be similar to those that do sports broadcasting. Since you do this for fun and are not too serious, You may look for a nice Shure SM58 or something along those lines. (I just purchased a EV Co9 at GuitarCenter for 29, but the SM58 is the standard for that type of mic.) The 58's are inexpensive, robust and sound pretty good. They are a type of microphone called a dynamic microphone. Not very sensitive to sound outside of a particular range.

Another type is a condenser mic, very good mics, more sensitive than dynamic mics, usually better range on the frequencies and are preferred for recordings that really want to get a full sound spectrum captured. Say, vocals for singing, pianos, strings and overall drums from kick to cymbals. They require phantom power to help boost sound coming into the mic. If your room is noisy and bad sound, I would not go this route at is will pick up more sound than you probably want. But your vocals will sound pretty clear. I think for you, probably not worth the hassle.

Next is the interface, usually, these have pre-amps built in and you can control the gain going to the computer before it converts the analog signal to digital. Simple XLR interface runs between$75- 150, then up depending on the quality of the sound you want to record.

The interface/pre-amps is where your possible clipping comes in by your source signal being amplified too high or low. If you are recording live, and you want avoid clipping, but your vocals are going to have wide loudness swings, a compressor would need to go between the microphone and the interface input so it can control the swing of the signal (compress the high) or you keep your hand on the gain control to reduce it when you are going to get louder. Not realistic, but it is an option. If it is going to be recorded and added later, then there are more options and a compressor isn't required.

I hope this give you an informed understanding of your question. Now you should have a good idea of what you are looking for. Other on this board will happily pitch in and add in areas where I may have missed or failed to provide adequate information.

Hope this helps.

 

[Craziac]

Short answer, the 7B is probably the mike for you if you're set on Shure. If you get it with the CL-1 Cloudlifter (requires Phantom), runs about $450 and is excellent for vocals, but your point about cost difference may be a bombing point for spoken word.
OTOH you really can't go wrong with a $100 investment in an SM58 (basically a 57 with a windscreen). Get yourself a pop filter to place in front (not for any other reason than putting a limit on how close you can get to the mike)...set to go. Can usually find these in pawn shops for $50-75...
There are other brands. I'll let others tell you about recommendations on them.

Just to be clear, cause for some reason my brain just can't make that last post work: The 7B is a great mike, but for spoken word, it might be best to get the 58. I use a 57 for recording guitar cabs at full crank (louder than you could scream) and for acoustic 12th fret (quiet and articulate). Good stuff.

From this, it sounds like more or less, the 7B is a better pick, but for my purposes it's not worth the $250 jump? I have a pop filter already (from use with the Blue Snowball) so if I get a 58 I'll just put it in front and that should do nicely.

What kind of audio interface are you using?

You mentioned the Blue Snowball, but that's a USB mic. So I'm guessing that you don't have an interface. In this case, I'd go for either the SM57 or SM58 and shop around for a good 1- or 2-input audio interface to pair it with.

All 3 of the mics you mention are fine mics, the SM7b being the king of the crop there. They will all tolerate very high SPL. If you have a lot of variance in how loud you speak, look into a software compressor to use in your mixing software (I'm not sure exactly how you're mixing your voice with the game audio/video feed). There are several free ones that do a good job. This will help level out the louder parts so your listeners don't get blown out of their seats every time you raise your voice.

Yeah, I don't have any interface currently; I've been using only the USB mic(s) until now. Is there any particular interface you'd suggest? (That is, should I go straight for a $100+ Focusrite Scarlett, or is there an equally effective option in a lower price range?)

With regard to software compression: Does this mean I would just record at a low enough volume (pre-amplified) to avoid clipping, then apply software compression through something like Audacity, and finally amplify the recording to a desired level? Or would that process lose some of the recording quality?

Since work is slow, and others will later correct or improve my answer. I will take a shot at it.

First, the microphone most likely will not clip on your voice. It could have issues on some really loud, like drums or brass instrument, or other noise sources, but I don't think it will on your voice. What will clip is the input signal to your computer. The reason your USB mic clipped is it has a per-amplifier built in and the amp output is clipping.

With that statement above, we can discuss what it is you are looking for. If you go with a traditional XLR type microphone, you will need to look a two elements. One the microphone and the AD/DA converter (better known as an interface). I am going just skip over the connection part and assume USB.

First the microphone selection, your purpose is for announcements. It appears to be similar to those that do sports broadcasting. Since you do this for fun and are not too serious, You may look for a nice Shure SM58 or something along those lines. (I just purchased a EV Co9 at GuitarCenter for 29, but the SM58 is the standard for that type of mic.) The 58's are inexpensive, robust and sound pretty good. They are a type of microphone called a dynamic microphone. Not very sensitive to sound outside of a particular range.

Another type is a condenser mic, very good mics, more sensitive than dynamic mics, usually better range on the frequencies and are preferred for recordings that really want to get a full sound spectrum captured. Say, vocals for singing, pianos, strings and overall drums from kick to cymbals. They require phantom power to help boost sound coming into the mic. If your room is noisy and bad sound, I would not go this route at is will pick up more sound than you probably want. But your vocals will sound pretty clear. I think for you, probably not worth the hassle.

Next is the interface, usually, these have pre-amps built in and you can control the gain going to the computer before it converts the analog signal to digital. Simple XLR interface runs between$75- 150, then up depending on the quality of the sound you want to record.

The interface/pre-amps is where your possible clipping comes in by your source signal being amplified too high or low. If you are recording live, and you want avoid clipping, but your vocals are going to have wide loudness swings, a compressor would need to go between the microphone and the interface input so it can control the swing of the signal (compress the high) or you keep your hand on the gain control to reduce it when you are going to get louder. Not realistic, but it is an option. If it is going to be recorded and added later, then there are more options and a compressor isn't required.

I hope this give you an informed understanding of your question. Now you should have a good idea of what you are looking for. Other on this board will happily pitch in and add in areas where I may have missed or failed to provide adequate information.

Hope this helps.

Wow, thank you for going into so much detail! Your assumption is correct; the recording device is a computer, so connecting via USB is ideal.

The recording room is generally silent except for my computer's fan, so that's not an issue here. What are you referring to when you say "hassle" with regard to the condenser microphones? Is there a hassle here not present with dynamics?

I won't be doing live streaming, so it will be recorded and manipulated later. @Tadpui also mentioned software compression above--feel free to chime in here if you like!

----

Thank you everyone for the input on the situation! More advice is of course welcomed.

 

[BroKen_H]

Don't discount the Alesis io2...at $70 it's hard to beat for basic mike input. Gets really good reviews.

 

[Btyre2013]

if you have the budget for it, the RE20 is awesome, I agree with acaxis that the re320 is an amazing budget mic, I prefer it to the sm7b

 

[Craziac]

Don't discount the Alesis io2...at $70 it's hard to beat for basic mike input. Gets really good reviews.

Thanks so much!

Take a look at the EV RE-320. It's a budget minded (around $300US) variation on the RE-20 that has a neodymium magnet that provides a hotter output that doesn't need a bunch of preamp gain nor an inline preamp such as a Cloudlifter. I do own the RE-320, RE-20, and SM7b and the RE-320 gets used often. I actually kind of prefer the RE-20 and RE-320 over the SM7b.

Electro-Voice RE320 | RecordingHacks.com
Ultimate Podcast Microphone Shootout | recording hacks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XBBSfPnKa8

and..........

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ruNTeSaNKU

if you have the budget for it, the RE20 is awesome, I agree with acaxis that the re320 is an amazing budget mic, I prefer it to the sm7b

Awesome, I'll try to make a decision between the SM58 and the RE320. Thanks!